"Be my fraccion."
"No." Violetta immediately returned and Starrk wanted to shake her. How was he supposed to get through to this proud, obstinate woman?
It was particularly hard to reason with her at the moment, due to the fact that she was entirely naked. Her gorgeous body was on display, all pale skin with darker tips. That lovely little pattern of mask fragments on her belly drew his attention, leading him to slowly stroke the pieces of bone. They were warm and alive, very much a part of her. Then a hand snaked out to grip a portion of his anatomy and Starrk groaned, eyes half-closing as his pride and joy began to come back to life. She smiled, a twinkle in those blue violet eyes.
"I think you need another dusting, Wolf." She said teasingly and he wanted nothing more than to agree, particularly with her hand doing such wonderful, teasing things. But…
"I still want you to be my fraccion." He said, just as stubborn as she could be. Her eyes iced over and her hand left him, to his vast disappointment.
"I've told you before. No one takes a completely powerless fraccion. A fraccion always has something to offer and I'm not a whore, Starrk. Until I have something more to give you than my body I cannot accept your protection." She said, which frustrated him beyond measure. He knew what she endured from her fellow Numeros. He'd already seen livid bruises on that beautiful skin.
"What you have to offer me is more precious than anything in the world. I already have all the power I need. All I need now is you." He appealed to her and those eyes softened. Her hand went back to him and he gasped as those talented fingers resumed their intimate massage.
"That's beautiful but I just can't accept it. Please Starrk, make love to me." She said softly and he couldn't resist. He kissed her, deeply, tangling a hand in that blue-black hair. Her moan as he went down and began to explore her breasts with his tongue was music to his ears. But always, in the back of his mind, the question kept nagging him.
How could he get her to accept his protection?
"Is this the one?"
Violetta paused at the sound of that voice. It wasn't that close to her, not that it mattered. A bit of sonido would have the speaker in her personal space before she could blink and without any sonido of her own, there was nothing she could do. But the voice was female. It was not a sure thing, but females tended to be less dangerous than males.
"Oh, she can't be the one! She's powerless." That voice was younger and more abrasive. Violetta's lips thinned as she continued her work. They had not addressed her directly, yet. "Oi! You! Numero!" Well, there went that plan. Feeling rather annoyed – this old storeroom really needed a cleaning – she straightened and turned towards the owners of the voices.
There were three of them. Female arrancar, they were quite recognizable and Violetta blinked before giving them a deep bow. She'd never really met them before but she knew the Tres Beastias.
"Forgive me, fraccion-sama. How may I serve you?" She asked, glossing over the fact that she didn't know their names. The one with the mismatched eyes glanced her over with a small sneer.
"I'm sure you can't. Seriously, she can't be the one." She said and Violetta wondered what she was talking about. Then the one with the sleeve in front of her mouth spoke.
"She has been going into his wing. Who else can it be?" She asked and Violetta suddenly bit her lip as she understood. They were talking about Starrk. Briefly, she cursed the Primera as she began to get a grip on the situation. It was hardly the first time some female with a straying mate had become jealous of her. He could have at least warned her!
"Forgive me, fraccion-sama. I did not mean to trespass." She said as apologetically as she could. That garnered her a blank look from two of them, but the one with the sleeve just looked amused.
"Trespass?" The buxom one with the dark, wavy hair said, confused. "What are you talking about?" Violetta hesitated, wondering how to explain. Fortunately the other one took it out of her hands.
"She thinks we are jealous of her… relationship… with the Primera." She said smoothly. That made the other two suddenly break into raucous laughter, to her surprise and confusion.
"Oh kami! As if we would touch him." The one with the mismatched eyes said in both amusement and derision. Violetta frowned, feeling vaguely offended. Starrk was a good man and that was rather insulting to them both. Not that she would dare articulate her feelings to a fraccion. The dark skinned one snorted at the thought, waving it away.
"Yeah, as if we'd let his prick anywhere near us. Come on girl. The Tercero wants to speak to you." She said, grabbing Violetta by the arm and trying to sonido away. She ended up dragging the Numero before stopping. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I have no sonido." Violetta said through gritted teeth, trying to hide her pain. Being forced along at high speeds when she simply could not keep up was painful, to say the least. It would have been different if the fraccion had picked her up and carried her, but she'd simply dragged. If it weren't for her 'durability' her arm would likely be dislocated. The woman's grip on her slackened as she looked at her in disbelief.
"How in hell can you possibly be Starrk's squeeze?" She asked and Violetta almost wished she had no pride left to bruise. That hurt, it really did.
