Title: Friendship
Author: KawaiiChica
E-mail: KawaiiChica@hotmail.com
Rating: R - For adult situations and language.
Disclaimer: Not mine - just borrowed for the fic.
" " Speaking
[ ] Thoughts
+++ Flashbacks
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*Sniffle*
Allura leaned weakly against Lance, too emotionally and physically drained to move away. Her crying had finally ebbed and left in its place a sense of overwhelming exhaustion which threatened to make her fall sleep on her feet.
"Feeling better?" Lance moved away to look down at her face, not surprised to see her nod sluggishly, having already sensed how tired she must be by the way she leaned against him so easily. "Time for bed then."
Lifting her into his arms, he settled her onto the bed and carefully removed her shoes, covering her with a blanket before sitting down beside her. She gave a sleepy smile and slid her hand into his, lightly tugging him down to hear her. "Stay?"
"I'm not so sure about that Allie, we've got a lot to talk about."
Allura nodded, "After our nap, come on."
Giving in to his own need to hold her, Lance slipped his shoes off and watched her crawl into bed, pushing the sheets back and sliding beneath them, leaving enough room for him. Allura turned away and relaxed when he slid into their usual spooning position, glad to be in his arms again. "I've missed you."
"Not as much as I have," Lance sighed and pulled her close, thanking the gods for this second chance. Settling his chin above her head, he held her loosely, wondering what they were doing as he listened to her even, slow breathing. Watching her sleep, he couldn't help the guilt that came to mind to think of what he'd done. [How could I have called you such horrible things?]
What was worse, and nearly killed him earlier, was the fact that she'd agreed. She'd really meant it when she said she was a whore, there was no doubting the sincerity in her voice and features as she's admitted she was a slut. It tore at him to think of her seeing herself that way, all because of greedy, lustfull jerks like Mick and Grandfather. [And me, I helped them when I called her a slut]
Wincing at that thought, he buried his face in her hair, holding her tighter, as if afraid she would wake and leave him. [No, she wouldn't do that though. She said she missed me.] Looking down at her peaceful smile, he ached with the need to apologize, to do something to make up for all the hurt he'd caused her. In her sleep she looked as fragile as they'd always thought she was, naive, with a sweet smile on her lips. She was more than he'd ever thought he could deserve. Kind, caring, innocent Allura.
[Innocent?] Studying her for a second, he nodded at that conclusion. She was innocent, none of what had happened was her fault. She'd been set up by a man no one would think would harm her, twice, perhaps even three times. She'd been forced into a life she shouldn't even have known about. The thought of her being dominated and subject to strange men causing him to tighten his hold to a point where she gave a small gasp and turned to blink sleepily at him.
"Lance?" her voice was low and breathy, edged with sleep.
"Sorry," he let go a bit, smiling when she turned, wrapping her arms around him and settling her head on his shoulder, quickly falling back asleep. [What did I do to deserve this? How can I redeem myself to someone I was never good enough for in the first place?] After watching her sleep for about an hour, his own weariness overcame him and he finally slept as well.
They woke up to the sound of knocking on the door, Nanny's urgent voice calling out to Allura. "Princess you have to come out here!"
"Mm... what is it Nanny?" Allura sighed and stretched, giving a pout when Lance stood and made his way to the door.
"Princess you wouldn't believe who's here!" Nanny gave a beaming smile, shooing Lance out with a light scolding about their disheveled appearances. "I take it you've behaved since you're both dressed but this behavior is not acceptable."
"Sure Nanny," Lance grinned and headed to his own room to change.
Allura was quickly changed into a light blue dress, her hair lifted into a pretty bun and her make up added on in soft tones. "Who is it Nanny? Why am I wearing something so informal to greet them?"
"Oh, he doesn't need formalities!" Nanny shoved her out the door and practically dragged her to the stairway, where Lance and the others waited already.
Allura smiled sheepishly at them all and took her place between Keith and Lance. "Any idea who this visitor is?"
"No, we were just told to wait with you here, the plane had a few problems and whoever is here insisted on checking them before coming to the palace. " Keith shrugged, glancing over her dress, "You look nice Allura, black isn't your color."
"Thank you," Allura blushed a little and straightened out the skirt of her dress. At the sound of a carriage appraoching, she straightened, squared her shoulders and was once again the sovereign she'd been trained to be since childhood. Knowing the pain and uncertainty she'd been feeling earlier that day, it was amazing to see her cast her feelings aside and assume a perfectly calm and controlled appearance.
