THE FAMILY PICNIC

"What is that smell?" Allura asked, making a face as she pulled away from the basket. The odor really rather repulsive. "Are you really going to eat that?"

Keith laughed as he plopped down next to her, leaning over to see what the offending object was. "That's a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I thought the kids might like to try it."

The Princess was already regretting her decision to put her husband in charge of the picnic. Coran had offered to help but Keith insisted that while they were visiting Earth they would eat human food. Granted it had been years since he'd had any and she imagined she'd do the same if denied Altean cuisine for such a long period of time.

So she decided not to push the issue, sighing to herself as she dug deeper. Nothing looked familiar and there was no signs of even food goo. Hopefully Sven wouldn't turn his nose up at everything. He was extremely picky for a ten-year-old and rarely tried new things. His older sister, Fala, wasn't much better. The last thing Allura wanted to deal with was two hungry, whiny children.

Her ears perked as she realized that it was quieter than usual. The only sound was Keith sifting through another container that held cold food items. He handed her a beverage before laying back on the blanket.

"Ah, this is relaxing," he crooned, inhaling deeply. "I could fall asleep right here."

Any other time Allura would be happy to indulge him, but looking around she realized it was not the time to do so.

"Have you seen the kids?" she wondered aloud.

Keith propped himself up on his elbows, his eyes scanning the landscape for any sign of them.

"Quiznak," he grumbled, "I told them not to wander off. I did not want to spend the day having to hunt them down."

Allura knew she shouldn't be too worried about them, both being well trained in self-defense. But she didn't know this planet or its dangers and was anxious to go look for them. It took some convincing but she finally got Keith to help her.

She'd always been surprised with how easily Keith took to being a father. He was quite like her own, never stressing over little things. The kids had spent a lot of time outdoors with him, learning survival techniques as soon as they could walk. So of course he never worried over them, especially now that they were older.

Still the Princess wouldn't feel at ease until she had them back in her sight.

The parents had walked around for a considerable time before reaching a river. They followed the bank until they heard the roaring of a waterfall. Allura's heart was pounding in her chest as she raced to the edge of the cliff, looking over the side for any sign of her babies. The mist bubbling up at the base of the falls made it difficult to see and she leaned further for a better view.

"Mom!"

The shout startled Allura and she spun around to see where it was coming from. In doing so she lost her balance and almost toppled over the side, stopped only by two smaller hands holding onto her own for dear life. Once she'd righted herself she saw the beautiful faces of her children.

The children that were going to be grounded for a week.

"Where were you two?" she barked, still reeling from her near-death experience.

Sven looked sheepishly at his big sister, then to his mother. "I'm sorry mummy, but I saw a duflax. I thought they were extinct so I decided to chase it to see if there were any more."

Allura wasn't sure what to say. She looked to Keith for an explanation that would make her feel at least a little better about the whole situation.

"Sven, what you saw was probably a duck."

The young boy looked at his father with confusion. "A what?"

Keith laughed as he took the boy by the hand and began to walk back to the picnic spot. He pointed things out to his son as the went along, teaching him words for things that were alien to him.

At that moment Allura felt a slight pang of regret for not having brought the children to Earth sooner. This was Keith's home planet after all. But she also knew he had no real ties here, either. Not even a photograph from his childhood had survived.

The princess couldn't count how many times she wondered if Sven looked like Keith had back then. Fala looked very much like her: the same hair, eyes, even ears. The only difference was her markings, which were a darker pink.

Sven, on the other hand, had his father's dark hair and indigo eyes. Even the same ears- which Allura had finally come to accept as not that hideous. Unfortunately he also had his father's impulsivity, which was how he ended up running off after a ridiculous bird in the first place.

Once the picnic was in view they all remembered how hungry they were, racing up the hill for the last bit to start feasting on Earth food. Allura had even forgotten the strange assortment until Keith handed her some yellow mushy stuff in a bowl.

"And what exactly is this?" she sniffed, trying to decide the likelihood of it going in her mouth.

"Potato salad," Keith replied matter-of-factly. "It's a picnic staple. You absolutely are required to eat it."

For a moment Allura wondered if that were true until she saw him wink at the kids.

"I see," she giggled, "this is payback for all the things Coran and I made you eat over the years."

Keith leaned over to plant a kiss on her cheek. "No, this is actually edible."