The longest and (in my opinion) the best chapter yet. Enjoy!

"-but that would mean cutting off the supply routes to non-Coalition planets," Shiro pointed out.

"Perhaps," the thin diplomat shrugged. "It was highly suggested by our counsel, given the history of violence on those planets. We will await your response to this proposal."

The former black paladin shared a look with his team. "Thank you, Sir Poltnar. Is there anything else the counsel has discussed that you would like to address?"

The alien's purple lips pursed, but given that they'd been that way for most of their visit, Katie couldn't figure out if that was a bad thing or if it was just how their species looked.

"I do not believe there is anything left to speak of, except for our gratitude toward your visit," Poltnar stated.

Allura nodded. "You are more than welcome. I am glad we were able to fit your planet in at the end of our journey— your people have been most hospitable."

There was an air of finality in her tone, and Katie tossed Hunk a questioning look. Were they really done? They had expected this meeting to last at least all day, but here they were only two hours in being told that all was complete.

Katie's heart skipped a beat. They could go home.

Brown eyes and a shy smile passed through her head, and she nearly bolted up from her chair right then.

But she maintained control, standing up slowly and going through the farewell rituals Matt had told them about. The Paladins filed out in sync, and the second they left the alien legislature building, Katie's feet began walking faster of their own accord.

"Someone's excited," Shiro teased.

She just started running. "Come on! Let's go!"

There was laughter behind her. Katie didn't hear it. All she wanted to hear was his smooth voice, his deep chuckle, his blissful sighs when they kissed. She wanted her James. And she could finally go back to him.

Katie didn't wait for Shiro to give instructions— she just ran to the cabin and plopped in the pilot's chair. "Ready, girl?"

Green gave a hum. Your joy…are we returning to my Paladin's James?

A blush rushed to her cheeks. Her lion knew her a little too well. An amused rumble went through Green, and Katie rolled her eyes.

"Come on," the Paladin laughed, "Let's just go home."

Katie took off without another glance back, knowing that her friends would follow soon. Once out of Trillin's atmosphere, she set the course and sat back, letting Green take her to their destination.

The young woman leaned her head back against the headrest and sighed. Her fingers fiddled with the silver tags around her neck, idly tracing the engraving as she had taken to doing the past month. Tears began to spring up in the corners of her eyes, and she closed them.

Only eight hours to go, and she'd be back with him.

Katie indulged herself in a daydream. She wondered how they would greet each other. Would they run? Embrace? Kiss? She wanted all of it, even though she knew that they'd have to have more discretion. Who know who all would be present at the Paladin's landing.

Her heart twisted familiarly, but she pushed the feeling aside. Soon the pain in her chest would be over. Soon she'd have James again.

Rest, My Paladin, Green purred. I will awaken you.

A sudden wave of exhaustion hit Katie, and she found herself nodding. She gave the controls a gentle pat, then made her way back to her room. She barely remembered getting to the room before she collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.

A little zap in the back of her brain was what brought her out of her sleep. Katie rolled over in the twisted up sheets, groaning.

We have entered your home galaxy, My Paladin, Green informed her.

Katie sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Thanks."

When she managed to stand a minute later, her half-awake gaze traveled toward the mirror. Immediately, she felt self conscious. Her hair had become a frizzy mess during her extended nap, and she looked far from how she wanted to when she saw her boyfriend for the first time in over a month.

"Quiznak, I need to get myself together," she muttered. If Green was right about their location (which of course her smart girl was), then Katie had about twenty minutes to look presentable.

She took full advantage of every second, taming her hair and scrubbing her teeth as much as humanly possible. When she was done, she took in her reflection with a contemplative frown. Her hair had grown longer over the journey, almost down to her shoulders. Sure, she hadn't worn it short since the war was over, but she couldn't help but wonder if James would like it this way.

A tingle of anxiety wound its way around her heart. What if…what if things were different? What if things between them had changed?

