Chapter Text
Present
Stinger had leaned back against the wall. In his mind, he was pacing in the corridor, but physically, he couldn't bring himself to move.
He didn't know why he was nervous. After all, this had been the intention from the start. The promise that had been made.
But... this was more than just a promise. This was life now. No matter what happened. Things have changed forever.
He had been through so much. The loss of his brother, the loss of Mika, nearly losing his aibou more than once. Not to mention the fights, the emotions they brought. The battle with Don Armage.
But he had gained so much. He had learned how to trust. He had learned what love was, what comradery was. He had allowed himself to get close to Kotaro, and Champ. He didn't think, at this point, that he could live without either one of them.
Champ had saved his life, but had deemed themselves "even" when Stinger saved his. Stinger had always been confused by this, saying it definitely wasn't the same thing, but it didn't matter to Champ. Champ had told him to drop it, and just be grateful. He also had teased Stinger that once Don Armage was defeated, he needed to take up a hobby... and get singing lessons.
Stinger had known it was joke, and even called Champ out on it, but Kotaro had bought Stinger a guitar, and Stinger had secretly been excited. It had taken him a lot of effort to make it seem like it was no big deal, but he couldn't wait to sit down and see what he could do with it.
Growing up on Antares, there was no electricity, not in the village. They had to go into town for that. Stinger had sighed, the anemoia hitting him hard. He could have learned the guitar, and the singing, so many years ago. He could have been good at it. He could had used so much time to study it, instead of being lazy and just waiting for something exciting to happen.
Instead of thinking about the time he never experienced, Stinger had jumped right into it. Raptor had helped him with getting instruction, but Stinger had ultimately decided to teach himself. He purchased books, and sheet music. He hadn't even had the guitar for two months at this point, but he never lost interest in it.
He wished he had that guitar now. He had been using it as an emotional tool. He would sit in his quarters and just strum and pluck. Sometimes, he'd invite somebody into the room to watch. Kotaro always went, but he got bored. He was a kid, and Stinger didn't know how to play any full songs yet. Champ would stay for awhile, but he would eventually give Stinger his space.
Raptor and Hammie had come in a couple of times, but no one else had. Stinger had become self conscious because he was a beginner, and he had just never invited anyone else. He wanted to get good. His goal was to eventually write a song. He could write the lyrics. He just needed to learn how to put it all together.
Stinger's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the infirmary door open. He got off of the wall quickly, and stared at that door until somebody walked out of it, and Raptor was right behind him.
"Naga...."
Stinger had expected something else. Something emotional. A tear, maybe. A smile? But none of that happened.
Naga's face remained as blank as it was the first time that Stinger had laid eyes on him. For a moment, Naga could only stare at Stinger.
"Naga?"
Naga stared at Stinger for a moment before he slowly nodded. His face remained blank.
Stinger started to cry, and he pulled Naga close to him, hugging him tight.
Raptor stared at Naga, tilting her head slightly in confusion at Naga's blank and emotionless reaction to Stinger.
Eight months earlier
Naga was confused.
He could see the smiles. He knew that this was a happy occasion. Champ was alive and well and finally back, and Stinger had suggested a welcome back party for him.
There was food, decorations, a banner. Spada had even baked a cake.
But even Naga knew that something was off. He didn't have emotions, and he knew this was... he didn't even know the word.
Balance was definitely celebrating. No matter what the occasion, Balance was all ready for a party. He would have made up a reason for a party just to have one.
Naga didn't let this fact bother him, but it made him ask a very important question.
"Should we be celebrating during Stinger's time of sadness?"
Balance stopped jumping around when he heard the question. He knew it was a good question, but something he couldn't really explain an answer to. Naga was all about learning these days. He always had a question. And Balance didn't mind answering those questions at all.
"It's fine!" Balance said. "Good or bad, this was Stinger's suggestion."
"Is Stinger ok?" Garu asked.
"He's fine," Lucky said. "Plus, he has us."
