Author's Note: This story wasn't even on the horizon. Literally. I had no plans to write it. Then I read "Ladies Lunch" by Yoshidoki and this popped out. So we should all thank this lovely author for the inspiration for my story here.
This is obviously a stand-alone story, but it does help if you've been following my stories for the past few years. Also, my apologies if it feels a little self-indulgent. Sometimes I can't help where Muse takes me. :D
Two other points: Lovey (aka ForeverWells), here's the short you requested, which I TOTALLY did not expect to get out. And WarzonePrez, sharpen your writing instruments.
Usual disclaimer applies: I own only my characters, WEP owns everything else.
As always, lyrics are dedicated to Mer3Girl.
"And I lift my glass to the Awful Truth
Which you can't reveal to the Ears of Youth
Except to say it isn't worth a dime…
The Boss don't like these dizzy heights
We're busted in the blinding lights,
Busted in the blinding lights
Of CLOSING TIME"
- Leonard Cohen, "Closing Time"
Allura, the reigning monarch of Planet Arus, was struggling with one of the biggest issues for any woman in any quadrant of the galaxy: how she should wear her hair for dinner.
This was the first time in years that she'd been to dinner without her husband, Keith Kogane, by her side. Even more, this was her first visit ever to Planet Earth on her own, without any of her friends or teammates or family to accompany her. No, this time, Queen Allura was on her own when it came to dealing with the heads of the Galaxy Alliance.
She had the perfect outfit picked out, carefully laid across the bed of her hotel suite so as not to garner even the tiniest wrinkle. The shoes, the jewelry, the make-up - not that she ever used much - had been chosen to accentuate her dress. She would look stunning...if she could only get her hair to do what she wanted.
Frustrated, she hit the first button on her comm unit.
"Hi, Sweetheart."
"Hi." Irritated, she tugged a comb through her fresh-from-the-shower mane. "What should I do with my hair tonight?"
Her husband laughed, which only irritated her further. "Are you kidding me? You called all this way to ask about your hair? Which, as Lance would say, I am far from an expert on, seeing as how I kept my mullet for as long as I did."
"You know," she scowled, "I have half a mind to cut this communication right now…"
"...if you weren't so interested in checking up on the kids," he finished for her. "Alex is fine - in fact, Larmina's playing with him and Lily as we speak - and Rory is already fast asleep in the nursery."
"That's good to know." Allura was enamored of her two children, and her heart had wrenched at the idea of being away from them for so long. However, her former teammates had gently pointed out that the getaway would be good for her, probably better for her state of mind than for the state of Arus. "God, I miss them. And you, Keith."
She could almost see him nod over the comm. "We miss you too, Mommy. But we're fine."
"I'm sure you are. But I'm not. What am I going to do with my hair?"
"Dry it and leave it down. Why, who are you trying to impress, anyway?"
"Oh, only the Space Marshall of Galaxy Garrison. You know, the head of the Alliance."
He snorted with laughter. "Honey, Len's not gonna care about how you wear your hair. She's probably just as grateful as you are to have a night out. Don't forget, she has five-year-old twins." He paused, amused. "Though I feel bad for Hawkins. He's on Daddy Duty tonight."
"So are you," Allura pointed out.
"Yes, but I have back-up."
"Whatever you say." She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Though in her mid-thirties, the head of her planet and mother to two rambunctious toddlers, the retired Blue Lion pilot had somehow escaped the fine lines around her eyes that most women her age had. What she had not escaped were the dark circles, ones which belied the many sleepless nights she'd had in the four years since becoming a parent. "Good luck anyway."
"Allura," he told her in a sincere tone, "I am the luckiest man in the universe already."
His words touched her, but she played them off. "Also the sappiest. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to dry my hair."
"Have fun tonight. And say hi to Len for me."
"Will do."
"I love you, Lura."
"I love you more, Keith. Good night." She shut off the comm and headed back to the hotel bathroom. She needed the hair dryer. Her time to get ready was running short.
The restaurant was appropriately elegant, almost romantic, with dim lighting and well-attired patrons. Allura, clad in a sleek pale-blue sheath dress and nude heels, ordered a glass of white wine while she waited. It had been so long since she'd had a relaxing dinner like this, she mused to herself, without her children. The last time she'd had a meal out had been on her first anniversary with Keith, when she'd been heavily pregnant with Alex. There were no celebratory cocktails.
