#but who cares they'll get a nice lil place soon

[sweetheartmotives]

I saw your request to the void for story requests! Here I am to oblige, if you'd so please.

Would you be down to write about a Yandere!Prince, who falls in love with a low tier noble. Just the idea of going to a party to for our coming of age, expecting nothing given how low your family is in status, only for the crown prince to fall in love at first sight!

Or something like that xD. Hope you are taking care!

-🌟

𓆩:*¨༺✧♛ Yandere prince ♛ ✧༻¨*:𓆪

Desc and possible Cw: Yandere themes, reader is tired of everything and everyone, reader is a lil hater, the prince is an egotistical jerk [what did we expect], and probably some wrong info about the medieval times. [Please forgive me if anything is wrong, I'm a bit misinformed.]

Let me know if I missed any!

As a low-tier noble, you never expected to be invited to a royal party, let alone the coming-of-age celebration hosted by the crown prince himself. Your mother had insisted on dressing you in some of your grandparents' old clothes, which may not be as elegant as what the other guests will be wearing, but they'll do. Nervous knots twist in your stomach as you prepare to attend the kingdom's most exclusive event. Would the prince even notice you? Let's be serious: even though your mother had you bathe three times in a row, sewed your grandparent's old clothing to make it look presentable, and did your hair in a nice way, you still wouldn't be noticed. After finishing getting ready, your mother added some finishing touches and sent you off to the party.

As you walk toward the kingdom, the cold winter air blows past you, causing you to shiver and pout. This is total bullshit. Why did the prince decide to hold his coming-of-age party in the winter? This is bullshit! BULLSHITTT!!!! As you internally cuss out the prince and his parents, you enter through the kingdom's gates and into the castle, where beautiful women and handsome men make their way to the ballroom to meet the prince. You scoff quietly and follow behind the crowd, heading toward the ballroom.

As soon as you and the crowd enter, the sparkling chandelier springs to life and lights the entire room with a powerful glow that nearly blinds you. And now that I mention blinding, the light shining off the gold vases and wall decor is so darn bright it's burning your eyes! Damn this place! You squint and focus your eyes on the dramatic prince on his father's throne, cross-legged. What a prick! First, he hosts this stupid party in the middle of winter, aka the time when the weather is the coldest it's ever been, then he turns on that bright ass chandelier that nearly blinded you all, and now he has the audacity to act like he's above all of you? I mean, he is royalty, so technically, yeah, he is, but still! What a jackass! You scowl and stand behind the beautiful women in big, puffy dresses. They'll cover you nicely with those giant dresses; btw, they do look super nice, so you might compliment them later.

The prince clears his throat and stands up, placing a hand on his chest while the other sneaks its way behind his back. “I welcome you all to my ceremony; today we are celebrating me, of course, and since I'm the most important individual here, it's quite obvious I'm the one who is getting celebrated.” The prince said it very smugly as he smirked and waved his hand around as he spoke. “I invited some men here since I don't want any of you ladies to go home tonight feeling disappointed, so have fun mingling about! Now, we will begin dancing in 3, 2, and 1.” The prince steps down from the throne and snaps for a butler to turn on the music. Just as soon as he [the prince] snaps, a butler turns on music. The crowd claps and begins to spread around the ballroom. Some women try to ask politely for a dance with the prince, and some men ask a few women around to dance. This is truly ridiculous. To you, of course.

You sigh and make your way through the crowded room, aiming for a nearby balcony to hide away until the party is over. Everyone knows that the prince is an egotistical jerk, but no one has ever said anything because of the fear of getting executed or something like that. You don't know, and you don't care; you just want to leave. I mean, you could leave, but you'd be reprimanded by your mother for leaving the prince's ‘ceremony’, if you could call it that. It's more of a show-off party for the sake of boosting the prince's ego. It's bad enough that he's a jerk, but he's a jerk with an ego as big as a windmill.

Unknown to you, the prince has already got his eyes set on someone. You!

After a while of leaning on the balcony and staring off into the nearby scenery, someone comes beside you. You feel an arm against yours, and you turn your head to look at the person—it's the prince! You give him a mean, judgy look in hopes he'll find you unappealing and go away. He only smirks in return and opens his mouth to speak. “What are you doing out here? You should be out there celebrating me with the others.” He says smoothly, his tone of smugness never leaving for a second. You roll your eyes and look at him. “I'm out here because I want to be out here," you say plainly, still praying, no, hoping that your attitude will drive him away. The prince chuckles and rests his elbow on the balcony's railing, placing his head in his hand. “Seriously? Why? Don't you like celebrating the one who's your soon to be king?” He replies, smiling smugly as he chuckles even more. You scoff and look away from him, deciding to ignore him.

The prince, after 30 seconds of silence, smiles even more and snaps his fingers in your face. “Hey, you shouldn't ignore your higher-ups. It's impolite.” He smirks and giggles. You give him a confused look as you judgely look him up and down. The prince laughs and throws his head back. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” He says in between laughs, clearly finding your judgmental look funny. “Because you're annoying.” You reply harshly, not holding back your annoyance, even though the person you're talking to is royalty. He laughs even harder and smacks the balcony rail in amusement. “Wow, so mean~ you're even more than looks! I think I love you already.” He smirks and giggles even more. You deadpan. Excuse him? Did he just say he loved you? You blink in surprise for a few seconds before scowling and giving him another judgmental look. He laughs even harder at this and takes a few minutes to catch his breath from all the one-sided laughter. After that, the entire night [the rest of the party] is just you and him, him laughing his ass off while you scowl and keep giving him those amusing judgmental looks.

From the looks of it, I guess he's already decided who his future spouse is.

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Welcome to the end credits! This is where I will give information on my new or previous yans!

The prince is bisexual! He just needed an excuse to invite men so he could take a look at his options in both categories.

Hello 🌟 anon! Thanks for requesting, this was super fun to write, and it was probably the fastest fic I've ever written, haha! I hope you and everyone else are doing well! I hope you enjoyed reading as I enjoyed writing! (^ω^)

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[the-silentium]

Featuring New Friends

Masterlist

Pairing: Crosshair x Reader, Hunter x Reader

Words: 6513 words

Warnings: Swearing, O66 mentions, angst.

A/N: I owed Kayden to have his final chapter done after it slept in my WIPs for 9 months. Now everyone has closure so I can think of a new horror/suspense story.

Also, big shoutout to @clone-rambles​ who let me use her OC Rift Squadron for Kayden’s prank. You can read more about the Rift Squadron here! 

Taglist: I didn’t tag anyone on purpose, since I don’t want to bother anyone with a story that is so old. BUT. This is fully dedicated to @clone-rambles​ and @haloangel391​ cuz you two stayed with me for the long run and I can’t thank you both enough! 

_________________

"Holy guacamole." Kayden breathed in awe at the sight of the raging storm beating the white facilities as the door opened. "This storm is crazy!"

You overlooked the rhyme to shush him as an officer made her way over from a more crowded part of the hangar. It wasn't your first time on Kamino, but the feeling stayed the same; you already wished you could turn back around and go. It wasn't just that you knew this place had been hell for the people you called your family, you had seen first hand the disdain they all received from their fellows and this time, the heavy atmosphere that floated around the place was disturbing to say the least. 

It was understandable, given what the clones had recently endured, that they were down and gloomy, Crosshair had been that way for the biggest part of the trip until you let Wrecker take your place and went with your lover at the back to hush his demons. You had not anticipated that they would look like dead men walking. 

Some of them had their helmets off, showing their dull eyes and haunted gazes, whereas a majority of them kept their helmet on.

"Squad name, trooper." The officer inquired once she was close enough so the engines of the arriving ships wouldn't drown her words. Her gaze was glued to her datapad, its blue screen illuminating the bags shadowing her tired eyes. 

"Commando Squadron Clone Force 99." Hunter answered with a frown. He quickly looked around the busy hangar, taking in the effect of what happened to Crosshair, but in its bigger scale. 

Officer-- you looked at the name tag over her heart-- Vega scrolled through an extensive list on her device, muttered some words under her breath and finally stopped over your squad's name. She quickly checked the box and finally met Hunter's eyes with a sharp nod. 

"Have you, or anyone of your squad, been injured or induced injuries to anyone around you during the mind-controlling episode a day ago?" She asked in a monotonous voice, as though she already knew the answer. She was already going for the red box when Hunter shook his head.

"No. We did not receive any transmission." 

The story you all agreed on was plausible as no Jedi General was assigned to your team and only a select few officers had your commlink number. It also helped that you used the Core to remove every trace of your injuries, all that remained were emotional and mental scars that would take time to heal, both for you and Crosshair. 

Despite your expectations, Crosshair wasn't as stiff as a board at the reminder, his tight fists were the only sign that he was affected. He had hurt you. They all knew. You noticed Crosshair's hands twitch right before he suddenly opened his fists to press his palms against his sides. Closing them felt wrong, he had told you on the ship. You remembered the feeling of being strangled and he too remembered the feeling of your skin under his fingers. 

"Lucky lads. More squads are expected in the following hours. Until everyone is accounted for, please remain in Tipoca City." With that said and the green box checked, she wandered off to another arriving team. 

"I guess we'll be stuck here for a little while." Hunter sighed.

"Ain't that bad news!" Kayden's snickers could be heard from your side, yet he remained invisible. 

"Keep quiet until we are alone." You reminded him, already on edge because of the ambiance. 

"Come on. Let's get to our quarters and relax while we can." A hand fell on your shoulder for a second and Hunter took the lead, his hand falling back at his side. 

Wrecker was undeniably excited to be back on base, Tech seemed unfazed, Echo was lost in some memories and Crosshair kept his helmet on. You chose to walk by his side, not too close so you respected the space he asked you to give him, but close enough so he knew you were still there to help and that you still didn't hold a grudge against him.  

You knew how to make a difference between them. Soulless Crosshair and Real Crosshair weren't the same in any way. It was unfortunate that he had a hard time differencing the two. You simply hoped that between you and his brothers, he would finally see that he wasn’t as bad and detestable as he projected himself to be. This goal, you knew, was achievable with time, patience and love. 

