If you're uncomfortable with mentions of blood, war and death, then don't read this chapter!!!
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In the galra empire the heat of an intense battle was one of the most glorious things, especially since it was all for Zarkon; conquering independent planets wasn't always easy for smaller fleets, so Haxus was thankful that he had been assigned as Sendak's lieutenant. At the time, Haxus was proud to help his commander conquer planets for Zarkon and he was even prouder to have aided the larger male in finding the red lion of Voltron, although most of the time his life consisted of helping Sendak make sure the planets they conquered stayed that way. There was an occasional uprising that led to people getting slaughtered on the battlefield, not that either of them cared; if people were foolish enough to fight against the galra empire then they deserved to die a slow and painful death, or that's what everyone who were in the empire thought. Once again Haxus found himself by Sendak's side, conquering another planet that had been detected. Screams of the people and blaster fire echoed through the air as their sentries marched through one of the villages, shooting at anyone who dared to stand in their way.

Sendak had gone to take the royal family captive which left Haxus and the sentries as crowd control, not the most glorious task, but Haxus only looked forward to the adrenaline rush. There were dead soldiers laying on the ground along with civilians and a few pets here and there, although he needed to take any survivors prisoner so they could be forced into work camps. Haxus walked in and out of the remains of destroyed huts, slashing anything big enough to hide people with his sword just to make sure no one was hiding from him. The planet he and Sendak were on had a beach near the ocean; Haxus kind of hoped that there would be enough time to sunbathe once everyone had been captured, but he would have to wait and see if he could get a little relaxation in after the planet was fully conquered. Lately there had been talk of some skeleton man conquering planets in some galaxy far away, although those were just rumors and he wasn't sure if they were true or not.

Haxus scrunched his nose up when he caught the scent of fear nearby; it stunk terribly bad and it would lead him to what smelled to be three or four different people hiding nearby. He stood still for a moment and turned his nose up, breathing in the fear pheromones of a woman and her children before turning to the left once he caught their scent and heard a barely noticeable whimper. When planets were conquered no one was spared, not even the youngest of children; mothers with offspring were usually kept away from the workers, although many were often killed either by the buildings being destroyed or for not submitting to the superior force of the galra empire. The galran man didn't feel bad for what he was about to do, there was no room for empathy in any galra soldier's life, and he was going to do his duty and capture every last survivor. In the meantime, a young alien mother hid behind some rubble with her three young children in hopes of not being captured; she knew one day the galra would attack, unfortunately that day came sooner than anyone thought.

"You thought that you could hide, didn't you?" Haxus questioned firmly once he was standing in front of the alien mother and children, a wicked sneer resting upon his face.

"You won't get away with this. Someday someone will free us from your kind." The alien woman spat, letting her children hide behind her in case he decided to attack.

"I highly doubt that. If you don't want you or your litter to die a painful death then I suggest the four of you stand up now so you can be added to the nursery camp." Haxus responded, a threatening growl working its way up his throat while he bore his sharp teeth; he honestly thought people who didn't do as they were told were annoying, but he had to deal with them anyway.

The alien woman didn't want to submit and be taken prisoner, but she also didn't want her children to suffer a slow and painful death. She slowly stood up and beckoned her children to follow her, her blue marble-like eyes filled with sorrow before she and what was left of her family were forced to walk all the way to where the mothers with children were being kept. As Haxus led them to their final destination all he could think about was just getting the mission done so he could hopefully have some time to relax the next day, he worked hard and he felt that he deserved it since the whole conquering process was going a lot quicker than he originally anticipated. The sounds of blaster fire and screams echoed in the distance, although it didn't bother him because he was used to it, nor was he bothered by the bloody bodies laying lifeless on the sandy ground. Someday when he was very old Haxus wanted to retire to a nice planet where he could live alone, for the time being though he was to serve under Sendak until he could retire or he was killed in battle.

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Haxus bolted upright during the middle of the night, breathing heavily and smelling the familiar scent of the woman laying next to him; he couldn't have just had a nightmare, could he? He'd had nightmares before, although he never imagined that any of them would consist of one of his past successful missions with Sendak. (Y/n) had an influence on him ever since she started helping him recover from his injuries and it'd given him a conscience, something that he didn't think he was capable of having since he had been born and raised to be a ruthless galra soldier, one who conquered planets and killed countless people over the centuries. Haxus felt sick to his stomach when he thought about how many innocent people he'd killed and helped to kill, he probably would have killed (Y/n) back when he and Sendak took control of the castle of lions. He was grateful that he didn't kill her, otherwise he would have never gotten the opportunity to fall in love with her.