Katie clutched the dog tags tight, shaking away the negative thoughts. James had promised her that everything would be fine. And sure, she'd noticed how strained his smiles had been the past couple of nights, but…but all that would be gone when they were reunited, right?

At least that's what she hoped.

After one final hair check, Katie made her way back up to the main cabin. The second she entered and saw the view out the window, she felt her heart squeeze.

Earth. It was in their sights.

Katie sat down in the pilot's chair. She held onto the controls and guided Green down, practically bouncing with excitement as they broke through the atmosphere. A few minutes later, the Garrison was on the horizon. Katie gripped the handles.

"We're home, girl," she whispered. A feeling of warmth passed through her mind. It seemed Green was happy their mission was over, too.

As expected when she arrived, Katie was the first lion to land. Green's paws touched down on the tarmac, and as soon as Katie felt the hydraulics relax into Green's natural sitting stance, she threw her helmet to the side and ran.

Green had already lowered the walkway for her. Katie nearly stumbled off, her eyes wide as she searched the crowd.

"Katie!"

The Paladin whipped around, immediately feeling guilty when her excitement dipped.

Her parents were approaching her, arms wide open. "I'm so glad you're back!" her mother said as she embraced her. "Things just haven't been the same around here without you, sweetie."

Katie's father chuckled before he wrapped them both in a hug. "She's not wrong about that— the science division doesn't seem to be nearly as motivated without you around."

Katie heard what they were saying, but none of it quite registered. After a few moments, she stepped back from the hug and looked around.

"Where— where is he?"

Her parents traded a look. Katie's heart throbbed when her father sighed.

"I don't know, Katie," he admitted. "I'm sorry. I could go check the schedule if you want—"

"No, it's—" she swallowed hard, putting on a fake smile. "I'm sure he's busy, you know, as always."

Her mother's eyes saddened. "Sweetie—"

She shook her head. "It's fine, I promise. What were our plans for tonight?"

Sensing her daughter's desire to change the subject, her mother said, "Well, I'm cooking dinner for all of us together in our quarters. Matt will be leaving again soon with the Coalition diplomats, so I thought it'd be a nice time for all of us to have time as a family before…before we're separated again."

Katie smiled encouragingly. "Sounds like a great idea, mom." A thought occurred to her, and she glanced down. "Would you— well…if I find James before then, can he come, too?"

Her father's expression turned soft. "Of course, Katie. You know he's more than welcome to join us— I'd actually thought about it, myself."

A little bit of the pain in Katie's heart began to ease, and she nodded. "Okay. Thanks. I guess— I guess I'll start unloading my things—"

"KATIE!"

The young woman gasped. She knew that voice.

Katie whirled around. Her eyes found him instantly. He was running toward her, pushing his way through the crowd.

"Katie!" he called again. "Katie, over here!"

A laugh escaped her throat at his desperate cries, and before she knew it, she was dashing toward him.

Time slowed with every step. She took him in all at once: the joy lighting his eyes, the way his hair was flying in the wind, how his MFE armor clung to every muscle.

She sped up, and with a final burst from her jetpack, she collided into him, wrapping her legs around his waist and throwing her arms around his neck.

James buried his head in her shoulder. He squeezed her tighter than he ever had before. "I'm so sorry," he choked out. "I just finished patrol, and they didn't tell me you guys were coming back early. I wanted to be here for you, I swear."

She hid her face in the crook of his neck. Katie inhaled his scent, and tears stung her eyes. "I missed you so much," she whispered.

Her boyfriend gave a watery laugh, gripping her firmly in reassurance. "I missed you, too."

Katie wanted to hold on forever, and she half thought they might. But after a few moments, there was the sound of someone clearing their throat. Katie lifted her head and blushed. Their reunion had grabbed the attention of a small crowd, some of whom were her fellow Paladins who had just landed. They were staring at her and James with amusement— well, most of them. Lance just cleared his throat for a second time, his eyes gazing pointedly at the way her legs were clinging to her boyfriend's body.

