Reward Trip
Chapter 6: Western Fantasies
Disclaimer: I don't own the Voltron Force—World Events Production does. They also get to license the team to whoever they want (like Netflix). I'm just a poor little fanfiction writer just trying to write a decent story. I do own Diana—so I got that going (or not going) for me.
Dradin's stimulated sun filled the bedroom with bright sunlight and warmth. With a smile, Diana slowly woke up and thought about how well she's been sleeping the last few days. Honestly, Diana didn't notice how tired she'd been until this reward trip she was happily dragged to. After stretching her arms over her head, Diana turned to lay on her side to check on Lance. Diana wasn't too shocked to see that Lance wasn't in the bed but left a note for her on his pillow. Diana quickly grabbed and opened the note.
Lance wrote that he was itching to do a workout and decided to go downstairs to get a pre-workout shake before hitting the gym. He also wrote that he wanted to take Diana with him, but he just couldn't wake her up from her very peaceful sleep. Lance also wrote that he ordered room service for breakfast and her meal was waiting for her in the dining room. Of course, he ended the note with the requisite love you with a couple of hearts behind it. Diana chuckled as she placed the note on the nightstand next to her before laying on her back for a few moments. With another stretch, Diana got up from the bed and went into a full stretching routine for her body. Once she was done with the stretches, Diana walked to the bathroom and took a quick shower. After her shower, Diana slathered her new chocolate-scented lotion on her body.
The next thing Diana did was walk into the closet to get dressed for the day. Diana smiled as she noticed that Lance managed to tidy up the closet and put all of their discarded clothes into their respective suitcases. Taking her focus off the floor, Diana reached for the garment bag that was labeled for today and slowly opened it. Diana was very surprised to see a completely black Western outfit. There was a pair of boot-cut jeans, a star-embroidered western shirt, cotton underwear, cowgirl boots with white scrollwork, and finally a matching cowgirl hat. The garment bag also included a set of black cotton underwear and a black cowgirl hat. Diana chuckled and threw her head back momentarily before sliding on the underwear set.
After putting on the underwear, Diana then had a delicious breakfast of Nova lox salmon with shmear, red onion, and capers on top of a bagel along with a side of potatoes o'brien and a tall glass of orange juice. Excited for what the day may bring, Diana quickly ate her breakfast before going back to the closet to put on her outfit for the day. Once she had everything on, Diana walked out of the closet to admire her reflection in the mirror in the room. Diana would never have thought that she would look so good in Western wear, but she might add the aesthetic to her closet in the future.
While Diana was enjoying her reflection, Lance returned from the gym and loved the sight of Diana in western wear. With a smile, Lance whistled out loud which grabbed Diana's attention. Oh, yes, he definitely loved how Diana looked in front of him from every angle. "I would never thought that you would look so great in western wear, Diana."
Diana chuckled before responding. "Ditto. I never thought I would ever get the chance to rock a Western look. I think I might have to add it to my closet in the future." Diana looked at the mirror again in appreciation. "Everything fits just right, too." Lance whistled again, this time slowly as he took in Diana in the western gear again.
"Perfect. Serge definitely made this with you in mind." Lance complimented Diana before pulling her to him for a quick kiss. "I'll never get tired of all the views you give me. Especially all the views of you in the bedroom." Lance whispered in Diana's ear. Diana closed her eyes in pleasure as her body did a slow shiver in response. "You know, the only thing missing when you do that is a small gasp or moan," Lance whispered into Diana's ear again. Diana's body responded in the same way again, but this time Diana let a gasp escape her lips. "There it is." Lance gave Diana a mischievous grin.
"Rogue," Diana responded as she slowly walked towards the bedroom door.
"Where are you going?"
"To the kitchen. You got me all thirsty again. I'll go quench it while you get a quick shower and change." Diana said as she turned around to look at Lance. With a grin, Lance slowly took off his tank top. Diana's eyes stayed glued on Lance as he then bent down to take off his trainers and socks. Diana's breath hitched as Lance stood up again before taking his hands and pulling the gym shorts off his hips. Lance looked at Diana with another grin as he slowly took off his boxers giving Diana the perfect view of his naked body. "Can you put your gym clothes back on and do the slow strip again for me?" Diana asked with a fake innocence. "I think I can scrounge up some bills and a boombox, too."
