Chapter seventeen: Dance The Night Away!

"Oh,.. come on, Keith, everyone knows 'a couple' means two, right? I'm mean.. that's why they call a romantic relationship between two people a couple. Right?" Hunk's short rant paused in silence before the whole table burst into laughter.

"Well,.. three weeks goes by fast when hands and minds are busy.." Shiro commented, smiling. "Or finally getting some much needed rest after all of the chaos."

"Well we're glad it held you under for as long as it did." Keith replied knowingly. "We know how tough things have been lately.. and were happy you could finally rest easy knowing it was all over again."

"Heh,.. being a prisoner of an alien race,.. escaping and becoming a paladin.. dying at the hands of the oldest alien warlord and then living inside the Black Lion's consciousness,.. all the way up to taking down Sendak and ending this war with Honerva and then dealing with all of Wayde's antics didn't kill me.. but.. then again.. life is always a crazy ride we'll always have. I only wonder when things will quiet down for longer than a few months or so."

"I'm sure it'll happen, don't worry." Keith assured his brother, smiling.

"Worried?" Shiro responded with a knowing look in his eye. "I haven't been worried since my mind faded into rest mode for two weeks straight."

"And yet you still look to be exhausted." Allura mentioned, observing him carefully. The admiral laid his elbows upon the table so his hands came together in front of his face.

"I still can't believe you guys pulled this all together, even while I was.." his eyes wandered down momentarily. "Obsolete."

"It was no trouble, I assure you." Sam reasoned thoughtfully. "If you think about it, you guys and Colleen kind of already handled most of it.. It was just a matter of pulling it all together. Which was no problem for us, with everyone pitching in."

"And I'm incredibly grateful for that." Shiro beamed. "We couldn't have made this day possible without any of you. I can't think of a better way to spend my time today than with all of you. And Kimberly.. of course." Kimberly, as his new bride, set her hands on his and leaned her right arm against his left. Bringing one hand up to caress his arm, she leaned in for a kiss and then laid her head on his shoulder to hug his arm tenderly.

"I think, now, things are finally starting to look up for the better." The Admiral decided.

"Yes.. yes they are." Sam grinned. And in the light of the hanging string lights suspended around them beneath the statue of the Altean Empress herself. The beauty of dusk that had fallen upon them only seemed more alive than what could be expected for a normal night. Only now, did it seem to awaken a new kind of energy which rang into the night as a joyfully beautiful sound, which seemed to fit with the mood of the moment in a perfect kind of harmony no one could've ignored.

"Hey Shiro.. time for that dance you promised me." Pidge mentioned cheekily with a kind of sing-song skip in her tone, cocking a smug grin at the Admiral suggestively.

Looking to Kimberly, his bride shrugged with the subtle implication that his promised request had to be honored. Placing his hands to the table and easing his chair back to stand, he took his wife by the hand and stood her up; to then lead her toward the open space prepared for them at the foot of the giant monument. Barely a sliver of daylight remained on the horizon, as the music began. And even as they swayed together, it hardly felt like a dance, as they basked in the moment of staring one another in the eyes with the tender love in their hearts burning brighter than ever before. Their hearts sang to the tune they didn't know, but carried a song that blended their movements together in a harmony only they could achieve both together and individually.

"I can't imagine spending another day without you." Shiro told her, his grey eyes shimmering.

"Neither can I." Kimberly agreed, her loose hair flowing in harmony with the moment. "I honestly don't know what I was thinking, when I left all those years ago. Sometimes.. I wonder if it'd been better if I had stayed. Maybe we'd realized we were meant to be together sooner."

"You,.. have nothing to apologize for." Shiro told her, emphasizing strongly to show his meaning. "You did what you thought was right."

"Right, but what about you?" Kimberly reminded him. "These past seven years or so have been rough.. especially after all you've been through since the Kerberos mission, before and after that. Your life has been filled with struggles for.. as long as any of us can remember. And.. if I had been there.."

"There's nothing you could've done." Shiro told her, caressing a hand back over the side of her face; smoothing her hair back from it. "I probably would have still gone on the mission.. and I would've still been imprisoned.. I'm honestly not sure anything would've been different."

