Part 5
Sitting at the table making small talk with Sven and Romelle, Allura leisurely held her mug as she finished up her morning coffee. After Romelle's call, the princess of Arus immediately headed to her bedroom to get showered and ready for her day. Throughout her morning process of getting ready, Allura's thoughts kept cycling back to her night with Keith. Immediately, her pulse would quicken and her stomach would drop. She had to get her basal instincts under control if she was ever going to be able to face her commander and keep their interactions as normal as possible.
Finishing up, she was just about to finish her last sip when the door swished open, and in walked the focus of her thoughts and desires. Caught off guard, the princess choked and grabbed her linen napkin to prevent herself from spitting her coffee all over the table. Coughing and sputtering, she caught sight of the commander heading in her direction, a look of concern in his dark eyes.
"Good morning, Princess Romelle and Sven," Keith greeted as he reached the table. "Allura, are you ok?" he asked as he took the one unoccupied seat at the table for four where the trio sat.
Allura thumped on her chest with her fist. "I am fine," she sputtered as she took a sip from her water glass. Smiling sheepishly, she added, "It went down the wrong pipe." She looked up at her commander.
Keith's eyes met the princess's and a knowing look passed between them. The look did not go unnoticed by Romelle. Breaking the silence, she spoke to the commander. "How are you this morning, Commander?"
"Sore," the commander replied absent-mindedly. Glancing up, Keith noticed the look of bewilderment on the princess of Arus's face. Realizing how that could sound, the commander quickly added, "From our sparring match yesterday, Sven. Yowza, didn't realize how out of shape I am."
Sven chuckled. "I concur, my friend," the former Blue Lion pilot replied. "I had some sore muscles that needed some attention." He looked adoringly at his wife. "And thanks to my beautiful bride, I feel much better this morning." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, earning a swat on the arm from Romelle.
"Sven, stop," the princess of Pollux retorted. "Our friends do not need the sordid details." Changing the subject, she continued, "Allura, how did the rest of your evening go? I mean after I left you at 10:00."
The princess of Arus glanced up, shot a quick look at Keith, and then turned back to her prying cousin. "Oh fine, Romelle," she responded. "I pretty much went to bed after you left."
Shooting her a knowing glance that communicated she knew the profound truth of those words, Romelle implored, "No hangover this morning?"
"No hangover," Allura replied simply. Taking a sip of her coffee, she simply stared at her cousin in challenge.
Sven glanced from one woman to the other, perplexed at the strange tension so obvious between the two. Turning to his wife, he asked, "Hangover? What are you getting at, Romelle? Were you two drinking?"
"We sure were," Romelle exclaimed. "Allura and I polished off a bottle of Honey Dew Drop wine."
Groaning, Sven rolled his eyes. "Oh you poor thing, Allura. That stuff is delicious but very potent. One glass can have you rolling around the floor."
Keith looked at Allura through narrowed eyes. "Were you drunk last night, Princess?" he asked accusingly, now doubting the truth of her words from this morning. The thought of him taking advantage of a drunk princess made him sick to his stomach.
"No, I was not drunk," Allura repeated emphatically. "Tipsy, maybe, but not drunk. I was fully in control of my actions and decisions after Romelle left."
"And what actions and decisions were they, Allura?" Romelle piped up. Knowing she was making her cousin uncomfortable, she didn't care. She was hoping to get Allura to admit in the open that she had been with Keith last night. She couldn't help but notice how nervous the normally unflappable commander appeared to be this morning.
Allura had had enough. Trying to rein in the anger that was threatening to explode, Allura finished her cup of coffee and stood up. "My actions and decisions are none of your business, Romelle," she seethed quietly, anger evident in her tone. "Now if you would excuse me, I have a meeting with Koran in half an hour and several other engagements today. You may be on vacation, but I am not. Keith, Sven, have a great day. Princess Romelle." Without another word, the princess pushed in her chair, turned on her heel, and walked out the door.