Naga seemed satisfied, a little bit. Everyone seemed eager to be trusting Lucky's words.
"Oh, right!" Kotaro suddenly cried out.
Everyone turned their attention to him, and he was grinning.
"I made Aniki!" Kotaro cried out, holding out a plushie.
Naga started at the plushie. It was definitely made to Stinger's likeness. Kind of cute.
And while everyone was pointing out the cuteness of the plushie, Champ walked over carrying a tray.
"I have them, too," Champ said, placing them on the pool table. "Look at them."
"There's one of each of us!" Spada cried out happily. "Grazie!"
"You made these, Kotaro?" Hammie asked.
"I only made this one," Kotaro said, holding up the Stinger plushie. "Actually...."
Kotaro paused dramatically, long enough for everyone in the room to look at him curiously.
"The rest of the dolls.... were made by Aniki so that Champ wouldn't feel lonely!"
Kotaro was smiling and giggling, but didn't notice that Stinger had walked in. Everyone tried to get Kotaro's attention, but Kotaro wasn't noticing that at first.
He finally did notice that everyone was acting strange, and it finally dawned on him what they were trying to tell him... when Stinger placed his hand on Kotaro's head. Kotaro's eyes widened, and he turned around quickly.
"Something wrong with that?" Stinger asked him. "Warriors of the Scorpius Constellation have a fondness for needlework."
Kotaro cried out in surprise, thinking he was probably in a little bit of trouble. He, for some reason, flew straight towards a confused Balance and threw his arms around him.
Stinger looked around the room, confusion and curiosity being the main mood at the moment.
"Um." Stinger paused a moment, and finally bowed. "I'm sorry."
The confusion continued, with some added random comments and stares.
"Eh?!"
"What a shock!"
"Are you ok?"
Stinger finally looked up, and as he looked around the room, he could feel an emotional blush coming. He quickly turned and tried to race out of the door, but the door just couldn't open fast enough. When it did, Stinger took off, and everyone else had been laughing.
Except for Naga, who was still confused. He looked around, trying to process the laughter. Even Balance had been laughing.
Naga tried to look at Balance for help, but Balance had turned his attention back to to the plushie made in his likeness.
After a couple of minutes, Naga could only focus on Stinger. Why had he run off? What kind of emotion was this? Why had he left when somebody had tried to ask him if he was ok?
Naga stepped back a little. Everyone was talking and laughing, and it just seemed... inappropriate, somehow. But no one else seemed to think so.
Without uttering a word, Naga snuck out of the bridge. If anyone noticed, he didn't notice them. No one said anything, and he could still hear Balance laughing as the door shut behind him.
Naga didn't have to go too far to find Stinger, he hadn't even made it out of the corridor, walking slowly. It had surprised Naga a little, since Stinger had been running when he left. Naga wasn't quite sure what to say to him, but he had come this far, he knew he had to say something.
"Stinger?"
Stinger stopped walking, but didn't turn around. "Naga?"
"I'm sorry," Naga said quickly and awkwardly.
"You can go back to the party and enjoy yourself."
"What does that mean?"
Stinger didn't respond, but he did turn around. His face was tear-stained.
"You're crying," Naga said.
Stinger forced a smile. "If anyone else said that, I'd have to respond sarcastically."
Naga ignored him, and walked up to him. He ran his fingers over Stinger's face.
"You're injured," Naga said.
"It's nothing major."
"Come with me?"
"To where?"
Naga took Stinger by the arm, and Stinger allowed himself to be escorted to the infirmary.
"Naga, this isn't necessary," Stinger said.
"Sit down," Naga said, going through of the first-aid kits that Raptor had stored.
Stinger sat down, though he didn't really want to.
Naga walked over to him, and started wiping his cuts with antiseptic wipes.
"That doesn't hurt," Stinger said. He was a little surprised he had said that out loud, because he hadn't meant to.
"The antiseptic wipes are better than the antibiotic wipes," Naga said. "As long as they're mild. These aren't strong. They'll help."