Your feet froze at the last second, avoiding a sharp collision with hard plastoid. You stood in the entrance, taking in the familiar mess and the strong scent that reminded you of your shack back in the dark confines of Alryan. The boys were already walking towards their respective spaces, leaving you and a now visible Kayden to look around the area. 

"Reminds you of something?" You asked Kayden with a jab in the side that went right through his form. It was his first time here after all and he clearly made the same connection as you, the glint of familiarity lightening his eyes giving him away.

"That small shanty of ours." He chuckled. "How could I miss the resemblance?" 

"It was messy?" Tech wondered, surprised that your organized self lived in a disorganized environment. 

"And smelly. All thanks to this guy." You pointed to the brunette who was looking at the carved lines on the wall by the door. "I stopped trying to clean everything up after a while. An hour later, all the junk was back where it was."

"Don't know what you're talking about." He shrugged nonchalantly. "And this place is already bigger than our shack." 

"True." You ventured towards Crosshair's bunk seeing as Hunter was busy looking through his storage and you didn't bother to create a space for yourself like you all did for Echo as you usually shared a bed with one of your boyfriends. You took a seat beside him, both your back leaning on the wall. His head turned slightly to acknowledge you before he went back to cleaning his rifle. Kicking your boots off, you grabbed the fluffy blanket-hoodie you forgot at the foot of his bed during your last trip here to put it on and wrap your arms tightly around your form. 

This damn rainy planet was obviously wet and added to the air conditioning keeping the city at such a low temperature that no bacteria could proliferate, you had no chance to keep yourself warm without an additional layer or a warmth buddy. You moved to the side so you faced Crosshair, your legs folded at your side and your head rested on your shoulder that leaned on the wall. 

Each movement of his hands was performed with utmost precision. Countless hours of practice had led him to master his art and you knew for a fact that he could accomplish his task while looking somewhere else, at your lips for example, or while you tried to distract him with a make-out session. He had a talent to mentally map everything perfectly, it being his very prized rifle, the Marauder during lights-out or your body, and venture their surfaces without any inconvenience despite his best perk being unavailable at the moment. 

Everyone was doing their own thing, Kayden, you noticed, had already disappeared somewhere. You didn't want to think about what it could lead to, let him have his fun while you enjoyed the small break before chaos fell over your head again. After all, Hunter hadn't been opposed to his shenanigans in the condition that no one saw him.

A chuckle unconsciously escaped your lips, thinking of all the possible tricks Kayden could play on the Kaminoans. The Gods knew what this man was able to create in that twisted mind of his and you were certain that this was another reason as to why he found his way back to you. 

The night before that fateful day you met the Batchers, you had thought about whether to bring Kayden with you and play outside like brainless kids, be yourselves again for half a day where no one could see the two of you, and spit insults your way. It would have been a soul-lifting experience. The major problem was Murphy Day in itself. Kayden was not a skilled hunter and the jungle being wild and dangerous in its normal days, it would have been right down suicidal to bring him along. He could have died and you were not ready to survive being the village’s scapegoat alone, as selfish as it may sound. It was still one of your biggest regrets to think that he had to live your worst nightmare, one that he reassured was forgiven and forgotten many, many times. 

Having Kayden with you that day and him meeting the Batch in their vulnerable states would have been a whole new experience. Everything that happened- the outcome wouldn’t have been the same with your best friend there. You wouldn’t have found a new family, wouldn’t have found two of the most important people in your life, wouldn’t have discovered who you were and how to become the best version of yourself. They would have become a story that you and Kayden would reminisce with a laugh during the bad days to cheer yourselves up, just clones who crossed your path, needed help to get out of their unfortunate situation and went on their way because let’s be honest, they would have had enough of Kayden after two minutes in his presence. 

Warm fingers softly lifted your chin and you realized your eyes had closed on their own. You pucker your lips at the intervention, morphing your dreaming expression into a questioning frown. Crosshair had to lift the hood that fell way too low on your head in order to meet your eyes. 

"What are you thinking about?" He paused cleaning his rifle to focus on you and that simple gesture brought a small smile to your lips.

Your brain short-circuited for a second. What were you thinking about indeed? Oh. Right.

"I was thinking that what should have been the worst decision of my life turned out to be the best." You shuffled a bit closer. "And how I found and saved my two handsome loves, and one of them twice, on that same day." You poked his stomach playfully to remind him of his misadventures on Murphy Day. 

He snorted to hide the slight wince that contorted his features, certainly at the memory of the fruit that made a whole mess of his body. "We got even pretty fast." 

You hummed, clearly remembering the worst fall of your life. “That’s true. And then I saved your ass again.” 

His forehead met yours in the softest of contact, the grunt resonating from deep within his throat proved that he remembered the crazy experience of being carried right and left in a kid's cage. “Have I ever told you what I’ve heard from your soul?” He smirked. He knew he never told you. But now you were curious. And mortified. What had he heard?

You pulled back to see his smug self looking down at you. “What did you hear?” You knew it would be embarrassing. That shit-eating grin was only reserved for such occasions. 

He laughed deep from within his chest. “I’m not tellin’.”

You whined. “Crooooooss.”

He returned to his task at hand, ignoring all your whines and pleas to know what he managed to hear back then with the smallest of smirk on his lips. 

At least he didn't push you away like you feared he would. There was no way you could go back to him barely acknowledging your existence with his subtle nods or grunts, not when you had a peek inside this man's heart and saw all of his hidden sides. 

You loved him and if you needed to tie him up to a chair and tell him those three words a thousand times for him to understand then you'd do it in a heartbeat.

_______________________

With a pep in his steps, Kayden wandered the maze of identical corridors with the crest around his neck. He didn't like the atmosphere. It was too sterile, too organized, too perfect. It woke up his instincts to kick something over just so something was misplaced. Perfection. Kayden cringed at the word crossing his mind. It was everything he was told he wasn’t. He always did everything wrong and apparently excelled at it. It came to him naturally and thus, he decided that it was his nature. 

You were the organized one and he was chaotic. Both imperfect beings that completed each other perfectly. 

Speaking of his chaotic personality, Kayden decided to mess with whoever would see him in this less-crowded hallway and pop in-and-out of their physical reality, sometimes walking right through doors or flicking some lights here and there. Those hallways, he noticed, were long and he was so far from the hangar that there was very little activity. He was about to do a ghostly break-and-entering into what he supposed was a barrack if the heavy buzzing of souls on the other side of the door was anything to go by, but a holler kept him from entering as soon as he rendered himself immaterial. 

"Hey! Ghost! Come back!"

At first, Kayden wanted to ignore it. Someone finally noticed him in the hallway, yay! Although it took him too long to do so, therefore Kayden now had something else in mind. Something better with much more reaction than a holler. 

Despite everything, Kayden was a curious one, always had been. He turned to take in the clone who bravely yelled after a ghost and stopped before going through the metal, too surprised by the sight of a very detailed set of armor. It was so much more interesting to look at than the usual standards of the clones; the plain white or small customization using their squad colors was boring after a while. This guy, though. He understood the assignment and Kayden couldn’t wait to see the rest of his brothers. 

In hope of finding some entertainment, Kayden appeared back with a grin. "Wassup?"

The brown-haired clone jumped back slightly, surprised by their proximity. He recuperated in a flash, his surprise replaced by excitement and wonder. The clone looked at him up and down several times, his eyes taking in his Alryan outfit and the crest around his neck. 

"Wait- wh-? You're real? You're not a hallucination from sleep deprivation? Or a mind trick?" He finally asked. He even went as far as pinching the skin at the base of his neck which got a small laugh out of Kayden. 

"I mean.. yeah I'm real. Dead as a doorknob though." He added while passing his hand through his own shoulder to demonstrate. "Can't do more dead than my ass." 

The clone watched in awe as Kayden repeated the motion. "Wh- shit. Oh man this is scary but so cool! So you're really a ghost?"

"Spot on." Kayden beamed with pride. 

The soldier shook his head in amazement. His next words were cut short by the beeping sound of his comms going off. With a huff, the soldier answered the call of his superior calling him back to their designated room. 

"Hey, I gotta join my squad and my brothers have been shits lately. Would you mind scaring the shit outta them? Could do pranks or anything?" He asked with mischievous hope right as he was about to leave. 

Recognizing the look in his eyes, Kayden immediately jumped onto the opportunity. "You're talking to the right ghost! Prank is my middle name and believe me, I got even better now that I'm dead."

"Can't wait to see what you can do!" He laughed. "I'm Slice, by the way." He offered his hand for a shake. 

"Nice to meet you, Slice." He grabbed the outstretched hand and gave it a firm shake. He smirked at the shudder shaking the man. "You can call me Kayden." 

"Likewise, Kayden." Slice smirked and turned around to head for his barracks. "Sooo, you're not a clone. How did you end up here?" He asked, sending him a side glance. 

"I'm linked to someone that was called back here so I thought I'd explore a bit since it's my first time here and I'm sure things will take a bit to settle."

Kayden looked at the clone right on time to see the clone's eyes darken. Even though he didn't know his story, Kayden knew it must have been hell. From all the broken souls he felt in the hangar and Crosshair's distress during the event, he had a good idea of the torture they endured. 

"Still want to prank your brothers?" Kayden inquired calmly. He would understand if he wanted to cancel everything and would not press the matter. Those men who fought every day of their life deserved respect and rest. They surely were in a fragile state of mind and he would hate to break one of them. 

Slice took a few seconds to think over the question, meanwhile, Kayden disappeared from view as two Kaminoans turned down their hallway. "Is it bad if I do? I hope this will take their minds off the matter." 

Thankfully, Slice noticed his absence only when the long-necks had already passed them, so they missed how he stopped mid-step to look around like a lost puppy. Kayden reappeared for a moment to wink before disappearing again in hope that the man would understand that he was still by his side. With a reassured nod, Slice continued on his way. 

"No, I think it's thoughtful." He smiled despite being invisible to the clone's eyes. Kayden recalled having used similar tactics on you whenever you had one of those execrable days. All he had to do was hold back a little. "Any preferences?" 

They both stopped before a door that Kayden assumed led to Slice's barracks. With a quick peek in, Kayden confirmed his assumptions. His squad's souls felt slightly less affected than others. Maybe they didn't have to kill anyone they liked and respected. 

