Chapter Seven

Gwen wiped the sweat from her forehead with a gloved hand, leaving a streak of grease in its wake. Her hair was plastered to her neck even though she had her jumpsuit's sleeves rolled up as far as they would go. Repairing the fighters was hard work. She'd gladly offered her services when Hunk called for volunteers, thinking they'd be working side-by-side. But five minutes after they had stepped through the doors of the repair bay, he was surrounded by mechanics asking him a million questions a second and she was given a simple task to complete by one of his assistants.

Her eyes scanned across the busy floor and she found him perched on Blue Lion's nose, his arms waving as he and Pidge argued over something. Suddenly, his foot slipped and he began to fall. Gwen's heart lurched into her throat and her mouth opened in a silent scream. The Lion's nose was too high and the floor was too hard to accomodate a falling human body. Pidge moved quickly and grabbed Hunk's sleeve, pulling him back to safety. They looked like they were laughing chummily over the near-disaster, but Gwen was sure she would pass out if she didn't sit down. She dropped the tool she was holding and stumbled towards the doors. Blindly, she made her way to the lounge and collapsed on the couch. Her heart was still beating too fast and her vision was swimming. Tears filled her eyes and she took off one glove, covering her face with her hand.

"Gwen?"

Taking a deep shuddering breath, she raised her eyes and saw Hunk staring down at her, concerned.

"I thought you were going to die," she said tightly, her hand clenched in a tight fist. "On the Blue...I thought you were going to fall..."

He knelt before her, taking her face in his hands. His hazel eyes were earnest as they gazed into hers.

"But I didn't fall, Gwen. I'm right here."

"If Pidge hadn't been there, you would be a pancake now."

"But he was there, Gwen."

"Lucky for you."

He frowned. "What's really bothering you, Gwen?"

Her lips trembled. "I thought I was going to lose someone I cared about again." He took her in his arms and she clutched at him desperately. "I don't want to lose anyone anymore, impossible as that may be. I don't think I can take it."

He closed his eyes. "I know, Gwennie. I know."

"Hunk, about the other night..."

He tensed.

"...if there's anything I've learned it's that life is too short..."

He held her at arm's length. "Are you serious?"

She lowered her head, unable to meet his eyes. "Yes."

He tilted her face up and lightly kissed her.

"You won't regret this, Gwen," he said, smiling.

"I better not. Or else you'll be in big trouble."

Keith studied the map of Pollux and its flashing dots. He'd been standing there for nearly an hour, going over possible maneuvers in his head and occassionally jotting something down in the pad he held in his hands. An hour after storming out of the control room, he had returned, and gone straight to work, determined to put Lance's earlier comments out of his mind.

In a display of wisdom, Lance kept his mouth shut and was now sitting at the command console. His brow was furrowed in deep thought as he carefully grouped the ships and people available in workable squadrons, his finger tapping against the surface rhythmically.

Alderain walked into the silent room, the sound of his boots clicking on the polished floors sounding like a thunderclap to his own ears. Keith and Lance glanced up in unison ackowledging him with the barest of nods before turning back to what they were doing. The Prince walked up the map table, planting himself directly across from Keith. The Commander raised his head and threw Alderain a questioning look.

"Is there something I should know about you and Princess Allura?" Alderain blurted out. He hadn't meant to say it quite like that, but there was something about Keith that unnerved him.

Keith seemed to freeze up, but his eyes gave him away. To Alderain it was like watching storm clouds roll overhead. As if in deference to those storm clouds, Lance's finger tapping came to a halt.

"Like what?" Keith asked coolly.

"A relationship that is beyond a working one."

"We're friends, if that's what you mean."

"What kind of friends?"

"Good friends. Comrades...we're not what you're implying. Does Allura know that you're asking me this?"

"No, and I'd prefer that she not know."

Keith nodded and slowly, set down his pad. "I take it you're serious then."

"I'm trying to lead it in that direction, but something is holding her back."

"And you think it's me."

Alderain smiled without humor. "I know it's you."

"It's not. Allura's just not ready for you."

"Yet."

Keith crossed his arms defensively. "We'll see."

Lance looked from one to the other. They reminded him of two bulls getting ready to charge--except with more subtlety. He half-expected Alderain to slap Keith with a glove and challenge him to a duel.

"Are you two finished?" he asked idly. "We do have a battle to plan, you know."

