Guilty Pleasures
By (Kitty)Lynne
C&Cs to [email protected]
Disclaimers: Voltron and all associated characters are owned and copyrighted by WEP. Original/new characters belong to the author.
Rating: PG-13 for suggestive dialog
Author's Note: WEP owns all the rights to Voltron and its characters in all their incarnations, and I own four TV sets. It's a match made in heaven. :)
Originally Published 2006 - Revised 2014
Rating: PG-13 for suggestive dialog
Author's Note: WEP owns all the rights to Voltron and its characters in all their incarnations, and I own four TV sets. It's a match made in heaven. :)
Originally Published 2006 - Revised 2014
~WHAT THE-!~ The incessant whine of his alarm clock yanked Lieutenant Haloran Titus Jones the Third (better known as 'Hunk' to his friends) out of a deep, blissful slumber.
Prying open his sleep encrusted eyelids and muttering a string of curses in five different dialects of Arusian, the powerfully built Space Explorer slammed a mighty fist down on the hapless timepiece, effectively ending the shrill sound as the force of the blow caused the fiberglass casing around the mechanism to split in pieces, sending tiny pieces of clock scattering like shrapnel across the room.
~What in tarnation possessed me to set that durn thing for five a.m. after pulling second shift? Why'd I bother to set the thing at all? They won't be expecting me at practice until nine!~ He grumbled to himself, while pulling flannel sheets and downy comforter up over his tanned, brawny shoulders.
He burrowed his rough-hewn features into the pillow and heaved a sigh.
For several moments, he tried to achieve the state of relaxation he had been enjoying prior to being so rudely awakened, but it was no use. He was now wide-awake, mainly because of the nagging thought in the back of his mind that he may have forgotten something important.
Once again, a hand slid out from beneath the warm cocoon of covers to blindly fumble for his day planner, which luckily was in its usual spot next to the clock. Dragging it across the bed, he rolled over unto his back and flipped open the leather cover of the journal to peruse his agenda for the day. A small notation immediately caught his eye and he bolted upright in the bed, all thoughts of sleep disappearing. ~Oh Lordy, I have to get going! Hope my dawdling hasn't cost me too much!~
Whipping back the covers, Hunk hopped out of bed and sprinted for the shower. He shaved and dressed in record time, remembering to add a little spritz of cologne. Running a hand through his thick unruly hair, he decided to wear the gold sweatband, the one he considered extra lucky. He then slipped on a pair of soft-soled boots in preparation for his furtive trek.
Lance was sure to be snoring away by now after getting off the graveyard watch, and Keith would be in Ops until seven for sure. That only left Pidge, whose hearing was so sharp he could still hear the tiniest squeak, even when he was sleeping. He had better tread softly.
He punched in the code for his quarters and the door panel slid open. Cautiously he looked down the silent corridors; good, there was no one lurking about to waylay him and possibly spoil his meeting. Hunk eased his six foot six frame into the hallway, and with surprisingly light feet for such a large man, literally tiptoed past his little friend's quarters.
He unconsciously held his breath, waiting for the door to fly open, but his luck held and the door remained shut. Pidge must have been sleeping well for once, thank goodness. He released the breath in a relieved rush after he had turned the corner into the main hallway.
His size 13 triple E boots unerringly pointed themselves in the direction of the staff dining room to await the summons, and to possibly pick up a bite to eat while he was waiting. He was in luck again, from the looks of things, a full continental breakfast had just been laid out. Doughnuts, scones, muffins, cinnamon toast, sweet rolls, fruit, a variety of juices and the Arusian breakfast blend coffee Keith favored was all there for the taking, with no one else in sight.
Hunk grinned happily. ~Now this is worth getting up for! Nanny never lets me have sweet rolls or doughnuts! This is allrrrright!~
He had just grabbed a plate and started to reach for the goodies when a cultured voice halted his arm in mid-stretch.
"Good Heavens, Lieutenant, what are you doing up this early?"
With a sinking feeling, Hunk turned to face the inquiring, somewhat incredulous expression on the face of the Royal Advisor, who had managed to silently enter the room behind him.
"Uh, 'morning, Coran! Um...I couldn't sleep and I thought I'd take a walk," the Yellow Lion pilot fibbed, trying to
appear nonchalant, but feeling his face getting uncomfortably warm.
"I see," the older man murmured, arching one reddish brown eyebrow. "You do realize that Nanny will have a proper breakfast prepared for the team later on, don't you? She has you men on special diets for a reason."
"Oh sure, I know, I was just going to get some coffee and a slice of toast," Hunk responded quickly, suiting his actions to his words.
