Title: Friendship
Author: KawaiiChica
E-mail: KawaiiChica@Tuxedomask.com
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Summary: Allura and Lance have gotten real chummy, why does it bother Keith? And what would happen if Allura was given time off from being a Princess?
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be. Want my own Lance but its not happening.
A.N.: Sorry for the wait, I just moved to Arizona from Florida so I´m gettig adjusted I´ll post the next chapter as soon as I can.
" " Speaking
[] Thoughts
***********
Lance ended the kiss but kept Allura in his arms as he turned to the doorway where the guys now stood beside Mrs. Winthrop. Tony looked pleased, Hunk and Pidge were just smiling, the latter holding a camera, and Keith remained impassive, although Lance read the anger in his taught expression. ¨Hey! You guys made it tonight!¨
Leading Allura over, he introduced Mrs. Winthrop to the others calmly, using the lie Zeke had made up. ¨May I present my cousins, Keith and Pidge, and our friend Hunk. If I remember correctly you, had agreed on them living with us?¨
¨But of course, I´m dreadfully sorry to hear you´re so sick Mrs. Chamberlain.¨ she smiled kindly at Allura, ¨Although I might say you look quite well.¨
Allura nodded, ¨Time away from the city always does my health a lot of good, we´re hoping my improvement will not be temporary.¨
¨Yes, yes, certainly, I know how difficult it is when dealing with such sicknesses. My son died of malenocytosis at the age of eighteen.¨ Mrs. Winthrop sighed before quickly smiling and excusing herself. ¨Excuse my sudden departure, I would love to show you all the apartment myself, but I really must be going or Helen will be worried.¨
¨Thank you Mrs. Winthrop, we´ll see you tomorrow!¨ Allura walked her to the elevator and sighed in relief as the doors closed.
Turning back to the apartment she was surprised to find Keith and Tony waiting for her still. ¨You´re not going in to check the place over?¨ she asked as she came over and closed the doors behind her.
¨Just waiting for you¨ Tony shrugged, curiosity obvious in his eyes.
¨Oh you should have seen it Tony! Lance was SO great!¨ Allura smiled and grabbed hold of their arms, pulling them into the entryway again.
¨He actually swept me off my feet and carried me over the threshhold!¨ Allura giggled and blushed, ¨I know it was probably for Mrs. Winthrop´s benefit but it was still incredibly romantic.¨
¨Ah... and so the kiss was just for her benefit?¨ Tony asked.
¨Uh... mostly for her benefit, yep, and partially as a thank you, I dunno¨ Allura shrugged and let them go as Pidge and Lance called her name from the room they´d entered.
¨Yes?¨ she followed Hunk in, leaving Keith and Tony in the living room.
¨I need to go, but I´ll be coming back in about an hour to take you guys out.¨ Tony said after checking his watch. ¨There are some clothes in the closets for you all to choose from. My wife wants to celebrate Allura´s birthday.¨
¨Any idea where we´re going?¨ Keith asked
Tony shrugged, ¨Wherever Allura wants to go, its her choice.¨
¨Sounds good¨ Keith nodded
¨Anyways, I´ve got to go pick up Liz and check some stuff before going out so I´d better go.¨ Tony explained as Keith escorted him to the door.
¨See you in a bit¨ Keith watched the elevator close before shutting the apartment doors.
Walking back into the entryway, he was surprised to find Allura looking for him. ¨Come on Keith, let´s go check out upstairs. Down here there´s a music room a little beyond the living room and the kitchen and dinning room. The study is on that side and that´s all.¨ she took his hand and led the way upstairs.
¨I guess I´ll see them later¨ he laughed and followed, stopping beside her at the top of the stairs. There were two hallways on either side of the small room they stood in, one shorter than the other. The room in which they stood was richly decorated in bright colors, with a red sofa, two comfortable armchairs (also red) a blue rug underneath the wooden table, yellow pillows on the sofa and armchairs, and a large television set with a surround sound stereo system facing towards them. ¨Which way?¨
¨I don´t know, you pick¨ she examined a painting as she spoke.
¨Lets go left then,¨ he moved forward and pulled her towards the longer hallway. They quickly looked over the three bedrooms and the bathroom. One of the rooms was decorated perfectly for Pidge, with dark green walls and a futuristic silver bedroom set, trendy lamps, and a brand new computer. ¨Definitely for Pidge¨ they both agreed.
The other two rooms were more conservative, and both were fashionably set up. One had a black metal bedroom set, the other a light sandalwood set. The one with the sandalwood furnishings included a small set of weights, the other a model plane collection - differentiating which was for whom. ¨How´d they know I like model planes?¨ Keith asked her as they exited his room.
¨Tony has people watching out for me at the castle, he must have called and found out what your guys´ likes are to help with the decorating. I think that´s why he said his stall time was over back at the castle.¨ Allura checked out the bathroom, adequate for the three guys, and stepped down the hallway towards the TV room.
¨And now to the other hallway¨ she led the way, smiling as the guys reached the top of the stairs. ¨Hey you´re just in time¨ she motioned for Lance to accompany them, ¨Your rooms are down the longer hallway, I´m sure you´ll know which is yours.¨
¨Ok great, we´ll check them out later.¨ Pidge and Hunk joined them as they stopped at the double doors at the end of the small hallway.
¨Al right, and I guess this is our room¨ Allura smiled at Lance before opening the doors.
