Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron or any of its characters.

All errors belong to me alone. ;-D

Sequel to "Saved from the Queen by the Princess." You don't have to read that one first, but events are referenced from the story.

Setting/Rating: Setting is DotU but none of the events took place. I just picture them as 80s DotU and none of the stuff from VF has occurred. Rating is T for kissing and mild violence in later chapters. First few chapters are on the fluffier side...

Chapter 2

An hour later they were sitting on a grassy hill that overlooked what could only be called a bubbling brook. The water sparkled and danced as it traveled over the rocks in the streambed. The sound of the flowing water was peaceful and hypnotic to the young couple that stood on the hillside. Keith had just finished tying up the horses in the nearby shade of a tree grove. Coming to stand beside Allura, he didn't know if he should sit or wait for her. An internal sigh released in him when she sat down and patted the grass beside her.

Smiling up at Keith, Allura leaned back propping on her elbows, closing her eyes, and tilting her face back to catch the heat of the sun.

Keith couldn't help but stare. She was beautiful. She had changed out of the voluminous pink gown into a lavender and brown riding outfit complete with brown leather boots. He had no idea a riding outfit could be so sexy. He saw her open an eye and look at him. Sitting down hurriedly and resting his arms on his knees, he spoke, "I haven't been to this spot before. It's beautiful."

Keeping her eyes closed as she soaked in the sun, Allura responded, "My father brought me here as a child. The last time I came out here was two years before you came and I was devastated by how it looked." A frown formed on her face. "The brook was muddy, the leaves on the trees had blight, the grass was dry and patchy, and you couldn't hear or see a bird anywhere. I couldn't bear to come here again and see it that way."

Hearing the sorrow in her voice, Keith reached out to put his hand over hers.

Allura looked at him and her frown turned to a smile. "It's okay." Using her other hand, she indicated the beauty around them. "Just look at it now. It's beautiful, and I probably could have come here months ago."

He looked at her curiously. It had sounded as if she was going to say more. "But…"

Turning her head slowly to look up him, she softly said, "But I wanted to come here with someone special. I wanted to share this moment and this place with you. I waited until I thought you were ready." Her heart was beating incredibly fast and she could hardly breathe. She had laid her heart out in the open and he wasn't doing anything but staring at her. "Well! Say something!"

Looking into her eyes, he couldn't think of anything to say. Seeing the hurt forming in her eyes, he answered her the only way he could at the moment. Keith's body moved quickly, causing Allura to let out a startled, "Oh!" as his weight pinned her to the damp ground. Taking one last look in her eyes, and seeing nothing to stop him, his mouth claimed hers. Lance often accused him of thinking too much, so this time he didn't; he went with his feelings.

When Keith had pinned her to the ground, she had been startled. She was just getting ready to get up in frustration when it happened. Allura had seen the hesitation in his eyes as he lay on top of her, but then he seemed to realize that she wasn't resisting and began kissing her. Lost in the sensation and feelings of his body pressing against hers and the feel of his mouth on hers and then on her neck, she moaned. The pleasurable sensations abruptly stopped and her body felt cool indicating that he had sat up.

Breathing heavily, Keith sat with his eyes closed. He had been caught up in the moment, in the feel of her soft body responding to his. As he was trailing kisses down her neck, she moaned and it had brought him to his senses. Keith ran a hand through his hair and spared a quick look to the still supine figure of Allura. What was she thinking?

Even though her eyes were barely cracked, Allura had seen the nervous gesture that Keith made and his quick glance at her. She knew that the intense kiss had probably surprised him more than it had her. If she wanted to have more moments like this with him, and indeed she wanted a lot more moments like these, she needed to assure him now. Rolling to her side to face him, she spoke. "Keith."

Drawing a breath, he looked down at her as she lay propped on one arm. Her arm extended up toward him and he lay on his side, mirroring her position. Looking into her eyes, he said, "I hope you didn't mind that." From her physical response he knew that she hadn't minded, but he needed to hear it.

A huge grin broke across Allura's face as she changed her position and pinned him to the ground. They were both smiling as she leaned down to claim his lips. When she broke for a breath, she said, "I think you can safely assume that I didn't mind that all." She took her fingers and brushed his dark hair back off his forehead. "I've waited sooooo long to be able to do that."

