A/N: Hey guys! So I got this really awesome idea for a series and I hope you like it! Btw in case you guys don't know the space time increments... deca-pheob= a year, phoeb= a month, quintant= a day, varga=an hour, dobosh= a minute. And we all know tick is a second.

Allura stood, waiting at the doorway of the hangar as the lions all returned to their places in the castle. When the door slid up she was met with the faces of her brave paladins. They had all changed a bit in the past deca-phoeb since Keith returned, but nevertheless they were still the dysfunctional family she would not trade for anything else in the world. She looked upon all of them with fondness but she couldn't help but have a faint pink dusting her cheeks when her eyes landed on Keith.

Allura had gotten to know Keith extremely well over the deca-pheobs that they had been fighting the Galra Empire. So much so that she fell in love with him. But she had never told him that, even now that the war was nearly over. She very much hoped that he felt the same for her in return. Hunk, Pidge and Lance had all planned to return to Earth to be with their families, only returning to the castle when they needed them for a mission but Keith and Shiro agreed to stay in space with her, Lotor and Coran as well as Keith's mother Krolia to help them with running the coalition and preserving the peace they were so close to achieving.

Keith looked back at her and smiled, making her cheeks heat up even more. Although his eyes were a cold looking blue-gray, she always saw something warm in them when she had the chance to look at him. It's as if he thought of her with the same fondness she saw in him. Not to mention how dashing he looked in his paladin armor. Whenever he saw her she swore he would stand a little taller, pushing out his chest more to look more proud, more worthy of being her paladin. But there was a new addition to his armor that he did not have when they left for their mission. A maroon cape that covered his right side and was fastened with an ornate buckle on his left. Allura looked at him curiously and Keith blushed, knowing she would have some questions about it.

"Greetings my fair princess." Lance flourishes with a bow and Allura giggles.

"Lance, why the sudden formality? You've never greeted me like this before?" Allura asks and Lance shrugs.

"I know. I just did it because it's fun to do. It makes me feel like a knight." Lance says as he winks at Keith who scoffs in amusement.

Did being a knight have something to do with the cape? Lance wraps an arm around Pidge and they both leave.

"Hey Hunk, race you to the dining hall!" Pidge calls over her shoulder.

She and Lance take off down the hall with Hunk chasing close after. Keith clasps Shiro's hand in his and they pull each other into a hug, wrapping their arms around each other's backs.

"You did great out there today Keith." Shiro tells him and Keith smiles at him.

"Thank you Shiro." He says adoringly to his mentor and brother figure.

Allura always admired how Keith looked up to Shiro. He was such a good mentor to Keith and the rest of the team. And she was exceptionally pleased that since Keith had become pilot of the Black Lion full time and Shiro helped her out with flying Blue when she was needed for other coalition duties, that Shiro still remained high-spirited and team oriented like he always was. Even though it was hard for a time after the Kuron incident. If anything he was exceptionally proud of Keith and the hero he had become known as across the universe. But that was mainly from the people of the planets he and the team helped save. The leaders of those planets and those of the coalition were still not overly fond of his somewhat rebellious and quick-tempered nature.

"You did just as great. You helped save a lot of people." Keith reminds him.

"Yeah but the King of Nabari didn't knight me because of it." Shiro tells him and Allura smiles.

So that's why he had the cape...She bit her lip and tried not to blush too much. Now that she could see all of it she couldn't help but find it very attractive and befitting of the pilot of the Black Lion. Keith looked away from her and Shiro so she wouldn't see him blushing. She smiled and looked at the back of his head. She could see the origin of purple mark that came up on the side of his cheek on the back of his neck. It was more visible now that he had recently begun pulling his hair back into a ponytail. It was a very attractive look on him, although she did not have the courage to tell him so.

Shiro sensed the romantic tension between the two of them and smiled, taking that as his cue to leave.

"I'll see you in the dining hall Keith. I should head down there and make sure those three aren't trashing the place." Shiro says and nods to Allura before leaving Keith alone with the princess.

"So you were knighted?" Allura asks in an impressed tone.

"It's nothing really." Keith scoffed. "All I did was save about half of their population by unlocking a new shield that Black can make." He pulls out his knife and turns it into it's true form.

He admired it and swung it around a bit to show off for her.

"They also said something about me being a valiant warrior but I don't really care about that." He says honestly and puts it away in it's sheath. "Those people are safe and I was able to help them. That's all that matters."

"Yes. That is what's most important." Allura agrees and walks up to him and places her hand on his shoulder.

She brushes his cape and admires the craftsmanship. However her ears did perk up a bit when she thought she heard a purring noise.

"What's that sound?" She asks.

"Uh nothing..." Keith says and blushes.

Allura furrowed her eyebrows. Keith had been acting strange like that lately...She decided to change the subject knowing that if she pressed the matter that he would only evade it by running off. He had been doing a lot of that too lately. Sometimes at odd parts of the day when the team had some downtime and there wasn't anything else to do, time she would greatly enjoy spending with him, he would be missing from the castle. She checked the security systems in the hangar and caught him leaving in a pod to go somewhere. She desperately wanted to know where. But she knew him well enough now to know that he would only tell her when she was ready.

"So you did not enjoy the ceremony at all?" She asks.

"You know me." Keith says and laughs. "Of course I didn't! I only agreed to let the King do it because Shiro told me I should. I hate being the center of attention and I just don't get ceremonies." He complains. "Everyone already knows what I did, why do we have to all gather around and give me some dumb ornamental thing and a title I don't need while reminding everyone of it! It's a waste of time and resources-" He yells and Allura places her hand on his chest to calm him.

"Keith, please mind your temper." She requests and he sighs.

"Right...I'm sorry." He apologizes.

"It's alright. It's a lot better than it was when we first met." She says and they both giggle.

"You know...now that I'm a knight...I'll need a princess to serve." He tells her and takes her hand and kisses the back of it.

Allura blushed and smiled at him.

"Keith what are you-" She asks as he kneels down on one knee before her.

The fact that she was in her princess dress made this all the more perfect. He took out his knife, held it in his closed fist over his hand and placed it up by his chest and smiled at her.

"My fair princess Allura of Altea." He starts and Allura smiles.

"Oh Keith!" She laughs. "I thought you hated ceremonies?"

