Author's Note: If you want more background, either before or after reading this chapter I refer you to Chapter 19 of 'All the Right Moves'. It has the reference to why Vince is so uncomfortable around Pidge, as well as some of Allura's thoughts on Keith's return.

KathDMD & Lance4Ever: Yes, our boy is very good at being wicked! Glad you all enjoyed the last chapter.

The First Day Back – Part Two

Breakfast was finishing up in the pilot's room, and Keith could not have been happier. Keith had gotten to breakfast first, having already worked out and read all of Lance's reports. He'd done a good job with the training, Keith thought, glad that the team had been in good hands.

Hunk came into breakfast next and Keith braced himself for complaints, based on what Lance had said. It turned out not to be as bad as he had anticipated. Hunk understood the purpose of the drill, he and Yellow had just not liked switching every day. Otherwise, Hunk thought that Lance had done a good job, but it was good to have Keith back.

Just as Hunk finished his story, Daniel and Vince came in to the room. Keith found it quite unnerving that they could reach each other's minds, and communicate without talking. They did seem glad to see Keith though, and asked questions about the Chapter House. As they were talking, Larmina came in looking wonderful. Her hair was up in a French braid, with the darker red pieces intertwining with the flame colored ones. She was smiling, and glowing like the morning sun.

Keith groaned inwardly as he watched Vince look at her, and then he saw Daniel get an annoyed look on his face. She went over and sat next to Hunk, and said hello to Keith. He was glad that everything that worked out with Pidge, Hunk, and Larmina. Keith had not realized that Vince liked her that much, and for a brief moment he felt sorry for Daniel, having to put up with Vince's unrequited love and lust. A man's fantasies should really stay private was his thought.

As he was thinking that, Pidge came in looking like a man who had everything he'd ever wanted. Keith wanted to laugh at the subterfuge that Pidge and Larmina were putting on. Everyone knew they were sleeping together, with Pidge spending almost every night in Larmina's room. He wondered what Allura's thought's on it were, hoping that she had come around about the relationship.

The rest of breakfast was spent catching up on what had been happening. Lance never showed up for breakfast, and Keith wondered if he was eating with Allura. He then put that thought out of his mind, not wanting to go there. If he was going to get through this, he could not be speculating on what Lance and Allura were doing. He had his own life to work on, and didn't need the distraction.

Instead he watched Vince look longingly at Larmina, while avoiding Pidge's eye. He seemed very uncomfortable around his idol, and at the back of his mind, Keith wondered why. He didn't think the team needed another romantic triangle, and wondered if he should talk to Vince?

A week ago he would have turned the talk over Lance, but now he saw that he was probably the better person to do it. Keith knew if the haggerium infection was going to be solved, Pidge and Vince needed to be working together. He sighed, and wished he had made his appointment with Allura earlier than he had, or maybe have suggested breakfast together.

Keith now made his way upstairs, and presented himself to Rigsby, glad to see that the man was in a better mood than last week. He greeted the sentry, who asked him how his trip had been. They chatted for several minutes before Allura buzzed Rigsby that the Commander could come in.

Rigsby was in a good mood, because of how things had worked out. He had gone from sure that he was going to be fired, because of Commander McClain, to drinking champagne to celebrate the man's engagement to Her Majesty. Rigsby would never know the details, but he saw everything and was good at reading between the lines.

While Keith was outside talking to Rigsby, Allura was sitting at her desk pretending to work. Instead she was thinking about her morning with Lance. It had been wonderful to have him wake her up, and wished they could have done more besides just have breakfast together. She was wondering if she would get any work once they were married. Allura was also concerned about the conversation they'd had about Keith. She took a deep breath and buzzed Rigsby.

"Good morning Allura. You look lovely." Keith said, meaning every word of it. Her gold hair was pulled back with her cornet, and her dark blue eyes were sparkling. She had on a red knit dress, trimmed in white, which was very becoming. He had never seen her wear red before, but noticed how well it set off her hair and eyes.

She looked a lot more rested, and relaxed than she'd had last week, or even in a long time. Keith knew when they had talked last she had been upset about Larmina, but even before the accident Allura had looked tense for quite a while. Now though, she looked happy; like a woman in love. The thought made Keith sad that he hadn't made he look like that. Remembering that that was part of the reason he was here, he sighed to himself.

"Hello Keith. Welcome back. How was your visit to the Chapter House?" Allura asked him, as she indicated the chair by her desk for him to sit. She had decided against the sofa, not wanting to remind him of the talks they used to have about Arus. Keith told her what he'd learned about his family, including the so called death of his Father. Keith told her about the estate, and the title, but stated that he wasn't going to pursue it.

"I understand your reasoning Keith. However, if your Aunt died with no issue the title is yours, whether you use it or not. You might not care about it, but you can't make that decision." Allura stopped, all set to bring up the point of his descendents. She decided that having broken the man's heart, she didn't need to be talking children with him.

"Allura, we can certainly discuss it again if I want to. Right now though I really want to focus on what happened with my Father." Keith told her, wanting to get off the subject. He didn't see that the title mattered, because he was sure he was never going to have anyone to pass it down to. He decided he wanted to get down to what he had come to talk to her about.