[This is how Nanny and Koran wish she would be all the time.] Pidge winced at the thought of Allura acting this way all the time. It would be so boring for her. He was brought out of this thoughts at the sound of Allura and the others taking a few steps down the stairs, waiting at the landing that was at the middle of the staircase. The doors opened, allowing a small party to enter and stop at the bottom of the stairs where Koran awaited.
Lance watched the men closely, counting six of them and noting their battle suits, much like the ones they used but black instead of white, he had a feeling he wasn't going to like this company's visit. Koran greeted them enthusiastically, shaking the young man at the head of the group's hand happily.
"Its a pleasure to have you here again!"
"Its nice to be here Koran," the young man smiled and turned towards the staircase, eyes going directly to Allura.
Her voice was surprisingly cold as she welcomed their guest, "Welcome to Arus your highness, to what, may I ask, do we owe this pleasure?"
Lance and Keith shared a look, wondering who this guy was that he could cause such a reaction in the usually friendly princess.
"I've come in hopes of recovering what I lost the last time I left," the young man standing below replied.
For the next few minutes the air seemed to freeze, no one speaking a word as Allura and the new arrival maintained a strained eye contact. Finally giving sigh, Allura turned away, "You will excuse me for not playing the perfect hostess tonight but I am feeling a bit unwell. Koran and Nanny will make sure to help with whatever you need."
"Allie wait!"
Allura tensed but spoke over her shoulder, "I have no problems with you staying here for as long as you need, but please refrain from calling me anything other than Princess or Your highness."
"Princess!" Nanny shook her head at her angrily, "That's no way to behave after all this time!"
The new guy frowned and came up to her side, "Since when do we use the correct protocol? You're MY Allie, I gave you the nickname."
"And YOU also left me here all alone!" Allura faced him again, tears brimming in her eyes, "Don't blame ME for your leaving Theodore! I didn't turn MY back on you! Not even after all those horrible things you said! I still cared..."
"I came to talk to you about that," he quickly interrupted, "But I was hoping we could have some privacy to talk?"
Allura shook her head, "Not tonight, I'm exhausted and I just want to sleep. I don't want to think or worry or stress. I just want to sleep."
Turning away again, she was about to headed back to her room when one of the prince's escorts spoke up, making her stop and turn with a shocked expression on her face.
"I told you she'd shoot you down," A tall, black-haired, blue-eyed guy smirked and gave a dimpled smile to Allura, crossing his arms and leaning against the rail easily. "He really is an idiot when it comes to women."
Allura grinned and came back down towards him. "Maybe you could give him some lessons, since you seem to be so good with them."
"Seem to be?" he raised and eyebrow. "I don't recall having any difficulties with a woman."
"Yet," Allura's voice was teasing.
He smirked, uncrossing his arms and stepping closer to her, stopping a couple of steps below her so they were at eye level with one another, "Is that a challenge?"
"What if it is?" Allura tossed her hair over her shoulder, resting a hand on her hip and giving him a sexy smirk, "You really think you're up to it?"
"Oh I'm UP for anything you can dish out," he replied, smirking again her slight flush and a shake of her head.
Allura laughed suddenly, catching everyone by surprise when she hopped down one step and threw her arms around his neck. "You old dog! I'm so glad you're here!"
He hugged her back, "What? Would I miss a chance to see you again?"
"I should think not!" Allura was still laughing while she pulled back a little, keeping his arms around her waist. "But you haven't introduced me to your handsome new friends."
"New friends? You really must be in need of some glasses if you can't recognize us," another one of them stepped up with a grin.
"Well I've had so many men in my life, its hard to remember all their names," Allura laughed at their combined scowls and smiled brightly, "How've you guys been? I'm surprised to see you with his highness of all people."
"What can we say, its good pay and the work's not so bad," the guy holding her shrugged.
"Well I really must get back to bed, I'm so tired," Allura yawned and stepped away, waving to the others before turning to go back up the stairs. "Nanny and Koran can introduce you guys to the voltron force."
She gave her teammates a smile, thanking Lance for earlier before heading to her room, grabbing Ken along the way. "We need to talk."
"You are in so much trouble missy," Ken followed shaking his head at her back.
"Don't I know it," Allura sighed and glanced back at all the guys watching her leave.
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The next morning the dinning room was quite busy, since there were so many people at the castle, they set out the large table and had a buffet. Keith, Lance, Ken and Theodore, being used to getting up early, were the first to eat and had a relatively quiet breakfast, each reading his own newspaper, book, or other documents. When the door opened to reveal a sleepy Allura drag her feet over to a chair, Lance and Keith stood, one grabbing a drink while the other fixed her a light plate with fruit and toast.