Tonight would most likely prove to be different.
The waiter brought her wine, and as she took a sip, she felt her body relax completely. How could she have been worried about this? And why had she been fretting over her hair earlier? It didn't matter. She was there to enjoy herself and have fun with an old friend.
She glanced over the menu and took another sip, but she didn't even have to look up before realizing that she was not alone. The familiar click of her friend's high heels across the tiled floor let her know that the Space Marshall had arrived.
Lenora Hawkins placed her hand on the queen's shoulder. "Allura, it's so good to see you."
The queen sprung to her feet and wrapped her arms around the Space Marshall's shoulders. "Len, it's good to see you. You look amazing." And she wasn't lying; though the Alliance head was staring down the barrel of forty, she still had the same thick chestnut hair - albeit cut to her shoulders now - and yoga-toned body that she'd possessed when they first met nearly a decade earlier.
"I could say the same for you. A mother of two, the queen of a planet, and married to Captain Crankypants? You deserve a medal." Lenora smiled wryly as she sat down. "How is everyone on Arus, anyway?"
"We're all holding up great." Allura sipped her wine. "Keith and the kids are doing well."
"How old are the kids now?"
"Alexander is four and Aurora is almost two." She blushed. "Oh, I'd better enjoy this wine tonight. Keith and I have been talking about having Baby #3 lately."
"Oh my. Now I need something to drink." Lenora scanned over the wine list quickly before ordering a glass of pinot noir. "How do you do it? How do you find the energy?"
"That's what Keith says. I think, if he had his way, maybe we'd stop at Alex and Rory. But I don't feel finished yet. I'd like at least one more. Preferably two."
"Four total?" Lenora raised her eyebrows. "Waiter! You need to hurry with that glass of wine!"
Allura laughed. "How are Jacob and Leighanne?"
"They're wonderful. But they're trying my patience, as always." The waiter returned with her pinot noir, and she took a quick sip. "Jake is testing his independence, God help me, and Lulubelle is a daddy's girl all the way. Too bad she has his attitude, too."
"Oh, Jon Hawkins doesn't have an attitude."
"Wanna make a bet? Why don't you ask Jeff about how my husband punched him in the face for disobeying orders once upon a time?"
"Poor Jeff. But I'm sure that he deserved it." The wine was beginning to take its toll on the queen. "How is my brother-in-law, anyway?"
"Who's seen him lately?" Lenora took a longer sip of her pinot noir, relishing in the easy banter which she hadn't had in such a long time now. "Ever since the S.S. Defender launched, he's been at the helm in outer space, with Christiane by his side. They keep telling me that they're eventually going to make a pit stop on Arus to see you guys, but they have yet to venture into the Far Universe."
"They'd better!" Allura mock-fumed. "Christiane hasn't seen her niece and nephew in ages. And I know Keith misses her."
"I'll bet. It's nice that they've gotten close over the last few years."
"It is. How is the rest of the Vehicle Team?"
The waiter suddenly interrupted their conversation to take their food order. "I guess we'd better look at the menus," Lenora mused before settling on the grilled sea bass and vegetables. Allura chose a steak, cooked medium rare, with a salad and a baked potato. And another glass of wine, simply because she was enjoying herself.
"Now, as I was saying, about the Vehicle Team?"
Lenora nodded. "Vehicle Voltron is now based from the Defender. You may or may not know that a few cadets have come on board to fill the vacancies left by some of the original team members, Jeff included. Crik is now the official team captain, with Cliff as his second-in-command. And speaking of Cliff, you know that he and Justine have officially tied the knot, and she's aboard the ship now, too."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Allura took another sip of her wine, trying to ration what was left while waiting for her second glass. "If I remember correctly, I liked Justine the one time I met her."
"Yes, she was a great help to me. I was sad to see her leave my service." The Space Marshall shrugged. "And, as you well know, Cinda's request to transfer to Arus was finally granted, and Christiane filled her spot on Vehicle Voltron."
The queen's eyes widened. "Really? That's incredible! Keith will be so proud!"
"I'm sure. But from what I've heard, Jeff's been pulling his hair out with worry. I guess he can't handle his wife's new position."