"I would've been here to help you work through it.." Kimberly answered rather quickly.

"Or more likely you would've tried to come looking for me." Shiro corrected, his hand lifted to her face once again and he pulled it in to press his forehead to hers. "Things went down as they did,.. and we can't go back and change it.. Let's just be glad that we got to where we are because of how much we love each other, and just look to what the future brings."

"Deal." Kimberly agreed, as he spun her around and out. At this Pidge shivered with excitement, then shifting over to the DJ booth, she whispered something in Matt's ear while subtly handing him a CD below the view of the booth. And in finishing, the Holt Siblings exchanged humorous smiles and as Katie wandered away, Matt slipped the CD into the player and prepared to manage the booth once again.

Suddenly the soft tune exploded with a jig that brought the very air to life. The couple perked up in surprise of the change, and they caught the two Holt kids dancing it out by and in the booth.

"Awh-ha-ha-yeah!" Lance cheered. "Wah-hoo! Ha ha!" He howled while pulling Allura with him onto the dance floor.

Hunk space-walked by Shiro and Kimberly, and Sam sported some disco jig of his own which Colleen chuckled at, and even applauded. The happy couple glanced to one another and smiled, slowly descending into a bouncing dance of their own. Keith tapped a foot, but felt his reservation hold him back from going any further. But seeing as how Axca stood just staring.. gave him a confidence that was unfamiliar yet strangely pleasant as his feet walked him over to her. Taking her hand she looked up at him quickly as he slowly pulled her toward the dance floor.

"-What are you-.. doing? I-I-.." her hand slipped from his. "Don't dance."

"Well.. that.. doesn't mean that can't.. change." Keith answered slowly, a certain uncertainty in his eyes to match hers with a slight amount more certainty than she could manage.

"I don't even know the definition of fun in my own life." Axca answered, in deep despair. "The truth is… I've never danced."

"Listen.." Keith's eyes wandered down shyly. "I'm not exactly into this stuff either.. my idea of cutting loose and having fun is nowhere near what most people might think.. but.. I'm willing to learn if you are.." His hand extended to her once again and Axca hesitated. Looking him in the eyes his genuine understanding cut deep into her soul and she could feel the truth of his words, and as a result she felt her arm lengthen to take his hand and allow him to lead her onto the dance floor amongst the crowd that had gathered.

Holding hands so that their palms touch and their fingers interlocked, they stood there staring for a second before letting the music take control of their bodies. One arm swinging out from their bodies; then joining to swing the others out, this repeated for one more round before their hands join, one pair of arm extended out the other bent like that of a ballroom dancing couple. Extended arms pointed down the up and around they went in a choppy step that smoothed out once their guards began to melt away. Until only the music, and one other seemed to remain, splitting ways they danced side by side in an awkward hip-hop fashion. Opposite hand over opposite knee they swiveled together in sync with their partner, as they switched sides to do the same. Lifting both hands to their chest as they leaned side to side in the same staccato fashion while their knees swiveled out then together, starting the process all over again.

"What.. is.. happening?" Axca gasped. "How.. are we.. doing this?"

"I don't know.." Keith breathed, uncertainty still hanging on. "But I think I like it.."

"Yeah.. me too." Though their words sounded positive, their tones did not quite mirror this.. even though their hearts knew it as truth. But still, they danced on.

Lance shimmied while Allura spun. Marcus and Joanna jived hand in hand, as the husband dipped his wife. Leo scampered around in a toddler's hippity-hop. And Blake swayed a slide and glide with her sister by her side, McKenna kicking left while Blake flicked right then making the back and forth switch to correlate their movements perfectly. Hunk and Lance by now had resorted to a Kid n' Play style of dance together, tapping ankles then jigging out to come back in for another tap and repeat. Pidge's hand shook side by side in front of her like shaking maracas, rattling the imaginary instruments one way with a slide then over the other way, also in a repeating cycle of smooth transitions that made the act that much more fun. Shiro spun Kimberly into him and they stood that way with a gleam in their eyes and a smile across their faces. Reaching a hand up to kiss her husband, they rolled out into an all out free for all as they danced on through the music. Dance their troubles.. and the night, away. And for the first time.. everything was perfectly fine.