"If you'll excuse me..." Keith picked up his pad and turned back to the map as if Alderain wasn't even there.

Annoyed at being dismissed so casually, Alderain turned his back without a word and went out the door. Lance opened his mouth to say something, but Keith raised a hand without even turning his head.

"I don't want to hear it," he warned.

Lance clamped his mouth shut. Within minutes, all was silent. If not for Keith's tightly clenched hand, it would have looked as if nothing had happened.

"Why is it that we always run into each other at night?" Allura asked in a low voice, coming up behind Keith.

He was standing by the rec room's large window and he turned slightly. "It's a habit."

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Too much on my mind."

"Me, too."

"Alderain's proposal has you tossing and turning?" Me, too.

"No...well that and other things. We do have a battle to plan," she said dryly.

"We're old pros at that. It's this courtship thing that's thrown everyone for a whirl."

"Even you?"

He hesitated. "Sometimes, I do wonder what you're going to do. But whatever it is you decide, I have faith in you."

She pressed her lips tightly together. "What do you think I should do, Keith?"

He glanced at her sharply. "What?"

"You heard me."

He was silent for a time and Allura thought he wasn't going to answer her until...

"I don't know," he replied, sounding pained. "I don't know, Allura."

That wasn't the answer she expected...or wanted. And it hurt. "Oh."

Without a word, she left the room and Keith released a sigh that came from the deep inside him. He put a hand over his heart as if to relieve the ache he felt there. Then, he took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders as if remembering who he was. His eyes grew steely and his jaw was set. Turning briskly, he headed out the door and towards his room.

The time flew by. With only a week left before the invasion of Pollux, the castle was bustling with activity. There wasn't a person in it that had had a full night's rest or a full meal for a good long while, but they were used to this kind of work. In fact, they thrived on it.

The Princess of Arus stood in the midst of the bustle in Castle Control, supported by a sturdy walker. She was glad to be on her feet again, even though she could take only slow shuffling steps. It frustrated her, but she didn't show it much--only a tightening of her lips and a brightness in her eyes gave it away. And near her stood Alderain, who was a fixture at her side.

Keith glanced at them from his position at the map table, thinking that they looked like the quintessential golden couple. He hadn't spoken to Allura privately since the night she'd asked him what she should do about Alderain. However, from the look for things, it appeared that she was handling her relationship with the Prince just fine. Next to Keith, Lance was chugging back another cup of coffee.

"What I wouldn't give for some good, old fashioned coffee," he sighed.

"What do you call what you're drinking?"

"Nanny's strange brew."

Keith let out a short laugh. "I suppose it's an acquired taste. It's a little strong, but what do you expect from Nanny? Everything about her is...strong."

"I can feel my stomach lining dissolving."

They lapsed into silence again, each returning to their own tasks. Keith glanced sideways at Lance, proud of his usually wayward friend. He'd organized nearly everything, with some help, but nevertheless, things were going along without a hitch. They were even ahead of schedule. By Keith's rough calculations, they should be finishing up within the next day or so.

The Arusian sun set and just as it was all about to disappear below the horizon, Lance clapped his datapad on the edge of the map table, startling the people around him.

"We're done!" he exclaimed. "Everybody out!"

A whoop rose in the air and Castle Control was cleared out in seconds. Keith watched as Alderain walked next to Allura, their golden heads bent close together as they talked. His lip curled in distaste. He hated to admit it, but he was jealous. He missed Allura but it looked as though she didn't miss him in the least.

"Chill, Mon Frere," Lance said, clapping him on the back.

"No problem."

"You're about as chilly as our pal Sven over there," Lance remarked with a sweeping gesture towards their drooping buddy.

Keith smiled reluctantly. "Alright, so we haven't exactly been good company lately."

Lance rolled his eyes expressively. "Oh puh-leeeaase. Between the two of you, I think I'd rather count how many bolts it took to put Alderain together."

At that, Keith laughed outright. Lance winked and jogged up to Sven, slinging an arm about his shoulders. Keith caught up to them.

"What say we check out the party scene?" Lance suggested.

"Party scene? I wasn't aware there was one," Keith said suspciously.

"The last day of work and you don't think there's a party? You've been out of the loop too long."

"Romelle might call..." Sven piped up.

"It's the middle of the night on Earth," Lance pointed out.

"But..." Sven protested.

