Despite the chatter from the guests and the loud music sweeping through the Palace, Nayni could barely keep her eyes open at the ball. Blue and golden banners were draped from the ceiling and the grand hall was filled with the alien diplomats and leaders from every corner of the universe. Coran had arranged the celebration on Alfor's orders. Voltron had won yet another victory for peace and justice. The five Paladins all gathered around the Altean throne. Allura was hovering around her father, listening with great interest to the tales that the other Paladins were spinning. She lived for these stories. She would tell them again and again to Nayni. The bodyguard probably would have these new ones memorized in no time at all. The girl was going to outgrow Nayni soon. She wasn't even a teenager yet and she was already creeping up to Nayni's shoulder. It wasn't that much of an accomplishment to be taller than Nayni though.
The stout Guard Captain tried to mask the yawn she let out with her hand. Sleep had been eluding her as of late. She'd kept waking in the middle of the night after some rather intense dreams. Her ears flushed and she started to feel warm just thinking about them. The lingering pain in her side didn't really help with the effort to sleep much either. She'd been fully recovered for over a year now but every now and then if she shifted the wrong way she'd feel a dull ache in her muscles. The scar that injury had left behind was a particularly nasty one too. Not that it mattered, no one was gazing at her naked body. Not for quite some time and it wouldn't be happening in her foreseeable future either.
She watched Coran making his rounds. His outfit was as magnificent and audacious as she'd expected. This glorious monstrosity seemed to be a homage to the Red Lion. He was adorned with a perfectly pressed white and red suit with a crimson velvet cape trailing behind him. Only Coran could pull something like that off. He was sparkling like a ruby everywhere he went. Some diplomats would swoon or blush after he charmed them with what was likely an absolutely atrocious joke. His cape would swirl around him as he twirled about the dance floor with whichever lucky attendee he'd chosen for that particular song.
The idea of having a dance with him put Nayni's stomach in knots. The dreams she'd been having about him were terribly frustrating. She did not like the way they made her look at him. She especially disliked how awkward it would make their day to day interactions. It was inevitable after tonight that she would probably have some silly overly romantic garbage dream that was a combination of the teledrama she was currently binging and Coran dancing in that stupid outfit. Here she stood, in her drab dark blue uniform, looking like a tired mess with a grumpy expression on her face. Nayni was quite the sad sight.
Allura was breaking off from her father and the Paladins. She had to lift up her periwinkle skirt so she could walk properly. Their conversation must've turned away from their exciting adventures and Allura had little interest in small talk about spouses and babies. Allura skidded to a stop by one of the banquet tables. It was adorned with elaborate desserts of every conceivable color and origin. The smell had been making Nayni's stomach grumble for over a varga now. Allura plucked too fluffy yellow meringues from the table and scampered over to Nayni. She thought the girl was going to dump the whipped confections all over her dress but the disaster was narrowly avoided.
Allura offered up the dessert with a wide grin on her face. This was exactly what Nayni needed. Large amounts of sugar were very good at smothering the confusing sexual feelings she'd been having towards Mister Smythe.
"You're always thinking of others, Lurie," Nayni said.
Allura was trying to find a dainty and proper way to consume her meringue but it just wasn't happening. Nayni reached over, scooped up some meringue with her finger and left a dollop on Allura's nose. The look of shock on the Princess's face was priceless. She loved this girl as if she'd been born of her own flesh and blood.
"You're so wicked, Nanny!" Allura teased.
She wiped the meringue away from her face and tried to get it on Nayni's. The Princess had to jump on her tiptoes just to smear it on Nayni's chin. It was just another reminder that it wouldn't be long before Allura would surpass her in height. They giggled a bit over their little duel before Allura stuffed the meringue in her mouth. Nayni downed her portion in two bites. She wiped the meringue away from her chin on her sleeve. No point in keeping up appearances when she was going to be standing rigid with her hands behind her back.
"Did you tire of the Voltron Paladins?" Nayni asked.
It was hard for anyone to grow tired of them. They'd brought a new era of prosperity and peace to the galaxy. It was hard to keep in mind that in the end, they were just ordinary beings like everyone else.
"Yes," Allura sighed. "And I just don't like Zarkon, he smells like old shoes."
Nayni held back a chuckle. Relations between Alfor and Zarkon were somewhat complicated from what Coran had told her. They'd been able to put their tensions aside and work together for the greater good though.