"How do you know that?"
"I studied medicine on my home planet," Naga said. "Before I joined Balance."
"You were studying medicine and decided that leaving with Balance was a good idea?" Stinger asked.
Naga looked up and into Stinger's eyes. "Yes. Why is that a problem?"
"It... it's not," Stinger said, slightly regretting the question. "You just gave up a potential career in medicine to go running around with Balance."
"Balance is the most interesting person I had ever met," Naga said. He put the wipes down and picked up some bandages, and he started to apply them gently. "And my mother was the one who convinced me to get into medicine. It was not my idea."
"Your mother?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
Naga tried to smile. "I wanted to help people. On Rasalhague, everyone had what they needed. We protected ourselves. No emotions, no individuality. We didn't have any money, we all had exactly what we needed and nothing else."
"Then why study medicine? What's in it for you?"
Naga shrugged. "My dad bled to death. I guess my mother always thought that if I studied medicine, I'd be able to help other people."
"Your dad... bled to death?"
"Yeah."
"There was an accident?"
"Not exactly," Naga said. He pulled away from Stinger. "All done."
"Thank you," Stinger said. "What happened with your dad?"
Naga was silent for a moment. He turned away from Stinger to clean up the mess he had made.
"I'm sorry," Stinger said. "I shouldn't have asked."
"It's ok," Naga said. "He died in childbirth."
"What?"
Naga turned back to Stinger. "He died giving birth to me."
"Wait, your... dad died... giving birth to you?"
"Yeah."
"Your species' males can give birth?"
"We all can."
"What do you mean all?"
"I mean everyone. Male or female."
"I didn't know that."
"Why are you asking so many questions about it?"
"I don't know. It's fascinating."
"How so?"
"I can't give birth."
"I don't understand."
Stinger sighed. "Sorry. It's just... I would if I could, you know?"
Naga frowned, and tilted his head in confusion. "Why is it important to you?"
Stinger turned away a little. "You wouldn't understand."
"I know."
Stinger paused. There had been a tone in Naga's voice. It wasn't a normal one. He couldn't put his finger on it. It wasn't disappointment. But it did sound... final, maybe? Like Naga knew it was something he'd never be able to understand.
He had honestly never thought about it. Stinger had never really worried about other people's emotions before. He had no right, he couldn't even handle his own most of the time. Including tonight. Kotaro may have been teasing him, but it was just that. A tease. He wondered....
"Naga?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you like your plushie?"
"Like?"
"Yeah," Stinger said. "Like."
"I don't really know what that means."
"I mean..." Stinger paused a moment, trying to figure out how to describe it to this man with no emotions. "When you saw it, what were you thinking about?"
"It looked like me," Naga said. "I wanted to hold it. Everyone held onto theirs. Kotaro had yours."
"What were they doing when they saw it?"
"They smiled and said they were cute."
"They liked them."
Stinger chuckled. He figured at this point that Kotaro was definitely just teasing. He was a kid, but he was a pretty bright one. But still, just a kid.
"Naga?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you... want to hang out with me?"
"Hang out?"
"We could go get something in the galley."
"There's a party on the bridge."
"So?"
Naga looked at him for a minute. "Ok."
Stinger smiled, and left the infirmary. Naga followed behind.
When they got to the galley, Stinger asked Naga to sit. Naga did sit, and Stinger went to go get drinks. He came back soon, and Stinger joined him at the table.
"Thank you," Naga said.
"You're welcome," Stinger said.
Stinger watched Naga sip on his drink. For a few minutes, they were silent.
"Naga, can I ask you a question?" Stinger said.
"Sure."
"What does it feel like?"
"What?"
"You said you were capable of being pregnant. What does it feel like?"
"I don't know. I've never been pregnant before."
"No, I don't mean physically."
"Then what do you mean?"
Stinger sighed. "You can always chose to have a child of your own."
Naga narrowed his eyes in confusion. "I'll have one when I'm told to do it."
"When you're told?"