"I don't mind this one." Keith says and Allura stops laughing and looks at him seriously. "If it's for you...then it's definitely important." He says honestly.

"Keith..." Allura mutters.

"Allura...I have something really important to tell you." Keith says.

"What is it?" She asks.

"You know how I've been going off on my own every now and then between missions?" He asks.

"Yes. The team and I have been curious about that." Allura tells him. "What's the reasoning behind it?"

"Well...I've been working on something. Something that has to do with my galra heritage but it's also something I'm kind of dreading...at least I have been because I know what you'll probably say to this..." He grumbles and sighs. "But you at least deserve to know that-"

"Allura!" Coran calls from the hallway and Keith growls at him and shoots him an angry glare that makes Coran cower in fear against the wall.

"Sorry Coran." Keith apologized after he sees that he scared the elder Altean.

"It's alright Keith." Coran says and looks curiously at him and Allura.

They were in a rather interesting position with him kneeling on the ground in a knight's cape in a position to pledge himself to the princess. But there were more pressing matters they needed to attend to so he would address that later.

"What is it Coran?" Allura asks.

"Allura you're needed in the control room for a meeting." Coran says.

"Alright. Once I'm finished here with Keith I'll-" She starts but Keith stands up, releasing her hand.

"No it's fine you can go." He says in a disheartened tone.

"But what you were saying sounded important?" She asks.

"It's really not." Keith sighs. "What's going on in the control room is probably ten times more important than some silly thing I've got going on." He gives her a smile but Allura can tell it's forced.

Nevertheless she smiles back at him and he places his hand on her shoulder.

"Go to the meeting. If you want we can talk after." He promises and then disappears around the corner.

"This meeting better be important Coran." Allura tells him. "I've barely gotten to spend any time with the paladins lately." She complains. "So what is the matter?"

"It's actually a matter regarding one of the paladins." Coran tells her. "There's something going on with Keith that his mother is rather anxious about."

Allura's heart jumped to her throat. When they entered the control room she saw Shiro, Lotor and Krolia. Krolia seemed nervous.

"What's going on?" Allura asks worriedly. "Coran told me that something is wrong with Keith?"

"Well I wouldn't say it's something 'wrong' per say..." Lotor says nervously and scratches the back of his neck.

"Then what is it?" Shiro asks, a slight anger lacing his tone.

He too was worried for his closest friend on the team.

"Well..." Lotor starts. "It's um...it's hard to explain. Uh...how do I put this in a polite way-"

"He's going into heat!" Krolia blurts out, tired of waiting for Lotor to find the politically correct term.

A silence fell over the room and everyone's faces turned red. Allura was especially shocked. Although she wasn't too familiar with the concept of mating cycles for the galra, she had a basic understanding of what being in "heat" meant. The thought of Keith in such a primal state of mind, wanting to copulate with anyone he came across gave her goosebumps. What if he wanted to have sex with her? She was both frightened and excited by the thought. But she quickly pushed those feelings down in order to retain a professional facade in front of the others.

"He's in heat?" Coran asks. "Oh my...does he have a fever? That would explain the dizzy spells and hot flashes he's been having."

"Not that kind of heat Coran..." Shiro says.

"It's a part of development for the galra." Lotor explains. "Keith is about to reach the age of sexual maturity and in that time he will be experiencing...a lot of..." Lotor blushed. "Urges of a...sexual nature." He mumbled.

"So that's what's been up with Keith?" Shiro asks. "He's just been really...horny lately?" He asks, the word 'horny' leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

"He's not in heat yet but he will be soon." Krolia explains. "Those hot flashes and dizzy spells he's been having are his body's way of letting him know that he'll be going into heat so he has time to prepare an isolated location, with the proper provisions he'll need to care for himself and his mate for them to live off of while he's in heat."

"His mate?" Shiro asks. "Does he have one? Has he been seeing someone lately?"

Allura felt her heart drop into her stomach. He already has someone...that's probably why he's been sneaking around and disappearing lately. He's been running off to see them. Allura swallowed her sorrow and tried her best to keep tears from running down her cheeks. No one knew how she felt about Keith. And now they would never have to. But this was just so shocking considering that as of late she had been so sure he felt the same way given how whenever he was around her he was always looking at her and blushing and...something else. Something almost primal about the way his pupils dilated when he looked at her. Or sometimes if she accidentally brushed up against him he would blush and she swore she heard him purr. Like he had before she came here. Was that all in her head? No it couldn't have been or else he wouldn't have acknowledged it...

"No, he doesn't." Krolia says.

Allura relaxed, closed her eyes and let out a silent sigh in relief. There was still hope.

"But he must have someone in mind." Krolia says and pulls up something on her data pad and a video comes on the big screen.

It was of Keith, somewhere in the desert at a small shack, hammering some nails into a window frame outside. Once he finished he started bringing boxes of things inside the shack.

"He's been collecting provisions and bringing them to his father's old homestead on Earth. It's an isolated location. No one knows about it and there's no one around it for miles. It's the perfect location for a love nest." Krolia explains.

"So if he's setting one up then that must mean he's selected a mate." Lotor deduces and Krolia nods.

"So when galra are in heat they only have one mate?" Shiro asks.

"Yes." Krolia answers. "While most people assume that being in heat means that someone will want to sleep with anyone they come across, that is not the case for the galra. For us, it's special and important so we pick one person who we are in love with to be our mate and then we imprint on them, and when we go into heat we mate with the person we've imprinted on."

"Oh that's wonderful! Who do you think the lucky guy or gal is?" Coran exclaims and twirls his mustache.

"I'm not entirely sure. It would have to be someone he's known for awhile and has a strong emotional connection with in order for him to imprint on them." Krolia explains.

"So it's probably someone on the team." Shiro says and thinks. "Would there be any way to know which one of us it is? Would he act a certain way towards someone if he wanted to mate with them?"

"Well...he would be acting a bit more affectionate towards them." Krolia says and Allura feels her heart start to pound as she realized that he had been acting that way towards her.

The blushing, how kind he had been to her and the purring when she touched him...The look of desire and longing as well as what she now suspected to be love in his eyes...

"And there would be other...obvious signs." She says and everyone seems a bit uncomfortable because they know what she means.

