Author's Note: I know that many of you are wondering who Allura will choose. In this chapter she makes her choice, and redeems herself. I can hardly wait to read the comments from this chapter! Enjoy!
Awakenings
Allura sat down in the tomb for another hour, before it all came clear in her mind. Now she was on her way to put into action her decision. She decided to go by sick bay, to see if Larmina was awake yet. When she entered the room, she saw that Pidge was asleep in the chair, by Larmina's bed.
She walked over to the supply closet and getting a blanket went to put it on him. He woke up and saw her standing above him, covering him with the blanket. "I think it is customary to kill the person, and then wrap them in a shroud, not the other way around, Allura." Pidge was in fact very worried about what she was going to do, based on her actions over the last day or so.
"I don't think Larmina would be too pleased with me if I killed the man who loves her, who is going to marry her!" Allura declared, and then in a softer voice said "Pidge, I've been a total idiot, and very unfair and cruel. I am so sorry for what I did, and said. I hope that at some point you will forgive me." Allura had decided to say nothing about what she had seen in Larmina's bedroom. She knew that she'd had no business being in there snooping. Allura also remembered what her Father had said, about them.
Pidge looked at her, standing there with sorrow in her eyes, and knew that she meant it. He smiled, knowing what a good person she was, underneath it all. Pidge knew that she had been trying to look out for her niece, in her own stubborn, misguided way. He looked at her and said "Thank you Allura, I appreciate that. I know what it must be costing you to say that."
Allura said "Larmina is my only family, and when I realized that she might die, and our last words had been in anger, it made me see how stupid I had been. I thought I was caring for her, but I really wasn't thinking of her, just of me." Pidge was very impressed with what she had just admitted. He said "When Larmina wakes up I think she would like to hear that from you."
When Pidge said that, Allura got a rueful smile and said "I can see how much you love and care about Larmina. I should not have reacted the way I did, when I found out that you were involved with her." She took a deep breath and said "I didn't listen to what she was trying to tell me. And I have not been as appreciative as I should be; for all that she does for me. Pidge, you told me that you two were engaged, and I am very happy for you, and will give you my blessing."
Pidge said "Yes, I want to marry her and have wanted to for a while. However, she has this idea in her head that you have to get married first!" Allura got a big smile on her face and said "Oh, I'm hoping to be engaged by lunch! However, if it doesn't work out, I will talk to her and explain that you love her and she should not worry about me!" Pidge looked at her wide eyed for a minute and then gave her a hug saying "Thank you! And best wishes!" Allura hugged him back and then excused herself.
Larmina stirred just then and managed to croak out "Pidge?" He saw her beautiful turquoise eyes open and he almost burst into tears as he said "Mina, you're awake!" Pidge went to hug her, and then remembered her injuries, so he took her hand instead. He gave her some water, and then she asked "Did I just see you and my Aunt hugging?"
Pidge laughed and said "Yes, you did. We had a nice talk about her behavior, and I know she is going to want to apologize to you too." Larmina tried to sit up, so Pidge helped her, as she winced in pain. "Between feeling like this, and my Aunt apologizing, this has to be a dream!" Pidge told her what had happened in the battle, and about her being injured. She saw how scared he had been when they thought she might die.
"Pidge, I love you so much!" She told him, squeezing his hand. Pidge smiled and said "I love you to, and when you are able to get around I will do a romantic proposal!" Larmina looked at him and he said "I want to marry you, and your Aunt is very happy about it!" She said "But she needs to get married first, otherwise it will look weird!"
He laughed and said "Just before she left Allura said that she would be engaged by lunch!" Larmina looked shocked and said "To whom?" Pidge thought about that for a minute and then said "I didn't ask, and she didn't say!" He went on "Honey, I really don't care at this point!" Pidge reached over and kissed her very softly.
Allura walked down to the pilots' quarters and stopped in front of a door. It was around 6:00am and she knew he would be in his room. She punched the override code into the lock, and entered the room. After the door shut she locked it again, not wanting to be interrupted.
After the talk with her Father, and the time of sitting in the tomb thinking, she knew what she needed to do. Allura hoped that he would understand, and that he would still want her, in spite of her behavior. However, she was prepared if he said no. Not knowing was worse than wondering.
She looked at the man sleeping in the bed and smiled. She noticed his fine features which were relaxed right now. Allura went to go put her hand on his shoulder, to wake him up, and noticed that he didn't have a shirt on. She wondered if he slept without any clothes on. Feeling rather nervous, she reached her hand down and touched his skin. She was amazed at how warm he was, and let her fingers caress his skin.
"Mmm, if I'm having a dream I don't want to wake up!" Lance declared, opening his eyes and seeing Allura standing by his bed. Her hand was on his shoulder, and her soft fingers were lightly touching his skin. Allura looked into his soft brown eyes, and said "No, it is not a dream! I'm here and I want to talk to you."