"Thanks," she sighed and rubbed her eyes while they set them down in front of her. She yawned, stretching her arms back before smiling and asking how they'd slept.
"Fine, but we were left wondering about you last night," Keith waited for her to explain.
Allura shrugged, eating the fruit up quickly, "I was really tired, you know, that breakdown took a lot out of me."
A familiar voice came from the doorway and they turned to see the guy she'd hugged last night come in wearing a pair of silk pants and some slippers. Allura giggled and stood, shaking her head at him a little, "What were you thinking, coming down in just your pjs mister?"
"That it'd be rude of me to come get breakfast in the nude," he grinned at her pretty blush and grabbed an apple, biting into it casually.
"You are so bad Damien," Allura grabbed a plate and served herself some eggs and ham.
He shrugged, "What can I say, I WAS rumored to be the spawn of the devil a few times."
Allura grinned, "Now why doesn't that surprise me, Damien Nicolae?"
He smirked and shrugged casually, "Beats me, shall I?"
Pulling back her chair for her to sit, he took a seat in the empty spot next to her and finally seemed to realize there were more people in the room. "Good morning, I guess we forgot our manners a bit. Allura really has been a bad hostess, I'm Damien and he's Theodore the jerk."
"Hey!" The prince frowned and threw a fruit at him.
Allura snickered, her voice taunting when she spoke, "Its not like he's lying."
Theodore coughed and stood, grabbing his book as he left, "We need to talk princess, I'll be waiting in the room for you."
"Don't hold your breath," Allura mumbled, yelping at a prick in her side. "What was that for?!"
"You should be nice and listen to the guy, he's here with a good reason." Damien's expression had become serious when Theodore left.
Allura shrugged and focused on the food in her plate, asking about the guy's plans for the day. Keith and Lance had some meetings with the town's police and fire departments and would be gone most of the day, Ken had been planning on going back to the city, but wasn't too sure about how wise that would be now.
"Just because I'm in a castle full of young men?" Allura grinned, "Really Ken-ii, such little faith you have in me. I did spend a month and a half sharing my bed with a man and without having sex, remember?"
"A month and a half?" Damien whistled, "Whoever he is deserves a reward for keeping his hands to himself. Damn!"
Allura met Lance's eyes and smiled, "Yeah, he's really great."
"The man's a saint!" Damien insisted, "Unless he's a eunuch."
Not surprisingly Lance choked suddenly, having been drinking some juice when the statement was made and Allura giggled. "Nope, he's not a eunuch, just very... disciplined."
"Hell I'm disciplined but that doesn't mean I wouldn't seduce you the first night I got you in my bed," Damien shrugged and finished his meal.
Suddenly hearing a very familiar voice giving out some orders from the direction of the kitchen, Allura gasped and stood, quickly pulling Damien out of his chair. "You've got to get some clothes on, right now!"
"Woah! Why now?" Damien followed her out and into a nearby closet when Nanny appeared and went into the dinning room.
Allura shook her head at him and peeked out to make sure the coast was clear, "Because if Nanny saw you like that she'd kill me for staying nearby, not to mention she'd kill you too."
"Ah, I see, and this isn't just a ruse to get me into a closet for a quickie?" Damien smirked at her startled expression before she noticed his hands on her hips.
Having come down without worrying about a robe, Allura suddenly realized her own outfit was less than what Nanny would call 'acceptable' with a black tank top and some loosely tied black pants. Since the tank top had a built in bra, she wasn't wearing one underneath it and now that she thought about it, her lacy black underwear were really not what she should have been wearing either. As his hands moved slowly up her sides, she suddenly snapped out of it and stepped away, shaking her head at him.
"Sorry, but its definitely not a ruse to get laid Damien, I just didn't want you or me to get into trouble," Allura stepped out of the closet and once again made sure no one was watching before making her way to her room to get dressed. Damien went the opposite direction to his own room, whistling an easy going tune as he went.
The rest of the day went by uneventfully, Allura was once again locked up in her room with her studies, Prince Theodore took a tour with three of his men, the voltron force went about their duties and everything seemed fine until dinner time came around and Allura had yet to leave her room.
"Has anyone seen Damien? I haven't seen him all day," a young escort, Neil, asked as they entered the dinning room.
"Damien AND Allura have yet to show?" Ken and Theodore shared a look, both standing and heading outside, surprised when the pair entered, laughing and wiping their eyes.
"And remember the time with the club and the lights and..."
"And the owner's meeting with..."
"Yeah!" Allura covered her mouth as she bent over with laughter. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she leaned against a nearby table, her giggling causing her to gasp for air. It was the first time since Maru's death that she'd laughed and smiled so much and Lance could only wonder why they hadn't been able to cheer her up.
