Hello again. On KAEX, a challenge was issued with the subject of laundry. Given my sense of humor, I decided to participate. This may not be the type of story the challenger envisioned, but this is my response. Enjoy.
I make no claims to Voltron or any WEP properties.
Until next time...
Spin Cycle:
Sitting at the dining room table as lunch slowly draws to a close, Allura uses her fork to push her food around her plate. The sound of Keith's voice echoes in her head as he continues his conversation with the others. The deep timbre flows over her like warm water, causing certain parts of her to tingle uncomfortably. She has had a crush on the commander since his arrival over a year ago. Pity she couldn't get him to take her seriously. He never seemed to notice her the way the others did. A deep sigh slips out of her as she forks a piece of cheesy potato. About to lift it to her lips, she jumps when Keith asks, "Princess, is everything all right?"
The piece of potato slips off the fork and hits the front of her shirt, leaving a smear of bright yellow cheese against the pale pink material. Gasping, Allura drops her fork on the table to snatch up her napkin, trying to dab at the mess, "Oh! My new shirt! Nanny is going to kill me!"
The door to the kitchen begins to open, then pauses, Nanny's voice coming through as she finishes giving instruction. Allura gives it a panicked look then quickly rises and races out of the room before the governess enters. Racing down the hall, she quickly reaches her room. Grabbing another shirt out of her closet, she changes, and races out of the room with her soiled shirt in hand once more.
Taking the elevator to the lower levels, the princess slows her pace just before the slightly open door to the laundry when she hears the murmur of voices from within. Inching forward, Allura feels her cheeks turning bright red as she hears the women talking.
"Oh, I'm telling you. That lieutenant, he can make a girl's toes curl."
"How would you know?"
"Cause he already has…"
Bright female laughter echoes out into the hallway. Unable to believe what she is hearing, Allura slaps a hand over her mouth as they start again.
"And the commander!"
"Oh, isn't he dreamy?"
"Pity he won't give any of us the time of day."
"Girl, I just think of him as I'm leaning against the washer during the spin cycle." A deep sigh follows, "Two minutes later, I feel so much better."
"Gladys!"
More laughter steams out of the room as Allura ponders, 'The spin cycle? What does that do?' Before she can wonder any more, the door opens wider. Standing up straight, Allura moves forward and loudly calls out, "Hello?"
The noise level in the laundry dies down to nothing. A bright red face peers out the door and the maid exclaims, "Oh, Princess Allura." She steps farther out into the hallway, "How may I be of assistance?"
"I made a mess of my new shirt and was wondering if you could be so kind as to give me something to treat it with," Allura says, making her request.
Holding out her hand expectantly, the woman says, "It would be my pleasure to see to it personally."
Curiosity over the spin cycle comment goes through her mind and Allura replies, "Actually, I was wondering if you would be so kind as to show me how to treat it and wash it myself."
When the maid gives her a strange look, she grabs for the first thing that comes to mind, "I hate it when I make a mess like this. I don't want to put others out when I should clean it up myself."
If anything, the expression on the maid's face goes darker. About ready to hand her the shirt and walk away, relief fills Allura when she finally shrugs and gestures her to follow. Walking into the laundry room, the other women ignore them as they approach a washing machine. Taking a bottle from the shelf next to it, the maid holds it out to Allura, "Princess, this contains a stain treatment. You will want to apply it liberally to the stain before we try to wash the shirt."
Nodding, Allura takes the bottle and applies it as requested. The maid takes the shirt from her and rubs the detergent into the stain then turns and places the shirt into the machine. She explains the process as she adds more detergent and fabric softener then shows her how to turn the machine on. Finished, she says, "When the cycle is complete we will check to make sure the stain is gone before we place the shirt into the dryer. If it isn't gone and you dry it, the stain will be impossible to remove later."
"Thank you for the lesson," Allura says, a smile on her face.
A bell rings in the room and the other women begin to leave. At the confused expression on Allura's face, the maid explains, "That is our meal bell. You don't have to wait for the machine, Princess. I'll be glad to check it after lunch."
"Oh, thanks," Allura replies, her eyes still on the machine.
The maid starts to step away to follow then gasps. Allura watches her as she turns back to the machine and works her skirt free from a piece of metal sticking out while exclaiming, "Oh, I'm going to have to complain to maintenance again. It's been almost two weeks! I'm going to rip my skirts on this thing yet!"
After giving the offending metal a cursory glance, Allura follows the maid to the door and steps out with her. She starts down the hallway as the maid turns and goes the other way. She pauses and looks back. Once the maid disappears, Allura's curiosity about the spin cycle comment returns. Turning around, she walks back into the laundry room. Moving over to the washer, the princess studies the dial. It would take a little while until it reached the spin cycle. Deciding to wait, Allura moves around the laundry room, looking for something to occupy her.
