Fighting Gravity
Authors Notes
It has been awhile since I uploaded anything. Life and work have gotten in the way. I want to thank buffycorvin, FroofyB, KathDMD, LaWallala31, lianakos, Paulina Ann, VF-Fearless, Callialex, CristyP, JustLucky05, and PeacockF for favoriting and/ or following me. There are others who have chosen to follow and/ or favorite some of my other stories, and to you I am humbly grateful. I also want to thank readers for taking the time to read and review. Your feedback and support have encouraged me to keep going!
Welcome to Fighting Gravity! This little fic came to me when I was listening to my favorite boy band, New Kids on the Block. They have a song called Fighting Gravity.
A plot bunny was formed. I thought it was the perfect song for Keith and Allura, so I decided to go with a little bit of a different angle on this stand-alone, KA, fluff and citrus fest. Usually, Allura is the pursuer and Keith is the pursued, resisting her advances because of duty and station. What if the roles were reversed? Hence, my Fighting Gravity. The story is all drafted. I just have to type, revise, and edit before I post.
Questions and comments are welcomed. Please no flames. Thank you, Amazing Writer Friend (you know who you are,) on some great advice that has made me a better writer. Thank you, Cubbie, for your never-ending support and infectious enthusiasm for our favorite Voltron couple. This is for you!
Enjoy!
Dawn
Rated T for now. It will move to M before the end, so please read at your own risk.
Disclaimer: WEP owns Voltron or its characters. The story idea is mine.
Prologue
Gravity is defined as the natural force of attraction by which two bodies pull toward each other. It is a force against which many have battled; few have been successful. On that fateful day in the crumbling Castle of Lions, this powerful force was unleashed when a handsome, young commander knelt before a beautiful, fair haired princess and his soft lips brushed the delicate skin of her hand. As eyes the color of the midnight sky met eyes the color of the sky at noon, the force pulling them together was as powerful as gravity. And they have been fighting that gravity ever since.
Chapter 1
Exiting the portal to Black Lion, Commander Keith Kogane sighed in exasperation as he caught sight of Lord Arthur Leonardis waiting in Castle Control. He watched as the nobleman greeted Princess Allura with a huge smile on his face as she exited the portal to Blue Lion. Allura returned his smile tentatively before her blue eyes flitted briefly over to meet Keith's dark gaze. Turning away quickly, Keith ignored the pang in his heart and the praise that Sir Arthur bestowed upon the Blue Lion pilot. He walked toward Koran, sitting at Castle Control. Looking over the results of the morning's practice, he furrowed his eyebrows as he looked over the princess's data. "Princess," he called after her as she went to exit the Control Room. "A word please?"
Allura stopped dead in her tracks at the tone in Keith's voice. Turning to Lord Arthur, she smiled apologetically. "I will see you at lunch," she assured him as he placed a small kiss on the back of her hand.
"Of course, Your Highness," he replied before he turned and walked out of Castle Control.
Blushing slightly, Allura felt a warmth rush over her from Artie's attentions as she turned back to her commanding officer. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart skipped a beat for an entirely different reason when she caught sight of Keith waiting for her next to the door to the conference room the team used for debriefings. Her eyes roved over his hard soldier's body, noticing how his red and white flight suit hugged him like a second skin. Raising her eyes slowly over his fine form up to his handsome face, Allura was taken aback by the coldness in his expression. Gulping, she walked into the conference room.
Keith followed closely behind her. Once the door closed behind him, he turned to face her. "What the hell was that?" he snapped. "That was a mediocre performance at best, Your Highness." Crossing his arms, the commander simply stared down at the princess.
Surprised, Allura just blinked. "I know that my accuracy was off, Keith, and I am sorry," the princess apologized, trying to project sincerity in her blue eyes. "The new upgrades that Hunk and Pidge made to Blue's ion canon are more powerful than I thought. I was having a hard time staying in formation when firing them. I am sure with a little practice..."
"With a little practice!" Keith interrupted. "Zarkon doesn't give us time to practice. He could attack at any time and we need to be ready!" Sputtering and red-faced, Keith glared at the princess. "Those errors you made today could get someone hurt, or even killed."
Allura gaped open-mouthed at Keith. He was usually very patient with her during practice, acknowledging long ago that she was not a trained pilot and accepting that her learning curve was not as quick as the other men. He had never gotten this angry with her over a less than stellar performance. "Keith, I am sorry," she whispered. "I promise I will do better tomorrow." Tears formed behind her eyelids and she fought to keep them in check.
Seeing that tears threatened to fall, Keith turned away in frustration. "The waterworks won't work, Princess. I cannot treat you any differently than I treat the other men, just because you're a princess," he growled.
Sniffling slightly, Allura felt as if she had been struck. "I have never asked you, too, Keith," she replied defensively. Her eyes narrowed in anger.
Keith ignored her. "It's just not today, Princess." He spat out her title between gritted teeth. "Your timing is off. Your accuracy has been down as low as 65%. You blow off team meetings and PT. You are distracted." Stopping to take a deep breath, Keith gave her an accusatory stare. "Ever since Lord Arthur showed up."
"Now wait a minute, Commander," Allura argued defensively. "This has nothing to do with Artie." Glaring at him, the princess put her hands on her hips.
Flinching slightly at the use of the Lord's nickname, Keith smiled sardonically. "It has everything to do with Artie, Princess, don't you see that?" he asked quietly. Without thinking, Keith crossed the room to stand next to Allura. He raised his hand to cup her cheek gently, brushing a stray hair out of her eyes. "It has everything to do with him," he repeated, more to himself than to her.
A look of confusion temporarily replaced the anger on Allura's face. Batting his hand away, Allura took a step back. "I am more than capable of ruling my planet, flying Blue Lion, and handling Lord Arthur. I have already proven that," she stated defiantly.
Snorting, Keith rolled his eyes. "Not based on that performance today," he replied. Shaking his head, he looked Allura over from head to toe. "You know, Allura," he commented maliciously. "Maybe it's time you just marry Artie and start having babies. Leave defending Arus to us."
Allura gasped as tears spilled down her cheeks. There was no stopping the dam that had just burst. "Keith," she shrieked. "You don't mean that. Please tell me you don't mean that."
Regretting the words the minute they were out of his mouth, Keith turned away from the sobbing princess. "I do, Princess," he responded instead. "Maybe it's time for you to settle down and resign from the force."
Staring at her commander in disbelief, Allura stood shell-shocked. "Never," she snarled. Turning on her heel, Allura fled from the room, but not before the word asshole escaped from her lips.
Keith didn't stop her. As the door swished closed, the brokenhearted commander collapsed into a chair and buried his face in his hands, his own tears wetting the granite tabletop.