"I am extremely durable, fraccion-sama." She said as respectfully as she could, hoping that wouldn't give the other woman ideas. The woman scowled at her.
"I'm Mila Rose." She snapped and Violetta nodded, keeping her gaze down as she hid her hands in her skirts, fisting the fabric. "Oh… for god's sake, do you expect me to carry you?"
"I can walk Mila-sama. It will just take longer." Possibly quite a while. Violetta got up early to make her trip to Starrk's wing. The fraccion snorted before abruptly grabbing her. Violetta gasped as she was slung over one shoulder and carried like she weighed nothing.
The rest of the trip was fast, if humiliating. Violetta barely caught herself as she was dumped on the ground by her unwilling transport. Regaining her footing, she swallowed as she saw a dark back and blonde hair. This could only be the Tercero.
"We got her for you, Halibel-sama!" The girl with the different colored eyes announced. Despite what they had said earlier, Violetta most sincerely hoped the Tercero was not jealous of her relationship with Starrk. She could crush any Numero like a bug. Halibel turned to look at her and she fisted her hands in her skirts as she met those cold green eyes.
"This?" She sounded disbelieving as she raked her gaze over the Numero in front of her. Violetta winced to herself before standing straight and tall. Nothing could protect her but even now, she would maintain her pride. "…Are you certain? I thought it would be someone of Privaron strength." Violetta understood what she meant. The Privaron Espada had a unique rank because they had once been numbered among the Espada, then removed. But there were Numeros who had similar power who had never been inducted into the Espada at all. They were simply Numeros, although often fraccion. Most of Barragan's fraccion fell into that category.
"She confirmed it. She thought we were jealous of her and Starrk." The one with the sleeve said and the others laughed again. Even Halibel laughed, a soft chuckle. Violetta honestly found it slightly confusing. If you could withstand his spiritual pressure, Starrk was an excellent man. He was thoughtful, caring, gentle and kind… really, a treasure among the arrancar. Certainly, he could be lazy and occasionally crude but that seemed like minor flaws to Violetta. She would take lazy over cruel any day.
"Kami! No. Surely you know that I prefer the attentions of my fraccion?" She said and Violetta looked at the ground before answering.
"Of course Halibel-sama. However, all of us might someday seek to breed." She said carefully and almost wished she hadn't as the Tercero stiffened. "In terms of power levels, Starrk would be ideal…" He was the strongest. A child created between him and the Tercero would be magnificent. "I am sorry. I do not mean to offend. It was simply my first thought as to why you would concern yourself." She offered. Really, she should be beneath the Tercero's notice.
"Hm." Halibel's eyes raked over her again and Violetta couldn't help but feel self-conscious. "I assure you, I have no interest in… breeding." She made it sound like a dirty word and Violetta blinked. She was honestly rather in favor of a child, if she could be certain it was Starrk's. Unfortunately, given her circumstances there was no way to be sure of that. "I can sense very little power in you. How can you possibly survive his reiatsu?"
"I am extremely durable." She repeated, feeling sick of it. Then she smiled, although it was not a happy smile. "You can raise your reiatsu to whatever level your fraccion are comfortable with, Halibel-sama." Whatever level that was would be far beyond what most Numeros could tolerate. Halibel just looked at her and Violetta met her eyes as the power in the room increased. She felt it, of course, but it simply felt like a current eddying around her. There was a sound of surprise from one of the fraccion, quickly hushed.
"…I see. Intriguing. Yet you cannot use sonido." Halibel said. She'd noticed Mila carrying her, then. Violetta dropped her gaze, feeling her posture slump a bit. Having no speed was utterly crippling to her. "Can you form a cero?"
"No." That was almost as bad. If she'd had no sonido but still been capable of cero, she could have defended herself that way. "I cannot seem to use any power that is not passive in nature." Violetta had noticed that a very long time ago. "Unfortunately, I do not know why this is so." She knew that Starrk had approached both Szayel and Aizen about it. The thought of the second made her shudder a bit – Aizen himself? – but Starrk didn't seem to care. Of course, he was the Primera. Unfortunately, Aizen was regarding Starrk as a lovesick nuisance while Szayel was interested but far too busy with an important project. He'd promised to eventually see her, but not for some time.
"Hm. And why has Starrk not given you his protection?" She asked and Violetta could hear her disdain for the Primera in her voice. Vaguely, she wondered why Halibel seemed to think so ill of him. It seemed so very strange to her… but perhaps they had a history she knew nothing about.