XXXX

"Ah.. what a night." Kimberly breathed, sitting with her new husband on a bench behind Allura's statue. Leaning against him with a hand on his chest, her head lay on his shoulder for him to lean into as well.

"Heh, one of the greatest nights of my life." Shiro smiled, breathing deeply into it.

"And let us hope there are many more to come.." Kimberly agreed, as they continued to stare out across the quiet city below them. "In the near and far future."

"Voltron may not be needed like it was before.." Shiro began again as his gaze dropped thoughtfully, earning her glance as she lifted her head off him. "But I'd like to think it'll always be needed." He looked to her knowingly. "No matter what."

"You think that's what King Alfor would've wanted?" Kimberly asked him thoughtfully.

"No.." The Garrison Admiral decided. "But I think he'd be proud to see his creation live on as a legacy." His smile was unmistakable, yet it carried a heavy sense upon it that could not be determined as any one thing. "I bet one day, when we're all gone,.. someone under us will take on Voltron's legacy and carry it to the next generation for years to come. And.. maybe even centuries."

"And you'll go down as one of the greatest heads of Voltron ever, Takashi Shirogane." Kimberly Shirogane told her husband, hugging his arm with both of hers and laying her head on his shoulder once again. "For years to come."

"I just hope things don't go as bad as they have." Shiro thought a level of dread coming upon him like a dark shadow in the night that still hung over them.

"Hey don't worry." Kimberly assured him, her hand lifting to his upper arm, halfway up to his shoulder. "What is, has happened, and what will be is up to the Lord above. Just as things have gotten bad in your time.. things may happen that way in the future.. But so long as there is someone to carry on what you and those before you built.. there's nothing we, or they, can't overcome. As you said, Voltron will last throughout the ages.. and as long as it remains in the right hands.. there's no reason to worry about what might happen. With any threat that comes our way.. someday.. that may belong to our children and their descendants. Till then we can just enjoy the peace that we have made once again,.. and be thankful that we're all still here to enjoy it… especially you.." her smile broadened with an endearing element to its appearance. "You've more than earned it." Shiro's blank thoughtful stare soon softened and he took her jaw in his hand to kiss her tenderly then wrap his arms around her.

"Thank you." He managed to say.

"Now we should go get some sleep." Kimberly decided, rising with Shiro's hand in hers. "We don't wanna sleep our first full day together away."

"Heh,.. with you?.. I'd do anything all day." Shiro smiled, rising himself. Then strolling off with hand in hand, they made their way back to the castle dimly lit with enough light to know where to find it.

XXXX

Tenuous thumbs turned the small clicking knob. The single eye that peered down the scope to the sliver of the red, glowing shard. A level of focus intensified his brow for a deeper focus, which lightened with a gasp. Taking the larger entity of this sample, the Holt Commander transported the deep crimson-glowing crystal, with cast iron pincers on long handles, to the white metal plated and Altean-blue, light-accented machine; and placing the crystal inside of it. Sam stepped back to watch and as he stood there watching, the blue accent lights turned red and the machine began to shake. Sam stepped a couple more paces back in surprise and the shake grew more quickly, until suddenly it burst into a cloud and Sam had to shield himself from it as he hit the ground. Coughing from the smoke, the door behind him soon opened and Colleen rushed in accompanied by Matt and Pidge.

"Sam, what in the world are you doing?!" Colleen gasped. "What happened?"

"You ok, Dad?" Matt asked, as his father recovered from coughing.

"Yes.. uh..I'm fine,.. Matt." Sam answered finally, sniffling while straightening back up to stand and edging toward his family from the decapitated machine. He then glanced back at them, with a grave look in his eyes. "But I'm afraid we may have a problem…"

~How A Wedding Bell Toils~

Hi guys! Whasup?! So here is the final chapter. Don't worry, a cliffy is not the actual end. Another fic will proceed this and all will be explained. Lemme know your thoughts, feelings, and comments on this fic and any theories you may have on the next..

The next fic in this 'series' I suppose you could say, will be the final one I think for now. And will remain so unless something comes to mind otherwise. Anyway enjoy this chapter and be on the lookout for the next one.. thx!