Derek was also having a good time judging by his laughter, even after Theodore shot him a furious glare and demanded to know where he'd been all day, his smile couldn't be erased. The fact that both Allura and Derek's hair was slightly damp making it impossible to think they hadn't been out together. Derek shrugged and straightened a bit.
"It was really hot earlier so we decided to take a walk along that small river in the forest but then someone decided it'd be fun to cross it by stepping on the rocks inside it and ended up slipping on a moss covered stone. Since this someone is rather important and it wouldn't have done to leave them there I had to jump in and get her out, thus we both got soaking wet and we just came from changing."
"You were down at that river today?" Nanny crossed her arms angrily, "Just when did you get out of your room? We didn't see you leave, no one did."
Allura had finally calmed and was moving over to take a seat, "That's not true, I paid off the person who helped us get out, and no, I'm not telling you who it was."
She shrugged and motioned for everyone to take their seats. Unlike the previous night, today she was the perfect hostess, entertaining everyone, making sure they all got along and that the conversation didn't dwindle or become uncomfortable. Once the dessert was done with, Allura stood and was about to excuse herself for the night when Theodore asked for a moment to speak with her.
After getting a look from Damien and remembering his telling her to give him a chance, she nodded and they headed into a small sitting room her mother had used to entertain close friends. After closing the door behind her, she sighed and turned to her ex-fiancee, uncertain of what was to come.
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"Come on, you can do better," Lance grinned, watching the others hesitate briefly.
"I'll pay," Damien set the amount on the table while everyone else backed out. "Let's see what you've got."
Lowering his cards to the table, Lance smirked as he showed the perfect hand, "Quinitilla."
"Shit," Damien whistled and threw down his cards, "I don't think I've seen many of those before."
"Wow," Pidge and the others came closer to see the cards, "That's nearly impossible."
Lance grinned and piled his chips, unwrapping one and chewing the chocolate slowly, "I love using chocolate coins for betting."
Hunk nodded, "Makes the game more interesting."
When a sudden cheering came from the pool table at the other end of the room, they decided to take a break and went over to find out what was going on. Ken and Neil were facing off and Ken had just gotten the final ball in, earning a couple of the guys some betting money. "Sorry man," Ken shook his hand and handed the stick over to Keith.
They were all taking a drink break and joking around when the door suddenly opened, catching everyone's attention and focusing it on the people entering the room. Nanny and Koran went over to the table and waited for the couple standing in the doorway. Allura stood beside Theodore, her arm looped in his and smiling brightly as he cheerfully ordered everyone to grab a drink for an announcement.
"After hours of talking, catching up and clearing old misunderstandings, Allura and I have reconciled and I am proud to announce that you are now looking at the future, Mr and Mrs Theodore Kavanagh."
There was a mixed reaction to the news, the voltron force's and Ken's confusion was easily covered by the others' enthusiastic congratulations. Nanny's overjoyed cries filled the room as she hugged her princess and then the prince. Koran congratulated them excitedly and watched with proud eyes as Allura showed off her ring, the one she'd worn during her vacation having been removed after she'd arrived at the palace.
Hunk and Pidge eventually came over to congratulate her, as well as Keith and Ken, but Lance remained frozen in place, watching as the couple was congratulated and shared toasts with their friends. Looking at the beautiful princess standing beside her prince, he felt a knot form in his throat as he admitted they made a handsome couple.
Allura stood nestled into Theodore's side, her beautiful long hair contrasting his dark black tresses perfectly. They stood tall and lean, both fit and healthy. Her pale skin another contrast to his tanned look, her bright blue eyes going against his chocolate brown orbs. They were complete opposites, but they fit together perfectly, bringing out the best in the other. [They do say opposites attract]
Snapping out of his thoughts as Koran came up beside him, he made his way over and finally congratulated them. "You're a lucky man," he smiled at Theodore and moved his eyes down to hers.
Allura met his gaze hesitantly, a guilty look in her eyes as she accepted his well wishes. "I know you've missed your Teddy, its good to see you finally got him back."
"Yes it is," she smiled and looked away quickly when a toast was declared. There were many toasts made that night and the celebrating didn't end until very late.
When he was finally able to go to his room, Lance was relieved to sink into a deep sleep, keeping the plauging thoughts of Allura married to another man from driving him to do something he'd later regret. [There's no way I can stay for this though, I couldn't bear to watch her marry another man.]
With that last thought he slipped off into a dream-filled sleep, images of him and Allura at the beach, the park, their bed back at the apartment haunting him during the night.