"He has offered. I declined." She said and the fraccion couldn't resist getting in.
"Declined?! Are you crazy?" The one with the mismatched eyes exclaimed. Violetta looked down, feeling a touch weary. It did seem insane but she couldn't help but how she felt about it.
"Why would you do that?" Mila Rose said close on her heels and Violetta bit her lip. She didn't really want to… but then Halibel spoke.
"Please explain." She said and Violetta could do little else. Sighing to herself, she did her best.
"I am not a whore, Halibel-sama. Until I have something to offer Starrk besides my body, I will not accept his protection." She said firmly as she heard some whispers behind her. "We are hopeful that Szayel may be able to unlock my power. But right now, he is busy with a project for Aizen-sama." And Aizen had made it clear that Szayel was not to be distracted from it. "Forgive me, but if you are not interested in the Primera I am not certain why you are taking an interest." She said, deciding to be blunt. Perhaps it was dangerous, but she thought Halibel might appreciate some plain speaking. The Tercero's eyes narrowed a bit but she didn't seem to take offense.
"It interests me whenever a female may be being victimized." She said and Violetta couldn't help it. She laughed. It was a bitter, pain filled sound and she cut it off as quickly as she could. But she could still sense the surprise of the fraccion.
"Forgive me, Halibel-sama. I do not mean to mock. But does it matter to a bug if it is crushed by a boulder or a mountain?" She asked, which was simply true. Aizen could kill her no deader than any of the Numeros. He probably couldn't even torture her more. They could be quite inventive, sometimes. "Even if Starrk was abusing me, which he is not, it would be no different than what the others do." Yet Halibel wasn't offering to protect her from them. But then, how could she? She would have to take her as a fraccion and the Tercero wasn't about to take on dead weight, even if Violetta would have accepted.
"…I see." Halibel was wise enough to see the painful realities of her situation. Understanding flashed through those green eyes, followed by some compassion. "You should take Starrk's offer. Pride is well and good, but not when it threatens your life." She said and Violetta managed a brittle smile.
"I am very durable, Halibel-sama. May I return to my duties?" She was really getting very behind and didn't want to give Miramira a reason to beat her. Halibel nodded after a moment.
"Mila, carry you back to where you found her." She instructed and the fraccion groaned. Violetta found herself being slung over a shoulder again and hated every moment of it. But what could she do?
She had no power.
Lilinette frowned as she heard a soft sniffling.
She wasn't sure she liked this whole Starrk with Violetta thing. Why did he need to have a squeeze, anyway? He had her, didn't he? Sure, she couldn't do THAT, but did he need to do THAT? He'd gotten by with his hand forever! Well, maybe that was why he needed THAT, she supposed. Hands could get boring, maybe.
Violetta was still nice and she'd survived doing THAT, so maybe she was alright. But she wouldn't be Starrk's fraccion and it was making him sad. He wasn't sleeping as much and Lilinette thought that was just wrong. He kept trying to come up with ideas for how to make her his fraccion. He'd forbidden Lilinette to badger her but she was close to forgetting. If they were going to be doing THAT, Violetta should be his fraccion!
So when she heard the sniffling in the out of the way storeroom, she poked her nose in. Not to her surprise, Violetta was there. But she was crying. Lilinette had never seen her cry before and it was… weird. Like seeing Starrk all awake and worried. Weird.
"Hey, you okay?" She asked and Violetta turned, wiping her eyes for a moment before forcing on a smile. It didn't look right at all to Lilinette's eyes.
"I'm fine, Lilinette-sama." That was something she liked, how Violetta was still respectful but… yeah, something wasn't right.
"No you're not. What's wrong?" She demanded and Violetta dabbed her eyes again before sniffing.
"I just… I think I might be pregnant." She said softly and Lilinette blinked at her.
"Huh?" It took her a moment to get it. She'd never thought of THAT happening! But then, the stuff they were doing was to make babies. She'd just never thought Starrk could have any. Although… "Hey, you don't want it?" Why else was she so sad? Violetta smiled then, but it seemed really sad.
"I don't… know." She rested a hand over her belly, looking down. "I want it if it belongs to Starrk but…" She stopped and Lilinette wrinkled her nose. What did she mean?
"Wait, you've been doing THAT with someone else?" Lilinette said, appalled. "But Starrk really likes you!" She knew that wasn't right. And why would Violetta want someone else? The Numero laughed for a moment before speaking seriously.