"So uh, has anyone noticed Keith have a boner around them lately?" Shiro asks casually and laughs uncomfortably.

Allura tried to think back to the times she had spent with Keith recently. She had mainly been too focused on that dark gaze he looked at her with to think to look lower to his crotch. But if that dark look was in fact desire then...She gasped when she remembered one time when they were sparring together before he left on one of his secret trips and she pinned him down underneath her and they both blushed when she felt something hard poking her inner thigh.

"It's me." Allura says and the adults turn to her. "Keith uh...got a boner for me while we were training." She admits and looks at the ground in embarrassment while everyone looks a bit uncomfortable.

They didn't like the idea that someone from Keith's poor upbringing desired to do dirty things to their princess. In their eyes she was a goddess. Powerful and kind to the people of the universe and one of the last pure blooded alteans. The idea of Keith mating with her...in such a primal way. That would only taint her purity. And a certain galra hybrid in the room did not like the idea of that...

"And in addition to that he's been rather affectionate towards me lately. He's been very kind, following my orders without fighting against me too much and kissing my hand occasionally..." She smiles and plays with her dress a bit, a dreamy look in her eyes. "Blushing whenever he's around me and I swear I've heard him purr when I touch him in any way and-"

"Well I'd say that's pretty substantial evidence that Keith wants to mate with the princess." Lotor says quickly, not wanting to hear anymore. "So what do we do since Allura is unwilling to-"

"Who says I'm unwilling?" Allura asks.

"WHAT!?" The men all exclaim, save for Shiro who only smirked because he knew already and Krolia raises her eyebrows in surprise.

Allura blushed from their reaction and walked towards Krolia.

"Krolia, over the time I have known your son I have come to fall in love with him like he's fallen in love with me." Allura says. "If this is a milestone that he must go through in order to mature and pledge his love to me then I will accept his offer to be his mate." Allura says.

"Allura?" Lotor asks in disbelief. "You would allow Keith to..."

"Yes Lotor." Allura tells him. "I love Keith. If he wishes to copulate with me then I would not reject his offer, regardless of if he's in heat or not."

"Allura I don't think you fully understand the situation..." Lotor says. "If you allow him to mate with you while he's in heat then you will be spending an entire phoeb isolated with him in that shack while he makes love to you. That's an entire phoeb you won't be able to do your duties as leader of the coalition and if you and Keith leave then we won't be able to form Voltron because we'll be down a paladin. There's only six of you who can fly the lions after all."

"So he won't just make love to me once?" Allura asks.

"No." Lotor answers. "He'll be making love to you at least once a quintant for an entire phoeb."

Allura feels her chest get warm when she realizes...

"That means that..." She starts and looks down at her stomach and places her hand over womb gently.

"At some point during his heat you two would conceive a child." Krolia finishes for her while Allura has a thoughtful look on her face.

"For mating couples who are able to conceive anyway." Lotor says. "My mother and Zarkon had a lot of trouble conceiving me. Even when my father was in heat. It seems that altean and galra DNA just aren't compatible." He states as a fact.

"Actually I've thought about this and I had some of my friends in the sciences run some theoretical tests and...it appears that Keith's human DNA could act as a buffer between his galra DNA and Allura's altean DNA, meaning that they will have a much easier time conceiving a viable child and carrying it to delivery without any external aid."

Lotor seemed shocked and Allura smiled. On the inside she was overjoyed. She occasionally dreamed about what it would be like to have a child with Keith. But it was never more than a hope for the future. Now that future was possible and a lot closer than she originally thought.

"Well regardless of whether or not you and Keith can conceive, as a leader of the coalition and the pilot of the Black Lion you two don't have the time to care for a child." Lotor advises and places a comforting hand on Allura's shoulder.

Now that he knew that Allura would be able to conceive a child with Keith then he was extremely worried about his plans for the future regarding Allura's children. Specifically the ones that he hoped to have with her...

"I know that is disheartening to hear but perhaps you will be a mother at some later time when things have calmed down a bit and you can take some time to relax and care for a child if you wish to." Lotor assures her.

"Thank you Lotor." Allura says and pats his shoulder. "You and Keith always have such good advice for me. And you both are a great comfort to me. I would agree to go with Keith and be his mate, but if we cannot form Voltron if me and Keith leave together, then it is impossible for me to do such a thing." She says and does her best to hide her sorrow. "Krolia?" Allura asks and she turns to her. "I assume that Keith being in heat would prevent him from doing his duties as a paladin?"

"Definitely." Krolia says. "When he's in heat the only thing on his mind will be mating...with you." She says uncomfortably and blushes.

"So what will we do with him?" Shiro asks.

"We can lock him away at the blade's headquarters until he's out of heat. It won't be pleasant for him but we'll do as much for him as we can. Hopefully time will pass quickly for him." Krolia says and looks upset.

Allura did too. She didn't like the thought of Keith being locked away somewhere, away from her for an entire phoeb. But she could not abandon her duties as a paladin, even just to be alone with him for a little while.

Krolia informed Keith of the decision that was made and she had a ship come so she could leave with her son to the base where he would be locked away. They were able to do so quickly because Keith was already planning on a rejection from Allura. Krolia's heart ached for her son. She didn't tell him that Allura had originally agreed and that it was only after Lotor's advising that she changed her mind. That would only cause tension between the team and it was also not her place to tell Keith the true feelings of Allura's heart. She needed to do that herself.

Everyone gathered in the hangar to send him off. He received many hugs, even a double one from Matt and Pidge which he seemed to enjoy. He and Shiro did their classic bro-hug.

"I'm gonna miss you Shiro." Keith says.

"I'll miss you too Keith." Shiro says. "But you'll be back before you know it."

"I sure hope so." Keith says.

Allura's heart raced as he approached her. They looked at each other with such love for one another in their eyes. But only Allura knew that's what it was. Nevertheless Allura teared up as she hugged him and Keith let a few tears slip as well as he held her tightly in his arms. Neither of them wanted to let go.

"I'm so sorry Keith." Allura tells him.

"Allura it's alright." He tells her and pulls back and smiles at her. "Being my mate would be asking a lot of you. A lot that I would never want you to feel like you have to give me. I understand why you won't accept my offer. I didn't really expect you to honestly." He says and the disappointed look on his face broke Allura's heart.