"Hey, there are people here, thank you very much!" the red paladin snapped.

She was quick to let go and set her feet on the ground. James gave her an awkward grin, followed by an eye roll, and Katie giggled.

James' grin quickly melted into a soft smile. His armored hands reached forward to intertwine with hers.

"So," he coughed, before he comedically added, "Hello."

"Hello to you, too," Katie laughed.

A sparkle lit his eyes, and then, he jolted. "Oh! I— I have something for you. I've been working on it the past couple of weeks. Do you…" his eyes trailed back to the Paladins, who were still watching the couple a little too inconspicuously. "…do you want to go see it?"

Katie nodded eagerly. She squeezed his hand. "Lead the way."

His smile growing, James did just that. The couple wound their way through the crowd, ignoring the curious looks they got as they did so. They exited the hangar and walked through the halls in contented silence.

When they turned the final corner that lead to James' room, Katie wondered what was going through his head. The air between them felt tense, like there was something both of them wanted but neither of them would dare say out loud. Her heart was beating out of control, and it only got worse when he opened his door.

James let go of her hand and began to head toward his desk. "I hope you like it, I tried to think of something you'd really want—"

Katie never quite figured out how it happened. All she knew was that she snatched his hand back, and the next second, their lips were crashing against each other's.

James let out a deep groan, his hands gripping her waist as the two found themselves in a desperate lip-lock. Katie stumbled backwards, and he followed after her. Moments later, her back hit the wall. Their bodies became flat against one another, not an inch between them. They both moaned into the other's mouth, their pursuits quickening even more.

Katie felt dizzy. His lips were so hot on hers, and the air felt like it was crackling with energy. She could hear their armor scraping against each other as they both clawed to get even closer. Her hand reached up to fist his hair, and she cursed the fact that she couldn't feel it. Stupid armor, she wanted to be able to touch him after all this time.

It seemed James felt the same way. His hands had gone to her face, but after a few futile seconds of not being able to truly feel her, he growled and ripped the gloves of his armor off.

The warm palms of his hands enveloped her face, and Katie sighed into him. He kissed her harder. She did the same. It felt like it could never end, and frankly, neither of them wanted it to.

But she knew they were running out of air. Her chest was already heaving with shallow gasps, and her heart rate was erratic. Suddenly, James tore himself off of her, and the two stared at each other, panting hard.

Katie swallowed. She hadn't known a kiss like that could make her mouth go dry. Then again, that could have been from all the breath that had passed between them.

Her eyes, which had been lingering on his lips, began to drift up. She finally looked at him, taking in how breathless he was after their passionate moment.

Katie grinned wryly. "Hi," she giggled.

His eyes twinkled. "Hi," he chuckled. James leaned down and pressed a kiss— all too short for her liking— to her lips. "Can you tell I've been going insane without you?" he questioned.

She pretended to think about it. "Hmm, a little bit."

James hummed lowly. He lowered himself again, this time capturing her lips in a new sort of greeting. It was just as passionate as the last, but it was long and slow. His fingers trailed down her face to her neck, then came back up again when her breath hitched.

Katie felt a switch in her flip. How was it that something as innocent as that had suddenly made her feel so different? She was warm all over now, and even though their pace stayed steady, she pushed her lips deeper against his.

A minute later, they separated, both of them sighing happily. James rested his forehead against hers. She clutched onto his shirt to make sure he didn't stray.

"I know it's inevitable," he murmured, "but I really hope you never have to be gone that long again."

Katie gave a little smile, lifting her still armored hand and caressing his cheek. "Maybe next time you can come with me."

"Maybe."

James shifted, leaning up to bury his nose in the top of her hair. His hands left her face in favor of her shoulders, and he ran them down her arms slowly before he took her hands in his. Katie shivered. Even though she couldn't feel his touch, the action made her want him to pin her against the wall all over again. Why was she reacting this way? She couldn't recall having these thoughts before she'd left.