"How do you know?"
"Jeff contacts my husband for management and leadership advice at least twice a week. Jon laughs his keister off about it. He says it serves him right for all the ulcers the original team gave him over the years."
"That is funny," Allura agreed, feeling tipsy from what she'd drunk on an empty stomach. "And what about your Albegas Team? What do you call it now, Gladiator Voltron?"
"Gladiator Voltron." Lenora disguised her emotions on the subject. "You know that the team has been on Terra for quite some time now, right?"
"No, I didn't."
"Aidan's still the team leader. He and Lisa have a baby now, a boy named AJ - Aidan Junior, naturally. And, if you can believe it, he hacked his hair off."
"NO!" Allura's green eyes went wide with disbelief at the thought of the handsome commander with the twinkling blue orbs and long blond hair chopping off his signature mane. "You're lying! I don't believe it!"
"Yes, well, he did. But don't worry, he assures me that he's still the handsomest Voltron commander that ever was and ever will be. That's why Kelly went with them to oversee the team; besides the fact that she's married to one of the pilots, she said she had to keep Aidan in line. They've all been on Terra for the past four years."
"How about Morgan and David? They're still part of Gladiator Voltron too, right?"
"Yes, absolutely. David is still piloting, Morgan is still navigating, and they're both parenting a sweet little girl named Lydia." She sighed. "Jon and I miss them every day."
"I'm sure you do."
At that moment, the waiter interrupted to serve Allura her salad and her second glass of wine. As he did so, Lenora promptly finished her pinot noir and ordered another. "Oh my, it has been so long since I've had more than one drink. But if you think about it, I haven't had any girlfriends around to share it with."
"Not to brag, but I don't have that problem," Allura confided as she speared a tomato segment with her fork. "But then again, I feel as though I've earned it. As it stands, I spent far too much time in the company of men. Er, hoodlums, as Nanny would call them."
Lenora grinned. "How are they? All of them?"
Allura's face lit up at the mention of her original Voltron Force...and her newly expanded circle. "Well, the boys are as they always are. Keith is still Captain Crankypants, even if he is commander and royal consort of Arus now. Do you know he still runs perimeter scan every morning?"
"I'm not surprised. He's too Type-A to let anyone else do it. And I don't mean that as an insult, I mean that as a compliment."
"Trust me, he takes it as a compliment, too. It's why he hasn't given up control of Black Lion yet. I don't think he trusts anyone to take over." Allura chewed for a moment, swallowing her tomato before continuing. "Hunk, on the other hand, is just about ready to give up Yellow, especially since Cinda's transfer went through."
"I'll bet. That was the happiest I've ever been at approving a transfer." Lenora grinned. "The two of them have waited long enough to be together. I'm not sure if you know, but Cinda's been in love with him practically since Day One."
"I gathered as much." Allura chewed another forkful of her salad, contemplative. "Ginger confirmed that for me."
"How's my Gingie?"
"She's great. And she's an amazing mother. I remember when Lily was born, and the guys kept snickering about whether or not she and Lance would be good parents. I was so happy that the both of them proved everybody all wrong."
Lenora smiled again, her chocolate-brown eyes glowing with pride. "I always knew Lance had it in him. Tell me, did they get married, or are they still living together happily unmarried?"
"They still abide by the belief that there's no such thing as a legal document that will make anyone stay. So no, they still don't believe in marriage. But," the queen added for emphasis, "neither one of them is going anywhere. Lance McClain and Ginger Ellington were really meant for each other."
"Well, if you'd seen them on Senior Night, you would've known it then." The Space Marshall closed her eyes for a moment, thinking back to a night when a certain young skirt-chasing cadet had plied a lovely Texan with sky-blue eyes and a halo of blond curls with Lemon Drop martinis. Things had been so much different, so much easier, then. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
"I'll bet. I've heard some stories. Hunk and Cinda have told me."
"I'm not surprised. Tell me, how is Pidge?"
"He's still doing what he does best: music, defense systems, advice. Vince and Daniel regularly hit him up for information. I guess that, since he's not only retired from Green Lion, but closer in age to them than the rest of the Force, they feel more comfortable going to him."
"Well, they're certainly not cadets anymore, that's for sure." Lenora smiled broadly. "How is my Mina?"
