Part one of "Hurricane Nanny" vs KA... Will Coran be able to sway her into acceptance? There is of course some KA (duh), and this time Keith and Lance will get to have a little heart-to-heart.
Thank you to everyone for all the lovely reviews and encouraging words.
As always - WEP owns everything except the voices in my head... Oh and the pink pillow...
"Ach, the captain is awake and still the Princess doesn't come to dinner. She should be here eating at the table, not sitting in a hospital room eating from a tray. I don't know what has gotten into that girl!"
"Now, Nanny, you know that she has been worried about Keith and doesn't want him to have to eat alone." Coran says in an attempt to diffuse the upcoming confrontation with the governess before it starts.
"Yes, but Lance comes to get the food for her. He could stay with Keith and let Princess Allura eat properly in the dining room as befits her station. Why can't one of the boys keep him company instead?"
Coran looks around the table, aware of the uncomfortable looks on the faces of the three Voltron Force members in attendance. "Nanny, really now. This is not the time or the place for this discussion. After dinner is over, please meet me in my study and we can address your concerns privately."
"Very well."
An awkward silence sets the mood for the rest of the meal. Lance, Pidge, and Hunk eat quickly before excusing themselves from the room.
Leaving the dining room, Lance decides to head back to Keith's hospital room to see if Keith and Allura have finished eating. When he arrives, he finds that the door is still closed, so he knocks quietly to make sure not to interrupt anything. After a couple of seconds, the door opens and Allura smiles at him. "Hi Lance, c'mon in."
"I just wanted to see if you guys were done with dinner yet… Or if you'd even started for that matter…" He smirks at the princess. "Neither one of you seemed all that hungry when I brought the tray in. Well at least not for food that is..." He chuckles quietly. "It's a good thing you have a room already…"
Allura blushes bright red and refuses to meet his gaze. Keith just throws the princess's pink pillow at Lance.
"Glad to see you're feeling better, Keith, but your aim is off." Lance smirks as he hands the pillow to Keith who tucks it back behind his head. Lance pulls two chairs up next to Keith's bed and turns them to face each other. Plopping down into one, he puts his feet up on the other, crossing his legs at the ankles. "You two are going to need to have that conversation with Nanny sooner rather than later. She's really not happy that you didn't come to dinner, Princess. She started in on Coran about it. He tried to diffuse her but she just wasn't going for it. She made it quite clear that there was no reason that you had to be the one to keep our captain here company. If it was up to her, Pidge, Hunk, and I would be eating with Keith and you would be in the dining room eating with Coran as befits your station."
"I'm so sorry, Lance. Did she really make dinner that unpleasant for everyone?" Allura looks at him with concern.
"Well there wasn't a lot of lively conversation once Coran made it clear that he wasn't going to allow the discussion of who would eat where to continue. They are supposed to be meeting in his study this evening to broach the subject in private. We just ate quickly and got the heck out of Dodge." He shrugs and makes a resigned face. "It certainly wasn't a friendly and inviting place to eat, but I've survived worse."
"Hopefully Coran can talk some sense into her and then we can invite her here tomorrow morning. I don't think I'm up to facing Hurricane Nanny tonight though. That might be too much for my first day awake…" Keith gives Lance an apologetic half smile. "Heck, now that I've eaten, I'm starting to feel tired again." A yawn escapes his lips.
Allura, seated on the bed facing her captain, reaches down and caresses his cheek. "Want us to leave you for a while so you can get some rest?"
"Not yet. I like having you here keeping me company." He smiles and closes his eyes. "Stay until I fall asleep?"
"Of course. Now that I found my way into your arms, I'm in no hurry to be anywhere else." She smiles down at him fondly.
Without opening his eyes, Keith reaches out and gently pulls her down against his right shoulder.
"Should I be leaving?" Lance asks quietly.
"There's no reason you have to leave unless you want to. I just plan to lie here and rest." Keith settles his head into the pink throw pillow and hugs the princess as his breathing relaxes into the slow, steady rhythm of sleep.
Nanny walks up to Coran's study, knocks quietly, and opens the door. "You wished to see me, Coran?"
