#so one finger went down on the monkeys paw and I have never known peace since

[buildoblivionthenwewilltalk]

unstoppable force (rabid hunger for tma content) meets immovable object (15 seasons of s*pernatural)

[awolfinyourbed]

For both Suptober (#8 ‘heartless’) and Whumptober (#8 ‘abandoned’)! Both? Both is good... Fable of the Monkey’s Paw (under cut, and on AO3) Dean and Cas need time alone. They get it.

The windows of the Impala were hazy with steam; the October air clung chilly and damp to the outside, but inside, two bodies were doing their level best to create heat. Most of it was emanating from Dean, honestly—as angels didn't generate a lot of bodily functions unless done with willfully deliberation—and Cas was too busy giving Dean a hummer in the backseat to bother with such trivialities.

Dean howled, rough and giddy, as he came down the back of Cas' throat. And though Cas struggled a bit with the physicality of arousal (almost certainly a side-effect of his vessel having been rebuilt a thousand times), the intricate feelings of that sound did things to him he'd have never expected. Couldn't explain. Wouldn't deny or disown on his worst days.

He swallowed Dean down around a grin and smugness that curled Cas' toes. Which, if Cas took a moment to ponder, was the strangest expression of his love for Dean that his body autonomically did. Some days, his toes practically cramped with curling, but he wouldn't trade it for the world.

In the sweaty afterglow, Cas snugged himself tightly up under Dean's arm, just barely hanging on the edge of the bench seat. They'd rolled down a window, and Dean's skin bristled with gooseflesh under Cas' fingertips. The night sky was freckled with stars overhead. Some sort of nightbird trilled in the distance.

It was, no irony intended, divine.

“Think Doordash delivers out this far?” Dean's voice rumbled against Cas' cheek.

“I really don't,” Cas said on a chuckle.

“Well, shit. The HoHos in the glovebox are getting a little long in the tooth for my refined palate.”

“Sam probably stashed some granola bars in the trunk?” Cas drummed his fingers on Dean's chest, pondering. “Maybe we should order Doordash for Sam... ”

“Eh, Sam's a big boy. He told us to “Get a room, you two”, remember? Tired of being the ol' third wheel? Besides, he's got his dog and all that on-line collegeboy stuff to keep him busy. Excuse me, collegeMAN.”

“Too busy to eat, is my theory.”

“Yeah, well, maybe. Hey, we could send him fries and a Baconator—”

“Dean. He doesn't eat bacon.”

Dean snickered. He knew.

They'd been gone five days. The news had been nothing but doom and gloom and the president of the United States acting more the fool than usual, so this was a very welcomed respite. Even hunts had ebbed, what with the coronavirus keeping so many people indoors. They muted the phones and hit the road. Sam didn't need them making out on the war table when he was suffering through his virtual poly-sci class.

Eventually, sleep overcame Dean's hunger and his eyes drifted closed, lashes dark against the fairness of his face. Cas watched him for what must've been an hour. He could will his vessel to sleep if need be, but the night was peaceful and in this slender moment, Cas' world was untouchable. This is what he'd always wanted, but couldn't put a name to it until Dean finally … finally … acted on the energy that'd been percolating between them for years. After that, it was full steam ahead, as the saying went. Oh-so-much steam.

Cas stared out the window until the stars faded and dawn bleached the sky, and the rhythm of Dean's soft snoring coaxed Cas into daydreams of gentle retirement and maybe, just maybe, Cas could convince God to make him human. His hair could get gray and he could grow old with Dean.

Hey, an angel could dream.

He must've drifted into earnest sleep because he found his eyes snapping open at the escalation in Dean's voice, distant enough to be outside the car. From the color of the light, it was still early.

“Kansas City General, got it. No, no, you did good, kid. It's not you. It's … never mind. Cas and I are heading back now.”

Cas levered himself out of the car, buttoning his shirt. The wind was kicking up and Dean had his free hand shoved into a pocket of his jeans as he grimaced into the phone. Cas canted his head in question, settling a hand on Dean's shoulder, but Dean pivoted away. He pushed a button then winged the phone across the prairie.

“Sam had a heart attack.”

“What? I thought you just said Sam had—”

“I did. He had a heart attack. He's 38 fucking years old and Jack says he had a heart attack. Jesus Christ, we've been fucking our way across the midwest and Sam has been in the hospital since, I dunno, Wednesday?”

The words froze on Cas' tongue. He had no clue what to say and even if he did, Dean wasn't in a place to hear it.

“For year, YEARS, we've been giving Sam shit for his 'delicate constitution' and his fussy eating habits and his indigestion and all this time it's been, I dunno, heart disease?”