He couldn't stop himself from noting that despite being of the same team, each of their armor was so incredibly individualistic. It was clear that a piece of their personalities was illustrated on their person and as a wood sculptor, Kayden could only admire the details and quality of the artwork.

Yup. He needed to meet them. 

After pranking them, that is. 

"Can you do stuff like in horror-holos?" 

"Can I-? Of course." He smirked, now fully visible. "Get inside, I'll follow in a minute." He told him and presented a closed fist. The clone bumped their knuckles and slipped his poker face on before entering the room. 

Kayden shook his hands to his side, ready to do what he did best. He managed to control his excitement for a grand total of fifteen seconds before the wait became too much and he had to engage. Now fully immaterial, Kayden peaked inside the room once more to ensure no one stood close to the door and once the coast was clear inside and outside, he slammed it open. Several clones jumped, one nearly fell off their bed and Slice, oh Slice. His eyes were wide, like he got caught by surprise, but Kayden could see the corners of his lips shaking slightly upwards.

Game on. 

For more dramatics, Kayden waited a few seconds for confusion to set in and for some clones to get angry before he closed the lights and slammed the door closed again, plunging the room in a near-complete darkness, the only light in the room radiating from the three datapads across the room. 

"Haha. Very funny Slice." A strong voice came from the opposite side of the room. The irritation that dripped from his tone was music to Kayden's ears. 

"I'm here, it wasn't me." Slice replied from the other side of the room. 

"Dice?"

"I'm here too." 

While humming a low tune under his breath, Kayden found a discarded shirt and threw it at the closest clone that jumped back with a yelp as soon as the fabric draped over his shoulder. The lights came back on, courtesy of a pissed-looking short-haired clone. 

"Who's doing that?" He sharply inquired in that authoritative tone that reminded him of Hunter. Oh, Hunter would have been so mad had Kayden done this to his squad… Good thing he wasn't there then. 

"Who threw me the shirt?" The spiky-haired clone looked around, accusing his brothers with his eyes. 

Meanwhile, Kayden got closer to a soldier with trees painted on the bottom half of his armor. As best as he could, the ghost pulled himself onto the top bunk and exhaled right by the man's ear who jumped right off the bed and crashed onto someone else. 

"Did you guys hear that?" The clone with green highlights shakily asked, frightened eyes looking right at Kayden without seeing him. A concert of "no" echoed around the room, increasing the man’s fear. 

Seeing as everyone was on edge, even Slice who looked around in apprehension, Kayden decided to perform his grand finale. He returned back to the entrance and slowly started making his way towards the pack of clones regrouped at the end of the room, making sure to flick his visibility on and off sporadically. 

The first ones who noticed his flickering form gasped in surprise before jumping back, nearly sending Kayden out of his act. He struggled to keep his face neutral and not react to the man who threw a datapad through his immaterial form. The datapad crashed on the floor right as he stopped moving. He stared at them with his best lifeless expression, feeding off their scared expressions. 

One of them furiously leaped forward to land a hit on his face, but only managed to lose balance as his swing never made contact. 

Then it became too much and he burst out laughing. The sudden noise caused the courageous clone to jerk backward. "No touchie, pal." Kayden grinned, hands lifting to rest on his hips. "Got y'all good, didn’t I?" 

The fear slowly morphed back into confusion while Kayden waited patiently for the first reactions to assault him. 

"What?"

"Who are you?"

"What in all karking hells?" 

Satisfaction filled Kayden's chest. His mission was accomplished with success, no one was traumatized although a bit shaken, but none of them held the darkness that was once plaguing their minds and hearts. 

"That was convincing." Slice's laugh covered the rest of the questions. He joined Kayden in the middle of the room, a grin of his own adorning his features. "Better than what I imagined."

“Slice.” Snapped the one who tried to punch him. “What’s all this?”

"Just a small joke, sir." He explained. "To lighten up the mood." 

The look he received told everything Kayden needed to know. Time to take his leave! 

"Gentlemen, this was a pleasure." He snickered with a slight bow. "But I should go now, got more people to spook, ya know how it is." 

"Oh no you're not leaving. I don't know how you did that, but I want to have a word with your superior." The man who Kayden started thinking was their CO, approached him menacingly. 

"I don't have one, perk of being dead and all. See ya!" He wiggled his fingers before disappearing from their view. He remained in the room for a minute, enough to hear the wave of questions being thrown at Slice who sheepishly avoided looking at his leader. 

Then once again, Kayden was on the move. The hallways were more quiet now, with even less people walking their length. He spotted a lone window beaten by the rain outside. With all the excess of energy out of his system, Kayden walked up to the glass, made himself tangible and placed his hand on the cold surface. He applied more and more pressure, not to break the glass but to prove to himself that he was still there. He was dead, but he was still there. 

He wasn't dreaming in some after death world. 

He was real. 

"Who are you?" Kayden froze at the voice calling from behind him. 

Slowly, he turned, thinking a Kaminoan found him, but to his surprise, found a young girl frowning up curiously at him. Looking around, Kayden didn't spot anyone else, so she really was talking to him. Would it be bad to terrorize a kid by ghosting away? It probably wasn't a good idea, kids got marked for life easily. Plus she seemed quite friendly. 

"No one in particular." He shrugged. "People who like me tend to call me Kayden and those who like me very much call me Dimwit. Whichever you prefer." At her disbelieving frown, he added, "Don't worry, it's a term of affection." 

She chuckled. "I'm Omega. Are you lost Dimwit?" 

He beamed, pleased with her answer. "Yes, but it doesn't really matter. I'll find my way back eventually." 

"Or I could guide you." She kindly offered. "Which battalion is yours?" 

"Clone force sixt-" He choked on his saliva. "Ninety nine. The defective ones." 

She perked up, eyes widening slightly. Oh. Did she not like them like the rest of the regular clones? "I know them. They're like me!" 

"Like you?" It was Kayden's turn to be confused. 

"Yes. Clones with mutations!" 

He knew it was in his head, but Kayden felt the time stop. She was a clone? A mutated clone. Mutated to be female. From what Kayden gathered over time, the defective clones had been created with a purpose, so what was hers? Her feminine wiles? Could that be a new war tactic? Charm their way into enemy forces? 

Despite everything, Kayden found himself smiling mischievously.

"You don't say…" 

____________________

They made their way to the Batch's barracks. He insisted Omega walked before him so he could make himself disappear whenever someone else crossed their path. Once they arrived, he quickly picked her up under the armpits, right before the door opened and ran inside with the kid at arm's length. 

"Look what I found!" He yelled as the door closed behind him, waking up Crosshair who had started to drowse off on his bunk. 

Tech as usual ignored him whereas Wrecker stopped looking around in a crate on the ground to look up at him, brows furrowed in a deeply confused way. He looked at the tiny being like she was an unknown creature. 

"What's that?" He asked but you cut him off fairly quickly. 

"Good Gods Kayden. Did you kidnap a child?" You gasped from your spot cuddled up against Hunter's side, your horrified face contrasting against the CO's surprised one.

That managed to catch Tech's attention who dropped his little project to approach the new subject of interest. 

"No! I found her!" His excitement was bubbling up by the second in anticipation of dropping the bomb. 

"I found you first." Omega pointed out, still mostly limp in his arms but trying her best to look back at him. 

"Details, kid." He tutted her. "And she's not any child! She's another defective clone!" 

"She's a what?" Wrecker was the first to recover from the shock. He got up and approached the three of them, Tech still looking at her from different angles. 

"A clone. Like you." Omega smiled at the giant and Echo who joined them.

"They make you guys in girls now too!" Kayden exclaimed, lifting Omega slightly higher to show his point. He almost wanted to say that she was friendlier too, but decided against it. Not everyone was a grumpy ass, Echo was quite nice and Wrecker didn’t have an ounce of wickedness in him, if you don’t threaten his brothers’ life, that is. 

"Kayden." You called him. "Let the poor girl down." 

He slowly did as told and before long, you were at his side and presenting yourself to the kid who excitedly took every information you offered.

"This is unheard of." Tech shook his head. "Why would they change an already functioning sequence?" 

A scoff resonated from within Kayden's chest. Really? It wasn't his goal to hurt anyone's feelings and thus he kept his mouth closed but… the regular clones were performing quite well on their own. The Bad Batch's very existence was probably due to an error or scientific curiosity, so why creating a female clone would be that difficult to entertain? 

"What does that mean?" You turned to the engineer. Confusion, disbelief and frustration crept to the surface, showing on your face. Of course.

"Clones are engineered to be soldiers. Men-" 

"I'll stop you right here mate, for the sake of your nose." Kayden cut him off in a hurry. Oh, how he remembered a certain stormy day in Alryan when thunder wasn't the only thing exploding everyone's ears and rain mixed with droplets of blood. The hunters had it coming though.

"No Tech. I wanna hear you out. You like to talk, so talk." You challenged him, not only with your words but your intense gaze locked to his frenzy ones searching for an escape. 

"It's based on fact-" 

"I wasn't meant to be a soldier." The kid intervened right on time, just as Hunter put a hand on your shoulder to keep you from doing anything stupid, saving Tech from something harder than a pillow to the face.

"What were you meant to be then?" Echo asked from his place at the back of the group. He was amongst the calmest clones of the room, right alongside Hunter who was still analyzing the information presented to him. 

"I assist with pretty much everything happening here." She shrugged. 

"Soooo, are we keeping her?" Kayden tried his luck. From what he saw so far, the kid was polite and fairly calm which was definitely appealing behavior in someone her age. What was even more appealing was the possibilities that the child represented. A friend? Someone other than you who would listen to his rambling and stories? An art partner? Surely at her age and after passing her entire life on such a boring planet, the kid would be as impressionable as a puppy. He could use his ghostly skills to show off and gain a partner in crime out of her. 

"What? No. She's a kid and-" Hunter hurried to crush his hopes with a sharp shake of his head. 

"You all are overgrown kids!" Kayden pointed out. "What's the difference? You don't know, maybe she's just a teeny-tiny one? Maybe she has reverse-Wrecker genes or something."