"Keith...I-" Allura started but Keith looked back up at her.

"Before you say anything, can I tell you something? Something important?" He asks.

Allura nods and moves closer to him. He takes her hand in his and holds it to his chest.

"Allura...I-" Lotor came over and clasped a hand on his shoulder.

"Time to go." He says and Keith sighs.

He gives Allura a small smile then kisses her hand before leaving beside Lotor. The Emperor glared at Keith and Keith glared right back at him as he boarded the ship with his mother. As the door closed he gave Allura one last smile and she gave him one too before the door shut, cutting the connection between them.

Allura wept silently in her sleep that night. She knew now that Keith loved her, and he probably assumed she didn't. She couldn't stand the thought of him spending an entire phoeb heartbroken, and she hated that he would go that long without knowing how she felt about him too. She trusted Lotor's judgement, she really did. He was a wonderful advisor and ally but when it came to her relationship with Keith it seemed he would do whatever it takes to keep them apart. The mice gathered around her and squeaked to her to comfort her and she smiled at them.

"Thank you my darlings." She tells them weakly. "I'll be fine in the morning." She lies to them and cries herself to sleep.

About a varga later, Allura thought she heard something moving in the vents but she chose to ignore it. It was probably just the mice again. It was adorable what shenanigans they would get up to in the vents sometimes. But then she heard it again, louder this time. Like something much larger than the mice was right above her room. She tentatively opened her eyes and saw her mice, curled up, asleep on the pillow beside her. That was when she heard it. The crash, the thump of someone landing on the floor. She turned and saw a dark figure crawling on her bed and she was about to scream for help when the figure quickly pounced on her and silenced her scream with their hand.

"Shh...Allura." The figure says and Allura immediately relaxes.

She knew that voice anywhere. Only one man had such a sweet tone when he said her name that it could warm her heart whenever he said it. He pulled back his hood and revealed himself to her, his face illuminated by the cold light of the star the ship was passing.

"Oh Keith..." Allura sighed happily and sat up and embraced him.

He hugged her tightly, letting his hand trail her back through his gloves that were a part of his marmora armor. He stood on his knees and she did the same, burying her face in the crook of his neck, where his mark was.

"What are you doing here?" She asks. "Shouldn't you be with your mother, locked away somewhere on the blades base while you're in heat?"

"I'm not in heat yet." Keith tells her. "But I will be pretty soon. I came to see you because I...need you." He growls in a low tone that sends shivers down Allura's spine.

"Keith?" She asks as his eyes darken and he looks at her hungrily.

Keith winced and shook his head.

"Very soon." Keith says and goes back to normal. "Your scent is starting to make my mind all foggy." He says and gently nuzzles his face in her hair.

Allura sighed happily from the gesture and leaned into him. He grinned and purred. The mice all squeaked amongst themselves, unable to look away from the princess and paladin's embrace.

"I came here because I noticed something before I left." Keith says and Allura pulls back to look at him. "You seemed sad to see me go. Almost like...you didn't want me to leave?"

"Of course I didn't want you to leave Keith!" Allura exclaims quietly. "A phoeb without you is much too long for my liking." She says without even realizing what she had just admitted until she heard Keith gasp.

"Why?" He asks softly, looking at her intently, wide eyes searching hers desperately for her answer.

No turning back now...I already know how he feels about me. He deserves to know that I feel the same for him. Allura thought as she smiled at him and placed her hand over his cheek, cupping the purple mark that graced his fair skin.

"Because I love you Keith." She tells him. "I want you to be by my side always."

Keith let out a short laugh in surprise and his eyes teared up in happiness and he covered his mouth, soft sobs of joy escaping his lips as he looked at her and saw that his tears must have been contagious because now there were sparkling drops falling from Allura's crystal blue eyes.

"Ditto princess." Is all Keith manages to say.

He supports her lower back with his hand and she gasps in pleasure as he gently lays her back down on the bed while laying on top of her and he captures her lips in their first kiss. Once they kissed Allura felt like the rest of the universe disappeared. She didn't even hear the squeaks of joy of the mice beside her and Keith. She felt like her whole life she had been searching for something and now she had found it. This whole time all she needed had been right under her nose. She just needed to join it with the pair of lips that resided on her paladin and everything fell into place. Neither one of them wanted to part but eventually they had to. Keith pulled back and looked at her. His eyes were slightly darkened. Allura estimated he had a few vargas before he went into heat.

"I just needed to tell you that." He tells her and smiles. "I made the mistake of not telling you how I felt before leaving with the blades once..." He says and they both recall the first time he left the team for the blades, seemingly permanently. "I'm never making that mistake again. I would have done it before I left, had Lotor not stopped me." He growled.

"Lotor was rather eager to get you out of here today..." Allura says and narrows her eyes in thought. "And he was the one who disagreed with me the most when I agreed to be your mate when I met with him, your mother and-"

"Wait you want to be my mate?" Keith asks in surprise.

"Yes." Allura says and smiles. "I want to Keith I really do. But Lotor told me that my duties for the coalition and Voltron would not allow me to take time off. And with two paladins missing we would not be able to form Voltron for the period of time that we're gone. That would leave us vulnerable to our enemies which we cannot afford for something as long as a phoeb." Allura says and sighs. "As much as I want to be with you I'm afraid that our duties are keeping us apart."

"Like they always do." Keith sighs and rests his forehead against hers. "Sometimes I wish you weren't a princess." He admits. "If only you could have been born a commoner or been just a paladin like us maybe it would be easier for us to be together. But I suppose the universe is too cruel for that. Why did I have to fall in love with someone I could never be with?" He asks and looks at her longingly.

"I know how you feel." Allura tells him. "But there has to be a way for us to be together. Otherwise, why would fate bring us together if we were meant to be apart?"

Keith kisses her hungrily again and she kisses him back. She felt herself relax into his arms and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his mouth fitting perfectly to hers. But this time when they kissed she felt something click, something to do with quintessence. She felt Blue's presence, as if she was trying to telepathically communicate with her.

What is it girl? She asks silently.

Suddenly an image of Matt Holt popped into her head and Allura gasped and pulled back from Keith.

"What is it?" He asks her, noticing her smiling.