"Yes, Nanny. There are a few things that I would like to discuss with you. First, the Voltron Force has been here for a while now and they have proven their dedication to Princess Allura as well as the Arusian people. I believe they have more than earned our trust and respect. I would hope that you could show them a little more courtesy. You made them quite uncomfortable at dinner tonight when you implied that they had less right to eat in the dining room than the princess. They have shown that they are neither the ruffians nor the hooligans that you initially thought they were."
Sitting in a chair facing Coran, Nanny's face begins to grow pale and her lips compress into a thin line. "Are you seriously trying to imply that they are equals to the princess? Coran, no matter how qualified or accomplished they are at defending the planet, or the princess, they are not of her station and never could be. They are not of royal blood!"
"Nanny, Allura herself has made it very clear that she views them as her friends and equals. Thus she treats them with respect just as she expects us to. And you may have noticed that they treat her as an equal as well. They have become her friends and make her happy. Without them, she would have no one her own age with which to interact. They are good boys, Nanny; otherwise the Lions would not have accepted them. You do remember what happened when that evil Prince Bokar attempted to steal the Blue Lion don't you?"
"Ach, but Coran, can she not find more appropriate friends? These boys are commoners. They take her swimming wearing next to nothing and put her in danger in that Blue Lion. They tell her that she can and should do the things that are better done by strapping young men! Hand to hand combat indeed!"
Coran sighs. "I understand your concerns, Nanny, but please be rational about this. There are so few people her age of royal heritage for her to make friends with. These young men have proven themselves worthy and it is about time we treated them properly. They have saved all of us many times over, the least we can do is show them some respect in return. If they can be trusted to keep us safe, shouldn't we be able to trust them around the princess?"
"Very well, Coran. I will consider what you have said. Was that all you wanted to discuss?" Nanny is clearly not happy with the adviser's request and her posture makes it clear that she is ready to leave before he can further insult her sensibilities.
"Well, no actually… The other thing I wanted to bring up is of a more *delicate* nature. As I am sure you are aware, Allura has not shown the slightest bit of interest in any of the princes that we have managed to find and present to her."
"Yes and a shame too, some of them appeared to be very nice gentlemen." Nanny shakes her head sadly.
"Be that as it may, Nanny, but she did not feel comfortable with any of them. Now recently I have become aware that there is someone she does seem to have developed feelings for and it appears to be mutual." He steeples his fingers before his face, watching Nanny's expression carefully.
"Well I don't know about that, but I have noticed that she has spent entirely too much time in the hospital wing with the injured commander over the past few days." Nanny crosses her arms over her chest.
"Now Nanny, we have discussed this before. He nearly died saving her. And this isn't the first time he has been injured rescuing her. While it is part of his duty to keep her safe, I do not believe that he does so merely because he is obligated to. Keith is truly dedicated to Allura's safety and happiness. You saw how distraught he was when he brought her back after her accident the other day. I do not believe there is anything he wouldn't do if she asked it of him."
"He should be devoted to her. It is his place as captain of her defense force."
Coran closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose before continuing. "Nanny, his devotion goes beyond that. You've seen how personally he takes threats to her. We need to face the facts that he has developed feelings of affection towards her. And as evidenced by her reaction to his recent injury, she returns those feelings for him. I visited King Alfor's tomb earlier and he seems open to a union between them." He looks at Nanny waiting for his words to register.
"WHAT? The princess with a commoner! Never! It is unheard of and just not done in proper society!"
"You know that isn't true. There have been precedents set in history where the royal house has chosen to bond with someone without royal lineage. King Alfor himself believes Keith to be worthy of his daughter, and having come to know the captain, I agree with him. Would you at least be willing to spend some time speaking with them tomorrow and observing them together? I think you will be surprised at the strength and depth of the feelings that they seem to have developed."
"Ach, what is the world coming to? My baby with a commoner? It's uncivilized!"
"Nanny, don't you think that the princess has earned the right to be happy? She's lived her life facing war, the razing of her planet, and the loss of her parents. Would you also burden her by forcing her to choose a loveless marriage as well?"
"But there are rules. There are traditions. What about the princess's duty to her people?"
