What Could Go Thong?
Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron. It is owned by WEP. I write for fun and that is the only payment I expect to receive from this fiction. Well, that and a few laughs… I mean, really, it has "thong" in the title!
Since I have put a really long fanfic on my beta reader, I decided to do my best on this one. Hopefully, it's not too rough.
This fanfiction is in response to a KAEX Challenge related to Laundry. I couldn't stop at just one, so if you like this fluff, you will also enjoy the companion fic entitled "Laundry and Lingerie." You don't have to read that one first, but it does occur first in this timeline and has a few minor references here.
Allura headed down to the laundry with her favorite tee shirt. She had dropped ketchup on it at lunch and she didn't want it to stain. Nanny has fussed with her insisting once again that laundry was not something that royalty should concern themselves with. The boys had laughed as Nanny had "tisked" and "harumpffed" at Allura, which didn't make Nanny any happier. Allura had simply stood from the table and left leaving all the grumbling and laughter behind her. Now she was in a fresh tee shirt and on her way to this stain before it set in.
The laundry room was empty when she entered and she blushed as she remembered the last time she was here. It had been two months since she had last been in the laundry room in an ill-advised attempt to be helpful with her laundry.
She looked around the rather sterile room that contained several washing and drying units, cleaning powders and liquids, ironing equipment and any number of other laundry items. The stain removers were clearly visible and she headed over to them. It only took a few moments to apply the treatment and then she popped it into a washing unit. She looked around the room to see if there was something she could do while she waited for the wash cycle to complete. Her eyes fell upon a basket containing some of her 'delicates.' She grasped the basket and with a smile on her face she headed back to her room to put away her laundry. Nanny would NOT approve, which made her smile even more. She gave a last look at the washer and then headed out.
Allura put the basket on a brightly cushioned bench in her wardrobe room and set to her self-appointed task. She quickly put things in their proper place until she pulled out an item that she didn't recognize. She held the item up in front of her and stared with her mouth open. It was a pair of men's thong underwear… and they were red! Her face turned as red as the underwear in front of her. There wasn't much too them she thought, feeling the heat in her face. She hadn't really seen a pair of men's thong underwear before… they shouldn't be holding her attention like this, but she just couldn't put them down. Her eyes got larger as a new thought crossed her mind. To whom did this red thong belong? The castle laundry only did laundry for occupants of the castle and the linens needed for the castle, so the number of men it could belong to was limited as most of the male guards and staff had families and homes in the nearby villages. So, judging by the size her mind immediately went to Lance and Keith. The practical commander probably didn't wear such things, but the flamboyant lieutenant, well, that was another matter.
Lance's underwear. Allura immediately dropped them. She looked around her room and found a small bag to put them in. She would give them to Lance. Her clean laundry and her stained tee shirt left her mind as she headed out with the small bag. She had to get rid of the thong now. She couldn't take the chance of Nanny finding the article in her room. Based on the time of day, Lance would probably be working out in the gym so that is where she headed.
Allura walked into the gym with her hands and the bag behind her back. The gym had a comfortable feel to it, despite the slight smell of sweat. Perhaps she like the gym partly because it was one of the few places that Keith readily touched her. Granted, it was in teaching combat or defensive moves, but they were often moves that brought their bodies into close proximity. She glanced around the room and found Lance and Keith sparring with each other. Ah, yes, another reason she liked the gym. Keith often worked out without his shirt on. She smiled as she waved to get Lance's attention. Her smile changed to a wince as Lance was distracted by her wave and was caught off guard and landed on his butt after a leg sweep by Keith.
Keith looked down at Lance. That takedown was too easy. Lance pointed behind Keith at the gym entrance and saw Allura walking over. Keith reached a hand down to pull up Lance.
Allura stopped a few feet away from the sweaty and very attractive shirtless men. It was something she didn't tire of. "Um, sorry Lance, I didn't mean to distract you. I just wanted to talk to you for a moment." Allura hesitated here as she said, "Privately."
Keith's eyes widened. The Princess wanted to talk to Lance privately? What was going on? He didn't say anything but walked to the other side of the gym to get a water bottle out of the stocked frig.
Lance watched his friend walk away and smiled. That had to have Keith wondering. He probably would stare at them the whole time they talked. If he brushed away a piece of Allura's hair or caressed her arm, he'd probably be in big trouble. It might just be worth it though….
Allura cleared her throat. She brought the bag around to the front of her waist and turned so that her back was to Keith. "Um Lance, I think these are yours. They were accidentally put in with my laundry."
Lance took the small bag from the Princess and opened it, pulling out the thong underwear. He started laughing loudly and tried to hold them up in front of him.
Allura glanced over her shoulder and pushed his hands and the thong down where no one would see them. She saw Keith watching them closely as he sipped his water. "Shhh!" she hissed at Lance. "Do you want everyone to see?"