Picking up a book someone left on a shelf, the princess moves back to the table and begins leafing through it. Ten minutes later, she looks back at the washer. Spotting the dial moving closer to the spin cycle, she approaches the machine.
"Princess, what are you doing in here?"
Spinning round, Allura backs into the washing machine and places a hand over her racing heart as she exclaims, "Keith! You frightened me."
"Sorry," the commander says as he moves farther into the room with a basket of clothes.
Recovering, she explains, "I'm just waiting for my shirt." Looking at the basket in his hands, Allura asks, "What are you doing here?"
Moving over to a machine, Keith starts placing his clothing in it as he remarks, "I do my own laundry."
"Why?" asks the princess, watching him curiously as he goes about adding detergent and setting the dials. It is pretty obvious he has done this many times.
Stopping what he is doing, Keith looks back at her, "Because, I'm used to being self-sufficient. Feels strange enough to be served meals. I'm used to mess halls where the meals are served buffet style or when on mission, making my own meals." He smiles at her, "I can certainly do my own laundry."
Opening her mouth to reply, Allura stops suddenly when the spin cycle begins. The vibration against her posterior sends shivers through her. Feeling her nipples hardening, she crosses her arms over her chest to hide her response from Keith. Deciding she knows enough about the spin cycle, she tries to move away from the machine only to realize she can't move. Horrorstruck, Allura looks back at Keith, "I'm stuck!"
His eyebrows arch together in confusion, "What?"
"I'm stuck!" Allura repeats, her panic rising as the machine spins faster and vibrates more. "My pants are stuck on the machine! Please help me. If I rip them, Nanny will be furious!"
Keith moves closer to her and tries to look around her. Finally, he says, "Princess, bend over please. I need to see where you're hooked."
Bending forward slightly as requested, Allura sucks in a deep breath as the machine continues to vibrate against her. Resisting the urge to pant as the pulsations send streaks of pleasure rolling through her, she listens to Keith mumble something under his breath. She listens to him suck in a deep breath and blow it out a moment later.
"Allura, I need you to bend farther, I can't quite see."
"I can't without falling over," Allura answers, trying to keep from sounding breathless.
"Hang onto me," he responds.
Bending over, Allura hangs onto Keith's waist as he bends over her, trying to see where her pants are hooked. She bites down on her lips to keep from moaning loudly as the machine vibrates directly against her already heated core. Her next mistake is to glance up. Directly in front of her of her face is Keith's groin, the outline of his manhood pressing firmly against his pants as he works. The urge to rub her check against it rips through her.
"Allura, this is going to seem strange, but I can't work you free without touching you in a way that may seem inappropriate."
Jolted from her thoughts, Allura mumbles, "Ok."
Keith's fingers begin to probe her bottom. The pressure of his fingers searching for the piece of metal holding her pants along with the machine vibrating against her is almost more than she can bear. A moan escapes Allura the next moment.
"Princess, did you say something?"
"No," she replies quickly, almost in a squeak. She can feel her cheeks turning bright red, whether from the stimulation or embarrassment, she doesn't know and barely cares. Her fingers dig into the side of Keith's waist as the pleasure builds to almost unbearable levels.
"Allura, please hold still."
Almost mindless with pleasure, 'Hold still?' floats through her mind just before Keith's fingers accidentally brush against her core. Shoving her face against his waist as she climaxes, she bites her bottom lip to keep from crying out his name.
"There, got it."
He takes a step back and Allura follows him, still bent over and clinging to his waist. His hands move under her arms, trying to pull her up as Keith asks, "Allura, are you all right?"
Feeling him pulling her up against his chest, Allura closes her eyes, smiles and dreamily sighs out, "Yeah," while rubbing her cheek against his shirt. She wraps her arms around his waist, feeling utterly boneless.
"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you."
She feels Keith pat her on the back then his hands are on her arms once more, pulling her away from him. Forced to stand upright, Allura finally looks at him and gives him a wistful smile. His eyebrow arches at her as he asks, "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Yeah, I think I need to go lay down now," she replies and begins walking away from him.
His hands come down on her shoulders and direct her in the opposite direction, "Allura, the door is this way."
"Oh, yes, yes it is," Allura replies, in a languorous voice. She slowly walks to the door, bumps into the doorframe, and then makes her way down the hall.
Back in the laundry room, Keith watches the princess' departing figure, lips twitching with amusement. Glancing over at the washing machine, he shakes his head as he thinks, 'Spin cycle,' then goes back to work on his own laundry.