The first thing in sight was the enormous four post bed. Made out of a deep mahogany wood, the thin white curtians tied to the posts stood out well against the wood. The comforter was also white, along with the many pillows piled against the headboard.
¨Wow¨ Hunk said as he entered, looking around at the elegant furnishings.
The whole room was dark mahogany and white. A medium sized dresser stood to the left of the doors, a framed mirror hung above it. To the right there was a desk and a set of glass doors leading to the balcony, which overlooked a large park across the street. On either side of the bed there was a door, upon further investigation they saw the one on the right was a walk in closet, the other was their large bathroom.
¨This is gorgeous¨ Lance mumbled as he inspected the bathroom. With dual sinks, a mirror that extended across one wall and a separate shower and tub, the bathroom was pretty big and comfortable, with a door opening into the closet.
¨Hey and your bathtub has the jacuzzi installments.¨ Pidge exclaimed
¨How neat! I always wanted one of those.¨ Allura smiled and stepped out into the bedroom, climbing onto the bed.
¨Who gets what side?¨ Keith asked, leaning against the post beside her head.
Lance stepped out from the closet just then, ¨Allie gets the bathroom side, I get the closet.¨
¨You sure Allura doesn´t want the closet side?¨ Keith asked him.
¨Yep¨ Lance sat down on his side of the bed, leaning against the pile of pillows.
¨He´s right Keith, I don´t like sleeping too close to the closet, I´d rather be by the bathroom.¨ Allura yawned, checking the clock beside her head on the nightstand, she realized it was barely nine thirty. [I wonder what Maru´s up to?]
Realizing she hadn´t told Maru about her vacation, Allura sat up suddenly and crawled over to the other side of the bed, stretching over Lance to grab the phone on his nightstand.
¨Who´re you calling?¨ he asked
¨Maru, I forgot to tell her about the trip and that I won´t be coming over for a while.¨ Allura quickly dialed her number. ¨Hey you! Sorry I didn´t come over or call earlier but I had a really busy day.¨
Listening for a few moments, Allura then started explaining about her time off, waving to the guys as they all decided to leave her alone to talk in peace. A few minutes after they had looked over the other rooms and sat down in their newly appointed ´movie room´ at the top of the stairs, Allura came out of her room, smiling and rolling her eyes at sometihng Maru said. ¨Uh huh? And so... good, they make a cute couple.¨
She suddenly blushed and hurried down, ¨See? I knew I shouldn´t have told about that!... Why? Because I knew you´d say something, you´ve only been bugging me for the past four months!¨
The guys exchanged looks before shrugging and making plans for the next day. ¨We´re going to need some more clothes, I don´t know about you guys but I know I didn´t really have much casual stuff to bring.¨ Keith said, suddenly remembering what Tony had said.
¨And we should go check our closets and change into something appropriate for going out. Tony said they´d be back in about an hour to take us celebrating.¨ He stood as he spoke and headed over to his room.
¨I´m sure Allie will be glad to go out tonight.¨ Lance stood and headed over to the kitchen with Pidge. ¨You guys want anything from downstairs?¨
¨Something to drink¨ Keith said
¨Nothing for me, I´m gonna go change¨ Hunk said, already halfway to his room.
Pidge followed Lance downstairs to the kitchen, stopping as Allura came out smiling brightly. ¨I´m seriously so jealous! Congratulations Maru!¨ Covering the reciever with her hand she explained that Maru´s boyfriend had proposed to her.
¨Hey that´s great! Congratulate her for me.¨ Lance spoke loudly so as to be heard ¨Tony said we´re going out tonight so change.¨
Allura nodded, ¨Sorry Mar, I´ve gotta get going, I´ll call you later and give you my phone number once I get it... ok, say hi to Oma and Padme... all right, bye.¨
¨Just came for some drinks¨ Pidge smiled and headed in. Opening the fridge, he glad to see it was fully stocked. ¨Man Allie, those friends of yours are great, they took care of everything!¨
¨Yeah, they´re the best.¨ Allura laughed and excused herself to her room. ¨I´d better hurry upstairs if I´m gonna be ready, how long did he say he´d be?¨
¨About an hour.¨ Lance remembered.
¨That´s barely enough time to fix my hair!¨ Allura sighed and hurried upstairs.
Pidge pulled out their sodas and handed Lance his, ¨Who would have guessed we´d be vacationing with the princess?¨
¨Not me, but I´m glad for this time with her.¨ Lance took another drink upstairs, followed closely by Pidge.
Pidge nodded, ¨Yeah, mee too.¨
[I wonder where we´re going?] Lance thought as he headed to Keith´s room to drop off his drink.
***********
Tony arrived almost exactly an hour after he left, accompanied by his wife Liz, Devon, and another guy.
¨Ken, you´ve heard of the voltron force. Guys this is another good friend of Allie´s.¨ Tony introduced him.
¨Nice to meet you all¨ Ken shook their hands, noticing how they looked him over carefully.
Standing at a decent 5´10¨ with strange violet eyes, long red hair held back in a loose pony tail, and an overall active physique, Ken made a good impression on them all. His cheerfulness and friendly politeness helped greatly as well.
