Title: Friendship
Author: KawaiiChica
E-mail: KawaiiChica@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be. Want my own Lance but its
not happening.
A/N: Ok, as you will be able to tell by the end of this chapter, I´ve decided who she´s going to end up with. I´m sorry to all who don´t approve, but I really like them. Thanks to all of you who´ve reviewed!
~ Lyrics
" " Speaking
[] Thoughts
***********
¨You took more pictures?¨ Pidge asked as he carried the stuff, standing beside Lance who carried a still-sleeping Allura.
¨Her idea not mine,¨ Lance sighed as the elevator doors opened and they stepped into the apartment, going straight up to tuck her into bed.
While he was gone, the others sat around the downstairs living room, looking over their toys, Pidge holding the pictures. ¨Poor Lance, this must have been torture.¨ he said sarcastically.
¨What are those?¨ Keith came up beside him, doing a double-take as he glimpsed at the pictures.
¨Wow, look at the princess!¨ Hunk chuckled, taking one out of Pidge´s hands.
¨Wait a second and I´ll show them to you in the order we took them.¨ Lance came back down and snatched them away, fixing them and handing them one by one to Keith.
¨This was when we weren´t really sure of what to do.¨ Lance chuckled as he looked down at it.
The picture was in a bar setting, Allura sat on the bar counter with her legs crossed, Lance standing in front of her, her arms wrapped around his neck. He was facing towards the camera, a knife in one hand, a gun in the other, and a menacing look in his eyes. Allura smiled coyly behind him, one of her hands playing with his shirt buttons.
The second was of the two of them at a staircase, Allura leaning over the railing, one finger bent in a ´come here´ signal while she smiled seductively. Lance was glancing at the camera, tilting his head as he excused himself, one foot already on the first step.
The next was that of him sitting at a table holding Allura across his lap, one hand around her waist, the other holding a deck of cards in front of them. Allura had one arm over his shoulders, the other pointing to a card as she whispered into his ear, a wide grin on his face.
¨How many pictures did you take?¨ Hunk asked as he noticed the others left.
¨Each session includes three, but when we were taking these first ones another fotographer came in and asked us to let him take a couple more. He really liked us together.¨ Lance shrugged.
¨His were a lot more fun to take too.¨ Allura said from the doorway, yawning as she came in and sat between Keith and Hunk on the large sofa.
¨They´re certainly more interesting,¨ Pidge said, looking over the first one Lance handed him.
Allura blushed as she looked at it with Hunk.
They were at the bar again, this time with Allura standing facing Lance, one hand holding a shot glass on his shoulder, the other at his mouth as he licked her wrist, a slice of lemon in her hand. Their eyes were on each other, Lance smiling seductively, Allura´s lips slightly parted as if caught gasping. One of her legs was firmly on the ground while the other was slightly lifted, his arm around her waist for support.
¨Was it real alcohol?¨ Hunk asked her, handing it over to Keith.
¨Yep,¨ Allura giggled as she remembered Lance´s expression when the fotographer had told him the idea and she´d agreed.
¨Nanny would flip!¨ Pidge stared at the picture in his hand, glancing wide-eyed at the princess on the sofa. [We really don´t know her that well... I never imagined...]
In the picture, Lance was leaning against the bar she sat on, one hand around her body, the other held up by one of hers. Allura sat with one leg bent beneath her, the other stretched out across the bar, one hand across his shoulders holding the shot glass again, in the other she held his wrist. Most surprising was that unlike him, she didn´t lick it, rather she was licking his index finger, a slice of lemon dangling from his thumb and middle finger. Her expression was that of seductive delight, his that of a struggle for slef-control.
¨That´s his favorite,¨ Allura said, blushing as she saw their surprised looks.
¨And this is hers,¨ Lance handed over the last one, the most daring.
¨No wonder,¨ Pidge gaped at it, Hunk and Keith getting up to see it sooner.
The picture was a side shot, and much more close up. In all the others you could see their whole bodies, but this one cut off her feet and his lower body. Allura was seated on the poker table, knees up with Lance standing between her legs. One of her arms was behind her, holding her up, the other was at the buttons of his shirt. Lance´s right arm (and the one closest to the camera) was at her side, pulling down her garter as he undid the suspender holding it up. His other arm was wrapped around her, fingers undoing the lacing at the back of her corset.
They were both smiling, it looked like Allura was giggling as their noses touched. Their eyes were locked on each others, hers a bit dreamy, his looking more intense. Only a few centimeters separated their lips, and had it been cold, their breaths would have been seen mixing.
¨You like it too,¨ Allura blushed and threw a pillow at him, yawning as she looked at the time. ¨I´m going back to bed, I just came down for my kitten so good night.¨
¨Wait up!¨ Lance said a quick good night and followed her up, leaving the guys with the pictures and prizes.
¨Looks like they had a good time.¨ Pidge said, still holding the last picture.
¨Too good a time if you ask me.¨ Hunk sighed, staring at the dreamy expression in Allura´s eyes. ¨How long do you think they´ll last?¨
¨Before realizing it? Not too long... its just a shame.¨ Pidge handed the picture over and excused himself, going up to his room with a glance at their closed door.
[How could I have missed this? What was I thinking?] Keith wondered, realizing what they were talking about.
¨He´s right about that. Neither of them deserves what they´re bound to go through.¨ Hunk noticed Keith´s silence and looked up at him, inwardly flinching as he realized. ¨You love her too.¨
Keith nodded, ¨I was so busy telling myself it couldn´t be... I didn´t even try.¨
¨You know, Lance asked me and Koran once, if we agreed with that old saying, ´Its better to have loved and lost, than never loved at all´.¨ Hunk stood, turning off the lights as they headed upstairs.
¨And?¨ Keith asked
Hunk shrugged, ¨We both agreed with it.¨
¨You think she loves him too?¨ Keith asked, glancing at the doors as Allura´s giggling was suddenly heard.
¨I think we both know that answer.¨ Hunk patted his back sadly before going into his room.
¨I guess we do.¨ Keith turned off the light of the hallway before going into his room.
***********
¨NOOOOOO!¨ Allura yelled, watching in dismay as Lance made another goal.
Keith came up beside her, wiping at his forehead as he caught his breath. ¨Don´t worry about it, we´ll catch up quickly.¨
Allura nodded, smiling as she pulled a leaf from his hair, ¨Rough fall?¨
He laughed and nodded, ¨Didn´t you see him shove me into the bush?¨
Giggling she shook her head, ¨I was too busy trying to get the ball from Pidge.¨
¨Hey are you two gonna play or what?!¨ Tony yelled as he ran towards them with the ball.
¨Well pass it already!¨ Allura yelled back, recieving it perfectly as he gave it a good kick in her direction.
¨Ken! Cover her!¨ Lance yelled as he turned her way.
Keeping the ball directly in front of her, Allura ran towards the goal, yelping as Ken suddenly came up beside her, kicking to take the ball away. ¨HEY!¨ She laughed and moved it out of his way. She had to stop and do some fancy footwork to keep him from taking it from her.
Suddenly as he tried to kick it away by kicking between her legs, she moved and their legs twisted together. ¨Agh!¨
Allura squeaked as she lost her balance, grabbing his shirt as she fell backwards. Ken wasn´t any more stable, so in the next instant they landed on the ground, Allura pinned beneath him, the ball rolling in the opposite direction.
Tony, Keith, Lance and Pidge came over, laughing as Allura smacked poor Ken across the back of his head.
¨He didn´t mean it literally Ken!¨ Tony teased as he helped them up.
¨You sure about that?¨ Ken asked, grinning at Allura who was laughing along with them now.
¨Hey guys! Some help over here!¨ Liz yelled as she dropped the grocery bags on the picnic table where their jacktes and sweatshirts were.
¨Coming!¨ Allura yelled, smiling as Ken turned to go help Liz. Following closely, she held a finger to her lips as Pidge looked at her funny and was about to ask what she was doing. Suddenly her foot kicked his and he fell exactly as she´s planned, on all fours.
Laughing as she supported herself on his shoulders, she leaned forward to look him in the face. ¨Gimme a lift?¨
He grinned and shook his head at her, ¨Sneaky brat! Go ahead.¨
¨Okay!¨ She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs against his waist, holding on tight as he stood.
¨UGH! When´d you get so heavy?¨ Ken asked, fixing his hands around her legs to hold her up.
¨I am NOT that heavy!¨ Allura pouted and lay her head on his back with a sigh, ¨That was a tough game.¨
¨Wait ´till we play football,¨ Ken snickered, turning to the others who were watching them. ¨You guys coming?¨
¨Yeah,¨ they snapped out of it and followed.
They had sandwiches and chips for lunch, most of the latter ending on the floor as Ken threw one at Allura and she retaliated, soon igniting a full-on chip war.
¨Take them out of my hair and I´ll do the same for you.¨ Allura said, sitting sideways with her back to Lance.
¨Why do I get the feeling you have the easier job?¨ Lance said as he started picking them out, turning sideways on the bench to be directly behind her.
Allura shrugged, picking up a chip from the table that had landed on her plate. She ate a few, laughing as Ken and Pidge shook the chips from their hair. ¨You look like dogs when you do that.¨
¨Geez thanks, that´s such a sweet thing to say!¨ Ken scowled and shook his head out again.
¨Hey you two, smile!¨ Liz called out as she stepped closer and pulled out her camera.
