PotH: Revolution [PART 2] (NSFW)

Cross grinned at Dart, shook his hand. "I guess you'll be calling me Dad soon, huh?"

Dart blinked, blushed slightly. "Marriage? Well, uh, I mean, I don't even have a ring to..."

[Well, that's just great. -_- Okay, thanks for the heads-up]

Danny's smile widened. "I think I'd like to be married to Dart."

Dart smiled. "Then I'd better get a ring, at some point."

Cross nodded. "I'm sure Sol or Nova will set you right."

Danny blushed slightly, nuzzling her mother shyly. Star laughed, hugging the girl. "Well, I think it's great! All my babies are finding love."

Danny looked up, smile wide and happy. "I love you, Mom."

She held Danny tightly. "Oh, I love you, too."

Dart looked over, cleared his throat. "Um, the pancakes are starting to burn."

"Oh, shit!" Star went for them, flipping them off the stove before they got too bad. "Well... I blame you, Dart."

"Why?"

The hedgecat smiled at her daughter. "Well, I gotta blame someone."

He shrugged. "Because I mentioned it; because I distracted her with my talk of love, marriage, and a family; take your pick."

Danny smiled, laying a hand on her belly at the word family. Star sent a look Cross's way. Pregnant? At a time like this?

Cross looked back, nodded, then turned a serious look on Dart. "Are you sure it's the best time for a family? Things are about to get intense."

Dart sighed. "I know. But when she asked - knowing what she'd been through - I just couldn't say no. And I just got caught up."

Danny frowned. "But it'll be a few months, right? They'll be done by then, won't they?"

Star sighed. They hadn't been gone very long the last time; hopefully, they wouldn't be gone long this time. "All right."

"Besides..." A blade flashed in his hand, a determined look in his eyes. "I won't let anyone touch her. And this isn't all I can do."

Star grinned. "Dart, I've got plenty of faith in you. Now sit and eat. I've got more to make with everyone being here soon."

Danny smiled. "Can I help?"

The hedgecat nodded. "Sure."

Dart blinked, the blade gone from his hand. Something told him that Danny hadn't done much cooking.

"Relax, Dart," Cross said. "Star's there to watch her. And so am I."

"You cook?"

"Who do you think does the omelets around here?"

"Amen to that," Star mused. "Here, Danny, stir this. Try not to spill it."

"Okay." Purring, she started to stir the batter, smiling as Star added ingredients.

Cross smiled, grabbing a bowl and a carton of eggs. "If you wanna help, Dart, you can help me with this. I hear you've got an nose for food."

Dart nodded, taking a seat at the table, where multiple other ingredients were laid out. He and Cross got right to work.

Danny sniffed the air, looking over. "I've never had any of this."

"Well, get used to it, sweetie. You'll be having all sorts of new things now."

"There's a lot you have to learn," Cross said, smiling over his shoulder.

"We'll try to take it slow, but it'll be best to learn fast... a little bit more pepper?"

"I use something different. Take a whiff of this..." The two were back over their area, in an instant.

Danny giggled, smiling at Star. The hedgecat grinned, showing Danny how to make the pancakes - without burning them.

Smiling softly, Star watched her put the pancakes on plates. It was like having a little kid again, but... Somehow different. She kept smiling at Dart, unmistakable love in her eyes.

Those eyes... Star leaned against the counter, gazing at them as she had been most of the morning. She only remembered those eyes cold and sadistic... Now here they were again, warm and gentle and all-too-innocent. She trusted unconditionally and was just so...

Star smiled, hugging the girl. There was no way, she realized, that she could've gotten any of that from that bastard of a wolf. Which meant Danny was all hers, and who knew she had so much in her to give?

The cat started to purr. She felt warm and safe and... loved. If this was what having a mom was like, she never wanted it to change. She never wanted to not have a mom again. So she would have to protect her mother with everything she had and maybe all of that painful training would be good, after all.

Instead of having to kill the hedgecat, she could save her. She looked into the hedgecat's eyes, her own shining with joyful determination. She'd be the best daughter she could be.

And when she had her own baby, she would be the best mother she could be, too. And she would have Dart with her to help. She looked to the doorway, purring when she heard Nat's laughter. He was so cute and little and fun! She loved having a nephew just as much as she did having a mom.

And maybe a dad. The smile she aimed at Cross was shy. She still didn't know what she could do with him. Star she knew for sure would deliver as many hugs as Danny wanted, but the echidna? She didn't know. She liked the way he talked to Dart, the way he moved. He looked like he would protect anything and anyone, but did that include her? She wanted it to so badly... Hope glimmered in her eyes now. She wanted him to love her as much as she already loved him.

[Okay, yeah, lol. Long post kept me up later than I wanted to be up, lulz. 'Night, guys ^w^]

Cross felt eyes on him. They weren't Star's or Dart's. He found himself glancing to the side, and saw Danny smiling at him. It was shy, but it was a smile, nonetheless. He found that a warm spot in his heart heated up even further. It was where he held his family close to him, namely, his children.

First, there was Trip. He was already with Star, when they met. In fact, he arrived just a couple of months after Trip's adoption had been finalized. When he first heard of the kit's story, he empathized, somewhat, his own father forcing him into things he didn't want, but nothing like what Trip had to endure. It took quite a while, but the kit was able to warm up to him, and it helped open Cross' own emotions.

Then, there was Shine, his miracle. The moment he heard Star's story, Sever's golden eyes were burned into his mind. For a moment, all it did was make him angry - angry that he would never get a chance to be the father his own wasn't, at least not with the woman he loved. But then it sparked a determination. He would find a way to fix Star, which he did successfully. Not long after, Shine was born, healthy and happy. He couldn't have asked for anything better.

And now, there was Danny. At first, whenever he looked in her eyes, all he saw was Sever: cold, sadistic... But Star wasn't the only one who suffered from that day. Danny did, all her life. The poor child endured so much, from being kept awake during excruciating operations, to pushing her to a thread of her life left, to freezing her, and God knows what else. All the same, she still remains happy, optimistic, gentle, and above all, innocent. There couldn't be a strand of Sever within her, the way she was. Full and true, this was Star's daughter.

And so it would be his daughter, as well. He didn't care about where the eyes originally came from. He would sooner carve out the original's, rather than a copy's. He decided that Danny would have a father - a real father - one who would nurture, protect, and above all, love her, as if she were Shine or even Trip. Danny would be his daughter, and he would love her, as such.

Cross stood from the table. "You can handle things, for a moment, right Dart? Just follow the tips I gave you." When Dart nodded, he went over to the two girls, smiling. "Hey, Star. Do you mind if I borrow Danny, for a moment?"

[...Yeah, lol. I decided to get in on the big post fun, too.]

"Mew?"

Star smiled, nudging Danny towards him. "Go ahead. I can finish up here."

She gazed at Cross, wondering what he could possibly want with her.

"Don't worry. I don't bite." He draped an arm around her, started to lead her out the kitchen. "I just thought we'd take a little walk, get to know each other better, as father and daughter."

She purred, smile returning to her face. "Okay!"

He smiled, nodded. He led her out to the porch, took a seat on the bench. "Take a seat," he said, patting the spot next to him.

She did as she was told, still purring. "It's pretty outside."

He nodded. "Yeah. We get lots of days like this, especially in this time of year. I love it."