"I can only have a baby when I'm married and the government allows it," Naga said.
"Oh," Stinger said. "I guess that makes sense."
"Why are you asking?"
Stinger sighed. "I don't know."
"You want a baby, Stinger?"
Stinger turned away from Naga. "Not really a great idea. I'm not that good of a person."
"What does that mean?"
Stinger sighed. "Naga, I've done bad things in my life. Really bad things. I don't deserve to live out my dreams."
"What have you done that's bad?"
"Well, just today, I killed my own brother."
"You didn't kill him."
"Naga... there are... things... about me. Things you don't know."
"Like what?"
"Bad things, ok?" Stinger said. He got up. "I've done a lot of things. Not good things. And now, my brother is dead because of them."
Naga stood up as well. "Stinger...."
"He's dead, Naga."
"Stinger."
"He's dead!"
Naga felt helpless as he watched Stinger burst into sobs. He didn't know what to do. Stinger had hunched over the table, and was holding onto it with one hand, his other hand was over his eyes.
"I don't know what to do," Naga whispered.
Stinger removed his hand from his eyes, and looked over at Naga. He stood up straight and let go of the table.
"Stinger, I want to help you," Naga said. "But I don't know how."
Stinger looked at Naga curiously. "You... want... to help... me?" he managed to choke out.
"Yes," Naga said. "I do."
Stinger stood and sobbed for a moment, but then he did something Naga found strange. Stinger held his arms out.
Naga stared at him for a minute. Balance had done this to him once. It had ended in a hug. Balance had hugged him more than once, but in that one occasion, Balance had asked Naga to come to him.
Naga slowly made his way towards Stinger, and when he was close, Stinger immediately wrapped his arms around Naga, still sobbing. Naga tried to copy what Stinger was doing, and found himself... rather awkwardly... wrapping his arms around him.
Stinger sobbed harder, and held Naga tighter. Naga tried not to wonder how normal this was. Had anyone else hugged Stinger like this? Kotaro, maybe? Or Hammie? Hammie probably knew how to do this. But he hadn't seen anyone else do this. He hadn't been around Stinger since it happened, not for the most part, so maybe they had. If it was this important to Stinger, surely somebody had done it.
Stinger held onto Naga for a few minutes. Naga knew this was awkward, but he did want to help Stinger.
Naga held onto Stinger until Stinger pulled away a little bit. Stinger looked into Naga's eyes.
"Thank you," Stinger whispered.
"For what?"
"For caring about me," Stinger said. "And listening to me talk."
Naga nodded, not knowing what to say next.
Stinger managed a tiny smile, and he leaned towards Naga, leaning in for a kiss.
Naga had to keep himself from pulling away as Stinger's lips touched his own. It had been the first time that anyone had ever touched Naga that way. It was gentle, didn't hurt. Unexpected, but at this point, Naga didn't quite know what was going on.
Stinger held the kiss for a moment, pulling the kiss away a few times, long enough to do what Naga felt was just repositioning his lips.
Naga didn't know what he was doing, but he felt an energy. What kind of energy, he didn't know. He didn't dislike it, but he didn't understand it.
Stinger pulled away after a moment, taking a step backwards. "I'm sorry, Naga."
"For what?"
Stinger didn't know how to respond. "Thank you for having a drink with me. I'm going to go to bed early."
"I can't do anything else to help?"
Stinger chuckled. There was, but there was no way that Stinger was going to ask Naga for... that.
"Good night, Naga," Stinger said softly. He smiled again, and turned away, quickly leaving the galley.
"Good night," a confused Naga said, wondering why he hadn't said that before Stinger had left the room.
"Naga, you ok? Naga?"
Naga was supposed to be eating his breakfast, but he had found he couldn't concentrate enough to even eat. He was trying not to stare into his bowl, but in return, he found himself looking up at the ceiling.
"Naga?" Spada said again.
"Earth to Naga!" Kotaro cried out. He was laughing.
"Kotaro, be nice!" Hammie cried out.