James inhaled deeply, then let out a sigh. "Stay with me, please? I'm sure you have a lot to do, but— I need you."

Katie nodded without hesitation.

He looked down at her and smiled shyly. "Thank you. I, um…do you have anything to wear?"

"Yes, it's in my armor's secret compartment," she teased lightly.

Her boyfriend grinned at the joke before he cleared his throat. "Ah— I, do you— you can wear something of mine, if you want. Or you can go back to your room and change. I don't mind waiting."

And again, something in her stirred. A flash of heat ran through her body, and for some reason, her brain suddenly felt all hazy.

"I'll wear something of yours," she decided.

James flushed a little, but he nodded. He let her go and backed away, heading in the direction of his dresser. He rummaged around for a moment, then produced a plain t-shirt and some shorts with a drawstring.

He handed the clothes over to her with his eyes on the ground. "You can take the bathroom— I'm going to get changed, too."

Her mind still not fully functional, all Katie did was nod. She took the clothes and made her way to his bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

While shedding her armor, Katie took the time to wonder what exactly all these feelings she was experiencing were. Sure, she and James had had their more passionate moments before, but this was different. This was heat, desperation, an insatiable need.

Desire, she realized. That was the word.

Another wave of it hit her, and she tried to push it down, focusing on removing the last pieces of her armor. When she had, she slipped off the body suit, set it aside, and tossed on James' clothes. The drawstring had to be pulled tight in order to fit her, but she didn't mind. And the t-shirt was way too big, but it was soft and comfortable, so she didn't mind that either.

Speaking of the shirt, Katie sniffed the collar and sighed, mentally noting that she needed to steal another one of his sweaters sometime soon. His cologne was still far too intoxicating for her own good.

Katie turned around and gave herself a once-over in the mirror. The t-shirt fell below the shorts just above her knees, and for the first time in her life, Katie entertained the idea that she actually might look…desirable. Huh, that was a new thought.

The memory of James' hot lips on hers suddenly came rushing back, and Katie felt warm all over again. She was in his bathroom, wearing his clothes, and he was on the other side of the wall, waiting for her.

As she stood there staring at the door, the sensations began to spread. By the time she finally opened it, her entire body felt like it was tingling.

Katie Holt usually prided herself on being a very logical person, but right now, these feelings made her want to toss all of that aside. So when she saw James half-way sitting up on his bed, smiling at her sweetly, she gladly let the new feelings take control.

She crossed the room in three seconds flat, hopping up on the bed, swinging one of her legs around to the other side of his hips, and crushing her lips against his.

James made a noise of surprise, but he laughed and wrapped his arms around her firmly. Katie kissed him with all the strength she had in her, letting her hands cup his face so she could finally feel his skin under hers once more. His head tilted to deepen the kiss, and she let out a moan.

Without warning, James broke the kiss and raised an eyebrow. "Making up for lost time?"

Katie nodded. "Uhuh."

She grabbed his shirt, and the next second, they were back at it again. She settled down against him, a spark of electricity firing through her at the feeling of his warm body flush against hers. She pressed her lips harder into his in a silent request, and James gladly reciprocated.

The pair found themselves in a heated dance, lost in the sensations that they had both missed out on for far too long. Katie soaked it all in— every touch, every gasp, every groan. She enjoyed all of it, and it still didn't seem like enough.

Then, James' hands slipped under her shirt. A shiver went up her spine at the feeling of his calloused fingers stroking her back. She arched into him, giving her approval, and he continued his caress. Seemed they were both craving each other more than they'd initially let on.

That being the case, Katie didn't ask before she let her own hands wander under his shirt. She ran them slowly over his abs, giggling when he flexed mid-kiss for her. Finally, she settled her touch on his side, and was pleased to find that his scars felt even smoother than they had before she left.

James pulled back and gave a knowing look. "I made sure to not add any to the collection while you were gone," he said.

Katie nodded seriously. "Good."