He stomped back to the car, Cas on his tail. They were going to break the sound barrier heading to Kansas City, of this Cas was sure. There were precious few stops for food or gas, hardly a word exchanged between them, but Dean begrudgingly let Cas drive through the night when Dean was nodding off at the wheel and a hair's breadth from rear-ending a semi. Cas was fairly certain he wouldn't be able to repair them from that level of trauma.

They were roughly an hour out when Cas decided to break the silence. Foolish, but this had to be aired before they reached the hospital. “We didn't know. We couldn't have known.”

“How did you not know, Cas?” Dean said, dead-eyed. Which was far more stinging than any shout. “You've healed him. Did you miss something again, like when you dragged him back soulless?”

Cas forced a sigh. “You're mad. Go ahead, yell at me. If it makes you feel better.”

“Whose great idea was it to turn off the phones, huh?”

It was Cas'. Because he'd wanted Dean to himself, uninterrupted. Because if Sam weren't around, it would be the two of them, together, without Dean's mind wandering or Sam dodging out of a room awkwardly. No cause to be covert. There was no use in denying it, and the realization burned like a thousand tiny cuts from a holy blade.

“I'll heal him when we get to the hospital.”

“You sure you can?” Dean bites out. “What's 'angel radio' saying?”

“You know I can't talk to Heaven anymore, or ask favors of them.”

“Then you'd better fucking hope we get to Sam in time.”

They were rounding the corner to the triage entrance of the hospital when Cas felt a wash of excitement from the aether, something he hadn't felt in a very long time. He couldn't tell one celestial voice from the next, or whether it was joy or fury, but he knew this much: that was Death walking through the sliding glass doors to the Emergency Room. She turned and gave them a rueful smile, a shake of her head. Cas could almost hear her clucking her tongue at them. She wanted to be seen.

Dean's eyes were as wide as silver dollars.

And Cas thought to himself: maybe begging for eventual humanity wasn't such a brilliant endgame after all.

[fandom-trash-xl]

"A Memory Long Repressed" One-Shot Aftermath

To avoid confusion with some of the details, this follows the events of my old 100 followers one-shot, "A Memory Long Repressed", which can be found here. 

You could say this commemorates my 300th post on this blog or that I'm almost to 250 followers, but I'm not really treating it as either. I just realized there is more I could've done, plus I'm bored and writing one-shots feels like a good warm-up for bigger projects. 

Lord Frieza, emperor of most of the known universe, was confined to the Briefs' dining room with two young boys looking over his shoulders.

"Ugh... This is boring..." The Briefs' boy, Trunks, whined from Frieza's right side.

"You know, you guys don't have to watch me." Frieza rolled his eyes as he continued his work. He worked on a teal illuminated screen, managing reports while he was away from his empire, at least until his ship was fixed. 

"Yeah, but, don't you have any games or anything on here?" Trunks started to reach a finger out to tap the screen, causing the lizard emperor to shift it to the side.

"It doesn't have games! It's a datapad that I need for important-"

"Not even Tetris?"

"Or Mahjong?" Goten, at the left side, proposed.

"Or Minesweeper?" 

As Frieza began to slowly lose his patience, Bulma called out from behind them. "Boys, please leave Frieza to do his work in peace!"

"But, Mom-"

"I mean it, Trunks. He could very well destroy you if he felt like it!"

To validate Bulma's point, Frieza showed a single finger aglow with the red energy of a Death Beam. "She means it~" He taunted with a smile.

The two half-Saiyan boys jolted. "Ahh... Let's get out of here, Goten." Trunks was in a cold sweat as he and Goten took off. 

Bulma entered carrying baby Bulla in her arms. "Sorry about that, they're kind of antsy and I know you have a short fuse..."

"Ah, no matter. Those two are mere gnats."

"...and it probably didn't help that we found Goku eavesdropping on your story yesterday."

Frieza's eyes narrowed. "I'd prefer to forget that... There is only so much of that monkey I can tolerate."

At that moment, Vegeta, dressed in training sweats and carrying a mug of coffee, entered. "Okay, what did Kakarot do this time?"

"Oh, speak of monkeys and they shall appear..." The Icejin muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.

"Well, good morning to you too, freeloader."

Frieza simply laughed at this. "How hypocritical of you, speaking of freeloading as if it wasn't how you managed to acquire your woman."

"Okay, that's it!" Vegeta growled, setting down his mug and preparing to take a swing at the lizard emperor.

"Vegeta, enough!" Bulma interrupted, clearly irritated. "You're going to make the baby cry and I'm not planning on replacing the dining room table again." Vegeta went red in the face, apologizing under his breath.