The guys greeted Devon, and were instantly at ease with Liz, who also had a very cheerful and open demeanor. Dressed in all black, jean pants, black boots, and a closed leather jacket, she stood at an aproximate 5´7¨ with hazel eyes and auburn hair. Her face was quite pretty, long lashes framed her sparkling eyes, pouty lips, and a dimple in her right cheek when she smiled. She teased Ken as he kept glancing up the stairs to where Allura was finishing getting ready.
¨Its been a while since I´ve seen her, of course I´m excited!¨ he admitted.
¨If I recall, you were also quite taken with the little one¨ Liz reminded him
¨Who wasn´t?¨ Devon asked
¨True, I´m going up to see her, I can´t wait anymore¨ Liz moved towards the stairs.
¨No need, I´m ready¨ Allura announced from the top as she walked down to where the group waited, she smiled brightly at the sight of Liz and hurried down to hug her.
¨I´m so glad to see you again!¨ they hugged and laughed as they greeted each other.
¨My how you´ve grown! You can´t be the baby anymore¨ Liz pulled back to look her over.
Allura stood dressed similarly to Liz, except her pants were leather as well as her jacket. Despite her hair being held up in a high ponytail, it still fell in loose waves down her back. Her make up was appropriate for nightlife, sparkling dark blue eyeshadow, bringing out her eyes, sparkly blush, and deep red lips. Tony cleared his throat and gave her a look.
Sighing and rolling her eyes, Allura opened her jacket a bit to show a bright blue t-shirt beneath it. ¨Ok?¨
¨Fine¨ he smiled
Shaking her head, Allura suddenly froze as she spotted Ken and slowly shook her head. ¨Tell me you see him too¨ she whispered to Liz.
¨Of course I do!¨ Liz laughed
Ken came over and smiled at her, ¨Hey you¨
Allura gulped and shook her head, her eyes tearing up, ¨No, I have to be seeing things, Ken´s dead.¨
¨Oro??¨ Ken asked, bemused before a look of understanding came into his eyes. ¨Who told you?¨
¨I heard... your broadcast and the... the explosion and...¨ Allura stared, hands clasped in front of her and struggling not to cry.
¨Oh my poor love!¨ Ken smiled softly and pulled her in for a tight hug, ¨I had to fake my death that time to join the special forces. I wasn´t allowed under my real name, no one is, but I couldn´t just dissapear. You weren´t supposed to hear that.¨ he chuckled sadly.
Allura stood frozen in his arms thinking for a moment when suddenly her arm pulled back and swung hard into his stomach, doubling him in half as his breath was knocked out. ¨You big jerk! Don´t you EVER scare me like that again!¨ Allura fumed, hands on her hips, her foot tapping angrily on the floor.
¨Ok¨ Ken wheezed, straightening and recieving a big hug from her.
¨Enough scenes, I want my cherries, lets go!¨ Liz pulled Allura away and into the elevator.
Allura laughed as she followed her, ¨So your craving is cherries?¨
¨And black cherry ice cream, olives, salads with pickles and sushi.¨ Tony added with an exagerated sigh.
Giggling at her poor husband, Liz explained to the voltron guys that she was pregnant. ¨I´m barely three monts so I don´t show very much but I get those weird cravings.¨
They congratulated her and Tony, somehow managing to squeaze the group into the elevator without crushing her. Downstairs they split up into groups as they headed out to the cars. Allura, Liz, Tony, and Lance traveled in Ken´s car. The others went in the Keith´s blue car. On the way, Hunk and Pidge chatted with Devon.
¨So you guys are part of that underground group Allura knows right?¨ Pidge asked
¨Yeah, we´ve known her since she was fourteen.¨ Devon smiled, thinking back to those old times.
¨We met her at the place where we´re going tonight. You´ll see, she was a big hit there. Its a lot of fun, we all love it. Although, its probably nothing like what you´re expecting.¨ He smiled mysteriously.
¨Really? It can´t be too bad if Allura likes it.¨ Keith spoke up as he followed Tony´s car.
Shrugging, he focused on the road, ¨We´ll see¨
In the other car, Allura sat in back talking with Liz and Lance about anything and everything, not paying attention to their destination. ¨And Maru was just proposed to last night.¨
¨Good for her! I heard she had a baby girl a while back.¨ Liz smiled as she noticed they´d arrived and were parking. ¨Ken! I can´t believe you brought us here!¨
Allura finally looked out the window, smiling as she noticed where he´d taken them. ¨This is great! I was thinking of bringing the guys here.¨
Lance climbed out of the car and helped her out, looking around at the dirt track in front of them. It was pretty crowded, and the people there seemed pretty rowdy. A medium sized bar blocked half the track. ¨What is this place?¨
¨One of my favorite places ever!¨ Allura cheered, looping her arm with Lance´s and turning towards Ken as he closed his door and smiled at her.
¨I take it the guys have never seen you ride?¨ He asked
Lance frowned, ¨Ride?¨
Allura nodded, ¨Can´t you hear the motors?¨
¨Hey cool!¨ Pidge pointed at the motorcycles that suddenly flew past on the track, another race had obviously just started.
¨This is one of your favorite places?¨ Lance laughed as Allura tugged him towards the crowd.
¨Of course! I love racing!¨ Allura flashed him a smile, glancing behind them where Keith walked alongside Liz and Tony.
Hunk, Pidge, Devon, and Ken all hurried forward with Allura and Lance, eager to join the races. ¨Where did you learn to ride a motorcycle?¨ Pidge asked Allura.