Lance laughed before answering. "I like the idea of you slow stripping for me better."
"Rogue," Diana said again as she dodged the pair of boxers Lance threw her way. "Like I said, I'll go quench that thirst." Diana finished as she opened and closed the bedroom door so she could go to the kitchen and get something cool to drink.
"I still hate being teased, ma'am," Lance called out from the bedroom. Diana laughed as she made it to the kitchen and grabbed a glass. Diana then turned around and reached for the pitcher of orange juice. When Diana heard the shower turn on, she gently put the glass down on the counter before allowing a vision of water hitting a soap-covered Lance took her down a trail of sensual thoughts. They've been together for almost five years and the image of Lance in sexy situations can still get her body hot and excited. With a sigh, Diana dismissed the racy image and poured another glass of orange juice to cool her down some. When the glass was emptied a few minutes later, Diana returned the pitcher to the fridge and placed the used glass into the dishwasher.
"You look delicious," Lance said as he walked into the kitchen just wearing a pair of dark blue jeans. Diana's back was facing him as she slightly bent down to start the dishwasher. "It's still breakfast time." Diana gasped as Lance gently pushed Diana's back to the kitchen wall. Before she knew it, Lance was passionately giving Diana kisses. In response, Diana closed her eyes and threw her head back as Lance's hands started to roam up and down her body. Their lips were still touching as Lance's hands untucked Diana's shirt before unbuttoning and dropping it to the floor.
"Lance." Diana sighed into his lips.
"Yes?" Lance asked against her skin as he moved his lips down to taste Diana's neck.
"Do…you…want…something…to…eat?" Diana managed to get out between kisses. She was failing at controlling her sensual urges as Lance continued to shower her neck in kisses.
"I'm getting that now," Lance answered against her neck. The feeling of his lips moving against her skin, made Diana's body temperature rise higher. "And this time, nobody will interrupt us." He finished before moving his lips to Diana's left shoulder. Diana kept her eyes closed as her hands moved to anchor themselves to Lance's naked shoulders. After a few more kisses on Diana's left shoulder, Lance stopped to glance at Diana's face. Diana opened her eyes and Lance could see her desire-darkened dark brown eyes and her mouth open with melodic breathing. "I love you, Diana."
"And I love you, Lance," Diana said breathlessly before Lance bathed Diana's right shoulder in kisses. Her hands tightened their hold on his shoulders as Diana started to moan softly. When Lance was finished bathing her shoulders in kisses, he moved to her collarbone. After a few more moments, Lance guided Diana to wrap her legs around his waist. Once Diana's legs were securely wrapped around his waist, he bent down slowly to pick up Diana's shirt and placed it casually over his shoulder before taking them back to the bedroom to fully enjoy their intimate moments full of sighs, gasps, moans, and finally soft yells.
After their impromptu love-making session, Lance and Diana took a shower together before they dressed in their Western wear. Diana smiled at her reflection as she was once again clad in the black western outfit. When she was done admiring herself in the mirror again, she turned to look at Lance and took in his full Western look. In addition to his dark blue jeans, Lance added a red western shirt with slits on his chest for pockets, red pair of cowboy boots with slightly pointed toes, and finally a red cowboy hat. Diana whistled before speaking. "Lance, you make one sexy cowboy."
"We make sexy cowfolks," Lance responded with a kiss and pulled Diana to him. "Are you ready?"
"Yes…but is there a reason why we're decked in all western gear?" Diana asked. "It all seems kind of random."
"Well…it deals directly with where we're going today," Lance answered with a smile as Diana grabbed her small black clutch purse. Lance followed Diana out of the bedroom and into the hallway. About 35 minutes later, Diana was pulling up to Western Fantasy Theme Park.
"Western Fantasy, hmm?" Diana asked as she parked their rented SUV in a parking spot.
"So, when I was planning our trip, Manset mentioned an American Western attraction and I couldn't help but want to share the experience with you," Lance said with a smile as he got out of the SUV and walked to help Diana out. After locking the vehicle, Lance and Diana continued to the ticket booth as Lance shared the history of the theme park. "The short history is that the original casinos and resorts on Dradin were owned by people who loved reading and learning about the American West. So they got together and came up with this park so they could live out their wildest western dreams."
