As the horses made their way through the vast, open country side toward Wyles, the Voltron Force was content to remain silent with their own thoughts. Under normal circumstances, traveling in a wide-open area would have made Keith nervous. He tried to relax. ‘This is definitely going to take a while to get used to,’ he thought. Allura and Keith rode almost side-by-side, a distance in front of the others. Until now, Keith had never really noticed that this was usually how the team paired up in situations like these.

This particular day was not typical late-Fall Arusian weather. It was cooler than normal. The low temperature was enough to warrant wearing cloak, but thankfully, the lack of wind made for a comfortable, refreshing trek. Keith looked up to find the sky a quiet shade of dark gray. Not a stormy gray, but rather, a calming, serene gray. He filled his lungs with a deep, cleansing breath. There had never been a more perfect day.

They had decided earlier on civilian attire. Everyone wore a hooded cloak over loose-fitting, neutral-colored garments. (Unbeknownst to all the others, each had decided that a blaster wouldn’t hurt either.) The idea was to blend. Today was the people’s celebration., and the Princess thought it best not to “steal their thunder,” by having the Voltron Force crash their big party.

The trip was of moderate length - two hours on horseback. However, the time passed quickly (just as everything else did as of late). Wyles, even from a distance, looked alive with activity. It was a small town, maybe 500 souls or so, but many had traveled distances to join in the celebration. Keith could see the center market area as they drew near. Vendors lined the bustling streets, selling just about anything. There were dozens of booths, filled with art, pottery, jewelry, imported items, and food. The amount of food was unbelievable. It must have taken up almost half of the square.

As if on cue, Hunk suddenly exclaimed, “Wow! Would you look at all that…pottery!” The whole team began to laugh. Even though Hunk was usually one of the quietest members of the team, he could definitely be one of the most amusing.

Allura surveyed the surroundings, as they were almost to the stopping point. ‘My people are doing well.’ As if it were yesterday, Allura remembered what it was like to know of her people hiding in the cold, dark caves under the planet surface. Many died there, some from the cold, some from hunger, but most from broken hearts. Allura promptly stopped herself from going any further. ‘Happy thoughts, Allura,’ she told herself. ‘These are better times.’

The chatter had gradually increased over the past few minutes. The boys had barely found places to tie up their horses before running into the mass of people.

“Bye guys! Meet up with you later!” Lance yelled from over his shoulder as he disappeared into the crowd with Pidge and Hunk.

Again, here they were.

“Like children,” Keith couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“What’s new?”

As they began their own descent into the crowd, Allura began drinking in the sights. She couldn’t believe the sheer number of people! Children ran everywhere, skipping rope and flying kites. The nearby buildings were littered with brightly-colored paper decorations. She couldn’t help but pick up her pace a little, with so much to see.

Keith noticed her enthusiasm. She was smiling, looking at everything. It made his heart beat just a little faster.

“Wait up,” he teased, thinking she might actually outrun him. “Allura…maybe we should stay close,” he said, extending his arm for her to take. “I would hate to tell Coran that I lost you somewhere.”

She paused for an uncomfortable moment, making him think that she was about to turn him down, but she cautiously linked her arm with his, and they began walking again. Keith surprised even himself by the bold gesture. ‘Lance would have been proud.’

They walked for hours, stopping here and there to look at the local wares. And as the day went on, Allura’s grip had drawn him considerably closer. Her body would touch his at times, as they would weave in and out of the crowd. It was definitely not an awkward sensation for either of them. Actually, it was nice to feel human touch again. Keith had been missing this lately, and he thought she might have been too. Nothing was said about it, for fear that someone might pull away.

As they neared a clearing in the center of town, Allura suddenly slowed her pace, fixating her gaze across the street at one of the vendor booths. Without a word, she gently pulled his arm to follow her. They stopped abruptly in front of a large booth, one filled with children’s toys.

“What am I looking at?” he inquired.

“See that?” as she pointed to a small brown teddy bear hanging from the ceiling. “That looks just like something my father gave me when I was a child.” Her eyes emanated something subtle with the admonition.

A small, gray-haired man had made his way over to them. “How ‘bout it, son? A present for your girlfriend?”

“Most definitely,” Keith tried to hold back his amusement at the sight of him. Not that he was funny in appearance, but he seemed so enthusiastic, so pleasant, that Keith couldn’t help but think he reminded him of his grandfather, the one he missed a great deal.

Allura had started to say something, but stopped when Keith gave a quick wink and squeezed her hand.