¨Right here on this track, Devon taught me.¨ Allura cheered as the race ended, the crowd dispersed to talk to the riders.
¨She learned quickly,¨ Devon pursed his lips and whistled loudly, catching the eye of a large burly man standing guard over the entrance. ¨Hey Logan!¨
The man focused on him, ¨Devon! Hey!¨ He motioned for Devon to come over smiling at him.
¨Come on¨ Devon took Allura´s hand, pulling her with him, she pulled Lance along and the others followed closely.
¨Angel! Didn´t see you there!¨ The guy greeted Allura warmly.
¨Hey big guy, how´ve ya been?¨ Allura stepped beside him, introducing him to the guys before chatting about his family and work.
¨As you can tell, things here haven´t changed that much, still working, still busy so busines is good.¨ Logan shrugged. ¨But what about you? You look great, I almost didn´t recognize you if not for that cheeky little smile of yours.¨
Allura laughed, ¨I´m fine, vacationing, married...¨
¨You´re married?!¨ Logan looked down at her left hand, smiling at the rings he saw there. ¨Congratulations! Who is the lucky guy?¨
¨Lance is,¨ Allura smiled and turned to Lance who was busy talking with Devon. ¨We barely married a month ago.¨
Lance turned as he heard his name mentioned and glanced at the track. ¨So how do we race?¨
¨Well usually you pay, but since I haven´t seen this little one in such a long time, just go right on in and pick a bike. The boys will help you out with everything.¨ Logan stepped aside and opened the door for them.
¨Really? That´s so sweet of you, thanks!¨ Allura took Lance´s hand and pulled him in, ¨Come on you guys! Oh and Logan, could you ask Tony if he´s racing?¨ She leaned against the door as he closed it after Devon entered.
¨Nah, he would have come up if he were.¨ Logan motioned for her to go on and get to the bikes.
¨Okay¨ Allura sighed, noticing Keith hadn´t entered.
¨He´s not too keen on motorcycles.¨ Lance said from beside her, ¨You sure you´re up for this?¨ he asked.
¨Of course! I´ll be fine,¨ Allura eyes twinkled mischievously, ¨I´ll even bet that I can beat you in a race.¨
¨Oh really? And just what would you bet?¨ Lance chuckled, walking alongside her to pick out a bike.
¨Hmm... let´s see... I bet...¨ Allura mulled it over for a few minutes, ¨I´ll bet you a weak of breakfast in bed for the winner.¨
Lance held out his hand, ¨Sounds good, but the loser has to cook it and make sure its edible. No asking Hunk for help.¨
Allura shook, ¨Deal¨
They both turned towards the others who were being instructed in how to handle the bikes and getting their helmets. Allura scanned the ones that were left and the ones that had been chosen, calling over her shoulder. ¨Logan where´s my baby?¨
Logan turned from the doorway, ¨JED! Bring out the bikes!¨
All the guys wearing bike suits turned to see who had requested ´The Bikes´ A tall blond came over to Allura, ¨You´re Angel Eyes?¨
¨Yep¨ Allura grinned at his surprised expression when she answered.
¨Wow, we didn´t think you´d be coming back.¨ he looked her over before going into the storehouse for the bike.
¨Angel Eyes?¨ Lance mocked
Allura pouted, batting her eyes, ¨You don´t think I have pretty eyes?¨
¨Oh definitely, your eyes are gorgeous in fact, but ´Angelic´ is not a word I would use to describe you.¨ He laughed through the elbow in the stomach that comment earned him. ¨And what´s so special about these bikes?¨
¨Nothing, they´re just bigger than the normal small bikes they rent out.¨ Allura shrugged.
¨How big?¨ Lance watched the guys getting used to their bikes.
¨About the size of the one you re-built, nothing you can´t handle.¨ Allura giggled at the look on his face.
¨Nothing I can´t handle? YOU´RE the one I´m worried about ´princess´ ¨ Lance laughed as he dodged her punch.
¨DON´T call me that! YOU got me the vacation, of all people YOU shouldn´t be the one to remind me!¨ Allura turned away as she noticed the bikes being brought out. ¨I get black¨
Lance paled and stared at her, ¨You´ve got to be kidding, I am NOT riding the pink one!¨
Allura giggled, ¨I´m just kidding! Logan BUILT me the pink one! I wouldn´t let you drive it if you asked.¨
¨Geez, no one ever teach you to share?¨ Lance taunted, walking over to his bike.
Allura´s eyes twinkled, ¨Watch it, I just might do that.¨
Lance grinned, watching her as she threw her leg over the seat expertly and revved up the bike. Grinning saucily, Allura pulled on a silver helmet with a pair of pink wings decorated with black flames, the name ¨Angel Eyes¨ written across the front.
¨Lets get to it then¨ She gave him one last smile before riding towards the track.
¨This should be fun¨ Lance followed, eagerly anticipating the race.
***********
Finally another chapter out - hope you all liked it! I´m totally obsessed with Runrouni Kenshin right now and had some trouble coming up with ideas. (Anyone notice Ken´s description, and the oh-so-Kenshin use of ´oro?´)
IMPORTANT: I´m also looking for someone to read my chapters before I send them in to help with any errors (I think they´re called Beta Readers)
If anyone´s interested, please let me know in your review or e-mail me at -- KawaiiChica@tuxedomask.com
Thanks!