"You ok, buddy?" Balance asked, walking over to him.
Naga looked up at Balance. "Yeah. I'm ok. Sorry."
Balance sat down next to him. "You're spacing out."
"And being awfully quiet," Kotaro added.
"Well, he is the Silent Star," Spada said with a chuckle.
"Naga?" Balance said.
Naga looked at him. He knew Balance was being serious, but Naga had a weird feeling. If this was an emotion, it was one he wasn't familiar with at all.
"You wanna talk?" Balance asked.
Naga had woken up in this daze. He had gone to sleep thinking about that hug that Stinger had given him. And whatever Stinger had done with their lips. He hadn't known what that was. He had never seen it before, never saw anybody do it. He had gone to bed thinking about it, wondering why Stinger had done that to him.
"I just... have a question," Naga said after a moment.
"You can ask us anything," Hammie said.
Naga nodded. "What is it called... when two people get their faces really close, and their lips touch?"
"That's a kiss," Hammie said.
"You don't know what a kiss is?" Raptor asked.
"I guess I don't," Naga said. "Is it bad?"
"It's not bad!" Balance said, snapping his fingers. "You just want to know things. It's okyuu, desu!"
"Were you watching a movie or something?" Spada asked.
"Me and Raptor were watching a romance movie last night," Hammie said. "We couldn't sleep. Naga must have come in and seen it."
"Was that it, Naga?" Balance asked. "You walked in on the movie?"
"Yeah," Naga said, knowing perfectly well he was lying. "I walked in on the movie."
"Do you want to learn about romance, Naga?" Raptor asked.
Naga blinked. On the one hand, the kissing... he had no true interest in it. Maybe it was because he didn't know about it. Until the night before, there was no such thing as a kiss.
But he wanted to know more now. If kisses were about romance, then why had Stinger given him one? There was a word for Stinger being upset about his brother dying... Naga didn't know what that word was. He also couldn't figure out what a... kiss... had to do with it.
Was a kiss that important? Maybe he should be interested in it.
"Yes," Naga said after a minute of thought. "Will you teach me?"
Raptor giggled. "I sure will! Hammie will help, too."
"This will be fun!" Hammie cried out.
"What will be fun?"
Everyone turned and noticed that Stinger had walked into the room.
"Aniki!" Kotaro cried out. He ran over to him. "You're here!"
"I live here," Stinger said. "What will be fun?"
"Naga's become interested in romance," Hammie said with a grin.
"Romance?" Stinger said.
"Yep, he just learned what a kiss was," Spada said.
"What?" Stinger asked.
"He wants to know more," Hammie said. "Don't you, Naga?"
"Naga, you don't know about kissing?" Stinger asked.
Naga looked into his bowl and shook his head.
Stinger stared at Naga for a moment, now feeling guilty about what he had done the night before. But before he could react, the Commander had walked in, his damn booming voice reaching max volume. No one could be alone with their thoughts with that going on.
It had been ok anyway, because nobody noticed when Stinger slipped out of the bridge.
"Aibou? What's wrong?"
Stinger had been in his own quarters, but his door was open. He could hear Champ talking, and wanted to turn around, but couldn't bring himself to do so.
"I'm really sorry," Champ said. "About your big brother."
"It's ok," Stinger said.
"It's not," Champ said. "I know what it's like to lose somebody. You need to heal."
"I'm fine."
"You're not."
"It's fine."
"Commander's looking for you. We're supposed to be having a meeting, but you left. Do you want me to tell him you're not coming?"
"I just need a few minutes."
"You should take a break."
"Look," Stinger said. He stood up, finally turning around to face Champ. "Aniki... he's been gone for a long time. I've been used to him being gone... and sometimes, I'd even imagine that he had died, just because it was easier to process than what actually did happen."
"I don't know what to say," Champ said.
"There isn't anything to say," Stinger said. "I just need to deal with it."
"You don't have to deal with it alone," Champ said.
"I know," Stinger said.
