Stinger massaged his temples as Shou droned on. Finally, he turned off his screen and sighed.
Andy knocked on his office door.
"Come in."
She entered with a small smile, "Hungry?"
He shrugged. "Not really. A migraine is playing bongos in my head."
Andy went to him and held a hand out.
His eyes closed and he made a relieved noise.
She smiled, "You know, food is good for migraines too. You should probably eat something."
"Ever tired of being right?"
Andy chuckled and held her hand lower to help him from the chair.
"I always wondered why Shou was in a bad mood after a call from his superior. Now I know."
She chuckled again, "Well, let's take a break from work for a bit."
"Is that possible? And where can I sign up?"
"Come on," she pulled him from the chair and led him toward the bay.
"What is your plan exactly?"
"Just relax and let me take care of things." She smiled and climbed into her voyager and waited. He noticed a basket of food behind her seat.
He chuckled and got in beside her. "Yes ma'am."
She flew them to a nearby planet, landing in a field of flowers. She set out a blanket before sitting down with the basket.
He grinned and sat down beside her. "A picnic?"
"I thought you could get some fresh air."
His lips quirked. "Funny. Don't I get enough when I beat down Jark on planet?"
"Thought you might need more," she chuckled and handed him some food.
He snorted, beginning to eat.
Andy ate quietly, looking out at the flowers.
He watched her, a smile threatening to break through.
When she was done eating, she looked over and smiled at him.
The smile finally erupted and he lay back with a small laugh.
She moved to him, curling up against his side.
"How did I wind up here?"
"Well, pretty sure a voyager," she smirked.
"Smartass. I mean how did my luck change so much?"
"Maybe the universe noticed how bad things were so decided to give you some good things?"
"That's better than what I was imagining actually." He held her close.
She moved a bit to kiss him.
He kissed her deeply, his eyes closing in happiness.
They laid there for a long while, enjoying the sunshine. Andy glanced at the time, "We better get going if we're going to catch up to the ship."
"Can't we just resign and stay here?"
"That does sound nice, doesn't it? But who would fight Jark?"
He sighed, and sat up. "Let's go then."
"If it helps, I'm making something really good for dinner. It might be done when we get back."
"Sounds good." He helped her clean up and then held her hand as they headed for the voyager.
Andy started them back to the ship before setting autopilot and pulling Stinger in for a kiss.
He kissed back, his sigh soft.
She ran a hand down his chest gently, giving a small smirk when they parted.
"You drive me crazy, you know that?"
"Well, the ship is about an hour away.. I could drive you crazier."
"Please do." He reached for her with a smile.
An hour later the voyager docked in the bay. Andy smiled at Stinger before climbing out, "See you in the kitchen."
He gave her a salute as he headed for his office.
Andy plated up the food, mixing a drink in the blender and pouring out glasses. When Stinger entered, she slid one down to him.
He took a deep drink and let out a sigh of happiness. "How does your food make me almost as happy as you yourself?"
She chuckled and handed him a plate before sitting down with her own. "Well, glad to know I make you happy."
He reached for her hand. "Sweetheart, I never thought I'd be so happy. You are my world."
She blushed, "You make me the happiest."
He gave her a bright smile, then began to eat. His eyes kept straying to her as he did, his expression wistful.
She watched him with a smile.
He finally pushed back his empty plate, dropping his eyes to his tablet a moment.
Andy got up and cleaned the plates off the table, then poured them both a shot. She smirked and handed it to him.
He raised an eyebrow as he took it. "Shame shame. Aren't I supposed to be the one corrupting you?"
She chuckled and drank hers down. "Maybe, but I can be pretty corrupting myself."
"I'm quickly learning that, you she devil." He threw his shot back, wincing at the burn of the alcohol. "You should know I've never drank much."
"I haven't either," she answered. "I'm such a lightweight."
"If we keep drinking these, we're going to get smashed."
Andy shrugged, "That's not so bad every once and a while, is it?" She poured them another set.
"Unless Jark attacks. But it's been quiet since you came back, so why the hell not?" He did the same with the new shot and sighed. "Is this your sneaky way of getting my secrets?"
"No. But now that you mention it.." she smirked again before laughing.
He rolled his eyes and chuckled as the alcohol began to relax him.
Andy giggled, "You're cute."
"Not as cute as you are." He grabbed her, kissing her deeply.
After they pulled away, gasping for air, she poured them more shots and downed another. "My brother and I used to do shots for his birthday," Andy reminisced."Hammy isn't much of a drinker though and never joined us."
"Hammy drunk would be hilarious." He laughed at the thought. "My brother could outdrink anyone and often did. I was called once to pick him up and arrived to see him calmly drinking while everyone else was passed out."