"Hmph... Serves you right~"

"That goes for you too, Frieza."

The emperor's eyes widened. "What?!"

"Look, I'm not saying you should be best friends or anything, but could you two lay off the fighting until Jaco gets here with the repair parts tomorrow?"

"Fine..." The two sighed.

"No promises, though~" Frieza added.

"Now, as I was saying... What the hell did Kakarot do?"

"Well, he kind of used his Instant Transmission to listen in on us..." Bulma explained. "...like a creep."

"So? What else is new?" Vegeta sarcastically replied.

"It was at somewhat of a bad time. Frieza was discussing somewhat of a sensitive subject. He was talking to me about his s-" Bulma soon realized and stopped herself short, so as not to be beheaded by an angry lizard.

"No need to cut yourself off, Bulma. Vegeta was part of my army long enough to know about Kuri." Frieza explained.

"Yeah, that little brat. That kid was a real pain the a-"

Vegeta was interrupted by a sudden firing Death Beam. He managed to duck beneath it, causing the red laser to instead shatter a stemmed glass on a nearby counter. 

"Vegeta!"

"Why are you yelling at me? Frieza was the one who fired the..." He trailed off when he realized his wife was having none of it. "Never mind... Now, if we're done here, I'm heading out to train. Call me when lunch is ready." 

The prince stormed off toward the nearby screen door, only to stop in his tracks. "Bulma?"

"What is it, Vegeta?"

"I don't recall hearing it was going to storm today."

"Then, you'd better not go out." Frieza replied as he returned to his datapad. "Who knows? You might get electrocuted, unless your spiky hair can double as a lightning rod."

Bulma took a brief glance out of a nearby window. Sure enough, the sky was dark, as if a storm was brewing. "So, he's found all seven..." She spoke quietly to herself, for she knew why the sky was gloomy. 

"Wait, Kakarot has the Dragon Balls?" 

"Damn it... I was planning on grabbing those while I was here." Frieza growled, rising from his seat. "When I get over there..."

"...he'll probably be done making his wishes. You shouldn't try to stop him at this point. What did you want to wish for anyways?" 

"Probably immortality again." Vegeta scoffed.

"No, I'm past that. Eternal life would mean eternal pain."

"Then, what is your wish?"

"I-I don't have to tell you everything!" Frieza stammered. 

"Well, whatever it is, it's probably better than whatever Kakarot wished for."

"Your wish... has been granted." Shenron rumbled in his low voice. As his eyes glowed red, a small being formed in front of Goku. He was reptilian and had a chestnut-shaped jewel for a skull. Copper-colored armor covered his dust-colored scales. He had a few areas of dusty-rose to make his colors pop out and his ruby red eyes were filled with fear. 

"W-what...? W-where... am I?" He stuttered.

"Yo!" Goku attempted to casually greet the newly-revived Icejin. "I'm Go-"

He shuddered, immediately firing a bright red laser that barely grazed the Saiyan, burning a small pinhole through the shoulder of his gi.

"Woah, easy now!"

"How I supposed to take things easy? Papa warned me about cretins like you. Do you have a death wish?!" He snarled.

"Listen, I'm not here to hurt you, just hear me out. I know your father. My name is Goku, and I'm a Saiyan-"

"A Saiyan?" The Icejin gave him a shocked and perplexed look. "You don't look like any Saiyan I've ever seen. Then, again, Papa wiped out all but three of you before I was born. You kind of look like the frou-frou princey one, but..."

"Well, you see, the thing is..." Goku soon found himself being closely inspected.

"Hmm... If you're really a Saiyan like you say you are, then where's your tail? And more importantly, why are you not in your Force-regulated battle armor?!"

"Well, I'm not actually part of the Frieza Force, I've been living here on Earth. It's actually a pretty interesting-" Goku was quickly interrupted for the fourth time.

"So, you're a deserter, then?" The Icejin boy's eyes narrowed and his tail flicked uneasily. "Deserters aren't taken to very kindly. Regulations say that you are to be promptly apprehended and annihilated."

"Wait, annihilated?!" Goku gulped. "No wonder Frieza's soldiers are so loyal!"

"Don't worry, you won't be in pain for long. Soon, you will be swiftly disposed of~" His hand started to glow with jagged purple energy. "Now, hold still while I execute you!" He pounced and Goku barely dodged in time.

"Woah, Kuriza sure does take after his father! Not in the way I hoped though!"

