Disclaimer: It may come as a shock but I don't own them.

Author's note: Sorry for the wait, guys. My summer job started again and it's been exhausting so when I got on the computer, my brain was fried and I just couldn't come up with something descent. Heck, I'm not pleased with half of this chapter but it's the best I'll come up with. Thanks for the reviews! I love reading them and your thoughts! Enjoy the chapter!

Love is in the air
Finding out

Hunter was getting suspicious. For the past two days, he hadn't been alone once. There was always someone with him. He'd even caught Shane following him although the red ranger denied that he was doing it. Shane had said he was being paranoid and Hunter probably would've believed him if it wasn't so obvious that they didn't leave him out of their sight unless he was in the bathroom. He was pretty curious to find out what was going on and he realized his best shot would be Dustin. If he caught the earth ninja by surprise, he'd probably say what was going on before he knew he was saying it. Dustin's mouth and brain tended to not cooperate at times. That would work to his advantage. On top of him worrying about what was going on, he also feared another Lothor attack. The evil space ninja had been rather quiet lately and that was more than a little worrying. It meant that he was up to something, that or he'd lost his PAM again which with Cam's cousins on board wouldn't be too surprising.

"Blake, I'm going for lunch with Dustin. Catch you later." Hunter said before he left the apartment where he found Dustin waiting outside. He'd insisted they meet here rather than at the place where they wanted to eat and had given a pretty weird explanation for it too. That had been a pretty damn good clue for his theory that there was something they were not telling him.

"Hey," Dustin greeted with a bright smile.

"Hi." Hunter replied. They still hadn't told their friends about them which was becoming increasingly harder. They couldn't show any affection in public but with Ben around Hunter wasn't sure he wanted to. He had the sinking feeling Ben might know about them though. He would just have to make sure Ben wouldn't get to Dustin.

The boys walked in silence for a bit. Hunter didn't miss Dustin throwing casual glances around him, almost as if he was looking for something or someone.

"How's the work on your bike going?"

"Hm? Oh good, yeah, really good. I'm going to test it tomorrow. Want to join me?"

"Yeah, sure, that sounds good. Hey, Dustin, if something was going on, you would tell me right?"

Dustin frowned and laughed a little nervously. "Of course, dude."

"Good, then now would be a good time to tell me what is going on." Hunter said stopping Dustin with a hand on his arm. Dustin avoided looking at him and instead stared at a point over his shoulder, obviously thinking about what to say which only further proved that something was in fact going on.

"Dustin! You might as well say it, you know? You guys haven't left me out of your sight for even a minute! I caught Shane following me! Whatever is going on, you're all doing a crappy job at attempting to hide it!" Hunter said crossing his arms and glaring.

"Um, well … We're just worried, that's at all." Dustin replied with a small smile.

Hunter decided to play it a little differently. It was sneaky but it just might work. "I can't believe it. We're not even together properly and you're already lying to me. Are you sure you want this to work?" He watched an expression of hurt flash in Dustin's eyes before it turned to guilt.

"Hunter, man, that's not fair! Perhaps there's a good reason. You obviously don't trust me to believe there is one."

Hunter had underestimated Dustin's ability to deal with emotional blackmail and he had to sadly admit Dustin had him with that one but that in no way meant he was letting it go.

"Maybe but I still want to know."

"Well, that's too bad then. Now, do you want lunch or not?"

Hunter just nodded. They started walking again. He hadn't expected Dustin to put up such a fight about this. Why couldn't he just tell him? He'd already pretty much admitted something was going on, that they were watching him. Why was the 'why' such a big secret? Why couldn't he know about it? Perhaps he should talk to Blake. Then again, emotional blackmail was more likely to work on Shane than on his brother. He supposed he just had to wait and see what happened.

Lunch passed quickly. Hunter had decided to drop the topic and Dustin was all too glad for that. Hunter had the right to know that they knew about Ben but he'd freak out if he knew they knew. They could miss Hunter going ballistic and fight with Blake. He'd probably shut all of them out too and they could definitely miss that. Honestly, he also feared what would happen to their relationship. Hunter wouldn't like him keeping such a thing like this from him. He tried not to think about it but he made a mental note to let everyone know that Hunter knew something was up. They would have to try to keep the watching Hunter like a hawk at a low.

An opportunity to tell the others came soon enough when Cam called them over to Ninja Ops for training. Much to his joy, he was paired up with Shane.

"Hunter knows we're watching him." Dustin said as he ducked and threw a punch at Shane which the red ranger blocked easily.