Lance sat up in bed, and she was able to see his entire chest. Allura had always known he was well muscled, but seeing him now she was impressed. She was also feeling breathless as she looked at him, and she had a great desire to run her hands over his muscles. He moved over, so there was room on the edge of the bed, for her to sit.
"Have a seat, Allura." He said with a grin on his face, as he saw a flash of trepidation cross her face. Lance had to give her credit though; she came and sat on the bed. "I'm guessing this is about yesterday?" Lance asked. She was trying not to think about how intimate it was, to be sitting on the bed with him, especially since he didn't have a shirt on.
"I need to say thank you to you, for what you did yesterday. I was wrong to have done what I did, and you were right to call me on it." Allura said in a low voice. Lance said "Darling, in my neck of the woods, you would have been referred to as a bitch with teeth." Allura looked surprised and then said "I deserve that, I really do!"
She hung her head, thinking about her behavior and how much hurt she had caused. Lance reached over and took her hand in his, as she looked up. Allura was having a major case of butterflies, from his holding her hand and how close she was to him.
Lance asked "So what are you going to do about it?" She looked him in the eye and said "I have already had a nice talk with Pidge, and apologized for what I did and what I said. He was very kind and accepted my apology, but he did say that I needed to tell Larmina what I had told him."
Lance nodded his head and squeezed her hand, and then asked "What are you going to do about them sleeping together?" He was very curious to see what she said, based on how she had reacted yesterday. Allura lifted her chin and said "Nothing! It is none of my business! I should not have been snooping in her room." She stopped and then said "Only you and my Father know about that, and I'd like to keep it that way!"
"Darling, I'll keep your secret, but I don't think you should lecture Larmina about her eavesdropping anymore though!" Lance laughed, and Allura went on "She and Pidge love each other very much, and that is all that I need to know. I did tell Pidge he had my blessing to marry her."
Lance said "Pidge told me that Larmina thought you should get married first, before she did!" Allura took a deep breath and said "Yes, about that. My Father and I had a long talk on that subject." Lance said "Really? What brought it up?" He knew Allura talked to her Father, but didn't understand the mechanics of how it worked.
Allura took a deep breath and said "It was partly the situation with Larmina, and what happened with us, yesterday in the study." She looked at him, waiting to see his reaction. Lance got a grin on his face and said "Did you tell your Father that I stormed into your study, and got very angry with you?" She wasn't sure why he was looking so pleased about that, and asked him.
"I'm rather curious to what he said about my behavior." Lance said, and waited. "He thought that you had done the right thing, and that you are loyal to your teammates. He also said you are man of strong opinions who is not afraid to speak his mind." He laughed and said "I always figured your Daddy was a smart man!"
"Lance, I need to ask you something, about what you said yesterday." Allura stopped, and saw that he was watching her very intently. "Ask away!" Lance declared, remembering what he had told her yesterday. He was afraid to even hope it might be what he wanted it to be.
"Yesterday you said that you loved me; did you mean it?" He took her other hand with his, and held them together. "Allie, I love you very much! And I have for a long time. I almost said something once or twice, on one of my visits, but then was scared you didn't feel the same way. I didn't want to ruin our friendship." She looked into his eyes, and asked "You still love me, in spite of the way I have been acting?"
Lance tilted his head and gave her a wicked grin! "Allie, I know who you are, and what you are, and it doesn't bother me in the least!" Allura was puzzled, and Lance saw that. He said "I'm your friend, and we have always been ourselves with each other. You know how wild I can be, and it has never stopped you from being my friend. I know that you can be a bitch, but I also know how caring you are, and how much fun you can be, when you get away from the whole royalty thing. That is what I love about you!"
She smiled and said "It's been a long time since we have done anything fun!" Lance said "I'm ready anytime! You have just been too busy!" He was still holding both her hands with his, and he squeezed them as he said it.
"Lance, I love you! What would you think if I asked you to marry me?" Allura said, suddenly very scared. Lance saw the fear in her blue eyes, and knew what it meant to her. "Allie, I said that I had not spoken of my feelings before, because I didn't want to ruin our friendship. However, there was another reason too."
Allura smiled at him and said "What was the reason?" Lance swallowed and said "It ties into my remark about how wild I've been. I don't think I'm prince consort material. You would do better with Keith, and I know that he has feelings for you." He felt both terrified and relieved, that he had put it out there. Lance wondered what she would do with it.
"Keith does have feelings for me. Actually, he told me that yesterday, not too long after you had told me your feelings." Allura said and Lance looked startled. He said "I bet he didn't push past your sentry and barge into your study though, right?" She shook her head and said "He knocked, came in very politely, and sat in the chair opposite my desk. We had a nice civilized chat about the whole thing."
