"Wow! Would you look at it come down out there?" Lance turned from the floor to ceiling windows and faced the rest of the Voltron Force.
"Has it ever snowed like this before, Princess?" Keith asked; his brow furrowed. "I know we haven't been on Arus long, but it's never even been cold enough for the leaves to fall before, much less snow."
"It has, Keith, but not very often. I can only remember a handful of times that I've seen it happen." Allura rose from the couch and crossed the lounge until she stood next to Lance by the windows. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she said softly. "I hope my people are keeping warm. They aren't used to preparing for this kind of weather. We should open the castle to any that need a warmer shelter."
"I'll go let Coran know for ya, Princess. I was gonna go get a snack anyway." Hunk stood and nearly sprinted from the room before anyone else could react.
Keith watched as the big man fled the lounge, a sympathetic look on his face.
Allura's eyes moved from the closing door to Keith in confusion. "What was all that about? I've never seen Hunk in such a hurry to leave a room before."
Keith's expression grew serious and he took a deep breath before responding. "Hunk's not a fan of winter weather. I haven't been able to get him to talk about it much, but I get the impression that he had a traumatic experience as a kid. I think one of his brothers or cousins was involved, but I'm not sure and I don't want to push him about it. I didn't think it was going to end up becoming an issue since the weather on Arus has always been fairly mild."
"Normally it is, but on rare occasions we get real winter weather. Is there something we can do to make things easier for him?"
Keith shrugged and gave her a half smile. "I don't think so. It's probably best just to leave him be. It sounds like before long the weather will go back to normal and so will he."
Allura sighed and looked at the door sadly. "OK, but I don't like seeing him like that."
"He'll be fine. He always bounces back once the weather warms up again."
Allura studied the closed door for a few more moments before turning back to the window and the frosty wonderland lying spread out before her.
A few hours later, the downy snowfall had slowed to a gentle flurry of fluffy white flakes. The novelty was enough to coax many of the people of Arus from their homes into the frigid white landscape. Mounds of snow obscured the shapes of homes and trees. Even the Black Lion itself was merely a shapeless form atop the pedestal guarding the castle drawbridge. As the sun's light set the top layer of frozen crystals ablaze in brilliance, laughter could be heard carried by the icy winds. Children, who had never seen snow before, quickly discovered how to make snowballs, filling the air with white, whizzing, projectiles. Before long, many of the wide open areas had turned from pristine blankets of snow into mounds, forts, and piles of packed, deformed, frosty mush.
Just as the bitter cold finally made its way through layers of clothing and adrenaline-fueled excitement, the townspeople began to slowly head back to the warmth of their homes where fires burned merrily in hearths and steaming beverages waited to thaw them from the inside out. Exhausted from the fresh air and exertion, few children fought to stay up past their bedtimes, collapsing beneath their blankets into the soothing arms of slumber.
Adults, unused to the chill of winter, snuggled under thick comforters and found themselves drifting off as well. Before long, entire villages were still and silent; serene images of a world at peace.
The Castle of Lions was no exception. The Voltron Force, with one noticeable exception, had also been lured out into the snowy playground surrounding the palace. Lacking proper winter wear, the team had instead donned their uniforms before braving the chilly air. Much like the children of the nearby villages, the team ran through the snowy landscape, pelting each other with snowballs. Allura was introduced to the fine art of creating snow angels and the delicious exhaustion that resulted from a finished snowman. Her laughter was infectious and buoyed her teammates to urge her onto new adventures. As their play escalated, so did the physical nature of their attacks. Snow forts served as ambush points from which to launch projectiles at one another. Snow mounds provided ledges from which to tackle one another. Giggles gave way to shrieks as the Princess found that she was not immune from the boys' attacks.
Rushing from his own hiding space at the sound of Allura's latest screech, Keith found her pinned beneath Lance as he attempted to find a way to shove handfuls of snow into her uniform. Raising one finger to his lips, the captain caught the princess's eye as he snuck up on the Red Lion pilot, his own hands heaped with piles of snow. A wicked gleam formed in his dark eyes as he closed the distance and deposited both handfuls of snow onto Lance's head, making sure some of it found its way into the neck of his uniform.
"Aieee!" Lance screamed as the frozen slush dripped inside his collar and trailed down his spine.
Pidge, across the clearing from his teammates, looked up at the sound of Lance's startled cry. When it was followed by peals of laughter from Keith and Allura, he just shrugged and decided not to get dragged into whatever mischievous activity those three were involved in. Instead, he chose to continue with the safer business of building replicas of Voltron, and the five robot lions that formed him, out of the abundant snowfall. Enlisting three of the local children who were assisting him, they each grabbed one of the team's discarded helmets and used them as buckets to transport additional supplies of snow to their construction site.
Moments later, the peacefulness of their workspace was interrupted once more as Keith dashed right into the middle of their carefully arranged assembly area. He quickly hid behind one of the partially formed figures, glancing quickly over his shoulder as he did so.