Lance laughed and stopped taking out the chips, pulling her to lean back against him, his arms around her shoulders. They smiled at the camera burst into laughter right before the click as Tony tripped on a root and fell. [That´ll be a cute picture] Liz turned and laughed at her husband on the floor.
¨Hey, so who wants to play football?¨ Ken asked, tossing the ball up in his hands.
¨I´m in!¨ Allura hopped up and quickly turned to Lance, shaking his hair with her hands.
¨Allie!¨ Lance grabbed her arms to stop her.
She gave him an innocent look as she explained, ¨I was just getting the chips out.¨
¨Geez thanks for being so careful,¨ Lance muttered as he stood, both heading back to the field to play.
They were hallfay through the third quarter when disaster struck. The teams were tied 14-14, Pidge was sitting out the quarter. Chatting with Liz as they cheered or booed the players, he winced as Tony tackled Keith to the ground.
¨Its a rough game,¨ Liz shrugged, watching out more specifically for Allura. Although three of the guys took great care not to handle her too roughly, the other two... made up for it.
They lined up again, Keith´s team (consisting of him, Hunk and Allura) was playing defense, while Tony, Lance and Ken were on offense. The ball was thrown back to their quarterback Tony, who quickly passed to Ken, their fastest runner.
Allura was just a few steps away from reaching him when he suddenly stopped, Allura crashing into his back. ¨Hey what´s the big deal?!¨
¨Sorry, but don´t you feel that?¨ Kenshin looked up at the grey sky, ¨Its looked like rain all morning.¨
¨That doesn´t mean its gonna rain!¨ Allura looked up as she felt a drop on her neck.
As they stood there for a few moments, a sudden downpour started. They all ran for their jackets and sweatshirts at the table, not surprised to find Liz under an umbrella with the bags ready to go. After gathering all their things, they headed to their building, the guys running ahead with the bags while Allura walked alongside Liz, but not beneath the umbrella.
¨You´re going to get sick Allie,¨ she admonished softly.
¨No I´m not,¨ Allura sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the rain as it soaked her completely.
Reaching the lobby of their building, they found Mrs. Winthrop in holding a sleeping baby. ¨Oh thank goodness! Would you mind helping me with the Sammy for a few minutes? He´s Helen´s little nephew and we promised to babysit him, but Helen had to go to the store and I forgot to give her my wallet. I´ll just be a few moments.¨
¨Of course,¨ Allura smiled and took the baby´s bag from her, ¨One of the boys will take her upstairs and I´ll watch her after I change.¨
¨But good lord, you´re soaking wet!¨ Mrs Winthrop tsked and handed the baby to Pidge, the dryest of them all. ¨Thank you so much dears!¨
They assured her it was no problem and went into the elevator. Tony and Liz went home to change while the rest of the group went to the top floor and crowded around the baby.
Allura changed into a pj set, made up of a pair of shorts and a tight t-shirt quickly and then sent them all to their rooms. Lance loaned Ken a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and they all hung out in the TV room, watching Allura with the baby.
She was sitting cross-legged in one of the large reclining chairs with the baby in her arms. Ken sat on the armrest and heard her sigh, ¨Why the gloom?¨
¨No reason,¨ she smiled up at him sadly.
¨What´s with women and babies?¨ Pidge asked absently.
¨You can´t understand what its like for us,¨ Allura explained as she gently rocked the baby. ¨You´ll never know how special it makes you feel to be pregnant and know that there´s a new life starting inside of you.¨
She choked up and blinked back the tears in her eyes.
¨I guess not,¨ Pidge quieted as he watched her.
Keith and Hunk came up from the kitchen with some snacks, Lance bringing up a tray of drinks. They sat and talked quietly, discussing their plans for the weekend and the next week. When the baby suddenly woke up and reached for Allura´s chest, Ken laughed and handed her a bottle from the bag.
¨But you know, if its THAT kind of attention you´d like...¨ he gave her a sly grin and laughed as she blushed and smacked him on the arm.
¨Thank you so much!¨ Helen entered and took the baby from Allura. ¨We ran out of diapers and baby wipes and the lines at the store were so long!¨
¨Don´t worry about it, she was no trouble at all.¨ Allura assured her, covering her with a blanket.
Mrs Winthrop came over and glanced at Allura and Lance, ¨And what about you two? When can we expect a visit from the stork?¨
Lance choked on the cookie he was eating and was slapped on the back by a laughing Keith. Allura was the one to answer, her smile a bit sad as she helped Helen wrap the baby in a blanket.
¨We´re not having children¨
¨Oh dear, that´s such a shame. Imagine how gorgeous your children would be.¨ Mrs Winthrop sighed and looked at Lance, ¨I take suppose you´ve taken the necessary steps to prevent it then?¨
Lance blinked and hesitated to answer, relieved when Allura did it for him. ¨No, its nothing like that, we haven´t done anything, its me.¨
Ken watched sadly as she finished, ¨I can´t have children... the doctor told me years ago.¨
Hunk and Pidge gaped as she took a deep breath and smiled through the tears in her eyes. ¨One gets used to the idea after a while.¨
¨I´m very sorry to hear that, please excuse me for prying my dear.¨ Mrs Winthrop apologized and excused herself as Helen motioned for them to go.
¨Don´t worry about it,¨ Allura assured her, escorting them to the elevator as the baby began to cry.
¨I´m really, very sorry we brought up such a difficult subject.¨ Helen apologized as the doors closed.
Allura just smiled and nodded, giving a troubled sigh as the elevator left and she headed back upstairs. The guys were quietly munching on the snacks when she sat down and picked up a cookie, pulling her legs up in front of her on the seat.
¨Don´t you think that was a little extreme Ally?¨ Pidge asked
She cocked her head to a side and looked at him, ¨What?¨
¨That lie about the children, you could have just said not for a while or something like that.¨ he explained.
Ken came up behind her and glared at Pidge, about to answer when she did it for him. ¨If it had been a lie, then yes, it would have been a bit extreme.¨
Keith watched with a heavy heart as he saw her hands trembling and the tears in her eyes. Allura took a ate her cookie quijetly, eyes staring down at the carpet before suddenly standing and going downstairs as the doorbell rang.
Lance was the one to break the silence first, speaking to Ken, ¨You knew didn´t you?¨
Ken nodded and looked at a picture of her on the stereo regretfully, ¨Yes, I was there when it happened.¨
¨When what happened?¨ Lance asked, feeling an empty pit in his stomach as he waited for an answer.
¨Yeah, when what happened?¨ Liz asked as she came up the stairs, Tony a couple of steps behind her.
¨Hey! Glad you´re here, I´ll be downstairs with Allie.¨ Ken smiled, relieved that he wouldn´t have to answer and hurried downstairs.
¨What happened?¨ Tony smiled as they reached the landing.
Lance offered Liz his chair as he asked, ¨Why can´t Allura have children?¨
Tony winced and Liz bit her lip, looking down at her hands as she explained. ¨Allura had an accident during her previous vacation, she fell down a long flight of stairs. She was hurt pretty badly, and the doctors said that as a result, she won´t be able to have children.¨
¨There´s a slight possibility that her body could handle it, but it´d be dangerous for her and the child.¨ Tony finished for her.
Pidge swallowed past the lump in his throat and asked, ¨Do Nanny and Koran know about that?¨
¨Dr Gorma does, Koran might, but I´m pretty sure Nanny doesn´t.¨ Tony sighed, ¨She´s the only one that doesn´t know about the details of Allura´s last vacation. If she did, there´s no way she´d have let the princess come this time, even with you four.¨
¨Really? Why? What happened?¨ Hunk watched as Liz gulped and shook her head.
¨Its really not for us to tell you, if Allura wants you to know, she´ll explain. Just... don´t push, she´ll tell you eventually I´m sure, its just that...¨ Liz was cut off by a voice from the stairs.
¨It was too much¨
Allura and Ken came up the steps and joined them, Tony held out his arm and pulled Allie close as she tried to smile.
¨My last vacation began on my fourteenth birthday, and in the span of six months... you really wouldn´t believe how much I learned.¨ Allura smiled, glad she´d regained her calm.
Looking at her Voltron force teemmates, she assured them, ¨I promise to tell you before our three months are up, but not now ok?¨
¨Ok,¨ they all agreed.
As the group stood silently for a few moments, Ken´s grumbling stomach brought them out of it. As they all laughed, he blushed and shrugged, ¨I guess those sandwiches weren´t enough.¨
¨You said it!¨ Hunk agreed and stood, ¨Let´s go make some real food.¨
Allura laughed as Keith and Tony joined them, arguing over the dinner menu. Pidge moved over beside Liz and they started talking about a visit to her studio. Shivering slightly, Allura headed to her room for a sweatshirt, noticing Lance watching her closely.
As the phone rang, she ran into the room, calling over her shoulder, ¨I´ll get it!¨
Lance followed her and headed for the closet to grab a sweatshirt also, stopping as he heard her tone of voice.
¨What do you mean, it wasn´t so difficult?! I didn´t even get this number until a few days after I moved in! How could you get it?... well that´s great!¨ Allura huffed and rubbed her tired eyes.
¨You really think so? You are such an arrogant bastard you know that?! And I wouldn´t be so confident about...¨ Allura glanced at Lance and went into the bathroom.
[What the hell´s going on? Who´s she talking to?] Lance saw her troubled expression and was about to go pick up another phone when she sent the person to the devil and threw the phone out the door and slammed it.
Picking up the phone, Lance set it on the bed and lifted a hand to knock on the door when he heard the water being turned off. Allura stepped out and winced as she saw him standing there.
