Author's Note:
Hi everyone! I'm very excited to bring you my first ever published FanFiction work! Reviews/comments are always welcome. Please go easy on me!. I hope you all enjoy!
Sadly, I do NOT own Sym-Bionic Titan (sigh). All credit for this amazing series goes to Mr. Genndy Tartakovsky.
Four years. That's how long it had been since Octus, Lance, and Ilana had returned home.
Four years since the fall of Modula and the resurrection of Galaluna.
The casualties from the battle had later been deemed too numerous to tally. Countless citizens and soldiers alike had given their lives to reclaim their kingdom. It had been a long, bloody, and savage fight. Many had doubted they would emerge victorious.
Thankfully, the sacrifices of those lost, and those that remained to carry on in the fight, had not been in vain.
The fighting force – led by Lance, Ilana, and Octus as Titan – had managed to claim victory and defeat Modula. The king had been freed from his torture chamber in Modula's quarters, and the kingdom slowly began rebuilding. It took quite a bit of time, effort, and dedication to see the kingdom re-established, and both the physical and mental wounds of those that survived healed. The results, however, had been well worth it.
Galaluna now, once again, stood as a beacon of power and freedom to everyone...Everyone, that is, except the young princess and her former Corporal.
Originally, the two teenagers had been very anxious to return home. Ilana had been dreaming of returning to her planet from the moment they arrived on earth, while Lance had been craving to return to join in the fight against the famed traitor – at least at the start of their stay on their temporary home.
During their time together on earth, they had formed a special bond. There was an inexplicable trust, acceptance, and understanding between the two that nobody really understood; not even Octus. They returned home as best friends, though they both knew it was strictly against the established code of conduct for a member of the royal family to form any attachments to a subordinate of any kind, especially a military member serving under them. Nevertheless, they had continued to share a close but discreet friendship until about two years ago.
Nobody who saw them interact could deny that there was a strange sort of connection between them, and to those who knew them extremely well: chemistry. Lots of it. They themselves had realized it quite some time ago. Neither one of them had been brave enough to act on the feelings they shared for each other...that is, until a certain incident two years ago, when Ilana's father surprised her with a visitor.
Ilana had once told Lance of a young man named prince Simon of Duran whom she had had a diplomatic arrangement with, through her father's influence. She had told him that they had gotten along really well, but that his country had broken out in a civil war shortly after their meeting; thus, Ilana never saw him again. Well, the king had remembered how much his daughter had enjoyed the young prince's company, and had been able to establish communication with prince Simon shortly after the palace had been rebuilt (About a year and a half after Modula's defeat). It turned out that his country had re-unified after the internal conflict, and Simon was now the king of Duran. The king had been very happy to hear the news, and had decided to see if Ilana would consider him as a potential marriage partner now that he was established as the ruler of his kingdom.
The king had corresponded with Simon for about six months before he had invited the new king to Galaluna for a visit. Ilana had been shocked to see him alive; Lance had been absolutely pissed. The time they shared together on Earth, coupled with Lance's former duties as Ilana's bodyguard, had made him extremely protective of her. Add his romantic feelings for her into the equation, and it was easy to understand why he wanted nothing more than to tear the young man's head off (or other parts of his anatomy which shall remain unnamed). It was only Ilana's expert reading of his anger behind his polite smile that kept Simon from an early grave, especially when the young king started to become very forward with her in Lance's presence.
She had made it a point to spend time with Simon away from the military wing of the new palace for Lance's sanity, while not encouraging him that anything other than friendship would result from his visit. Of course, despite her best efforts, she knew that Lance had been watching them - when he was able to - from imperceptible areas while they strolled through the finely manicured gardens of the palace grounds. She never minded, though. In fact, she relished the knowledge that he still wanted to take time out of his now very busy schedule to keep an eye on her, and make sure she came to no harm.
Shortly after the final battle, Lance had been given a huge promotion to Major General, taking on division sized units of between 10,000-15,000 soldiers. His promotion had come with much more responsibility; consequently, it had gotten much harder for him to spend time with her, but he always made sure to reserve a portion of his day to see her.
When their unwanted guest had arrived, she had told him to catch up on some of the work he'd been putting off lately in favor of hanging out with her for a few hours every day.
Of course, he'd been too stubborn and worried to take her advice. Thus, he'd ended up hiding in obscure places around the palace day after day to watch over her during her outings with the young king.
That had become their routine for the better part of two months, and both wished that Simon would just go home.
It was during his last night on Galaluna that Simon had taken Ilana aside in the midst of his farewell ball that the king had hosted as a final bon voyage to the young ruler. She had expected him to ask her to visit his home planet sometime soon, but instead she received a shock she would never forget.