Keith reached up to tuck an errant curl behind her ear. "I've waited just as long to do that." Feeling slightly goofy as he gazed up at her, he pulled her down for another kiss. When he felt his control slipping, he pushed her away slightly and sat up.

They sat side by side, facing each other with their legs touching. Allura knew he had stopped kissing her for a reason and she was willing to wait for him to answer.

Keith picked a blade of grass and ran it between his fingers. "This is moving pretty fast." He stopped when he heard Allura make a snorting sound. Smiling at her he qualified, "Well, now that it's moving, it's moving pretty fast."

"I'll agree to that statement." Allura saw him smile but she sensed he was getting nervous.

Keith looked down, "I know we both have feelings for each other, but…."

A worried look appeared on Allura's face, "But what, Keith?"

Still playing with the blade of grass, but looking her in the eyes, he responded. "You haven't had many boyfriends. Hell, you probably haven't had any and you probably haven't ever kissed like that. I don't want to take advantage of you." Keith saw he had her full attention. "I'm the leader of the team that resurrected Voltron." Looking around at the beauty of the place they were in, he said, "Voltron has made this place whole again." He looked down at the blade of grass and threw it to the side and took her hands in his. "Your feelings for me may be because of what I've done for your planet. And as much as I…" His eyes dropped to their hands and then back to her eyes, "As much as I care about you, I won't let you throw your life away on a crush."

Pulling a hand from his, she reached up to touch his face. "I figured you might think such things. It's the kind of man you are. I will wait as long as it takes to convince you that my feelings are real and not some crush of a lonely, boy-crazed girl." Keith hadn't surprised her. She had been trying for months to figure out reasons he might hide his feelings and these were some reasons she had come up with herself. And, to give him credit, they did make sense. He was wrong, of course; she knew her own mind and feelings.

Keith looked at her in surprise and confusion and took her hand that was touching his face. "You're not upset at me?" He saw her smile and shake her head. Letting out the breath he was holding, he said, "I'm glad. I just want to take things slow."

"I'll take things as slow as you want. I'm not going anywhere." The conversation was going well as far as Allura was concerned. "It's probably best to go slow anyway because of Coran and Nanny." She started laughing as she saw a look of horror come over Keith's face when she mentioned Nanny's name. "Oh, come on, she'll come around!"

Keith smiled ruefully as he shook his head. "She'll come around by taking a frying pan to my head. That's how she'll come around!" He laughed as he said it, but he felt it wasn't far from the truth. Nanny had her own plans for the princess and a GA commander wasn't in those plans. Plus, Nanny knew about Allura rescuing him from Merla. Nanny had practically pulled Allura from the shuttle when they returned. Even though Keith had been fully clothed in the shuttle, Nanny had tried to put her hands over Allura's eyes. Nanny had talked about unseemly behavior and proper attire around a princess. He smiled thinking about it. Looking at Allura he said, "You should tell Nanny to plan a ball."

"What?! Are you crazy? It will send her into wedding overload if I tell her I want to have another ball. You know that she'll be parading every eligible prince in front of me and telling me all the things they have to offer Arus." Laughter had been in her voice when she said it, but now she saw that Keith was serious. "You want me to meet those princes, don't you?"

Standing up, Keith reached down and pulled Allura up into his arms. "I don't want you to. I think you need to. You need to see all your options and not just go with the first semi-eligible bachelor that wants to be with you."

Allura wrapped her arms around him and smiled. "Well, actually, you would be the second. I think Lotor was the first."

Laughing at her, he responded, "I said 'semi-eligible.' Lotor is neither eligible nor even semi-eligible. He doesn't even count!"

"Okay. Lotor doesn't count." With a sigh escaping her lips, she replied, "Okay. I'll mention it to Nanny. But don't blame me when she makes you dress up for the ball."

As she laid her head on his chest, Keith gazed out over the idyllic scene before him. The ball would be torture for him. What if she did find some eligible prince to love? Squeezing her tight, he thought about having to watch her fall in love with another man. It was going to kill him, but he had to know that she had looked at other options and still found it in her heart to love him.