The sun shone brightly on the beach of a tropical island, the day's light reflecting off the ocean's undulating surface, shimmering like a blanket of scattered jewels. It was on this picturesque beach of an unnamed island that a towering, primordial figure stood. Nearly four-hundred feet all, dark-scaled, ancient and unyielding.

The Alpha Predator. King of the Monsters. Godzilla

His towering form was etched against the tropical. The sun beat down on his jagged silhouette, casting an otherworldly aura around him. He had come here for a purpose, driven by an instinct as ancient as time itself.

With a deep and resonating bellow, Godzilla unleashed a series of powerful roars that pierced the tranquility of the island's serenity. Each call sent ripples through the trees, dislodging leaves and startling the native creatures into a frenzied chorus of their own. The roars were not of aggression or warning, but of summoning. A call.

Minutes passed, and the only response was the echo of his own voice against the cliffs. But Godzilla was patient, a guardian who had weathered countless millennia. His ancient eyes, which had seen the rise and fall of civilizations, remained fixed on the horizon. Finally, the silence was broken. Not by the sound of the sea or the wind, but by the rhythmic beating of vast wings.

A shape descended through the clouds moved across the stars, growing larger with each beat. The wingbeats were like the softest thunder, heralding the arrival of something majestic. The ocean's surface churned as a powerful downdraft preceded the magnificent creature's descent. Godzilla's gaze did not waver; he knew who approached.

And then she emerged, her wings unfurling to reveal the intricate patterns of red and black and orange, a screech emitting from her mandibles. Mothra: the Queen of the Monsters. Reborn and restored to her full glory, descending towards her symbiotic partner.

Godzilla's sounds became a rumble of welcome and acknowledgment. Mothra responded with a series of chirps and wing flutters, a language as old as the earth itself. They were two beings of immense power, yet in this moment, they were akin to the softest whisper of nature's harmony.

Mothra's legs touched down on the sand before her king with a grace that belied her enormous size. Her magnificent wings folded inward across her body as she gazed up at her partner. She had missed him.

"Hello, my king," she greeted.

The saurian Titan's gaze softened, his amber eyes flickering with emotion. "Hello, my queen."

That ancient rumble of a voice was as comforting to Mothra as anything ever had been. But as she looked up at the Alpha, she noticed fresh scars across his body. "You're hurt."

It was faint, almost imperceptible, but Godzilla twitched. His tail swayed behind him, and he tried to make an excuse. "It's nothing"

"Gojira." There was a subtle sternness in her voice. She knew how long her full restoration and evolution could take. Long enough for her partner to find himself into all sorts of mischief; it was an all too common occurrence. "What happened this time?"

The saurian behemoth's claws curled, his body stance growing more tense as he averted his eyes. "Well…"

And for the next couple of minutes, he told her.

And as Mothra learned about what had transpired since her last death at the cruel will of King Ghidorah, she was incensed. Not only had her counterpart gotten into several intense scuffles with the last of the Kong species, but the two rivals had torn up a considerable amount of two major human cities in the process.

"You did WHAT while I was gone?!" Mothra said, her wings spreading out to full width and her antenna twitching rapidly while she fussed at him.

It may have seemed impossible for the mighty King of the Monsters to appear anxious, but his queen had a way of bringing that out of the proud alpha predator. "B-But Mothra! I thought Ghidorah was back! Which he sort of was, but… Look, it all worked out in the end, okay?"

"No! Not okay!" Mothra said as she stomped two of her six feet, the ground trembling. "How many homes, lives ended, and how many more were placed in jeopardy because of your reckless fighting? You are supposed to be the protector of Earth, not some… rampaging beast who can destroy towns and homes at the drop of a hat!"

"I wouldn't have done it if they hadn't, as usual, messed around with things they shouldn't have!" Godzilla said back. "They were meddling with Ghidorah's remains!"

"But did you have to destroy two cities to prevent that from happening?" the queen asked. She was still annoyed, but her angry expression gave way to a softer one.

"I only destroyed the one place where his song came from," the king grumbled. "Mostly. And then the humans brought him back from the dead in some… undead contraption that almost killed me."

The giant moth's head gave a small jolt, taken aback by his comment. "They brought what back from the dead?"

Godzilla snorted, some contempt for the Tiny Ones' foolishness showing in his face. "A few of them used what little was left of Ghidorah to build something. Some kind of… false Titan made of their 'metal.'" His teeth bared in a small growl, the voice of the final remaining Ghidroah head from it fresh in his mind. "I could hear San's cruel voice inside it."

"You could…hear?" Mothra asked, shocked. She never thought an artificial replica Titan could carry such a thing. Much less what could it even want. And why would the humans even attempt bringing back such a terrifying Titan?

"They tried to control it and use it against me," Godzilla said, "but it turned on them and went on a rampage before I fought it."

Mothra sighed and shook her head. To think the humans could delude themselves into believing they could control something so malicious… it must have been pure hubris on their part. And if they could build a weapon of such terrible power to threaten even her mighty king, would they do it again? Sometimes she could scarcely blame Gojira for his frustration.

"You were reckless to cause such destruction during this fighting," Mothra said at last. "But I understand you were enraged at that thing for what it was and for doing what it was doing." She gazed back up at her fellow guardian. "But you did go a little bit too far, dear."

The leviathan sulked a bit, again avoiding eye contact. He looked fairly chided at the butterfly's scolding. "To be fair, it is half Kong's fault."