"Keith I can go into heat with you." Allura tells him and leans in to kiss him again but her furrows his brows in confusion and leans back.

"No Allura you can't." He tells her. "We don't have anyone to pilot Black and Blue remember?"

"Yes we do. Shiro still has his connection with Black remember? He's filled in for you before when your mother needs your help on missions sometimes." She tells him.

"Yeah but the problem is we wouldn't have anyone to fly Blue." Keith tells her matter of factly.

"I know someone else who can." Allura tells him.

"Who?" Keith asks.

"Pidge's brother. Matt." Allura says and Keith looks confused.

"Why him?" Keith asks.

"Blue just showed me a vision of him." Allura tells Keith, cupping his face in her hands and smiling.

A smile started to form on his lips as well.

"I'm pretty sure she told me to let him be my substitute while we're gone." Allura tells him. "So that solves the problem of not being able to form Voltron without us...and I know that Lotor, Shiro, Coran and even Krolia can manage the coalition without us while we're away..."

Keith's smile grew wider with every passing tick as she continued. Then he winced and closed his eyes for a minute before opening them again and looking at her, smiling happily tears pricking his eyes.

"What is it?" She asks him.

"Black just showed me Shiro in his cockpit, then you in my arms looking as radiant as ever after I was kissing you." Keith says and Allura tears up in happiness again.

"Keith...I think that's a sign that we should be together." Allura tells him and they both come together for another heated kiss.

"Finally." Keith tells her when they pull apart. "I can make you mine." He says in that hungry tone again before kissing her rather roughly, making the princess moan softly and grasp his bicep.

When Keith pulled away from her he gave her a worried look.

"We need to go. Now." He says and Allura nods.

He gathered her up in his arms, bridal style. The mice followed Keith as he carried her to the secret door that Allura pointed him to that lead down to the hangar where the space pods were. It was only supposed to be used in emergencies if the castle was under siege but...this was technically an emergency.

"Goodbye my darlings." Allura says to the mice and blows them a kiss. "Take care of yourselves. I'll be back in a phoeb."

"Yeah be careful." Keith adds. "And Platt go easy on those seeds. Chuchule needs some too you know."

Platt squeaked at him in annoyance and then Chuchule squeaked angrily at Platt. Keith and Allura giggled and Keith carried her through the door down to the hangar.

When they reached the hangar Keith picked a space pod and went over to it.

"Why don't we use the ship that you escaped the Blade of Marmora in?" Allura asks.

"They'll be tracking it." Keith says. "They'll find us a lot sooner than if we used a space pod. The ship I used will lead them here but we'll already be long gone on our way to Earth." He explains. "Besides." He opens the pod and stands by it. "It's kind of symbolic and nostalgic don't you think?" He asks. "We're running away together in a space pod again, only this time we're doing it out of love." He says and kisses her.

"Oh Keith..." Allura sighs as he helps her in the pod before hopping in himself and closing it.

He set a course for Earth and then the pod hummed to life, the hangar door opened and they flew out into the night. Allura looked behind her as the castle disappeared from view. Keith set the pod to autopilot and got up from his chair and reached behind it and pulled a bag up to the side of the chair.

"What's in there?" She asks.

"My clothes." Keith says. "My marmora suit isn't good for the desert." He says and removes his chest plate and unzips the suit. "So I'm changing. Do you mind if I strip for a second?" He asks.

"O-oh no." Allura says softly. "No, not at all. Feel free to do so..." She stammers and blushes when he pulls down his suit to around his waist.

She bit her lip and let her eyes roam his bare chest. Years of training with the team and the blades of marmora had built some muscle onto his lean physique. She let her eyes feast upon his toned chest and looked at the scar on his shoulder. She pouted, remembering when he got that from his Marmora trials. He didn't seem to mind it though. In fact it was rather attractive on him. She let her eyes roam down his chest and then her eyes widened when she saw his chiseled v-line as he lowered his suit. She felt heat start to form in her panties as he lowered his suit down even further and she saw the large bulge in his boxers. She knew she shouldn't be looking but she couldn't look away.

"You like what you see princess?" He asks her and her face turns red when she looks up and sees him smirking at her.

"Oh Keith I'm so sorry! I should have averted my gaze while you're changing-" She stammers and looks away from him.

"Hey it's fine. We're together now remember?" He reminds her. "You can look as much as you want." He says as he pulls up his jeans and zips them up. "Besides, you'll see me naked pretty soon anyway once we get to Earth." He reminds her. "And I'll get to see you strip as well." He says in a sultry tone and looks her over with a lustful stare.

"Oh Keith..." Allura whines as she hid her face in embarrassment while pulling her robe around herself self-consciously.

Keith laughed at her reaction and finished putting on the rest of his clothes and pulled his jacket on then wrapped an arm around Allura to comfort her.

"Hey, Allura look at me." Keith requests in a serious tone and Allura looks up to meet Keith's gaze. "I love you." He says. "And you are so beautiful. You don't need to hide from me. But if you are uncomfortable getting naked then you don't have to. That's fine too. I would never want you do to anything you don't want to do. You're really sexy no matter what you're wearing or not wearing."

Allura smiled at him and kissed him sweetly.

"I think you're very attractive too Keith." Allura tells him and he purrs and kisses her cheek, making her giggle. "Did you pack some Earth clothes for me as well?" She asks.

"No." Keith says. "What you have on now should be fine. We're going to be in a shack in the middle of nowhere and you won't exactly need things to wear considering what we'll be doing most of the time there..." Keith says, his voice slowly descending into a husky tone as he trails a finger across the thin fabric of her nightgown.

"Oh...right." Allura blushed and shivered from Keith's touch."Keith...your mother told me that I would get pregnant from this." Allura tells him and he turns to look at her. "Do you know that?"

"Yeah." Keith says softly and smiles at her. "I know. You're okay with that right?" He asks.

"Yes." Allura says and smiles. "I love you Keith. I want to carry your child."

"Our child." Keith corrects her and places his hand on her stomach. "It's just as much yours as it will be mine. Do you think we're ready to have a kid?"

"Well I'd say we're both old enough now." Allura thinks. "Although it is a bit sooner than I expected and it is outside of wedlock which for a royal is basically unthinkable."