"Saying that she does not have the physical growth accelerating gene would be more accurate." Tech corrected him with a disapproving frown. 

"Saying that we don't care about the specifics would be more accurate." Wrecker parroted which got a laugh out of the ghost. 

The debate was only starting when an officer knocked on the door to announce their presence. Kayden fully disappeared just as the door slid open and she ordered them to move to the East hangar for a briefing before quickly walking away to knock on another door. The clones briefly looked at each other. 

"Ya heard the lady." Hunter shrugged and opened the way towards the door, the rest of the team soon following, letting behind a confused Omega who kept looking around for a missing brunette. 

Kayden laughed internally at her lost expression. 

____________

"You realize that you saved the clones and the Jedis with your god powers, right?" Kayden popped out of thin air right next to your ear in a clear attempt to make you jump, but this trick had stopped working months ago. 

You clicked your tongue in annoyance, eyes fully focussed on the vast space beyond the cockpit of the Havoc Marauder, your hands busy with the commands of the ship

"Kayden, we talked about this, stop with the god thing. It's the rock, not me." You reminded him for the millionth time. 

"Rock that doesn't work without you." He pointed out. 

"Kayden's conjecture is correct." Tech piped in and you could feel the smugness emanating from your fellow Alrynian. "Thousands of regs under a third party's influence would have been able to overthrow the Jedis which would have led for this Empire to take control of the galaxy. A new ruler that killed every peacekeepers before taking the reins would, without an ounce of doubt, mean that the galaxy was going towards a period of darkness. Your actions saved--"

A high-pitched gasp cut him off mid-sentence. That was definitely not a gasp that could ever escape one of the boys of this ship. 

Like they all shared one body, the Bad Batch and their pest turned to stare at the kid from earlier, a shining Back-Up trying to climb from her shoulder to her head. Maybe it was the sudden silence, or even the crushing weight of everyone's gaze onto her, but the kid looked up from the lizard and her expression changed from delight to sheepish. 

"Hi." She waved shyly, her voice so small that you nearly missed it. "So gods are real?" That one though was much clearer. 

You facepalmed. "Not another one." 

"Kid, what are you doing here?" Hunter stood from his seat to approach the child crouching behind a crate that Wrecker never put away. She scratched the back of her neck. 

"I wanted to be with you all."

He looked around to meet his men's gaze, each of them mirroring his own confused frown. You rolled your eyes and concentrated on piloting the ship. Was it too hard to entertain that someone might want their company? 

You could only snicker internally. The very same situation happened to you, where you didn't think yourself deserving of their friendship and they had to drill it into your head that you were. They deserved people to look up to them and want to be around them. You did. Why not the kid?

"You can't. It's too dangerous. We'll get you back." You blinked at Hunter's words. Too dangerous? The war was over. The only dangerous thing in the ship was the hazard that were Crosshair's discarded toothpicks lying around everywhere. 

Sure, you got what he really meant, that a kid her age didn't belong with a troop of soldiers like them, and at the rate the squad was growing, they would need a bigger ship. Plus they still hadn't discussed what they would do next. 

"But the war is over. There's no fighting anymore." 

"Exactly." A pause followed, so long you thought he had closed the conversation right there, but he had more to say. "You should not attach yourself." He said somberly. 

You bristled. What did that mean? Fear and worry overflowed you and you weren't piloting anymore. A grip tightened onto your shoulders. You followed the arms to Crosshair who looked at the floor. The hardness you found in his eyes made you anxious. You dared look toward Hunter who shot you a side glimpse, sadness in his own eyes. They won't be terminated after this, right? The Kaminoans, no, the Republic can't do that to their soldiers! They fought tooth and nails for a war that wasn't even their own! 

You had stopped all of this to save them, not for them to be killed! You wouldn't let them even if that was their plan. You won't lose your family. The clones won't lose their lives. 

Tears of indignation gathered in your eyes and you reached up to grab at your boyfriend's hands while maintaining eye contact with your other partner. You would always have their backs. 

"I don't see why not. They're talking about rights for the clones." The kid broke the heavy atmosphere with the innocence that only a being her age could muster. 

That development was unexpected, but was not unwelcome. Your anxiety level decreased at the prospect of your men having the right to live their lives as they pleased. 

"Who are?" Echo looked at her in disbelief. 

"The Jedis."

The ship came to a full stop as even Tech left his station to stare at the girl. Was she real? Was her information reliable? Even Kayden was stunned into silence. Knowing him, he might be overwhelmed by all of the deep emotions emanating from everyone around. 

"That is unexpected news." Tech joined in softly. "But we also can't get her back before addressing what she overheard." Tech pointed out.

"It's a kid." Crosshair nearly sneered. "We can't trust that she won't talk about it to anyone." His hand closed on yours and you had a strong feeling of déjà-vu.

"She can't unhear it, Cross. It's not like we can make her forget." You stroked the back of his hand with your fingertips. 

"We can't, but you can." Your movements stopped at what he implied. He wanted you to use the Core to make the kid forget. 

"No. I'm not doing that." You instantly rejected. You weren't about to play god any time soon. Yes, you might have used the Core to alter the clones so they could overthrow what was controlling them, but that was different! Something was hurting them! 

"I won't tell. It's not the first secret that I've had to keep." The kid assured. She started to sound less confident and more worried. 

"Which are?" Kayden asked from his spot on the floor as his body was shaking from all the emotions exposure. 

"Secrets." She frowned. 

"She's good." He turned to look at the group, eyebrows lifted as if he was genuinely impressed. You sighed at his antics. 

"Kid-"

"I don't want to be an experiment in a tube." She cut Hunter off, a light mist forming in her eyes. 

"But you won't be. Not if every clone has rights." He tried to reason her. 

"They'll find a way. I'm too young to take care of myself alone." 

At that your mind was set. You had been on Kamino a handful of times and each time you nearly ran to the ship as soon as you entered the hangar. 

"You and thousands of other trainees." Crosshair remarked. It broke your heart even more. 

"But they're not defectives." She played with her fingers, her gaze now fully focussed on them. 

This shut them up. They all knew what she was going through. The Batchers wore so much pain on their faces that you knew you would never let anything like what they endured on Kamino happen ever again. You gave a last squeeze to Crosshair's hands before letting go and approaching the kid. You kneeled to be level with her. 

"What's your name?" You smiled when she met your gaze. 

"Omega." 

"Don't worry, Omega." You presented her a hand that she gladly took between her two smaller ones. "Everything will work out just fine. You have a goddess on your side after all."

“Frickin’ told ya.” Kayden snickered under his breath. 

[watermelonlovershigh]

Day in the Life of a Single Dad with a 2 Yr Old

This was requested by this anon.

AN: let me know if you guys like fluff fics & i'll try to write them as frequent as my smut & sicfics. also couldn't come up with a better title so... yeah the title is a lil iffy.

Things to help you understand this story better:

(Harry is a single parent/Harry is 25/Harry is a healthy eater/Loves his daughter so much)

Harry is peacefully sleeping in his bed alone. Covers to his chin, curled up on his side. That is until his beautiful two year old daughter comes barging in there to wake her daddy up. He shouldn't be asleep she thinks. It's too late. In reality its only 7 am on a Saturday, but to an early riser like her, he should be awake and playing with her. Or making her breakfast.

Her little feet pad over to her daddy's side of the bed. She can barley reach him due to the height of his bed, but manages to stretch her little arms up and taps on Harrys face. "Daddy, wake up." she speaks in her little British accent. Harry slowly opens his eyes and immediately squeezes them shut because of the sunlight coming from the window blinding him. "Daddy!!" his daughter says a little louder.

If his daughter was any older, Harry might tell her to wait a few minutes or go back to bed because it's too early, but he knows she's only 2. So he forces his eyes open again and reaches down to hook his hands in her tiny arm pits to lift her on the bed. "Why are you awake so early babe." he asks in a gravely voice, while placing her on his bare chest.

"I hungry." her tiny voice replies.

"Mhmm what would you like?" Harry mumbles sleepily.

"Sweets." she says innocently.

"I don't think so love. We don't eat sweets for breakfast. It will give you a tummy ache. What about a healthy fruit salad. We have some Watermelon and Strawberries in the fridge." he replies to his daughter who's straddling his chest.

"NO, I WANT SWEETS! I WANT SWEETS!" she yells back with angry tears threatening to escape.

"D/n, we do not yell!" her father speaks firmly. "We can't have sweets but we can have something other than a fruit salad if you want. Lets go down and see what we have." With a tight grip on his upset daughter, Harry gets out of bed and makes his way down the spiral staircase and into the kitchen.

This wasn't something new to him. Ever since his daughter turned 2 in August, she's been acting up a lot more than previously. You could say it was the terrible twos everyone talks about. Harry tries his hardest to teach her the proper ways to behave but it's been proven to be a lot more difficult than anticipated. Especially hard when he's busy all the time and isn't with her 24/7 like stay-at-home mums are or stay-at-home dads were. He's a musician. Not a so called musician that gets excited to book a Friday night at the local pub. No, Harry is a international pop star.

When he ended up getting a one-night stand pregnant, he told them they could do what they wanted as far keeping the baby or not. Harry has always been one to agree that its a women's choice. But his one-night stand wanted to have the baby. Honestly, you'd think Harry would get angry that she decided to keep it, but he wasn't. Maybe it wasn't the ideal situation to have a baby from a one-night stand that he had on tour, but he being the loving Harry everyone seems to know and love, of course tried to look at it as a positive thing. But when his daughter was born, his one-night stand got her minute of fame by saying she had Harry Styles baby and left. Abandoned her own blood. Harry had to get full custody of his daughter and ever since then she's been living with her daddy.

It was really hard the first few months of her life. A baby needs their mothers comfort and warmth and she had none of that. She never got the opportunity to breast feed or feel the love of her mother, and Harry feels sick just thinking about it. So Harry put his career on hold for a few months to take care of his daughter and show her that someone cares for her. He never wanted her to feel unloved. It was his biggest fear. That's why every day since the day she was born, he tells her how much he loves her. Shows her how much he loves her.

He did all her nightly feedings with warmed up formula in bottles. He changed her diapers at all hours of the day. He gave her baths every day to make sure she smelled nice and clean. And when she turned 1 years old and was getting more active, he took her to the studio with him and let her play her toys.

