Author's notes: Another Bleach fanfic of StarrkxLillynette. Not much more to say other than enjoy! :3
Doubt: A product of loneliness
The young girl barged through the door. Lillynette Gingerback, partner and other half of primera espada Coyote Starrk, of whom she was on a frantic search of. "Starrk! Starrk, where are you," she exclaimed worriedly as she ran about the house. She opened and closed doors and nervously threw pillows about the room, desperate to locate her partner. "Ugh, where is he when I need him most, if he's not sleeping…huh?" She noticed the water running, which made her rush to the bathroom. It was quite large, considering it having to house the large in room shower that was currently running. Steam populated the room, but was cleared away when Lillynette opened the door (the shower must have been on a really long time). "Starrk," she questioned the warm fog. A figure appeared out of the steam. It was Starrk, just sitting in the shower staring at the ceiling light, a depressed aura present on his face and about him. This puzzled her, for he was never so sad, but she knew why regardless. "Starrk, what are you doing in here," she questioned him with concern for her partner. He looked over and noticed Lillynette, but the sight of her only seemed to make him more depressed as he turned to look away. Something was wrong, and it was up to her to find out the problem while also informing him of another, which seemed quite difficult at the moment. Lillynette had removed what little clothing she usually wore and walked into the hot shower, closing the door behind her. She then walked into the steam filled room over to her troubled other half. "Starrk…what's wrong," she calmly asked a she embraced him. He returned her embrace and replied, "I just needed to clear my head, that's all." "Starrk, you know better, don't lie to me, what's wrong?" Her concern was visible in her tone. "You know full well what's wrong, Lillynette," his voice was hinting anger, but his face remained sad. "Is it because…of 4, 6, 7, and 8's spiritual pressures disappearing?" She had said it. It was silent, disregarding the running shower; the two sadly stared at each other for several minutes. " It's just like before," Starrk whispered, getting up and walking to the center of the large shower, "in the end all my friends will be dead and I'll be alone once again…it hurts just to think about it." He fell to his knees, still staring at the ceiling light. Lillynette got up and walked over to Starrk, embracing him again and looking into his face. Despite the effect of the water from the shower, she could tell that tears were running down his face. Losing so many friends always hit him hard. She too began to tear up, "You're never alone, Starrk." Her words were slightly choked, "I'll always be here…*sniff*…with you." Starrk was devastated to see his usually lively, happy-go-lucky partner begin to sob. He embraced her back again, "these wretched intruders, they appear out of nowhere and kill our friends and Aizen could give a damn less," he paused, tightening his grip on her, "they can take all our friends away, but whether Aizen cares or not, I'll die before they take you, Lillynette!" Starrk was content with his promise, both cried over the other's shoulder. After several hours, the pair emerged from the bathroom, wearing comfortable clothing. Both neither spoke nor looked at each other until they reached the bedroom. They laid in a loving embrace on Starrk's mound of pillows, staring at each other with small smiles on their faces. "What would I ever do without you, my little Gingersnap," Starrk spoke jokingly. "I have no idea, but you're my Big Coyote, so I promise to stay with you to the end of our days," Lillynette replied in the same manner. Their foreheads united, "remember we used to always say that to each other every night before we went to sleep?" "Yeah, we haven't done it in a long time." And with that, they naturally fell asleep (supposedly out of habit). Several hours into the night, Starrk awoke with a start, sweating with tears in his eyes. He must have been dreaming, and judging from his current state, they probably weren't good. He looked at a sleeping Lillynette and smiled, stroking her short green hair, which in turn made her smile without waking up. Starrk got up to wipe off the sweat and tears and get a drink of water. He began to walk back when he stopped in the middle of the room. Someone was here. He looked back to see Gin Ichimaru, Aizen's left hand man and sub-commander of the espada. "Gin, what-sup, long time no speak, I almost forgot about that creepy smile of yours," Starrk whispered as to not wake Lillynette. "Beautiful night, isn't it? I had some free time so I thought I'd stop by to see my old pal," Gin spoke in his usual happy tone. "Old pal, huh, I don't remember you calling me that before." "Of course, we're all pals here are we not," he stated almost jokingly. "I guess you need to open your eyes more often, Gin, that isn't exactly a fact." "Oh, well by the way you reacted to our latest losses, you could have fooled me." Gin was perceptive…for sure, having known the day's events without actually being there was impressive. "Well, sorry for keeping you, good night, Starrk." "Wait," Starrk stopped him. Gin froze halfway out the door, awaiting the primera espada's words to reach his ears. "Gin…does Aizen care about the welfare of the espada at all?" There was an eerie silence about the room before Gin decided to answer him. "Well, Starrk, I wouldn't know…I'm not Aizen. I swear, the man confuses me sometimes." And with that (as expected), Gin disappeared. Starrk stood there in thought of what Gin had said. His pondering was interrupted, however, when Lillynette, wrapped in a blanket and rubbing her eyes, walked into the room. "Starrk, I heard noises, is someone here," she yawned. "No, you were probably dreaming, here have a drink, the morning will arrive before we know it," he replied handing her his water bottle. She took a couple sips and set it on the table. Starrk then proceeded to carry her (and himself) back to their bed. Once there, he resumed his ponder. His concentration on Lillynette's calm face distracted him from his thoughts, however, so he left it for another time and embraced her small figure, falling into a much needed sleep. He awoke with a start, as Lillynette had hit him in the head with frying pan. "OW," Starrk yelled as he grabbed his throbbing head. "About time you woke up sleepy head, your breakfast was getting cold!" Lillynette spoke in her usual young, loud tone. Starrk looked down at the display before him. To his surprise, a tray of fresh pancakes and syrup lay on his lap. "Breakfast in bed…what's the catch," Starrk questioned his grinning partner, sensing a "too good to be true" situation. "No catch, I figured I'd help out my partner by making today an awesome one. So I made pancakes, your favorite…I didn't screw them up, did I," she fretted clenching the black pan she used for both making the pancakes and waking up Starrk. He looked at her, then at his breakfast. He proceeded to take a bite, which produced a satisfied moan from the primera espada. "Lillynette, they're PERFECT…when did you get so good at making pancakes," Starrk said still chewing, proud of her achievement. "I don't know, I guess I just read the instructions and put all my effort into making you happy," she admitted, somewhat surprised at her success. Starrk kissed her on the forehead and smiled, "you are all I need to be happy, Lillynette." She shed a happy tear and returned his smile. "Well, I can't let these cool, can I, pancakes are best when they're hot, want to try it?" He held up his fork to her. Being naturally curious, she bit off the breakfast delicacy and let out a satisfied moan, "no wonder they're your favorite, they're so delicious!" "Well if that's the case, I'll split it with you." He cut it in half and gave it to her. They both enjoyed it so much, Lillynette decided to join Starrk in his morning nap instead of interrupting it. This was to be one happy day for the primera espada, without a doubt.