Disclaimer: Still not mine!

Author's note: This chapter is more of an explanation chapter than anything else. More action in the next chapter! Thanks for the reviews! They make my day!

Love is in the air
Explanations

It was a couple of days later and Hunter hadn't seen Ben anymore. Perhaps he had been seeing ghosts on the beach or perhaps it had just been someone who looked a lot like Ben. Either way, his life was returning to normal and he was able to relax again. Over the past few days, he'd been incredibly tense which the other rangers picked up on fairly easily. He hadn't told them anything and he'd ignored the looks of disapproval from his brother. Because Ben had taken up a lot of his thinking the past couple of days, he hadn't been spending as much time with Dustin as he would have liked to. He did have the feeling he might have hurt Dustin a little bit. He hadn't exactly been actively participating in any of the conversations or their kissing. He decided it was time for some damage control.

"Hey, Dustin, Kel said it was okay if we took our lunch break now. Want to go grab a bite to eat together?"

Dustin eyed him suspiciously. "Are you done dealing with whatever the hell it was you were dealing with?"

"Yes."

Dustin's face lit up. "In that case, I'd love to go for lunch together. Would it be a waste of time if I asked you about it?"

"Most likely," Hunter with a small smile as they walked out of the store.

Dustin nodded and abruptly changed the subject. He'd been really worried about Hunter the past couple of days. Hunter hadn't said anything and when he'd asked Blake, he'd told him to ask Hunter. Blake obviously knew what was going on but had refused to tell Dustin which had frustrated him slightly. He understood though. Blake had an obligation to his brother. It did also hurt a bit because it proved Hunter didn't completely trust him yet, even though they had been friends for a quite a while and that they had been exploring a new path.

They were half way through lunch when Hunter felt as if they were being watched. His relaxed mood evaporated at once, leaving a feeling of growing unease in its wake. He was pretty sure he wasn't imagining things. Perhaps Ben had been purposely laying low the last couple of days. He could've been spying on him. Ben was a Thunder Ninja, a graduated one. He'd been top of his class, best Ninja anyone had seen in a long time. That had at first attracted Hunter to the other man but later it had scared him.

"Earth to Hunter. Dude, what's up?" Dustin asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

"I just remembered I got something to do." He quickly stood up and tossed enough money on the table to cover both their lunches. "I'll see you at the store, okay?" With that he was off.

Dustin called after Hunter but it was no use. He let out a frustrated sigh. What the hell was going on? He finished his drink and after the waiter picked up the money, left and headed back to Storm Chargers. He needed to talk to Blake.

Hunter found an abandoned alley and waited, glancing around nervously. Either he was imagining things and it was nothing or Ben had been spying on him in which case he'd be here any second.

He could hear someone streaking before Ben appeared. Hunter crossed his arms, tried not to look scared but he couldn't stop his heart from beating wildly and sweat from breaking out. Last thing he wanted was to be alone with Ben but it was the only way he could find out why he was here.

"Hunter, it's been too long!" Ben said, taking a cautious step forward. Hunter took one backwards.

"Not long enough obviously. What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"Tracking a Ninja is easy enough. I was always best at that, wasn't I? As for why I'm here, I wanted to see you. I've changed, okay? I'm here to prove that I have changed."

Hunter couldn't help but snort. "Right. And I'm supposed to believe that? You said you'd never hit me again after the first time you hit me! A couple of weeks later, you beat me half to death!" He exclaimed. Memories unwillingly surfaced. He remember the first time Ben had hit him. They'd been together for about a month. They'd gotten into a stupid argument and suddenly Ben had lashed out. It had shocked Hunter into silence. Ben had gotten a regretful look on his face, had promised him it would never happen again but it kept happening. Hunter had been foolish enough to believe it would end one day. It had nearly ended one day, he'd nearly been dead. That was a little before Ben graduated the Thunder Ninja Academy and left. Hunter hadn't seen him since until now but he'd been dealing with it for a long time and he still wasn't over it if he was honest with himself. There were still scars, both physical ones and emotional ones.

"I know! I've learned to control myself. Just give me a chance to prove it." Ben pleaded.

"I've given you enough chances, Ben. Now get lost, I don't want you in my life." Hunter said determinedly. He walked past Ben almost afraid that Ben would stop him but he didn't. Hunter checked his watch. He still had some time before he needed to start working. He needed to clear his head.

Dustin didn't waste any time in asking Blake. "What's going on with Hunter?"

"Dustin-"

"We were out having lunch, next thing I know he gets this strange look on his face, he looks around and storms off."

Blake's expression changed. "Stormed off? Just like that? Did you see where he was going? Did someone follow him?"

"No, not that I saw. Blake, what's going on?" Dustin asked, worry clear in his voice.

"I need to talk to you guys at Ninja Ops later. Warn the others, 7 pm. Don't tell Hunter about it! Right now, I've got to find him." Blake said quickly before he was off.

Dustin frowned but let the other rangers now.

"Ah, Dustin, you're back already. Where's Blake?" Kelly asked, coming to stand next to him.

"Looking for Hunter. Something's going on here, Kel but I don't know what."

The first place Blake checked was their apartment. He hadn't exactly expected to find Hunter there but he was. Hunter started speaking as soon as he noticed him. "He says he's changed. He says he wants another chance."

"You talked to him? Hunter, what were you thinking? That guy is dangerous!" Blake exclaimed.

"I know! But he was spying on Dustin and me. I figured I might as well talk to him, tell him to get lost."

"As if that's going to work! Hunter, this is crazy! You have to tell the others." Blake said.

"If he really has changed, he'll get lost."