Sven looked accusingly at his wife. "Great job, Romelle. You ticked her off," he chided. Narrowing his eyes, he shook his head. "What were you getting at anyway? What would the princess possibly have done or where would the princess have gone after you left her at 10:00 last night?"
Scoffing at his scolding, Romelle waved him off. "Oh nothing," she retorted. "I was just teasing her. She was feeling good when I left her." Turning her attention to Keith, she added, "You should have seen her, Commander. I am sure you would have enjoyed that side of Allura."
Choosing not to react, Keith simply replied, "I am sure I would have."
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
A few hours later, Keith found himself in his office, struggling to concentrate. What the princess had said was correct. Technically, he and the Voltron Force were on a two-week vacation per the Arusian monarchy, but as Commander of the Voltron Force and the Galaxy Garrison officer in command, he still had duties to fulfill to his superiors on Earth. That included field reports, time logs, and supply requests. Preferring to complete these time-consuming and mundane tasks early, Keith attempted to get to them right away. But his mind kept slipping back to last night, images from his liaison with Allura replaying in his head like scenes from a favorite movie.
Fidgeting uncomfortably as his body reacted to his daydreams for the umpteenth time, he finally gave up and slammed his laptop shut. This paperwork would have to be dealt with later. Sitting back in his chair, he closed his eyes and let his fancy fly free.
He replayed the sight of the beautiful and aroused princess as she lay beneath him, her body bucking with each thrust delivered by the commander's hard, taut body. She held onto his biceps for dear life, holding her body in place so she could receive each movement fully. Keeping the contact close, she turned her head away and breathed deeply, his name escaping his lips as the wave rose higher and higher. All at once, her blue eyes flew open as she crested, meeting his black eyes with lust and longing as she burst forth with, "Oh my gods…."
Interrupted by the sound of his communicator buzzing, Keith was ripped from his daydream. Breathing heavily and realizing his body was as full attention, he focused on slowing his breathing and calming his racing heart. When his communicator chimed again with more urgency, he cursed under his breath and grabbed it, pushing the accept call button vehemently. With more contempt than he meant, he barked, "Kogane here. What is it?"
A tentative voice came through along with the static on the device. "I am s...s...sorry to disturb you, commander."
Keith recognized the voice as the ensign assigned to morning duty in Castle Control. The young man couldn't be any older than Pidge. Feeling extreme guilt over his gruff response, the commander responded more calmly and quietly. "I am sorry. You caught me in the middle of something. What is it?"
Keith could hear the ensign's slight sigh of relief over the comm. "Commander, I just got word that a Galaxy Garrison ship is headed to Arus and requesting clearance to land. Lieutenant McClain is on board and returning from his trip to Earth."
Keith muted the comm and cursed under his breath. "For fuck's sake, Lance has decided to come back early." The leave lasted through the weekend, so they still had another four days. Keith hadn't expected to see Lance, Pidge, or Hunk until at least Friday. Secretly, he had been hoping that maybe he would have a few more days alone with Allura before he had to face the rest of the Force. It looked like that wouldn't be the case.
Turning on his comm, he said to the ensign, "Permission granted. And please send a message to Lieutenant McClain that I will be in the docking bay to meet him. When is the ship set to arrive?"
There was a pause as the ensign checked the ship's ETA. "About 1300 hours."
"Acknowledged," the commander replied as he glanced at his chronograph. It was almost 11:30. He wondered if he would have time to see Allura before Lance would arrive. They needed time to talk and plan how they would handle things now that their relationship had changed so drastically.
Standing up, Keith felt his pulse race at the thought of seeing the princess again. With renewed purpose, he strode out of his office and headed toward the kitchens to pick up some take-out lunches. Hoping she had some time to see him now, he figured he better not show up empty-handed. This was going to be a heavy conversation, and both of them would be better off talking on full stomachs.