"Maybe his shoes are old, Lurie," Nayni speculated. "He might be feeling rather insecure about it so I wouldn't point that out to him."
Allura nodded in agreement as if it was a serious diplomatic discussion. Coran finished dancing with his latest partner. He bowed to the nobleman with far too much flourish and was met with a small round of applause. Oh how she wanted to punch him in his pretty, smug face. She wanted to punch him even more when she noticed that Coran was making his way towards them. Of course, he'd chosen to come check on them when Nayni had quiznacking meringue on her sleeve.
He approached them and performed yet another overdramatic bow. Allura giggled and responded with a curtsy. Nayni felt like dying a little bit.
"It's my two favorite ladies in the entire universe," Coran announced. "I do hope you're both enjoying the festivities."
There wasn't really much for Nayni to enjoy while she stood around looking at people. Her job was to blend into the background, to go unnoticed so she could spring into action at any moment. Her job was starting to become rather irrelevant now though. An intergalactic peace really eliminated the need for guards.
"Yes but there are far too many perfumed jellies at the dessert table," Allura said. "No one likes those."
Coran smirked and his eyes seemed to twinkle.
"But they're a staple of any proper social event, Princess," Coran teased.
Allura wrinkled her nose and folded her arms across her chest.
"They're gross! Right, Nanny?" Allura asked.
They'd been spending far too much time together. Either that or they'd been consuming far too many sweets together and developed the same tastes.
"I'm afraid I have to agree with the Princess, Mister Smythe. They're revolting," Nayni said with a smirk.
Allura nodded with approval. Coran didn't seem to be deeply wounded by the whole affair but there was a twinge of disappointment in the air. He had planned and arranged this whole gathering and they'd just insulted some of his catering choices.
"Well, my Princess, I came to ask you if I could steal away Madame Nordontu for a moment," Coran confessed.
Oh dear. Why did Nayni feel a sudden wave of panic flow over her? She clenched her fists tightly behind her back.
"For what?!" Allura asked.
She was practically jumping with excitement. The Princess looked to Nayni. She was smiling with such devious delight. Why was the Princess looking at her like that? She couldn't possibly know, could she?
"I was hoping the Captain of the Royal Guard would join me for a dance?" Coran said. "Unless you find that idea to be as revolting as the perfumed jellies."
He was as smooth as silk and it made her nauseous. There were still plenty of other overdressed tarts for him to set off into a swooning fit. Yet he'd come to Nayni. He truly enjoyed torturing her. Her ears were feeling hot and she felt sweat beading on her forehead. She would very much enjoy a dance with Coran but the idea of being so close to him; it was terrifying. It wasn't as if they hadn't been that close before but she also hadn't been having these terribly flustering dreams then either. He held out his bejeweled, gloved hand. His eyebrow was raised and he had a cheeky smile on his face. She wanted to punch him rather than give him an actual response.
"I—I'm on duty, Mister Smythe, I couldn't possibly," Nayni stammered.
She couldn't give him her actual reason. She'd die before she'd say such a thing to his face.
"Oh, I'm sure your Guardsmen can keep order for you during one little dance?" Coran pestered.
It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to refrain from punching him in that perfectly square jaw of his.
"I'm sorry, Mister Smythe, I simply can't," Nayni said.
Her heart sank a little bit when she said that. She truly had wounded his pride this time.
"Well, that's' been my first rejection of the night," Coran said. "I understand, Madame, duty comes first."
Nayni's heart was pounding in her chest. She felt so awful for this but she couldn't bring herself to dance with him. She couldn't do that in front of all of these people. He was so graceful and she was just dumpy and dull. She'd feel like a fool out there. Coran's luxurious cape swept around behind him as he wandered off. She watched him melt back into the crowd and her heart seemed to grow heavier.
Allura was cross. She was giving Nayni the side eye and pouting.
"What is it?" Nayni pressed.
Allura flipped her silver hair behind her back and placed her hands on her little hips.
"Nanny, why didn't you dance with Coran?" Allura said.
Nayni felt as if she was being scolded.
"I don't like dancing," Nayni lied.
Allura wasn't having this. Nayni didn't think she'd fall for that nonsense but it was worth a shot. Even though it was a terribly stupid shot. Allura was simply fuming.
"You love dancing!" Allura snapped. "We do it in my room all the time when we're sad! I know you love it!"