"See, now that is proper prince consort behavior!" Lance said sadly. "I don't think so." Allura told him and he looked surprised. "You were not afraid to come tell me how wrong I was being, with Pidge. You didn't care that I was the Queen; you knew that I needed to hear what you had to say. It is very rare in my world for people to tell me the truth, especially about my behavior."
Lance said "I still don't quite understand why that makes me a better choice than Keith." Allura squeezed his hands and said "There is also the comment that Bandor made to me, when I was talking to him yesterday." Lance rolled his eyes and said "Darling, if you are listening to that pompous asshole we really need to talk."
Allura was all set to correct him about what he called her cousin, and then she remembered that her Father had said that Bandor was pompous too. She sighed and told Lance that, which made him laugh. She went on "I was asking him why he wanted to marry Larmina, as I didn't think she was suitable consort material." Lance was all set to say something, but Allura said "Please remember this was right after our scene in the rec room."
Lance nodded his head, thinking about that whole thing. He asked "What did Bandor say?" Allura said "He told me that he works too much, and doesn't need someone to discuss state policy with. He has ministers for that! He wants companionship, and someone to have fun with. Someone who will care about him as a person, and not as the king."
"He really said all that? Wow, what has been happening on Pollux?" Lance was impressed with Bandor's insight. Allura said "You know perfectly well what is going on there! However, I don't want to talk about that right now. I want to talk about us!"
"Allie, you really want to marry me?" Lance said, not believing what was happening. "Lance, I love you! I need you, because you make me a better person! You are my best friend, the person who always cares about me, just as me. Not as the queen!" Lance looked at her intently and she saw the way he was looking at her, like Pidge had looked at Larmina, and it made her want to cry.
Lance put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. He started kissing her, and she remembered how wonderful it was. Allura put her arms around his waist, as she moved against him. His tongue entered her mouth and hers, and soon they were dueling with each other. Lance's one hand was in her hair, while the other was caressing her back.
Allura was moving her hands around, feeling the hard muscles and the warm skin. She felt a burning in her core, and pushed closer against him in some unknown need. Lance felt her moving against him, and before she knew what was happening, she was on her back and he was on top of her. His lips had moved to her neck, and were slowly licking and nipping the skin, sending shivers of desire through her.
He moved his lips to her ear and said "You know that if we get married we have to have sex. Can you handle that?" His breath was soft on her ear, and she was aware of his scent washing over her. He smelled slightly spicy and musky and she inhaled deeply as she nuzzled against his neck. Allura was overwhelmed by the feelings that were going through her body as he held her.
"If it is anything like what I'm feeling right now, I think it will be a wonderful experience." She told him in a shaky voice, as she looked up at him. He looked at her, with her gold hair splaying over his pillow, her breath coming hard between parted lips. "Darling, are you getting excited?"
Allura suddenly realized the position she was in, lying on his bed with him. He had nothing on but a pair of boxer shorts, and when she looked at them she could see his bulge. She knew she should get up, but it felt so wonderful being with him. "I'm not sure excited covers what I'm feeling right now!" Allura managed to say before he started kissing her slowly and deeply.
She let her hands move up and down his back, and felt him start to put his hand under her shirt. Just then her voltcom went off, and she tried to ignore it, wondering what he was going to do with his hand. However, it kept on buzzing and she said "Ugh!" She grunted, trying to catch her breath before she answered it. Lance rolled over to the side, but stayed close to her, stroking her hair.
She set it to audio mode and answered it. "Your Majesty, I wanted to let you know that Her Ladyship is awake, and doing well." Allura smiled and said "Thank you Dr. Gorman, I'll be there shortly." After she had signed off Lance got a big grin on his face "Can we get back to what we were doing?"
Allura, now realizing what had almost happened stood up and said "No! Not until after we are married. It is one thing for Larmina to behave that way, but I'm queen and need to set a better example." Lance sighed, not really surprised, and said "You had better go see Larmina, and you need to talk to Keith too. I will get dressed and go see Fredericks." She looked surprised and said "What do you need to talk to him about?"
Lance laughed and said "I need to find out how fast he can get our wedding arranged! I am not a patient man!" He paused and then said "I like him a lot! I wonder if he plays poker? Oh, by the way I know that I have to give up most of my wild ways, but I'm not giving up my card game!"
He walked over and took her in his arms and said "I love you and am very honored that you want to marry me!" Allura looked up at him and said "I love you too! And I hope Fredericks can do a quick wedding. I'm rather jealous that Larmina is having sex and I'm not." Lance laughed and said "Look at how far you have come! Yesterday you couldn't even say the word. I think I'm going to be a good influence on you!"