Coran hid a smile as the big man's hand hung infinitesimally over a particularly succulent looking sweet roll before grabbing a slice of bread. "Did you plan to go down to Ops at all, then? Keith probably could use some assistance with the-"
"No!" Hunk exclaimed, then took a deep breath and steadied himself. The wily Diplomat didn't suspect anything so far, but if he couldn't keep it together, his planned assignation was doomed to failure. "I mean, not right now. I thought I'd check on the hover craft maintenance records before breakfast."
Coran was looking at the younger man rather strangely. The usually jovial Space Explorer had definitely gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. "All right, that certainly would be a help. Thank you Lieutenant."
An uneasy silence fell between the two men.
"I'll get on it as soon as I finish this," Hunk finally added.
Coran took the hint. "All right... see you later then, Hunk."
"Later," The younger man mumbled and nodded, his mouth full of toast.
As the Royal Advisor exited, the big man dropped into a chair next to the table. ~Jeez Louise, doesn't that guy ever sleep? He came in at the end of my shift last night and it was after eleven! That can't be good for someone his age, no wonder he has those bags under his eyes!~
Finishing the toast, Hunk eyed the sweet roll tray again. One doughnut wouldn't hurt, would it? Nanny would never know. He shifted forward, intent on snatching up a Bavarian cream concoction.
"Master Hunk! Stop where you are- right- now!" A deep but feminine voice from the location of the doorway cut through him like a laser beam.
The guilty fingers dropped their forbidden treat and retreated to a safer position around his Styrofoam coffee cup.
Nanny bustled in with another tray of fruit, and went to plunk it on the table top, fiercely glaring at him as she did so. "Vhat are you doing here? This breakfast is for Castle staff only!"
"Well technically, I am staff, " Hunk protested.
"You know vhat I mean, so do not split hairs. I slave every morning to make you boys a special healthy breakfast, and here I find you rising early to filch the staff's food!" Nanny shook her head in disgust. "Vhy do I bother to spoil you men at all? You apparently don't appreciate it."
"But we do! I just wanted a little snack, so I had some toast and coffee," Hunk responded meekly.
"Hmph! Since vhen is toast filled with cream?" She retorted, staring pointedly at the smear of filling on his fingers.
"I put it back!"
"Oh, that is so vonderful of you, now you haf the germs all over it! Just take it and be done vith it!"
"Thanks, Nanny," Hunk replied, sheepishly reaching for the half-squished roll.
"Hmph. Your portions vill be smaller at breakfast because of this, just so you know."
"I understand."
"No more after this, do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, ma'am. Perfectly."
"Good." And with that terse word, the governess bustled out.
"Sheesh, what a sour puss." Hunk muttered, taking a bite of the roll.
"Excuse me," an unfamiliar voice whispered.
~Now what?~ The Lieutenant spun around in exasperation, and came face to face with a young female page. The girl had to be no more than twelve, and was blushing furiously under his irritated expression as she looked up at him with immense, thickly lashed green eyes and lips parted in a look of dismay.
Hunk's tense expression faded to one of warm friendliness. "I'm really sorry. Didn't mean to bark at you like that."
The girl nodded wordlessly, her curly golden hair gleaming under the room's lights. She obviously was still intimidated by his size and booming voice, Hunk observed, and felt bad.
"Is there something I could do for you- say, what's your name?" He said in as gentle a tone as he could muster.
"Giselle, sir." The girl relaxed a little at the friendly tone and at the sight of twinkling dark brown eyes.
"Giselle, that's a very pretty name. How can I help you?" Hunk said.
"Actually sir, I am supposed to give you this," Giselle handed the Yellow Lion pilot a note written on floral scented paper, and then quietly waited for him to peruse its contents.
He unfolded and read the note with as deadpan a look as he could summon up. His pulse started to race as the words leapt out at him: 'Change of plans- meet me in the storage bay near shipping. I'll be waiting. ~BL' The words were written in a neat script across the center of the note.
"Thanks for bringing this to me. " Hunk said, with a smile at the girl. “Can I trust you'll keep this whole meeting confidential?”
"Of course sir, I'm no snitch!" The girl retorted, showing a bit of spunk.
"Of course you aren't!" Hunk's chuckle rumbled in his chest. "Thank you again, Giselle, and make sure you grab something to eat before you leave, I recommend the Bavarian creams."
"Yes sir, thank you sir!"
Leaving a pleased Giselle to her repast, Hunk finished his own roll and slipped out the door, heading for the storage bay. He took a circuitous route, weaving in and out of corridors so that he avoided any familiar faces along the way that may question his purpose for being in such an obscure part of the castle.
When he finally reached his targeted destination, the door was partially open, and a small auxiliary light bathed the area in a warm glow, beckoning him to come inside. He cautiously stepped into the room, and saw- no one.
"Hello?" He half-whispered.
No response.