"Nanny, maybe it is time to build new traditions. I believe that her people would rather have a happy princess, than one who merely follows tradition blindly. And don't forget, Keith has earned a spot in the hearts of the Arusian people as well. He is almost as beloved as she is. Seeing her happy and taking steps towards building her own future will help give our citizens a sense of hope as well."
"But…" Nanny stops speaking when she sees the stern look on Coran's face.
"As much as she would like your approval, I do not think that your refusal to provide it will stop her from acting on her feelings for Keith."
Nanny huffs in response. "Fine, I will go with you to see them tomorrow, but I make no promises about allowing such behavior to be encouraged between them."
"That is all I can ask Nanny. Thank you."
Lying slouched down in one chair, his feet up on the other, Lance catches himself beginning to doze off. He looks over at the princess as she lays nestled into Keith's shoulder. Her face is against his neck, her arm draped across his collarbone with her hand resting on the pillow above his left shoulder, her fingers lost in his hair. Her breathing is steady, slow and regular. "Princess, are you still awake?" Lance whispers to her. When he doesn't get a response he chuckles quietly to himself and shakes his head. Standing up, he finds the extra blanket that he had brought in the day before and drapes it over her sleeping form. As he does so, he notices that Keith's arms are gently wrapped around her waist, his fingers interlocked on her hip. Smiling, he bends down and kisses Allura's temple. "Sleep well, guys."
As he turns to leave the room, he is surprised to hear Keith's voice respond to him quietly. "Thanks for supporting her through the last few days, Lance. I really appreciate it."
He turns around in the doorway shrugging. "Sure thing, Keith, you know I'll always be here for either of you. But, shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"Yeah, I was. Well, dozing more. It's hard to stay asleep. When I move at all it hurts and I wake up."
"You're still in too much pain to stay asleep? Want me to ask the nurse to bring you something?"
"Not yet, I'm just enjoying the moment." He looks down at the princess sleeping in his arms and a warm smile forms on his lips. "Never thought I'd ever be able to do this with her."
"Well, you do still have to deal with Nanny and convince her about this, so you're not out of the woods yet."
"Yeah, though both Coran and King Alfor have given their OK on this, so either Nanny will come around or she won't. I don't think that Allura… or I… will give up on this based on Nanny's approval or lack thereof. It's taken too much to get here…"
Lance snickers at his commanding officer. "Yeah, you only had to nearly get yourself killed for it to happen."
"C'mon Lance, I've been injured protecting her before. Was this time that much worse?" He searches his second's face for the answer.
"Yeah, it was Keith. When we first got you in here, we weren't sure you were going to make it this time. You looked like hell, heck you looked worse than hell… Allura was beside herself, she didn't eat unless I threatened her. She only slept when she literally passed out against the side of your bed. If you hadn't made it, I think she would have just shut down. I don't think she would have been consolable." He shakes his head slowly. "The only thing that kept her going was the hope that you would wake up again. I wasn't kidding when I said that she wouldn't leave your side. She spent three days in here crying, holding your hand, and murmuring to you. I've never seen her like that, and to be honest I never, ever want to see her like that again."
"I had no idea… I thought she always just saw me as her friend and commanding officer. I refused to even let myself hope that she might ever feel something for me." He looks at the woman sleeping against him and tenderly kisses her forehead. Sighing contentedly, he turns his eyes back to the man sitting before him. "So how are you, Pidge, and Hunk holding up? I can't imagine that her accident and then my *ahem* near death experience…" Keith smirks at Lance before continuing. "have been easy on the three of you…"
"We're alright, glad that you are both still around and on the mend. I won't deny that there hasn't been a lot of adrenaline coursing through us recently. Though now that you're awake and improving, I think we're all going to experience an adrenaline crash soon. We should all get a good night's sleep tonight though. Starting to feel it myself now. I think my bed's callin' my name. Unlike your princess, *I* have no intention of sleeping here in a chair by your bedside captain. Need anything before I go?"
Keith frowns and sighs. "As much as I hate to say it, pain meds would be great right about now. Even if they lace them with sedatives."
Lance stands up and stretches. "You got it." He stifles a yawn and then points to the bedside table. "I left your communicator in there. Call me if you need anything. See ya in the morning." He walks to the door waving over his head at the man behind him.