"She's great. If I can be honest, she may be an even better pilot for Blue Lion than I ever was. My brother Allistaire is probably looking down at both of us from the heavens, laughing at the irony." Allura's face glowed with pride over her niece. "Vince is a worthy successor to Pidge for Green Lion - that young man is simply brilliant. Daniel, on the other hand, loves piloting Red, but is eager to take over for Keith when he retires."
"The boy has a one-track mind to take over Black Lion, no?"
"He does. Though I hate to inform him, Keith has no plans for retiring any time soon."
"I didn't think he would. Keith strikes me as the type who will continue on at his post until he either dies, or the post kicks him out."
Allura laughed, loud and unapologetic. "Yes, that's my husband in a nutshell. I'm not surprised that you've got his character traits pinned down."
"Well, owing to the fact that I've known him for more than twenty years," Lenora snorted in laughter, "I'm not surprised at all."
The queen and the Space Marshall lingered over their entrées, relishing an unhurried, uninterrupted meal complete with not only adult time but girl time, which was beyond a rarity. For a moment, they weren't leaders of the universe. They were simply two regular women.
"I shouldn't be doing this," Allura admitted without regret as the waiter set down a petite flourless chocolate cake with ganache frosting and vanilla gelato on the side. "But I can't say no."
"So don't. Enjoy it." Lenora warily eyed the two glasses of port wine which also found their way onto the table. "I shouldn't be drinking so much. I can't remember the last time I drank this much in a single clip. It definitely wasn't in the past six years, that's for sure."
"No, I suppose not." The queen dug her fork into the cake and brought a piece to her lips. "Well, this is delicious. Definitely worth it. You have to try some, Len."
The Space Marshall took a sip of port. Normally, she didn't imbibe dessert wines, but she knew that the higher-than-average alcohol content would give her the courage to ask her final question. It was a topic she had avoided, but there was one more person left to inquire after.
"Allura, I have to ask...how is min elske?"
The queen looked up from the cake. "Sven is fine, Lenora," she answered kindly. "He is still married to Romelle and still the Polluxian royal consort, despite what you may have heard from Lance."
"I heard," the Space Marshall answered carefully, "that Instructor Avery, the lead navigation instructor at the Arusian Space Academy outpost, had to take the year off, and Lance - acting as a good Headmaster, of course - hired one of the best navigators in the Alliance to fill in." She dropped her gaze to the tablecloth. "I didn't ask under which circumstances Sven left Pollux. I only wanted to know how he's doing, much like the rest of the team."
"Mmm-hmm." Allura savored another forkful of chocolate cake, allowing the flavors and textures to wash over her tongue before swallowing. "Do you still love him, Len? Do you wish you had married him instead of Hawkins?"
The Space Marshall nearly choked on her port. "I love my husband," she replied at length. "I love him, I love our children, I love our life together. But every now and again, I do wonder what it might have been like if Sven had not gone to Arus. Say, if Morgan had been sent in his place."
"Now that would have been interesting. Though I'm fairly certain that none of us would be here right now had that been the case. Keith and Morgan probably would have killed each other before they even formed Voltron."
"Amen to that." Slightly embarrassed, Lenora downed the rest of the port in one gulp. "In any case, as I said before, it's just every now and again. I can't help it, sometimes I wonder about the life I would've had if things had fallen out differently. But it's not very often."
"No, I suppose not." The queen attempted to change the topic. "Speaking of, do you have any ideas for the Arusian Space Academy?"
"I put my trust in Lance. He'll let me know what needs my attention." Lenora gazed back over at her empty glass of port. "Right now, his only concern is the navigation department. He has no idea whether Instructor Avery will return after the year. In which case, should he hire Sven full-time as the replacement, or should we begin looking for another instructor?"
Nervously, Allura swallowed more cake. "If you hire Sven full-time," she began, "he would be on Arus for the length of the school year. He would not be on Pollux with his wife or child. Surely neither you nor Lance would do that to this family."
"No, I would not. It's not right to ask someone to relocate to another planet and leave his family behind." Lenora shook her head. "Gods, look at me! I can't change the subject. Blasted wine." She pushed her empty glass away from her. Immediately, images from Paris ten years earlier flooded her mind, reminding her of the man she was married to. "I'm cut off."