~Oh Damn, she musta got tired of waiting for me! Oh, why am I such a lazy, gluttonous fool?~ He berated himself. ~At this rate, I'll never get to- ~
His self recrimations broke off as he spied a movement to his left. Whirling in that direction, he spotted the slim shadow that seemed to detach itself from the wall. His heart rate increased and he tensed as the figure moved toward him. In an instant, he could see the shadowy specter was a delightfully curved woman dressed in black, and he relaxed. She had waited for him after all, and that made everything that had happened to him so far very much worthwhile. She really must understand how much this exchange meant to him, how much he had been looking forward to this guilty pleasure.
He could see she carried a large brown satchel, and as she reached him, she let it drop at his feet with a resounding thump.
"Well here they are, all of them, the new shipment that arrived just an hour ago; I intercepted them for you, and let me tell you, it wasn't easy. These little buggers are heavy!"
His lovely companion paused, her expression one of tender concern as she gazed up at him.
"I hope you have a very good hiding place for them, or things will not go easy for you. I won't be able to help you if the others find out." She informed him in a sweet, husky voice. His senses swam a little at having her this near to him, but he clamped down on those particular thoughts, for alas, she belonged to another.
"Don't you worry, I have it covered. No one will ever see them, I promise." He replied in quiet tones. "I'll take good care of them, too."
"You'd better, or you'll have to answer to me!" She laughed her musical laugh, making him blush even while he grinned back at her. "I have to go now, or the others will get suspicious. You will let me know how they are? You won't leave anything out, right? "
"Of course! Dissecting them is half the fun!" He retorted.
"Oh good. We'll figure out another meeting soon, then. I can hardly wait!"
She blew him a little kiss, and was gone, leaving the scent of plum blossoms hanging in the air. Hunk stood and inhaled appreciatively, before reaching down to pick up the satchel. Holding it like it contained the most precious porcelain; he excited the storage bay, a grin lifting his broad cheeks.
In his eagerness to peruse the contents of the bag, he decided to take a short cut across the docking bay. He had only gotten half way across before a high pitched voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Hey Big Guy, what are doing here so early in the morning? Someone put dynamite under your bed?"
~Damn, it's Pidge! What's he doing here? No wonder he didn't wake up-he wasn't even in his room! How am I going to explain this bag?~
To his credit, his military training kicked in, and the blunt features didn't give away one iota of the turmoil of the big man's thoughts. "Hey little buddy! Just passing through, I uh, uh...um, had to, pick up some tools in storage for the hover crafts." He said, giving his young friend a dim copy of his usual grin.
"Oh cool, are you going to work on them now? I'll help!" Pidge offered enthusiastically, as they headed down the narrow service hallway.
"Well, I gotta go back to my room first, I forgot something." Hunk stalled, starting to sweat. He stopped and set down the heavy bag to wipe his brow with his arm.
"Here, how about if I take the tools off your hands and you go and get whatever you need," the youth persisted, reaching for the bag.
He blinked in surprise when his teammate practically yanked it back and out of his hands.
"No thanks, I'm responsible for them, not you. You go on ahead, and I'll meet you in a few." Hunk ordered gruffly. He abruptly turned on his heel and walked quickly down a side corridor that he knew was the quickest way to the pilot's quarters.
"Okay! I was only trying to help, don't be so touchy!" Pidge muttered as he watched Hunk stalk away. "Sheesh. You'd think his tools were made of pure gold the way he treats them."
Hunk breathed another sigh of relief, as he turned the corner and headed down the home stretch to his quarters. Almost there, hopefully he didn't have to worry about-
"Hey Big Guy, been working out? “ A familiar mocking voice greeted im from an open bedroom door. Hunk grimaced and slowly turned to find Lance in his undershirt and boxers, leaning against the doorjamb and surveying Hunk and his bag with open curiosity. “A bit early for you to hit the weights, isn't it?"
~Damn. Pretty boy must not have needed all his beauty sleep today.~ Hunk thought bitterly as he replied, "Hey Lance. As a matter of fact, it isn't too early."
"Yeah right, tell me another good one. You're bringing in a secret stash of snacks, aren't you? Got any M & M's?"
"No and no."
"So what do you have?"
"Nothin' that concerns you."
"C'mon, you have to have something good in that thing, look how lumpy it is."
"There's nothing in here that would interest you, believe me."
"Try me." The blue eyes had narrowed in speculation. “You don't want me to know about it, so it has to be something extra special. C'mon, give it up!"
"Not on your life." Hunk gave the Red Lion pilot a fierce glare and flexed the steely muscles in a posture that had sent so many opponents running for the hills. He stepped forward so it was obvious how much he towered over his much lighter built teammate.
"Back down, Conan! If you don't want to share, that's fine," Lance smirked up at his friend, not in the least intimidated. "But rest assured I'll find out what's in the bag. Remember, surveillance is my specialty."