Kuriza continued to swing his energy sword in a frenzied manner, lightly grazing Goku. The Saiyan wasn't prepared for his high speed. As he dodged more and more blows, he finally caught sight of his way out of this situation. He quickly latched onto Kuriza's dust rose tail. The energy sword fizzled out. 

The young Icejin had a paralyzed look on his face and he looked like he was about to cry. He let out a small nervous squeaking, like air being slowly let out of a latex balloon. After freeing himself from Goku's grip, he sprung away in absolute panic. "Ah! Gross, gross, gross!"

"Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm not okay! Papa told me that Saiyans are riddled with fleas and vermin! How dare you touch me, Prince Kuriza, with your grimy paws!"

"Sorry, Kuriza. I thought I was pretty well-groomed."

"That's Prince Kuriza to you, you walking pest farm! Is there even enough disinfectant in the galaxy to-"

Finally, Goku wasn't the one to be interrupted.

"Hey, Kuriza, don't sweat it. I'm perfectly clean. Besides, you should probably be getting back to your dad soon."

The young Icejin's eyes lit up. "You know where he is? Take me to him now, Saiyan! I command you!"

"Well, Bulma said he would be heading back tomorrow and she probably doesn't want to host anyone else... So..." Goku thought for a moment. "Hey, how about we take you back tomorrow as a last minute surprise?"

Kuriza's eyes narrowed. "Are you refusing me?! I want to go home now, you filthy simian! I'll have you know that I am above you!"

"Well, you're almost above my kneecap."

"I didn't mean it that way, idiot!"

"Sorry, sorry. But, I can take you to my home, just until tomorrow."

"Uhh... I'm not so sure if I could handle being that close to whatever's infecting you..."

"It's alright, Chi-Chi and I shower fairly regularly and we make sure to check for ticks." Goku assured the Icejin.

"Pardon my asking, but what's a 'tick'?"

"Oh, it's a small little bug in the woods that latches to your skin and..." The Saiyan stopped when he saw Kuriza's expression grow more distressed and a green tint forming. "Uhh, let's leave it at that. Come on," He held out his hand and placed two fingers to his forehead. "Let's-" He was soon cut off by a rumbling throat clearing.

"Ahem!" Shenron grumbled. "You still have two more wishes and I can't hang around here all day."

"Oh! Sorry 'bout that Shenron!" Goku embarrassedly scratched the back of his head. "Hehe~"

The next day, Frieza stood watching Jaco at work repairing his ship. Intimidated by the Icejin's piercing glare, the Galactic Patrolman was nervously sweating and working at a fast rate, hopefully to get the tyrant to leave faster. 

"What's the rush, Patrolman? I'll have you know I won't be paying you if you mess anything up."

"You didn't say you were going to be paying me in the first place!" The Patrolman protested. 

"Exactly."

Jaco sighed as he began slowly continuing, only to have his work commented on again. "Could you go any faster? I do have a schedule to keep and I'd like to return to my empire sometime this century, if that's not too much of a challenge for a galactic boot-polisher such as yourself."

"Jeez, what do you want from me?!" 

The Patrolman shuddered immediately after hearing what he had just said, half expecting to feel the heat of a Death Beam at his neck. "Results." Frieza simply answered. "That's all I ask of you."

The tension of the moment was broken by Bulma calling out from outside of the ship.  "Frieza! Goku's here!"

The Icejin's eyes narrowed. "What does the monkey want now? If he's trying to pry more secrets out of me, he won't be getting any."

"He says he has something for you."

The tyrant sighed. "Fine... It'd better be a damned apology...” He exited his ship, arms folded and patience limited. Sure enough, Goku was outside, holding a bottle with one hand and holding something behind his back with the other. His characteristic smile was almost sickening. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to see your face again for the rest of my stay on Earth... yet here we are.”

“Afternoon, Frieza! Sorry that I got your visit off to a rough start a few days ago.”

“And you’re giving it a rough ending too.”

“Listen, I’m sorry I eavesdropped on you back there.” He held up the bottle in his one hand. “Thought I might give you this to show there’s no hard feelings.”

Frieza analyzed the container quizzically. “Where did you get fine wine from Arcos of all places on such short notice?”

“Umm, I kind of used the Dragon Balls to get you that. Couldn’t think of any other wishes.” Goku chuckled a little.

“You what?!” Bulma and Frieza both looked at Goku in shock.

“You used a wish on the one of the most powerful beings alive for a single bottle of alcohol?” Frieza’s tail flicked uneasily. “That wish could’ve made me taller!”

“Wait,” Bulma snickered. “That was going be your wish?”

The emperor glared at the human. “Remember that I could kill you if I felt like it.” Bulma went silent.