Andy chuckled, "I got called a few times for Ave. He liked to go to the bar and would flirt with anyone who moved. Got into a few fights when he flirted with someone's significant other."
Stinger cracked up, laying his head on the table. "You want flirting stories? Tet and I went out one night and he got completely smashed. So he sees a girl batting her eyelashes at him and he goes for it. So they go up to her room and I sit down to wait. About five minutes later, he comes racing down, his clothes half on and tells me to run. We leave and this lunatic starts shooting out the window at us. We literally ran all the way back to camp."
Andy laughed in response, taking another shot. She took a deep breath before starting to giggle again.
"That's not the whole story. Turns out the lunatic was the son of a crime boss and certifiable. And the girl.. She turned out to be a symta and lunatic's significant other."
"That must have sucked," Andy chuckled. "Luckily Ave never got into that much trouble."
"Yeah, Tet stayed in camp for a long time afterwards." He poured another drink and downed it.
Andy took another drink and stared at the glass quietly for a minute.
"I know I never knew him, but I'm sorry." He scooted over, wrapping one arm around her.
She shook her head and tried to smile, "It's okay."
He kissed her cheek. "He would be proud of you. Maybe not of your choice in men, but the fact you're still fighting."
"I think he'd like you," Andy smiled. "Hammy likes you, though I wouldn't have cared if she didn't because I love you."
"Hammy tolerates me because I'm a former teammate. Not sure if like comes into it. And I don't even want to ask her opinion of us."
Andy rolled her eyes, "She thinks you're a good guy."
"Let's see, I stung her the first time we met, stole kyutamas, almost destroyed the Earth and was the most unsociable creature you've ever met. Not sure that would be classified as actions of a good guy."
Andy chuckled, "You just don't see what we see."
"That's what she and Lucky both say. Either I'm blind or they are, I don't know which."
"I think it's you." She took another sip before sighing.
"What?"
She shook her head, "Just thinking about Hammy now. Do you think I'm a bad sister for leaving her? She kept insisting she was fine, but maybe she isn't.."
"I've learned she's pretty straightforward about things. If she isn't okay, she will let you know it." It was his turn to sigh. "At least she's still alive."
"Yeah, that's true." Andy said quietly before leaning against Stinger.
He swirled his drink, his face sad. "I killed my brother."
"I'm sorry," she wrapped her arm around him.
"Why did he take my poison into himself? I deserved to atone for my mistakes, but he saved my life at the expense of his own. I don't understand."
"Probably because he loved you."
"I'm not worth anyone's life." He knocked his drink back, then twirled the glass in his hand.
"I think you're wrong," she poured herself another drink.
"You're biased. Just like the others are." He sighed. "The only reason I broke cover was to keep Kotaro and his brother from being killed. If I had stayed, the team would have killed me without knowing the truth." He snorted. "Most of the team, anyway. Lucky's special..in the head."
"I just don't know why you don't see your worth."
"My people were massacred by my brother because of me. Even before that, I was constantly bullied by people. My parents died before I really got to know them and Scorpio left constantly because of the war. I wasn't fast enough to save Champ's creator. I went undercover to find Scorpio, following a pile of bodies that kept growing because I couldn't stop him. I used Antares and still failed. What worth do I have when I couldn't stop my own sibling from torturing the universe?"
"You tried. You knew what he was doing was wrong and you tried to stop him. That's the important thing. Your worth isn't connected to him or what he did."
"I failed! Every person he killed is a weight on me. They wouldn't have died if I'd been better." Tears began slowly falling. "I don't know why Shou put me in charge."
"Because, he sees who you really are. You don't. Not everything is your fault. Someone else could have stopped him, not everything in life is on you."
"I'm a mess. Why are you even listening to me?"
"Because I love you."
"Anyone ever told you you're an idiot?"
She hung her head, "Yea, actually. But that doesn't matter. Loving you is one of the few things I've ever done right."
He winced at her reaction. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I think you're way smarter than I am. I should be calling you Commander. And I think you've done a lot right, though I don't think loving me is one of them."
"If you think I'm smarter, shouldn't you listen to me when I tell you you're worth it?" She looked up with a small smile.
He chuckled wryly. "Still think you're biased. But you have a point, smartass."
She took another drink before sighing, "Not sure I'll be able to stand up."
"Then don't." He stood and picked her up, then headed for her room.
"Will you stay with me?" She asked softly.
"Until my dying day, sweetheart."
When they were in bed, she cuddled up against him and laid her head on his chest. Her eyes were closed and she was starting to fall asleep but she whispered, "I want to spend forever with you."
He silently nodded, wrapping his arm and tail around her. He listened to her breathing for a long time, his mind turning over an idea. Finally he slept.