Hunk took another step toward the slouching pilot, who straightened in a hurry at the glowering look his burly teammate was giving him. Good sport or not, the big guy was one person you didn't want mad at you and evidently he had gone one step too far, judging by the feral grin the Yellow Lion pilot was wearing as he spoke.
"And rest assured, Sir LancyPants, that mechanics and engineering are my specialties, so if you want that purty little red kitty to stay in tip top shape, you won't go sneaking into my room, prying into things that are none of your beeswax, am I right?"
Lance took a step back into his room. "Uh, right."
"Good man, Lieutenant. See you later."
"Sure."
Feeling Lance's ice blue eyes boring into his back, Hunk walked the rest of the way to his room and quickly punched in the entry code.
He relaxed as soon as the door slid shut behind him. He hated pulling the bully routine, but keeping the secret of what he had in this bag was worth the discomfort.
Carrying it over to the bed, he carefully unzipped it to reveal the bag's contents. He peeled back the sides to expose stack after stack of paperback books.
But not just any books.
He reached in with one huge paw, and pulled out a couple of random samples to read them aloud.
" 'A Galaxy of Desires' by Twyla Lusthaven. Hm, sounds kind of racy. 'Love In Yellow', gotta like that one. 'The Kitten's Revenge' by Claude Balz! Now that should be a humdinger!" Hunk grinned happily. “Geez, there must be at least fifty books in here; she really came through for me! I won't have to go through this whole rigmarole for at least another two months-maybe!”
Mission successfully completed, the Big Man cheerfully went to work hiding his stash of trashy romance novels, all the while thinking about how he and the Princess could manage to exchange reviews on the books without getting caught.
Meanwhile, down in Ops, a sinuous and black clad Princess Allura walked into the area to find Captain Keith busily charting away on the operations logs. His eyes strayed briefly from the finger padd at her entrance, looked down, then did a double take as her unusual attire registered into a mind filled with facts and figures, pushing said numbers aside with a vengeance. His intense, dark eyes took every detail of the curves that were outlined underneath the clingy black cat suit, and his mouth dropped open.
"Do you like it?" She asked softly, coming to stand next to him on pretext of looking at the logs. She reached over and gently closed his mouth for him, her dainty fingers lingering for just a moment too long under his chin.
He inhaled the subtle plum blossom scent she always wore and said huskily. "You know I do, but I'm more interested in why you are wearing it." He sucked in a breath as her fingers moved to brush back a lock of his hair and tuck it behind his ear.
"I had a secret assignation. It's the third Tuesday of the month, you know."
Keith grinned. "His books came?"
"Yes."
"It has to be torture for him to go through all this work just to hide a few romance novels. Why doesn't he just fess up to Lance and Pidge? I think they'd understand."
Allura gave him a look.
"Okay, sorry. It's probably better this way. Especially if I get to see you in hot little numbers like this one."
"Keith, how you talk!" She blushed, but looked pleased nonetheless.
"Talking has nothing to do with what I'm thinking right now. " He stated. "I just finished here, so let's go!" He practically threw the padd at the Arusian officer that came to relieve him and took the Princess' arm, steering her out the door. As he did so, his gaze ran over her in a way that thrilled and scared her at the same time.
"Where? What are we going to do?" She gasped, as he quickly marched her down the hall.
"Somewhere where we can get away from prying eyes and I can show you just how romantic I can be." He teased, loving how the color flooded her fair face, and how the pink lips rounded with surprise. His eyes traveled down the rest of her and he groaned, increasing the tempo of their stride.
Soon they stopped by an unfamiliar door, which Keith opened with an archaic mechanism called a key. He switched on the light, as she stepped in; she turned to him immediately with both eyebrows raised. "A broom closet? Seriously?"
"Yep. Just like in 'Stellar Ecstasy', when Skylar and Agate were hiding from her overprotective Governess."
Allura grinned as Keith stepped in and closed the door. "You read it?"
"Uh-huh, after hearing you and Hunk talk about it I thought I should know what it was about.”
“And what did you think of it?”
“It was a pretty enticing read.” Keith acknowledged. “And Hunk was right; the characters are a bit like us.” He quirked an eybrow at her. “So do you remember what they did in the closet while they were trying to avoid discovery?"
Allura's heart began to knock against her ribs in excitement. "Yes. Are you thinking-"
"Oh yeah." He interrupted, drawing her against him with one hand, while reaching over to snap off the light with the other. "A man cannot live on the written word alone, sometimes he needs to feel his reality. Right, Skylar?"
"Right, Ag-!" A warm, thrilling pair of masculine lips abruptly smothered her answer. Allura sighed happily, wound her arms around Keith's neck, and gave herself up to the bliss of her real life romance.