"You finally called me aibou," Champ said. "I'd like to live up to the name."
Stinger smiled. "I do appreciate that."
Champ nodded and left the room.
Stinger sighed and sat back down.
While his brother's death was a huge part of his mood, he was distracted by something else.
Naga.
Had Naga really not known what a kiss was?
Stinger hadn't even thought about it. He had been so caught up in the moment... it had just happened... and it had felt so good at the time.
Stinger needed the release. He hadn't had any physical affection in so long... especially with somebody he had found himself caring about.
He had never thought of Naga that way, not once. Naga was really close to Balance, and he hadn't known him any other way. Stinger had stung Balance once, and despite not having emotions, or thinking he didn't have emotions, Naga had immediately run up to Balance and tried to help him.
Maybe it had been his history in the medical field. Stinger hadn't even known about it until Naga had shared the information. But it seemed to make sense, a little. Naga had taken great care of Stinger. But had he done it because he felt he had to, or because he was genuinely concerned?
He shouldn't have done it. He shouldn't have kissed him. He didn't need that release. It was just an impulse.
He certainly shouldn't have hidden himself in his quarters... thinking about Naga… as he....
Stinger was starting to get a migraine, but he felt he deserved it at this point. What had he done to Naga? Whatever it was... his actions were inappropriate.
Wait.
They were talking about it... on the bridge.
Naga... he wouldn't... have actually told anyone... would he?
Spada had said that Naga had just learned what a kiss was, but didn't say how. Nobody had said how he knew.
If Naga had told Balance, everyone would know.
And they did. They knew.
"Gods," Stinger whispered to himself. "I did that...."
Stinger took a deep breath, shutting his eyes for just a moment. He opened them back up before realizing he did need to get to the bridge.
He had a new plan... pretending that nothing had happened. It might work... ignoring the entire situation.
He walked out of his quarters, trying to shake the feelings off. There was obviously some issues going on... the main one being Ohtori Tsurugi. The Commander was going to want to find him.
"Excuse me."
Stinger had been in his own little world, but he had heard the voice. He looked up from the floor.
"Naga...."
"Stinger," Naga said.
Stinger cleared his throat, and stared at Naga for a minute.
"Are you ok?" Naga asked.
Stinger nodded, slowly. "Are you?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"We need to get to the meeting."
"We have some time," Naga said. "Commander's talking to Rebellion headquarters right now. They have questions about Tsurugi."
Stinger nodded. "I guess they would have questions. They had a ton when they found out about Kotaro."
Naga nodded. He started walking, and went right past Stinger. Stinger turned and looked at him.
"Where are you going?" Stinger asked.
"My room."
Before he could stop himself, Stinger blurted out, "Can I join you?"
Naga stopped and turned around. "In my room?"
"I... I'm sorry," Stinger said. "That was completely inappropriate. I-"
"I want to talk to you anyway," Naga said. He turned back around, quickly heading for his room.
Stinger watched as Naga disappeared into the room, and hesitantly followed him inside.
"You can sit," Naga said as the door closed. "Bed or desk chair. Whichever."
Stinger choose the desk chair, and Naga sat on the bed.
"Naga," Stinger said. "I'm really sorry."
"For what?"
"For kissing you," Stinger said. "It... just happened... and-"
"Why are you apologizing for that?"
"It upset you."
"Upset?"
"When I walked into breakfast, you guys were talking about it. How I kissed you but you didn't know what it was. Everyone's probably upset with me, too."
Naga tilted his head. "I don't understand."
"What don't you understand?"
"Why you think we're all upset."
Stinger sighed. "You were asking about it... the kiss?"
"I don't quite understand the kiss," Naga said. "And I don't know... I don't know how it helped you. Balance said you were mourning your brother."
"I was," Stinger said. "I am." He paused. "What did Balance say when you told him?"
"Told him what?"
"That we had kissed."
"I didn't tell Balance."
"What?"
"I didn't tell anybody," Naga said. "I asked about it, but I didn't say what happened. I just wanted more information."
