Kleenex rating of 0.

Just a couple little scenes. One to set the stage, and one totally fluffy K&A scene.

Any mistakes are mine, and my beta reader fell to real life. So, please bear with my rough writing!

I think I responded to all the reviews, but if I missed you, apologies.

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November 2709

Skeith walked into the castle reception and gave his name to the young man at the desk. "Someone will be here to escort you to the hospital wing, shortly. Would you care to have a seat?"

"Thank you, I prefer to stand."

"As you wish, sir."

The receptionist turned back to answering calls. Skeith wandered around the room, looking at the artwork, casually bobbing up and down on the balls of his feet. In just a few minutes, he heard footsteps and turned to see a person in medical scrubs walking into the room.

"Witch Skeith? If you would please come with me, I will escort you to our hospital wing. Dr. Gorma is eager to speak with you."

The two walked down the hallway, making small talk about the journey. After a few minutes, Skeith's escort knocked on a door and announced him to the occupant. With a generic, "Have a good day," the escort walked down the hallway and Skeith entered the room.

Inside, Dr. Gorma had already started walking to the doorway, "My old friend!" The two hugged and laughed, exchanging pleasantries. They went to sit at the conversation area rather than the formality of the desk area. Mikhail poured them both a cup of tea and sat back with the saucer in hand and one leg crossed over the other. "Sarah is well? And the children. Hmmm, not so much children now."

The witch shook his head, "Sarah does well. She keeps busy with the crèche and the lessoning. I thank the Goddess daily for the blessing of her. She has such a way with the younger ones of helping them into their power without fear. The children, well. Gorand has promised hand-fasting this spring. Liliah expects our first grandchild, and Magdalena looks to her final testing. Ah, Mikhail, they grow so quickly."

Gorma smiled, "Hand-fasted! And I thought he would never grow out of the 'girls have cooties' phase!" Both men laughed and then sobered.

"How bad is it?"

"He is dying. Very slowly. No test shows anything at all, just small things wrong. Nothing out of the ordinary taken individually, but together. . ." Gorma just shook his head. "I think he knows it too. Last night he agreed to a mild sleeping aid and supplemental oxygen without a fuss. As far as I can tell, he has slept nearly 16 hours now. In the three years since the original team arrived, I have never seen him acquiesce so easily. He has gone from being one of my worst patients to the best one you could ask for, and is actually volunteering information instead of hiding things." Gorma hesitated a moment before continuing, "In the last year, the Commander and the Princess have grown remarkable close. The castle staff is rooting for them to make things official. I think this is the push behind the commander's cooperation."

Skeith closed his eyes for several minutes. The doctor took the opportunity to refill his cup and eat one of the biscuits. He had grown accustomed to the way his oldest friend would stop to ponder and look for connections before asking questions or answering them. The trait used to drive Mikhail to distraction, but age and medicine had taught him patience.

"I think I need to meet this young man before I see the tests and diagnostics you have run. That way it does not prejudice me to thinking in one particular fashion. Do you think he could meet us after he wakes?"

Gorma nodded, "I will leave a message for him to do so. Since he has not fully recovered, I have kept him on desk duty. The commander chafes at the inactivity, but has mostly complied with my orders."

The two turned to discussing other topics, enjoying their reunion.

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Keith slowly awakened to the sound of tuneless humming. Smiling, he stretched, and opened his eyes. At his desk, he saw Allura sitting and working on the endless reports and paperwork accompanying her position as ruler of Arus. Taking a breath, he realized it barely hurt and he did not feel as tired for once. Taking off the oxygen tubing, he looped it over the machine and turned the flow off. At the cessation of sound, Allura turned around with a smile.

"Well, look who decided to join the world of the living."

Carefully moving to an upright position, Keith patted the bed next to him. "Good morning, beloved. You are the very best sight to wake to."

Allura moved to sit beside Keith the bed, "Flatterer." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. "Feeling better?"

Keith reached out and captured her hand, holding against his bare chest, waggling his eyebrows, "You tell me. How do I feel today?"

Laughing, Allura freed her hand and ran it over Keith's chest. "Skinny. Nanny is going to have a field day with you if you do not start putting on some weight."

With a dramatic sigh, Keith covered his eyes with his left arm. "Whoever shall save me from the wrath of Magda?"

"Make you a deal. Go shower, and I will let her know you have finally woken. Anything sound good to eat?"

The man pondered for a moment, "Oatmeal and fruit? And coffee. Please let there be coffee!" Swinging his feet to the side, Keith stood and stretched his arms above his head. He yelped as Allura gave him a swat on the bottom.

"Go, oh stinky one! Coffee will be waiting when you come out!"

Keith walked to the small en suite bathroom his rank granted him, leaving the door open so he could talk with Allura. They discussed the requests had come in overnight that Allura would have to deal with personally. As the planet recovered, the castle staff had expanded in order to take care of the increasing amount of bureaucracy that came with governing a planet. Over the last few years, a hierarchy had developed of what Allura needed to deal with personally as the ruler of Arus, and what could be handled at a lower level. Keith had developed something similar on the military side. Lance had taken on the task of organizing and delegating the everyday tasks of military life. To the surprise of everyone except Keith, Lance had taken to the job and excelled. The Arusian military began to grow and expand through the training program developed by the Voltron Force. Next, they hoped to train more pilots to the lions do decrease the dependence on just a few people. Allura had already agreed to step down from her role as principal pilot as soon as they found a suitable replacement. She did not wish to stop piloting completely, but the demands of ruling meant concessions on piloting.

As Keith stepped into the shower, he mused on how their lives had changed over the last few years on Arus. Although still technically Garrison soldiers, Keith, Lance, Hunk, and Darrell had received permanent postings to Arus. They answered to the Arusian Military command structure and stood outside the normal Garrison structure. Keith had worked closely with Galaxy Garrison to create military protocol and rules that fit in with the Arusian society. At 24, he held the position of authority over the Arusian military. It put him equal in rank to the men and women at Galaxy Garrison who had soldiered longer than he had lived.

Nothing compared to the relationship he had built with Allura. In the nearly three years the group had spent on the planet, they had built something to last for the rest of their lives. Now that Doom had fallen, he and Allura would finally have a chance to let that relationship grow and prosper in the open.

Exiting the shower and quickly dressing, he walked into his room toweling his hair, the smell of brewed coffee filling his senses. "Ahh, do I smell ambrosia?"

Allura handed him a cup and he allowed the fragrance to start to wake his brain.

"Now, what is on the agenda for today since I slept," he paused as he looked at the clock. "Noon? I slept nearly 18 hours?" Blinking rapidly, he looked over at his message pad and saw he had nearly 100 messages waiting for responses. With a sigh, he took a sip of his coffee and a bite of oatmeal and settled in to catch up on his correspondence.

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2709 July Serena/Hunk Wedding

2709 October Overthrow of 1st Doom, Keith's infection

2709 November Initial meeting with Gorma and Skeith