“I appreciate the gesture,” The Icejin took the wine from Goku. “Even though I do have plenty of this already. I don’t appreciate how you obtained it though.”

Suddenly, from behind Goku, a small and frustrated voice spoke. “Okay, you gave him the stuff, can I please come out now?” The voice whined. Goku quickly elbowed the being behind him, causing it to yelp in displeasure.

“Umm, what was that?” Frieza’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

“Oh, that was probably just my stomach! It growls so loud it almost sounds like a person talking! Hehe~” Goku nervously lied.

“Well, if you have no further interruptions... That Galactic Patrolman should be almost finished up if he has any sense of time, so I must be going-” As Frieza turned to reenter his ship, Goku called out to him.

“Wait!”

The Icejin turned back around. “What more do you want?”

“Umm, there’s a part two to your present.”

“Oh~” Frieza smiled deviously and flirtatiously at the same time. “Are you trying to flatter me, dear Goku? May I remind you, you are a married man. Also, you’re not exactly my type-”

He suddenly trailed off as Goku led a familiar Icejin figure out from behind him. His eyes went wide. The bottle he was holding dropped from his hand, the Dragon Ball wish now shattered and spilled all over the below asphalt. Frieza stammered, looking for the right words to say in this situation. 

But, how was he supposed to think of words to say when his son... 

His many years dead son...

Stood alive in front of his eyes.

“I-I d-don’t know how to respond...” No one had ever heard Frieza’s voice falter this much- and whoever did was probably killed. An unexpected stream of tears flowed down his face, as if a large emotional reservoir had suddenly given way under pressure. “G-Goku, I-I don’t think this is an appropriate apology gift for eavesdropping, I-I could’ve just taken the-” 

“Shh-shh, hey, it’s fine. It just felt like the right thing to do. Finding the Dragon Balls for this kind of stuff is practically no sweat anymore. It felt worth doing for a friend.” 

“We’re not really friends, though-” Frieza tried to protest only to be cut off by a catch in his throat.

“Never mind that,” Goku picked up Kuriza, despite his squeamish resistance, and approached Frieza, setting him on the older Icejin’s shoulder. “Just... enjoy this...”

“Kuri…” Frieza started frantically speaking under his breath. “I should have taken you with me... I shouldn’t have left you in the ship... I shouldn’t have left you with Dodoria... I should’ve known better.”

“Papa,” Kuriza whimpered. “It was cold and painful and sad. I-I don’t want to be cold and sad anymore...”

Goku and Bulma simply observed the embrace until Frieza noticed. “What are you still doing here?” His eyes narrowed as he turned around and reentered the ship without another word to the two. 

Kuriza, who was still looking over his father’s shoulder, smiled and said, “He means to say ‘thank you’, he isn’t good with that sort of thing.”

And that was the last heard from the two Icejins during their time on Earth. 

“Soo...” Bulma asked of Goku. “What else did you wish for with the Dragon Balls?”

“Well, other than Kuriza and the wine, I decided to wish for some Zeni. It’ll make Chi-Chi happy so she’ll let me take off work to train with King Kai-” He suddenly trailed off as he realized.

“Yeah, did you remember to actually revive him this time?”

Goku nervously laughed. “Haha, whoops! Guess I forgot again”

“Damn it, Goku!!” King Kai’s furious screaming rang through Goku’s mind. 

Not too long after Frieza’s ship was ready to fly again, he had returned to his empire, and, to everyone’s surprise, he wasn't irritable and seemed to be in higher spirits. More importantly, he was followed by an unusual character that few of the soldiers knew.

In the soldiers’ common area, one of the new female recruits was speaking with an older veteran.

“So, Lemo, seems Lord Frieza’s in a better mood than usual!” She stretched her slim body in her chair. “Good news for us!”

“You say that as if I hadn’t noticed, Cheelai.”

“Yeah, but what’s with it with that little guy that’s almost always behind him? I think he’s a new recruit or some pet Frieza picked up on Earth. But, he’s been walking around here like he owns the place. I think it’s kind of crazy if you ask me-” Cheelai noticed Lemo looking at another nearby table and tensing up. “What’s wrong, Lemo? Why so stiff?”

Kuriza was sitting on top of the empty table. 

“Cheelai, show him some respect.”

“What, why? He’s just some kid!”

Lemo elbowed Cheelai, while still remaining mostly stiff. She sighed and positioned herself at attention.

“Evening, subordinates. I’ve been here for such a short time and you already know who’s the boss!” The Icejin started laughing a joyful laugh that was strikingly similar to Frieza’s, but more youthful and higher-pitched.