Just because Harry is a single parent doesn't mean he doesn't have help or support. He has a lot of help when it comes to taking care of his daughter. His sister Gemma babysits all the time for him when he's got something very important to do at the studio where he'd prefer if his daughter wasn't there. Harry's mum watches his daughter frequently when he has a interview he needs to attend. Even some of Harry's friends watch or take care of her when needed. Especially some of his ex bandmates that have kids of their own now. Harry's daughter has playdates with Bear, Liam's son about once a month. They're about the same age and their dads are friends so it works out great. His daughter has even played with Freddie, Louis's son. Not as much because Freddie lives in America but when he comes to England to spend time with his father they hang out. Freddie and Harry's daughter are quite similar. They were both created due to a one-night stand. The only difference is Freddie's mum wanted him. Didn't abandon him. So he has a relationship with both parents. Needless to say, besides all the things a mother can give to their child, his daughter has a good life. People love her, and once again that's all Harry could ask for. People and himself to love his daughter.

After fighting with his daughter about what to eat for breakfast, she finally settles for some Strawberry pancakes as long as they have chocolate syrup on top. Harry gives in and allows a little chocolate for her to have with breakfast. She sits in her high chair munching on the pancakes while Harry cleans the mess from cooking. Like washing the pan and wiping the stove off. When he's finished cleaning, he notices his daughter has stopped eating and is just making a mess with her food at this point.

Walking up to her high chair, Harry bends down and lifts her sticky body up and says, "Alright, time to give you a bath little one."

"No bath daddy! Me no want a bath!" she yells and attempts to kick her fathers legs but Harry grabs ahold of them in his big hand and stops her movements which makes her small body more angry. She screams very loud in his ear and pounds her baby fist in his shoulders, expressing her anger. Harry really wants to get upset. But what he's read in parenting books is that if you ignore their behavior and act like you don't see their tantrums, it will make it better and they'll give up on trying so hard to show their anger.  Because most toddlers have tantrums to try and get attention from their parent(s). By ignoring it, you're not feeding into it.

"I'm sorry but you have chocolate all over you love. Need to get you clean because I need to take you to the studio for a few hours with me today. How does that sound?" trying to make bath time and going to the studio sound fun.

After fighting with Darcy to get in the bath, Harry finally got her in the tub. He struggled to wash her curly hair due to the fact she wouldn't sit still, even after he gave her a rubber ducky to play with. Once he's washed her hair and chocolate covered body, Harry picks her up and wraps her in a big fluffy towel, then takes her to her room to get changed. He manages to get a pull up on her, (still trying to potty train), and puts a lovely red track suit on her with some Gucci shoes. Then he carries her in front of the bathroom mirror to brush her hair.

"Be good for daddy and let me brush your hair." Harry tells his daughter in a gentle manner.

As soon as he passes the brush in her hair, his daughter screams, "Owww, it hurts daddy!"

10 minutes later, Harry has brushed her locks and put her hair into some cute pigtails. With his 2 year old crying in the process. He's pretty good at doing hair because he used to have longer hair himself. Then he picks her up off the counter and places her on the ground, walking her to his bedroom.

"Can you lay in my bed while I get ready? I'll put on your favorite show." he questions calmly.

"Peppa Pig, Peppa Pig, Peppa Pig!" is daughter chants.

"Alright, alright." He picks up his baby girl and sets her in the middle of his bed. Then he grabs the remote to turn his wall mounted tv on. He scrolls on Netflix and finds Peppa Pig to keep her occupied. Then goes to his bathroom to get dressed and ready to head to the studio.

When he exits his bathroom fully dressed and ready to leave, he finds a sleeping toddler on his bed, snuggled into his pillow. Her perfectly outlined lips slightly parted. Harry can't help but smile. He loves his baby girl with his entirety and seeing her peaceful like this makes him so happy. He turns the tv off and carefully picks her up into his arms and heads down the stairs to his car in the garage. But not before stopping by her room to pick up her mini backpack that holds extra pullups and a sippy cup full of juice, with some of her toys as well. Her tiny face is stuffed into her daddy's neck and Harry can feel light puffs of air hitting his skin. He puts his daughter in her car seat and buckles her up properly. Then gets in himself to drive to the studio.

About 5 minutes away from the studio, Darcy wakes up from her late morning nap and whines out, "Me wanna go home and play with you!"

"I'm sorry but I have to work for a little bit. I'll play with you when we get home later. How does that sound Hmm?" She was not satisfied with her fathers answer and starts wailing. Hot salty tears run down her little cheeks and she makes exaggerated sounds to emphasize her crying. She kicks at the seat in front of her and balls her fist up as if she's going to hit something but unfortunately to her, she can't reach a single thing due to her seat belt. Once again, Harry just ignores her cries of anger and turns the radio on loud to block it out.

By the time they arrive at the studio, Harry's daughter has calmed down. She's still upset but at least she isn't crying and that's progress in Harry's eyes. He parks his car in a secluded area to hide from potential paparazzi and unbuckles her. Then shields her face form potential cameras and make their way into the music studio. Harry has to record some audio for his newest album so that's why he needed to come in today. They enter the studio where the rest of his solo band is. He prefers to record the instruments live instead of manufactured drums and guitars.

At some point when he was getting ready in his home bathroom, Harry had called his assistant and told her he needed to bring his daughter in to the studio with him so she could watch her while he's busy. She agreed but being Harry Styles assistant, it wasn't really an option. Not that Harry would force her but she's an assistant for a reason. To do jobs Harry assigns her. In this case babysit his toddler while he records a song. He doesn't have anyone else today and unfortunately can't leave her at home with a mummy like many other fathers can. He's just happy his job allows his daughter to be somewhat a part of it. Not in the spotlight because he keeps his daughters identity a secret from the public for her protection, but as far as her going to the studio with him or when she gets older, she can come on tour with him.

Harry's assistant takes his toddler and her mini backpack full of her essentials. They hang out in the open area, out of the way from his band and he himself so he can get what he needs to get done so they can wrap everything up for the album. Harry's daughter actually loves his assistant. They have grown quite close over the 2 years of her life. But because she's going through her terrible twos, the toddler didn't want to behave for anyone today.

About an hour into Harry's work, he's interrupted with a frantic assistant that has a screaming toddler in her arms. "I'm sorry Harry but she's been crying for about 30 minutes and I've done everything I know to do to get her to calm down." Harry isn't upset his assistant came to him for help with his baby. That's not the type of guy he is.

Harry takes off his headphones and walks over to them. He picks his little girl up into his tattooed arms and questions, "Love, why are you upset for? If you keep crying, you'll end up with a tummy ache."

She just hugs around her fathers neck with her little arms and says, "Want you daddy." Those words almost breaks his heart. Harry doesn't know where this sudden want for him has came from.

"You can have me all you want when I'm finished working, alright. I'll be done shortly." He struggles to pass her back over to his assistant, but finally manages. "Maybe she's hungry. I'll give you a few pounds to take her through drive thru at McDonalds. Would you like McDonalds d/n?" She just nods her pigtailed head. He would suggest for them to go inside, but the public knows what his assistant looks like so they'd know that was his daughter. The daughter that has her identity secret for now. His assistant takes the toddler to the McDonalds drive thru and orders her some chicken nuggets. Even through Harrys pescatarian, he still allows his daughter to eat meats. Then Harry goes back to work in the studio.

Around 2 in the afternoon, Harry and the two year old make it back home. The rest of the evening was a little hectic with a few tantrums here and there. Harry cooked them a nice meal for dinner at about 6 and played dolls with her in the short period of time she wasn't upset. Then comes the dreaded bedtime.

Harry changes her into some pjs and helps her brush her teeth. Then when he went to put her in bed, she started crying for the 100th time today. "Me sleep with you daddy." she cries out. There's a part of him that wants to say yes and cave in, but the parent part of him is saying no. She needs to learn to be a big girl. Harry really doesn't understand why she wants to sleep with him all the sudden. She normally has no problem sleeping by herself.

"No baby. You need to be a big girl and sleep in your bed sweetheart. I'm right next door if you need me though okay." His daughter clings to his body and cries fat tears. Harry decides to stay in her room until she falls asleep. So that's what he does. When she subsumes to sleep, he lays her down in her bed and pulls the covers up over her frail body. Then exits her room quietly.

Harry changes into some comfier clothes himself and goes down stairs to get himself a glass of wine. Then he sits on the sofa and turns a series on to watch before bed. Times like now is when  he wishes he had a wife. He'd even take a girlfriend. Just someone to hold him late at night and cuddle with him. Even have some type of intimacy. Ever since he found out about his daughter, Harrys game of sleeping around stopped. He didn't want to keep sleeping with random girls when he was becoming a dad. He was raised better than that. So needless to say he was lonely. In every way possible. Mentally, and physically.

Whilst in the middle of the show he's watching, Harry is brought back to reality when he hears a blood-curdling scream from up the stairs. He rushes to set his wine down on the coffee table and runs to his daughters room. When he walks in there, his heart sinks. The toddler is crying so hard she's gasping for air. It's a different cry that he's seen through-out the day. Unlike her terrible twos tantrums, this cry sounds like she's scared. Harry runs to her and picks her up. "Hey what's wrong my love? Tell daddy what's wrong." he asks of his child, soothing her to his chest.

As her tears slow down in the comfort of her daddy's arms, she mumbles, "You left me." Once again Harrys confused because she never acts like this.

Harry walks out her bedroom and goes to sit with her on the sofa downstairs. Then he turns her around on his lap to look at her face more clearly. "Baby, you need to tell daddy why you got scared or why you want me all the sudden."

The little 2 year old takes a deep breath and speaks in her little accent, "On Peppa Pig, they...they said kids like me are supposed to have a mummy AND a daddy. They said daddies can't love their babies like mummy's can. Me was scared you don't love me anymore." Her voice cracked saying the last bit with fresh tears running down her face and Harry has glossy eyes looking down at his distressed but beautiful mini twin. That's right. They look almost exactly alike. He thanks God every day for that because he doesn't want to look at his daughter and be reminded of a one-night stand that's a piece of shit of a mother.