Noticing the anger in her eyes, Lance leaned against the bedstand and asked. ¨What´s the matter? Who was on the phone?¨
¨Some jerk,¨ Allura shrugged and pressed cold hands to her cheeks, ¨I don´t feel so good, would you mind if I try to get some rest before dinner?¨
¨And you don´t know the jerk? It sounded like you did.¨ Lance insisted.
¨He´s no one important Lance, please let me get some sleep?¨ Allura pleaded.
¨I´m not so sure about that,¨ he looked at her skeptically for a few moments before giving in with a sigh.
¨Fine, I´ll go, but I WILL find out what´s up Allie.¨ He kissed her forehead, noticing she was slightly warm and turned to go.
He was surprised by Allura grabbing onto his arm, ¨Don´t be mad Lance, please?¨
¨Maybe if you´d tell me...¨ he sighed as he saw her shake her head sadly and turned away.
¨Would you mind staying? I really do feel kind of sick and I don´t want to go hang out any more, with everyone making a bunch of noise and chatting.¨ Allura shivered again and stepped closer, leaning her forehead against his shoulder.
¨You don´t feel good because you´re running a fever Allie,¨ Lance motioned for her to get into bed, ¨Lie down under the blankets.¨
Allura sighed, but did as told, standing beside him as he pulled back the covers and then crawling in and over.
¨You really want me to stay with you?¨ Lance asked, not surprised to see her nod. ¨Will you tell me who was on the phone?¨
Allura paled a bit before shaking her head, ¨I can´t.¨
Lance frowned, ¨Why not?¨
¨Because I can´t,¨ Allura looked down at the blanket and picked at the design nervously.
¨Allura that was obviously someone you know, probably from your vacation before. How many men did you know? All your old friends save Liz, have been guys, who´s he, that you won´t tell me about him?¨ Lance sat beside her, urging her to explain.
¨I would if he were an important friend but he´s not, I´d rather not talk to him again ever, but he found the number somehow.¨ Allura shivered again.
Lance stood and walked to the foot of the bed, ¨Why can´t you tell me his name at least? I thought we were close enough to share our problems Allura.¨
¨We are! This isn´t a problem Lance!¨ Allura tried to convince him.
¨Sure it isn´t, and you tell everyone to go to the devil? Who the heck was on the phone Allura?¨ he insisted.
¨Just some jerk, why are you making this such a big deal?¨ Allura watched in dismay as he headed to the door.
¨Hey wait, where are you going?!¨ Allura sat up and crawled to the edge of the bed as he headed to the door.
¨I´m going downstairs to hang out with the others for a while, hopefully cool off before having to come back up. Maybe when I come back you´ll open up a bit. ¨ Lance reached the door and turned as she called his name. Facing her, he briefly noticed how flushed she was before concentrating on her pleas.
¨Can´t you stay for a few minutes? I really don´t feel so good, please don´t go.¨ Allura was practically begging, her eyes pleading.
Lance felt a pang of guilt as he shook his head and stepped out of the room, ¨I don´t think so Allie.¨
¨Lance!¨ Allura cried, gulping as he closed the door behind him and left her there.
¨Fine! Be a jerk!¨ Allura huffed and pulled the blankets around herself, shivering as she thought back over the phone call.
***********
Downstairs Ken was talking to Devon on his cell phone when Lance arrived. ¨I´m not sure if they´ll want to go, Allura might not want to go.¨
¨Go where? And where´s Tony and Liz?¨ Lance asked
¨To an old club they re-opened by Devon´s apartment, he called to invite us to tonight´s party.¨ Keith told him, not looking too excited. ¨Liz felt a bit sick so they went home early, they apologized for not saying good-bye but the didn`t want to interrupt you and Allura.¨
¨Oh, well... I´m up for a night out. Tell Devon to count me in.¨ Lance looked over his clothes and decided he was fine. He was dressed in black jeans with a navy blue shirt.
¨Me too,¨ Pidge agreed.
Hunk hesitated for a moment before saying, ¨Oh what the heck, me too.¨
Keith was the only one left, and he wasn`t too excited about the idea. ¨We should ask Allura if she want`s to go.¨
¨She´s actually not invited,¨ Ken hung up and put the phone in his pocket. ¨Knowing her, she wouldn´t want to go to this club, so Devon called to invite us for a guy´s night out.¨
¨Besides, she`s not feeling too well and taking a nap.¨ Lance added.
¨I don´t think we shoud leave Allura alone if she´s sick,¨ Keith insisted.
Lance shook his head, ¨Being here´s not gonna help her very much, she´s in bed and in a stubborn mood.¨
¨Do I sense a lover´s tiff?¨ Ken teased
¨Something like that,¨ Lance shrugged and headed to the door, ¨So are we leaving or what?¨
Pidge and Hunk begged and insisted that Keith went until they managed to get him to agree. ¨But we won´t be out too long okay?¨
¨Fine,¨ Hunk said as he put on his shoes and joined the others at the door.
¨Isn´t someone going to tell her where we´ll be?¨ Keith asked, looking at Lance who shrugged.
¨I´ll leave her a note on the door,¨ he told them to go ahead as he went upstairs and left it, Hunk and Ken went for the elevaor.
¨Alright!¨ Pidge followed eagerly anticipating a night on the town.
Keith waited for Lance and was the last one out, locking the doors just in case. [I´m still not sure about this, Allura might need some help...]
***********
[No way! I can´t believe they´d all leave me like this!] Allura stepped out of her room, clutching Lance´s note in one hand.
¨Hello? Keith? Guys?!¨ she called out as loudly as her aching throat would allow.
[Liz was right, I can´t believe how sick I got with such a small soaking] She shivered and pulled the robe tighter around her. She´d put on Lance´s when she couldn´t find hers and sniffled as she smelled his familiar cologne. [He must have been really mad at me, or he wouldn`t have left like that.]
Leaning against a wall weakly, she hesitated, trying to figure out what to do. Finally deciding on a bath, she made her way slowly to the bathroom. Not bothering with the lights, she turned on the water of the tub. As soon as it was filled, she dropped the robe to the floor and struggled to take off her t-shirt for a few moments before giving up and slipping into the tub fully dressed.
[Oh well, the clothes will dry, and I`m so HOT!!!] Dunking beeneath the surface, she smiled as she felt the water cool her heated body, ignoring her slight shivering. Re-surfacing, she sighed and lay on her side, vaguely noticing the sound of the phone ringing before0 falling into a deep sleep.
***********
¨This place is great!¨ Hunk yelled into Keith´s ear as he ordered another drink.
Pidge, Devon, Lance, and Ken were all on the dance floor with some girls that Devon had introduced them to.
¨Yeah, great¨ Keith mumbled, staring down at his half-full bottle. [I wonder how Allura is?] Getting up, he yelled into Hunk´s ear, ¨I´ll be right back, I´m going to the bathroom.¨
¨Ok!¨ Hunk turned his attention back to the girl across the room he´d been flirting with.
[How did I get dragged into this mess? I honestly thought Lance would act decently with Allura and not leave her at home to party like this. I swear he´s such an inconsiderate jerk sometimes, especially when he gets mad at someone.] Keith made his way out to a small garden in the back of the club where couples went to make out and moved into a shadow, pulling out his cell phone and dialing the apartment.
[Come on Allura, pick up!] He waited until it rang five times before hanging up and trying again. Another five rings and still nothing.
[Something´s wrong, where the heck could she be?] Keith hung up and hurried inside, making his way to their table, he was relieved that the guys had gone to sit and pulled Lance aside.
¨Something happened to Allura!¨ he yelled into his ear.
¨Nah! She´s just asleep!¨ Lance turned away for a moment, surprised when Keith gripped his arm and forced him to turn back.
¨Get your stuff, we´re going home.¨ Keith´s expression and voice were set in a no-arguing manner and Lance rolled his eyes.
¨You´re over-reacting! I´m sure she´s fine!¨
Pidge, noticing Keith´s serious expression, realized something must be wrong and began to excuse himself. Hunk quickly followed suit and picked up the other´s jackets as he stood. The girls whined and asked them to stay, but both denied and told Ken and Devon they´d see them later.
¨Its past two in the morning and we have early plans today so we really must go, nice to meet you though.¨ Pidge turned away and pulled the car keys out of Keith´s jacket as they met up with them.
¨What´s up? Are we going or what?¨ Hunk handed them their jackets and followed them out.
¨Yeah, you know Keith, always worrying,¨ Lance grumbled as he unlocked the doors and climbed into the driver´s seat.
¨If Allura hadn´t been sick when we left I wouldn´t be worried, but she´s not picking up the phone.¨ Keith explained as he tried to call again.
¨Think she went somewhere?¨ Pidge asked skeptically.
¨If she did, its probably to see whoever it was that called,¨ Lance mumbled.
¨Yeah, who did call?¨ Hunk suddenly remembered hearing the phone ring while he talked to Liz earlier.
¨Who knows!¨ Lance made a turn too quickly and laughed as they crashed into each other in the backseat.
¨Hey watch it!¨ Pidge yelled from beneath Hunk.
¨So sorry,¨ Lance grinned, becoming serious as they neared their building. [Good thing Devon´s so nearby.]
Entering the elevator, they stayed quiet and waited to arrive. Keith was obviously worried, making Pidge and Hunk worry a bit too. He suddenly snapped at Lance, ¨I can´t believe how you were acting back there!¨
Lance glanced around innocently,¨What´d I do?¨
¨The way you danced with that girl was...¨ Keith was cut off as Lance laughed.