Allura looked amused. "You're cut off?"
"No more wine for me." Lenora smiled broadly, belying her age and rank. For a moment, she almost looked like the girl she had been at the Academy. "I can't be held responsible for whatever I might do or say if I drink anything else."
"Here. Have some dessert." The queen took a forkful of cake and passed it over to the Space Marshall, who considered it for a moment before taking a bite. "Delicious, right?"
"Definitely. It almost reminds me of Guinness cake, just a little bit sweeter and more chocolatey."
"A Guinness cake? What's that?"
"Ask Lance. He was the biggest fan." She furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "Though Jeff was, too. I remember I baked one for Morgan's twenty-first birthday. I had to bake another one the following week. But that's another story for another day."
"I wish I had been at the Academy with you guys. You all had so much fun."
"We did. We worked hard, but it was a lot of fun, too. Some of the best times of my life." My best friend lived in the same dorm room with me, the love of my life was right down the hall, and my mom was still alive. What wouldn't be great about it? "I want that for our students. I want the cadets at the Arusian Space Academy to have the same experiences. The same goes for the cadets in Tokyo, Oslo, and the other upcoming Academies."
"And if we can find a few elite cadets to pilot a few giant robots in the upcoming years," Allura winked, "that certainly wouldn't hurt."
"No. It certainly would not." She looked over her shoulder at the dining room before speaking further; luckily, it had cleared out, and very few diners were left. "I've never let my guard down, Allura. Just because it's peacetime, it doesn't mean that they aren't other threats lurking behind the scenes. There are nine other planets in the Drule Supremacy, none of whom I would put anything past. Let's not forget Queen Merla or Emperor Zeppo. Or General Soltorn, who seems to have popped up on the radar recently." She frowned. "But we can discuss all of this tomorrow, during the summit meeting."
"Let's save it for then." Allura pushed the empty dessert plate aside and reached across the table, squeezing her friend's hand. "Len, I'm glad I'm here."
Lenora squeezed back. "I'm glad you are, too."
The waiter came by with their check, not even bothering to ask if they wanted coffee or anything further. The Space Marshall picked up the check and left a rather generous tip, seeing as how they had been there for so long that it was nearly time for the restaurant to close.
As the two women stood up to leave, Allura embraced Lenora. "This was so nice. I'm so glad we had this time together before the summit. It's nice to be a normal person for a change."
"I was just thinking the same thing," the Space Marshall replied, giving her friend an extra squeeze. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
As they headed out of the restaurant, the staff locked the door behind them. The two women had indeed closed up shop.
Once she returned home, Lenora stood in her bathroom, lights on, stripping herself bare. Off came the make-up. Off came the black leather high-heeled pumps. Off came the black silk cigarette pants and the black tunic with the Dolman sleeves, the structured black bra and matching lace panties. Standing fully undressed and raw in front of her full-length mirror, she scrutinized her nearly-forty-years-old body.
There was the C-section scar, of course, much lighter in color. A few stretch marks on her lower abdomen, also faded, from being pregnant with twins. Breasts that were a bit droopy and less full from both aging and having children. Skin that was a little, well, not-so-tight, simply from being older.
Preferring not to dwell on the negatives, she moved on to inspect the rest of her body. She was still toned from yoga, which she'd practiced almost daily since graduating from the Space Academy eighteen - eighteen! - years earlier. She'd lost all of the pregnancy weight and kept it off. Her face, while not as youthful as it had been, was not terribly wrinkled, either. And her hair, though shorter and streaked with a few greys, was still thick.
Things could be worse, she decided.
She didn't dress as she shut off the bathroom light and padded across the carpeted floor to the bed. Her husband slept soundly; had been since before she even arrived home from dinner. Lifting the covers just enough to slide underneath, she pressed her body against his. Like her, he was completely undressed, and heat radiated from him.
"Hmm?" Barely awakening, he acknowledged her presence in bed with him.
"I'm home, Jon," she whispered.
"I'm glad." His eyelids flew open, and he turned to face her. "Did you have a good time?"
"I did. It was nice to get out and have dinner with a girlfriend. It's been so long."
"I know." He kissed her forehead.
She thought back to her dinner, and how nice it was to spend time with someone who regarded her solely as the Alliance head.
