A/N: Sorry this took so long, but I'm not feeling my best at the moment.

REVIEEEEEW FOR IT FEEDS MY ETERNAL ENGINE OF CREATION!

Seriously though, your reviews keep me writing and I enjoy hearing from you all.

That aside, the ending to Darling in the Franx...well, it just felt like things were wrapped up a little too neatly. I don't know how else to put it, save that it put me off the show and writing anything related for awhile. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad most of them got happy endings, it just felt...rushed.

In any case, I'm working two jobs at the moment, but I'm doing my damndest to provide everyone with double updates.

So here you go, a short little interlude to tide you all over while I work.

Talk to you guys and gals later tonight~!

Sorry if its short~!

...we'll have to get out of bed sooner or later, you know."

"Nope. Don't wanna. Not gonna let go, Darling."

"I don't have any say in this, do I?"

"Nope, nope, nooope~!"

"Tch. Troublesome."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

~?

Mine (Interlude)

Warm.

Zero Two hummed like a contented kitten to herself as she buried her head in a pillow and tugged the blanket closer to her bare body. She never wanted to leave this bed. Ever. Ensconced in the silken cocoon she'd built for herself overnight, she was quite determined to laze away the rest of the day in warm contented bliss. Dappled sunlight spilled through the window, not bright enough to wake her, yet just enough to warm her exposed visage all the same. Thick blankets rustled against bare skin through her nightgown as she quietly curled inward on herself; fingers of fine cotton feebly plucked at her senses to lull her back to sleep. She was half-tempted to let them and would've, if not for one, tiiiiiiny problem.

...stop hogging all the blankets, will you?" a sleepy groan rumbled through her ears. "I'm cold."

An impish grin stole across the oni's face, green eyes creasing in a smile.

"Too bad~!"

With an exultant laugh the pinkette tugged the blankets tighter about herself and burrowed deep. Someone yanked them back and Zero Two yelped, quite suddenly finding herself deprived of the precious warmth that had been so ready to lull her back to sleep a moment ago. Shivering in the pale morning light she tried to haul them back, to no avail. Her companion's grip was ironclad and she gained naught but an inch.

A small, petulant whine built in the back of her throat. "No fair, Naruto!"

His low, sonorous snore answered, turning her gaze to jade slits.

"No, no, no! You do not get to go back to sleep after that!"

In a single fluid movement the hybrid vaulted onto his back and slammed a feather pillow onto her lover's head. Naruto didn't even twitch. Damn. She forgot he could sleep like the dead when he wanted to. Well! She had other ways of rousing him now, didn't she? And if it caused him a bit of discomfort, too bad.

"C'mon now, wake up!"

Impossibly, he snored all the louder.

Zero Two rolled her eyes and climbed higher, lowering her lips to his exposed ear. Still he didn't stir. She even tried blowing into it, but the blond only swatted at her ineffectually. No. Not good enough. With the hints of an amused smile, she bent low, opened her mouth, and-

Chomp~!

"Bwargh?!"

Naruto jerked upright, arms flailing as if he'd been doused with scalding water. Mission accomplished. Even as he flailed about like a berserk klaxosaur, Zero Two slithered under his guard to tackle him back to the bed. For his part the blond didn't resist. Perhaps he recognized her scent. Perhaps he'd simply woken quickly. Regardless, his arms tightened around her waist and she found herself trapped beneath him-blankets and all-in relative short order. Of course he'd reacted so quckly; he was hers, after all. She expected no less of her mate.

No one else was allowed to touch him.

No one else could ever look at him.

No one else would have him.

Maybe she had a problem.

She considered that for a moment as she nuzzled into his back.

Meh.

Screw the Nines. It had felt good to beat that little bastard's face in, no matter what chaos might come of it. Alpha wouldn't trouble them anymore, and the rest of his little squad would likely be too terrified to intervene again. Still, security had proven remarkably lax the last few days; if they were going to be apprehended for it-and Zero Two thought it quite likely they would be-she'd thought Papa or APE would've acted by now. Yet they had done nothing of the sort. How very unlike those rotten cowards. What was holding them back? Were they afraid? She hoped they were. Not that she objected, mind you.

She was far too focused on other matters.

"Hey, Darling."

With a yawn, the object of her affections turned over to face her.