The couple let themselves be held captive in silence. Katie continued to stroke over his scars lazily, and she was more than aware of his fingers gliding along the small of her back.

Something about it made a desperation build up inside of her. Or maybe it was because she was sitting directly on top of his lap, and they'd never been in such an intimate position before. Either way, an overwhelming heat seemed to be taking over her entire body. She wanted him to touch her more, wanted his hands to roam further, wanted there to be less fabric between them, something.

And a very large part of her was begging to let her do just that. Let them get tangled up in each other and get carried away— who cared how it wound up?

She later wondered if James had been thinking the same thing. He leaned down and captured her lips with his, leading her at what had to be an intentionally slow pace.

She considered fighting against him. They'd never kissed with tongue before— maybe they could try that out? But he was removing his hands from her skin, and a disappointed moan slipped out of her throat. She knew what he was trying to do. She knew he was making sure they didn't go too far. Later she would appreciate it, but in this moment, after not seeing him for so long, she wished he'd stop and just let them have each other.

A minute into his steady persistence, however, most of the heat had tapered off. Their kiss had turned sweet, full of gratefulness and joy that they were finally back together, safe and sound. Her hands left his abdomen in favor of his face, caressing his cheek softly and tracing his features so she could encode them into her memory forever. James seemed more than happy to lean into the gentle touches she trailed.

When they parted, they were both panting lightly. As she caught her breath, Katie let her hands wander up to his hair. She'd missed playing with it while she was gone, not to mention a part of her still had the urge to explore him more.

At one point, her traitorous eyes even flickered down to his neck, but she stopped herself. They'd had enough new experiences as it was that day. Though, she did promise herself that she'd find a way to test it out, soon. She wondered what kind of reactions she could get out of him if she hit the right spot.

Speaking of reactions, James had been chuckling for some time now. "Missed my hair, too, huh?"

Katie nodded resolutely, then snickered when his grin widened. Smiling, she pressed an obnoxiously loud kiss square on his lips.

"I missed all of you," she claimed dramatically.

"Good," he laughed, "I missed all of you, too."

Still grinning, Katie leaned forward and set her forehead against his. The scent of his cologne hit her nose, and she closed her eyes in bliss. "I love you," she murmured.

His lips pecked hers ever so briefly. "I love you, too, honey."

She sighed happily. She was finally home.

Katie shifted off of him, knowing that staying where she was would only be asking for trouble. She curled up into his side and wound her arms around his waist. He did the same to her, squeezing tight.

The two sat in peaceful silence. Katie focused all of her attention on the comforting sound of his breathing, steady and slow. She hadn't realized how calming his presence had always been before— not until they were separated and she found herself constantly missing it.

She nuzzled her head into his chest, and James leaned down to press a kiss to her hair.

"I'm so glad you're back," he whispered. "I hated not having you around."

Katie hummed in agreement. Their video calls never could have taken the place of their actual relationship. They'd known that going into it. It was weird realizing how distant they'd felt even though they had spoken every single day while they were separated.

One of her hands began to fiddle with his shirt absentmindedly. "Well, I'm here to stay," she stated, then added on, "For now, at least. I'm sure this isn't the last tour like this I'll have to go on."

The mood in the room changed. Before, it had been peaceful, if not still a little thick as their passions continued to die down. Now, it was filled with a sort of unspoken dread.

Katie mentally cursed herself. Why did she have to say something stupid like that? Even though they couldn't deny the inevitable, neither one of them wanted to think about her leaving again anytime soon.

Her mind began to racking through ways she could recover the conversation, to get back to the happy feelings they'd felt before, when suddenly, she remembered something.

"Oh!" she gasped, pushing herself up to look into brown eyes. "I forgot to tell you something!"

James tilted his head curiously. "What is it?"

A little jolt of nerves entered her. "Well, I, uh…my family is having dinner together tonight, because, you know, me and Matt are back." She twiddled her thumbs awkwardly. "And…and I'd really like it if you came with me."