"So today, we're going to live out our Wild West fantasies?" Diana asked as they made it to the ticket booth.
"That's the idea," Lance said with a smile as he quickly paid for their park admission and guided her past the gate that was designed to act as if they were leaving a crowded city and into wide open spaces. "Our adventure starts here. How would you like to arrive to our western town a mile or so away—horseback or stagecoach?"
Diana took a moment to think before answering. "Let's try horseback." Lance nodded his head in agreement before walking with Diana to the horse corral to pick out their horses. Diana and Lance marveled at the sheer variety of horses as they approached the gate. By the time they made it to the corral gate, they had an idea of which horses they wanted to ride.
"Howdy Strangers," The corral worker greeted Lance and Diana in a Texas drawl. "Looks like you're ready to ride to town."
"Yes. We even have an idea of what horse we'd like to ride." Diana said with a smile. "It's been a while since I last rode a horse, but that American Cream Horse is calling my name." Without saying another word or even waiting for the corral worker's agreement, Diana slipped into the corral and approached the horse. In seconds, the horse was next to Diana, nuzzling its nose in her hand. "Yep, you're going with me." Diana led the horse over to the nearby barn to get a saddle.
"And if I'm not mistaken, that black Canadian Horse appears to be looking for me." Lance pointed out to the corral worker before approaching the horse. Within a few seconds, Lance was leading the horse to the barn so he could grab a little saddle before joining Diana at the trailhead. There was a park guide giving them a brief lecture on how to ride the horses down the trail and the landmarks to look out from. Before they finally took off down the trail, the park guide took a couple of pictures of Lance and Diana on their horses. "And we're off," Lance said with a smile, barely holding on to his saddle.
Diana smiled as her horse matched Lance's pace as they went down the trail. Occasionally through the ride, they would remark how close the man-made environment copied some of the rockier areas of the American West. The trail even included some of the native animals someone would find in the West. And to Diana's pleasure—the park didn't include native snakes. After the pleasant ride, they arrived at the edge of the mock western town. Lance and Diana led their horses to the large horse barn next to the stagecoach depot. Lance got off his horse first, before guiding Diana off her horse. They shared a quick kiss before placing the horses into separate stalls in the barn.
When they left the barn, they took in the sight of the mock western town. "This place has nearly everything!" Diana exclaimed as she turned to look at Lance. "Literally everything."
"I know," Lance said before placing a kiss on Diana's forehead. "Let's find a spot behind the railing and catch a show or two." They walked to the town hall and climbed the two steps onto the wooden sidewalk. They were able to find a good vantage point just as the first show started. A group of cowboys entered the town and an argument started. After a few rounds, one of the cowboys suggested a race down Main Street. With a cheer, the rest of the cowboys agreed as they raced to their horses. The horses were quickly lined up at the edge of town as the town's mayor took a gun and shot in the air. The horses quickly shot off racing to make it to the schoolhouse at the finish line. The cowboy in the center won the race with the cowboys at the ends finishing up 2nd and 3rd.
After a brief 15-minute break, the next show started. This time, it was a stranger approaching the town, looking for the Marshal. When the Marshal stepped out of his office, the stranger re-introduced herself to the Marshal as the widow of one of the men he killed years ago. Just as the Marshal apologized for the act, the Stranger let out a warning shot at the Marshal's feet. The stranger then suggested a duel similar to the one that killed her husband. After a lengthy argument, the Marshal finally relented and agreed to the duel to happen immediately. After tipping their hats, they followed the mayor's instructions for the duel. When they turned, both guns shot at the same time. The Marshal fell to the ground and his deputy ran to the street to check on his friend. After a couple of words, the marshal died and the undertaker came to take care of the body. There was another break before it was the Undertaker's turn to star in his show. With a smile, the Undertaker went to extraordinary lengths to drum up new business—finally, he had a showdown between him and the combined team of the widow, the deputy, and a new gunslinger in town. The Undertaker lost the duel and was taken to his office to recuperate and fight another day
Satisfied that they had enough of the shows, they were ready to go through the town's replica buildings to see how realistic they managed to get the set. Their first stop was the town hall. In the front of the building was the mayor's office and a small meeting room. In the back of the building was the town's jail. The jail even had a couple of mannequins posing as if to ask visitors to help spring them out of their cells. Lance and Diana shared a laugh before leaving the town hall. The next building they went to check out was the Doctor's Office. In the front of the building was a desk and a sign stating that the doctor was out. Across from the desk were a couple of chairs and a table. In the back of the office were a couple of beds and several cabinets full of medicine and tools. Diana remarked on how accurate the tools were for the time…including several bottles of alcohol for cleansing purposes. Lance chuckled as they walked out of the building. The last building they checked out was the Marshal's office. The "newly" promoted Marshal was sitting at his desk going through papers. Across from the Marshal was his deputy who was going sitting at a table playing solitaire. In the back of the office were a couple of cots with blankets and pillows.
