Disclaimer: Toei's, not mine

Author's Rant: As you may have guessed, I write slash. Therefore, I sometimes get flames telling me what a horrible terrible person I am for putting Dude A with Dude B. Fact of life. A few times, I've gotten flames for my Timeranger fic telling me I'm a horrible terrible person for writing Domon X Sion. Again, fact of life. But both of these flamers' reasoning why Domon X Sion couldn't work is that Sion is too 'alien' for it to work. No, really, it was. No, I don't know what show they're watching.

But in all seriousness, I am distressed by this idea. Because while Mirai Sentai Timeranger is a Sentai, it's science fiction as well. And as my brother (who is an old school Trek fan and about as far removed from shipping as you can get) pointed out, interspecies relationships are sort of a given. You know Mister Spock? He wouldn't exist if it weren't for his human mother and Vulcan father. Neither would about half the characters in Star Trek, or any other sci-fi series. But I digress. The moral of my rant is this: if you don't like Domon X Sion, that's fine. If you don't like slash, that's fine. But please don't try to tell me it doesn't work because they're different species. Not only have you missed the point of the series and the genre, you obviously weren't listening when Domon kept screaming at Tatsuya to not call him an alien. So I'm handling this the only way I know how: writing bad fan fiction. I just hope I don't come off as too preachy.

Also, 'Akashi'… if you're really that angry with how I portray Domon, feel free to PM or e-mail me. I'm pretty sure you got tired of wading through all my yaoi fics just to get your point across. smile

Whew, that was a lot. Hopefully, I'll never have to be this serious about such a silly fandom ever again.

--

He grew up in a lab, surrounded by scientists, but he probably wouldn't recognize any of them if he saw them now. They had always stayed behind the glass, faces obscured by their dark glasses. An aide would sometimes come into his room to take a blood sample or see how he was responding to his latest treatment, but that was it as far as interacting with the people who had watched over him his whole life went. However, he could hear everything they said.

We need to keep a closer eye on him, to make sure he doesn't hurt himself.

Make sure he stays isolated, the last thing we need is him tampering with the equipment again.

He was actually trying to help you write your report? Creepy little alien… I'm glad we keep him locked up.

It had been horrible, but it had also been all that he knew. Being an alien, different from everyone else, was a fact of life for him. It wasn't until later, after joining the Time Bureau, even after traveling to the twentieth century, that he began to realize that perhaps he had been wrong. He only began to question what had been the simple truth because of his friends… because of Domon.

Sion had known Domon only for a little while, but he had already to come to mean so many things to him. He was the pro fighter he saw when he peeked over the shoulder of the snoozing lab guard. He was the one who had gotten him to start thinking that if an unarmed human could defeat an opponent three times his size, maybe he could sneak away from the lab and live his own life. He was his teammate, his best friend, and his first real crush (it wasn't the best way to explain how he felt for him, but he couldn't think of anything better). But most importantly, he was the one who kept insisting that he wasn't an alien. Sion really didn't mind if Tatsuya called him that, but Domon obviously did, reprimanding their new recruit every time the word slipped. It left him feeling… confused. He couldn't decide if he should remind Domon that it was the truth, or thank him for it.

"You okay, Sion?" Domon shifted as he spoke, tightening his hold on him a little. "You looked kind of lost for a second there."

But he hadn't had the time to choose yet, because recently Domon was meaning something new to him now.

He hadn't meant for it to happen. He had been happy just being with him, learning about the lonely but kind-hearted man that lurked beneath his bravado. And yet somehow along the way, they'd become more. He certainly hadn't been expecting Domon to be the one to start it. But he had, although Sion was not complaining about it in the least.

There were times when he wondered, though.

"Sion, I'm talking to you." There was a hint of annoyance in his tone that hadn't been there before.

"Sorry. I guess I was lost." He relaxed when Domon didn't say anything, instead letting his head rest on his shoulder. Maybe he really could lose himself tonight, just enjoy having a quiet moment alone with Domon…

No. No, he was going to hate doing this, because he knew that even Domon would have to answer the same as the scientists, but he had to hear it.

"Domon-san, do you think I'm different?"

His teammate's jaw dropped. "… What are you talking about?"

"Well, I know that I'm an… I'm not human, and I know it's stupid, but being around you and the others is making me start to think that maybe, I might not be…" He couldn't continue.

"Wait, is that what this is about?" He shifted again, making Sion look at him "Listen to me for a change. No matter what some creepy lab guy or Tatsuya or anyone else says… you're Sion, first and foremost. And that's what matters." He nuzzled his neck. "It's what matters to me, at least."

Sion had no trouble making a decision now. "Thank you."

"You're more than welcome." Domon went for his neck again, kissing it in that way he did when he planned to start something-- warm, slow, sucking on the skin for just a second before breaking off. "Besides, we're the same where it counts, if you catch my meaning."

He couldn't help but laugh, even as Domon pushed him down on the coach. "I think I might have a vague idea of what you're talking about."

"Good. Then you've probably already figured out that I plan on putting having the place to ourselves tonight to good use."

There was nothing else to wonder about after that.