¨Fun, I had some fun.¨
¨While your wife`s sick in bed at home.¨ Keith continued.
Lance huffed, ¨She´s not my real wife Keith, none of that faithfulness crap applies to us.¨
¨Really? I can´t imagine Allura thinking the same,¨ Keith bit back.
Lance raised an uncertain eyebrow at him, ¨Oh yeah? Then how do you explain her ´mysetrious caller?´ You honestly think she wouldn´t tell me if a girlfriend of hers called? No, it was a guy, and someone she doesn´t want me to know about so obviously...¨
¨There´s no obviously about it Lance, I´m sure she´ll explain if you give her some time.¨ Keith quieted down as the elevator stopped and he opened the door, calling out Allura´s name.
All the lights were out, upstairs and down, Lance giving him an ´I told you so´ look as he stood outside his room. ¨She´s asleep.¨
¨Yeah, fine, good night.¨ Keith ignored him and went to his room. Hunk and Pidge did the same, softly whispering about the club on their way.
Noticing the note was gone from the door, Lance quietly entered the room and shut the door behind him. Turning to look at the bed, he was surprised to find it rumpled and empty. [What the...?]
He went over to his side and dropped his jacket on a pile of pillows. Taking off his shoes, he went into the closet and noticed the door to the bathroom was open and his robe was strewn across the floor. [What´s my robe doing in the...] He froze in the doorway as he took in the sight before him.
Allura lay curled on her side in the filled bathtub, fully dressed, shivering, and breathing heavily. Snapping out of it, Lance hurried over and knelt beside her, cursing as he touched the water and found it was ice cold. Feeling a breeze, he looked up and cursed again as he saw the window a few feet away was open.
¨Oh god Allie,¨ Lance felt guilt flood him as he touched her burning forehead and she whimpered, curling up tighter in the water. [I can´t believe I left you alone, I was so mad you wouldn´t tell me... what a stupid thing to be angry about!] He slipped his hands into the water and lifted her into his arms.
Laying her down on the fuzzy rug, he quickly began taking off her soaked clothes. Using the closest thing to cover her, he wrapped her in his robe and carried her to bed, piling a bunch of blankets over her and grabbed the phone to call Tony.
¨Hello?¨ A groggy Liz answered.
¨Hey Liz, its Lance, you said there was a doctor living in the building when we moved in, but do you have his phone number?¨ Lance sat beside Allura, wincing as she whimpered again.
¨A doctor? Why? What happened?¨ Liz was immediately alert, waking up Tony and turning on the light as she grabbed her planner.
¨Allura´s sick, really, really sick, but I don´t want to take her out this late.¨ Lance left her for a moment to take off his wet shirt and grabbed a small towel from the bathroom to make a compress for her hot forehead.
¨I´ll call the doctor and be up in a moment, you try to keep her warm and just wait ok?¨ Liz didn´t wait for his answer before hanging up and calling the doctor.
Lance set down the phone and sighed, noticing her wet hair, he went for a towel to wrap it in and apologized as he did. ¨I´m so sorry for leaving you like that Allie, I´m seriously SO SORRY! Keith was right, I can´t believe I was such a jealous jerk. But you see, that´s just it, I was jealous because I know it was a guy who called and when you wouldn´t tell me who he was...¨
He left her side for a moment as he heard the doorbell ring and stepped out of the room to tell Keith what was going on. When he came back in, she was awake and struggling to sit up.
¨Allie how do you feel?¨ Lance was back at her side in a moment and waiting for an answer when a new voice came from the doorway.
¨Young lady, you lie back down this instant!¨ An older gentleman holding a medical bag in hand shook his head at her and asked Lance to help her lay down.
Looking him over, Lance smiled, thinking that everyone who met him probably did the same. He was the kind of person who made a person feel calm and want to smile. Standing at about 5´8¨ with white hair, a small bald spot at the back of his head, and a slightly rounded tummy, his bright grey eyes gave a person a sense of warmth and security.
¨Dr Mead?¨ she asked weakly when he was standing by her side.
¨Yes my dear, get some rest, I´m here.¨ Dr Mead nodded and pushed her hair out of her eyes as she blinked against the feverish sleep tugging at her.
Feeling hands holding her arms, Allura followed them until she was met with a pair of worried brown eyes. ¨Lance?¨
¨Yeah Allie, I´m here, and I´m sor...¨ he stopped when she lifted her hands to weakly clutch at his shirt and leaned her head in the crook of his neck.
¨Promise not to let go?¨ she whispered as her eyes closed, losing the struggle to stay awake.
Lance gulped as he remembered how he´d left her earlier that night and tightened his hold, fogetting anyone else in the room. ¨I promise¨ he whispered, feeling her sigh and lean against him fully as she fell asleep.
Dr Mead noticed the crowd that had formed behind him and asked everyone else to go back to bed or leave the room so he could check her over, closing the doors after them. Turning back to the young man holding the sleeping princess, he smiled at the tender sight the couple made.
¨You´re gonna have to let her go for a few moments so I can find out what´s wrong.¨ He watched as Lance gently lay her down and stepped away.
He examined her closely before finally settling the blanket around her and faced Lance, ¨She´s caught a bad case of influenza, but she´ll be all right if she gets enough rest. Keep her in bed for at least two days, that´s AT LEAST, I know her, she´ll want to get up sooner but don´t let her. I´ll leave some medicine, which she needs to take every six hours.¨
¨Right, but she´ll be fine?¨ Lance glanced at her, relieved.
¨Yes, try not to upset her and don´t leave her alone. I´ll check in the day after tomorrow to see how she´s doing.¨ Dr Mead yawned and picked up his bag.
¨Thank you for coming so late doctor, I...¨ Lance was interrupted as Dr Mead raised a hand and shook his head.
¨There´s no need to thank me, I´m always on call and it wasn´t a very long trip from my apartment downstairs. Just make sure NOT to leave her alone again.¨ he added sternly.
¨I won´t,¨ Lance glanced back at her before escorting the doctor into the tv room where everyone else was waiting. Pidge and Hunk sat on the small sofa, Liz lay across the larger one with her head in Tony´s lap, and Keith was standing behind one of the individual seats.
They all snapped out of their thoughts as Dr Mead explained about Allura and that she´d be fine in a couple of days.
Noticing Liz yawn sleepily, he scolded her for being out so late and insisted that they all go back to bed. Tony quickly agreed and argued with Liz for a few minutes while she insisted on seeing Allura. When Dr Mead shook his head and explained it wasn´t a good idea for many people to be going in to see her, she reluctantly gave in and wished everyone a good night as they went home.
Hunk and Pidge were easier to convince and quickly went back to their rooms, Keith walked the doctor to the door while Lance went back into his room and then caught up with him there.
Lance was sitting beside her, shoulders slumped and a strange expression on his face as he watched the sleeping princess. As Keith sat on the opposite side of the bed, Lance spoke up softly.
¨I can´t believe I left her like that,¨ he winced as she whimpered and sighed when he put the cold compress to her forehead. ¨She was practically begging me to stay before I went downstairs and agreed to go out with Ken, but I was stupidly mad because of her phone call and I left her.¨
Keith remained quiet for a few moments before replying, ¨Why is her hair wet?¨
Lance slumped even more as he answered, ¨I found her in a tub of cold water.¨
¨Cold water?¨ Keith finally noticed Allura was wearing Lance´s bathrobe and shook his head angrily. ¨I can´t believe I let you convince me to leave her alone, since when do I listen to you guys? I can´t believe I was so irresponsible!¨
He lowered his voice as he added, ¨That´s always been your role.¨
¨The irresponsible one?¨ Lance chuckled sadly and suddenly wondered how many other people he´d let down with his irresponsibility.
¨Yep,¨ Keith yawned and hesitantly stood, ¨Are you sure you can watch her? I can stay...¨
¨I´m sure Keith, good night.¨ Lance watched as he nodded and headed to his room, closing the doors quietly behind him.
Feeling the events of the day catching up to him, Lance sighed and went into the bathroom to wash his face with cold water to wake himself up. Going back to the room, he sat on his side of the bed and watched Allura sleep for a while, until he couldn´t hold out any longer and lay down beside her under the covers.
Just as he was falling asleep, he felt her scoot over, seeking out his warmth. Wrapping his arms around her, Lance held her tightly against the length of him, ignoring the fact that he was sweating because of all the blankets over them. Gradually, as he used an arm to stroke her back and arms soothingly, he felt her trembling still and her body relax, easing into a deep sleep.
He slept fitfully, uncomfortable because of the heat and the weight of his guilt. At one point, Allura moaned against his shoulder and squirmed closer to him as if seeking shelter from a nightmare. Shifting to accomodate her, Lance inwardly groaned as he felt the robe she was wearing open and her silky leg slipped between his, her arm wrapped around him tightened and part of her chest touched him. Feeling his body respond, he gulped and struggled for control as she moaned again and squirmed closer.
[I know I deserve some type of punishment for leaving her, but did it have to be THIS?!] Lance felt her sigh, her breath tickling his neck and bit his lip to keep from whimpering.
[She´s sick... She´s off limits... She´s sick... She´s off limits... Oh God, no man deserves this...]
***********
^_^
Hope you liked this chapter, sorry for the long wait between updates. I´m going to be busy for a while with my other stories and school, but I will finish this!
Leave me a review and let me know what you think!