~ K.C. ~
Author: KawaiiChica
E-mail: KawaiiChica@Tuxedomask.com
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Summary: Allura and Lance have gotten real chummy, why does it bother Keith? And what would happen if Allura was given time off from being a Princess?
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be. Want my own Lance but its not happening.
A.N.: Sorry for the wait, I just moved to Arizona from Florida so I´m gettig adjusted I´ll post the next chapter as soon as I can.
" " Speaking
[] Thoughts
***********
Lance ended the kiss but kept Allura in his arms as he turned to the doorway where the guys now stood beside Mrs. Winthrop. Tony looked pleased, Hunk and Pidge were just smiling, the latter holding a camera, and Keith remained impassive, although Lance read the anger in his taught expression. ¨Hey! You guys made it tonight!¨
Leading Allura over, he introduced Mrs. Winthrop to the others calmly, using the lie Zeke had made up. ¨May I present my cousins, Keith and Pidge, and our friend Hunk. If I remember correctly you, had agreed on them living with us?¨
¨But of course, I´m dreadfully sorry to hear you´re so sick Mrs. Chamberlain.¨ she smiled kindly at Allura, ¨Although I might say you look quite well.¨
Allura nodded, ¨Time away from the city always does my health a lot of good, we´re hoping my improvement will not be temporary.¨
¨Yes, yes, certainly, I know how difficult it is when dealing with such sicknesses. My son died of malenocytosis at the age of eighteen.¨ Mrs. Winthrop sighed before quickly smiling and excusing herself. ¨Excuse my sudden departure, I would love to show you all the apartment myself, but I really must be going or Helen will be worried.¨
¨Thank you Mrs. Winthrop, we´ll see you tomorrow!¨ Allura walked her to the elevator and sighed in relief as the doors closed.
Turning back to the apartment she was surprised to find Keith and Tony waiting for her still. ¨You´re not going in to check the place over?¨ she asked as she came over and closed the doors behind her.
¨Just waiting for you¨ Tony shrugged, curiosity obvious in his eyes.
¨Oh you should have seen it Tony! Lance was SO great!¨ Allura smiled and grabbed hold of their arms, pulling them into the entryway again.
¨He actually swept me off my feet and carried me over the threshhold!¨ Allura giggled and blushed, ¨I know it was probably for Mrs. Winthrop´s benefit but it was still incredibly romantic.¨
¨Ah... and so the kiss was just for her benefit?¨ Tony asked.
¨Uh... mostly for her benefit, yep, and partially as a thank you, I dunno¨ Allura shrugged and let them go as Pidge and Lance called her name from the room they´d entered.
¨Yes?¨ she followed Hunk in, leaving Keith and Tony in the living room.
¨I need to go, but I´ll be coming back in about an hour to take you guys out.¨ Tony said after checking his watch. ¨There are some clothes in the closets for you all to choose from. My wife wants to celebrate Allura´s birthday.¨
¨Any idea where we´re going?¨ Keith asked
Tony shrugged, ¨Wherever Allura wants to go, its her choice.¨
¨Sounds good¨ Keith nodded
¨Anyways, I´ve got to go pick up Liz and check some stuff before going out so I´d better go.¨ Tony explained as Keith escorted him to the door.
¨See you in a bit¨ Keith watched the elevator close before shutting the apartment doors.
Walking back into the entryway, he was surprised to find Allura looking for him. ¨Come on Keith, let´s go check out upstairs. Down here there´s a music room a little beyond the living room and the kitchen and dinning room. The study is on that side and that´s all.¨ she took his hand and led the way upstairs.
¨I guess I´ll see them later¨ he laughed and followed, stopping beside her at the top of the stairs. There were two hallways on either side of the small room they stood in, one shorter than the other. The room in which they stood was richly decorated in bright colors, with a red sofa, two comfortable armchairs (also red) a blue rug underneath the wooden table, yellow pillows on the sofa and armchairs, and a large television set with a surround sound stereo system facing towards them. ¨Which way?¨
¨I don´t know, you pick¨ she examined a painting as she spoke.
¨Lets go left then,¨ he moved forward and pulled her towards the longer hallway. They quickly looked over the three bedrooms and the bathroom. One of the rooms was decorated perfectly for Pidge, with dark green walls and a futuristic silver bedroom set, trendy lamps, and a brand new computer. ¨Definitely for Pidge¨ they both agreed.
The other two rooms were more conservative, and both were fashionably set up. One had a black metal bedroom set, the other a light sandalwood set. The one with the sandalwood furnishings included a small set of weights, the other a model plane collection - differentiating which was for whom. ¨How´d they know I like model planes?¨ Keith asked her as they exited his room.
¨Tony has people watching out for me at the castle, he must have called and found out what your guys´ likes are to help with the decorating. I think that´s why he said his stall time was over back at the castle.¨ Allura checked out the bathroom, adequate for the three guys, and stepped down the hallway towards the TV room.
¨And now to the other hallway¨ she led the way, smiling as the guys reached the top of the stairs. ¨Hey you´re just in time¨ she motioned for Lance to accompany them, ¨Your rooms are down the longer hallway, I´m sure you´ll know which is yours.¨
¨Ok great, we´ll check them out later.¨ Pidge and Hunk joined them as they stopped at the double doors at the end of the small hallway.
¨Al right, and I guess this is our room¨ Allura smiled at Lance before opening the doors.