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Author: KawaiiChica
E-mail: KawaiiChica@hotmail.com
Rating: R - For adult situations and language.
Disclaimer: Not mine - just borrowed for the fic.
" " Speaking
[ ] Thoughts
+++ Flashbacks
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*Sniffle*
Allura leaned weakly against Lance, too emotionally and physically drained to move away. Her crying had finally ebbed and left in its place a sense of overwhelming exhaustion which threatened to make her fall sleep on her feet.
"Feeling better?" Lance moved away to look down at her face, not surprised to see her nod sluggishly, having already sensed how tired she must be by the way she leaned against him so easily. "Time for bed then."
Lifting her into his arms, he settled her onto the bed and carefully removed her shoes, covering her with a blanket before sitting down beside her. She gave a sleepy smile and slid her hand into his, lightly tugging him down to hear her. "Stay?"
"I'm not so sure about that Allie, we've got a lot to talk about."
Allura nodded, "After our nap, come on."
Giving in to his own need to hold her, Lance slipped his shoes off and watched her crawl into bed, pushing the sheets back and sliding beneath them, leaving enough room for him. Allura turned away and relaxed when he slid into their usual spooning position, glad to be in his arms again. "I've missed you."
"Not as much as I have," Lance sighed and pulled her close, thanking the gods for this second chance. Settling his chin above her head, he held her loosely, wondering what they were doing as he listened to her even, slow breathing. Watching her sleep, he couldn't help the guilt that came to mind to think of what he'd done. [How could I have called you such horrible things?]
What was worse, and nearly killed him earlier, was the fact that she'd agreed. She'd really meant it when she said she was a whore, there was no doubting the sincerity in her voice and features as she's admitted she was a slut. It tore at him to think of her seeing herself that way, all because of greedy, lustfull jerks like Mick and Grandfather. [And me, I helped them when I called her a slut]
Wincing at that thought, he buried his face in her hair, holding her tighter, as if afraid she would wake and leave him. [No, she wouldn't do that though. She said she missed me.] Looking down at her peaceful smile, he ached with the need to apologize, to do something to make up for all the hurt he'd caused her. In her sleep she looked as fragile as they'd always thought she was, naive, with a sweet smile on her lips. She was more than he'd ever thought he could deserve. Kind, caring, innocent Allura.
[Innocent?] Studying her for a second, he nodded at that conclusion. She was innocent, none of what had happened was her fault. She'd been set up by a man no one would think would harm her, twice, perhaps even three times. She'd been forced into a life she shouldn't even have known about. The thought of her being dominated and subject to strange men causing him to tighten his hold to a point where she gave a small gasp and turned to blink sleepily at him.
"Lance?" her voice was low and breathy, edged with sleep.
"Sorry," he let go a bit, smiling when she turned, wrapping her arms around him and settling her head on his shoulder, quickly falling back asleep. [What did I do to deserve this? How can I redeem myself to someone I was never good enough for in the first place?] After watching her sleep for about an hour, his own weariness overcame him and he finally slept as well.
They woke up to the sound of knocking on the door, Nanny's urgent voice calling out to Allura. "Princess you have to come out here!"
"Mm... what is it Nanny?" Allura sighed and stretched, giving a pout when Lance stood and made his way to the door.
"Princess you wouldn't believe who's here!" Nanny gave a beaming smile, shooing Lance out with a light scolding about their disheveled appearances. "I take it you've behaved since you're both dressed but this behavior is not acceptable."
"Sure Nanny," Lance grinned and headed to his own room to change.
Allura was quickly changed into a light blue dress, her hair lifted into a pretty bun and her make up added on in soft tones. "Who is it Nanny? Why am I wearing something so informal to greet them?"
"Oh, he doesn't need formalities!" Nanny shoved her out the door and practically dragged her to the stairway, where Lance and the others waited already.
Allura smiled sheepishly at them all and took her place between Keith and Lance. "Any idea who this visitor is?"
"No, we were just told to wait with you here, the plane had a few problems and whoever is here insisted on checking them before coming to the palace. " Keith shrugged, glancing over her dress, "You look nice Allura, black isn't your color."
"Thank you," Allura blushed a little and straightened out the skirt of her dress. At the sound of a carriage appraoching, she straightened, squared her shoulders and was once again the sovereign she'd been trained to be since childhood. Knowing the pain and uncertainty she'd been feeling earlier that day, it was amazing to see her cast her feelings aside and assume a perfectly calm and controlled appearance.
