The next couple of weeks went by as smoothly as they could, (Y/n) and Haxus still had to avoid Allura while everyone else adjusted to having Haxus living freely in the castle instead of being locked up in the dungeon. Pidge was happy to have Rover back ever since she found it near Haxus' discarded armor where (Y/n) originally found him, although she especially disliked Haxus and had to force herself to remain polite every time they were in the same room together. Haxus was particularly protective of (Y/n) whether they were outside of their bedroom since he viewed the others as being a threat to his pregnant mate, particularly Lotor who was still living in the castle. Lotor spent a good majority of his time with Allura or reading in the library, but there had been a couple of instances when the two of them crossed paths; Haxus would glare at him and bear his teeth if (Y/n) was with him, thankfully neither of them had ever gotten into a fight yet. Two fully matured galra living in the same building wasn't always the best thing, especially when one of them had a pregnant mate.

Since Allura was busy with Lotor somewhere in the castle and everyone else was busy elsewhere Haxus and (Y/n) decided to go get something to eat together, or rather Haxus carried (Y/n) to the kitchen so he could get something for both of them to enjoy together. (Y/n) didn't mind Haxus carrying her around everywhere they went, she knew he just wanted to keep her as close to him as possible. He let her walk when she wanted to, although (Y/n) thought it was adorable how Haxus seemed keen on carrying her around. Haxus enjoyed carrying his mate very much; she was so cute and petite compared to him, not to mention she was his and no one else's. When they arrived in the kitchen he knelt down and let (Y/n) slide out of his arms, making sure she wouldn't lose her balance once she stood in front of him.

"What would you like to eat, darling?" Haxus sweetly asked (Y/n) when their gazes met, ready to prepare anything she wanted; he personally wouldn't mind having some of the beef jerky she picked up from the space mall, he liked the taste of the dried meat.

"I'm not sure, there's a lot of choices, it's hard to decide." (Y/n) replied with uncertainty, after the most recent shopping trip there were a lot of snack options and it was hard to decide on what to eat.

"There's some (S/f/s) in the cupboard/fridge." Haxus offered knowingly; he knew his significant other wouldn't be able to resist the recently acquired snack from the Earth store.

"There is? Then I'll have some of that. I feel so out of the loop now that things are different." (Y/n) said with excitement until a hint of disappointment crept into her tone, she missed going shopping, although she knew it was too dangerous for her to go out in public.

"The others treat you differently now that they know you're my mate." Haxus responded solemnly, feeling guilty for the paladins treating her differently after they found out about her relationship with him.

"I'm not ashamed to be your lover and I never will be. I'm proud to be with you and I wouldn't have anyone else." (Y/n) declared firmly when she met his gaze; the last thing she wanted was for Haxus to blame himself for the way everyone else treated her, or rather both of them.

A slight smile appeared on Haxus' face, he was grateful that (Y/n) would never regret being in a romantic relationship with him despite what the others thought. He got the box/bag of (S/f/s) for her before he went searching for the beef jerky, the delicious dried meat he had a taste for was usually kept up in one of the higher cupboards, although sometimes one of the younger paladins occasionally misplaced it. (Y/n) opened the dishwasher and grabbed a clean, dry plate/bowl before closing it again so she could put her snack on/in it. She was startled when Lotor suddenly walked in and she could tell he was startled for a moment too, he probably just came to get something for him and Allura to eat. Lotor grinned when he saw (Y/n) look at him while Haxus was distracted looking for something to eat, he still thought she was attractive and he knew about her being pregnant, if he took her as his then he could possess a half galra baby since he was sterile and couldn't reproduce naturally, all he had to do was get her to fall in love with him.

"It looks like you woke up on the right side of the bed this morning, (Y/n). You look absolutely refreshed and ravishing. Have I ever told you how beautiful you look?" Lotor spoke flirtatiously when he began approaching (Y/n), speaking in a way he knew no woman could resist.

"Uhhh, Thanks, I guess." (Y/n) answered awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to the galtean prince who was once again flirting with her; she thought he was sexy and all, but her heart already belonged to Haxus.

Haxus whirled around and growled deeply when he heard Lotor flirting with (Y/n), no one except himself got to flirt with his mate. Both Lotor and (Y/n) were startled by the sudden possessive growl that came from Haxus, moreso Lotor since he was the one who had tried making a move on the young human woman. Haxus was tired of Lotor trying to flirt with (Y/n), so he decided to assert his dominance once and for all; he carefully picked (Y/n) up bridal style, gazed into her eyes and gave her a long passionate kiss, one that had them both closing their eyes. (Y/n) was a little stunned when her obviously jealous boyfriend picked her up and pressed his lips against hers in a passionate kiss, she couldn't help but swoon and melt into it. Lotor got the hint and left the kitchen, (Y/n) was taken and obviously in love with Haxus, he wouldn't try flirting with her again.

"I think- I think he's gone." (Y/n) whispered in between kisses, opening her eyes a little so she could glance off to the side; she didn't see Lotor anymore which relieved her.