"Oh, Lilinette-sama, I don't WANT to do that with anyone else. But as a Numero with no power, they can force me." She said and Lilinette winced as she got it. It was true, the strong could do whatever they liked to the weak. She didn't have to worry about it because she was Starrk's fraccion and only an idiot would tick him off but she still understood that. She just hadn't thought about forcing someone to do THAT before.
"Well, you shouldn't worry. It's Starrk's." She said firmly as Violetta just smiled sadly. "Oi! Don't look at me like that! I know what I'm talking about. Weak can't breed with strong, right?" She said. She remembered hearing that somewhere. Violetta blinked and nodded. "You've got to be a lot stronger than you look. I bet those stupid Numeros couldn't do the job. It has to be Starrk!" Violetta had survived having sex with him and she could stand to be around him even when he was pumping his power into the air. Lilinette had SEEN that. She had to be strong!
"You… you might be right. I've been a Numero for some time and… active… most of it. This is the first time…" Violetta bit her lip for a moment, thinking about it. But Lilinette knew one thing for sure.
"You have to tell Starrk. Right now!" She said firmly and grabbed her arm, tugging her. Violetta winced but went with her. "Now where is he? Probably sleeping…" Although maybe not. You never knew these days.
He was actually sleeping this time. Spread out on his favorite cushion, he was snoring softly with his head tilted back. Lilinette grinned before she leapt right onto his belly.
"ARGH!" Starrk was dragged back to consciousness quite rudely. "Lilinette? Oh, Violetta?" He yawned, trying to shake away the cobwebs as Lilinette straddled his chest, ready to punch him if he didn't wake up fast enough. But he was getting there pretty good. She could be nice to him, sort of.
"Yeah, she's knocked up! Pup in the belly!" Lilinette said sharply and heard Violette choke behind her. Starrk just looked at her funny before his eyes shot wide open and he sat up so fast, she almost rolled off. "Hey!"
"Wait, WHAT?" He said and Lilinette grinned. That was a good look on his face! Kind of reminded her of that one time she'd kicked him in the no no place. Although she hadn't meant to do that. It had been an accident. "Violetta?"
"I… I think I am. I'm late." That confused Lilinette. If she was late shouldn't she be going somewhere? She opened her mouth to say so but then Starrk interrupted.
"Oh kami I… Violetta, you think it's mine?" He was ignoring her then, sweeping Violetta into his arms. That was kind of like those romantic picture books she'd seen once. Lilinette wasn't sure about it but if they were together that was the sort of thing people did, right?
"I – I think so. But I can't be sure." She admitted, pressing her face against his chest. Lilinette watched as Starrk's face tightened for a moment before going all compassionate. He gently stroked her hair, still holding her.
"We'll go to Szayel and he'll make time to see you. He can check, it won't take him long." Starrk said firmly and Lilinette approved. Aizen was a dick, not letting Szayel run some tests on Violetta. What was he doing that was so important anyway? Not that she'd understand it if they tried to explain. It was boring anyway.
Starrk carried her out of his wing and Lilinette grabbed his shoulder, hitching a ride. Starrk could move like the wind when he really wanted to and right now, he wanted to. She wasn't going to be left behind, no way.
"Starrk? To what do I owe the visit?" Szayel was busy with something, not looking up from his computer. Starrk gently set Violetta down but kept an arm around as Lilinette hopped off his shoulders.
"I need you to test something for me. Violetta thinks she's pregnant." That made Szayel look up. Lilinette wasn't too surprised. Kids weren't that common to start with and Starrk was vasto lorde so, well, yeah. "Can you see if it's mine?"
"Hmm? Well… I really shouldn't but it will hardly take a moment." Szayel quickly saved whatever he was working on before rummaging around. "Just a simple reiatsu comparison…" The rest totally went over Lilinette's head. She watched as Szayel came out with his verdict. "The child belongs to you, Primera. Are congratulations in order?" He asked with a smile and Lilinette cheered as Starrk pulled Violetta into a deep, passionate kiss. "I see they are. Congratulations!"
"You must be my fraccion now." Starrk said firmly as they parted. Violetta was looking at him all flushed and adorable. Lilinette nodded firmly.
"Yeah! You're giving Starrk a pup! That's huge!" From what Starrk had been mumbling, Violetta hadn't wanted to be his fraccion until she could give him something. Well, this was it. Violetta took a deep breath before nodding.
"Yes Starrk. I'll be your fraccion." They were all over each other then and Szayel was already going back to his computer. Lilinette had to herd them out, which she did with a few well-placed kicks. Starrk's yelp was pretty funny.
But if they were going to do THAT, Szayel's lab REALLY wasn't the place.