~ K.C. ~
Author: KawaiiChica
E-mail: KawaiiChica@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be. Want my own Lance but its
not happening.
A/N: Ok, as you will be able to tell by the end of this chapter, I´ve decided who she´s going to end up with. I´m sorry to all who don´t approve, but I really like them. Thanks to all of you who´ve reviewed!
~ Lyrics
" " Speaking
[] Thoughts
***********
¨You took more pictures?¨ Pidge asked as he carried the stuff, standing beside Lance who carried a still-sleeping Allura.
¨Her idea not mine,¨ Lance sighed as the elevator doors opened and they stepped into the apartment, going straight up to tuck her into bed.
While he was gone, the others sat around the downstairs living room, looking over their toys, Pidge holding the pictures. ¨Poor Lance, this must have been torture.¨ he said sarcastically.
¨What are those?¨ Keith came up beside him, doing a double-take as he glimpsed at the pictures.
¨Wow, look at the princess!¨ Hunk chuckled, taking one out of Pidge´s hands.
¨Wait a second and I´ll show them to you in the order we took them.¨ Lance came back down and snatched them away, fixing them and handing them one by one to Keith.
¨This was when we weren´t really sure of what to do.¨ Lance chuckled as he looked down at it.
The picture was in a bar setting, Allura sat on the bar counter with her legs crossed, Lance standing in front of her, her arms wrapped around his neck. He was facing towards the camera, a knife in one hand, a gun in the other, and a menacing look in his eyes. Allura smiled coyly behind him, one of her hands playing with his shirt buttons.
The second was of the two of them at a staircase, Allura leaning over the railing, one finger bent in a ´come here´ signal while she smiled seductively. Lance was glancing at the camera, tilting his head as he excused himself, one foot already on the first step.
The next was that of him sitting at a table holding Allura across his lap, one hand around her waist, the other holding a deck of cards in front of them. Allura had one arm over his shoulders, the other pointing to a card as she whispered into his ear, a wide grin on his face.
¨How many pictures did you take?¨ Hunk asked as he noticed the others left.
¨Each session includes three, but when we were taking these first ones another fotographer came in and asked us to let him take a couple more. He really liked us together.¨ Lance shrugged.
¨His were a lot more fun to take too.¨ Allura said from the doorway, yawning as she came in and sat between Keith and Hunk on the large sofa.
¨They´re certainly more interesting,¨ Pidge said, looking over the first one Lance handed him.
Allura blushed as she looked at it with Hunk.
They were at the bar again, this time with Allura standing facing Lance, one hand holding a shot glass on his shoulder, the other at his mouth as he licked her wrist, a slice of lemon in her hand. Their eyes were on each other, Lance smiling seductively, Allura´s lips slightly parted as if caught gasping. One of her legs was firmly on the ground while the other was slightly lifted, his arm around her waist for support.
¨Was it real alcohol?¨ Hunk asked her, handing it over to Keith.
¨Yep,¨ Allura giggled as she remembered Lance´s expression when the fotographer had told him the idea and she´d agreed.
¨Nanny would flip!¨ Pidge stared at the picture in his hand, glancing wide-eyed at the princess on the sofa. [We really don´t know her that well... I never imagined...]
In the picture, Lance was leaning against the bar she sat on, one hand around her body, the other held up by one of hers. Allura sat with one leg bent beneath her, the other stretched out across the bar, one hand across his shoulders holding the shot glass again, in the other she held his wrist. Most surprising was that unlike him, she didn´t lick it, rather she was licking his index finger, a slice of lemon dangling from his thumb and middle finger. Her expression was that of seductive delight, his that of a struggle for slef-control.
¨That´s his favorite,¨ Allura said, blushing as she saw their surprised looks.
¨And this is hers,¨ Lance handed over the last one, the most daring.
¨No wonder,¨ Pidge gaped at it, Hunk and Keith getting up to see it sooner.
The picture was a side shot, and much more close up. In all the others you could see their whole bodies, but this one cut off her feet and his lower body. Allura was seated on the poker table, knees up with Lance standing between her legs. One of her arms was behind her, holding her up, the other was at the buttons of his shirt. Lance´s right arm (and the one closest to the camera) was at her side, pulling down her garter as he undid the suspender holding it up. His other arm was wrapped around her, fingers undoing the lacing at the back of her corset.
They were both smiling, it looked like Allura was giggling as their noses touched. Their eyes were locked on each others, hers a bit dreamy, his looking more intense. Only a few centimeters separated their lips, and had it been cold, their breaths would have been seen mixing.
¨You like it too,¨ Allura blushed and threw a pillow at him, yawning as she looked at the time. ¨I´m going back to bed, I just came down for my kitten so good night.¨
¨Wait up!¨ Lance said a quick good night and followed her up, leaving the guys with the pictures and prizes.
¨Looks like they had a good time.¨ Pidge said, still holding the last picture.
¨Too good a time if you ask me.¨ Hunk sighed, staring at the dreamy expression in Allura´s eyes. ¨How long do you think they´ll last?¨
¨Before realizing it? Not too long... its just a shame.¨ Pidge handed the picture over and excused himself, going up to his room with a glance at their closed door.
[How could I have missed this? What was I thinking?] Keith wondered, realizing what they were talking about.
¨He´s right about that. Neither of them deserves what they´re bound to go through.¨ Hunk noticed Keith´s silence and looked up at him, inwardly flinching as he realized. ¨You love her too.¨
Keith nodded, ¨I was so busy telling myself it couldn´t be... I didn´t even try.¨
¨You know, Lance asked me and Koran once, if we agreed with that old saying, ´Its better to have loved and lost, than never loved at all´.¨ Hunk stood, turning off the lights as they headed upstairs.
¨And?¨ Keith asked
Hunk shrugged, ¨We both agreed with it.¨
¨You think she loves him too?¨ Keith asked, glancing at the doors as Allura´s giggling was suddenly heard.
¨I think we both know that answer.¨ Hunk patted his back sadly before going into his room.
¨I guess we do.¨ Keith turned off the light of the hallway before going into his room.
***********
¨NOOOOOO!¨ Allura yelled, watching in dismay as Lance made another goal.
Keith came up beside her, wiping at his forehead as he caught his breath. ¨Don´t worry about it, we´ll catch up quickly.¨
Allura nodded, smiling as she pulled a leaf from his hair, ¨Rough fall?¨
He laughed and nodded, ¨Didn´t you see him shove me into the bush?¨
Giggling she shook her head, ¨I was too busy trying to get the ball from Pidge.¨
¨Hey are you two gonna play or what?!¨ Tony yelled as he ran towards them with the ball.
¨Well pass it already!¨ Allura yelled back, recieving it perfectly as he gave it a good kick in her direction.
¨Ken! Cover her!¨ Lance yelled as he turned her way.
Keeping the ball directly in front of her, Allura ran towards the goal, yelping as Ken suddenly came up beside her, kicking to take the ball away. ¨HEY!¨ She laughed and moved it out of his way. She had to stop and do some fancy footwork to keep him from taking it from her.
Suddenly as he tried to kick it away by kicking between her legs, she moved and their legs twisted together. ¨Agh!¨
Allura squeaked as she lost her balance, grabbing his shirt as she fell backwards. Ken wasn´t any more stable, so in the next instant they landed on the ground, Allura pinned beneath him, the ball rolling in the opposite direction.
Tony, Keith, Lance and Pidge came over, laughing as Allura smacked poor Ken across the back of his head.
¨He didn´t mean it literally Ken!¨ Tony teased as he helped them up.
¨You sure about that?¨ Ken asked, grinning at Allura who was laughing along with them now.
¨Hey guys! Some help over here!¨ Liz yelled as she dropped the grocery bags on the picnic table where their jacktes and sweatshirts were.
¨Coming!¨ Allura yelled, smiling as Ken turned to go help Liz. Following closely, she held a finger to her lips as Pidge looked at her funny and was about to ask what she was doing. Suddenly her foot kicked his and he fell exactly as she´s planned, on all fours.
Laughing as she supported herself on his shoulders, she leaned forward to look him in the face. ¨Gimme a lift?¨
He grinned and shook his head at her, ¨Sneaky brat! Go ahead.¨
¨Okay!¨ She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs against his waist, holding on tight as he stood.
¨UGH! When´d you get so heavy?¨ Ken asked, fixing his hands around her legs to hold her up.
¨I am NOT that heavy!¨ Allura pouted and lay her head on his back with a sigh, ¨That was a tough game.¨
¨Wait ´till we play football,¨ Ken snickered, turning to the others who were watching them. ¨You guys coming?¨
¨Yeah,¨ they snapped out of it and followed.
They had sandwiches and chips for lunch, most of the latter ending on the floor as Ken threw one at Allura and she retaliated, soon igniting a full-on chip war.
¨Take them out of my hair and I´ll do the same for you.¨ Allura said, sitting sideways with her back to Lance.
¨Why do I get the feeling you have the easier job?¨ Lance said as he started picking them out, turning sideways on the bench to be directly behind her.
Allura shrugged, picking up a chip from the table that had landed on her plate. She ate a few, laughing as Ken and Pidge shook the chips from their hair. ¨You look like dogs when you do that.¨
¨Geez thanks, that´s such a sweet thing to say!¨ Ken scowled and shook his head out again.
¨Hey you two, smile!¨ Liz called out as she stepped closer and pulled out her camera.
