A/N: Thank you so much for all of your reviews! I know I've been away for awhile but hopefully these chapters make up for it... They're not very long(at all) but it's something, right? x)

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I don't own these things. All copyrighted characters/things belong to their rightful owners.

When I finally slipped into bed, it was with a smile on my face.

My sleeping schedule was going to be messed up, but I had talked to Scorpion for hours. And I learned quite a bit about him.

And even more surprising was that he was the one that had initiated it. Once I'd realized he was in a sharing mood, I jumped at the opportunity.

I learned that his favorite food was beef sukiyaki, and he admitted that one of his favorite hobbies was cooking. He told me his favorite colour was green, much to my surprise. And he shared things with me about his family and clan. He was trusting me.

The man was infuriating at times, but I found myself liking him more and more.

I only regretted that I couldn't share more with him. The whole conversation had felt very one-sided. It was kind of depressing how little I knew about myself.

Within the Lin Kuei I had certain privileges and luxuries, but only to a controlled extent. The Grandmaster still decided what music we were permitted to listen to and what foods and other outside things we were allowed to have. Even though my room had been expensively furnished—it was very spartan and impersonal. I really only interacted with other cultures when I went on missions.

When Scorpion asked me what my favorite colour was, I had been a bit stumped. In the end, I decided I liked blue the best. And not just because of my uniform or the Lin Kuei, but it was a nice calming colour. Who didn't like blue?

And I grew more relaxed around him as we talked. I was sick of blushing around the man.

Hanzo... As far as I knew, I was the only one he trusted to give his true name to. Perhaps I would use it when no one else was around.

"You've never heard of The Beatles?!"

Scorpion gaped at me as I shook my head.

After I woke up, I rejoined Scorpion in the living room and we began to peruse Johnny's CD and album collection while we waited for the actor to emerge from his room.

"I might have heard of them," I told him. "But maybe only in passing. I wouldn't know them by name."

"Well, they're pretty much legends, but not really my musical style. Ever heard of Metallica?"

"No."

"You will." Scorpion began to flip through the CD's on the shelf and started to pull some out. "I've always been a metalhead. It's not for everyone, but there's nothing like some Slayer to get the blood flowing."

"All right." I'd have to take his word for it.

Johnny Cage finally entered the living room, fully dressed, sunglasses and all. "What're you guys up to? Hey! Those are in alphabetical order—watch it!"

"We're going to find out what Sub-Zero's musical preference is," Scorpion replied.

The actor made his way to the front door. "Cool. I've got more stuff on my ipod over there if you wanna check it out. Anyway, listen guys, I'm gonna be gone for a few hours. I have to get a new cell phone and other things. I might stop by Chuck's place real quick… He still wants me to make some kind of statement to the media."

Scorpion stopped him as he stepped out of the apartment. "Bring back some food! Your fridge is empty."

"Okay!" Johnny said with a happy grin. Then as he was closing the door: "Don't break my shit!"

I watched patiently as Scorpion looked through CD after CD. According to him, the only thing going for Johnny Cage was his musical taste.

I wondered if there had been many chances to listen to 'metal' in the Shirai Ryu villages. And I asked him as much.

"No," Scorpion chuckled. "The songs we had in the villages were played by our own instruments, and sung by our own singers."

"Then how do you know so much about Western music?"

He had his back to me as he read the tracklist of another CD. "I didn't always live in the village."

That surprised me.

"You weren't raised within the Shirai Ryu?" I asked.

"No."

"Then wher—"

"I grew up in the city with my father." He cut me off abruptly, still without looking at me.

I hadn't known that. Scorpion had never mentioned his father when we talked about his family. I hated to pry, but I was extremely curious about this man's past. Why had he chosen a life in the mountains, over a life in the city? Where was his father?

Several questions were buzzing around in my head, and I was glad that we were alone. Otherwise he might not have shared even this much.

"Your father raised you?" I asked softly.

"Yes. My mother died at childbirth."

I nodded solemnly even though he couldn't see it. "And, how did you come to be a member of the Shirai Ryu?"

Scorpion either didn't hear me—which was unlikely—or was ignoring the question.

I tried again. "Scorpion? Where is your father now?" Did he die with the rest of your clan?

He turned to me slowly and handed me a CD, his eyes not meeting my gaze. "You'll like them."

I didn't give a damn about whatever band this was. I wanted him to answer me. But it didn't seem as though that was going to happen, so I dropped it.

Suddenly, Scorpion began to laugh out loud with that deep voice of his as he stared at a CD in his hand.

I stepped beside him trying to see the cover. "What? What?"

"We can never let Cage live this down."

It was later in the night when Johnny returned, carrying several bags on his arms.

"Honeys, I'm home!" he said upon entering the apartment.

Scorpion chose that moment to fling the offensive CD—case and all—right at the actor. Johnny froze as it hit him smack in his chest, letting the item fall to the floor.

He stared blankly at the older man. "In my own home…"

Scorpion let out a bark of laughter from his position on the couch. I was sitting on the floor with my legs crossed. We had been discussing the similarities between Chinese and Japanese cultures before Johnny came back.

I smiled at Johnny. "He says you have to explain yourself."