The first thing in sight was the enormous four post bed. Made out of a deep mahogany wood, the thin white curtians tied to the posts stood out well against the wood. The comforter was also white, along with the many pillows piled against the headboard.
¨Wow¨ Hunk said as he entered, looking around at the elegant furnishings.
The whole room was dark mahogany and white. A medium sized dresser stood to the left of the doors, a framed mirror hung above it. To the right there was a desk and a set of glass doors leading to the balcony, which overlooked a large park across the street. On either side of the bed there was a door, upon further investigation they saw the one on the right was a walk in closet, the other was their large bathroom.
¨This is gorgeous¨ Lance mumbled as he inspected the bathroom. With dual sinks, a mirror that extended across one wall and a separate shower and tub, the bathroom was pretty big and comfortable, with a door opening into the closet.
¨Hey and your bathtub has the jacuzzi installments.¨ Pidge exclaimed
¨How neat! I always wanted one of those.¨ Allura smiled and stepped out into the bedroom, climbing onto the bed.
¨Who gets what side?¨ Keith asked, leaning against the post beside her head.
Lance stepped out from the closet just then, ¨Allie gets the bathroom side, I get the closet.¨
¨You sure Allura doesn´t want the closet side?¨ Keith asked him.
¨Yep¨ Lance sat down on his side of the bed, leaning against the pile of pillows.
¨He´s right Keith, I don´t like sleeping too close to the closet, I´d rather be by the bathroom.¨ Allura yawned, checking the clock beside her head on the nightstand, she realized it was barely nine thirty. [I wonder what Maru´s up to?]
Realizing she hadn´t told Maru about her vacation, Allura sat up suddenly and crawled over to the other side of the bed, stretching over Lance to grab the phone on his nightstand.
¨Who´re you calling?¨ he asked
¨Maru, I forgot to tell her about the trip and that I won´t be coming over for a while.¨ Allura quickly dialed her number. ¨Hey you! Sorry I didn´t come over or call earlier but I had a really busy day.¨
Listening for a few moments, Allura then started explaining about her time off, waving to the guys as they all decided to leave her alone to talk in peace. A few minutes after they had looked over the other rooms and sat down in their newly appointed ´movie room´ at the top of the stairs, Allura came out of her room, smiling and rolling her eyes at sometihng Maru said. ¨Uh huh? And so... good, they make a cute couple.¨
She suddenly blushed and hurried down, ¨See? I knew I shouldn´t have told about that!... Why? Because I knew you´d say something, you´ve only been bugging me for the past four months!¨
The guys exchanged looks before shrugging and making plans for the next day. ¨We´re going to need some more clothes, I don´t know about you guys but I know I didn´t really have much casual stuff to bring.¨ Keith said, suddenly remembering what Tony had said.
¨And we should go check our closets and change into something appropriate for going out. Tony said they´d be back in about an hour to take us celebrating.¨ He stood as he spoke and headed over to his room.
¨I´m sure Allie will be glad to go out tonight.¨ Lance stood and headed over to the kitchen with Pidge. ¨You guys want anything from downstairs?¨
¨Something to drink¨ Keith said
¨Nothing for me, I´m gonna go change¨ Hunk said, already halfway to his room.
Pidge followed Lance downstairs to the kitchen, stopping as Allura came out smiling brightly. ¨I´m seriously so jealous! Congratulations Maru!¨ Covering the reciever with her hand she explained that Maru´s boyfriend had proposed to her.
¨Hey that´s great! Congratulate her for me.¨ Lance spoke loudly so as to be heard ¨Tony said we´re going out tonight so change.¨
Allura nodded, ¨Sorry Mar, I´ve gotta get going, I´ll call you later and give you my phone number once I get it... ok, say hi to Oma and Padme... all right, bye.¨
¨Just came for some drinks¨ Pidge smiled and headed in. Opening the fridge, he glad to see it was fully stocked. ¨Man Allie, those friends of yours are great, they took care of everything!¨
¨Yeah, they´re the best.¨ Allura laughed and excused herself to her room. ¨I´d better hurry upstairs if I´m gonna be ready, how long did he say he´d be?¨
¨About an hour.¨ Lance remembered.
¨That´s barely enough time to fix my hair!¨ Allura sighed and hurried upstairs.
Pidge pulled out their sodas and handed Lance his, ¨Who would have guessed we´d be vacationing with the princess?¨
¨Not me, but I´m glad for this time with her.¨ Lance took another drink upstairs, followed closely by Pidge.
Pidge nodded, ¨Yeah, mee too.¨
[I wonder where we´re going?] Lance thought as he headed to Keith´s room to drop off his drink.
***********
Tony arrived almost exactly an hour after he left, accompanied by his wife Liz, Devon, and another guy.
¨Ken, you´ve heard of the voltron force. Guys this is another good friend of Allie´s.¨ Tony introduced him.
¨Nice to meet you all¨ Ken shook their hands, noticing how they looked him over carefully.
Standing at a decent 5´10¨ with strange violet eyes, long red hair held back in a loose pony tail, and an overall active physique, Ken made a good impression on them all. His cheerfulness and friendly politeness helped greatly as well.