"It's about time, he has a lot of nerve to try flirting with you." Haxus replied with agitation, still annoyed that Lotor would dare attempt to make a move on her.

"It's fine since you were here to protect me. Besides, I don't think he'll have the balls to do it again." (Y/n) assured him, snorting out a laugh at the end when she remembered the terrified expression on the prince's face after Haxus growled at him.

"You've got that right." Haxus responded, laughing a little along with her; he thought the line about Lotor not having the balls to flirt with her was particularly hilarious, there was a saying about something similar in the galra empire about cowardly halfbreeds, but it didn't have a translation in any human language.

(Y/n) wrapped her arms around the back of Haxus' neck and pressed a kiss against his right cheek, receiving an affectionate purr in response; Haxus could be scary when someone got on his bad side, but when they were together he acted like a big kitty. Haxus put her back on the floor after a moment so he could continue searching for the bag of beef jerky, eventually finding it in another cupboard along with some canned food. He and (Y/n) decided to eat in the dining room since no one else was around; Haxus insisted that she sit on his lap so she could be comfortable, although in reality he just used it as an excuse so he could have her as close to him as possible. (Y/n) didn't mind sitting on her adorable yet tough boyfriend's lap, she enjoyed being close to him and his presence was comforting, especially after Lotor's appearance. She had to deal with her early pregnancy hormones which only made her feel even more frightened earlier, (Y/n) just hoped that Lotor really would avoid them in the future.

___________

(Y/n) put her (F/c) fuzzy socks on while Haxus put his shoes on after they got dressed, since  Allura was eating dinner in her bedroom that evening they would be able to join the others, albeit hesitantly. Haxus came to the realization that if the paladins and Coran were ever going to learn to trust him then he had to interact with them, even if he didn't like it. Only a few moments prior Shiro stopped by and told them Allura wouldn't be coming to dinner, after he left (Y/n) and Haxus discussed going to dinner and agreed that it would do them both good to be around everyone else. (Y/n) felt a little anxious to join the others for dinner since it had been a while and this time she wouldn't be alone, she wished the paladins could find it in themselves to fully accept Haxus since he honestly changed for the better. When they arrived at the dining room she hid her face in the crook of her boyfriend's neck and he offered words of comfort to her; he took a seat at the farthest end of the table and let (Y/n) sit on his lap, completely ignoring the disapproving gazes Lance and Pidge gave him.

"Ah, there you are, Number Seven and Number Eight." Coran greeted (Y/n) and Haxus with a welcoming tone; oddly enough he thought their relationship was sweet and even gave them numbers, just like the paladins.

"Sorry that we're late." (Y/n) quietly apologized to the older man, feeling really shy all of a sudden when all eyes were on her and Haxus.

"We're glad to have you both join us." Shiro added, speaking with a friendly tone even though Haxus' presence made everyone feel intimidated.

Haxus nodded in acknowledgement while (Y/n) sat on his lap, unsure if he should say anything or not. Hunk came out of the kitchen after a couple of minutes while carrying a large bowl and a ladle, pouring some stew into everyone's bowls; he felt a little nervous around Haxus because he wasn't used to being around the ex-lieutenant on a casual basis, although he felt slightly more at ease after Haxus thanked him for the meal. Before they came to the dining room Shiro put two bowls and two spoons in front of one chair for Haxus and (Y/n), from what Kolivan told him Haxus would want (Y/n) to sit on his lap during mealtimes as a way to take care of her and a show of dominance, he would want them to know (Y/n) was his. (Y/n) thanked Hunk for the meal too, everyone did before they began eating the stew he prepared. She smiled when she tasted the various alien vegetables, spices and meat mixed together, happy to eat something so tasty.

"Were you able to get that drone of yours working again?" Haxus asked Pidge after eating a few spoonfuls of stew out of his bowl, attempting to make polite conversation with the one paladin he knew was good with technology, much like himself.

"Why do you want to know?" Pidge questioned firmly, she still strongly disliked Haxus and she wasn't sure if she could trust him or not.

"I've noticed that it has a fondness for you and you appear to be very knowledgeable about technology. I was simply curious." Haxus clarified, not wanting to come off as too threatening to the only child in the castle since he didn't view her as a threat.

"Rover is doing just fine." Pidge responded while narrowing her eyes at him; Rover was safe in her bedroom along with her trash caterpillars.

Haxus felt guilty for nearly killing the paladins, at the time he wasn't exactly in his right mind and he'd still been under the influence of the brainwashing the galra empire's effect had, thankfully he was a different man during the present. He noticed Lance giving him a death glare and reciprocated it with a possessive glare of his own, he knew the red paladin still had a grudge with him and he refused to feel threatened by a child. (Y/n) could practically feel the tension between her boyfriend and Lance, although she was too focused on eating and she knew Haxus had enough self control to not get into a fight. She didn't want to make her lover feel jealous or anything, so she began talking to Coran about some of the things she'd missed out on. Haxus didn't mind (Y/n) talking to Coran for a while, it was good for her mental health to talk to the others and he didn't want to prevent her from having friends, just as long as everyone knew that she was taken.