Lance slowly stopped laughing and looked at her and then over her shoulder to Keith. "And by 'everyone' do you mean Keith? He's the only other person in here right now. Do you not want him to see you giving me a pair of red thong underwear?"
Allura glared at him. "I'm not giving them to you, they're yours and they were in with the clean laundry I was putting away."
Lance continued to smile. "While I'm flattered that you thought of me in a thong-"
"I did NOT think of you in the thong!"
"Really, you just saw a red thong and thought Lance with no mental images?" Lances smile was getting bigger as Allura turned pink like her suit. He glanced over at Keith and gave him a wave. He dropped the garment back in the bag and handed it back to Allura.
Allura didn't dare glance at Keith with her red face or he'd be over here to interrogate.
Lance took pity on the Princess and said with an exasperated laugh, "Princess, they're not mine."
Allura's eyes widened and her blush stayed. "They're not, they're not yours?" she stammered. Her look became one of contemplation.
Lance glanced at Keith one more time and then back to Allura and said, "Well, we know another male that likes red…. I'll step outside for a few minutes so you can talk privately." And with that, Lance walked out of the gym to wait for the fallout. He didn't know if they were Keith's or not, but the conversation was going to be very interesting.
Allura watched Lance walk out and then turned to Keith. Well, she had started down this path, she would see it to its end. She walked over to the shirtless Commander who was toweling the sweat off of chest. Did he really need to do that right now? She was distracted enough with the thong in the bag. The thong. Keith. Shirtless. Thong. She shook her head trying to free the mental images that wouldn't leave. She could hear Keith talking but what was he saying? She felt his hand on her arm.
Keith gently shook Allura. What had Lance said to upset her? "Allura, are you okay? Did Lance upset you?"
Allura looked up at him and smiled shakily. "No. No. Lance didn't upset. I just… well, I thought they were his… but they aren't…" She saw Keith looking at her with a confused expression. She didn't know how to explain as she shoved the bag into his hands and said, "These were in my clean laundry. I thought they belonged to Lance but he said they weren't, so…" She really hoped he didn't need her to say more.
Keith opened the bag and saw a red garment. He pulled it out and his eyes widened. He stared at the thong for a moment and then looked at Allura. She was blushing brightly. If this was a prank of Lance's, he had gone too far. Keith tossed the thong onto the couch and turned to Allura. "Just because I like red doesn't mean that it's mine. If Lance planned this I'm going to kill him." He gave Allura a quick abbreviated bow and said, "Excuse me while I go beat the crap out of my best friend."
Allura was momentarily stunned as Keith left the room and then she rushed after him. Lance hadn't planned it. She was the one that went to the laundry, he couldn't have known what she would do with the clean laundry. As she reached the door, she heard Keith yelling at Lance and Lance responding loudly. Keith pointed in Lance's face and said, "My office in 30 minutes." Allura watched as Keith marched off. She walked up to Lance and said, "Sorry Lance, I didn't mean to get you in trouble. I'll go get my tee shirt from the laundry and then I'll join you in thirty minutes."
Lance started laughing. "Whatever you do Princess, don't find anymore underwear in the laundry room. If you want to come to the meeting that's fine with me. He'll be calmer then." He glanced in the direction that Keith had walked. "It's just curious, if they're not Keith's and they're not mine, who do they belong to?" Lance turned to Allura. "Maybe I should ask one of the laundry staff, they have to know.
Allura shook her head. "Yes, they will know but they are sworn to secrecy." She waited for Lance to stop laughing at this. "I'm serious!" But she couldn't help laughing as she explained. "Think about your intimate garments. Do you want the staff sharing pieces of your clothing with those girls that hit on you all the time?" At the look on his face she said, "Wait, let me change that. Do you think that most people would want their garments given away to 'fans' or the size of your clothing or the style of undergarments you wear made known to everyone? It is castle policy that the laundry staff do not take any items and they do not share intimate details about any clothing items that are laundered here."
Lance was still chuckling as he said, "Well, that makes sense I guess, but I still wonder."
And with that the two broke apart to go their separate ways. Lance to shower and change and Allura back to the laundry room. Neither of them saw the tall figure in the brown coast standing in the shadows of a nearby corridor. When the two were a safe distance down the hall, the figure entered the gym and walked over to the couch and picked up the thong underwear. Coran breathed a sigh of relief that he had recovered them. When he heard some of the staff laughing about the Commander and the Lieutenant arguing about a red thong, he thought he would have a heart attack. He hadn't expected to recover the item, but he was glad he had as he stuffed the pair in his jacket pocket. He hurried from the room and said a thankful prayer. He was very glad that he had instituted that policy about the confidentially of the laundry staff.