"Oh, really?" Johnny deposited the bags to the floor and picked up the CD. "Let's see here… OH MY GOD."

Scorpion laughed again.

Johnny's face turned a bright red. "The Spice Girls were very popular in the 90's, okay?!"

My smile grew as I tried to hold in my own laughter. I hadn't heard of The Spice Girls before, and I refused to now, but I could bet that their music was just as ridiculous as the outfits the women were wearing on the cover.

"It's not even mine," Johnny frowned. "An old girlfriend left that here."

"Destroy it," Scorpion advised.

"I'll kill it with fire," the actor agreed.

I jumped up and quickly snatched the CD away from Johnny. "I'll throw it away." The last thing we needed was an explosion of some kind around here. Honestly, these two were like children sometimes.

Johnny Cage grumbled as he picked up his bags and brought them over to the kitchen table. "Come get some eats!"

We all sat down around the table as our host unpacked the 'Chinese Takeout' he bought.

My stomach growled impatiently as he opened all the little white boxes of food. "What are those other bags filled with?" I asked.

"I bought a cell phone, and a new laptop. Other crap. I didn't have enough time to go grocery shopping." Johnny sat down. "Oh, and I got the cable turned back on if you guys want to watch TV or something."

"Thank you," I told him. I wondered how much money he really had. And if I should feel guilty that Scorpion and I weren't contributing anything.

Scorpion was busy breaking apart a pair of wooden chopsticks and rubbing them together to smooth out the rough edges. I was pleasantly surprised when he handed them to me.

Johnny told him that he preferred a fork over chopsticks as Scorpion began the process on another pair.

"Fine," Scorpion snorted. "Then these ones are for me."

We dug in. And I had been so excited to start eating that I almost inhaled a piece of mandarin chicken. Some very bland and dry, mandarin chicken.

I took samples from every little box and was disappointed each time. Some of the food items I never even heard of.

"This isn't Chinese food!" I announced too loudly. I had meant that thought to remain in my head.

Johnny laughed. "It's American-Chinese food!"

The food was too sweet, too dry, not spicy enough, and tasted like medicine. I could tell that some of the vegetables had been frozen, too.

So disappointed.

Scorpion reached over and put a hand on my shoulder, as if reading my mind. "It's the American way. You get used to it."

I tried my best not to pout as I reluctantly continued to eat everything on my plate.

"How'd the music hunting go?" asked Johnny. "I have a pretty big collection."

"We found out he likes Jimi Hendrix," Scorpion answered for me. "And Metallica."

"And Queens of the Stoneage," I added. They were possibly my favorite so far.

Cage scooped up some rice with his fork and looked at me. "So, is this your first time in America?"

"Yes," I admitted quietly.

"What about your parents? Where were they from?" he asked.

Uhh. "I wouldn't know, Johnny."

"It's just because—" he took another bite and swallowed. "—you have blue eyes. So I was wondering."

"You don't really look Chinese, either," Scorpion pointed out.

I looked between the two of them. "So, you're saying because I have blue eyes my parents must be American?"

"More likely just one of them."

I shook my head. "My brother had blue eyes, too."

Cage laughed. "Oh no, siblings that shared the same hereditary gene! That's unheard of!"

"That's not what I meant!" I said, almost choking on my food. "I mean, I always thought we had blue eyes because of our shared…gift." I was told before that my eyes seem to glow a brighter blue when I use my ice powers.

Scorpion let out an irritated sigh, and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. I knew talking about my brother must upset him.

I also decided a long time ago that Scorpion was completely unaware that my brother was still alive—in a sense. He had enough on his hands with Quan Chi on his hit-list. I wasn't about to tell him that I'd seen my brother returned as a wraith.

Thankfully, Johnny changed the subject. "Oh well, something to ask Raiden about. Anyway! I wrote down a statement today at Chuck's to give to the press. Shit's probably going to hit the fan tomorrow. He's already anticipating me having to make multiple appearances at talk shows."

He sounded annoyed, but looked eager for it.

"That should help me get back into the Hollywood game," he added.

"What are you going to tell them?" I asked, worried. I didn't want anyone to think the actor was crazy. Crazier than he already was.

"I'm not going to tell them the whole truth… That'd be too hard to explain. Even though, I do think I deserve SOME recognition… But hey…whatever…"

Scorpion snorted. "Write a book."

Johnny's head snapped up, he looked genuinely interested. "Well, I'm no writer, but… That's not a bad idea, man."

"I was joking."

"No, no, listen…" Johnny stood up, moving his hands excitedly. "You just gave me an idea for a movie script!"

Great.

The actor left his dirty dishes as he began to search through the many bags for his laptop. "I gotta call Chuck! He's gonna love this. I gotta start writing right away while everything that happened to us is still fresh in my mind!"

And with that, Johnny grabbed his laptop and made a beeline for his bedroom, slamming his door with all his creative energy.

I turned and glared at Scorpion.

"What?" he asked gruffly. "It'll keep him busy."

"Well, find a way to drag him out of there."

"Why?"

"Because I was going to ask him about new clothes. We're still wearing his pajamas!"

A/N: I read everyone's reviews! I just can't reply to them all. Thank you Gancena. And thanks everyone. I'm baaack~