"You didn't tell them?"
"I didn't know if I should, so I didn't."
Stinger sighed with relief.
"Did I do the right thing?"
"I don't know what the right thing is."
"Stinger, why did you kiss me?"
Stinger stared at Naga for a moment before whispering, "It's a long story."
"Raptor's going to call us when it's time to go back to the bridge. We have time."
Stinger nodded. He didn't want to tell Naga anything... but if he wanted Naga to trust him, he needed to tell him the truth.
"Ok," Stinger said after a minute. He sighed. "The reason I kissed you...."
Naga looked at him. His face was blank, something that Stinger couldn't read, but he knew that he needed to answer.
"I kissed you because I like you," Stinger said.
"Like me?"
"Yeah. See, you were just... helping me... but I took it as something else. That you actually cared about me."
"What does that mean?"
Stinger sighed. "It means that I thought... there was something more between us than what there actually was."
"I still don't understand."
Stinger stood up and started pacing a little. "Naga, when my brother attacked my home, I did everything I could to go find him. I had my Kyutama, but it didn't feed me. Or find me a place to stay while I was spying."
"We're taken care of here."
"I know, but I wasn't here. I got money from the Commander sometimes, when he deemed it safe. I'm not really a big eater, but it was a lot of long days. And nights... sometimes I'd stay in places that were shady- er, not safe. Lots of Jark Matter. I had to do what I had to do to not only survive, but to fit in."
"What did you do?"
Stinger took a deep breath in, praying that Naga didn't understand judgement yet.
"I sold my body," Stinger said.
"Your body?"
"Sexually," Stinger said. "Sometimes it was for money, sometimes it was for a place to rest, sometimes it was just for a meal."
Naga stood up as well. He wasn't quite sure what Stinger was talking about, but for some reason... he wanted to hear more.
"I'm very ashamed of some of the things I did," Stinger said. "It was... desperation. And needs. Like physical needs."
"Physical needs?"
Stinger nodded. "Yeah. I guess you don't have them, so you don't know what I'm talking about."
Naga stared at him blankly again.
"Sorry," Stinger said.
"What does this have to do with me?" Naga asked bluntly.
Stinger looked directly at Naga, and noticed something.
"Your eyes," Stinger said.
"My eyes what?"
"They're sparkling."
"Sparkling?"
"Naga," Stinger said. "Look. It's just... you were taking care of me. Asking if I was ok, and you took care of my wounds. It was comforting."
"I don't-"
"I know, you don't understand," Stinger said. "But I do." He took a deep breath. "I like you, Naga."
"We are comrades."
"I mean, more than that," Stinger said. "It's been a while since I've kissed somebody... that I like."
"Because you only did it before to survive?"
"Well, I had a girlfriend once, back home. I liked to kiss her."
"Why'd you stop?"
"She liked somebody else."
"I'm sorry."
"It's ok, it was a long time ago."
"You like me like you like your girlfriend?"
Just then, their seiza blasters went off, and Raptor had called everyone to the bridge.
Naga turned to leave, but Stinger grabbed him by the arm.
"What is it?" Naga asked.
"Naga, if I ever do anything that makes you uncomfortable, please tell me," Stinger said. "I want to be your friend."
"You do?"
"Yeah. And I promise I won't kiss you anymore."
"You do not have to promise me anything."
"Yes, I do. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
Naga nodded.
"I just... don't want to ruin anything between us."
"You haven't."
"Naga, I promise you, I'm going to respect my boundaries from now on. Ok?"
Naga nodded. Stinger knew he was confused, but Stinger had felt a little better, having said it.
The seiza blaster went off again. "Stinger, Naga, you coming?"
"Be right there," Stinger replied.
As Stinger started to walk out of the room, Naga spoke up, and Stinger stopped dead in his tracks.
"I'm going to make you a promise, too," Naga said.
Stinger turned around. "You don't have to make me any promises."
"Balance said that if you're going to be friends with someone, the relationship has to be equal."
