A/N: This is the last chapter, everybody. It may seem to you like more should be written, and you'd be right to think that. This story has a whole lot of potential to branch off into several different directions. But, I hope you all understand that I have to get on with my life, seeing as how writing fan fiction is just not paying my bills, lol. I've been writing this one story for 1 ½ years now, and it is SERIOUSLY time for me to finish it. Honestly, I don't have the time nor energy to continue any further, so I wanted to technically "finish" it, even if the story still could go on for quite a bit longer.

So, I'm sorry that I have to speedily end it with the epilogue already, but I gotta do what I gotta do. I hope you all understand. It is just a fan fiction, after all, and nothing to take too seriously. I wanted to illustrate their relationship in this part, and sum it all up as a conclusion. It's just a short glimpse into their lives, but I don't have the time to spare anymore than this, and devising more scenes and interesting plots, etc. has become impossible.

I've had fun writing it, nevertheless, from beginning to end, and I thank everyone who has read and reviewed it! And, if you have questions about the story, feel free to ask them in your reviews, or however you'd like, and I'll respond as promptly as I can...

The Artificial Sun Also Sets

Epilogue: "The King and His Queen"

Aizen sighed softly as he exhaled at the sheets hovering a few inches away from his nose. He could smell something very distinctive wafting its way into his bedroom from somewhere else nearby. Such an odd odor made him open his eyes slightly, as his vision came into focus. He rolled onto his back, breathing in more heavily this time, his rib cage rising and falling in order. He put his hands behind the back of his brown hair while still resting his head on the large pillow, his sheets falling down to his waist, exposing his bare torso.

He glanced over to his left to see the other side of his bed empty, the covers still strewn about. "I wonder what she's doing today?" he asked himself. With that, he sat up in bed, his covers draped around his legs as he slid into a thin kimono that barely covered his nakedness. As it hung loosely over his tall, chiseled frame, he tied the sash into a bow at his waist. He walked over to the curtains, pulling them back to reveal the morning sun of his fortress, Las Noches. Walking barefoot, he left the bedroom and followed his nose into the nearby kitchen where Orihime busily cooked some confusing concoction, or other.

Quietly, he sneaked up from behind her, placing his hands gently on her large belly, as he rested his chin on her little shoulder. "The smell of your cooking woke me up..." he whispered into her ear. She giggled under her breath, quickly snapping around to face him.

"Sousuke!" she said, throwing her arms up behind his neck, giving him a quick smooch on the lips. "This morning, I'm making parfait over rice and Donut Oden. And, right after that, bean paste steak! It's gonna be great!"

Aizen mildly chuckled at her, as she turned back to the stove. "Are those even foods you're supposed to eat for breakfast? Seems unseasonal to be eating Oden in the summertime..."

"Aww..." she said, turning back to pretend scold him with her wagging index finger. She was wearing a frilly pink apron that somehow managed to fit over her well developed midsection with a pretty summer dress. And, somehow, the entire scene fit her perfectly. "...I never worry about stuff like that! Maybe you'll like it, if you try it!"

"Of course I will, my dear... You're an excellent cook, but you take strange pregnancy cravings farther than I've ever heard of, before," said Aizen, smoothing his fingers through his wavy, unkempt hair, as he straddled a wooden chair at the breakfast table nearby. He lifted a mug of freshly brewed tea up to his lips, taking a sip. Before he knew it, he began a small coughing fit, which he recovered from quickly, after patting himself on the chest. Orihime turned to look at him, but he smiled back as if nothing were wrong. "One of these days I'm going to have to teach her how to brew tea..." he mumbled to himself.

"What was that, Sousuke?" asked Orihime, while still flipping pots and pans around all over the stove and counter top.

"Ah—nothing! I believe I feel like drinking water this morning, instead."

"Of course!" she chirped, beaming a large grin at him. After setting down his glass of water, she held her belly as she waited for the food to finish cooking. Her eyes glazed over as if she were in a reverie, as she stood near the breakfast table.

"What's on your mind, Orihime?" he asked, sipping his water. "You seem lost in a dream."

"Oh—was I?" she asked, rubbing the back of her head, a little embarrassed. "Well, you see, I... The baby is only a month from being born. He—he's coming so soon. I feel... a little nervous..."

Aizen moved back his chair and walked over to her, grabbing one of her hands, and one of her cheeks with the other hand. He leaned down to gently kiss the other cheek, holding her face near his, peering into her eyes. "This is your first child, my love. It's normal to be nervous before the baby is born. If I didn't think you'd make an excellent mother, I wouldn't have brought you to my palace. You have nothing to worry about as you will have all the help you need at your disposal. Our son will be so fortunate to have the best mother that could ever exist..."

She blushed at his words, blinking a few times as if trying to comprehend them. "Thank you for the kind words, but I can't help it. I think I'm just gonna be worried until he finally gets here, and then, I don't know what I'm gonna do, other than be worried still!" She visibly began working herself up into a flurry.

Aizen wrapped his arms around her back, pressing her face into the opening of his kimono, up against his chest. He let out a long sigh, rubbing his hand up and down her spine.

"My little Orihime, who worries even when she's with me, Aizen Sousuke. You know there's nothing to fear when I am by your side, supporting you, don't you?" He asked it more rhetorically, not expecting an answer. Still, he narrowed his eyebrows down at the floor behind her, as this only indicated just how difficult her mind was for him to mold into whatever shape he desired. He felt he was making progress as she had been clearly more accepting of him as her husband more and more over the months since the wedding. Still, he felt the challenge of doing it made the whole process even more satisfying. After all, he chose her because she had a mind of her own.

"All that matters is you, Orihime," he said, stroking the back of her head, as she looked up at his face. "Right now, you're as beautiful as the sun on a summer morning."

"Well, I have been looking more like a big round ball lately, haven't I?" she said, smirking. As the odor of the cooking food on the stove began to intensify, she jerked her head over towards the kitchen. "Oh—the food's gonna burn soon!"

"Well, let's eat," said Aizen, taking his seat, again. Orihime put the rice in two glasses with the topping, and carried the pot of eggs and fish parts, swimming amongst a few odd additives, placing them on the table. Aizen lifted some Oden into his mouth with a pair of chop sticks, chewing a couple of times while smiling gratuitously at Orihime, sitting across the table from him. He hoped the grinning would hide his displeasure at what was swishing around inside his mouth at the moment. He giggled out loud so as to indicate to her that he was enjoying his meal. She easily giggled in return, since it was easy for her to get excited whenever she ate her own unusual cooking...

* * * * *

...And, so the morning wore on like so many others that came before and after it, scene after scene of apparent wedded bliss—all culminating into something much larger than a simple rule over Hueco Mundo. Aizen had a goddess to return to her true home and a throne in another dimension to take over. He had a progeny to build, a family legacy to oversee.

When that fateful day finally came, the day when he felt his little family of three was finally ready for their destiny, he brought Orihime to the gates of her new home. It was the perfect home fit only for the queen of the heavens—the sun herself. They bade farewell to the artificial sun of Las Noches as it set in its sky for the last time, it's own brightness and warmth being no match for the real thing...

...The End.