"Probably, we haven't exactly been subtle." Shane replied, launching an attack that drove Dustin back.

The earth ninja smiled. "You haven't exactly been subtle." He jumped up just in time to miss Shane's leg sweet. "Are you a ninja or what?"

"Oh, shut up!" Shane muttered. They shut up after that and focused on their training, throwing kicks and punches at each other. By the end of it the rangers were tired but not overly so. They couldn't exactly get exhausted because there was always the risk of a monster attacking. They had to be ready.

After training, they sat together in the main room, meditating. Sensei had insisted they meditate once a week, saying it would be good for them. The rangers had reluctantly agreed to the whole thing. It was that or a ten mile run. They had chosen meditating.

Sensei noticed that the session didn't seem to go so well. Unlike other times, the rangers kept fidgeting and sighing, a clear sign that clearing theirs heads wasn't working. Cam had filled him in on what Blake had told him. It was obvious the rangers were very much plagued by the entire thing. They worried for their teammate and friend. Sensei had to admit that it was the first time that he had seen the team so united. The rangers were keen on keeping Hunter safe, they had a common goal and just that bond of that goal hung clearly in the air. He felt it. He didn't approve that Hunter didn't know though. He understood the rangers' motivation for keeping it quiet but they should know by now that the chances of Hunter finding out were about as big the rangers defeating the next monster that came their way. It was only a matter of time.

The rangers stood relieved when Sensei announced the session was over. There was little point in attempting to anyway. It wasn't working.

Dustin struck up a conversation with Hunter so that Shane could let the others know that Hunter knew something was up.

Hunter heaved a deep sigh which caused Dustin to stop talking mid-sentence. They really did underestimate him. While the conversation with Dustin was fascinating, it was hard not to notice the lack of activity from the other rangers. They were whispering. He noticed that even more than he would've noticed them talking at a normal level. He seriously started to doubt their ability to be good ninjas. Ninjas had to be subtle, had to go unnoticed. Something the rangers didn't seem to very good at. If anything, they were drawing more attention to themselves.

"Right, so how about you tell me what's going on? It saves you all the trouble of having to go behind my back and whisper to each other. Hey, I might even be able to help." Hunter crossed his arms. He had an expression of determination on his face which made the rangers swallow.

"Why would you-"

"Shane, I swear to god, if you finish that sentence, I'm going to kick your ass." Hunter said, rolling his eyes.

Blake knew the game was over. He might as well let his brother know he'd told them. Hunter was determined to find out and wouldn't stop before he did. He should've known his brother would know that something was up. Hunter had always been the most perceptive one of the rangers, perhaps because he was the more quiet type. He was much more tuned to the environment.

"Guys, could you give us a few minutes?" Blake asked.

"Are you sure?" Tori asked. Blake nodded. He didn't want to drag them down along with him. Damage control was the best option.

Blake waited until the rangers had left the room before walking over to his brother. "I'll be honest with you but there's a good reason why we didn't tell you what was going in the first place. Mainly because that would seriously ruin things between us." Blake said gesturing between them.

"Blake, what are you talking about? We're brothers!"

"Good, hold on to that thought... I told them about Ben and about everything that happened." Blake said calmly, figuring there was no point in putting it off any longer.

Hunter's mouth dropped open. Several expressions crossed his face but the one that remained was fury. "Blake! How could you do that? I asked you not to!"

"I know but they had every right to know. We were just trying to watch out for you."

"So that's what it was? You're all trying to look out for me? What exactly do you think I will do, Blake? Run back to Ben?"

"No, I know you wouldn't do that! I just feared Ben might do something to you! Or to one of us. He's dangerous. I was trying to protect all of us." Blake reasoned, attempting to stay calm. Him shouting too wouldn't help his case any.

Hunter shook his head. "You think I'd put the others in danger on purpose?"

"That's not what I said!" Blake shot back. His brother was starting to get unreasonable, a clear sign that he was freaking out and Hunter freaking out was never a good thing. Last thing he needed was his brother storming off to God knows where and Ben chasing him.

"It sounded like it!"

"Hunter, I'm really sorry I told them and I'm really sorry I kept this from you but could you please just try to see that I was doing what I thought was the right thing?"

"No! You should've done the right thing by me and not tell them! You should've let me handle it my way. You should've let me tell them when I was ready for it, not when you felt like you had to! You betrayed my trust, Blake. You promised you wouldn't say anything to them about it and you did."

Hunter sounded hurt now and it hurt Blake but no matter what Hunter said, he still believed he had done the right thing. Ben could not be trusted.