“How much for that brown bear over there?”

“Oh no,” the man shook his head. “You have to win it. How’s your aim, son?”

Keith’s expression remained the same. “It’s alright.”

The man lead them to an area just behind the booth, with a bulls-eye target at one end, and a bow and arrow set at the other.

“It’s about 40 meters, son. Think you can handle it?”

“All I can do is try.”

The man motioned to Keith to take his place. “Tell ya what, son…anywhere on the target, and the bear’s sleeping with your girlfriend tonight.”

Keith pretended to struggle setting the arrow into the bow. This was a little too much for Allura to handle. She let out a muffled laugh, audible only to the both of them.

Without so much as an aim, the arrow ripped through the air and pierced the target -dead center.

Keith raised an eyebrow, “Wow, must be my lucky day,” he mused to the vendor.

The man, finally able to pick his jaw from off of the ground, raised a curious eyebrow. “You must-a really wanted that bear, son,” he said, still staring blankly at the perfectly centered bulls-eye.

He took them around front and unhooked the prize from the top shelf. As he held it out to its new owner, he took a long, curious look at the couple. After a brief pause, he carefully handed over the bear.

“Thank you,” Allura smiled.

The man gave her the most sincere smile he could muster. “No, your Majesty…thank *you*,” he said, putting a finger to his lips, as if to indicate they now shared some sort of secret.

Keith and Allura exchanged a glance of sheer amusement. “Sir.” Keith gave a slight nod to the vendor before disappearing into the crowd, Allura still securely attached to his arm.

Only an hour later, they found themselves growing a little fatigued. “I hope the boys didn’t stray too far,” Allura mused, scanning the crowd from atop a large stone bench.

“They’re around. Besides,” Keith revealed his com link, “Lance and I carry these at all times. It’s supposed to be for emergencies, but if I don’t have you home by dark, Nanny may actually hurt me. So I guess this could be considered an emergency.”

Allura didn’t want the day to end. It had been so absolutely perfect. There may have been a crowd around them all day, but she hadn’t really noticed. It was rare that she had Keith all to herself, and it was nice to be away from the castle, not having to always watch what she said or how she acted. She could be herself. She decided she rather enjoyed being herself around Keith. They had been close friends for a long time, and she felt comfortable with him…if she managed to avoid eye contact with him, that is.

Allura perched a top her bench, enjoying the bird’s eye view. “I think I like being tall for once,” she joked as she turn on her heel to check the other direction.

It was a good thing that Keith was paying attention to what she was doing. Heaven knows, she certainly wasn’t. Allura lost her footing and was caught mid-fall.

“That was almost a moment,” she offered, jesting to cover up her embarrassment. All at once, she realized how close their faces were to each other.

“Smile!!” A bright light blinded the both of them.

“Lance!” they exclaimed in tandem. As soon as Keith set her down, as she began giving the pilot of Red Lion a mock chase.

“Too late! This one’s been officially entered in the blackmail hall of fame,” Lance jested, raising the camera high above her reaching arms. “I never thought this would come in so handy, right after I bought it.” Lance always loved the opportunity to give Keith a little hell, especially when it concerned Allura. But Lance was hardly an idiot. Keith was his best friend, and everything ever said between them in private stayed exactly that way, private. But occasionally, he just couldn’t help himself.

As the team all gathered and prepared for the long ride home, Allura suddenly startled, remembering something. “Oh! Wait here for just a second guys. I have to get something for Nanny. Here, hold Little Keith a minute for me," she said, dumping the fuzzy teddy bear into Pidge’s lap before running off.

No one could think of a worthy-enough response to “Little Keith” before Big Keith instantly silenced his entire team with a deadly stare. Lance picked up the bear and regarded it tenderly. “Don’t worry, Little Keith. I won’t let anyone make fun of you.” With that, he gave the bear a big kiss. There was a slight pause, followed by a burst of loud, boisterous laughter. Even Keith couldn’t help but chuckle. Times like these were the ones he would miss most. Fortunately, Allura returned rather quickly, toting a small bag. “Ready guys?” The little princess tossed her trademark blond hair behind her shoulders and began skipping off in the direction of the horses.

Lance had eased his way up to Keith’s side. “I’m ready. Are you ready…Little Keith?”

Keith, ambivalent to anything Lance had said, was fixated on the beautiful blond-haired Princess skipping far ahead now.

“Sticks out like a sore thumb.” He shook his head and smiled as he started making his way toward the horses.