Lance laughed and stopped taking out the chips, pulling her to lean back against him, his arms around her shoulders. They smiled at the camera burst into laughter right before the click as Tony tripped on a root and fell. [That´ll be a cute picture] Liz turned and laughed at her husband on the floor.
¨Hey, so who wants to play football?¨ Ken asked, tossing the ball up in his hands.
¨I´m in!¨ Allura hopped up and quickly turned to Lance, shaking his hair with her hands.
¨Allie!¨ Lance grabbed her arms to stop her.
She gave him an innocent look as she explained, ¨I was just getting the chips out.¨
¨Geez thanks for being so careful,¨ Lance muttered as he stood, both heading back to the field to play.
They were hallfay through the third quarter when disaster struck. The teams were tied 14-14, Pidge was sitting out the quarter. Chatting with Liz as they cheered or booed the players, he winced as Tony tackled Keith to the ground.
¨Its a rough game,¨ Liz shrugged, watching out more specifically for Allura. Although three of the guys took great care not to handle her too roughly, the other two... made up for it.
They lined up again, Keith´s team (consisting of him, Hunk and Allura) was playing defense, while Tony, Lance and Ken were on offense. The ball was thrown back to their quarterback Tony, who quickly passed to Ken, their fastest runner.
Allura was just a few steps away from reaching him when he suddenly stopped, Allura crashing into his back. ¨Hey what´s the big deal?!¨
¨Sorry, but don´t you feel that?¨ Kenshin looked up at the grey sky, ¨Its looked like rain all morning.¨
¨That doesn´t mean its gonna rain!¨ Allura looked up as she felt a drop on her neck.
As they stood there for a few moments, a sudden downpour started. They all ran for their jackets and sweatshirts at the table, not surprised to find Liz under an umbrella with the bags ready to go. After gathering all their things, they headed to their building, the guys running ahead with the bags while Allura walked alongside Liz, but not beneath the umbrella.
¨You´re going to get sick Allie,¨ she admonished softly.
¨No I´m not,¨ Allura sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the rain as it soaked her completely.
Reaching the lobby of their building, they found Mrs. Winthrop in holding a sleeping baby. ¨Oh thank goodness! Would you mind helping me with the Sammy for a few minutes? He´s Helen´s little nephew and we promised to babysit him, but Helen had to go to the store and I forgot to give her my wallet. I´ll just be a few moments.¨
¨Of course,¨ Allura smiled and took the baby´s bag from her, ¨One of the boys will take her upstairs and I´ll watch her after I change.¨
¨But good lord, you´re soaking wet!¨ Mrs Winthrop tsked and handed the baby to Pidge, the dryest of them all. ¨Thank you so much dears!¨
They assured her it was no problem and went into the elevator. Tony and Liz went home to change while the rest of the group went to the top floor and crowded around the baby.
Allura changed into a pj set, made up of a pair of shorts and a tight t-shirt quickly and then sent them all to their rooms. Lance loaned Ken a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and they all hung out in the TV room, watching Allura with the baby.
She was sitting cross-legged in one of the large reclining chairs with the baby in her arms. Ken sat on the armrest and heard her sigh, ¨Why the gloom?¨
¨No reason,¨ she smiled up at him sadly.
¨What´s with women and babies?¨ Pidge asked absently.
¨You can´t understand what its like for us,¨ Allura explained as she gently rocked the baby. ¨You´ll never know how special it makes you feel to be pregnant and know that there´s a new life starting inside of you.¨
She choked up and blinked back the tears in her eyes.
¨I guess not,¨ Pidge quieted as he watched her.
Keith and Hunk came up from the kitchen with some snacks, Lance bringing up a tray of drinks. They sat and talked quietly, discussing their plans for the weekend and the next week. When the baby suddenly woke up and reached for Allura´s chest, Ken laughed and handed her a bottle from the bag.
¨But you know, if its THAT kind of attention you´d like...¨ he gave her a sly grin and laughed as she blushed and smacked him on the arm.
¨Thank you so much!¨ Helen entered and took the baby from Allura. ¨We ran out of diapers and baby wipes and the lines at the store were so long!¨
¨Don´t worry about it, she was no trouble at all.¨ Allura assured her, covering her with a blanket.
Mrs Winthrop came over and glanced at Allura and Lance, ¨And what about you two? When can we expect a visit from the stork?¨
Lance choked on the cookie he was eating and was slapped on the back by a laughing Keith. Allura was the one to answer, her smile a bit sad as she helped Helen wrap the baby in a blanket.
¨We´re not having children¨
¨Oh dear, that´s such a shame. Imagine how gorgeous your children would be.¨ Mrs Winthrop sighed and looked at Lance, ¨I take suppose you´ve taken the necessary steps to prevent it then?¨
Lance blinked and hesitated to answer, relieved when Allura did it for him. ¨No, its nothing like that, we haven´t done anything, its me.¨
Ken watched sadly as she finished, ¨I can´t have children... the doctor told me years ago.¨
Hunk and Pidge gaped as she took a deep breath and smiled through the tears in her eyes. ¨One gets used to the idea after a while.¨
¨I´m very sorry to hear that, please excuse me for prying my dear.¨ Mrs Winthrop apologized and excused herself as Helen motioned for them to go.
¨Don´t worry about it,¨ Allura assured her, escorting them to the elevator as the baby began to cry.
¨I´m really, very sorry we brought up such a difficult subject.¨ Helen apologized as the doors closed.
Allura just smiled and nodded, giving a troubled sigh as the elevator left and she headed back upstairs. The guys were quietly munching on the snacks when she sat down and picked up a cookie, pulling her legs up in front of her on the seat.
¨Don´t you think that was a little extreme Ally?¨ Pidge asked
She cocked her head to a side and looked at him, ¨What?¨
¨That lie about the children, you could have just said not for a while or something like that.¨ he explained.
Ken came up behind her and glared at Pidge, about to answer when she did it for him. ¨If it had been a lie, then yes, it would have been a bit extreme.¨
Keith watched with a heavy heart as he saw her hands trembling and the tears in her eyes. Allura took a ate her cookie quijetly, eyes staring down at the carpet before suddenly standing and going downstairs as the doorbell rang.
Lance was the one to break the silence first, speaking to Ken, ¨You knew didn´t you?¨
Ken nodded and looked at a picture of her on the stereo regretfully, ¨Yes, I was there when it happened.¨
¨When what happened?¨ Lance asked, feeling an empty pit in his stomach as he waited for an answer.
¨Yeah, when what happened?¨ Liz asked as she came up the stairs, Tony a couple of steps behind her.
¨Hey! Glad you´re here, I´ll be downstairs with Allie.¨ Ken smiled, relieved that he wouldn´t have to answer and hurried downstairs.
¨What happened?¨ Tony smiled as they reached the landing.
Lance offered Liz his chair as he asked, ¨Why can´t Allura have children?¨
Tony winced and Liz bit her lip, looking down at her hands as she explained. ¨Allura had an accident during her previous vacation, she fell down a long flight of stairs. She was hurt pretty badly, and the doctors said that as a result, she won´t be able to have children.¨
¨There´s a slight possibility that her body could handle it, but it´d be dangerous for her and the child.¨ Tony finished for her.
Pidge swallowed past the lump in his throat and asked, ¨Do Nanny and Koran know about that?¨
¨Dr Gorma does, Koran might, but I´m pretty sure Nanny doesn´t.¨ Tony sighed, ¨She´s the only one that doesn´t know about the details of Allura´s last vacation. If she did, there´s no way she´d have let the princess come this time, even with you four.¨
¨Really? Why? What happened?¨ Hunk watched as Liz gulped and shook her head.
¨Its really not for us to tell you, if Allura wants you to know, she´ll explain. Just... don´t push, she´ll tell you eventually I´m sure, its just that...¨ Liz was cut off by a voice from the stairs.
¨It was too much¨
Allura and Ken came up the steps and joined them, Tony held out his arm and pulled Allie close as she tried to smile.
¨My last vacation began on my fourteenth birthday, and in the span of six months... you really wouldn´t believe how much I learned.¨ Allura smiled, glad she´d regained her calm.
Looking at her Voltron force teemmates, she assured them, ¨I promise to tell you before our three months are up, but not now ok?¨
¨Ok,¨ they all agreed.
As the group stood silently for a few moments, Ken´s grumbling stomach brought them out of it. As they all laughed, he blushed and shrugged, ¨I guess those sandwiches weren´t enough.¨
¨You said it!¨ Hunk agreed and stood, ¨Let´s go make some real food.¨
Allura laughed as Keith and Tony joined them, arguing over the dinner menu. Pidge moved over beside Liz and they started talking about a visit to her studio. Shivering slightly, Allura headed to her room for a sweatshirt, noticing Lance watching her closely.
As the phone rang, she ran into the room, calling over her shoulder, ¨I´ll get it!¨
Lance followed her and headed for the closet to grab a sweatshirt also, stopping as he heard her tone of voice.
¨What do you mean, it wasn´t so difficult?! I didn´t even get this number until a few days after I moved in! How could you get it?... well that´s great!¨ Allura huffed and rubbed her tired eyes.
¨You really think so? You are such an arrogant bastard you know that?! And I wouldn´t be so confident about...¨ Allura glanced at Lance and went into the bathroom.
[What the hell´s going on? Who´s she talking to?] Lance saw her troubled expression and was about to go pick up another phone when she sent the person to the devil and threw the phone out the door and slammed it.
Picking up the phone, Lance set it on the bed and lifted a hand to knock on the door when he heard the water being turned off. Allura stepped out and winced as she saw him standing there.