When Katie looked up, she found concern in his eyes. She had expected as much— though he had already met both of her parents, this was a much bigger step for them to take. This was her including him in her family.

But then, he surprised her. "Katie, what's going through your mind? You went quiet a minute ago."

She blinked. "I—" She didn't know what to say. She still felt like an idiot for saying what she did, and somewhere in her chest, she felt an anxiety rising telling her that maybe time really had changed their relationship. Maybe that's why she felt awkward now. Maybe that's why she wanted to smack herself in the head for bringing up the fact that she'd probably have to leave him again. Maybe that wasn't how relationships were supposed to be? Was it normal to have that kind of time away from each other? She had no idea.

Katie's eyes flicked down. "I…I feel stupid for saying that this isn't the last tour I'll have to go on," she admitted. "And…and I'm worried that stuff like that won't be good for…us."

James let out a deep sigh, and she looked up. There was a frown on his lips…but his eyes held a fire she wasn't expecting.

"Katie, you— of course the idea of you being gone for any amount of time makes me sad, but that doesn't mean for a second that I would ever want to not be with you."

She stared at him with wide eyes. Her boyfriend was looking down now, his expression bashful as he slowly reached forward and intertwined his fingers with hers. He lifted their joined hands to his lips, brushing her fingers against his mouth softly.

"You being gone reminded me of how happy I am when you're here," he told her. "So no, I don't like it, but I'll deal with it if it means having you."

Katie hadn't realized how tense the air between them was until the moment she let out a sigh of relief. James glanced up at her, eyes shy, then said "oof!" when she threw her arms around him.

"Thank you," she breathed into his neck. "I'm sorry, I just didn't know— like, how relationships work, and stuff, and—"

He squeezed her tight. "It's okay," he assured her. "Trust me, it went through my head a lot, too. But I don't have any intention of letting you go."

Katie's heart skipped a beat at his words. Her curiosity wanted to pry, asking him exactly how long he planned on keeping that promise. The word forever crossed her mind, and she tried to push it aside. It was too early to think thoughts like that, right? Then again, she knew it hadn't been the first time daydreams of life with James had popped into her mind.

The visual of him sitting that night with her family, laughing over dinner as they chatted about the adventures she and Matt had experienced, made its way to the front of her thoughts.

"Katie?"

Her head lifted to look at him. "Hm?"

James's eyes were gazing into hers so adoringly, she swore he was trying to pour every ounce of love he had into her. And it was working.

"I love you, Katie," he said seriously. "Please don't doubt that."

She shook her head. "I won't. Not again." His shoulders relaxed a little. Katie's heart tugged. She leaned forward, pressing a long, sweet kiss to his lips. He gripped her waist in a firm hug, and all the rest of the worry she'd had melted away.

When they parted, Katie lifted a finger and tapped him on the nose. "I love you, too, you silly man," she teased. He smiled, and she couldn't help but grin back. "Now then, you never answered my question."

"I didn't?" he asked, feigning innocence.

Katie rolled her eyes before she leveled him with a steady look. "Come to dinner with me tonight," she requested, then added confidently, "I'm not taking no for an answer. I already asked, and they said you were more than welcome."

James's face suddenly took on the shy look he'd had a minute ago. "I…I don't want to intrude on your family time. You haven't seen your parents in a month, and I've already stolen you away long enough."

Growing impatient, Katie cupped his face in her hands and pressed a searing kiss to his lips. She pulled away just seconds later, all too proud of how dazed her boyfriend was.

"You're coming," she insisted. When he hesitated, she put on a pout. "Please, James. I know I can't make you, but I really really want you to."

Brown eyes softened. "Okay, honey."

Katie smiled triumphantly. She'd have to use that trick more often— it seemed to work on him rather well. Then again, she had the feeling he could just as easily convince her to do something with the same methods.

Her mission accomplished, Katie finally got up from the bed and stretched. "I need to head back and get ready," she told him. James, still slightly out of it, just nodded. She snickered and gave him a quick peck before she began to head toward the door.

