The Birthday

Allura was walking down the corridor, listening to Pidge talk excitedly about her latest discovery. After the last battle, she had pulled data from a downed Galra ship and found Earth was mentioned in relation to the Blade of Marmora. Intel followed a ship of resistance fighters there and surely that included Matt.

Pidge had hacked Garrison Headquarters' computers again to see if anything was on their radar but so far had come up emptyhanded. However, she did have a piece of information she was sure would interest the Princess. Keith's birthday was next week, maybe they could throw a surprise party for him. Allura didn't know much about human birthdays aside from what Hunk had told her. She often wondered how old she'd be based on the Earth calendar. Keith would tease her for being much older but that he'd forgive half of the ten-thousand years she had on him. That usually earned him a bruise on his arm.

She sighed. Age wasn't the only thing they didn't have in common. So many traditions, words, even capabilities. Sometimes it seemed insurmountable, yet knowing he may possibly have Altean ancestry soothed her concerns.

Allura realized she had been ignoring Pidge and tried to catch up to the conversation. As they rounded the corner, they bumped into Keith on his way to the pool. He was wearing shorts with a towel wrapped around his neck. She couldn't help but notice his daily training was paying off, and blushed when she realized she was staring a bit too appreciatively at his battle-ready form.

Pidge cleared her throat to excuse herself to go do something. Neither of them were really paying attention to what she said. Since the training incident they'd had precious little time alone and could barely manage to steal a kiss now and then. Sometimes when others were present Keith would lightly place his hand on the small of her back, or let his fingers brush her hand, never making any grand gestures. They'd agreed now wasn't the time to move forward, a decision neither was happy about.

So here they were, alone, for who knows how long. Allura hadn't seen him without a shirt since the training incident. His scar was light yet it caught her eye. She instinctively ran her finger across the shiny skin, understanding its significance. It wasn't his scar. It was their scar, bearing the memory of the time they almost lost it all.

Keith must have been thinking the same, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. He placed his hand over hers, pressing it into his side. His unencumbered hand guided her empty palm to his chest where she could feel his heart. As calm as his demeanor appeared on the outside his pulse was racing on the inside.

"So, what were you and Pidge talking about?

Her mind blanked, looking down at this scar the first word she could muster was birthday.

Perplexed at the simple statement he stalled his response. Glancing in the direction of her eyes he simply chuckled when he answered "No, it's called a bathing suit. If it was a birthday suit I'd be completely naked."

Now the Princess was completely red-faced. That wasn't at all what she meant though she was glad he hadn't caught on that she knew.

"Well, that's how Alteans swim!" she retorted. Now Keith was embarrassed, and he stepped back to excuse himself.

The week passed rather quickly. Thanks to all the paladins helping the party was a successful surprise. Keith even seemed to enjoy it, laughing along with the others as they told stories from their pasts.

Because Hunk handled the food, included the birthday cake, Allura decided to surprise him by inviting Shay to the castle as his date. To say he was pleased by her arrival would have been an understatement. While happy to see them together, the Princess was a bit jealous of their openness in their relationship. They could be together and nobody would judge them.

After dinner Coran brought out the cake. The Alteans thought it strange to set it on fire just to make a wish. Still she was elated when Keith threw her a smile before he easily blew out the flames. Now she knew his wish would come true. The team cheered their leader and raised their drinks in a toast.

After each of his friends said a few words on his behalf the attention turned to Allura. She was caught unprepared, not knowing she'd be called on to speak.

"Princess, isn't this where you offer your mate a kiss?" Shay asked quietly.

Hunk, Pidge, and Coran all looked at each other knowingly. Lance appeared confused and was going to counter her statement when Keith spoke up.

"So, you guys know already?" he asked in a joking tone. It seemed he was testing to see if they were being serious.

"Well, Pidge worked it out and Coran confirmed it. You guys should figure out where all of the security cameras are, by the way."

"Gee, thanks Hunk."

All eyes then went to Lance, who was still processing the data and was sure they were all just having a laugh. Pidge handed him a piece of cake to distract him, inviting him to go play video games in the rec room. Hunk then excused himself so he could take Shay back home. Coran announced that he needed to fix some…stuff…in the…somewhere. He shot Keith a quick warning glance before leaving the newly official couple alone for the night.

"So, did your wish come true my love?"

"I don't know, we'll find out soon enough, Princess."

"What did you wish for?"

"Oh, a swim in the pool with a beautiful woman. Maybe after she'll fall asleep in my arms in her nice, soft bed."

"You don't think that's a tall order, even if it is…"

"I'll even wear my birthday suit."

"Well, you did blow out all the candles."