Star Crossed

Chapter 17: star-crossed

Summary:

Keith needs to work on his impulse control, Lance is an emotional mess, and, well, they end up in Keith's bed. Yep. You probably can imagine what happens next.

(Also, Pidge is the MVP.)

[KEITH]

The next morning, Lotor had not come down for breakfast, even with Balmera and Puig's departure planned for midday. A shame, really. Keith was rather beginning to like breakfasts after all.

In any event, once the meal was over, the men and women in the hall mulled about before heading up for the next inevitable Council meeting. Keith found himself naturally gravitating towards Lady Shay and her brother, who were whispering excitedly about something with Princess Allura and Lady Romelle.

"Oh, Prince Keith, good morning. Though not as good as yesterday, I'm afraid," Lady Shay greeted with a cheeky smile, wiggling her fingers to remind him – like he would have forgotten the satisfaction of stabbing Lotor's hand in a quick 24 hours.

Still, he smirked in response. "You've got me there."

Keith paused when he noticed Princess Allura's posture snap straight up, her expression no longer playfully conspiratorial but hardened by worry. "Erm, Sorry, I'm not interrupting, am I?"

A gentle hand gripped the Princess's shoulder, her pink gown bunching slightly beneath Romelle's fingers.

"It's alright, love," she said with a warm smile, nodding to Keith. "I definitely want him to know."

Allura bit her lip momentarily, but her tension melted with another supportive squeeze from her blonde companion. In an instant, her expression became positively radiant, the joy almost infectious as a broad smile tugged on the corner of her lips.

"I've asked Romelle to marry me. She's said yes."

Keith blinked inanely, surprised even though he probably shouldn't have been – it was just, surprising, like a tiny pocket of sunshine bursting through an overcast day, he knew the sun was always there behind the clouds, but to see it so suddenly and with such vigor was almost disorienting.

"Please keep it a secret for now," the Princess continued, her voice a warning as she leaned in closer. "We want to make an announcement to our families properly when we return to Altea. But who knows how long it will be 'til we're all together again like this?"

He paused for probably just a bit too long to have been normal, but Allura didn't seem to mind. If Keith had to guess, she was probably so overjoyed that it didn't matter whatsoever how he reacted – this wasn't some sort of search for approval or support. The couple had simply decided to share this intimate little piece of information because they wanted to, not because they had to.

That was a nice feeling.

"Congratulations," he said sincerely, smiling in return. "Really, you guys seem like you're so happy. That's amazing."

Romelle was practically bouncing with delight, and she scooted up next to him and nudged his ribs.

"If I recall, isn't the whole affair of the ball supposed to end with you making a proposal, not Allura?" Her voice dropped to a decibel that was barely audible. "If that's the case, I heard there's a certain boy on the fifth-floor that I bet would look quite nice in white –"

"W-whoa, ah," Keith laugh-coughed, taking a wide step back and clearing his throat. "Mmm, we should probably go to the meeting, looks like the halls are clearing out, yeah?"