Simon had brought Ilana onto the main balcony. The doors had been left open to let in the lingering light from the setting sun, and warm summer breeze that blew the smell of freshly cut hay from the fields into the palace.
Simon had taken Ilana by the hand and gotten down on one knee, effectively shocking her into silence. He had almost finished his rehearsed proposal speech when Lance, dressed head to toe in his military regimentals and formal uniform, had stumbled upon them accidentally after trying – and failing – to escape the crowd trailing closely behind him. He'd barricaded himself in the great room, which the balcony led off of, in hopes that the hoard of females looking for him would take a wrong turn.
He'd become something of a celebrity after Modula's defeat, and was now considered one of the most eligible bachelors the kingdom had to offer. It was attention he had never wanted, and was resenting with every fiber of his being. He had to fight off women at practically every corner when not at work or officially on duty. It reminded him of Sherman High all over again. It was exhausting and frustrating in equal measure.
When he turned around to slump against the now locked doors of the great room, he had to take a minute to process the image before him. When he did, what he saw made him see red:
– Ilana in a beautiful shimmering baby blue and gold trim gown with a sweetheart neckline, form fitting to hug her sumptuous curves, standing before king Simon with an unreadable expression adorning her perfectly manicured face framed by her now long blond hair, lightly curled for the occasion and held in place by her diamond tiara.
– Simon, down on one knee, open ring box in his left hand while his other held one of Ilana's, mouth open like a gaping fish due to the unexpected interruption.
Before Lance could contemplate committing murder, however, Ilana gave an answer that would change her and Lance's relationship forever: "I'm sorry Simon, but I cannot accept. I'm honored by your proposal, but my heart is already spoken for. I truly am sorry."
As she had said those words, she had given an almost imperceptible glance toward Lance. Had he not been so studious a scholar of her subtle looks when they were younger, he would have missed it...but he didn't.
The rest of the interaction between Ilana and Simon had been a blur to him. He vaguely remembered Simon muttering a quick apology, followed by a swift exit out the inconspicuous side door, which Lance had neglected to lock. Before he knew it, it was just the two of them in the room.
He slowly walked out onto the balcony beside Ilana, who had turned to look out at the blending shades of orange and purple produced by the sun's slow descent.
The breeze blew lightly and played with Lance's now shorter black bangs. He had gotten his hair cut about a year ago, and he no longer sported his former signature shoulder-length raven locks. Now, his hair was much shorter, though still somewhat shaggy, with his unruly small strand of hair still poking up on his head.
They stood there in silence, enjoying the warmth the setting sun had to offer. All was quiet; for how much time, they didn't know.
They stayed like that for a while, neither saying a word, until Lance decided to break the silence. "So, you've got strong enough feelings for someone else to turn down a marriage proposal from a king?"
Ilana remained quiet for a while before giving a slight nod in confirmation. She didn't bother answering with words; she knew he could see her from his peripheral vision.
Lance turned to her, and took her chin in his hand, turning her face toward him. He had an uncanny ability to read her emotions by the look in her eyes; an ability he had honed and mastered over the years, much to her chagrin. Ilana never felt more exposed than when he examined her amber pools, looking for answers to questions he was too afraid to ask; and she, too afraid to answer in words.
It didn't take him long to find what he had been looking for, and a small, understanding smile slowly made its way onto his face. Slowly, he released her chin, bringing his hands up to cup her face. Before either of them had time to second-guess their actions, the space between them had disappeared as their lips met and eyes closed.
Lance removed his hands from her face, trailing them down her body as his arms circled her small waist. Hers traveled up his broad chest, slowly looping around his neck, and effectively bringing him closer and deepening the kiss. It was in that moment that they had felt complete. Like they had found the missing puzzle piece in their lives. They didn't care that it was practically impossible to be together with the way the current legal system worked. It was just them; in a beautiful, intimate moment. When they had parted, both were smiling and chuckling softly. They knew this was where they belonged: in each other's arms. Consequences be damned.
After that night at the ball two years ago, they had been seeing each other in secret in addition to their daily meet-ups.
They're rendezvouses usually took place in the evening, when both could slip away from their busy day-time lives, and had since continued to this day.
The love they had for each other was unbreakable, but royal code mandated that it was unacceptable and inexcusable to marry beneath your station. Though all kingdoms were run by their own separate governments, there were certain universal laws applied to all. Marriage standards was one such law, and violation of these laws had severe – and often fatal – consequences for one or both parties. They'd been trying to figure out a way around them ever since, but to no avail.
They knew what they wanted for their future, but not quite sure how to get it. What they didn't know was that it would end up coming down to one major decision, at the heart of which was a simple question, "Am I enough for you?"