[This is how Nanny and Koran wish she would be all the time.] Pidge winced at the thought of Allura acting this way all the time. It would be so boring for her. He was brought out of this thoughts at the sound of Allura and the others taking a few steps down the stairs, waiting at the landing that was at the middle of the staircase. The doors opened, allowing a small party to enter and stop at the bottom of the stairs where Koran awaited.
Lance watched the men closely, counting six of them and noting their battle suits, much like the ones they used but black instead of white, he had a feeling he wasn't going to like this company's visit. Koran greeted them enthusiastically, shaking the young man at the head of the group's hand happily.
"Its a pleasure to have you here again!"
"Its nice to be here Koran," the young man smiled and turned towards the staircase, eyes going directly to Allura.
Her voice was surprisingly cold as she welcomed their guest, "Welcome to Arus your highness, to what, may I ask, do we owe this pleasure?"
Lance and Keith shared a look, wondering who this guy was that he could cause such a reaction in the usually friendly princess.
"I've come in hopes of recovering what I lost the last time I left," the young man standing below replied.
For the next few minutes the air seemed to freeze, no one speaking a word as Allura and the new arrival maintained a strained eye contact. Finally giving sigh, Allura turned away, "You will excuse me for not playing the perfect hostess tonight but I am feeling a bit unwell. Koran and Nanny will make sure to help with whatever you need."
"Allie wait!"
Allura tensed but spoke over her shoulder, "I have no problems with you staying here for as long as you need, but please refrain from calling me anything other than Princess or Your highness."
"Princess!" Nanny shook her head at her angrily, "That's no way to behave after all this time!"
The new guy frowned and came up to her side, "Since when do we use the correct protocol? You're MY Allie, I gave you the nickname."
"And YOU also left me here all alone!" Allura faced him again, tears brimming in her eyes, "Don't blame ME for your leaving Theodore! I didn't turn MY back on you! Not even after all those horrible things you said! I still cared..."
"I came to talk to you about that," he quickly interrupted, "But I was hoping we could have some privacy to talk?"
Allura shook her head, "Not tonight, I'm exhausted and I just want to sleep. I don't want to think or worry or stress. I just want to sleep."
Turning away again, she was about to headed back to her room when one of the prince's escorts spoke up, making her stop and turn with a shocked expression on her face.
"I told you she'd shoot you down," A tall, black-haired, blue-eyed guy smirked and gave a dimpled smile to Allura, crossing his arms and leaning against the rail easily. "He really is an idiot when it comes to women."
Allura grinned and came back down towards him. "Maybe you could give him some lessons, since you seem to be so good with them."
"Seem to be?" he raised and eyebrow. "I don't recall having any difficulties with a woman."
"Yet," Allura's voice was teasing.
He smirked, uncrossing his arms and stepping closer to her, stopping a couple of steps below her so they were at eye level with one another, "Is that a challenge?"
"What if it is?" Allura tossed her hair over her shoulder, resting a hand on her hip and giving him a sexy smirk, "You really think you're up to it?"
"Oh I'm UP for anything you can dish out," he replied, smirking again her slight flush and a shake of her head.
Allura laughed suddenly, catching everyone by surprise when she hopped down one step and threw her arms around his neck. "You old dog! I'm so glad you're here!"
He hugged her back, "What? Would I miss a chance to see you again?"
"I should think not!" Allura was still laughing while she pulled back a little, keeping his arms around her waist. "But you haven't introduced me to your handsome new friends."
"New friends? You really must be in need of some glasses if you can't recognize us," another one of them stepped up with a grin.
"Well I've had so many men in my life, its hard to remember all their names," Allura laughed at their combined scowls and smiled brightly, "How've you guys been? I'm surprised to see you with his highness of all people."
"What can we say, its good pay and the work's not so bad," the guy holding her shrugged.
"Well I really must get back to bed, I'm so tired," Allura yawned and stepped away, waving to the others before turning to go back up the stairs. "Nanny and Koran can introduce you guys to the voltron force."
She gave her teammates a smile, thanking Lance for earlier before heading to her room, grabbing Ken along the way. "We need to talk."
"You are in so much trouble missy," Ken followed shaking his head at her back.
"Don't I know it," Allura sighed and glanced back at all the guys watching her leave.
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The next morning the dinning room was quite busy, since there were so many people at the castle, they set out the large table and had a buffet. Keith, Lance, Ken and Theodore, being used to getting up early, were the first to eat and had a relatively quiet breakfast, each reading his own newspaper, book, or other documents. When the door opened to reveal a sleepy Allura drag her feet over to a chair, Lance and Keith stood, one grabbing a drink while the other fixed her a light plate with fruit and toast.