Back in his quarters, Hunk stood wistfully holding and gazing at the cover of the last book to be hidden away. It showed a good looking dark-haired couple locked in a passionate clinch in the middle of a field of daisies. He wondered if he'd ever get up the courage to be as romantic with Dr Gorma's lovely head nurse Caro Joccoa, as heroes were with the ladies in those stories. She seemed to like him well enough. Maybe if he could sweep her off her feet like the guys in these romances. he wouldn't need the damn books anymore.
It sure couldn't hurt to try.
The End...or is it? :)
Prying open his sleep encrusted eyelids and muttering a string of curses in five different dialects of Arusian, the powerfully built Space Explorer slammed a mighty fist down on the hapless timepiece, effectively ending the shrill sound as the force of the blow caused the fiberglass casing around the mechanism to split in pieces, sending tiny pieces of clock scattering like shrapnel across the room.
~What in tarnation possessed me to set that durn thing for five a.m. after pulling second shift? Why'd I bother to set the thing at all? They won't be expecting me at practice until nine!~ He grumbled to himself, while pulling flannel sheets and downy comforter up over his tanned, brawny shoulders.
He burrowed his rough-hewn features into the pillow and heaved a sigh.
For several moments, he tried to achieve the state of relaxation he had been enjoying prior to being so rudely awakened, but it was no use. He was now wide-awake, mainly because of the nagging thought in the back of his mind that he may have forgotten something important.
Once again, a hand slid out from beneath the warm cocoon of covers to blindly fumble for his day planner, which luckily was in its usual spot next to the clock. Dragging it across the bed, he rolled over unto his back and flipped open the leather cover of the journal to peruse his agenda for the day. A small notation immediately caught his eye and he bolted upright in the bed, all thoughts of sleep disappearing. ~Oh Lordy, I have to get going! Hope my dawdling hasn't cost me too much!~
Whipping back the covers, Hunk hopped out of bed and sprinted for the shower. He shaved and dressed in record time, remembering to add a little spritz of cologne. Running a hand through his thick unruly hair, he decided to wear the gold sweatband, the one he considered extra lucky. He then slipped on a pair of soft-soled boots in preparation for his furtive trek.
Lance was sure to be snoring away by now after getting off the graveyard watch, and Keith would be in Ops until seven for sure. That only left Pidge, whose hearing was so sharp he could still hear the tiniest squeak, even when he was sleeping. He had better tread softly.
He punched in the code for his quarters and the door panel slid open. Cautiously he looked down the silent corridors; good, there was no one lurking about to waylay him and possibly spoil his meeting. Hunk eased his six foot six frame into the hallway, and with surprisingly light feet for such a large man, literally tiptoed past his little friend's quarters.
He unconsciously held his breath, waiting for the door to fly open, but his luck held and the door remained shut. Pidge must have been sleeping well for once, thank goodness. He released the breath in a relieved rush after he had turned the corner into the main hallway.
His size 13 triple E boots unerringly pointed themselves in the direction of the staff dining room to await the summons, and to possibly pick up a bite to eat while he was waiting. He was in luck again, from the looks of things, a full continental breakfast had just been laid out. Doughnuts, scones, muffins, cinnamon toast, sweet rolls, fruit, a variety of juices and the Arusian breakfast blend coffee Keith favored was all there for the taking, with no one else in sight.
Hunk grinned happily. ~Now this is worth getting up for! Nanny never lets me have sweet rolls or doughnuts! This is allrrrright!~
He had just grabbed a plate and started to reach for the goodies when a cultured voice halted his arm in mid-stretch.
"Good Heavens, Lieutenant, what are you doing up this early?"
With a sinking feeling, Hunk turned to face the inquiring, somewhat incredulous expression on the face of the Royal Advisor, who had managed to silently enter the room behind him.
"Uh, 'morning, Coran! Um...I couldn't sleep and I thought I'd take a walk," the Yellow Lion pilot fibbed, trying to
appear nonchalant, but feeling his face getting uncomfortably warm.
"I see," the older man murmured, arching one reddish brown eyebrow. "You do realize that Nanny will have a proper breakfast prepared for the team later on, don't you? She has you men on special diets for a reason."
"Oh sure, I know, I was just going to get some coffee and a slice of toast," Hunk responded quickly, suiting his actions to his words.
Coran hid a smile as the big man's hand hung infinitesimally over a particularly succulent looking sweet roll before grabbing a slice of bread. "Did you plan to go down to Ops at all, then? Keith probably could use some assistance with the-"
"No!" Hunk exclaimed, then took a deep breath and steadied himself. The wily Diplomat didn't suspect anything so far, but if he couldn't keep it together, his planned assignation was doomed to failure. "I mean, not right now. I thought I'd check on the hover craft maintenance records before breakfast."
Coran was looking at the younger man rather strangely. The usually jovial Space Explorer had definitely gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. "All right, that certainly would be a help. Thank you Lieutenant."
An uneasy silence fell between the two men.