The guys greeted Devon, and were instantly at ease with Liz, who also had a very cheerful and open demeanor. Dressed in all black, jean pants, black boots, and a closed leather jacket, she stood at an aproximate 5´7¨ with hazel eyes and auburn hair. Her face was quite pretty, long lashes framed her sparkling eyes, pouty lips, and a dimple in her right cheek when she smiled. She teased Ken as he kept glancing up the stairs to where Allura was finishing getting ready.
¨Its been a while since I´ve seen her, of course I´m excited!¨ he admitted.
¨If I recall, you were also quite taken with the little one¨ Liz reminded him
¨Who wasn´t?¨ Devon asked
¨True, I´m going up to see her, I can´t wait anymore¨ Liz moved towards the stairs.
¨No need, I´m ready¨ Allura announced from the top as she walked down to where the group waited, she smiled brightly at the sight of Liz and hurried down to hug her.
¨I´m so glad to see you again!¨ they hugged and laughed as they greeted each other.
¨My how you´ve grown! You can´t be the baby anymore¨ Liz pulled back to look her over.
Allura stood dressed similarly to Liz, except her pants were leather as well as her jacket. Despite her hair being held up in a high ponytail, it still fell in loose waves down her back. Her make up was appropriate for nightlife, sparkling dark blue eyeshadow, bringing out her eyes, sparkly blush, and deep red lips. Tony cleared his throat and gave her a look.
Sighing and rolling her eyes, Allura opened her jacket a bit to show a bright blue t-shirt beneath it. ¨Ok?¨
¨Fine¨ he smiled
Shaking her head, Allura suddenly froze as she spotted Ken and slowly shook her head. ¨Tell me you see him too¨ she whispered to Liz.
¨Of course I do!¨ Liz laughed
Ken came over and smiled at her, ¨Hey you¨
Allura gulped and shook her head, her eyes tearing up, ¨No, I have to be seeing things, Ken´s dead.¨
¨Oro??¨ Ken asked, bemused before a look of understanding came into his eyes. ¨Who told you?¨
¨I heard... your broadcast and the... the explosion and...¨ Allura stared, hands clasped in front of her and struggling not to cry.
¨Oh my poor love!¨ Ken smiled softly and pulled her in for a tight hug, ¨I had to fake my death that time to join the special forces. I wasn´t allowed under my real name, no one is, but I couldn´t just dissapear. You weren´t supposed to hear that.¨ he chuckled sadly.
Allura stood frozen in his arms thinking for a moment when suddenly her arm pulled back and swung hard into his stomach, doubling him in half as his breath was knocked out. ¨You big jerk! Don´t you EVER scare me like that again!¨ Allura fumed, hands on her hips, her foot tapping angrily on the floor.
¨Ok¨ Ken wheezed, straightening and recieving a big hug from her.
¨Enough scenes, I want my cherries, lets go!¨ Liz pulled Allura away and into the elevator.
Allura laughed as she followed her, ¨So your craving is cherries?¨
¨And black cherry ice cream, olives, salads with pickles and sushi.¨ Tony added with an exagerated sigh.
Giggling at her poor husband, Liz explained to the voltron guys that she was pregnant. ¨I´m barely three monts so I don´t show very much but I get those weird cravings.¨
They congratulated her and Tony, somehow managing to squeaze the group into the elevator without crushing her. Downstairs they split up into groups as they headed out to the cars. Allura, Liz, Tony, and Lance traveled in Ken´s car. The others went in the Keith´s blue car. On the way, Hunk and Pidge chatted with Devon.
¨So you guys are part of that underground group Allura knows right?¨ Pidge asked
¨Yeah, we´ve known her since she was fourteen.¨ Devon smiled, thinking back to those old times.
¨We met her at the place where we´re going tonight. You´ll see, she was a big hit there. Its a lot of fun, we all love it. Although, its probably nothing like what you´re expecting.¨ He smiled mysteriously.
¨Really? It can´t be too bad if Allura likes it.¨ Keith spoke up as he followed Tony´s car.
Shrugging, he focused on the road, ¨We´ll see¨
In the other car, Allura sat in back talking with Liz and Lance about anything and everything, not paying attention to their destination. ¨And Maru was just proposed to last night.¨
¨Good for her! I heard she had a baby girl a while back.¨ Liz smiled as she noticed they´d arrived and were parking. ¨Ken! I can´t believe you brought us here!¨
Allura finally looked out the window, smiling as she noticed where he´d taken them. ¨This is great! I was thinking of bringing the guys here.¨
Lance climbed out of the car and helped her out, looking around at the dirt track in front of them. It was pretty crowded, and the people there seemed pretty rowdy. A medium sized bar blocked half the track. ¨What is this place?¨
¨One of my favorite places ever!¨ Allura cheered, looping her arm with Lance´s and turning towards Ken as he closed his door and smiled at her.
¨I take it the guys have never seen you ride?¨ He asked
Lance frowned, ¨Ride?¨
Allura nodded, ¨Can´t you hear the motors?¨
¨Hey cool!¨ Pidge pointed at the motorcycles that suddenly flew past on the track, another race had obviously just started.
¨This is one of your favorite places?¨ Lance laughed as Allura tugged him towards the crowd.
¨Of course! I love racing!¨ Allura flashed him a smile, glancing behind them where Keith walked alongside Liz and Tony.
Hunk, Pidge, Devon, and Ken all hurried forward with Allura and Lance, eager to join the races. ¨Where did you learn to ride a motorcycle?¨ Pidge asked Allura.