Noticing the anger in her eyes, Lance leaned against the bedstand and asked. ¨What´s the matter? Who was on the phone?¨
¨Some jerk,¨ Allura shrugged and pressed cold hands to her cheeks, ¨I don´t feel so good, would you mind if I try to get some rest before dinner?¨
¨And you don´t know the jerk? It sounded like you did.¨ Lance insisted.
¨He´s no one important Lance, please let me get some sleep?¨ Allura pleaded.
¨I´m not so sure about that,¨ he looked at her skeptically for a few moments before giving in with a sigh.
¨Fine, I´ll go, but I WILL find out what´s up Allie.¨ He kissed her forehead, noticing she was slightly warm and turned to go.
He was surprised by Allura grabbing onto his arm, ¨Don´t be mad Lance, please?¨
¨Maybe if you´d tell me...¨ he sighed as he saw her shake her head sadly and turned away.
¨Would you mind staying? I really do feel kind of sick and I don´t want to go hang out any more, with everyone making a bunch of noise and chatting.¨ Allura shivered again and stepped closer, leaning her forehead against his shoulder.
¨You don´t feel good because you´re running a fever Allie,¨ Lance motioned for her to get into bed, ¨Lie down under the blankets.¨
Allura sighed, but did as told, standing beside him as he pulled back the covers and then crawling in and over.
¨You really want me to stay with you?¨ Lance asked, not surprised to see her nod. ¨Will you tell me who was on the phone?¨
Allura paled a bit before shaking her head, ¨I can´t.¨
Lance frowned, ¨Why not?¨
¨Because I can´t,¨ Allura looked down at the blanket and picked at the design nervously.
¨Allura that was obviously someone you know, probably from your vacation before. How many men did you know? All your old friends save Liz, have been guys, who´s he, that you won´t tell me about him?¨ Lance sat beside her, urging her to explain.
¨I would if he were an important friend but he´s not, I´d rather not talk to him again ever, but he found the number somehow.¨ Allura shivered again.
Lance stood and walked to the foot of the bed, ¨Why can´t you tell me his name at least? I thought we were close enough to share our problems Allura.¨
¨We are! This isn´t a problem Lance!¨ Allura tried to convince him.
¨Sure it isn´t, and you tell everyone to go to the devil? Who the heck was on the phone Allura?¨ he insisted.
¨Just some jerk, why are you making this such a big deal?¨ Allura watched in dismay as he headed to the door.
¨Hey wait, where are you going?!¨ Allura sat up and crawled to the edge of the bed as he headed to the door.
¨I´m going downstairs to hang out with the others for a while, hopefully cool off before having to come back up. Maybe when I come back you´ll open up a bit. ¨ Lance reached the door and turned as she called his name. Facing her, he briefly noticed how flushed she was before concentrating on her pleas.
¨Can´t you stay for a few minutes? I really don´t feel so good, please don´t go.¨ Allura was practically begging, her eyes pleading.
Lance felt a pang of guilt as he shook his head and stepped out of the room, ¨I don´t think so Allie.¨
¨Lance!¨ Allura cried, gulping as he closed the door behind him and left her there.
¨Fine! Be a jerk!¨ Allura huffed and pulled the blankets around herself, shivering as she thought back over the phone call.
***********
Downstairs Ken was talking to Devon on his cell phone when Lance arrived. ¨I´m not sure if they´ll want to go, Allura might not want to go.¨
¨Go where? And where´s Tony and Liz?¨ Lance asked
¨To an old club they re-opened by Devon´s apartment, he called to invite us to tonight´s party.¨ Keith told him, not looking too excited. ¨Liz felt a bit sick so they went home early, they apologized for not saying good-bye but the didn`t want to interrupt you and Allura.¨
¨Oh, well... I´m up for a night out. Tell Devon to count me in.¨ Lance looked over his clothes and decided he was fine. He was dressed in black jeans with a navy blue shirt.
¨Me too,¨ Pidge agreed.
Hunk hesitated for a moment before saying, ¨Oh what the heck, me too.¨
Keith was the only one left, and he wasn`t too excited about the idea. ¨We should ask Allura if she want`s to go.¨
¨She´s actually not invited,¨ Ken hung up and put the phone in his pocket. ¨Knowing her, she wouldn´t want to go to this club, so Devon called to invite us for a guy´s night out.¨
¨Besides, she`s not feeling too well and taking a nap.¨ Lance added.
¨I don´t think we shoud leave Allura alone if she´s sick,¨ Keith insisted.
Lance shook his head, ¨Being here´s not gonna help her very much, she´s in bed and in a stubborn mood.¨
¨Do I sense a lover´s tiff?¨ Ken teased
¨Something like that,¨ Lance shrugged and headed to the door, ¨So are we leaving or what?¨
Pidge and Hunk begged and insisted that Keith went until they managed to get him to agree. ¨But we won´t be out too long okay?¨
¨Fine,¨ Hunk said as he put on his shoes and joined the others at the door.
¨Isn´t someone going to tell her where we´ll be?¨ Keith asked, looking at Lance who shrugged.
¨I´ll leave her a note on the door,¨ he told them to go ahead as he went upstairs and left it, Hunk and Ken went for the elevaor.
¨Alright!¨ Pidge followed eagerly anticipating a night on the town.
Keith waited for Lance and was the last one out, locking the doors just in case. [I´m still not sure about this, Allura might need some help...]
***********
[No way! I can´t believe they´d all leave me like this!] Allura stepped out of her room, clutching Lance´s note in one hand.
¨Hello? Keith? Guys?!¨ she called out as loudly as her aching throat would allow.
[Liz was right, I can´t believe how sick I got with such a small soaking] She shivered and pulled the robe tighter around her. She´d put on Lance´s when she couldn´t find hers and sniffled as she smelled his familiar cologne. [He must have been really mad at me, or he wouldn`t have left like that.]
Leaning against a wall weakly, she hesitated, trying to figure out what to do. Finally deciding on a bath, she made her way slowly to the bathroom. Not bothering with the lights, she turned on the water of the tub. As soon as it was filled, she dropped the robe to the floor and struggled to take off her t-shirt for a few moments before giving up and slipping into the tub fully dressed.
[Oh well, the clothes will dry, and I`m so HOT!!!] Dunking beeneath the surface, she smiled as she felt the water cool her heated body, ignoring her slight shivering. Re-surfacing, she sighed and lay on her side, vaguely noticing the sound of the phone ringing before0 falling into a deep sleep.
***********
¨This place is great!¨ Hunk yelled into Keith´s ear as he ordered another drink.
Pidge, Devon, Lance, and Ken were all on the dance floor with some girls that Devon had introduced them to.
¨Yeah, great¨ Keith mumbled, staring down at his half-full bottle. [I wonder how Allura is?] Getting up, he yelled into Hunk´s ear, ¨I´ll be right back, I´m going to the bathroom.¨
¨Ok!¨ Hunk turned his attention back to the girl across the room he´d been flirting with.
[How did I get dragged into this mess? I honestly thought Lance would act decently with Allura and not leave her at home to party like this. I swear he´s such an inconsiderate jerk sometimes, especially when he gets mad at someone.] Keith made his way out to a small garden in the back of the club where couples went to make out and moved into a shadow, pulling out his cell phone and dialing the apartment.
[Come on Allura, pick up!] He waited until it rang five times before hanging up and trying again. Another five rings and still nothing.
[Something´s wrong, where the heck could she be?] Keith hung up and hurried inside, making his way to their table, he was relieved that the guys had gone to sit and pulled Lance aside.
¨Something happened to Allura!¨ he yelled into his ear.
¨Nah! She´s just asleep!¨ Lance turned away for a moment, surprised when Keith gripped his arm and forced him to turn back.
¨Get your stuff, we´re going home.¨ Keith´s expression and voice were set in a no-arguing manner and Lance rolled his eyes.
¨You´re over-reacting! I´m sure she´s fine!¨
Pidge, noticing Keith´s serious expression, realized something must be wrong and began to excuse himself. Hunk quickly followed suit and picked up the other´s jackets as he stood. The girls whined and asked them to stay, but both denied and told Ken and Devon they´d see them later.
¨Its past two in the morning and we have early plans today so we really must go, nice to meet you though.¨ Pidge turned away and pulled the car keys out of Keith´s jacket as they met up with them.
¨What´s up? Are we going or what?¨ Hunk handed them their jackets and followed them out.
¨Yeah, you know Keith, always worrying,¨ Lance grumbled as he unlocked the doors and climbed into the driver´s seat.
¨If Allura hadn´t been sick when we left I wouldn´t be worried, but she´s not picking up the phone.¨ Keith explained as he tried to call again.
¨Think she went somewhere?¨ Pidge asked skeptically.
¨If she did, its probably to see whoever it was that called,¨ Lance mumbled.
¨Yeah, who did call?¨ Hunk suddenly remembered hearing the phone ring while he talked to Liz earlier.
¨Who knows!¨ Lance made a turn too quickly and laughed as they crashed into each other in the backseat.
¨Hey watch it!¨ Pidge yelled from beneath Hunk.
¨So sorry,¨ Lance grinned, becoming serious as they neared their building. [Good thing Devon´s so nearby.]
Entering the elevator, they stayed quiet and waited to arrive. Keith was obviously worried, making Pidge and Hunk worry a bit too. He suddenly snapped at Lance, ¨I can´t believe how you were acting back there!¨
Lance glanced around innocently,¨What´d I do?¨
¨The way you danced with that girl was...¨ Keith was cut off as Lance laughed.
