"I am going to white the floor with you, Keith!"
"Lance, the phrase is wipe the floor," Pidge corrected.
"Well that makes no sense!" Lance retorted, huffing indignantly.
"Guys," Shiro sighed, rubbing his forehead with his fingers, "just listen to the instructions before mouthing off already."
Coran cleared his throat before continuing. "As I said before, this is a training exercise based on a game called Gargon that Shiro used to play at the Garrison. What I have here is a portable light source—"
"A flashlight, in other words," Shiro explained.
"Yes, a flashlight, right. So the flashlight will be broken down into five pieces which will be hidden throughout the castle. You have to find all of them and reassemble the flashlight to win."
Hunk looked at Coran skeptically. "Sounds too easy, what's the catch?"
"The pieces will only be hidden in public areas. The tricky part is the lights will be off," replied Shiro.
"Oh, and I'll be playing the Gargon, or in this case the Robeast. If I catch you then you must freeze until another teammate unfreezes you. And I get the piece back and can hide it again."
"As much fun as this sounds," Keith interjected cynically, "the castle is enormous. This could take days to complete."
"Well then the sooner we start the better!"
Coran was obviously not changing his mind about this.
Allura joined the others at the starting point, garnering curious looks from the paladins as she took her mark.
"Princess, why are you doing this?"
"I'm part of the team too, aren't I Keith."
"Yeah but you know the castle better than any of us, it's hardly fair," countered Hunk.
She bristled at the accusation. "Fine, would you feel better if I was blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back?"
"I'd love to blind—"
"Lance!" the team shouted in sync. Everyone knew where that was going.
"The blindfold is acceptable," offered Coran. "Alteans do have incredible night vision."
So it was settled. While Coran was hiding the pieces, Allura found a scarf to use and Shiro tied it around her head to be sure she didn't have an advantage over the rest of the team.
The lights went out and the door swished open. Tiny dots of light lined the sides of the corridor; there was enough light to prevent tripping but not enough to illuminate anything else.
Soon the footsteps of the others began moving away from her. Allura went to walk in the same direction before feeling a hand grab hers. It felt familiar, and she was pretty sure it belonged to Keith. The touch of leather against her skin all but confirmed it. Not sure if the grasp was intentional she froze silently, waiting to see what his next move was.
He tugged at her arm, not making a sound until they were safely in the corridor and away from the others.
"You okay, Princess?"
"I'm fine. Why did you take my hand?"
"I was afraid you might fall and get hurt with your eyes covered like that. You can stick with me for now. I mean, that is, if you want to."
Allura felt her face heat up at the suggestion, glad that he couldn't see it. She wondered if his complexion had changed as well.
"If you'd like, but aren't you at just as much a disadvantage?"
"Not really," he admitted, "I have pretty good night vision myself. Must be a Galra thing. Don't tell the others, though. I may need to use it to my advantage again in the future."
The Princess giggled at his confession and agreed to keep it between them. Then they made their way into the belly of the castle to start looking for the hidden parts. Keith maintained a tight grip on her hand, stopping to direct her when there was a step or other tripping hazard.
At one point he carried her on his back up a steep stairway. Normally she would have insisted on doing it herself, but was quite happy at this point to press her chest into his back. It was warm and firm and oh, so comfortable. She flushed as she imagined curling up to it, sans shirt, in her bed.
"Oh!" she squeaked out as he reached the top step and gently lowered her to stand on the floor.
"Sorry Princess, I just spotted a pair of batteries. We've got our first pieces!" he offered excitedly.
She could sense the motion of him bending over to pick them up. Blindfold or not she knew exactly what that would look like- not that she'd noticed his cute butt before or anything.
Soon they continued the search, one of five parts in hand. It had taken less time than they imagined finding those so hopefully the others would be just as easy. The only time they stopped was when they heard Coran announce he was in the area, ducking into whatever tight spaces they could fit. Secretly Allura wondered why they didn't just make a run for it. Not that it mattered to her, this way was much more enjoyable.
The first time they were under a low table, the next in a small crevice in the wall. Every time they were pressed closely together, so much that their breathing would sync.
Allura was also beginning to enjoy not seeing anything. It kept her close to Keith while elevating her sense of touch. Every brush of the hand, every warm breath, every press of the body. She could only imagine how much heat she was radiating, wondering if it rivaled his.
After a couple of varga had passed, they reached a hallway that Allura felt was familiar. If she was right, her room was just up ahead. She followed slowly behind Keith, her hands on his waist to guide her.
A few steps later there was a tinkling then scraping noise. Keith must have kicked something metal, hopefully another piece of the flashlight. Her hands instinctively clinched his sides a bit harder.
"Was that a second piece?"
"Sounded like it," he responded. "It rolled ahead a bit so let's go find it."
They moved together to the spot where she assumed it landed. She felt Keith bend to pick it up only to hear it rolling again. He cursed then lurched for it, pulling her with him and causing the two to tumble to the floor. Keith yelped in pain, likely because he took the force of the landing.
"Are you okay?" she asked, the sound of sincere concern etched in her question.
"Yeah," he answered, his voice strained. "I hit my chin of all things. Should be okay, it'll just be bruised a bit."