“He’s like a pint-sized Lord Frieza!” Cheelai commented.

Suddenly, as if cued, Frieza’s panicked voice could be heard through the halls. “Where is he? Where is he?!” Suddenly, the door to the common room opened and a worried Frieza suddenly became at ease. “Ah, there you are, son...”

“That’s Frieza’s son?!” Cheelai looked alarmed, but Lemo was not the least bit surprised at this fact.

Frieza picked up Kuriza from off of the table. “Kuri, you should know better. You’re supposed to tell Berryblue where you’re going. You had me worried sick.” He suddenly turned to Cheelai and Lemo. “I see you’ve already been acquainted.”

“Uhh, of course, Lord Frieza.” Cheelai composed herself.

“Alright, Kuriza, you’ve had your fun with the low-class soldiers, but it’s getting late now. You should be heading to bed.”

“Oh, we won’t hold you up too long.” Lemo apologized. “Have a nice evening, Lord Frieza.”

“And you too, young Kuriza.”

“That’s Prince Kuriza to you~” The young Icejin winked as the two left the room.

[nandireya]

Dance

Kullara Week 2017 Day Six Dance

The world came back to Keith slowly. It was quiet, he noted. No howling wind, no lashing rain, no rolling thunder. The storm had passed. He was aware of a weight against his shoulder. He turned his head to find Allura sleeping against him, probably seeking warmth. He allowed himself a small smile. It was only then that he looked around the room. It was only then he noticed the small, green-skinned man silently watching him with dark, shining eyes. He jolted awake, his sudden movement enough to jostle Allura out if her slumber as well. She let out a startled gasp when she found they had unexpected company. "Good morning, Princess." The man bowed politely. "Paladin." He turned to bow to Keith. "I am Kaminari, emissary of the Natsua. I apologise for all the hardships you have faced since your arrival to our world." He bowed again. "We were unaware of the reward offered for your capture. The perpetrators have been dealt with." "Thank you, Kaminari." Allura said, rising to her feet to return the bow. Keith rose to mirror her movements. Best to defer to the raised diplomat. "We have found your craft and have already commenced repairs." Kaminari went on. "If you will follow me, we will see to it that the remainder of your travels are more comfortable." He bowed again, gesturing gracefully towards the door. Parked outside was what could only be described as carriage, though it didn't have any wheels. Instead it hovered just above the ground. It was drawn by living creatures however. A pair of eight-legged animals that superficially resembled elk in a manner that the Natsua resembled humans. They pawed at the ground, ready to be off. Kaminari ushered them onboard and nodded to the driver. Allura and Kaminari immediately began speaking of politics and their upcoming negotiations. Keith knew he probably should have been paying attention but he was too busy taking in his surroundings. He'd always been fond of nature. It was quiet, peaceful, less...peopley. They arrived at the Natsua capital city, if it could even be called that, without further incident. The citadel appeared to have been grown rather than built. Multiple, massive tree trunks reached high into the canopy, disappearing into the mist up above. Intricate walkways and natural buttresses arced between them, lacing them together. They truly appeared to be one with nature, more so that the Olkari, who had basically adapted to it, admitted amazingly, when forced. "Due to your unexpected adventure we have had to combine several events." Kaminari explained, somehow sounding apologetic and annoyed at the same time as the doors of the central structure opened before them leading to a massive atrium within the circle of trees . "We have prepared rooms for you both. Your belongings have been brought up." He led them up a sweeping stairway. "Please take some time to freshen up." He opened a pair of highly ornate doors. "Your Highness." He bowed respectfully, waiting with his head down until she entered. "I will send someone to fetch you for the formal reception when the light leaves the sky." He closed her door before turning to Keith. "Paladin." He bowed again. "If you will follow me?" He wanted to tell the man to call him Keith, but the Alteans had stressed how particular the Natsua were with their traditions and customs. It was probably why he sounded so annoyed at being forced to change their timetable of events. So to ask him to use his name rather than his title might be seen as some kind of insult. Titles were used to show respect, and from what he could gather the title of paladin ranked quite highly, only royalty seemed to be higher. So he just followed, thanked him with a bow as he entered his own room...suite...apartment... His desert shack could fit ten times in the main room alone. A door on the right led to an equally impressive sleeping chamber. Yet another door off that led to a massive bathroom. He'd never known such luxury, even living in the Castle. His quarters there were certainly spartan in comparison. But then, he was a spartan kind of guy. ~~~~~~ Allura sighed as she stared at the huge set of closed doors before her. She was a little surprised to find she had prepared herself more quickly than Keith. But then, she was far more accustomed to dressing for formal occasions. She'd never really seen him in anything but his armour and the clothes he'd literally had on his back when he'd arrived from his home