Chapter Five- First Date

Keith was still smiling as he slipped out of the castle. It had been a good day and it promised to be a good night. Keith had run the team through lion drills and then supervised hand-to-hand combat. He didn't get involved as his increased strength would be noticed and commented on.

He had no doubts about his new relationship with Lotor as odd as it seemed. He knew he was getting ahead of himself but he saw the two of them married and having a woman serve as a surrogate for two children. Hopefully, his would be a boy who would carry on his family's werewolf heritage. Of course, that would mean I either tell Lotor or keep it a secret. Right now, I keep it secret as Lotor and I are still new to being a couple and I really don't know much about him. He slipped into the trees and began sniffing out Lotor's scent, happy he could do that. He locked onto it and it led him to the ship where Lotor stood outside, two sheathed swords lay on the ground nearby. Right where we agreed to meet. Keith's smile grew as he came closer. "Hi, Lotor."

"Keith." Lotor came over and enfolded him in an embrace. "I hope waiting for tonight wasn't too difficult for you."

"Not at all. I ran some lion drills with the team, supervised some hand-to-hand combat, and took a nap."

"You supervised the combat? I would have thought you would be part of it."

"Not today. Besides, it looks as if you have some swordplay for us tonight." He nodded at the swords.

"Yes, but later. We'll talk first so we can know each other." Lotor pulled Keith over to a tree and they sat beneath it. "So, as you know, Zarkon's my father. My mother died when I was a baby and I was raised by a governess who drilled my race's heritage into me and I had teachers in the usual subjects as well as combat training, ship's operations, and military conquest. I conquered many planets and brought glory to the empire which made Father proud of me. When I heard the stories of Voltron's victories, I came home to succeed where Yurack failed. Clearly, I have not had any success."

"I imagine that doesn't concern you as much as it used to."

"Correct. I don't care about success or failure anymore. Well, your turn Keith."

"Not much to tell. I had my father and one sibling, a sister. My mom died when I was a baby too. My dad raised my sister and me and when I was old enough, I entered Galaxy Garrison to train to be a space explorer. I embraced all the rules of the military and my achievements earned me the rank of commander."

The two of them talked for a time, going into detail about whatever the other wanted to hear about more. One example was Keith wanting to know more about Lotor's combat training. The prince obliged him and then asked for details about Keith's garrison training.

"That's quite extensive," Lotor said once Keith fell silent. "And I'd like to see it in action."

Keith stood. "You're on," he replied as he went to the swords, picked one up, and unsheathed it, Lotor doing the same.

They faced each other for a moment before Lotor charged forward with a battle cry. Keith met the charge, his sword clanging with Lotor's. The forest was filled with the sound of metal on metal and the grunts of the combatants. One particularly loud clang brought the contest to an end. Both backed up, panting with exertion.

"You've been practicing hard," Lotor commented. "You've gotten stronger. I could feel it when we were pushing our swords against one another."

"Uh, thanks," Keith said, knowing that his increased strength had been noticed but Lotor thought he had simply been practicing. I could use that kind of excuse when I do fight my team mates next time.

"This has been an excellent night," Lotor said as they sheathed their swords. He put a gloved hand to Keith's cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow night?"

"Definitely." Keith headed home, feeling very good about their first get together. I learned a lot about Lotor and told him much about myself as well, save for my werewolf secret. I don't know how he'll take it. He may not love me anymore if he knew.

Lotor put the swords away with a smile. Keith's swordplay was very good and served to re-enforce the thought of them fighting side-by-side. But, what would we be fighting for? I can't see Keith serving my father or following my orders. Also, from everything I've seen, Voltron can't be beat or destroyed. I know that I'm serving evil but I always believed it was divine right for evil to rule. However, I'm now thinking that I could be wrong. Perhaps I should declare my allegiance to Arus and freedom, but not out loud. I'll ask Keith what he thinks when I see him tomorrow.

Keith got back to his room, took off the pendent, and shifted to wolf form. He paced the room, delighting in his four-legged movement and re-living tonight's date. He had had a good time and had a sense of who his boyfriend was. He clearly wants me to trust him and answered my questions without hesitation. That's good. However, I don't trust him enough to tell him about this. He flexed a paw as the thought the last word. He sighed as he got into bed. I should tell him. Perhaps ask him what he thinks of wolves and if he's heard of werewolves. I know how Earth and Arusian people view werewolves but what of the people of Doom? Once I know these answers, I'll confess to being a werewolf and explain why I hadn't said so earlier. I hope he understands and forgives me for keeping this a secret. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

He woke the next day, put the pendent back on, and left for breakfast. He knew he would have a long day as he was anxious to get to his date. He wondered what he could do to spend the day. He could read again, maybe see if books on Planet Doom existed or he could read up on military engagements.

"Hey, Keith," Lance spoke up as the commander spooned up the last of his breakfast. "How about some sparring? You didn't do any yesterday and I'd like to see how much better I've gotten."

Keith grinned at his teammate. "Sure. Lance. You're on. Anyone else?" he asked the others.

Allura shook her head. "I need to catch up on my alien languages."

"We'll come," Pidge said and Hunk nodded in agreement.

"Great." Keith and the others headed off to change clothes before heading outside, Keith leaving his pendent in his room. He looked forward to mopping up the floor with Lance. He didn't doubt that Lance had improved, but surely his new strength would give him an edge.

Keith and Lance faced each other, bowed, and then struck defensive poses and slowly circled each other. Keith eyed Lance's pose to determine what his strategy was going to be, what angle he would try to come at him from.

Lance then pivoted, his right leg swinging toward Keith but the raven-haired man ducked to avoid it and lashed up to snag Lance's heel and shove to throw him off-balance before using a leg to knock the other leg out from under Lance. The brunette hit the ground and Keith leaped upon him. The two of them gripped each other's arms and rolled over the grass, wrestling with each other. Pidge and Hunk watched the spar with interest from the sidelines, waiting for Keith and Lance to be done before they took their turn at sparring.

Soon, Keith and Lance laid side-by-side on the grass, panting though Lance was panting harder. "Keith, you been…weight-lifting?" he gasped. "You're a heck…of a lot…stronger than before."

Keith pretended to be embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, I have been. Sorry. I should have mentioned that earlier."

"It's okay, man," Lance said as he and Keith moved aside so that Pidge and Hunk could have room for their sparring match.