"Look at me d/n. I love you so so so much. I will NEVER stop loving you." at this point he has to take a deep breath so compose his emotions, "And not all kids have mummies. There are a lot of kids who just have a daddy or some just have a mummy. But it doesn't mean I love you any less. Okay?! Don't listen to what they said in Peppa Pig. They were wrong." Finishing his speech, Harry pulls her tiny body forward and hugs her to his warm chest. He has silent tears running down his face. Both hands spread over her boney back. He thinks tonight is appropriate enough to allow her to sleep with him. She needs comfort. "Would you still like to sleep with me?" he asks in a whisper.

"Pleaseee." she responds while crying. Harry stands form the couch, turning the television off and abandoning his barley touched wine glass, and goes to his bedroom. The turns the overhead light off and walks over to the bed. Peeling the covers back, Harry and his daughter, whose on his chest, slide under the warm blankets together. Now she has just about stopped crying. Just little whimpers leaving her body, along with a few hiccups. Harry reaches over to turn the lamp off, leaving the room completely dark. He shushes his baby until her eyes slowly close and she falls asleep with her face burred in his neck and arms around his neck. Her short legs lay limp over his stomach.

Harry has a difficult time falling asleep that night. He feels sorry for his baby girl because he worries that movies and shows with two parents will make her sad and left out because she doesn't have a mummy. He just prays she will see all she'll ever need is her daddy to protect her and love her for the rest of eternity.

MASTERLIST & My Favorite Harry Styles Fics MASTERLIST

[stimmypaw]

Stimmypaw reads Darkest Night! The fourth text post!

Back with these uh live reading comments! Remember those? yeah! I'm on the fourth book of Warrior Cats: A Vision of Shadows :D I read The Apprentice's Quest and Thunder and Shadow and Shattered Sky and now!! I'm here :D and boy did I have a time. Click read more to see it!

NEEDLETAIL?????????

Needletail???????????

What?????

OH???????

Wh THIS GUY IS TALKIN 2 DEAD PEOPLE????

HOW WHO IS THAT

OH MY GOD

These guys are weak and dumb skyclan is epic and sharing the territory with them is good, but of course sparkpelt isn't dealing well with change wink wink nudge wink nudge nudge huh???? (this is a nod to how I project into her and say shes autistic)

I am getting anxious for tinycloud SERIOUSLY how much longer until those kits??? Everyday you show up and its WOW my tummy ssure is HUGE AND BULGING I just Wonder Oh When They'll Be Born, probably pretty soon!!! :) and then they arent!!!! Birth dammit!!!

Cherryfall cut the sick and hurt cats some slack jeez youre Fine, youre not feeding half the forest and you have THREE medicine cats ready to help you if youre not feeling well

Bastard Cherryfall I hate you /lh

Dovewing and Tigerheart have relationship drama again. What is UP with those two I simply do not understand them

Watching Bramblestar trying to control this bizarre situation is actually funny he is so close to screaming "PLEASE dont be mad :c"

SOON WHEN???? JUST KIT THOSE KITTENS DAMMIT

Get her, Alderheart

They LITERALLY said something about sharing the territory, they were like "Stars have five points baby and we need those 5 clans togetherrrr" what else do these cats want??? I know its a big change but its necessary

Wait everyone shut up that cat is named Podlight this is so important to me

Dang these cats are really still struggling :c I wish they didnt blame each other

Harestar is so cool

What the FUCK mistystar????

God what a disaster of a gathering Starclan is gonna be so pissed everyone is doing the opposite of what they should

I was holding my breath oof

I hope thunderclan gives some territory too thats too small a space for Skyclan

Oh boy oh boy oh boy i am Anxious for these Kitties

Violetpaw is me having nightmares every night

Macgyver is a heavily gringue name and I have No Clue how to say it how the hell do you say it

Update its either Mick Guyver or Mac Guyver apparently

Its fun to see how different the sisters are from one another, I love them both

I also love their mom with the name identical to puddleshine wish I got to meet her

IM CRYING BRO........M...MDB.....NFBANN.....VIOLETPAW BELONGS MY DARLING MY DAUGHTER

Sadly Twigpaw is for gender binarism 😔 /j

Twigpaw is often in her thoughts and doesn't pay attention to anything around her and I love her for that

Bad news Finpaw is gonna lose his tail, good news I can draw his tail fin-shaped

Puddleshine surgeon moment!!!

I love Graystripe and Millie

And I love that being flirty is a part of Sparkpelt's personality, I don't know what Alderheart is talking about she's always been dandelion-headed

Ok this is epic, I’m glad we’re breaking gender roles in Warrior Cats my heart dropped when the books called Briarlight cr*ppled, that’s the thing they promised not to do anymore recently right? I’m not sure but, I could use some uh less ableism on my Warrior Cats, the series is old but the newer books should be better, so yeah, good modernize these cats babyyy

OH COOL Skyclan journey!!! Fun I hope they find someone :] also fuck Molewhisker and Cherryfall bastards.

Jayfeather is gonna miss Alderheart too much for him to leave hehehe

ALL of Starclan showed up just to call out Riverclan pahahah

oooo is shadowclan haunted?????

FINALLY TINYCLOUD IS KITTING YES GOD YES GO QUEEN GOOOO!!!!

I wonder why Twigpaw wants to stay behind, there has to be more than just the camp stuff

"I wish I were more positive like Twigpaw, but at least I'm just as scarred by the death of my loved ones as my dad :] I like being like him"

Violetpaw witnesses a car crash 😔 that was a bit messy what happened to those cars also why the hell was one of them smaller was it a bike??? Or ???? Idk what's up with it!!!

Needletail just happens to have slow-down turned on for her on the discord chat so she can only say like a few words each hour :/ why the hell is she here tho Violetpaw needs to get OVER your death!!!!

This short exchange has made me love Dewpaw

Also, I love Twigpaw, I still wonder why she stayed behind tho

Ahh, is it cus she feels too estranged from her family :c ? I wish her mom was around maybe that would help

Jee Twigpaw be a tad more empathic, I can see Twigpaw struggles with that sometimes

You can't cheer him up right now he's grieving, just find him on common ground, talk to him, don't try to make him happy just try to keep him company

Oh wow finpaw that's a dangerous thing to say I hope Twigpaw doesn't crumble under the pressure to never be sad because people like her because she's happy and her being sad would be bad

ALSO I JUST REMMEMBRERD UH TWIGPAW MENTIONED BRIARLIGHT BUT BERRYNOSE IS RIGHT THERE???? HE IS RIGHT HE DIDNT DIE OFF SCREEN IM SURE OF IT WAIY

BERRYNOSS IS RIGHT THERE I CHDCKED!!!! HE LOST HIS TAIL TOO AND HES A GREAT WARRIOR, TWIGPAW!!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED IT ITS MORE RELATABLE

Okay I'm glad they're getting along this is nice

Oh look twigpaw you Are like your father :] this is cute

Skyclan begins to fish competitively I'm glad

I like it when medicine cats bicker about their leader's behaviors ehheheh, Jayfeather talking about how weak Shadowclan is, Alderheart being annoyed at his father for wanting to stay silent, the others worried about the tensions this is all cheff the kisser

Jayfeather spitting the truths about how Starclan doesn't know shit, and he is very much one to speak

Puddleshine: Rowanstar stepped up the patrols :c

Leadstar: He has warriors enough for that?? Damn good for him

Dang poor Skyclan I hope they manage stuff better soon

Oooo the girls are fighting!!!

Alderheart starclan anxiety time dang

Sheep :]

Needletail :[

I'm sad Ravenpaw isn't here, this is a lovely reunion scene but knowing Barley will be alone when they all leave breaks my heart

Oh, maybe not, but if they stay I'll be sad also cus Skyclan needs its warriors

Aw man, Twigpaw is struggling :c

OUCH

I WANT SKYCLAN 2 SWIM THO......

Omg crimes

That sounds kinda possessive twigpaw!

DOVEWING?????

T

WhHAHAGAHAHA WHERE DID THAT COME FROM

omg tigerstar 2 real

Whats he gonna do to rowanstar???

ALRIGHT THATA OVER THEN PAHAHA

Aw, I'm glad they're having fun tho, and that twigpaw sees herself as skyclan

Alderheart, as he meets someone for the first time in a while: ARE YOU OKAY???

Blackstar protagonist moment

The medicine cats: our gods are toying with us again and destiny is uncertain

Leaders: I cannot DO this right now PLEASE leave and let me care for The Real Issues

Alderheart: YOU WILL hang out at my house Willowshine this isn't up for debate

Riverclan suffered enough and it's their turn to throw a tantrum about it, honestly good for them hsghahah

Alderheart asks his father to go on a quest to check people's feet

WHAT THR HELL IS A CANTANKEROUS

Alderheart and Willowpelt sitting there watching Shadowclan fight

This is really funny

HEWWO????

Puddleshine, in his eyes: help help

I love Skyclan

Ok this sounds like it's gonna be very very fun

Mission impossible: Escape From São Paulo

Oh, is Fallowfern deaf? That's so poggers omg I wanna see more of her

Edit: fallowfern is an elder that lost her hearing with age and retired after that happened :/ boring

I love leafstar so much

Juniperclaw: aren't you gonna punish her????

Leafstar: why

Juniperclaw: when I tell rowanstar he's gonna be pissed

Leafstar: don't tell him

Juniperclaw: the fuck is wrong with you and your clan??? Where is everyone???????

Leafstar: busy

Icon

I don't trust abled people specially able-bodied people telling disabled people they just have to train harder and feeling sorry for yourself won't help.

But this is the closest to a positive message to disabled people we have ever had in warriors so I guess I'll take it but I want better

IVYPOOL!!!💖💖💖💖💕

Dang ivypool what a way to show someone you miss them hahaha

Twigpaw: uhhhh how's dovewing?

Ivypool: what do you mean did she do something illegal I'm sure she did

Ivypool is a seriously funny character WHY are you yelling at the young adult about your sisters illegal activities she doesn't know anything about it!!!!

Alderheart goes on an adventure

Feet inspector on the road!!!!