"Wha— wait!" he called.

Katie turned and saw that he had followed after her, his face bright red. "Y-You're, um, you're still in my clothes," he stuttered. "They— people will think— you know…"

When Katie realized what he was trying to say, she found her own cheeks begin to burn. "R-Right, I forgot about that."

James swallowed, his eyes darting toward the floor. "Yeah."

There was something in the air that Katie couldn't identify. Awkwardness at their little predicament. Curiosity at the way he seemed so flustered. Thrill at the thought of something like that happening one day. Either way, Katie couldn't help the shudder that went up her spine. She didn't mind the idea of walking around in James' clothes at all. It felt like a form of declaration, a label she could proudly flaunt and make sure that everyone was aware of.

Some of the heat from earlier was returning, and suddenly feeling embarrassed, Katie hurried inside James' bathroom and shut the door behind her. She leaned back against the wall and sighed. She really needed to figure out how to get ahold of herself, not to mention all of these new sensations that were clamoring for her attention.

Hopefully putting her armor back on would be a good enough distraction.

A knock sounded from the door, and Katie called, "Come in!"

She looked through the mirror to see James entering her room. He shut the door, and Katie let her eyes wander over his new outfit of dark jeans and a button up shirt.

"Aww, you look cute," she told him.

James made a face. "I don't want cute."

Katie snorted, "Too bad, cute is what you're getting." After checking up on her own appearance, she turned around and looked him over. He really did clean up nice, and he wasn't even trying that hard. Her eyes followed the way the fabric of his shirt outlined his figure nicely. Something about it made her recall what she'd been thinking about before he entered.

The silence must have given her away, because James started walking toward her with a concerned look. "Something's on your mind," he stated.

He stopped in front of her, and Katie looked to the ground. Even though she'd been thinking over what to say for a couple hours now, the words hadn't come to her yet.

"I, um…" she started. "I feel like I should apologize for…for earlier. It's…this is all so new, and I think I got a little carried away."

She dared to peek up at him. James was staring down at her, a contemplative expression on his face. After a moment, his hands took hers.

He glanced down at them as he murmured, "We can talk about it later, okay?"

Katie bit her lip in worry. So maybe her thoughts had been right. Maybe she had come on a bit strong. She shouldn't have let herself begin to lose control like that.

Swallowing, she nodded and made to pull away. But James held her steady.

Brown eyes lifted to gaze into hers. "We…we probably needed to talk about that soon anyways, but…I don't want you apologize for something I wouldn't mind you doing again."

Katie tried to ignore the spark of desire that ran through her.

"I, um," he cleared his throat, then laughed awkwardly, "I'm not going to act like it was easy for me to stop. Resisting you was the last thing I wanted to do."

Her heart skipped a beat. "Oh."

James gave her a little grin. "It's, uh…well, we said we would take things slow, right?" She nodded, and he nodded back. "So I plan to keep to that promise. And it probably won't be easy, because um…well, I want you, too," he admitted shyly. "But I want to respect you first."

Katie squeezed his hands. "And I want to do the same."

His eyes expressed his gratefulness. James leaned down, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. "We'll talk about it soon," he promised. "But don't think you made me uncomfortable or anything, okay?"

She hummed in understanding. "We're figuring this out as we go."

"Exactly," he agreed. "But right now, let's go have fun. Don't worry about it, okay?"

Katie quirked an eyebrow. "Fun, hm? And here I thought you'd be shaking in your boots."

James rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, the fear of your family has me trembling," he joked dryly. His girlfriend laughed, and the two shared another quick kiss before they headed out of her room.

On the way to her parent's quarters, Katie asked James about his day, keeping a constant flow of questions to get his mind off where they were going. Even though he'd joked about it, she knew he still felt nervous about this family dinner. Seems they were taking a lot of big steps today, and she could only hope to be as much of a comfort to him as possible as they took this one.