¨Fun, I had some fun.¨
¨While your wife`s sick in bed at home.¨ Keith continued.
Lance huffed, ¨She´s not my real wife Keith, none of that faithfulness crap applies to us.¨
¨Really? I can´t imagine Allura thinking the same,¨ Keith bit back.
Lance raised an uncertain eyebrow at him, ¨Oh yeah? Then how do you explain her ´mysetrious caller?´ You honestly think she wouldn´t tell me if a girlfriend of hers called? No, it was a guy, and someone she doesn´t want me to know about so obviously...¨
¨There´s no obviously about it Lance, I´m sure she´ll explain if you give her some time.¨ Keith quieted down as the elevator stopped and he opened the door, calling out Allura´s name.
All the lights were out, upstairs and down, Lance giving him an ´I told you so´ look as he stood outside his room. ¨She´s asleep.¨
¨Yeah, fine, good night.¨ Keith ignored him and went to his room. Hunk and Pidge did the same, softly whispering about the club on their way.
Noticing the note was gone from the door, Lance quietly entered the room and shut the door behind him. Turning to look at the bed, he was surprised to find it rumpled and empty. [What the...?]
He went over to his side and dropped his jacket on a pile of pillows. Taking off his shoes, he went into the closet and noticed the door to the bathroom was open and his robe was strewn across the floor. [What´s my robe doing in the...] He froze in the doorway as he took in the sight before him.
Allura lay curled on her side in the filled bathtub, fully dressed, shivering, and breathing heavily. Snapping out of it, Lance hurried over and knelt beside her, cursing as he touched the water and found it was ice cold. Feeling a breeze, he looked up and cursed again as he saw the window a few feet away was open.
¨Oh god Allie,¨ Lance felt guilt flood him as he touched her burning forehead and she whimpered, curling up tighter in the water. [I can´t believe I left you alone, I was so mad you wouldn´t tell me... what a stupid thing to be angry about!] He slipped his hands into the water and lifted her into his arms.
Laying her down on the fuzzy rug, he quickly began taking off her soaked clothes. Using the closest thing to cover her, he wrapped her in his robe and carried her to bed, piling a bunch of blankets over her and grabbed the phone to call Tony.
¨Hello?¨ A groggy Liz answered.
¨Hey Liz, its Lance, you said there was a doctor living in the building when we moved in, but do you have his phone number?¨ Lance sat beside Allura, wincing as she whimpered again.
¨A doctor? Why? What happened?¨ Liz was immediately alert, waking up Tony and turning on the light as she grabbed her planner.
¨Allura´s sick, really, really sick, but I don´t want to take her out this late.¨ Lance left her for a moment to take off his wet shirt and grabbed a small towel from the bathroom to make a compress for her hot forehead.
¨I´ll call the doctor and be up in a moment, you try to keep her warm and just wait ok?¨ Liz didn´t wait for his answer before hanging up and calling the doctor.
Lance set down the phone and sighed, noticing her wet hair, he went for a towel to wrap it in and apologized as he did. ¨I´m so sorry for leaving you like that Allie, I´m seriously SO SORRY! Keith was right, I can´t believe I was such a jealous jerk. But you see, that´s just it, I was jealous because I know it was a guy who called and when you wouldn´t tell me who he was...¨
He left her side for a moment as he heard the doorbell ring and stepped out of the room to tell Keith what was going on. When he came back in, she was awake and struggling to sit up.
¨Allie how do you feel?¨ Lance was back at her side in a moment and waiting for an answer when a new voice came from the doorway.
¨Young lady, you lie back down this instant!¨ An older gentleman holding a medical bag in hand shook his head at her and asked Lance to help her lay down.
Looking him over, Lance smiled, thinking that everyone who met him probably did the same. He was the kind of person who made a person feel calm and want to smile. Standing at about 5´8¨ with white hair, a small bald spot at the back of his head, and a slightly rounded tummy, his bright grey eyes gave a person a sense of warmth and security.
¨Dr Mead?¨ she asked weakly when he was standing by her side.
¨Yes my dear, get some rest, I´m here.¨ Dr Mead nodded and pushed her hair out of her eyes as she blinked against the feverish sleep tugging at her.
Feeling hands holding her arms, Allura followed them until she was met with a pair of worried brown eyes. ¨Lance?¨
¨Yeah Allie, I´m here, and I´m sor...¨ he stopped when she lifted her hands to weakly clutch at his shirt and leaned her head in the crook of his neck.
¨Promise not to let go?¨ she whispered as her eyes closed, losing the struggle to stay awake.
Lance gulped as he remembered how he´d left her earlier that night and tightened his hold, fogetting anyone else in the room. ¨I promise¨ he whispered, feeling her sigh and lean against him fully as she fell asleep.
Dr Mead noticed the crowd that had formed behind him and asked everyone else to go back to bed or leave the room so he could check her over, closing the doors after them. Turning back to the young man holding the sleeping princess, he smiled at the tender sight the couple made.
¨You´re gonna have to let her go for a few moments so I can find out what´s wrong.¨ He watched as Lance gently lay her down and stepped away.
He examined her closely before finally settling the blanket around her and faced Lance, ¨She´s caught a bad case of influenza, but she´ll be all right if she gets enough rest. Keep her in bed for at least two days, that´s AT LEAST, I know her, she´ll want to get up sooner but don´t let her. I´ll leave some medicine, which she needs to take every six hours.¨
¨Right, but she´ll be fine?¨ Lance glanced at her, relieved.
¨Yes, try not to upset her and don´t leave her alone. I´ll check in the day after tomorrow to see how she´s doing.¨ Dr Mead yawned and picked up his bag.
¨Thank you for coming so late doctor, I...¨ Lance was interrupted as Dr Mead raised a hand and shook his head.
¨There´s no need to thank me, I´m always on call and it wasn´t a very long trip from my apartment downstairs. Just make sure NOT to leave her alone again.¨ he added sternly.
¨I won´t,¨ Lance glanced back at her before escorting the doctor into the tv room where everyone else was waiting. Pidge and Hunk sat on the small sofa, Liz lay across the larger one with her head in Tony´s lap, and Keith was standing behind one of the individual seats.
They all snapped out of their thoughts as Dr Mead explained about Allura and that she´d be fine in a couple of days.
Noticing Liz yawn sleepily, he scolded her for being out so late and insisted that they all go back to bed. Tony quickly agreed and argued with Liz for a few minutes while she insisted on seeing Allura. When Dr Mead shook his head and explained it wasn´t a good idea for many people to be going in to see her, she reluctantly gave in and wished everyone a good night as they went home.
Hunk and Pidge were easier to convince and quickly went back to their rooms, Keith walked the doctor to the door while Lance went back into his room and then caught up with him there.
Lance was sitting beside her, shoulders slumped and a strange expression on his face as he watched the sleeping princess. As Keith sat on the opposite side of the bed, Lance spoke up softly.
¨I can´t believe I left her like that,¨ he winced as she whimpered and sighed when he put the cold compress to her forehead. ¨She was practically begging me to stay before I went downstairs and agreed to go out with Ken, but I was stupidly mad because of her phone call and I left her.¨
Keith remained quiet for a few moments before replying, ¨Why is her hair wet?¨
Lance slumped even more as he answered, ¨I found her in a tub of cold water.¨
¨Cold water?¨ Keith finally noticed Allura was wearing Lance´s bathrobe and shook his head angrily. ¨I can´t believe I let you convince me to leave her alone, since when do I listen to you guys? I can´t believe I was so irresponsible!¨
He lowered his voice as he added, ¨That´s always been your role.¨
¨The irresponsible one?¨ Lance chuckled sadly and suddenly wondered how many other people he´d let down with his irresponsibility.
¨Yep,¨ Keith yawned and hesitantly stood, ¨Are you sure you can watch her? I can stay...¨
¨I´m sure Keith, good night.¨ Lance watched as he nodded and headed to his room, closing the doors quietly behind him.
Feeling the events of the day catching up to him, Lance sighed and went into the bathroom to wash his face with cold water to wake himself up. Going back to the room, he sat on his side of the bed and watched Allura sleep for a while, until he couldn´t hold out any longer and lay down beside her under the covers.
Just as he was falling asleep, he felt her scoot over, seeking out his warmth. Wrapping his arms around her, Lance held her tightly against the length of him, ignoring the fact that he was sweating because of all the blankets over them. Gradually, as he used an arm to stroke her back and arms soothingly, he felt her trembling still and her body relax, easing into a deep sleep.
He slept fitfully, uncomfortable because of the heat and the weight of his guilt. At one point, Allura moaned against his shoulder and squirmed closer to him as if seeking shelter from a nightmare. Shifting to accomodate her, Lance inwardly groaned as he felt the robe she was wearing open and her silky leg slipped between his, her arm wrapped around him tightened and part of her chest touched him. Feeling his body respond, he gulped and struggled for control as she moaned again and squirmed closer.
[I know I deserve some type of punishment for leaving her, but did it have to be THIS?!] Lance felt her sigh, her breath tickling his neck and bit his lip to keep from whimpering.
[She´s sick... She´s off limits... She´s sick... She´s off limits... Oh God, no man deserves this...]
***********
^_^
Hope you liked this chapter, sorry for the long wait between updates. I´m going to be busy for a while with my other stories and school, but I will finish this!
Leave me a review and let me know what you think!
~ K.C. ~