"My time up on the mountain was a good experience for me, Allura. It gave me a lot of time to think about things, and especially about you." Keith said, and went on. "I would like to apologize for how I acted when you told me about your decision. I didn't handle it well, and got very angry which I know upset you. I understand that you and Lance love each other, and as I said in my note to you, I will honor that." He wanted to see what her reaction to his statement was, so he waited.

"Keith, thank you for that, and for your letter. It was very generous of you to do, under the circumstances. I won't lie to you, I was shocked by your reaction, and the anger I saw in you. Thinking about it later, I can understand why the news was so upsetting to you." Allura had decided not to bring up what Lance had told her about Keith's parents, and just wanted to concentrate on their relationship.

"Allura, I have something I want to ask you about, and you can always tell me it is none of my business if you want. The coverage of the engagement was the biggest news story in the Galaxy, and I saw a lot of pictures of you and Lance." Keith stopped, to collect his thoughts. "You and Lance did a great deal of things together while I was gone, but it all stopped after I came back. Why?"

"Are you asking if it was because of you Keith?" She looked at the man opposite her, wanting to make sure she knew what he was asking.

"Yes Allura, I am. I had a lot of time to reflect the last week, and I know that I have made a great many mistakes in my dealings with people, and especially with you. I don't want to cast blame; I just want to understand for future reference." He explained, hoping that she believed him. Keith also hoped she would tell him the truth, so he would know he hadn't been totally wrong.

"It was because of my teenage crush on you. I was fifteen when I first met you, and you were so handsome and strong, come to save my kingdom. It was my favorite fairy tale come to life, and I fell for it hard." Allura smiled at the memory of that day on the stairs. She said "The next three years were incredible, life changing and a big part of it was because of you. You made me do things I'd never thought I could do, and I have to say thank you for that."

"When did it change for you?" Keith asked her, touched at what she had said about his influence on her. He saw her give him a sad smile.

"Keith, I understand now why you left the way you did, but still wished you would have said something to all of us before you left. As it was, we were left to deal with the fall-out from your decision. Hunk and Pidge had to put up with being demoted, Lance had to make nice to Wade, and I came home to rebuild Arus." She stopped, wanting what she was saying to sink in.

"The five years you were gone, we grew up and our lives moved on without you. Yes, Pidge was running the Den, and helping you, but he, along with Lance and Hunk, were also helping me rebuild Arus. Our relationships all changed with each other as that occurred." Allura hoped that he would see what had happened.

"Lance was very good company for you, as well as a big help, right?" Keith asked, knowing the answer already.

"He was, but I still had feelings for you Keith. I'm not going to deny it, and he was aware of it." Allura told him. Lance had told her that he had almost spoken up several times, but was afraid she was in love with Keith.

"Lance has already told me his thoughts when I first came back. What were your thoughts?" Keith asked as he looked at the beautiful, self-possessed woman sitting across from him. He thought about her at fifteen, and now, and realized how right Sir Roulf had been.

"At first I was so excited to see you Keith, because I still had those feelings from that teenage crush." Allura had thought confessing it would be hard, but it was more like dropping a heavy bag she'd been carrying around for a long time. Allura looked at him, and saw how handsome he was, in spite of the faint lines around his eyes.

"The thing was Keith; I wasn't a teenager anymore, but a woman. I kept on expecting something more from our talks, especially after we found out about your heritage, but it never happened." Allura told him, and added "We weren't the same people we had been five years ago."

"I see that now, but didn't a week ago. However, if I'd come back and told you that I loved you, what would you have done?" Keith asked, getting down to the big question.

Allura was glad that she and Lance had talked already, because otherwise she would have been blindsided by Keith's question. She would never have thought he would put all pieces together like he'd done. Maybe Lance was right, she mused; maybe the knights gave him a brain transplant.

"I would have been overjoyed, and swept off my feet Keith. But it would not have lasted, and I would have ended up very lonely, working way too much. You would have ended up miserable, and neither one of us would have understood why." Allura told him calmly.

"Keith, I didn't understand about what love was until last week. Larmina and Pidge showed me that, and I almost hurt them very badly. Lance made me understand why I was wrong, and how I was hurting myself too." She was still amazed at what Lance had done for her, and she had another thought.

"I was very bitchy, and very stupid Keith. It affected everyone, including you, and it wasn't fair of me. If I had understood six months ago what I understand now, we would not be having this conversation." Allura said to him.

"Allura, we've needed this conversation for a long time now. I was just too scared and angry to have it before. I knew that you had a crush on me, and I never did anything about it. I didn't encourage it, but I didn't discourage it either. In my mind you were the beautiful young princess on the staircase, and I never saw you in any other way." Keith told her in a heartfelt voice.

"Thank you for telling me the truth about your feelings, Allura. It makes it easier for me to understand why everything has happened as it has." He said with a small smile. Yes, the truth hurt as Sir Roulf had said, but it also kept you clean. "Lance has asked me to be his best man; are you all right with that?"

"Keith, I'm glad that your friendship with Lance is intact. I know how much you mean to each other, and I would never have forgiven myself if I had been the cause of it ending. Thank you for saying yes to him." Allura said with relief.

"I won't lie, things are going to be a little awkward for a bit, but as I said to Lance, we will get through it." Keith told her with a sigh. They spent another fifteen minutes talking about what was happening on Arus, and then he excused himself. After he was gone she smiled as she realized that this time she didn't need a drink, like she'd needed after her earlier conversations with Keith.