Jasper is so funny I love him

Omg what's he got against clan cats??? What's his sad backstory????

YEESSSS SPARKPELT MY LOVE 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💕💕💕💕💕💕💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💕💕💕

Sparkpelt your opinion sucks but I love you

I'm really really glad they had this moment this is really sweet, they hadn't talked for a while but this is genuine like, we hadn't had this sort of relationship in so long in the books with just, dialogue yknow??? THEYRE TALKING ABOUT THINGS

And the pause Sparkpelt takes between her speaking to fix what she's saying "I'm sorry for saving you :c no wait uhh not exactly but like" this is so good so natural so fun I love you sparkpelt

I get why she has a diferent opinion on Skyclan it's good for someone close to Alderheart to have a different mindset from him and for him to have someone like uh be opposites from him a lil yknow contrats his characteristics makes both siblings fun round and full of kitty do you get what I'm saying???

I love this

I love Sparkpelt, love her lil anxious moments, love her, love that she just wants to fool around with toms and enjoys Larksong but doesn't want to get serious you go girl

They wanted to write smart-ass they wanted to write smart-ass so bad

They're doing this in the rain?????

I'm quite certain Violetpaw is a young adult by this point its valid for her to go

Wh why did you let your cat out in the rain dude!!! When it comes back it's gonna dirty up the whole place it's wet out there!!!! And the cold is gonna get in the house!!!!!!!

I WAS HOLDING MY BREATH OH LORD

That was SO INTENSE AND SO FUNNY AND SO MUCH, IM SO GLAD SHE MADE IT I GOT SCARED

Oh this is so epic

That moment when your cat nearly dies and then it runs off and you go after it and then a bunch of other cats show up and start running with it

I hope Twigpaw can see the others soon

Glad to see her keeping her medicine cat knowledge ehehehe

???????

Sandynose I hate you you are so abled

Sandynose: I don't want my son to feel distanced from his peers so I'm distancing him from his peers

DOVEWING???

SANDYNOSE SHUT UP IM GOING TO KILL YOU ANS MURDER YOU

I'm so upset with Sandynose WHY isn't leafstar seeing this WHY DOESNG ANYONE SEE THIS SOMSONE PLEASE CONFORT AND LOVE MY CHILD TWIGPAW DOESNT DESERVE THIS

Angry sad upset why

Piscina

Thanks graystripe

Ok who's dying this time

Ok no one just a background cat got hurt he will survive otherwise it would be relevant

This was intense though what will happen now???

YES FINALLY

Oh this is lovely so good they're here!!! The rest of skyclan has arrived and we are all happy together

That dream felt good

NEEDLETAIL??? AGAIN

Where were you at!!!!

What!!!

Check this man's feet how many toes are there this could be good

What

Hegshahwha what the fuck is up with this guy

Okay I like him

Ohhh THATS tree

Change your name if you don't like it you sound trans already

Yeah nothing makes one smarter like dying

This is very fun I'm excited for more of whatever happening

Twigpaw :c

HIS SNIFFLES

Oh no

Hhhhnn I want Twigpaw to be happy so bad, I hate seeing her struggles

Sandynose you are so evil and very detested by me

You can and you SHOULD feel angry at Sandynose he SUCKS and he is being needlessly mean at you!!!!! There are much better ways to bring up the possibility that maybe you'd be happier with thunderclan!!! Fuck off Sandynose

Oh so Snowbush hasn't improved, maybe he will die?

Poor Alderheart

Oh fuck there he goes

Yeah

Aw man, rip to the background cat

That was a heavy death too

Aw, I was hoping the rest of Skyclan would show up before the gathering, maybe just after it???

I wonder what's going on in Shadowclan

TIGERHEARTS MISSING HUH???

The couple was kidnapped

HUH????

Oh my lord oh fuck

Can't anyone step up to lead why do they depend on Tigerheart so much???

Jesus christ

Alderheart kills his gods

This is so chaotic and funny I'm worried as hell for shadowclan but excited a lot is happening

HI TREE AGSGAHAH

Tawnypelt >:(

Puddleshine: WAIT DONT KICK HIM OUT, CHECK OUT HIS FREAKY FEET INSTEAD

Oh dear

Twigpaw :c

TWIGPAW :CCCC Man rememebr when I said I hope Twigpaw doesn't crumble under the pressure of being happy for others? yeah

GET OUT SANDYNOSE I DONT CARE YOURE BEING REASOMABLE FOR ONCE YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN LATER

:C

I'm so heartbroken for them

Uh pdhsgahab okay then

Bye finpaw

Wow that was easy for him

This is fun

I'm still sad as hell

Okay there's a lot going on right now wow

The owl scene was funny as hell to picture, this dramatic prophetic moment and the cats just "uuggh is that a prophecy??? Nooo"

Okay so

There's some shadowclan cats missing, considering the many sleekwhisker maps I'm sure she's up to no good but I have no clue what happened to the others and I hope they're okay

Wow! That was really something

Fantastic ending to a very good book its, definitely a different energy from the third but I'm really enjoying this I'm still excited as hell!!! I got worried things would get kinda bad from here but nope!!!! Very fun stuff for now this is very very good and I am enjoying it

This is definitely one of the most fun arcs I've read so far!!! The drama the stakes the little moments everything is tying together really well into a very fun story I'm enjoying a lot!

I worry for Twigpaw and hope for her happiness, and Violetshine too, hope her and Hawkwing deal well with missing her. Tree is being interesting. Alderheart wasn't much of a focus here but always fun to see him trying to solve the damn prophecy no leaders seem to care about. Mousewhisker was okay??? Lots of very fantastic turns for all events and uh let's see where this all goes next!!!

[shi-daisy]

Black Moon Rising Pt. 2

Welcome back everyone! Here's part 2 of this lil' AU fic. It was gonna be longer but I already went pass the deadline for like 40 min. So I'll just continue it in the final prompt it the week. Hope you like!

@ulquihimeweek

Ulquihime Week- Day 6- Sacrifice/Possession

Black Moon Rising (Pt.2)

"Inoue, what have you done?!" Ichigo asked in disbelief.

"I did what I had to. Ulquiorra was going to die, and I saved him. That's all that matters."

"All that matters?! Have you looked at yourself?! You're a hollow now!"

"And so were you."

Ichigo looked hurt, but she didn't care. Back at Karakura, she had the same expression whenever they pushed her out of the fight. This time the tables were turned.

"That's not the same, and you know it."

"Is it now? Because if I recall correctly you brutalized Ulquiorra in ways far more horrifying than any of us could imagine, you tried to desecrate his body, you stabbed Ishida-kun when he stopped you, and you were about to kill me before Ulquiorra broke your mask and redirected the cero onto himself.

That's quite different from holding a conversation like we are doing now." She smiled venomously. This change seemed to be bringing out all of the negative emotions that she kept hidden for years. It was relishing.

"I went into that form to protect you! You called for help, I couldn't do anything so my hollow took over."

Orihime rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, you're everyone's hero!" she sarcastically imitated her old self. "Spare me Ichigo, you didn't go into your hollow form to protect us, you did it because you lost, and you can't endure a loss!"

That got a rise out of the redhead, Uryu held him back. "Inoue, we all came here to save you! What happened wasn't ideal, but Kurosaki was just trying to help."

"Funny how you defend him after almost getting cut open, Ishida-kun.

I didn't ask anyone to come for me, the sole reason I came to Hueco Mundo was to protect everyone! But you couldn't understand that, could you? Inoue's the defenseless princess in the tower, so she must be rescued! We need to step into enemy territory without a plan, and fight everything in a ten-mile radius to save Inoue!

Well, that's done. We've all had our fights and your brushes with death, but I am finally safe. I won't return to Karakura, this form is now permanent, and I have no doubts that the shinigami will have me executed. The Orihime Inoue you knew is gone forever. Leave, tell the others I am dead, and don't return to Hueco Mundo. I won't ask nicely again."

Ichigo's anger was redirected at Ulquiorra. "You! You did this to Inoue!"

"I'm afraid you're mistaken Kurosaki. This transformation was the woman's choice, not mine. Unlike you, I believe she's wise enough to choose what's best for herself."

The shinigami prepared to attack him, but instead of clashing his blade with Ulquiorra's he was stopped by Orihime.

Upon transforming, she'd also gained a zanpakuto, her Rikka's powers had been transferred into it, and the shape of the hilt matched that of her hairpins.

“Don’t you dare touch him!” she growled.

“I’m not going to let darkness take you, Orihime. I’ll defeat whatever took possession of you and we’ll all go back home together.”

“You don’t get to decide for me. Not anymore.” From the moment she woke up, Orihime felt a shift taking place within her. Her body and soul had both changed, and this final disregard for her desires was the final nail in the coffin.’ All anyone ever saw me as was the damsel in distress, not even capable of choosing my own fate. Those days are now over.’

“Woman, do you require my assistance?”Ulquiorra asked her.

She smiled at him. “I shall fight alone, If it’s not too much trouble, could you please take Ishida-kun somewhere safe? I don’t intend to hold back.”

“Understood.”

She teleported both herself and Ichigo away from the scene. The shinigami looked ready to fight, but the moment she attacked he restored to blocking. Ichigo didn’t attack her.

‘The moron still thinks I can’t fight.’

Her eyes darkened, now gold over onyx, Orihime charged a cero into her sword. One strike of her blade all it took to break Ichigo’s zanpakuto.

“You’re out of weapons Kurosaki. I’ll let you go if you swear to leave me be.”

Instead of retreating Ichigo stood his ground. “I won’t leave you.I swore to bring you back home safe, and that’s what I’ll do!"

“You really can’t take a fucking hint, can you?!"

She raised her palm towards him, firing a golden cero. Ichigo tried to evade it, but without his Bankai, he was not fast enough. Ichigo kneeled, half of his body was bloody and mangled due to the blast, but he could survive those injuries.

“Last warning. Surrender or I will detach your head from your body.”

“I won’t! I won’t let Ulquiorra get away with what he did to you! I will save you even if I have to kill him again!"