"Well...my mom told me that for the galra this is basically like marriage." Keith says. "Most of the time they either marry their mate before and then spend their honeymoon in heat, or they get married afterwards before the baby comes."

"Well then I guess we'll be doing the second option." Allura says and Keith squeezes her hand.

"Allura are you saying you'll marry me?" He asks and smiles.

"If asked properly..." She hints and blushes. "I couldn't imagine saying no."

"Even though I'm not from nobility or have power like Lotor?" Keith asks.

"Keith we have Voltron I don't need to marry anyone to protect the Universe. Besides, Lotor has already agreed to help us. It would look very bad for him to rescind that help once I get engaged to someone else..." She explains and Keith smirks. "Despite what he may think, I am free to marry whom I choose. And I think I already have someone very special to me in mind. Someone I love very much..."

Keith teared up in happiness and leaned over and kissed her passionately.

"I love you too." Keith says. "I promise I'll find the perfect way to ask you while we're at our love nest. It'll be the most romantic moment of your life."

"More romantic then your breaking out of a highly protected base to come find me to confess our love to each other, then running away together to your home to make love for a whole phoeb, consummating our love and conceiving a child in the process?" She asks.

"The second most romantic then." Keith promises and

Allura smiles at him and gently kisses him a few times before he pulled back and refocusing on flying the ship.

As they got closer to the planet Allura got more excited.

"I've never been to Earth before." She says and squirms in her seat a bit. "This is rather exciting. Will you be showing me around so I can see the wonders of your planet and perhaps we could visit the other paladins if they're around while we're-"

"No." Keith says firmly and gives her a serious look. "I guess my mom didn't tell you..."

"Tell me what?" Allura asks.

"Galra are extremely territorial when they're in heat." Keith says. "I'm going to be really protective of you. More so than usual. My hormones are going to be clouding my brain so basically mating with you and getting you pregnant are going to be the biggest things on my mind. And in that state I'm going to view anyone who comes near our love nest, or more importantly near you as a threat, no matter if they're a stranger or our friends. Essentially I'll try to kill anyone that tries to interact with us while I'm in heat."

"Oh..." Allura says softly.

Keith could tell that she seemed a bit nervous about that.

"Don't worry." He says and places his hand over hers. "That's why we pick isolated places while we're in heat, to eliminate the risk of someone coming across us and hurting them. This old shack is in the middle of the desert and no one knows about it aside from the other paladins and my mom but she'll warn them to stay away. And I spent a whole year out there on my own and never came across anyone so we'll be fine there. I promise." He says.

He squeezes Allura's hand then brings it up to his face and presses his lips to the back of her hand, making her blush.

"I also promise to bring you back to Earth sometime again for a proper visit, when I'm not a horny killing machine." He jokes and she giggles.

She cups his cheek in her hand and Keith kisses her palm. She smiled at him then noticed his eyes closed and he nuzzled into her hand more and growled. She gasped and pulled her hand back.

"Keith?" Allura asked and he winced and Allura looked down and gasps.

There was a tent forming in his pants.

"We don't have much longer before it starts." Keith says and blinks a few times, trying to stay focused on flying the pod.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Allura asks in a concerned tone and reaches for him but he knocks her hand away.

"No." Keith tells her sternly. "Having you this close is already making it come faster. If you touch me, it could send me over the edge. Thankfully we're here." He says and Allura looks and smiles when she sees the planet where she and Keith will be spending their time.

"It's beautiful..." Allura says and leans forward in her seat, admiring the planet.

"Yeah...it really is." Keith says while looking at Allura.

They break through the atmosphere and soon the desert is in sight. Keith flipped a switch to allow for cloaking so the garrison wouldn't pick them up and Keith shakily but successfully managed to land them next to his shack. As soon as he turned off the pod he moaned and keeled over, sweating and heaving.

"Allura..." Keith moaned. "It's starting."

"Then we made it just in time." Allura says and looks out the window at the desert and the small shack where she and Keith would be spending the next phoeb.

However, she didn't have much time to enjoy the new scenery. She heard a deep animalistic growl emit from behind her and it made her shiver.

"Keith?" She asks and turns to look at her lover.

He was sweating and heaving, resting his arms against the console. Allura looked concerned.

"Keith? Darling?" She asked and reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Keith growled again and looked up at her. Allura gasped. His pupils were so dilated that there was only a thin ring of violet around them. He sat up and looked her over and licked his lips looking at her with a predatory stare that made her start to feel heat form in her core. He crawled over into her seat and straddled her, placing his arms on either side of her seat, blocking her from leaving.

"Keith? What's gotten into you-" She gasps as Keith leans down and nuzzles his face against her neck and purred.

"My princess..." He purrs.

"Keith..." She moans then gasps as he places his hands on her sides and moves them down her figure sensually.

He looks at her and smiles and squeezes her sides gently. He locks eyes with her and he leans into her and places a searing kiss to her lips. She moans into the kiss and Keith swipes his tongue across her mouth and she gasps, opening her mouth and letting Keith stick his tongue in her. She let his hands caress her as he made out with her. Her senses were on overdrive. She had never been handled in such a manner before. It was intoxicating. Keith released her lips and she sighed happily as he started placing hot kisses on her neck.

"Oh Keith..." She moans. "Oh!" She yelps as she feels him press something hard and stiff against her pelvis.

She looked down to get a better look even through she already knew exactly what it was.

"I need you..." Keith growls and looks at her with pure lust in his eyes.

He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up bridal style in his arms, opening up the pod and taking her out of it. He carried her towards the shack and she studied it. She felt her chest warm as she studied the small shack, illuminated by the setting sun. It was so small and quaint. It didn't seem like much but it looked like a cozy, comfortable home. A humble home for her humble hero. The man she loved. And it was within these walls that he would make love to her again, and again, and again. She bit her lip and felt herself get slightly wet from the thought of how much sex she was going to have this phoeb.

"So this is this where you grew up?" She asks and looks at him.

He kissed her passionately in response.

"Okay." She says after he releases her lips. "I guess you're not really one for talking right now." She says as Keith carries her up the steps to the porch.

"You're going to carry me across the threshold?" She asks and giggles. "Isn't that an Earth custom for marriage?"

Keith smiled at her and kissed her and she smiled and moaned into the kiss.