"This has been fun, but I'm starving," Lance said as they left the Marshal's office.
"I'm not sure what you want me to do about that," Diana said with a smile. "You wanted my body instead of food earlier."
"But you're so delicious," Lance said as he pulled Diana for a quick kiss on the lips. Diana's stomach then growled. "And you're also hungry. Let's go to the saloon and enjoy a delicious meal together." Diana nodded her agreement as they walked to the saloon while holding hands. While they were walking the sidewalks, another show was happening on the main street that held the crowd's utmost attention. With a smile, they laughed along with the crowd before walking into the saloon for lunch.
When they walked in, they were greeted by a joyful saloon girl who guided them to a table before giving them both a menu. Lance and Diana ordered sodas before ordering a couple of bowls of chili with cheese and sour cream on top. They also asked for cornbread on the side. After a few minutes of waiting, their waitress returned with their order and carefully set each bowl in front of them. When she was finished, the waitress flirted with Lance before leaving to serve another table. Diana playfully batted her eyes at Lance before a random cowboy stopped by to give Diana a play proposal. Lance let out a playful growl at the cowboy as he left their table.
Moments later a show started with an announcer dressed in a suit. After an introduction, a country quartet group sang a couple of songs before a group of cowboys also sang a couple of songs. The next act featured a group of can-can girls performing a traditional can-can dance. After the can-can girls, a group of saloon girls performed a couple of dances they were immediately cheered by a couple of "random" rowdy bar patrons. The show ended with a brawl between cowboys in the saloon while Diana and Lance sneaked out of the saloon.
As they finished walking the sidewalk on their side of the street, Lance noticed that the park had set up a cattle pen maze. "Did they really create a cattle pen maze?"
Diana turned to admire the entrance to the maze. "They sure did. Want to see how quickly we can go through it?"
"Of course!" Diana linked her arm through Lance's arm again as they walked to the booth in front of the maze. At the booth, they met another couple who dared them to race to the exit. With a shared smile, Lance and Diana accepted the challenge before listening to the rules from the booth owner. After the rules were explained, the couples were allowed to glance at the maze from the viewing deck. When time was up, the couples found their way to the entrance of the maze. The attendant along with a few spectators filled the viewing deck. Since the other couple won the coin toss, they were given a 15-second headstart. When the time was over, Lance and Diana dashed into the maze with another shared smile. It wasn't too long before they could hear the other couple let out their frustration with bumping into the second false turn.
Bypassing the false turn, Lance and Diana dashed straight before making the first true right turn. "Was it left or right?" Lance asked Diana.
"Left, then bypass the next two open spaces," Diana answered in between gasps. "Who's idea was it to sprint through the maze?"
"Yours," Lance said with a smile as they passed by the next two open spaces. They came across the three-way split, signaling that they were approaching the next third of the maze. "Center, right?"
"Yes, Center. Then 2 lefts, followed by 2 rights." Diana said as she followed Lance through the center passage. They took the next two left turns and the next two rights before coming across an area they didn't remember. "Don't ask. I don't remember this from above." Lance and Diana stopped at the next three-way split. Lance smiled before giving Diana a quick kiss.
"It's fine. We went center, left, then right. This time it has to be straight to the right." Lance said. "Whoever created this maze was ambidextrous."
"The bastard," Diana responded with a grin. Lance took off to the right and Diana followed Lance through the next third of the maze flawlessly. When they stopped at the next section of the maze—they could hear the other couple coming up behind them. With a shared smile, they took off for the left passage as they heard the other couple becker as they took the right passage.