"Balance is weird."
"Balance has justice in his system. That's what he said."
"Then how'd he end up as a thief?"
"I've never questioned him. He is who he is."
"Did he say that, too?"
"Yes."
"Ok. What do you want to promise me?"
"A child."
Stinger heard him, but wasn't sure that he had heard him correctly.
"What?" Stinger whispered.
"You want a child, and I can give you one. I promise to do that for you."
"Wow, Naga, you don't have to do that-"
"I want to," Naga said.
"Why?"
"You said it was important to you. So I will do that to help you."
"Naga, having a baby isn't something that easy. We would need to get to know each other more, maybe date or something, probably get married-"
"We can get married whenever you are ready."
"Naga, this isn't your home planet. You shouldn't marry somebody just to have a baby with them."
"Then why should you marry somebody?"
Stinger sighed. "Naga, we can talk about this later. We gotta get to the bridge."
Stinger finally walked out of the room, but Naga kept talking as he followed him.
"I guess we have to defeat Jark Matter first, but I'll wait," Naga said. "We can get married and then start trying. Oh, by the way, I can only have one. It gets complicated after that, but I can give you one."
"Huh?"
"See, we can only give birth once. Otherwise, we run the risk of bleeding out."
"Like your dad?"
"Yeah."
"Wait," Stinger said. "You're the second child?"
"I have an older sister," Naga said.
"I didn't know that."
"Well, I never told you, that's why."
They got to the bridge entrance, and Naga walked in. Stinger had frozen up a little bit, hesitating to walk in.
What had just happened?
Stinger couldn't wrap his head around it. Why the hell would Naga not only offer, but promise to do such a thing for him?
"Aibou!" Champ cried out through the seiza blaster.
Stinger tried to shake off his thoughts, and entered the bridge, trying to act as though everything was normal.
Present
"Here."
Stinger set down a glass of water at the table that Naga was sitting at. They had somehow made their way to the galley together, and Stinger was trying to take care of Naga.
Naga hadn't said a word since they got there, but he accepted the water, quickly taking a drink.
"Naga," Stinger said, sitting down next to him. "I'm really sorry about this."
Naga still didn't talk.
"Are you hungry? I can get you something."
No response.
"I'll get you something."
"Don't go through the trouble," Naga said quietly.
"What? Naga, I'm going to do everything I can to help you."
Naga stood up. "Thanks for the water."
"Naga-"
Naga quickly left the galley, and Stinger watched, trying to keep himself calm.
He wasn't able to, however. He found himself shedding tears.
"Aniki?"
Stinger tried to wipe his tears before Kotaro could see him, but he wasn't quick enough.
"Aniki, what's wrong?" Kotaro asked, running up to him.
"Nothing," Stinger said.
"That's not true," Kotaro said. "Something's going on. You're being really emotional, and Naga hasn't said a word in two days."
"Naga's the Silent Star."
"Two days is a long time to not talk."
Stinger glared at him. "Look, it's nothing, ok?"
"It's not nothing. Something's wrong with Naga, isn't it?"
Stinger sighed. "Look, just... don't worry about Naga, ok?"
"Aniki-"
"It's none of your business!" Stinger finally screamed out, jumping up from his chair.
Kotaro's eyes widened. "I was just trying to-"
"Help, I know."
Kotaro stared at Stinger for a minute before taking a step back. "I'm sorry, Aniki."
"So am I."
Kotaro nodded and left the galley.
Stinger sat down again, picking up Naga's glass of water.
He didn't know what he was going to do, what Naga was going to do.
He had always thought this moment would be different. He had a clear picture of it in his mind, but he always thought it was just a pipe dream.
But it was real. It was real and it was happening too fast.
Stinger was emotionally dizzy. He was confused, and scared. Nervous.
But he was also happy. He was trying to put the thought aside, push it back as far as it would go. But it was there, and he was feeling guilty because of it.
"Naga," Stinger whispered to himself. "I love you."