"What're ya waking me up for so early, oi?" mismatching eyes regarded her blearily.

"No reason." she hummed, giving his shoulder a playful/teasing nibble. "Just missed you."

Those bleary blue eyes gazed at her for another long moment, blinking slowly as sense struggled to reassert itself.

All told, she wasn't wholly prepared when he reached out and pulled her close. Warm lips alighted against her forehead and she purred, curling close to him. Even through the blankets his body was like a small furnace, a gentle oven wrapping her in layers of warmth. She was just about to drift off again when she felt his lips brush the outer lobe of her ear.

"You know, I've decided something." he hummed almost to himself. "Lets get married."

Zero Two sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth.

"What did you just...?!"

In her quiet frenzy the words had tumbled out of her before Zero Two could've thought to hold them back, and she felt him stiffen against her body. Her cheeks burned and she seized him in a strong embrace, slammed her flushing face headlong into her beloved's chest with enough force to cut him with tips of her horns. She expected shock. Disbelief at the least. Truth be told, Zero Two barely even knew what marriage was-thanks to that book-but she knew it enough to know that she wanted it. Him.

Fiercely. Desperately.

The slow, sleepy smile he gave her was anything but and a traitorous whimper stole out of her despite her very best intentions.

For all her fierce pride and the front she'd put up, she hadn't expected him to actually ask that. Not so readily at least. Naruto was always the curious one, always asking questions, always careful not to rush headlong into a fight they weren't prepared for. That he'd suddenly said yes-to something she'd been hoping for on years now-sent a sudden pang of self-consciousness stabbing. Of joy, but also relief. Chewing at her lip, the oni leaned forward, butting his head with her horns. She could almost see his now, faint crimson tips peeking out toward the back of his head.

...are you sure?"

He blinked at her. "What kind of question is that?"

"I'm messed up, you know." for all her joy and fear she clenched his right hand tightly, fingers white-knuckled around his own. "I'm stupid and selfish and jealous and loud...and...and messy!" in the face of his serene calm she flailed at an excuse." Why would you ever want someone like me? I keep causing trouble for you-

He kissed her fiercely, distracting her most pleasantly with his ministrations.

"You need to stop doing that! There's nothing wrong with you."

"But-

When she opened her mouth to protest further he smothered any and all objections with his lips again. Gentle fingers threaded through the smooth curtain of her hair, gently cradling her head as she sought a better angle against him. Another protests fell still on her tongue, replaced by a soft, mewling moan as his own danced with hers. Whenever she tried to protest he was there to smooth away her fears.

"Just so you know," she hissed, "I'm stubborn. And I never give up."

Naruto kissed her again. "That's what I love most about you."

Her heart fluttered and that was the end of it.

With that something stirred in Zero Two and she growled furiously, reluctance and fear giving way to desire. She locked her legs around his waist to hold herself steady against him, to hold him to her as much as she did him. Fine. He wanted to be that way, did he? So be it. They were both broken in their own way; she with her wild fits of passion, and he with the looming gaps in his past. She cared about him, and he about her, and that would just have to be enough. Whatever mountains rose in their path, whatever enemies barred their way; they'd face them together.

"I've decided." she declared, nuzzling her cheek against his. "We're never going to leave this bed."

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "We'll have to get out of bed sooner or later, you know."

"Nope." she sang. "Don't wanna. Not gonna let go, Darling."

"I don't have any say in this, do I?"

"Nope, nope, nooope~!"

"Tch. Troublesome."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

A/N: Well, now! 0_0

Feels good to write Zero Two again.

She's just so damn entertaining when she's in her element.

Now, some

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

..Review, Would You Kindly?

And enjoy the previeeews!

POTENTIAL ones at that.

(Previews!)

Naruto shot past.

"Go, go, goooooo~!"

"Wait, what about the others-

Blue eyes blazed back at her. "You asked me to choose. I choose you."

Zero Two's heart fluttered traitorously and she clamored into the Franxx after him. In moments, they were away.

"Welcome to the resistance."

"Just...come home."

"See, I don't think you understand what you're playing at here." His hands crunched down on the table with a deafening crack, warping the metal beneath. "We don't care about saving the world, the world can go burn for all we care.

He leaned forward.

"WE'RE THE BAD GUYS."

R&R~!