"And I thought we could becker," Lance said as they approached the last three-way split. "At least we're almost to the end…if I could only remember—"
"Go center. We're basically out of here." Diana said with a smile as they dashed through the last passageway to make it to the finish line.
"Maze record!" The attendant yelled from the viewing deck. "Team Arus won the challenge!" The other couple ran out of the maze a couple of minutes later and congratulated Lance and Diana for beating them. After a couple of rounds of handshakes, Lance and Diana went back to the main street and enjoyed the brief cattle drive full of cowhands, drovers, and horses. The cattle drive featured a mix of regular and longhorn cows.
Finally, Lance and Diana found the rodeo arena and were escorted to lower box seats. After a live band played a few songs including some of the standard anthems, the rodeo started with mutton-busting. A group of kids around four or five years old took a turn riding on a sheep like a cowboy might hold on to a bucking bronco or bull. Although Diana experienced mutton busting a couple of times during a visit to Houston, she couldn't help but sigh "aww" at every new participant. Lance would chuckle as each kid ultimately fell off the sheep. After giving the three kids with the longest times their rewards, the rodeo continued with the speedy Barrel Racing. There were 10 racers for the events—with a participant hailing from Arus and one hailing from Earth. Diana cheered for each lady as they seamlessly moved around the left, right, and then the furthest barrel before racing their horses back to the starting line. Through ten races, only one barrel was toppled over with the Arusian rider winning first place while the Earth rider grimaced at her second-place finish. A Dradine rider took the last top spot with a smile.
Once the barrels were put up, a stagecoach circled the arena floor, while a group of riders went back and forth down the middle, flying different flags to the sound of a fiddle playing a fast-paced country song. When the performance was over, the crowd cheered loudly. The crowd slowly quieted down as the announcer explained the next event: steer roping.
"Steer-roping, hmm?" Diana asked.
"Finally an event I know deeply about," Lance replied. "It was my main rodeo event. That and team roping."
"Really? I would have thought it would have been Bull Riding."
"I did Bull Riding a couple of times. I really love steer-roping more since it needs more skills." Lance replied as the announcer introduced the first contestant to the crowd. A few seconds later the chutes opened as a full-grown steer with horns and a cowboy on a horse raced out. "Not only would you have to manage to get the rope around the steer…" Lance broke off as the cowboy failed to get the rope around the steer's horns. The crowd clapped in support of the cowboy. The next cowboy and steer combination raced out of the chutes. "But you'll have to manage to get the steer on the ground." The new cowboy managed to get the rope around the steer's horns before managing to pull the steer to the ground before jumping off the horse. "Then you'll have to speedily make it to the steer and tie their legs for seconds." The cowboy then quickly ran to the steer and tied 3 of the steer's legs together. The steer managed to stay tied up for just over six seconds. With a smile, the cowboy quickly released the steer so it could run away into the chute on the other side of the arena.
"How well did you do?"
"I managed to rack up a couple of shelves of awards," Lance said in pride as the next cowboy managed to match the previous cowboy's time. "Unfortunately, those awards got lost when I started the Academy. But I can't lose those memories and pride, though. I was a little hurt when the Rodeo team was disbanded just before I came, too."
"If anything, you look like you can still rope with the best of them," Diana complimented as the next cowboy failed to get the steer to stay tied. The rest of the competition stayed close until the last cowboy managed to finish tying the steer with a record time. Lance clapped and cheered the cowboy before tipping his hat in appreciation. The cowboy returned the gesture to Lance before taking his award and showing it to the crowd.
The announcer then introduced the rodeo clown to the audience, highlighting the clown's career achievements. As the clown responded, two large barrels were placed within the arena as the final event was announced—Bull Riding. Lance cheered as he explained that he swears it's almost the only sport that you're cheering for both the animal and the human—you're cheering for the bull to knock the cowboy off quickly while cheering for the cowboy to stay on the bull longer. "It's also the quickest 8 seconds."
