Allura could handle fighting Galra soldiers, piloting the Blue Lion & leading the Voltron Coalition, so why was she so afraid of her own feelings for Keith?

The obvious answer was because she was still burned by Lotor's treachery. Nobody expected Allura to "just get over" what he did to her; used her like she was a toy. But here she walked in the space mall, alone with Keith, feeling something stronger than a crush, and unable to coherently articulate her feelings for him without turning into a terrified schoolgirl. Diplomacy never looked more appealing.

It wasn't that Keith had come back looking very different, although she didn't deny feeling more attracted to him when she finally processed just how different he was, both physically and in his demeanor. But it was through bonding with him again, as if making up for lost time, that made her realize that her feelings for him weren't family.

Keith was different. She trusted Keith with her life. She respected and admired his decision to save others. He was obviously no Lotor, but she wasn't going to rebound to him just because he was a good person. Lance was out of the question. She loved him like a brother, like Keith loved Shiro, but obviously nowhere near as deeply. Once again, Keith was different.

Those feelings were already there, and she was terrified to act on them.

The rest of the paladins were off on their own, leaving her with him. It was already scary to her, but just as scary for him–even though he was physically and mentally two years older than when they'd last seen him.

Both their hands drifted towards the other's, only for them to realize what they were doing and pull back before they made a mistake.

But Allura was the one who made the first move. She reached out and grabbed Keith's left hand, immediately feeling him freeze in place and squeeze back even tighter. Then he stopped in his tracks.

"Allura?" he asked in the soft voice he reserved for her as he turned to face her. "What are you doing?"

"Keith, there's something I've been meaning to tell you," she said. "But I've been terrified to say it ever since Lotor… did… that…"

"What do you mean?" he asked, his face turning as red as hers was.

"That I…" She leaned towards his lips, puckering up. Here goes nothing…

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This was done for a tumblr prompt. Hope you liked it!