Nayni reached over and covered the Princess's mouth. Yes, when the Princess had a rough day she would put on some awful pop music and they would dance like a couple of idiots around the room but Nayni did not want their silly ritual getting around to the other Guardsmen. She had a reputation of grumpiness to uphold.
"That's much different than dancing at a ball," Nayni said.
It was different but it wasn't that different. Nayni wanted to dance with him and she hated having that feeling. She wanted Coran to grab her by the waist and spin around the dance floor with her. She wanted to see his eyes sparkle and his hips sway to the swelling music. She wanted to swoon like one of those diplomats and giggle like a stupid frill and lace clad maiden. Nayni was just too scared. She'd already let things slip a few years ago when they'd gotten drunk together. She couldn't allow that to happen again. One dance would lead to another dance and another and then it would lead to something else that she wasn't ready for.
"If you want to do something, you should just do it, Nanny," Allura lectured.
That was something Tomyko used to say to Nayni all the time. Her wife would've been so disappointed to see her like this. Yes, she was Captain of the Royal Guard and she was at the height of her career but Nayni was stuck. She was stagnant with fear even though it had been so many years. Tomyko would've been furious to see Nayni holding herself back like this but her wife was gone and could do nothing to stop the process now.
"I don't want to dance that badly," Nayni lied. "It's fine, Princess."
Allura begrudgingly swallowed that lie. She didn't think the Princess sincerely believed her words but it didn't matter. It would allow Nayni to pretend that they were real. Facing the truth was too much but it had smacked her right in the face tonight. It was a horrible realization that filled her with dread. Nayni felt as if she was being suffocated. It was as if her heart was squeezing the very life out of her but she just stood stiffly, hands behind her back and chin held high. Despite all of her efforts, Nayni was struggling to keep that promise she'd made to herself. She'd never wanted to put herself in this position again. She never wanted to feel the pain and fear again.
If she kept it buried deep it couldn't really hurt her again. She could still keep that flame in her heart but as long as she didn't act on it she was safe. This terrible seed couldn't take root if she kept her guard up. It could never grow and flourish into that dangerous beautiful thing that had destroyed her so long ago. She was in love with him but she could let this go no further.
Nayni was starring at the control panel before her. The sleek black surface was broken up by blue lights of the various dials and switches. Even the panels at the other stations looked just as complicated. She felt completely lost. She'd barely even recalled what little pilot training she'd received back at boot camp. The Castle's defense system was far beyond any of that. It was a combination of voice commands, manual controls, and even a mixture of Altean energy exchange. It would also have been exponentially easier for her to pick up on any of this if Coran wasn't the one explaining it to her. He was just far too completely and utterly distracting.
She'd try to focus on what his hands were doing, what he was typing into the panel and what levels he'd set the various dials too but her eyes would always wander up along the muscles of his arms. He'd then ask her a question and she wouldn't have the answer. And if Nayni was actually able to focus long enough to have a question of her own, he'd moved on to something else before she could get it out. It was probably the most frustrating situation she'd ever been in. If she didn't get some basic understanding of how all of this worked she was going to get them all killed. That might be an overdramatic sentiment but she still felt an immense pressure.
Coran took a step back from the main control panel. He put his hands on his hips, the fabric of his uniform was pulled tightly across his chest. Nayni's eyes kept darting between his pecs and the control panel.
"Let's give this another shot," Coran sighed. "Try firing off one of the lasers again. Don't even bother aiming for one of those asteroids this time."
He was getting frustrated too. She could hear the strain in his voice. Nayni scratched her scalp. He'd shown her how to do this probably a hundred times now but she still couldn't do it without him walking her through it. Nayni didn't want to make things worse by asking him to show her yet again. She furrowed her brow as she stared at the control panel. It felt wrong standing behind this. It was so foreign to what she was used to. Coran let out an aggravated sigh.
"Do you need me to show you again?" He groaned.
She shot him a dirty look.
"No! I know what I'm doing!" Nayni snapped.
She was lying and he probably was well aware of it. She reached for a large and intimidating looking button in the upper left corner of the panel.
"That's not it," Coran said.
He grabbed her hand and moved it down to the dial just below it. She slapped his hand away and turned the dial. The Castle made a rather alarming noise. It was a grinding sound that started growing louder and louder. Coran shrieked and turned the dial back down.
"I said fire the laser, not blow us up!" Coran snapped.
Nayni whirled around. The grinding sound had now been replaced by the gentle, steady hum of the laser cannon charging up.
"If you weren't such a terrible teacher, I'd have figured this out by now!" Nayni growled.