"Tonight I claim you as mine..." He says huskily before opening the door and carrying her inside.

Allura gasped when they came inside and she saw what was around them. There were candles set up on tables and on the floor, and bouquets of flowers surrounded them and hung from the ceiling as well. There was a couch underneath the windows and a table pushed up against it but the biggest thing in the room was the bed he had set up that he gently set her down on.

Allura smiled and ran her hands along the soft blanket, while she sat on a towel that had been placed on the bed. It was a rather comfy bed. It wasn't nearly as plush as her room back at the castle but it still felt cozy nonetheless. Keith pulled a lighter out of one of the pouches on his belt and lit the candles he had set up to give a nice romantic mood lighting to the room.

"Oh Keith...this is so romantic..." Allura says and blushes, looking around the room once Keith lit the candles.

Keith smiled at her and came to stand before her at the foot of the bed. He laid some rose petals on it, in front of Allura and she blushed. Then he pulled a rose out from behind his back and presented it to her.

"Oh Keith. It's beautiful." She says and takes it from him and admires it, smelling it and smiling. "It smells so sweet. I have never seen this type of flower before. What are they called?"

"I love you...I need you..." He purrs softly and takes his jacket off.

"Right...You only have one thing on your mind right now..." She purrs.

Allura breathed heavily as Keith's eyes raked over her form as she crawled back on the bed. Keith licked his lips and growled making a jolt of heat go to Allura's core. He lifted his shirt up and took it off and tossed it aside, moving his hands down to unbuckle his belt. Allura's eyes eagerly roamed over his chest.

Allura bit her lip and crawled forward and reached her hand out to touch his chest. He smiled and allowed her to explore his chest. Allura shivered as her hands trailed his hot skin, tracing his abs and running her hands down his pecs and smiling up at him and Keith smirked. She decided to get a little frisky and she placed a kiss to his chest. Keith moaned softly. She smiled, realizing Keith's moan was really hot. She leaves more kisses on his pecs, on the scar on his shoulder, then some on his abs and she reached down and grabbed his pants to remove them and he moaned and knocked her hands away and she looked up at him.

"You first." He breathes and Allura blushes and starts breathing heavier.

Keith was looking at her with pure lust in his eyes as he unbuttoned and unzipped his fly to relieve the pressure on his erection before he crawled on the bed and started moving towards her.

"K-Keith." She stammered then gasped when he tugged on the strings of her nightgown on her chest.

He groans into her neck before leaving soft kisses there as he undoes the laces on the front of her nightgown, revealing her cleavage to him.

"You want this off don't you?" She asks and Keith nods.

Keith kissing her neck like that threw any insecurities she might have had about her appearance out the window.

"Okay, take it off." Allura sighs breathily and lays down on her back as Keith pulls her nightgown up over her head.

She blushed as Keith looked over her body while taking off his gloves. She was a little insecure about whether or not he'll find her attractive. He smiled and placed a gentle kiss to her lips while cupping her cheek.

"Beautiful." He whispers to her.

Allura moaned as she felt Keith grab her breast and he purred and moved down and she gasped and moaned again as he took her nipple into his mouth.

"Oh Keith..." She pants and grips the back of his head as he sucks on her breast. "I feel so...hot. I need more!" She cries out.

Keith feels her start to hump the air and smirks against her breast and moves over to the other one and tugs and sucks on it gently while slowly moving his hand along her stomach down to her aching core.

"Want more?" He asks against her tit.

"Yes! I feel like I want something in-ah!" She cries out as she feels something slip into her pussy.

She looked down and saw that Keith had his hand in her panties and she moaned as he curled his finger in her and pumped it in and out gently.

He growls and smirks as he sucks her tit again and pumps his finger in her faster, making her whine. He bites her nipple and she whimpers. "So wet..." He purrs and she moans as Keith sticks another finger in her and starts stretching her and she whimpers and rocks her hips into his hand.

Allura cried out in pleasure and whined and writhed underneath him.

"Oh Keith!" She moans. "I feel like something's building up inside me and I need to just ah!" She screams and arches her back off of the bed.

"Cum for me." He breathes against her ear.

Keith pressed his thumb into her clit and rubbed it and Allura went stiff and opened her mouth in a silent scream as she saw stars as she experienced her first orgasm. She collapsed on the bed, breathing heavily and whimpered from the loss as Keith withdrew his hand from her and she gasped when she saw white liquid on his fingers.

"Did that come out of me?" She asks.

He didn't answer. He just licked her juices off of his fingers in response and smirked.

"Tasty." He says.

Allura watched as he got off of the bed and stood up and pulled his pants down. He steps out of his pants and lowers his boxers. Allura gasped when she saw his penis. She had never seen one before, so she blushed from the sight of it. It was so big, thick, and had pre-cum leaking from his tip. Keith stepped out of his boxers and stood naked in front of her at the foot of the bed. She then understood why Keith had her orgasm before. So she would be wet enough for him to enter her more easily without it hurting her too much.

Allura watched him crawl on the bed again, his swollen prick hanging heavy between his legs as he leaned over her and hooked his fingers into her panties and slowly pulled them down her legs. Allura moaned and started breathing heavily as Keith tossed them to the side. She sat up and reached forward, Keith watching as she examined his cock, her eyes shining with innocent curiosity and he purred. She reached out and gently touched his cock and he growled again and she gasped and recoiled her hand, worried she had done something wrong but Keith took her hand and led it back to his cock.

"Again." He requests and she timidly reaches for his cock again and starts to stroke him.

He moaned and tilted his head back as Allura's nimble fingers explored his cock. Her smooth touch relieving his scorching skin as she rubbed and stroked his shaft. When she swiped her thumb over his rosy head he growled, pushing her down and pinning her underneath him and she gasped in surprise.

"I need to...be inside you...now" He moans incoherently, his mind foggy with lust.

She yelped as Keith stood up on his knees and placed his hands on her knees and moved them down her thighs. She whined in anticipation and looked up at Keith with wide innocent eyes.

"Let me in..." He requests and kisses her thigh gently. "Show me all of you..." He growls.