world. Perhaps a shopping trip was in order? And maybe this time she could go along as well. She smoothed out a non-existent crease in her midnight blue gown and absently touched the jewelled necklace at her throat. With a sigh she started to twist a perfect curl with her gloved fingers. How long did it take a boy to put on a suit any way? She looked at Mizore, the young Natsua Kaminari had sent to bring her to the reception. She was stepping nervously from one foot to the other. They were already behind schedule, but the Princess could not enter without her escort, and said escort was taking forever to get himself presentable! Mizore let out a tiny noise, blinking rapidly as she looked upwards. Allura's mouth dropped open slightly when she followed the tiny woman's gaze. "Oh, my." Was all she could think to say. He looked so...different. But it was a good different. He had made an effort to tame his hair. Most of it had been slicked back, trapped at the base of his skull with a simple black band. His hair appeared to be as rebellious as he was, however, as several long bangs refused to comply, deciding instead to hang rakishly into his eyes. The short-cropped white dress jacket with its high collar was actually quite similar to his usual one, but the cut was more fitted accenting the broadness of his shoulders and the narrowness of his waist. There was a thick band of cloth around his mid-section...red she noted, he just wouldn't don the black...a bright contrast between the white jacket above and the black dress pants below. His own assigned Natsua, she hadn't caught his name, was bustling about him, trying to quicken his descent down the stairs but only threatening to trip him up. It was a good thing Keith was so agile. He deftly dodged the small green man as he circled him. He caught Allura's eye for a moment, but quickly looked away, feeling highly self-conscious, as he reached the ground floor. The Princess was giving him an odd look. He'd felt stupid as soon as he'd put the damn monkey suit on. It certainly wasn't his style. It didn't allow for a lot of freedom of movement. If there was a fight he wouldn't be able to defend himself let alone protect her. His assigned Natsua, introduced as Gouu, continued to fuss about him. He felt his left forearm pushed upwards and was about to say something when he felt Allura's right arm hook through it. He turned to her then. She looked even more stunning than usual. Her long silvery hair was piled up on her head, not in the usual all-business bun, but in a series of delicate twists and curls. Tiny wisps of it framed her face causing a kind of halo effect. There were tiny jewelled pins set among the tresses that made it sparkle even more. She'd done something around her eyes to make them shine even more brilliantly than usual. "You look beautiful." He said, mentally kicking himself as soon as the words left his mouth. If her arm wasn't resting so elegantly on his own he probably would have slapped himself in the forehead. How could he be so lame? Like she needed anyone to tell her that. She continued to gaze at him for a moment. She'd been trying to find a word to describe how he looked. Beautiful? Yes. That would do nicely. She smiled a warm, radiant smile at him. "I was going to say the same about you." She admitted. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks. He wasn't sure if it was from what she'd said or from the way she was looking at him. Or the warm touch of her arm on his. Or the apparent sudden rise in temperature in the room. It was getting hot in here, right? "Ah, good. You are ready." Kaminari appeared from somewhere, also decked out in his finest. "Come. Come. Introductions must be made." Mizore And Gouu opened the doors as Kaminari ushered them through. ~~~~~~ They had been separated as soon as they'd been announced and the introductions made, to, what had Keith called it, schmooze? What an odd word. Though his world seemed to be full of odd things. She was keeping a close eye on him, he was very much out of his element, after all. From what she could gather from Lance, social interacting had not been a strong point of Keith's even back on Earth. But he appeared to be schmoozing quite well. Listening intently to those around him, responding from time to time but not really offering too much information. They had already agreed not to make mention of his...mixed heritage. He had picked up a glass of bright green liquid from somewhere though he didn't appear to be actually drinking it. "Your paladin..." Kaminari's voice brought her back to her own schmoozing. "I have never encountered his kind before. What world does he hail from?" Well, that was a loaded question. What world DID he hail from? He was a child of at least two. But there was only one he called home. "He is from a small planet on the outer rim." She said. "One that has not yet known the tyranny of Zarkon." "They are one of the lucky ones then." Kaminari nodded. "But their luck will not hold forever." "Unless we do something about it." Allura raised her glass. "Indeed." Kaminari smiled, raising his own to meet hers. ~~~~~~ Keith was still nursing his first glass of...whatever it was. He had reasoned if he had a glass in his hand he wouldn't be offered another, and it really wouldn't be appropriate to get plastered on his first diplomatic mission. Of course, a little alcohol might take the edge off his nerves. He took a sniff at it. It certainly smelled alcoholic. The colour reminded him a little of Midori. Shiro had introduced him to it once. He hadn't cared for it. Though, he had downed an entire bottle of it that he'd found in Shiro's quarters after the Kerberos mission had gone pear-shaped. That had not ended well. It had been the first of many citations that had eventually lead to his expulsion. Several citations actually. 