"I'll get on it as soon as I finish this," Hunk finally added.
Coran took the hint. "All right... see you later then, Hunk."
"Later," The younger man mumbled and nodded, his mouth full of toast.
As the Royal Advisor exited, the big man dropped into a chair next to the table. ~Jeez Louise, doesn't that guy ever sleep? He came in at the end of my shift last night and it was after eleven! That can't be good for someone his age, no wonder he has those bags under his eyes!~
Finishing the toast, Hunk eyed the sweet roll tray again. One doughnut wouldn't hurt, would it? Nanny would never know. He shifted forward, intent on snatching up a Bavarian cream concoction.
"Master Hunk! Stop where you are- right- now!" A deep but feminine voice from the location of the doorway cut through him like a laser beam.
The guilty fingers dropped their forbidden treat and retreated to a safer position around his Styrofoam coffee cup.
Nanny bustled in with another tray of fruit, and went to plunk it on the table top, fiercely glaring at him as she did so. "Vhat are you doing here? This breakfast is for Castle staff only!"
"Well technically, I am staff, " Hunk protested.
"You know vhat I mean, so do not split hairs. I slave every morning to make you boys a special healthy breakfast, and here I find you rising early to filch the staff's food!" Nanny shook her head in disgust. "Vhy do I bother to spoil you men at all? You apparently don't appreciate it."
"But we do! I just wanted a little snack, so I had some toast and coffee," Hunk responded meekly.
"Hmph! Since vhen is toast filled with cream?" She retorted, staring pointedly at the smear of filling on his fingers.
"I put it back!"
"Oh, that is so vonderful of you, now you haf the germs all over it! Just take it and be done vith it!"
"Thanks, Nanny," Hunk replied, sheepishly reaching for the half-squished roll.
"Hmph. Your portions vill be smaller at breakfast because of this, just so you know."
"I understand."
"No more after this, do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, ma'am. Perfectly."
"Good." And with that terse word, the governess bustled out.
"Sheesh, what a sour puss." Hunk muttered, taking a bite of the roll.
"Excuse me," an unfamiliar voice whispered.
~Now what?~ The Lieutenant spun around in exasperation, and came face to face with a young female page. The girl had to be no more than twelve, and was blushing furiously under his irritated expression as she looked up at him with immense, thickly lashed green eyes and lips parted in a look of dismay.
Hunk's tense expression faded to one of warm friendliness. "I'm really sorry. Didn't mean to bark at you like that."
The girl nodded wordlessly, her curly golden hair gleaming under the room's lights. She obviously was still intimidated by his size and booming voice, Hunk observed, and felt bad.
"Is there something I could do for you- say, what's your name?" He said in as gentle a tone as he could muster.
"Giselle, sir." The girl relaxed a little at the friendly tone and at the sight of twinkling dark brown eyes.
"Giselle, that's a very pretty name. How can I help you?" Hunk said.
"Actually sir, I am supposed to give you this," Giselle handed the Yellow Lion pilot a note written on floral scented paper, and then quietly waited for him to peruse its contents.
He unfolded and read the note with as deadpan a look as he could summon up. His pulse started to race as the words leapt out at him: 'Change of plans- meet me in the storage bay near shipping. I'll be waiting. ~BL' The words were written in a neat script across the center of the note.
"Thanks for bringing this to me. " Hunk said, with a smile at the girl. “Can I trust you'll keep this whole meeting confidential?”
"Of course sir, I'm no snitch!" The girl retorted, showing a bit of spunk.
"Of course you aren't!" Hunk's chuckle rumbled in his chest. "Thank you again, Giselle, and make sure you grab something to eat before you leave, I recommend the Bavarian creams."
"Yes sir, thank you sir!"
Leaving a pleased Giselle to her repast, Hunk finished his own roll and slipped out the door, heading for the storage bay. He took a circuitous route, weaving in and out of corridors so that he avoided any familiar faces along the way that may question his purpose for being in such an obscure part of the castle.
When he finally reached his targeted destination, the door was partially open, and a small auxiliary light bathed the area in a warm glow, beckoning him to come inside. He cautiously stepped into the room, and saw- no one.
"Hello?" He half-whispered.
No response.
~Oh Damn, she musta got tired of waiting for me! Oh, why am I such a lazy, gluttonous fool?~ He berated himself. ~At this rate, I'll never get to- ~
His self recrimations broke off as he spied a movement to his left. Whirling in that direction, he spotted the slim shadow that seemed to detach itself from the wall. His heart rate increased and he tensed as the figure moved toward him. In an instant, he could see the shadowy specter was a delightfully curved woman dressed in black, and he relaxed. She had waited for him after all, and that made everything that had happened to him so far very much worthwhile. She really must understand how much this exchange meant to him, how much he had been looking forward to this guilty pleasure.