¨Right here on this track, Devon taught me.¨ Allura cheered as the race ended, the crowd dispersed to talk to the riders.
¨She learned quickly,¨ Devon pursed his lips and whistled loudly, catching the eye of a large burly man standing guard over the entrance. ¨Hey Logan!¨
The man focused on him, ¨Devon! Hey!¨ He motioned for Devon to come over smiling at him.
¨Come on¨ Devon took Allura´s hand, pulling her with him, she pulled Lance along and the others followed closely.
¨Angel! Didn´t see you there!¨ The guy greeted Allura warmly.
¨Hey big guy, how´ve ya been?¨ Allura stepped beside him, introducing him to the guys before chatting about his family and work.
¨As you can tell, things here haven´t changed that much, still working, still busy so busines is good.¨ Logan shrugged. ¨But what about you? You look great, I almost didn´t recognize you if not for that cheeky little smile of yours.¨
Allura laughed, ¨I´m fine, vacationing, married...¨
¨You´re married?!¨ Logan looked down at her left hand, smiling at the rings he saw there. ¨Congratulations! Who is the lucky guy?¨
¨Lance is,¨ Allura smiled and turned to Lance who was busy talking with Devon. ¨We barely married a month ago.¨
Lance turned as he heard his name mentioned and glanced at the track. ¨So how do we race?¨
¨Well usually you pay, but since I haven´t seen this little one in such a long time, just go right on in and pick a bike. The boys will help you out with everything.¨ Logan stepped aside and opened the door for them.
¨Really? That´s so sweet of you, thanks!¨ Allura took Lance´s hand and pulled him in, ¨Come on you guys! Oh and Logan, could you ask Tony if he´s racing?¨ She leaned against the door as he closed it after Devon entered.
¨Nah, he would have come up if he were.¨ Logan motioned for her to go on and get to the bikes.
¨Okay¨ Allura sighed, noticing Keith hadn´t entered.
¨He´s not too keen on motorcycles.¨ Lance said from beside her, ¨You sure you´re up for this?¨ he asked.
¨Of course! I´ll be fine,¨ Allura eyes twinkled mischievously, ¨I´ll even bet that I can beat you in a race.¨
¨Oh really? And just what would you bet?¨ Lance chuckled, walking alongside her to pick out a bike.
¨Hmm... let´s see... I bet...¨ Allura mulled it over for a few minutes, ¨I´ll bet you a weak of breakfast in bed for the winner.¨
Lance held out his hand, ¨Sounds good, but the loser has to cook it and make sure its edible. No asking Hunk for help.¨
Allura shook, ¨Deal¨
They both turned towards the others who were being instructed in how to handle the bikes and getting their helmets. Allura scanned the ones that were left and the ones that had been chosen, calling over her shoulder. ¨Logan where´s my baby?¨
Logan turned from the doorway, ¨JED! Bring out the bikes!¨
All the guys wearing bike suits turned to see who had requested ´The Bikes´ A tall blond came over to Allura, ¨You´re Angel Eyes?¨
¨Yep¨ Allura grinned at his surprised expression when she answered.
¨Wow, we didn´t think you´d be coming back.¨ he looked her over before going into the storehouse for the bike.
¨Angel Eyes?¨ Lance mocked
Allura pouted, batting her eyes, ¨You don´t think I have pretty eyes?¨
¨Oh definitely, your eyes are gorgeous in fact, but ´Angelic´ is not a word I would use to describe you.¨ He laughed through the elbow in the stomach that comment earned him. ¨And what´s so special about these bikes?¨
¨Nothing, they´re just bigger than the normal small bikes they rent out.¨ Allura shrugged.
¨How big?¨ Lance watched the guys getting used to their bikes.
¨About the size of the one you re-built, nothing you can´t handle.¨ Allura giggled at the look on his face.
¨Nothing I can´t handle? YOU´RE the one I´m worried about ´princess´ ¨ Lance laughed as he dodged her punch.
¨DON´T call me that! YOU got me the vacation, of all people YOU shouldn´t be the one to remind me!¨ Allura turned away as she noticed the bikes being brought out. ¨I get black¨
Lance paled and stared at her, ¨You´ve got to be kidding, I am NOT riding the pink one!¨
Allura giggled, ¨I´m just kidding! Logan BUILT me the pink one! I wouldn´t let you drive it if you asked.¨
¨Geez, no one ever teach you to share?¨ Lance taunted, walking over to his bike.
Allura´s eyes twinkled, ¨Watch it, I just might do that.¨
Lance grinned, watching her as she threw her leg over the seat expertly and revved up the bike. Grinning saucily, Allura pulled on a silver helmet with a pair of pink wings decorated with black flames, the name ¨Angel Eyes¨ written across the front.
¨Lets get to it then¨ She gave him one last smile before riding towards the track.
¨This should be fun¨ Lance followed, eagerly anticipating the race.
***********
Finally another chapter out - hope you all liked it! I´m totally obsessed with Runrouni Kenshin right now and had some trouble coming up with ideas. (Anyone notice Ken´s description, and the oh-so-Kenshin use of ´oro?´)
IMPORTANT: I´m also looking for someone to read my chapters before I send them in to help with any errors (I think they´re called Beta Readers)
If anyone´s interested, please let me know in your review or e-mail me at -- KawaiiChica@tuxedomask.com
Thanks!
~ K.C. ~