The couple stepped up to the door, and Katie squeezed his hand. "Ready?"

James opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, the door had slid open.

"Come on in!" Katie's mother greeted. "I'm just finishing up, but everyone else is already here."

Katie tried to not laugh at the way her boyfriend blinked. He probably hadn't expected such an enthusiastic welcome.

Knowing she'd need to take control for a bit, Katie tugged on his hand to follow her into the room. "Smells good, mom," she commented.

"That's because she's the best cook in the entire universe."

Katie's head turned, and she saw her father sitting with Matt at the dining table. She felt James stiffen next to her.

"I mean, we've known that for ages," Matt added onto their dad's claim. "All I wanted while I was with the rebels was her baked ziti."

Katie laughed. "Same. Space goo doesn't compare."

The small talk came to an end when her father's eyes switched from her to James. The commander smiled kindly. "Nice to see you could make it."

Katie could practically feel the nervous energy radiating from her boyfriend. "Thank you for inviting me, sir," he replied. She resisted the urge to look at him worriedly. His voice had gone into his formal-MFE-mode in the blink of an eye.

A moment passed before her father shook his head, amused. "None of that, son. You're not my subordinate here— right now, you're just the man dating my daughter."

Katie finally dared to look. James' eyes had widened a bit, but he nodded.

A thought Katie hadn't had before suddenly occurred to her: she would never be in James' position. There was no family for her to meet, no parents to hope to impress, no siblings to get along with. James was all alone. She and his friends were all he had.

Her heart squeezed in pain. Sometimes it still slipped her mind that he had lost everything, as terrible as that was. He was just so strong, so determined…it was hard to think of him as someone who had been through so much trauma.

The train of thought was broken, however, when her brother lifted his chin and said, "You still have to call me sir, though."

And then, to Katie's utter shock, James snorted. "I think I'm good."

Matt raised an eyebrow, but the look in his eyes told him he definitely approved.

"Is everyone sitting down, yet?" Katie's mother called. "It'll be just a few more minutes!"

Taking their cue, the young couple made their way to the empty seats at the table. James pulled a chair out for her, and Katie gave him a knowing look. He just winked. Katie wanted to laugh at how hard he was trying to impress her family.

After the two had settled, her father leaned forward. "So, how was your final meeting on Trillin?"

"Ugh, those people," Matt cut in before she could answer. "You have no idea how persistent they were about meeting you guys. They talk your ears off for hours?"

Katie just shrugged. "Meh, not really. But it wasn't like we were going to stick around unnecessarily. You'd already extended our tour by five days," she said with an accusing tone.

Matt held up his hands. "Look, do you know how long it took to fix everything after prince what's-his-name tried to propose to you? The schedule got off! It wasn't my fault!"

Katie spotted a little grin forming on James' lips. "Glad to know someone was up there making sure you didn't get into any more trouble," he teased.

The young woman was quick to stick her tongue out. "Hey, you got into your own mess. Whatever happened with the princess?"

"They got back home, we haven't heard much since," James told her.

"Yeesh," Matt shook his head, "Someone's a heart breaker."

"Hardly," James chuckled. "I think they're just taking their time speaking with their high counsel. Religion is very important to them, apparently."

Katie's father nodded. "So I've heard. I do often wonder if we need to begin creating a formal database to keep track of all this information. We can only remember so much before we begin confusing cultures."

James tilted his head in thought. "I think Leifsdottir mentioned something about that the other day, actually. She's meeting with Iverson to talk about starting it. I think it's a necessity— like you said, it's too much information to try to keep in our heads and hope we get it right."

Smiling proudly, Katie reached under the table and squeezed her boyfriend's hand. He gave a little grin, and her heart soared. This was where she wanted him to be. This felt right, like it was exactly where he was supposed to be.

She sat back and listened to her father, brother, and boyfriend converse about different cultures and data storing methods, all too content with the idea of this becoming a regular occurrence.

Things are getting serious! Please leave a review!