He could see she carried a large brown satchel, and as she reached him, she let it drop at his feet with a resounding thump.
"Well here they are, all of them, the new shipment that arrived just an hour ago; I intercepted them for you, and let me tell you, it wasn't easy. These little buggers are heavy!"
His lovely companion paused, her expression one of tender concern as she gazed up at him.
"I hope you have a very good hiding place for them, or things will not go easy for you. I won't be able to help you if the others find out." She informed him in a sweet, husky voice. His senses swam a little at having her this near to him, but he clamped down on those particular thoughts, for alas, she belonged to another.
"Don't you worry, I have it covered. No one will ever see them, I promise." He replied in quiet tones. "I'll take good care of them, too."
"You'd better, or you'll have to answer to me!" She laughed her musical laugh, making him blush even while he grinned back at her. "I have to go now, or the others will get suspicious. You will let me know how they are? You won't leave anything out, right? "
"Of course! Dissecting them is half the fun!" He retorted.
"Oh good. We'll figure out another meeting soon, then. I can hardly wait!"
She blew him a little kiss, and was gone, leaving the scent of plum blossoms hanging in the air. Hunk stood and inhaled appreciatively, before reaching down to pick up the satchel. Holding it like it contained the most precious porcelain; he excited the storage bay, a grin lifting his broad cheeks.
In his eagerness to peruse the contents of the bag, he decided to take a short cut across the docking bay. He had only gotten half way across before a high pitched voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Hey Big Guy, what are doing here so early in the morning? Someone put dynamite under your bed?"
~Damn, it's Pidge! What's he doing here? No wonder he didn't wake up-he wasn't even in his room! How am I going to explain this bag?~
To his credit, his military training kicked in, and the blunt features didn't give away one iota of the turmoil of the big man's thoughts. "Hey little buddy! Just passing through, I uh, uh...um, had to, pick up some tools in storage for the hover crafts." He said, giving his young friend a dim copy of his usual grin.
"Oh cool, are you going to work on them now? I'll help!" Pidge offered enthusiastically, as they headed down the narrow service hallway.
"Well, I gotta go back to my room first, I forgot something." Hunk stalled, starting to sweat. He stopped and set down the heavy bag to wipe his brow with his arm.
"Here, how about if I take the tools off your hands and you go and get whatever you need," the youth persisted, reaching for the bag.
He blinked in surprise when his teammate practically yanked it back and out of his hands.
"No thanks, I'm responsible for them, not you. You go on ahead, and I'll meet you in a few." Hunk ordered gruffly. He abruptly turned on his heel and walked quickly down a side corridor that he knew was the quickest way to the pilot's quarters.
"Okay! I was only trying to help, don't be so touchy!" Pidge muttered as he watched Hunk stalk away. "Sheesh. You'd think his tools were made of pure gold the way he treats them."
Hunk breathed another sigh of relief, as he turned the corner and headed down the home stretch to his quarters. Almost there, hopefully he didn't have to worry about-
"Hey Big Guy, been working out? “ A familiar mocking voice greeted im from an open bedroom door. Hunk grimaced and slowly turned to find Lance in his undershirt and boxers, leaning against the doorjamb and surveying Hunk and his bag with open curiosity. “A bit early for you to hit the weights, isn't it?"
~Damn. Pretty boy must not have needed all his beauty sleep today.~ Hunk thought bitterly as he replied, "Hey Lance. As a matter of fact, it isn't too early."
"Yeah right, tell me another good one. You're bringing in a secret stash of snacks, aren't you? Got any M & M's?"
"No and no."
"So what do you have?"
"Nothin' that concerns you."
"C'mon, you have to have something good in that thing, look how lumpy it is."
"There's nothing in here that would interest you, believe me."
"Try me." The blue eyes had narrowed in speculation. “You don't want me to know about it, so it has to be something extra special. C'mon, give it up!"
"Not on your life." Hunk gave the Red Lion pilot a fierce glare and flexed the steely muscles in a posture that had sent so many opponents running for the hills. He stepped forward so it was obvious how much he towered over his much lighter built teammate.
"Back down, Conan! If you don't want to share, that's fine," Lance smirked up at his friend, not in the least intimidated. "But rest assured I'll find out what's in the bag. Remember, surveillance is my specialty."
Hunk took another step toward the slouching pilot, who straightened in a hurry at the glowering look his burly teammate was giving him. Good sport or not, the big guy was one person you didn't want mad at you and evidently he had gone one step too far, judging by the feral grin the Yellow Lion pilot was wearing as he spoke.
"And rest assured, Sir LancyPants, that mechanics and engineering are my specialties, so if you want that purty little red kitty to stay in tip top shape, you won't go sneaking into my room, prying into things that are none of your beeswax, am I right?"
Lance took a step back into his room. "Uh, right."