'Breaking and entering'...'unprofessional conduct'...'insubordination'. If he hadn't been robbed of his coordination by the sickly sweet melon drink he probably would have added 'striking an officer' to the list. That would have likely landed him some time in the brig on top of an instant dishonourable discharge. "How are you holding up?" Allura had apparently materialised at his side. The Natsua had been so keen to interact with the pair of infamous outsiders that they had been given no time to talk to each other. "I'm okay." He said, looking out over the sea of finely dressed Natsua. "But it's kinda weird being the tallest guy in the room." She wasn't certain as to the average height of his kind, but given that Lance, Hunk and Shiro were all taller she had to guess that Keith was on the lower end of the height spectrum. His comment only reinforced that. Odd that his Galra heritage hasn't shown through in that particular aspect. They were, on a whole, a rather lofty species. Of course, there were exceptions to every norm. "I think you're-" "Ah, good. You have found each other." Kaminari was suddenly in their midst again, cutting off whatever it was she was going to say. "Come. Come. It is time." "Time for what?" Keith frowned. "For the dance, of course." Kaminari smiled, whisking the glass from his hand and passing it off to a passing wait-staff. "Wait." Keith's eyes widened. "WHAT?" He subconsciously pressed the balls of his feet against the floor, digging in his toes as if to keep him from being bodily dragged to the now emptying space in the middle of the vast room. "It's tradition." Allura smiled, offering her hand. "I..." He looked at her gloved hand, his own automatically beginning to reach to take it, but hesitated. "I...don't...really..." Her expression softened as she stepped closer. "You don't know how to dance, do you?" She surmised, taking him gently by the elbows. "It's never really come up." He admitted. Her hands slid down his arms to take hold of both of his. "Just remember all your combat training and you'll be fine." "Combat training?" He echoed. Still holding his hands she led him to the dance floor. When they reached its centre she moved her left hand to place his right on her waist, leaving it there to rest her right hand on his shoulder. She raised their still joined hands up to finish the proper starting position. She could see the worry in his eyes. He didn't want to embarrass her, or himself, or step on her dress, or trip over his feet or mess things up so badly that the Natsua decided they weren't going to ally themselves with such an uncoordinated clod, thank you very much. He relaxed a little when he saw the Natsua begin to pair up as well. At least he'd have something to imitate. He took a deep breath to steady himself. He was very glad his paladin dress uniform included gloves. As the music began, soft and slow, he moved his feet in a perfect mirror of the Natsua on his left. He could feel Allura move with him but he was so busy focusing on what the Natsua was doing with his feet it was jilted and stiff. "Don't concentrate so hard." Allura said into his ear. "Relax. Let the music guide you." It was all well and good for her to tell him to relax while she was pressed up against him, smelling so wonderful and looking the way she did. 'Just remember all your combat training.' Okay. All he had to do was think of this as a kata. He could do that. He closed his eyes. Let the music flow through him. Let his body move by instinct. His movements suddenly became more fluid, more graceful, more confident. And with that confidence he became more daring. He spun her out like he'd seen so often in the movies, first one way and then the other, the full skirt of her gown twirling out like the petals of an opening flower. She laughed as he pulled her back to him. And with a smile he went for the other classic dancing move. He swung her into...the dip. The laughing stopped and his smile faded as she looked up at him with wide, startled eyes. He realised he'd done something wrong, crossed some kind of line. He swung her back up, swallowing hard as she continued to gaze at him with shining, opalescent eyes. Her hands found his shoulders as she steady herself. Part of him screamed at him to apologise. To tell her he hadn't meant anything by it. That he'd just been caught up in the moment. But his voice was stuck in his throat, held there by the way she was looking at him. Then she lowered her gaze for a moment, looking down slightly before returning to meet his eyes again. She tilted her head ever so slightly as her eyelids lowered, her lips parting as she moved closer. Whatever it was that had been telling him to apologise was now whispering 'forget that, do what she's doing'. He could feel her breath against his own slightly parted lips as he leaned in towards her, almost taste it, almost feel the soft touch of... Then the music stopped and the room erupted in rousing applause, breaking the spell, the temporary lapse in sanity, whatever it was that had momentary come over them. They sprang apart, showing their appreciation to the musicians, looking anywhere but at each other.