All of her friends, gone. Both of her previous lovers, gone. Aidan, happily married to Lisa, father to AJ, leader of the Gladiator Voltron Force and resident of Terra. Sven, married to Romelle, father to Erik, rank of commander and Polluxian royal consort. Suddenly, she felt very lucky to be married to Jonathan James Hawkins, that she was sharing her life with this one man in particular.
"Jon?"
"What is it, mon ange?"
"Je t'aime."
Even in the darkness, she could make out his smile. "Je t'aime aussi," he replied, moving his body over hers. Lowering his lips for a kiss, he added, "You are mine."
"And I wouldn't want to belong to anyone else." She kissed him back and shifted on the mattress, allowing him entrance to her body. As they made love, she really began to believe that it was much better for her to be older. Right where she was now.
Back at the hotel suite, Allura kicked off her high heels and collapsed onto the bed. She was tipsy from the wine and crashing from the sugar in her chocolate cake. Despite that, she felt alive and not the least bit tired. It had been invigorating to go out and have dinner with a girlfriend.
Play now, work later, she surmised. And she would certainly be working tomorrow at the summit meeting. That was the reason she was on Earth, after all.
Reaching over to the nightstand to grab her comm unit, she pressed the first button and waited to hear his voice.
"Lura, what are you doing awake? I know what time it is over there."
"Oh, calm down, Crankypants." She smiled to herself at the ease of their relationship; things between them were so much different now than they had been when five young, unruly space explorers landed on her doorstep. "I just got back from the restaurant. Len and I closed up shop."
"Well, that must have been fun. How's Len?"
"Good. But lonely, I think. She said that everybody is gone." Her lips thinned into a line for a moment. "Think about it: you guys are all on Arus with me. You, Pidge, Lance and Ginger, Hunk and Cinda. Sven is on Pollux. Jeff and Cliff are on the Defender. Aidan, Morgan, Kelly, and Lisa are on Terra. She's the only one out of your floor still on Earth."
"Yes, that's true." Keith spoke with nostalgia, but also with the wisdom only a man approaching the age of forty could have accumulated. "But if you think about it, Lura, we're not the same people we were back then. When we started at the Space Academy, we were all a bunch of broken misfits masquerading as cadets. Most of us had no one. We had to stick together; there was no other way to survive if we didn't become a family."
"That's so sad."
"Yes, it is. But that was a long time ago, my love. We've all moved on, married - er, okay, Lance and Ginger are a bad example - had children, set down roots elsewhere. We don't need to be a family anymore, we've each made our own."
"Hmm." The queen thought about the scope of his statement before continuing. "That may be true, Keith. But the lot of you will always be a family. None of you were related by blood. You all chose to be together, and sometimes those ties are even stronger than they would be if you shared genetic material."
"We may have all been grouped in together by Space Marshall Graham, God rest his soul, but we didn't have to get along as well as we did," he admitted. "You're right, Lura. We may have closed that chapter a long time ago, but it doesn't mean that we're not still a family."
"Exactly." She blew him a kiss. "Now, I need to get some sleep. I have a big summit meeting to attend tomorrow."
"Okay, then. Sleep well, Lura. I love you."
"I love you too, Keith."
"Let me know how the meeting goes tomorrow."
"You can't ever put your Type-A personality away, can you?" she laughed. "Of course I'll fill you in. Len gave me a little bit of forewarning tonight at dinner. The universe may not be as safe as we think it is."
"Trust me, it will never be safe. Even in peacetime, it's never one hundred percent safe. That's why we still have the three Voltron Forces."
"Precisely." She yawned. "Good night, Keith."
"Good night, Allura."
She shut off the comm and headed into the bathroom, stripping off her dress and removing her make-up. As she looked at her bare face in the mirror, her green eyes twinkled back at her, revealing a hint of the young girl she had been when she first met her husband.
Who ever would've thought that we'd all end up where we are right now?
Shoving her reflections, both literal and figurative, out of her head, she headed over to the comfortable mattress and laid her head down on the pillow. Burying herself under the covers, she longed for Keith's body next to hers. It would be a few more days, she reminded herself before drifting off to sleep, dreaming sweet dreams of her husband, children, and family.
Her extended family.
THE END