Orihime would have just rendered him unconscious, had it not been for the threat he made against Ulquiorra, Orihime looked him in the eye directly, her gaze was steel and it seemed like in his final moments Ichigo finally understood she did this out of her own accord. Sadly, it was too late, A delicate strike of her blade cut through him, his eyes remained opened, full of realization, but also lifeless.

Orihime cleaned the blood off her sword with one stroke. ‘At long last, It’s over.’

***

There were many outcomes he had expected from the battle, seeing Orihime return to las Noches with the head of Kurosaki Ichigo was not one of them. Soon after arriving she had fainted and he took her to his room and had one of the medics look at her.

As predicted, Orihime woke up a day later. Her wounds were fully healed, and she was happy to see him as well. 

“What happened after the battle?” she asked.

"Lord Aizen has won. He's the new Soul King, but I'm afraid your old town has been destroyed."

She looked sad, but didn't weep. "I see."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. This was bound to happen."

"If you feel rested enough, we were summoned to the throne room. It's urgent."

"Okay. Let's go."

The walk to the throne room was silent, yet pleasant. Orihime held his hand, and he returned the gesture. It seemed she was fond of the gesture.

Before coming into the throne room he ran into the medic that examined Orihime.

"Hello Cuarta, I see Inoue-sama is healthy." The blue haired woman extended her hand to Orihime. "Nice to meet you, my name's Jeanne Dae, I was your medic."

"Nice to meet you too, Jeanne-san. Thanks for taking care of me."

"My pleasure, I must warn you both, Lady Anna has asked for you specifically and she's slightly stressed. Best not to piss her off."

"Um, I hate to come of as ignorant but who is Anna?"

"Lord Aizen's wife. She's his second in command now and also Soul Queen. Just be polite and you'll be fine. Best of luck!"

Once the medic Arrancar left, they stepped into the throne room. He was surprised to see Halibel and her fracción there resting. Nnoitra was also there talking to Anna. She looked to be angry.

"Nnoitra, I swear, if keep pestering me I shall rip out your remaining eyeball and make you eat it!"

That made the whole room grow silent.

Orihime was slightly intimidated. Anna was six feet tall, with pale skin, black curly hair, and cold blue eyes. Those worries subsided when the woman spotted both her and Ulquiorra.

"Cuarta! You're still as handsome as ever! And you must be Orihime Inoue. I'm Anna María, it's nice to finally meet ya."

"Hello Lady Anna, it's nice to meet you too."

"I'll be quick since I'm sure you both want to rest. Now that Sosuke has finally achieved his goals we won't be returning to Las Noches. I want the both of you to rule over Hueco Mundo."

They were both surprised. Ulquiorra spoke first. "With all due respect, why would you chose us out of the remaining Arrancar?"

"Simple. You and Inoue-san were the ones who finally took down Kurosaki. He was Soul Society's triumph card and I'm certain that if he had lived the outcome of our plans would've changed. The two of you are the most powerful among our ranks and took down our greatest foe. It's only natural to have you take over. What do you say?"

Orihime felt a little uncertain, she had never taken a leadership role before, but the offer was tempting.

Ulquiorra was indifferent to the offer, still he would accept if only to keep order in Las Noches. Without Aizen some of the Arrancar might go unhinged again.

"I'm willing to accept the offer, but I'd like insurance that you, or Lord Aizen will provide us with assistance if necessary."

"You have my word, Cuarta. Inoue-san, what about you?"

"I never considered myself a leader, yet this is an opportunity I don't want to waste. I'll give it my all."

"Excellent! I knew I could count on you both. Now, there's a slightly more personal matter I must address.

Some of your friends for Karakura survived, I can relocate then to Naruki City and give them fake memories of a nuclear explosion occuring in Karakura. This way they'll safe and fully taken care of. Is that alright."

Anna handed her a tablet with pictures. She recognized Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro, Chizuru, Michiru, Ryuuken, and Don Kannonji. Those were the only survivors.

"Yes. Please make sure they're taken care of, just...don't let them know I am alive. I'd prefer it if they all thought of me as dead."

"Consider it done. Finally, Yasutora Sado and Uryu Ishida are locked up in the dungeons, if you authorize it, I shall free them and get them the aforementioned services in Naruki City."

"Yes please do so."

"Alrighty then, I think that's everything. I'll be returning to my other duties, you're dismissed."

With that the tall woman left them and went back to her duties. Ulquiorra noticed she was holding her zanpakuto. 'No doubt she's been ordered to carry out executions.'

"Next on the list it's that Kuchiki Captain...Hmm maybe I'll choke him with that dumb scarf of his." Anna was walking away towards the cells. A reckless idea crossed Orihime's mind.

"Wait Anna-san! May I be granted permission to visit Ishida and Sado?"

Anna was skeptical but allowed it anyway. "Yes, of course. I'll escort you."

***

Ulquiorra waited in the entrance to the dungeons. He knew Inoue was capable of handling herself yet he felt uneasy.

"You're jealous the princesa wants to visit those other men."

Grimmjow appeared from the shadows, it seemed Anna had him as a guard.

"What do you want Sexta?" he asked.

"Nothing. Just heard you and Orihime are the new rulers of Hueco Mundo. I'd congratulate ya but I don't think you find that new role appealing."

"That's unimportant. I took the task because it clear that the others wouldn't be able to properly carry it out."

Grimmjow grinned. "Uh-huh, and what about your mate? She probably did it so that Anna wouldn't chop her human friends to pieces."

Those words bothered him. "The woman isn't my mate."

"She turned into a hollow to save ya, and even ripped Kurosaki to pieces. That screams protective mate to me.

Yer' right though, it's not my business what you two do. Just pray she doesn't change her mind. The girl is too far gone to go back."

***

Orihime let them rage and yell before saying a single thing. After their anger faded she spoke.

"I need you both to stay calm. Ishida-kun your father is alive and will be given proper housing and employment in Naruki City as will most of your friends and as will you. Just let Anna escort you there and do not tell the others of my real fate. For all they know, Kurosaki and I were victims of the fake accident."

"...I don't believe this! You expect us to keep quiet?! Tatsuki was a wreck over losing you, she won't accept it, she'll know it's a lie!"

"Then make her believe it! You're a smart guy Uryu, she will listen to you, the memories are better than..."

"Than knowing what you turned into and what you did to Kurosaki?" Chad asked.

Orihime hit the wall in frustration, it almost fell apart. "He threatened to kill Ulquiorra!" she yelled. "I wasn't going to kill him, I was going to leave him slightly messed up and let him go home when the war ended, but he threatened Ulquiorra. I couldn't let him kill him again. I just... couldn't."

Her friends demeanor changed to a more sympathetic one. "You love him, don't you?"

She couldn't answer. That possibility didn't cross her mind until now. Her silence was all the answer they needed.

"Kurosaki is doing alright. His soul went to the Soul Society and is reunited with his family, Anna made sure of it. She also brought Masaki to them, the Kurosaki's be living in the Shiba house."

"It's true. She came to tell us that before bringing you here."

"I see." In a way she felt freed. While there was no guilt for what she did, knowing Ichigo was well off somehow helped her close that cycle.

"I know you won't forgive me, I won't ask for that, but I will ask you, to have a good life. Take care of the others, follow your dreams and live long and happy. I will do the same, even if we are in separate world's. Just do that in the memory of the Inoue you once loved."

"I promise."

"I promise too"

Both Chad and Uryu gave her a tight hug. This would be the last time they saw eachother.

"Goodbye."

***

He didn't say anything. Not on their way back to the room, and not when he locked himself in the washroom.

Orihime knew something was amiss. Ulquiorra looked tense, angry even. She decided to speak with him.

'What am I doing? This isn't right. I'm acting just like Kurosaki did.'

Ulquiorra had ran himself a hot bath in an effort to calm down. As much as he dreaded to admit it he was enraged by Grimmjow's words. When Orihime returned from her talk with the humans, she had tears running down her face and a faint sad smile.

'She's regretting it. She regrets giving up her life for me. That was a sacrifice that should've never taken place.'

Still, it was wrong of him to act so cold towards her. Instead he should offer her solace. 'I'm all she had left.'

Before he could get out of the marble pool and go back into his room, he saw her standing in the doorway. "Can I join you?" she asked shyly.

Ulquiorra swallowed hard. Orihime had nothing but a towel on, and her pretty face was adorned with a faint pink blush.

"Yes, you may join me." He finally answered with a raspy voice.

He turned away as she uncovered herself, only facing her once she was covered up to her chest by water. Even so, her curves didn't leave anything to the imagination.

"Ulquiorra. We need to talk."

"What do you wish to talk about?"

"What happened down at the dungeons."

He braced himself, and spoke as calmly as possible. "You wish to return to you original form. It's understandable as your sacrifice shouldn't have happened so I shall do what's in my power to help you-"

Orihime placed her fingers on his lips, silencing him. It was then when he felt tears forming in his eyes

Orihime chuckled. "No, you're mistaken. I don't want to go back and I don't regret what I did.

Ulquiorra, I didn't hesitate to sacrifice my humanity for you. I knew what the consequences would be and didn't care. You matter more to me than anything or anyone else, and I don't ever want you to doubt that. I want to be with you forever, Ulquiorra Schiffer."

He felt the tears spilling. Never in his life did he think he could find anyone that would truly love him, yet here she was. From the moment they met he felt drawn. It was as if an otherworldly force took possession of him, and urged him to keep her at his side. Yet when Kurosaki almost killed her, he didn't hesitate to sacrifice himself for her. Now she had done the same for him, and they could be together for all eternity.

"Forgive me for my embarrassing behavior. I shouldn't have doubted you.

I shall confess that I didn't care for much before meeting you, my life was nothing but a dark endless void, until you filled it with light. Your optimistic nature, your melodic voice, your bravery, it is all very enticing. I thought our story would end when Kurosaki turned me into ash, yet it didn't.

You wouldn't let us have a bitter end, regardless of the cost. And I vow to prove your sacrifice to be worth it, every single day."

Orihime smiled wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close. "It's a promise, my dear Ulquiorra."

She crashed their lips together into a lustful kiss. Ulquiorra had never considered himself to be a lustful man, until that moment. He wanted nothing more than to ravish Orihime until they were both exhausted.

"Let's go back to our room, darling. There's a lot I want to do with you."