"Thanks," she sighed and rubbed her eyes while they set them down in front of her. She yawned, stretching her arms back before smiling and asking how they'd slept.
"Fine, but we were left wondering about you last night," Keith waited for her to explain.
Allura shrugged, eating the fruit up quickly, "I was really tired, you know, that breakdown took a lot out of me."
A familiar voice came from the doorway and they turned to see the guy she'd hugged last night come in wearing a pair of silk pants and some slippers. Allura giggled and stood, shaking her head at him a little, "What were you thinking, coming down in just your pjs mister?"
"That it'd be rude of me to come get breakfast in the nude," he grinned at her pretty blush and grabbed an apple, biting into it casually.
"You are so bad Damien," Allura grabbed a plate and served herself some eggs and ham.
He shrugged, "What can I say, I WAS rumored to be the spawn of the devil a few times."
Allura grinned, "Now why doesn't that surprise me, Damien Nicolae?"
He smirked and shrugged casually, "Beats me, shall I?"
Pulling back her chair for her to sit, he took a seat in the empty spot next to her and finally seemed to realize there were more people in the room. "Good morning, I guess we forgot our manners a bit. Allura really has been a bad hostess, I'm Damien and he's Theodore the jerk."
"Hey!" The prince frowned and threw a fruit at him.
Allura snickered, her voice taunting when she spoke, "Its not like he's lying."
Theodore coughed and stood, grabbing his book as he left, "We need to talk princess, I'll be waiting in the room for you."
"Don't hold your breath," Allura mumbled, yelping at a prick in her side. "What was that for?!"
"You should be nice and listen to the guy, he's here with a good reason." Damien's expression had become serious when Theodore left.
Allura shrugged and focused on the food in her plate, asking about the guy's plans for the day. Keith and Lance had some meetings with the town's police and fire departments and would be gone most of the day, Ken had been planning on going back to the city, but wasn't too sure about how wise that would be now.
"Just because I'm in a castle full of young men?" Allura grinned, "Really Ken-ii, such little faith you have in me. I did spend a month and a half sharing my bed with a man and without having sex, remember?"
"A month and a half?" Damien whistled, "Whoever he is deserves a reward for keeping his hands to himself. Damn!"
Allura met Lance's eyes and smiled, "Yeah, he's really great."
"The man's a saint!" Damien insisted, "Unless he's a eunuch."
Not surprisingly Lance choked suddenly, having been drinking some juice when the statement was made and Allura giggled. "Nope, he's not a eunuch, just very... disciplined."
"Hell I'm disciplined but that doesn't mean I wouldn't seduce you the first night I got you in my bed," Damien shrugged and finished his meal.
Suddenly hearing a very familiar voice giving out some orders from the direction of the kitchen, Allura gasped and stood, quickly pulling Damien out of his chair. "You've got to get some clothes on, right now!"
"Woah! Why now?" Damien followed her out and into a nearby closet when Nanny appeared and went into the dinning room.
Allura shook her head at him and peeked out to make sure the coast was clear, "Because if Nanny saw you like that she'd kill me for staying nearby, not to mention she'd kill you too."
"Ah, I see, and this isn't just a ruse to get me into a closet for a quickie?" Damien smirked at her startled expression before she noticed his hands on her hips.
Having come down without worrying about a robe, Allura suddenly realized her own outfit was less than what Nanny would call 'acceptable' with a black tank top and some loosely tied black pants. Since the tank top had a built in bra, she wasn't wearing one underneath it and now that she thought about it, her lacy black underwear were really not what she should have been wearing either. As his hands moved slowly up her sides, she suddenly snapped out of it and stepped away, shaking her head at him.
"Sorry, but its definitely not a ruse to get laid Damien, I just didn't want you or me to get into trouble," Allura stepped out of the closet and once again made sure no one was watching before making her way to her room to get dressed. Damien went the opposite direction to his own room, whistling an easy going tune as he went.
The rest of the day went by uneventfully, Allura was once again locked up in her room with her studies, Prince Theodore took a tour with three of his men, the voltron force went about their duties and everything seemed fine until dinner time came around and Allura had yet to leave her room.
"Has anyone seen Damien? I haven't seen him all day," a young escort, Neil, asked as they entered the dinning room.
"Damien AND Allura have yet to show?" Ken and Theodore shared a look, both standing and heading outside, surprised when the pair entered, laughing and wiping their eyes.
"And remember the time with the club and the lights and..."
"And the owner's meeting with..."
"Yeah!" Allura covered her mouth as she bent over with laughter. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she leaned against a nearby table, her giggling causing her to gasp for air. It was the first time since Maru's death that she'd laughed and smiled so much and Lance could only wonder why they hadn't been able to cheer her up.