Mothra's blue compound eyes turned harsher, the queen not taking the attempt at a dodge kindly. "Do not try to pin any of the blame onto Kong, Gojira."

"It's true!" The Alpha said, trying to defend himself. "He challenged me! And then he wouldn't submit! …Maybe not half the damage was because of him, but that has to count for something."

The Goddess of Rebirth was becoming increasingly annoyed with her counterpart. "Gojira. You do realize you have the power to not fight him? Even if he challenges you, you could just… walk away," the butterfly Titan said, hoping he would at least hear her out.

Conversely, Godzilla's countenance hardened as he drew himself to his full height, his ageless alpha instincts and willful self-pride rising. "There can only be one king. Balance must be maintained. You know this."

Mothra stared at him, taking a moment to collect herself. He could be so darned stubborn. "Balance, yes, Gojira, but it does not always have to be a fight. There are other means of establishing yourself as the Alpha without having to destroy whole cities, innocent people and a giant ape." She looked at him with that same annoyed yet motherly look. "There is more to being a king than just brute strength and forcing others to submit to your will."

Being the wise and mature Titan he is, Mothra hoped her counterpart would be able to see this truth. To be fair, she didn't entirely disagree with him. But sometimes you have to know what battles aren't worth fighting, no matter how much you dislike your rivals.

This time Godzilla only grumbled and avoided her gaze. It would appear that he no longer had any weapons left in this argument.

Behold the mighty King of the Monsters, brought low by an overgrown butterfly using nothing but words.

Mothra sighed but was also smiling. It seemed she was going to have him learn when and how to pick his battles. "I'll let it slide for now, just be more responsible next time, okay?" she said lovingly.

"Fine…" Gojira muttered after a moment.

The wise queen Titan could sense that her words were slowly getting to him. He might be a stubborn behemoth, but it seemed her nurturing side might be slowly be working. Baby steps. She flew up to him and landed on his head, wrapping one her long legs around his neck in a loving embrace. "I love you, dear."

The saurian grumbled again. He could be quite the salty lizard. as his queen sometimes called him, when he didn't get his way. But he snorted, and replied back after another moment. Her touched on top of him was welcome. "Love you too."

Mothra's antennas swayed side to side for a bit before stopping and she gave a contented sigh as she just enjoyed the physical contact of her and her king's embrace. "I just… don't always want to have to worry you'll be so irresponsible again that you'll get yourself killed."

She'd feel the smallest hint of her body shifting as his head inclined somewhat. He seemed to understand.

Gojira's thoughts shifted, the prospect of death bringing up another subject. "How was the Lady?"

Mothra's antennas twitched, her body stiffening at the mention of a grimly familiar figure. In the time between death and rebirth, while her new body formed within its egg, her soul was spirited away to realm of Limbo, where she spent it in the company of presence she was uncomfortable around, to say the least. An old acquaintance to both royal Titans. The shepherd for all departed souls.

Lady Death.

Mothra never liked thinking about the time she spent down there while waiting to be reborn. She found the Lady… unsettling. There was something about her that the Queen of the Monsters didn't entirely trust. "She was… fine. I suppose," the butterfly said at last.

Godzilla's amber eyes flickered upward. He supposed it was inevitable that Mothra, a goddess of life and rebirth would have some reservations about the personification of death itself. The two were diametrically opposed to one another. But the Lady was not a malicious being. And was one of the few, if only occasional constants the King of Monsters had for company on those rare occasions he was grievously injured.

"She's not scheming or wicked," Gojira said in Lady Death's defense, while still keeping his tone respectfully gentle for his queen. "Only carrying out her duty."

In was something the Alpha and the Lady had in common.

Mothra's antenna swayed and she relaxed a bit. Gojira knew his queen so well, and she did know that he was right in what he was saying. Lady Death was not some evil creature, just someone doing their job to the best of her knowledge and ability.

"Hmm… maybe I am being a little unfair." Mothra finally relented with a grunt of slight frustration at herself. "I suppose she isn't a bad creature." The queen gave a small laugh "I'd even say she's rather pleasant once you get past her whole 'I am the embodiment of death' thing." Mothra said, sounding mildly amused.

The faintest of smiles creased Gojira's ancient lips. He stared out at the sun over the horizon for several long moments, then spoke again. "I missed you, my sunlight. Life is never as bright without you."

Mothra was completely taken aback by the gesture. She hadn't heard that nickname in a long time; she always had trouble thinking of Gojira as the romantic type, but he had his moments, at least.

"I missed you too, my great king," she said softly. Her wings fluttered lovingly and she made a small contented noise, wrapping her appendages a little bit tighter around him. It was good to see he was being so much more emotional with her. She did like him more when he was open and caring like this.

The two royal Titans stayed as they were for a long moment, gazing out across the sea. Their lives could be far from orderly. But at least, in this moment, they had each other. And that was enough.

An eternal lesson: every man, no matter how powerful, fears his woman. I've had this idea in the back of my mind for an uncomfortably long time lol.

Full disclosure, I'm a full Godzilla/Mothra supporter. And the Monsterverse versions of the kaiju might just be my favorite interpretations. Both for the designs, especially for Godzilla, and the new dynamic that the King of the Monsters staff gave to him and Mothra's relationship. Another one banged out. Do leave your reviews!

Disclaimer: cover art belongs to pyrasterran on Deviantart.

-SSD