Coran's nostrils were flared. He looked like he was the one that was about to blow up.
"Just. Fire. The. Stupid. Laser," Coran seethed.
He seized her by the shoulders and tried to physically turn her back around. She pushed his hands away.
"Don't touch me!," Nayni said.
She couldn't handle him touching her right now. She spun back around. Nayni tried to recall which button she had to hit to trigger the firing mechanism but she was so flustered and angry now that her mind was drawing a blank. She groaned and started to rub her temples. Even just feeling his presence behind her was too much. She couldn't focus at all.
"For King Groggery's sake-" Coran muttered.
He pushed Nayni aside and this only infuriated her more. His face was red and he was fuming. Coran gestured stiffly to the button in the middle of the control panel.
"There! That's the trigger! Just hit it!" Coran snapped.
Nayni folded her arms across her chest.
"Well, if you're going to talk to me like this then I'm not hitting it," Nayni said.
He clenched and unclenched his fist. His hand was shaking.
"Fine, I'll just hit it then!" Coran said.
Nayni slapped his hand away again.
"No, I'm supposed to do it so I'm going to do it!" Nayni said through clenched teeth.
Nayni slammed her hand down on the button. Nothing happened. She hit it again. Still nothing. She furiously started smacking the button and nothing continued to happen. Coran wiggled in front of her and tried to examine the panel.
"Hold on, hold on, something must be wrong," Coran said.
She felt like she was going to tear her hair out.
"I did exactly what you told me to do!" Nayni growled.
Coran continued to adjust the other settings on the control panel. She was trembling she was so angry.
"You can't just sit here and fiddle with it yourself! I need to know how to fix this!" Nayni ranted. "How am I supposed to fire the stupid laser when there's a fleet of Galra battleships around us if you keep doing it for me!?"
She could hear the hum of the laser charging again. It was slowly growing louder. Coran got right in her face. The tip of his nose was practically touching hers. His eyes were full of anger.
"You've messed something up! I'm just trying to figure out what you did!" He snapped.
Nayni let out a growl and shoved him back away. She slammed her fist down on the trigger again. The massive blue laser finally fired off into the inky black void of space. It sounded like a lion's roar as it ripped through the abyss. She just stood there with her fist still on the button, glaring at him. He was glaring right back at her. She'd finally fired the stupid quiznacking laser but she had no idea how she'd actually accomplished this. His chest was rising up and down as he took in deep angry breaths. So was hers.
"This whole process would be going much more smoothly if you weren't so quiznacking distracting," Nayni seethed.
He was taken aback.
"I'm the distracting one!?" Coran said. "You're the distracting one with your-"
Coran waved his arms around gesturing to her body.
"That's stupid!" Nayni snapped. "You're just standing around looking all pretty with your perfectly done hair and your stupid face and your stupid tight pants!"
He slammed his fist on the control panel. They'd never gotten each other this angry before. Not once in all the years that they had known each other.
"My pants are not stupid!" Coran yelled. "Your pants are stupid! That cute face you make when you're confused is stupid! And your stubby, cute, little hands are stupid!"
That was just uncalled for. Her hands were not stubby. Nayni's face felt as if it were on fire.
"Coran Hieronymous Wimbleton Smythe," Nayni bristled.
She jabbed her finger right in his face.
"You are by far the most infuriating Altean I have ever met." Nayni went on. "You're a foppish showman who talks way too much and spends far too much time on his appearance. You always smell like you rolled around in the local sweet shop and twirl that stupid mustache and you make bad puns and-"
Her hand was starting to shake. She felt her words catching in her throat.
"You're dangerously charming," Nayni stammered. "Loyal a-and intelligent and so incredibly handsome-"
Coran had grabbed her by the collar of her uniform before she could continue. Nayni's lips met his and he seized her by the waist. He pulled her up against his hard body. She kissed him with ten thousand years of built-up passion. His mustache felt so delightfully rough against her skin. Nayni grabbed him by the hair and pulled him closer to her. She surrendered to him and let his tongue slip between her lips. His hands were roving all over her, traveling over every curve and crevice.
Nayni pulled away and gasped for air. She looked up into his eyes. He kept his arm firmly around her waist. Her hand was resting on his chest. They looked at the entry doors nervously and then back at each other. Nayni swallowed nervously. She could still feel his hot breath on her face.
