She was so gorgeous in sunlight, it almost hurt to look at her. Sunshine melded with gold, perfectly paired with an azure peace, deeper than infinity. Oh, what an exquisite combination! Matched only, perhaps, by emerald invitation and the captive setting sun, glowing like embers, wrapped up in a petite package barely containing a passion that could take your breath away. Not to mention....

A flash of gold quickly drew his eyes back to her. He smiled to himself, almost guiltily. She could always tell when he had been thinking of another.

She could be so jealous.

She would be cool when he came to her the next time, he knew. Reserved, almost indifferent to his ministrations. He would have to coax her, cajole her, reassure her that she was his favorite, the best he had ever known, until she became warm and responsive again under his touch.

He looked down at his hands. Rough with calluses, these hands had seen hard work, and lots of it. Large hands with thick fingers that were surprisingly nimble. Strong, yet gentle. He still felt amazed that she considered him worthy to touch her.

The first time he laid eyes on her, he knew there would never be another to take her place. The first time he laid his hands on her, he wished that no other would ever take his place. That, of course, was impossible, and they both knew it.

He was helplessly drawn to her. A source of endless fascination, she even insinuated herself into his dreams. Others had yielded their secrets easily, but so much of her still remained an enigma to him. She was stubborn like that, and he loved her for it.

Did she dream of him? And would she remember him, long after he was gone?

He had asked her once, almost afraid of what the answer might be. She had been silent for a time, as if lost in thought or memories, until she suddenly showed him, wordlessly, how his every touch had transformed her, so that now he was as much a part of her as her own self. Then he had taken her up among the stars, where they drifted for a while in their own private universe before duty called them back, as always.


Epilogue

"Oh!" A sudden exclamation broke into his musings. He turned to see wide, startled blue eyes as Keith took off after Lance. He glanced over at the now struggling Lance, who was exclaiming and laughing at the same time, "It was a joke!" while trying to extricate himself from Keith's hold.

"What happened?" mumbled Pidge sleepily as he sat up from his impromptu post-picnic nap in the soft grass of the bluff.

"Lance put an ice cube down my shirt," said Allura, blushing as she finally managed to extract the frozen chunk of water from within the folds of her clothing.

"Come on, Princess," called Keith. "Turnabout's fair play!"

"No!" laughed Lance, futilely trying to escape. "You don't understand, it was a such a perfect opportunity that it was a moral imperative! I had to do it!" He squirmed and almost managed to break away as Allura approached, ice cube in hand.

"Shall we avenge our lady?" Hunk asked Pidge, quirking an eyebrow.

Pidge looked at him at first in puzzlement, and then in understanding.

"That's harsh!" he said. Then he grinned, "I'm in!" and scrambled to his feet.

Hunk grabbed the picnic cooler, now empty except for half-melted ice floating in frigid water.

"Stand still and take your punishment!" Allura ordered, vainly attempting to grab Lance's shirt collar as Keith and Lance wrestled. Suddenly, Keith got him in a choke hold from behind. "Hurry up," he told the Princess. "I don't know how long I can hold him."

Lance was so focused on avoiding Allura's revenge that he didn't notice Hunk and Pidge approaching until it was too late. His eyes widened in horror, and he redoubled his efforts to escape.

"NO!!! That's not FAIR!!!" He screamed as Pidge grabbed the waistband of his pants, and Hunk poured the entire contents of the picnic cooler into them.

The laughter from four of them was almost enough to drown out the angry curses that ensued. Their voices carried on the breeze, drifting down from the bluff to the meadow below and echoing off the metallic beasts resting there, soaking up the last rays of the sun. Hunk gazed again at his golden beauty and her sisters, and fancied that he could hear them purring at a job well done.

fini