"Good man, Lieutenant. See you later."
"Sure."
Feeling Lance's ice blue eyes boring into his back, Hunk walked the rest of the way to his room and quickly punched in the entry code.
He relaxed as soon as the door slid shut behind him. He hated pulling the bully routine, but keeping the secret of what he had in this bag was worth the discomfort.
Carrying it over to the bed, he carefully unzipped it to reveal the bag's contents. He peeled back the sides to expose stack after stack of paperback books.
But not just any books.
He reached in with one huge paw, and pulled out a couple of random samples to read them aloud.
" 'A Galaxy of Desires' by Twyla Lusthaven. Hm, sounds kind of racy. 'Love In Yellow', gotta like that one. 'The Kitten's Revenge' by Claude Balz! Now that should be a humdinger!" Hunk grinned happily. “Geez, there must be at least fifty books in here; she really came through for me! I won't have to go through this whole rigmarole for at least another two months-maybe!”
Mission successfully completed, the Big Man cheerfully went to work hiding his stash of trashy romance novels, all the while thinking about how he and the Princess could manage to exchange reviews on the books without getting caught.
Meanwhile, down in Ops, a sinuous and black clad Princess Allura walked into the area to find Captain Keith busily charting away on the operations logs. His eyes strayed briefly from the finger padd at her entrance, looked down, then did a double take as her unusual attire registered into a mind filled with facts and figures, pushing said numbers aside with a vengeance. His intense, dark eyes took every detail of the curves that were outlined underneath the clingy black cat suit, and his mouth dropped open.
"Do you like it?" She asked softly, coming to stand next to him on pretext of looking at the logs. She reached over and gently closed his mouth for him, her dainty fingers lingering for just a moment too long under his chin.
He inhaled the subtle plum blossom scent she always wore and said huskily. "You know I do, but I'm more interested in why you are wearing it." He sucked in a breath as her fingers moved to brush back a lock of his hair and tuck it behind his ear.
"I had a secret assignation. It's the third Tuesday of the month, you know."
Keith grinned. "His books came?"
"Yes."
"It has to be torture for him to go through all this work just to hide a few romance novels. Why doesn't he just fess up to Lance and Pidge? I think they'd understand."
Allura gave him a look.
"Okay, sorry. It's probably better this way. Especially if I get to see you in hot little numbers like this one."
"Keith, how you talk!" She blushed, but looked pleased nonetheless.
"Talking has nothing to do with what I'm thinking right now. " He stated. "I just finished here, so let's go!" He practically threw the padd at the Arusian officer that came to relieve him and took the Princess' arm, steering her out the door. As he did so, his gaze ran over her in a way that thrilled and scared her at the same time.
"Where? What are we going to do?" She gasped, as he quickly marched her down the hall.
"Somewhere where we can get away from prying eyes and I can show you just how romantic I can be." He teased, loving how the color flooded her fair face, and how the pink lips rounded with surprise. His eyes traveled down the rest of her and he groaned, increasing the tempo of their stride.
Soon they stopped by an unfamiliar door, which Keith opened with an archaic mechanism called a key. He switched on the light, as she stepped in; she turned to him immediately with both eyebrows raised. "A broom closet? Seriously?"
"Yep. Just like in 'Stellar Ecstasy', when Skylar and Agate were hiding from her overprotective Governess."
Allura grinned as Keith stepped in and closed the door. "You read it?"
"Uh-huh, after hearing you and Hunk talk about it I thought I should know what it was about.”
“And what did you think of it?”
“It was a pretty enticing read.” Keith acknowledged. “And Hunk was right; the characters are a bit like us.” He quirked an eybrow at her. “So do you remember what they did in the closet while they were trying to avoid discovery?"
Allura's heart began to knock against her ribs in excitement. "Yes. Are you thinking-"
"Oh yeah." He interrupted, drawing her against him with one hand, while reaching over to snap off the light with the other. "A man cannot live on the written word alone, sometimes he needs to feel his reality. Right, Skylar?"
"Right, Ag-!" A warm, thrilling pair of masculine lips abruptly smothered her answer. Allura sighed happily, wound her arms around Keith's neck, and gave herself up to the bliss of her real life romance.
Back in his quarters, Hunk stood wistfully holding and gazing at the cover of the last book to be hidden away. It showed a good looking dark-haired couple locked in a passionate clinch in the middle of a field of daisies. He wondered if he'd ever get up the courage to be as romantic with Dr Gorma's lovely head nurse Caro Joccoa, as heroes were with the ladies in those stories. She seemed to like him well enough. Maybe if he could sweep her off her feet like the guys in these romances. he wouldn't need the damn books anymore.
It sure couldn't hurt to try.
The End...or is it? :)
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"The Lion's Keep: The Next Chapter" is the most recent version of the "The Lion's Keep",
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