"No kidding," Diana agreed. The announcer introduced the first match-up with a cowboy hailing from Oklahoma versus Devastator, a bull who was born and raised in Dradin. After a round of cheers, the bull jumped away from the chute, and the cowboy held on to the bull, waving his hat looking as if he was in the middle of a scene in a movie. After the time was up, the cowboy jumped off the bull and ran to the safety of the closest chute. The rodeo clown distracted Devastator and guided him to the bull chute on the other side. The next cowboy was off the bull in 4 seconds and narrowly missed being stomped on by the bull. The rodeo clown managed to get the bull's attention and get him safely to his chute. By the end of the competition, all but three cowboys made it to the 8-second mark. The cowboy from Earth and a cowboy from Balto managed to take the top two spots and a Dradine managed to get the third place spot.
After that, the announcer thanked the crowd for enjoying the rodeo and to please come again to the arena and enjoy the monthly competition. As Lance and Diana left the arena, they noticed that the park was closing up for the evening. Together with a large group of people, Lance and Diana managed to take the last wagon and ride back to the park's entrance. When they made it to their rented SUV, Diana turned to Lance before speaking. "I really enjoyed experiencing the West with you, Lance. I'm sad it's over."
"The night's still young," Lance said with a smile as he pulled Diana close to him for a kiss. "If I remember correctly, there's a honky tonk down the street from the Leisuredrome. Let's go dance the night away."
"I'd love, too," Diana said with a smile as Lance guided her to the passenger seat. Diana kissed Lance before he closed the door and took over the driver's seat. He quickly started the SUV and pulled out of their parking spot. Roughly 20 minutes later, Lance was pulling into the parking lot of the honky tonk bar, The River. After helping Diana out of the SUV, Lance guided her to the entrance and paid for their cover as several people gawked at the couple.
"I guess people wouldn't believe that we would be into country music," Lance said in Diana's ear as they quickly took to the dance floor to join the country line dance as the bars of a requested fast-paced song started.
"I guess not. Let's give them something to talk about." Diana said with a smile as they fell in line and seamlessly moved in the same direction as their fellow dancers. After that song, another country line song came on and they immediately progressed to the Country Electric Side. When that dance ended, Diana and Lance excitedly two-stepped to a slower, more romantic song. As the next song with higher beats per minute came on, the dancefloor was crowded again as everyone moved into another group dance. Lance and Diana continued dancing for a couple of hours before taking a break to eat a late dinner at the bar.
Their meal at the bar started with an order of fried pickles with a side of spicy ranch. Lance ordered a beer while Diana decided to enjoy a glass of margarita. Lance then ordered a double cheeseburger with fried jalapenos and all the fixings while Diana ordered a Spicy chicken sandwich, topped with pickles and coleshaw. After finishing their dinner with another beer for Lance and a margarita for Diana, they went back to the dancefloor and didn't leave the dancefloor again until it was closing time.
After they were settled back into their hotel room, Diana and Lance were lying in bed together. Diana placed her hat on the nightstand next to her while Lance still had his hat on. "Are you going to sleep with that hat, on?" Diana asked Lance.
"It depends," Lance answered. "I've grown pretty fond of the hat and am unwilling to take it off yet."
Diana rolled her eyes. "Really?" Diana answered as she moved to hover over Lance. "And what would you do if I took the hat off?"
"It depends."
"On what?"
"If you'll ride me or not," Lance replied with a conspiratorial grin.
"I don't think you can handle it, Cowboy," Diana responded with a conspiratorial grin of her own.
"The question isn't if I can handle it, Diana." Lance drawled, his grin getting wider. "The question is whether or not you'll be able to handle it."
"Not my first rodeo," Diana responded as she slowly took off her nightgown. "And definitely not yours, but it'll be the best one to date," Diana said as she placed a trail of kisses from Lance's lips, down his neck, down the middle of his muscled torso, and stopped at the spot where Lance's abs ended and his hips began. "Just you watch and experience it," Diana said before she slowly straddled Lance's hips. "Think you can handle it?"
"Oh, I can definitely handle this ride of yours," Lance responded with a chuckle. Diana smiled before placing another kiss on Lance's lip before preparing herself to come into contact with one particular part of Lance's anatomy. "I bet you can't make me say ride it, Cowgirl."
"Oh, you'll say it," Diana promised. "I bet that you'll yell it before it's over."
Lance laughed in response as Diana smiled knowingly.