It was a delightful October day on Planet Arus. Hunk and Allura were in Yellow Lion, on their way to the Castle of Lions, after spending the morning in the capital. The Princess feasted her eyes on the country spread below, thinking how magnificent everything looked today. Autumn had covered the foliage with its beautiful kaleidoscope of reds, oranges, yellows, pinks and browns. And the sky was a perfect blue, without a single cloud.

Off in the distance, Hunk observed the imposing Castle of Lions and its lake that lay nestled in a small valley between the rolling hills, surrounded by long-branched trees whose thick copper and gold leaves cast oddly shaped shadows over its calm blue surface.

When they broke thorough the thick line of trees that bordered its perimeter, he said, "We’re home."

Allura reached for her handbag and a white paper bag from a chocolate store. They landed a few minutes later near the castle’s doors. They came out of the ship together, blinking in the sunlight. It was a mild day, mild enough for them to go without jackets, which they had shed earlier when they were in the market. They slowly walked toward the old barn near Black Lion’s pedestal. An old stonewall bordered a smaller lawn where Lance and Pidge sat in the shade of an ancient maple.

Lance stood up. "How’s it going?" he greeted them. "Did you find you everything we need for the Halloween party?"

"Oh yes!" Allura said enthusiastically. "Hunk and I went to the party supply store, the import stores and the local market."

"Then we went to Mrs. Thoresen’s shop, to pick up our costumes." Hunk added. "She brought a new lot of vintage costumes from Terra. She has Superman, Batman, Spider Man, Wonder Woman, Cat Woman, Casper, Barney and many, many more."

"I’ll stick to my original selection," Pidge replied. "Shopping for costumes is a bear."

"I agree," Lance said. "That reminds me, where you able to find out with Bandor what costumes Princess Romelle and Sven will be wearing?"

"No," Pidge replied. "She’s handling this like it’s a secret of state, not even Sven knows."

"I bet he isn’t too happy to be left on the dark," Hunk said.

Allura looked around, and frowned slightly. "I must tell Keith that his costume will be ready by tomorrow afternoon. Where is he?"

"He’s inside," Lance answered nonchalantly, pointing at the barn. "Checking the load center."

"Thanks." Then she strode down the path to the old building. But before she reached for the door, Keith opened it. The minute he saw her, his chest tightened and he felt himself grow hot around the collar. To cover his nervousness, his sudden confusion, he coughed a few times, and then murmured, "You’re back. Did you have a good time?"

She nodded slowly and offered the shopping bag to him, feeling suddenly rather shy and girlish. "This is for you, Keith."

Flustered, he took the gift from her and stared at it for a moment. "What is it?" He asked finally.

"Open it and see," she replied, gazing up at him.

He did so, and pulled out a package of golden coins with a chocolate center. "You remembered," he whispered.

"Of course. You told me that it was your favorite Halloween treat."

"I haven’t had golden coins since I was a kid. Thank you Princess…for thinking of me when you are away…"

She gave a heartfelt sigh. "I never stopped, Keith."

The adoration reflected on her eyes told him what he wanted and needed to know. And he wanted to tell her exactly how he felt about her, but he didn’t dare. It took all of his self-restraint to remain in his place.

Keith took out his palmtop from his side-pocket and discovered to his dismay that his hand shook slightly. Whenever he was near her, she had the most extraordinary effect on him.

Allura touched his shoulder. Taken by surprise, he gaped at her.

"Are you all right, Keith?"

"Yes, why?"

"You seemed a little pale. Maybe you have been working too hard."

He shook his head. "I’m fine. Thanks. I would like to go over the final lighting designs for the barn with you."

"Okay," she said. They went into the barn together. Even though the lights were on, the place was dark and Allura blinked, adjusting her eyes to the murkiness of the interior.

"This place is very old," he said. "When I tried to open the load center, the lock just fell off."

"Yes, it is. It was built around 2050 or 2060, somewhere thereabouts," she told him.

"Think about it, princess, this barn was built more than two hundred years ago. What these walls could tell us if they could talk!"

She laughed. "I know exactly what you mean. I’ve often thought that myself."

He glanced at her and nodded, gave her half a smile and then placed the shopping bag on a dusty, old table. "Shall we go through the list?"

"Yes," she replied, placing her handbag next to his present. She took out a notebook and made a few notations.

He looked up and at the ceiling and then walked around the room, a thoughtful expression setting on his face. "The guys and I think that we could use several large-sized ceiling fixtures, such as old lanterns, something like that, plus wall sconces, in order to introduce proper artificial light. Lance drew up a sketch for the exterior lighting for the grounds. As you can see, we already replaced the main doors and broken windows."

"And then we’ll paint the barn in cranberry red, to keep its rustic charm and antiquity," she added. "Hunk and I bought the paint today."

Keith gave her a long look and was silent for a few seconds. Then he said, "That’s good, keeping the period look of the place. But what worries me the most it’s the electrical part. The whole barn needs rewiring. It obviously hasn’t been touched in years. And there’s so much else to do."

"I know." She threw him a worried glance. "You’re not saying the barn won’t be ready for Halloween, are you? The children would be so disappointed."

He stood directly before her. "No. It will be ready by then," he said in firm voice. Suddenly, he reached out, cupped her face between his two hands and look directly into those marvelous eyes of hers. His heart was hammering, and he felt almost weak in his love for her.

"Keith," she said in a soft voice, convinced that her face had turned scarlet. She was extremely conscious of her presence in the barn. He seemed to fill it with his masculinity and strength. And she loved him. She had fallen for him the first time they met.

He bent his dark head, and touched her lips with his. It was a slow kiss, delicate and filled with longing. When he finally removed his lips from hers, Allura’s hand went instinctively to her mouth. She had never been kissed, so she hadn’t known what to expect. But she couldn’t say she was displeased with the way events were evolving, quite the contrary.

"I hate to interrupt this long overdue touching spectacle, but…"

At the sound of Lance’s voice, Keith and Allura jumped away from each other and turning toward the doors, saw their teammates, wearing huge smiles.

"Pidge is desperate to see what you bought," he finished.

"What the…" Keith began.

Lance grinned mischievously at him. "He wanted to come earlier, but I stopped him."

"Capitán, you finally decided to follow your heart," Hunk said happily. "I’m so proud of you."

"I was beginning to worry about your mental health," Pidge said teasingly. "I’m sure glad everything is working all right up there."

Keith laughed nervously and ran his fingers through his hair. "I don’t know how you-"

"We would do anything to see our favorite Princess and Commander together," Lance broke in. "But please, don’t wait another two years to make it official, all right?" He waggled his thin brows suggestively. "Sven and Romelle didn’t wait that long to get engaged."

Keith laughed and squeezed Allura’s hand and planted a swift kiss upon her lips to solemnize their impending union. "I love you, Allura."

"And I love you too," she whispered, her eyes glistening with tears of joy.

And shouts of approval nearly raised the roof.