"I'm so sorry," Coran stammered. "I shouldn't have-"
Nayni put a finger to his lips to silence him. She'd spent a good many years imagining what it'd be like to kiss him. She'd lay awake in her bed at night and fantasize about him but she never believed she'd actually act on these feelings. Out of all of the scenarios that her brain had concocted this was not at all how she imagined the scene to unfold.
"I quite liked that actually," Nayni squeaked.
She was trying to smother the desperate need she had to swoon but it was proving most difficult.
"Would you be opposed to continuing?" Coran asked.
"I would not be opposed to that at all," Nayni confessed.
Coran grabbed her by the neck and pulled her in for another kiss. She couldn't hold back the unrelenting desire any longer. The thirst she'd harbored for this man had been making her heartache for years. They were tearing at each other's clothes like animals. Coran yanked down her collar and started planting torturous kisses along the curve of her neck. Her legs were squirming and writhing. Coran helped push her up onto the control panel.
The particle barrier went up around the Castle. She wrapped her legs around his waist. The Castle's lasers began firing off in every direction. The combat drones deployed and swarmed around the Castle. Nayni was clawing at Coran's back desperately. The Castle's alarm started to wail as they kissed each other. Red error messages exploded across the main monitor. She kissed the Royal Advisor with a hungry passion. She savored the taste of his mouth and the sticky feeling of his sweaty skin against hers.
"What the heck is going on up there?" Shiro bellowed over the intercom system.
They froze. Coran's face was flushed, his red hair was a complete mess. Nayni had torn open his uniform and half of his bare chest was exposed. Little droplets of sweat were sliding down her olive skin and the nape of her neck.
"Coran!" Shiro pressed. "The Castle's going crazy! What's going on?!"
Coran tried to reach for a button to the left of Nayni. His fingers barely touched the surface of the console.
"Um, everything's fine, everything's fine," Coran stammered. "Situation normal."
Nayni slid off of the control panel and started to frantically button up her uniform again. Her bun was almost undone, and her brown hair was falling into her face. She was far too terrified to say a word. She just wanted to completely vanish from the face of existence.
"All right, Coran," Shiro said over the intercom. "Let's try not to alert the entire galaxy to our presence?"
Coran was already furiously working the controls, shutting down all the weapons systems that they'd accidentally triggered.
"Yes, yes, sorry about that," Coran said. "My mistake."
He was short of breath and so was she. Nayni tried to run her fingers through her thick hair to straighten it out. She could smell him all over her. It was as if he'd gotten into her very blood. The Castle's particle barrier dropped. The drones returned to their bays and the laser cannons made a soft hum as they shut back down. Coran let out a long tired sigh when it was all handled. He looked to Nayni and laughed nervously. His blue shirt was hanging half open and he was drenched with sweat.
Nayni had expected to feel some regret. Some deep shame from breaking that promise she'd made to herself all those years ago. But she felt none of these things. Her heart was still fluttering from the thrill of it. Her head was spinning. Still, Nayni forced herself to try and maintain some composure. Coran tried to fix his uniform but the top of his collar just kept flopping to the side.
"I believe you've torn off one of my buttons," Coran said sheepishly.
Nayni's ears and cheeks flushed.
"My apologies," Nayni said briskly.
Coran just smirked. Nayni pulled out one of the pins that had been holding her bun in place. She tried to skewer it through his collar so it would stop falling to the side. She was searching for what to say. This had been such a long time coming and she hadn't thought of a single witty thing to say to him. After they seemed to have made themselves somewhat presentable they both took their positions next to each other at the control panel.
"I don't know about you-" Coran said.
He had a sly smile on his face and that twinkle was back in his eye.
"-But I am not nearly as distracted now." Coran finished.
Nayni allowed herself to giggle. She didn't need to be the one to say something clever. That was always up to Coran and he did a marvelous job of it.
"We've got work to do, Coran," Nayni sighed. "You know the whole war and the fighting and the dying bits."
He leaned in close to her. He towered over her and it made her melt.
"There will be no dying, Nayni, I won't allow that," Coran cooed.
They inched a bit closer to each other as he went on about the Castle defenses again. Focusing on his words wasn't much easier but she was too exhausted to be frustrated by anything for now. She leaned against him as he gestured to the various parts of the control panel and explained again what they did. They had waited so long for this. They'd waited longer then they should have and that was mostly on her account. It hadn't exactly been the conversation that the Princess had been suggesting but it would have to suffice for now. The time for talking would be after the Battle for Terrapin.