"I know. And all I can tell you is that I'm sorry but I did the right thing."

"If you say that one more time, I swear I'm going to hit you." Hunter shook his head and uncrossed his arms to clench and unclench his fists by his side. He was obviously going for angry again.

"Fine, if it'll make you feel better, take your best shot." Blake replied, spreading his arms in a sign of surrender. If Hunter was angry enough, he probably would but Blake wasn't worried. Hunter wouldn't hit him. To his surprise, Hunter smiled. It was a kind of crazy smile though, one that made goosebumps break out across his skin.

"You're not getting off that easy, Blake. Please tell the others to mind their own business in the future, tell them I don't need them or you! I don't need any of you to keep me safe. I can take care of myself." And with that, he streaked out.

The others were standing outside Ninja Ops, waiting worriedly. They didn't miss the crimson streak going by. Dustin chased after him at once, needing to talk to Hunter. The others went down to Blake to make sure he was okay.

Dustin had a hard time keeping up with Hunter but he managed to keep up. They ended up on the beach where they'd had their first date.

"Dustin, get out of here." Hunter spoke sounding so calm that it actually scared Dustin.

"Not going to do that, dude. Since you streaked out, I figure you're talk with Blake didn't go to well. Look, I don't know what you're thinking or feeling right now but talk to me, please." Dustin said, standing as close to Hunter as he dared and trying not to break eye contact even though Hunter was sending him the iciest glare he had ever seen. There was something else in his eyes though, betrayal. Dustin hated seeing that.

"How could you not tell me what Blake said? Did you guys seriously think I wouldn't find out about this? I mean, honestly, you weren't subtle! None of you!"

"Guess not but we're trying to protect you from this guy! He hurt you and I hate him for it. I'll kill him if I ever run into him!" Dustin spoke, turning his head to glare at the sea.

"God! Don't be an idiot, Dustin! Did Blake tell you he was a highly trained ninja? He's dangerous!" Hunter yelled. There wasn't real anger in his voice though, it was worry and desperation. He ran a hand over his face. This was exactly what he didn't want, the others thinking they needed to take revenge or even wanting to take revenge. He did not want them to come face-to-face with Ben. Not now, not ever. He was scared of what his friends would do, he was scared of what Ben would do.

"I bet I can kick his ass."

"Don't even think about it! Forget about this and let me handle it! I am not going to stand by while you get yourself hurt or hurt him!"

"You're worried about him?"

"No, I'm worried about you, all of you! What do you expect to happen when you fight it out with Ben? Either he kicks your ass and trust me when I say you don't want that or you'll kick his in which case he'll be back for a round two. And round two will get nasty. Damn it, Dustin. This is why I didn't want anyone to know. You can't win! He'll find ways of hurting you and I'm not going to stand by and watch it happen."

"Just like we're not going to stand by and watch him hurt you again!" Dustin yelled back. "I'm glad Blake told us and I'm not backing off, none of us are so deal with it!"

"I'm touched that you guys want to do that but I don't need your protection." Hunter tried.

"Perhaps you don't, man but I am not going to just watch how he hurts you again," Dustin said softly. He reached out carefully and placed his hand against the side of Hunter's face. He was relieved when his boyfriend didn't pull away and leaned into the touch.

Hunter could feel his defenses crumble under Dustin's soft touch. "I'm scared, Dustin. Scared of what he might to do me, or you. If he knows about us …" Hunter shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Hey," Dustin spoke softly, "Nothing's going to happen. We'll have each other's backs. All of us. We'll all be careful."

Hunter opened his eyes again and Dustin smiled.

"It'll be okay, dude but you've got to let us in. You don't have to go through this alone. We're here for you."

"I know you are … I guess I was also scared of what you would think of me after knowing that, after knowing what I let him do to me."

"We don't think any less of you, Hunter. You're still the same guy." Dustin moved closer and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. Hunter's arms moved around him at once, their bodies just melted together.

"Given the circumstances, I also think it might be better if we tell the others about us," Dustin said.

Hunter pulled away to look at the earth ninja. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah, I am. Let's go back." Dustin said, pulling back completely. Hunter nodded his agreement and followed Dustin back.

Ben watched the scene from a distance away. It was obvious Hunter cared very much about the other boy, was probably in love with him. But he remember how Hunter had loved him. He'd get that back, no matter what. Hunter would love him again, no matter the cost. It would only be a matter of time.

Author's note: I do hope you liked it! I'll try to update as soon as possible. I'm loving this story and I've got lots more of drama that's just waiting to happen! Stay tuned!