"No, if he really has changed, he'll do his best to prove it. You know he won't leave! You know he hasn't changed!" Blake almost yelled. Why was his brother being so stubborn on this? Why couldn't he just tell their friends? They'd help. Hunter repeated once more he didn't want to let the others in on this yet. Blake nodded. He'd have to tell them himself. He wasn't too keen on leaving Hunter alone that night but their friends needed to know the story. Since Hunter wasn't sharing, it was up to Blake to tell. Hunter would be furious with him but he needed the others to keep an eye open for Ben as well, for Hunter's safety and their own. Blake had seen what Ben was capable of and he didn't want any of them getting hurt.

They returned to work shortly after. The rest of the day crept by. Blake made an excuse, warned Hunter to stay inside and told him to reach him on his morphers when Ben showed up and then went to Ninja Ops. The others were waiting.

"Blake, what's going on?" Shane asked.

"You better sit down. This will be a long story. I need you guys to keep an open mind okay?"

They nodded.

"Someone from Hunter's past has returned. His ex-boyfriend." Blake expected gasps and shocked expressions. He wasn't wrong. They nodded for him to continue.

"He's also a Thunder Ninja. That's how they met. Ben is two years older, he was in his final year. Ben was … is a great fighter, unlike anything anyone had seen before. He and Hunter fell in love." He decided to skip the part where he'd been shocked and had a fight with Hunter about it. "They were happy together, at least I thought. After about a month, Hunter came home with a black eye, said he and Ben had been sparing. He started coming home with injuries more often, it was always from sparing. I believed him. Why wouldn't I? Why couldn't Hunter be training with the best Ninja there was? But over time, Hunter started to change. You might find it hard to believe but he used to be pretty carefree, pretty open about everything. After a while, he changed. Became more quiet, didn't talk to me a lot. He was just brooding a lot. I couldn't get him to talk to me. I started suspecting something was wrong."

From the expression of horror and anger on their faces, Blake could tell they knew where his story was headed.

"Then one day, I came in the room we shared and found him crying. I hadn't supposed to be there, I had lessons but I'd forgotten something. Good thing I did. Of course I wanted to know what was going on and he told me. His defenses finally crumbled. He told me the injuries had not been from sparing and that had Ben had basically been beating him. I told him to break it off but Hunter refused." Blake sighed as it all came back. Him begging and pleading with Hunter to break up with Ben. Hunter telling him that he loved Ben and that Ben loved him. That Ben was going to change.

"I confronted Ben about it. Turned out to be a very stupid move. When Hunter found about it, he yelled and screamed at me. He took his stuff and crashed at Ben's room." Blake shook his head, a guilty expression appearing on his face.

"Hunter didn't talk to me for days. I could see he was in pain, not necessarily physical pain but he still didn't end things. Later he told me Ben had threatened him. If he broke it off, Ben would come after me. Hunter couldn't leave. He hated Ben but at he same time, he still loved him. Then one day, two weeks after I'd last spoken to Hunter, I find him outside my room." Blake swallowed and had to take a few deep breaths before he could continue.

"He was barely breathing, he was covered in bruises. He was still conscious. I brought him to the sick bay of the academy. He told me not to tell Ben had done that to him because if someone found out, he'd get even. I feared for Hunter's life and to be honest, my own too so I just said I'd found him like that. Hunter said he didn't remember what had happened. Ben graduated and he left. Hunter was really broken up about it. Even after everything he still loved him, deeply. It took him really long to get over it. We never talked about it either. When I tired to, he shut down so I tried to forget about it. Since Ben, he's been this completely different person, he hardly trusts people and I can't blame him."

The rangers sat in a stunned silence, trying to process what they had just heard.

"Why didn't Hunter fight back? Why did he let him?" Shane asked.

"Ben wasn't just any guy. If Hunter fought back, his injuries would have been ten times worse."

"This Ben guy, he was at the beach, wasn't he? Hunter saw him there." Dustin exclaimed, remembering how Hunter had gone pale. "He was there this afternoon when we had lunch."

Blake nodded. "Hunter confronted him. Ben told him he'd changed and that he wanted a second chance. Hunter told him to get lost but I know Ben. He isn't going anywhere."

Dustin was pretty much boiling inside. If he ever came face-to-face with Ben, he'd beat the crap of him. Ben might be the best Thunder Ninja there was but he had a couple of tricks up his sleeve and he was a ranger.

"Do you know where to find this guy?" Shane asked, getting to his feet. Blake had never before seen such an expression of fury on the red ranger's face and he was almost glad that he had no idea where Ben was.

"I don't know but we're going to have to keep our eyes open for this guy." He gave them a quick description of what Ben looked like and said he'd try to find a picture. A description wasn't that much to go on. "And we're going to have to keep an eye on Hunter."

The rangers nodded. "We will." Tori promised, "He's not going to hurt Hunter again, he'll have to go through us first."

Blake nodded and managed a smile. "I better get back. Remember, not a word to Hunter about this. He'll kill me for telling you this but you had to know."

The rangers said their goodbyes and Blake headed home. He was relieved to find Hunter just watching tv.

"Did you get done what you had to do?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah." Blake said, forcing a smile. Luckily for him, Hunter didn't question him. He sat down next to his brother, feeling more than a little guilty for telling their friends even though Hunter didn't want to. He felt like it was the right decision though. They needed to keep an eye on Hunter and Ben. Blake wasn't about to let Hunter deal with this on his own, not again.

Author's note: Let's hope Hunter doesn't find out about Blake telling the others. I get the feeling it just might be nasty if he does!