"Shut up, Sven. I'm the taskmaster for tonight so you two have to listen to me and I say PARTY! Whatever happened to you two anyway? The second a blonde princess walks into your line of sight, you get all goo-goo eyed. We're the Three Musketeers!"

"All for one and one for all," Keith said dryly.

"That's the spirit--although I think you need more pep," Lance said. "But it's a start. Let's go, Men. The night is young."

And here I was thinking Arusians didn't know how to party, Keith thought to himself.

Somehow, Lance did find a party and they found themselves in the middle of a crowd, surrounded by Arusians holding mugs of foaming ale. Mugs were thrust into their hands and before they knew it, they were part of the celebration. Even Sven was loosening up, but whenever a blonde woman caught his eye, his expression faltered.

Lance was leading a rousing rendition of a rather bawdy song when a couple huddled in a corner caught Keith's eye. He squinted to focus better, sure that he knew them.

Then, he laughed.

He laughed so long and hard that Lance glanced at him questioningly. Sven nudged him with an elbow, and Keith told him what he had noticed. Sven looked at the corner then he too began to chuckle. Exasperated, Lance waved them over, wanting to know, but Keith only shook his head.

Finally, the song was over and amidst the applause, Lance made his way to his still laughing friends. A grin splitting his face, Keith pointed towards the couple. Lance turned to look and his entire body seemed to turn into stone when he recognized them.

"Holy shit." Bemused, he turned to Keith and Sven. "Should I beat him up or something?"

"As if you could," Keith remarked.

"Dey're a cute couple," Sven observed.

Lance took a swig of ale. "I suppose." He smiled. "Well, I guess I'll just welcome ol' Hunk to the family."

Keith and Sven looked at each other.

"That wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be," Keith said.

"I vanted to see a fight."

"More like Lance getting pummeled by Hunk and his sister."

Lance only shrugged. "Go with the flow, 'gents. Now, where's the keg?"

Oblivious to the trio standing nearby, Hunk and Gwen stared into each other's eyes. To them, the room might as well be empty. Gwen smiled, her lips still swollen from his kisses.

"I suppose we should tell Lance before he freaks out," she said.

"He won't freak out. We've been friends too long. He knows I'm not a bad guy," Hunk said.

"Yeah, but I'm still his little sister."

Hunk grinned and touched her cheek. "You're not so little anymore."

She waggled her eyebrows. "Nice of you to notice."

Hunk leaned in to kiss her when another song started up. Annoyed, he suddenly seemed to notice that there was a party going on around them.

"Want to go back to the castle?" he asked. "I don't even know how we got here. Morgan probably misses us."

Gwen smiled softly. At first, she thought he just wanted to get her alone, but when he mentioned wanting to be with Morgan, her heart warmed all the more.

"Yes, let's go back," she agreed, her voice a little husky.

He took her hand in his and they made their way out.

"It's so quiet, it's eerie," Allura remarked, sitting down on the rec room couch.

Next to her, Alderain glanced about him. "The castle is never this quiet?"

"Not usually. Not even when we want it to be. I guess everyone went off to their own respective corners to unwind."

"I'm glad you've chosen to unwind with me."

Allura glanced sideways at him. "Likewise," she said, uncomfortable.

"Allura, it's been three weeks..."

"You want to know my answer."

"Yes, I do."

Allura licked her lips, her blue eyes focused on the view outside the window. The lights of the village nearby were flickering invitingly and she knew there was a party going on in the town hall. She also knew that Keith, Lance, and Sven had gone in that direction. She was a little hurt that they hadn't asked her to come along, but understood that they didn't want Alderain to come along. It wasn't that they didn't like him. It was just that he hadn't bothered getting to know them, focusing all his attention on her. She hated to admit it, but she missed them.

Keith especially.

She took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of the man beside her. Alderain was a kind man, and she liked him. But she also knew that she had to make a decision. She'd done a lot of thinking and realized that love would not always be enough. A husband must be loyal and dutiful--Alderain was both. Despite her arguments with Coran about being a powerful ruler with or without a husband, she needed help now especially with her handicap. She was not so stupid that she didn't recognize it and the problems it could bring. She couldn't rely on Keith forever. Alderain may not be her first choice, but he was her best choice.

This was the thought in her head when she answered, "Yes."

And when his lips descended onto hers, she had to fight to ignore the vise that tightened around her heart.