Derek was also having a good time judging by his laughter, even after Theodore shot him a furious glare and demanded to know where he'd been all day, his smile couldn't be erased. The fact that both Allura and Derek's hair was slightly damp making it impossible to think they hadn't been out together. Derek shrugged and straightened a bit.
"It was really hot earlier so we decided to take a walk along that small river in the forest but then someone decided it'd be fun to cross it by stepping on the rocks inside it and ended up slipping on a moss covered stone. Since this someone is rather important and it wouldn't have done to leave them there I had to jump in and get her out, thus we both got soaking wet and we just came from changing."
"You were down at that river today?" Nanny crossed her arms angrily, "Just when did you get out of your room? We didn't see you leave, no one did."
Allura had finally calmed and was moving over to take a seat, "That's not true, I paid off the person who helped us get out, and no, I'm not telling you who it was."
She shrugged and motioned for everyone to take their seats. Unlike the previous night, today she was the perfect hostess, entertaining everyone, making sure they all got along and that the conversation didn't dwindle or become uncomfortable. Once the dessert was done with, Allura stood and was about to excuse herself for the night when Theodore asked for a moment to speak with her.
After getting a look from Damien and remembering his telling her to give him a chance, she nodded and they headed into a small sitting room her mother had used to entertain close friends. After closing the door behind her, she sighed and turned to her ex-fiancee, uncertain of what was to come.
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"Come on, you can do better," Lance grinned, watching the others hesitate briefly.
"I'll pay," Damien set the amount on the table while everyone else backed out. "Let's see what you've got."
Lowering his cards to the table, Lance smirked as he showed the perfect hand, "Quinitilla."
"Shit," Damien whistled and threw down his cards, "I don't think I've seen many of those before."
"Wow," Pidge and the others came closer to see the cards, "That's nearly impossible."
Lance grinned and piled his chips, unwrapping one and chewing the chocolate slowly, "I love using chocolate coins for betting."
Hunk nodded, "Makes the game more interesting."
When a sudden cheering came from the pool table at the other end of the room, they decided to take a break and went over to find out what was going on. Ken and Neil were facing off and Ken had just gotten the final ball in, earning a couple of the guys some betting money. "Sorry man," Ken shook his hand and handed the stick over to Keith.
They were all taking a drink break and joking around when the door suddenly opened, catching everyone's attention and focusing it on the people entering the room. Nanny and Koran went over to the table and waited for the couple standing in the doorway. Allura stood beside Theodore, her arm looped in his and smiling brightly as he cheerfully ordered everyone to grab a drink for an announcement.
"After hours of talking, catching up and clearing old misunderstandings, Allura and I have reconciled and I am proud to announce that you are now looking at the future, Mr and Mrs Theodore Kavanagh."
There was a mixed reaction to the news, the voltron force's and Ken's confusion was easily covered by the others' enthusiastic congratulations. Nanny's overjoyed cries filled the room as she hugged her princess and then the prince. Koran congratulated them excitedly and watched with proud eyes as Allura showed off her ring, the one she'd worn during her vacation having been removed after she'd arrived at the palace.
Hunk and Pidge eventually came over to congratulate her, as well as Keith and Ken, but Lance remained frozen in place, watching as the couple was congratulated and shared toasts with their friends. Looking at the beautiful princess standing beside her prince, he felt a knot form in his throat as he admitted they made a handsome couple.
Allura stood nestled into Theodore's side, her beautiful long hair contrasting his dark black tresses perfectly. They stood tall and lean, both fit and healthy. Her pale skin another contrast to his tanned look, her bright blue eyes going against his chocolate brown orbs. They were complete opposites, but they fit together perfectly, bringing out the best in the other. [They do say opposites attract]
Snapping out of his thoughts as Koran came up beside him, he made his way over and finally congratulated them. "You're a lucky man," he smiled at Theodore and moved his eyes down to hers.
Allura met his gaze hesitantly, a guilty look in her eyes as she accepted his well wishes. "I know you've missed your Teddy, its good to see you finally got him back."
"Yes it is," she smiled and looked away quickly when a toast was declared. There were many toasts made that night and the celebrating didn't end until very late.
When he was finally able to go to his room, Lance was relieved to sink into a deep sleep, keeping the plauging thoughts of Allura married to another man from driving him to do something he'd later regret. [There's no way I can stay for this though, I couldn't bear to watch her marry another man.]
With that last thought he slipped off into a dream-filled sleep, images of him and Allura at the beach, the park, their bed back at the apartment haunting him during the night.
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