Worth the Wait
Author's Note: I watched "Battle of the Planets" as a child and it has always held a special place in my heart. I fell in love with all the characters (especially Mark and Princess) from the very beginning and have never stopped. This is the first piece of fan fiction that I've written and shared with the general public. I wrote it a few years ago and was encouraged to publish it now by my good friend, "Summer39" whose writing I admire very much! I'd like to thank her for helping me spruceup this storyand give it some life before I shared it. I couldn't have done it without her help and support! In this brief one-shot I've aged the characters by a few years and changed their clothing. Other than that, they are similar to the way they were in the series. The usual disclaimer applies. These characters are owned by Sandy Frank and Tatsunoko Productions.
He watched as she moved about the room. She was beautiful. She was looking around at nothing in particular and he caught a glimpse of her lovely rainforest green eyes. Her long, dark raven hair was pulled back from her face and held atop her head in a tortoise shell clip. A stray tendril fell along the snowy white skin of her cheek. She used her free hand to gently brush it away. In the other hand she held a tray of drinks that she was delivering to a nearby table where four young men in their early twenties were eagerly seated.
"Here you go guys!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "Sorry, it took me so long! This place has just been crazy tonight!"
"No problem Princess," one of the men responded, "You're always worth the wait!"
The others at the table chimed in with their agreement as one raised his glass in a toast. "To Princess," he exclaimed.
"To Princess!" the others echoed.
She blushed and looked away.
"Aww…you guys are the best!" she replied as she quickly spun around. She headed back to the bar while the men at the table riveted their eyes on her figure in her form fitting white blouse and short black mini skirt revealing her shapely long legs.
In the far corner of the restaurant, Mark continued to watch the events unfolding before him. He wanted to run over and beat the others to oblivion for their blatant staring, but he knew it would do no good. It would only draw unnecessary attention to the capabilities of his cerebonic powers. Plus, he was just as guilty as they were.
"Damn it," he whispered under his breath.
"Now, now! Such bad language!" came a voice from behind him. He looked up to see a familiar figure slide into the seat in front of him.
"Well, that's an interesting comment from someone with such a "colorful" vocabulary," Mark replied.
"Hey, you're the one always telling me to clean up my act. You can dish out the lectures commander, but can't take them from anyone else!"
Mark stared back into the face of his second in command. The imposing figures of the two handsome young men filled the booth in the small restaurant. He and Jason had always had a confrontational relationship. He liked to think it helped them bring out the best in each other during a mission, but at times like this when they were off duty, it was merely annoying.
"Princess doesn't need a personal bodyguard watching over her all night." Jason stated. "We both know she is more than capable of taking care of herself."
Mark looked back to the bar where Princess was busily fixing drinks for other customers. He knew Jason was right. She had the same cerebonic powers that the both of them had. Princess could easily have taken on all four guys in an instant if any of them had made the wrong move. She wasn't third in line of G-Force command for nothing. Still, Mark couldn't help but be worried for her safety. Well, maybe it wasn't so much worry over her safety, but worry that she might actually take someone up on one of the many offers she received while working at Jill's Place. Although he didn't freely admit it, Mark had strong feelings for Princess…feelings that definitely extended beyond a normal working relationship.
"You two are something else!" Jason exclaimed, "Either admit you've got something going for each other, or start getting it on with someone else."
Mark's blue eyes widened, "I can't believe you just said that!" he retorted.
Jason shook his head in response, "I don't know who you think you're fooling. We all see it - me, Tiny, Keyop. We all have bets on the day when it finally spills over and you both start making out on the deck of the Phoenix!"
Mark was too shocked to reply. He wouldn't put it past Jason to exaggerate what he sensed was going on between himself and Princess, but to claim he had discussed their relationship with the other members of the G-Force team was something different.
Mark leaned towards Jason, his eyes flashing with anger, "You don't know what you're talking about!" he snapped back.
"Nice try!" Jason answered as he stood up. "You can deny your feelings all you want, but you can't deny the looks she's getting from everyone else. If you don't make your move and make it official between the two of you, then someone else will step in to take your place."
Jason glanced over to the table of guys as he made his warning. It was just like him to add fuel to an already raging fire. "Well, I see I've done my job for the night!" he exclaimed as he continued to watch Mark's face turn red. "Excuse me while I go off and make my own moves." Then Mark saw him walk across the room to speak to a gorgeous blonde in a rather tight fitting dress who had just stepped up to the bar.
Mark couldn't take it any longer. He spied Princess heading for the back kitchen and got up to follow her. He pushed the door open. She had just reached into the refrigerator to take out some lemons for the drinks.
"So when did you start wearing mini-skirts to work?" he asked.
Startled, she turned around and smiled when she saw it was Mark. She took a moment to drink in the sight of him; his wavy chestnut brown hair, his deep ocean blue eyes, his full sensuous lips. He was wearing a light grey t-shirt and a pair of dark black jeans, both of which hugged his muscular body to perfection. She struggled to catch her breath, then coyly replied, "Well, if you must ask, it's when I realized that it got me more tips."
"It's a bit short don't you think?" he responded. "I can practically see your underwear!"
"You really think so? Hmm….," she muttered as she peered down to examine the front of her skirt, then threw her head over her shoulder to glance a view of the back. "Its not any shorter than my G-Force uniform," she innocently replied, "And you can't see anything when I'm wearing that. Can you?"
Mark stifled a small smile. Well, she had him there. He couldn't very well admit now that he had been catching glimpses of her white panties for years while they were together on missions. He glanced around the kitchen to make sure they were alone and he closed the distance between them. As he approached her, he was greeted with the most intoxicating scent of sweet meadow flowers and a hint of spicy cinnamon. God, why did she always have to smell so good?
"Well, I'm just looking out for you," he explained. "You never know what could happen in here."
Princess sighed, rolled her eyes and started moving to the table to finish slicing the lemons, "Mark, you know I've got everything under control. If you're referring to those guys at the table out there, they are completely harmless. What's the worse that they could do? "
In an instant Mark leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. She parted her lips to receive him. While they enjoyed a slow, lingering kiss he pulled her closer to him placing one hand on her hip. With the other, he reached up and removed the clip from her hair causing her dark tresses to cascade down her shoulders, his fingers sifting through her hair. Savoring the kiss, Princess' hands slowly migrated to Mark's chest, her fingers clutching his shirt.
They reluctantly broke apart to catch their breath, Mark leaning his forehead into hers. For a few moments they stared longingly into each other's eyes.
"I doubt they would try something like that," she stammered breathlessly, still stunned at what had just occurred between them.
"You never know," Mark replied as his hands slowly traveled from her shoulders to her fingertips breaking the spell he cast upon her.
Mark backed away slightly, the want for her evident in his eyes.
"Promise me you'll be careful?" he asked in a deep but gentle voice.
"I promise," she replied in what came out as a throaty whisper.
Mark then headed towards the door, cast a meaningful glance over his shoulder at her, and left the room. Princess wondered if she was promising him much more than she realized.