The Princess couldn't help but worry now, afraid it was worse than he let on. Keith never complained about getting hurt so she wanted to see it for herself.
"Keith, let me have a look at it. What rooms are nearby?"
"Um, well, I'm not sure exactly…" he responded hesitantly.
She knew she'd have to be more direct.
"My room is here, isn't it?" she asked curtly.
Quiet followed her question, as if Keith was afraid to answer. However the echo of Coran's voice in the hall must have prompted him to forget his unease. He snatched Allura's hand, slamming her palm against the door panel. With one swoop he had her in the room and the door closed behind them.
Annoyed that his change of heart wasn't a result of wanting to be alone with her, Allura pulled the blindfold down around her neck before yanking Keith by the arm down onto the bed.
"Now," she pouted as she sat next to him, "are you going to let me look at your injury or not?"
Keith gaped at her, simply nodding slightly before turning to face her fully. She gently placed her hand on his chin, which caused him to wince slightly. Instead she moved her hand to his forehead, tilting his head backwards to afford her a better look. There was little light in the room but she didn't dare turn any more on lest the other paladins spot it and catch them not participating.
"You know, if the others finish before we get back it might look bad," he muttered.
"We do have two pieces and they don't know that. They'll be looking for a long time."
He smiled at that, realizing she wasn't going to let him out of this easily. After a few dobashes she removed her hands and set them on her lap.
"I think you'll be okay, it will just be sore for a bit. I'm sorry I don't have any ice to put on it for you." She gave him an apologetic smile in case he doubted her sincerity.
"It's okay," Keith responded, turning to look at something interesting over her right shoulder. "You could just kiss it to make it better."
In the low light Allura couldn't be sure but thought Keith might have blushed at his own suggestion.
"Oh, is that how humans typically heal?" she asked, genuinely curious.
Keith threw his hands up, waving them frantically while he looked back at her with wide eyes.
"Uh, no! That was just a joke," he protested, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "That's something we do, but it's not actually effective. It's more to make the other person feel better is all."
Allura scooted closer to him, leaning so close that she could hardly focus on his handsome features.
"You've been helping me so I'd like to make you feel better. If that's okay."
Once again Keith froze; he seemed to want to say yes but wasn't sure he could. At this point the Princess decided to take matters into her own hands. Or lips, as it were.
She placed her hands on either side of his face, drawing it closer to hers. Quickly she placed a small peck on his chin, backing away slowly to see if she could read his reaction.
"Better?"
"Maybe try one more time."
This time her lips lingered, dragging along his skin as she pulled away. Slowly he pulled back, which worried Allura. Maybe she'd misinterpreted this whole situation. She started to speak but was quieted when his hand reached for hers.
His dark blue eyes locked onto her bright blue ones, a silent agreement passing between them.
Keith took a breath before diving for her mouth. His lips were warm and wet, moving frantically over her own. She pushed herself further onto the bed without breaking contact, him chasing her while nipping at her mouth.
When he placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her forward she responded with a gasp, allowing access for his tongue to seek out hers. Allura looped her arms under his shoulders, pulling him down to the pillow with her.
The game, the team, all of it be damned. She'd waited too long for this.
Sliding her hands under the hem of his shirt, she slid it up until his chest was exposed. Breaking the kiss, she moved to tease his muscles with her tongue, eliciting a low hiss. He sat up briefly to discard the piece of clothing before dropping back down to plant bite marks down her neck.
Allura was having difficulties staying quiet herself. The small gasping noises she made seemed to fuel his desire, moving him to tease more out of her.
When she felt she'd lost control she rolled him off her, pushing herself up to straddle him while running her hands over his chiseled form.
"Is this making you feel better, too?" she asked breathlessly.
He nodded, seemingly unable to utter words at this point.
Allura slid backwards down his legs, reaching for the waistband of his pants. Hooking her fingers she slowly worked them over his hips, all the way down to his feet. The pants joined his shirt in a pile on the floor, along with his shoes and socks.
The only secret he kept from her now was underneath a thin layer of material. She knew the bulge beneath was meant for her, but she wasn't ready to reveal it yet.
Slinking forward on all fours she began to flick her tongue languidly from his navel to his throat, where she watched him swallow hard when she neared it. Then she proceeded to dot his shoulders with small bites, licking the injured skin each time before blowing cool air upon it.
Now she knew was losing it. His hands were gripping the bedcovers tightly, his teeth clenched. She could tell he was holding back so she sat up once again to remove her blouse, his eyes following her movements eagerly.
Still he seemed hesitant to act. Allura grabbed his wrists firmly, moving his hands to touch her chest. She allowed him a moment to adjust to the sensation of her bare skin. When he looked at her she nodded her permission for him to move them.
Cautiously his fingers slid down over her breasts, his thumb circling around to tease her nipples. Quickly he sat up, his mouth hungrily taking her right one while his fingers continued to caress the left. Allura resumed raking her teeth along his neck in an attempt to stifle any noises that might escape in the heat of the moment.
Soon Keith took notice of the blindfold that still hung around her neck, reaching up to tug it gently. Once again, he looked at her before asking the question.
"Do you trust me?"
Allura pressed her lips to his ear to whisper her answer. "I trust you every single day."