Lance followed his commander, tossing snowballs as he ran. His hair, normally feathered around his face, was plastered to his scalp; his face set with a look of fierce determination. Allura remained a few steps behind him as she yelled out warnings and advice to her captain, helping him remain one step ahead of his pursuer.
Pidge rolled his eyes at their crazy antics. The children howled with glee as they watched their heroes play with unbridled exuberance. When their wild actions proved threatening to his careful construction work, Pidge chased the trio away.
Realizing that Pidge wasn't behind them any longer, Keith came to a halt. A quick glance at his companions told him that it was time to head back inside the castle where they could warm up. Lance was soaked from the neck up, his hair freezing into uncontrolled spikes in the chill air. Allura shivered and her lips were tinged with a faint bluish tone. The joyous, uninhibited gleam in her eyes indicated that she was far too engrossed in the outdoor activities to realize just how cold she was. Stepping closer, Keith reached out and wrapped his hands around her arms. He slid them up and down along her biceps in an effort to generate enough friction to warm them for her. Catching her eye, he spoke quietly, "Princess, I think it's time to head back to the castle and warm up. You're shivering."
She nodded silently, afraid to speak and have her voice betray the feelings his touch evoked in her. A warm flush began to suffuse her and crept from her chest to the column of her throat where it remained barely concealed by her collar. Allura allowed him to lead her back inside, so caught up in her reaction to his proximity that she didn't even notice when Lance greeted her as he fell into step beside her.
Once they were back within the shelter of the castle's walls, the princess realized just how chilled she had become. As feeling slowly returned to her extremities, she gratefully accepted a steaming mug of tea before making her way to her room and fresh clothing.
Her companions, after completing similar rituals, waited for her in the lounge. Lance had once again taken up station before the large windows, a pink flush on his cheeks as he savored the sparkling landscape. Keith lay sprawled on the couch, his hands tucked behind his head, his eyes slowly drifting closed as sleep attempted to claim him. Allura cast a brief, indulgent glance at his prone form before crossing the room to stand beside Lance at the windows. She spoke quietly, not wanting to disturb the Red Lion pilot's enjoyment of the view before him. "That was fun, wasn't it? I haven't laughed that hard or that much in quite some time."
"Yeah, sometimes I forget just how much I enjoyed the winter months when I was a kid. Back in the mountain village where I grew up, we'd have weather like this for months at a time. The whole area would become an enchanted world full of surprises and adventures." He fell silent for a moment before turning to face the princess, mischief dancing in his hazel eyes. "And then, when I was a little older, there was always coming back inside and warming up to look forward to." He smirked and waggled his eyebrows at her, laughter in his voice.
She blushed faintly and feigning interest in the snowy view outside, stole a brief glance at Keith's reflection in the window's surface. Absently, she reached up and rubbed her arms, smiling at the faint tingle that remained from his warming touch. Deciding that she needed to drag herself from this train of thought quickly, she turned to face the man beside her.
"Lance?"
"Yes, Princess?"
"It's a shame that Hunk wouldn't take part in the fun this afternoon. Do you know why he feels so strongly about this kind of weather?"
"Not really. He's probably told Keith more about it than anyone and that hasn't been much. Whatever happened to him, he's keeping it to himself."
Hunk meanwhile had locked himself in his room where he huddled in a corner. He wedged his ample frame into the smallest space possible in the spot furthest away from the windows lining the far wall. He closed his eyes tightly, willing his inner demons away, even as they pawed at his thoughts and clamped his chest in their icy grip.
The young child sat in the frigid darkness, shivering in fear and cold. His tears had stopped falling hours ago as exhaustion and dehydration began to set in. He'd lost track of how long he had been in this cave, the entrance blocked by an avalanche of snow. His stomach growled, but he had nothing other than snow to offer it, the few meager bits of food he had brought with him ran out what seemed like days ago. The only light in the cavern came from a small flashlight; its failing batteries causing the illumination to flicker ominously. He huddled against the interior wall, wrapped into a tight ball in an attempt to keep warm.
Night fell, cloaking the landscape in darkness and turning the windows of the lounge into makeshift mirrors. Yawning, Lance stretched until his spine made an audible popping sound. He looked back at his commander who was now sound asleep on the couch. "Y'know, I think Keith has the right idea. I'm beat. G'night, Princess." He waved casually at Allura before making his way from the room.
The princess watched him leave before turning back to look at the man sleeping on the sofa. She thought about waking him and sending him to the comfort of his own bed, but decided against it. Instead she found a pale pink afghan and gently draped it over his prone form. He shifted slightly in his sleep and the princess froze, afraid that she had awoken him after all. When he merely sighed softly and snuggled under the blanket without opening his eyes, she released her held breath and took a seat near him. Between the darkness of the night outside and her preoccupation with watching the captain slumber, she didn't notice that the snow had begun to fall once more. Before long, her eyes drifted closed and she slumped over, coming to rest with her head pillowed against Keith's shins.