(Y/n) felt her boyfriend jolt upright and the action woke her up, although she waited a few moments to see if he would go back to sleep or not; she could hear each of his deep shuddering breaths which led her to wonder if he was okay or not. She sat up next to him after what felt like forever, not minding that their room was pitch black and they couldn't see each other, she just wanted to help him calm down. Haxus' breath hitched when he felt (Y/n's) arms wrap around his torso and her body press against his; his mind went blank for a moment, unsure of how to react until he rested his right hand on her upper left thigh. The feeling of her pressed against him helped Haxus feel a little better, but he still felt shaken up from his nightmare and all he could do was sit there while (Y/n) hugged him. Sitting silently in the dark wasn't the worst thing in the universe, (Y/n) knew that her lover needed her and she didn't mind being woken up since she knew they could sleep in a little the next morning.

"Hey, are you alright? You seem a little anxious, you can tell me what's on your mind." (Y/n) asked him when the silence became overwhelming for her; she wanted to know why he woke up so suddenly, although she suspected that he might have had some kind of bad nightmare.

"It's nothing." Haxus muttered dismissively, turning his head away from (Y/n) even though he knew she couldn't see his face, feeling ashamed to have been woken up from a nightmare.

"You and I know that's not true. I won't force you to tell me, I just want you to know that I'm always here if you need to talk to me." (Y/n) spoke firmly, her tone turning soft while she pressed her face against his side.

"I'll think about it." Haxus replied quietly, looking down in her direction while wishing he could see her; she sounded concerned about him, but he still didn't feel completely comfortable being fully vulnerable around her.

"It's okay, I understand." (Y/n) responded, feeling a little left out, even though she knew he would eventually open up to her about it.

Having someone there for him was still so unfamiliar to Haxus, but when they laid down again under the covers he wanted to tell her about his nightmare, although if he told her what it had been about he feared that she would hate him for what he'd done. Everything he did in the past was unforgivable and he could never make up for what he did, all he could do was keep moving forward and never repeat his mistakes. (Y/n) tucked herself against Haxus' side and waited to see if he was going to say something, noticing how his body still felt tense even though they were laying down again. For someone who used to be the lieutenant to one of the most ruthless galra commanders in the entire universe she knew when he was lying; it was probably because he'd gone soft and that was a good thing, it meant she might be able to get him to open up about what was bothering him. She was on the verge of falling asleep when she heard and felt Haxus making a humming sound for a second, as though he was about to tell her what made him wake up in the middle of the night.

"I- I had a bad dream, that's all." Haxus mumbled when the silence became too much for him to bear, not wanting to keep the partial truth from her, it wasn't like he had to tell his lover what his nightmare had consisted of.

"Do you want to talk about it?" (Y/n) queried, wondering if he was finally going to tell her what his bad dream was about, even though he wasn't going to.

"No, I'd rather forget about it. Besides, I have you with me and that's enough to chase any bad dreams away. We need sleep, now. Goodnight, darling." Haxus responded with a yawn, speaking his love for her when he wrapped his left arm around her more snugly.

"Well, if you say so. Goodnight Hax, I hope you have better dreams. I love you too." (Y/n) spoke quietly, once again closing her eyes and letting her body relax.

Haxus purred for a few seconds and he lightly nuzzled the top of her head, feeling safe and happy with his intended wife by his side; he thought it was kind of silly yet endearing, but she was there to protect him from his nightmares. He fell asleep in a matter of minutes with (Y/n) by his side, feeling more tired than he originally thought, although it was to be expected after suddenly waking up in the middle of the night and having a brief chat with one's lover. (Y/n) had already fallen asleep and was quietly breathing; the previous day had been long and she'd been extra busy, so it was understandable for her to fall asleep so quickly. She sometimes wished that Haxus wasn't so stubborn, it would certainly be easier for her to help him, but she knew it was just a part of his personality and she didn't want to change him as a person. The two lovers slept peacefully for the rest of the night, neither of them having any bad dreams nor worrying about waking up too early in the morning.