Allura took a shaky breath and relaxed her legs, allowing Keith to push them apart and reveal her most private area to her mate. He stared at her sex and purred, making Allura shiver. The way he was eyeing her gave her goosebumps. She had to admit there was something very erotic about her virgin core being on display in such a primal manner for her lust crazed paladin. He growled in approval, licking his lips before he crawled over her, between her legs and Allura yelped in surprise when she felt his tip prod at her entrance. He hissed from the contact and held her hips to keep her in place as he lined himself up. Allura panted as he placed soft kisses on her neck then made his way up to her face and peppered her face with kisses before placing one on her lips and making out with her softly to relax her.

"Ready?" He breathes against her lips.

"Yes." Allura sighs softly. "Take me Keith."

The innocent tone of her voice when she said those erotic words could have made him cum right then and there. She screams and arches her back off the bed as Keith took her virginity with one swift thrust of his hips. She whimpered and winced in pain as Keith pushed himself inside her deeper and he moaned in pleasure. He closed his eyes and smiled, letting out a sigh in relief now that his sword was within it's sheath. He peppered her face and neck with kisses and stroked her side to soothe her to try and help ease the pain.

Once she relaxed he tried thrusting into her gently. She whimpered softly but not in pain. It was in pleasure. Keith smiled and began to pick up the pace, rolling his hips faster and her soft whimpers grew in volume until she was moaning underneath him and Keith held her tighter, feeling his orgasm start to build up. He knew he wouldn't last long with her making such lewd noises and feeling so good around his cock.

"Keith!" Allura cried out and rocked her hips against his. "More. Harder, faster! Please!" She begs.

Keith grants her her wish and buries himself to the hilt inside her as she wraps her legs around his waist and holds onto his back for dear life as he pounds into her with wild abandon.

"Yes! Yes!" She screamed in pleasure.

She gripped his back, sighing as she felt his back curve his muscles contracting as he thrusted. She let her hand trail upwards and rested it over the scar on his shoulder and she placed gentle kisses on his markings. He purred and gripped the headboard and thrusted even harder into her already well-fucked cunt.

"Oh! Oh! Keith! Keith yes more! Just like that!" Allura praises him as he thrusts into her so hard the headboard smacks against the wall. "It feels so good ah!" She moans and tilts her head back and moans loudly as Keith picked up the pace, causing more of that delicious friction of his cock moving inside her.

He suddenly grabbed her arms and pinned her down on the bed, sinking his teeth into her neck and marking her with a hickey, making her moan more then scream as he grabs her left breast and gropes it as his thrusts start to become erratic as he nears his release. She started meeting his thrusts with her hips and Allura moaned and writhed underneath him, shocked at how she was unable to move under his weight. Even though he had gotten a lot stronger over the years, she was still always able to hold her own against him. But now it was as if being in heat had made him stronger, much stronger. She would have to ask him about that later because right now she was on the brink of her second orgasm and he knew it so he brushed his finger against that bundle of nerves again and she cried out his name in ecstasy and he grabbed her hips and made her take all of his cock and he moaned loudly and thrust his hips forward as her constricting walls milked him of his seed and Allura closed her eyes and bit her lip from the sensation of Keith's warm semen filling her, his body relaxing and his breathing returning to normal as he released. He pulled out of her and Allura winced slightly and felt annoyingly empty without his dick inside her but she soon forgot her discomfort when she heard Keith call her name.

"Allura..." He said in that husky tone she had quickly learned to love and cup her cheek.

She looked up and met Keith's gaze and smiled when she saw him looking at her, his pupils had shrunk back to their normal size and he wasn't looking at her with lust. It was love. Pure and true.

"Thank you." He says and kisses her sweetly. "Thank you so much." He says and kisses her again. "And I'm really sorry about the mess..." She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and sat up.

"What mess-" She blushed when she saw Keith's cock, covered in both of their cum.

She looked down and saw some of it slowly dripping out of her as well onto the towel. She turned even redder after that and looked up at Keith and saw a slight dusting of pink on his cheeks as well as he gave her an apologetic look.

"That's uh...not normal for me." He says. "I have never cum that much before." He admits and avoids her gaze out of embarrassment. "It must be because I'm in heat. My body really wants to make sure I get you pregnant."

"Oh darling..." Allura coos and places her fingers on his chin and turns his head back to her and places a gentle kiss on his lips. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. That's why you placed me on a towel is it not?"

"Yeah." Keith says. "It is. So we wouldn't get cum all over the bed before we go to sleep. But I didn't know it would be this ungodly amount." He says and Allura giggles and cups his cheek, stroking the purple mark that matched his mother's.

Keith purred and nuzzled into her hand.

"I'm assuming that your heat has subsided, considering you can form a coherent sentence again?" She asks and he chuckles.

"It's not subsided but I have 'cooled down' since I've had sex with you once. So I won't be some growling horny monster that just wants to fuck you for a whole phoeb." He explains. "I'll still be myself albeit more horny than usual and I'll get some random urges over the course of the quintant to want to fuck you again. But I would have been stuck being consumed by my lust like I just was a dobosh ago for as long as I'm in heat, trying to break out of a cell, jacking off, and trying to get to you, if you hadn't agreed to come here and let me mate with you. So that's why I thanked you. Because if I couldn't make love to you, this phoeb would literally be torture for me."

"And that's exactly why I came." Allura says and kisses him again. "Because I couldn't bear the thought of the man I love going through such an ordeal when there was a much more appealing way to relieve his ailment..." Allura says seductively and runs her finger down his chest. Keith purred. "The purring is really starting to grow on me. I think I like it a lot."

Keith laughed and kissed her lips.

"I'll have to keep that in mind then." He says and kisses her again.

He got off of the bed and making his way over to a small table with a metal bowl on it. He opened a door underneath the table and turned on a faucet above the bowl and filled the cup with water. He brought it over to Allura and gave it to her so she could rehydrate. Then he made himself a glass as well. Keith took the bowl and filled it. He turned a dial on the table and a flame came up under the bowl. He opened up a drawer from a dresser nearby and took out a washcloth. He tested the water with his pinky then put the washcloth in the bowl and had it soak up some of the warm water. He wrung it out then brought it over to Allura and held the back of her knee, lifted her leg up and placed the washcloth on the inside of her thigh. Allura closed her eyes and hummed appreciatively.

"Does it feel nice?" Keith asks and Allura nods.

Keith went on to clean up her other thigh and then carefully cleaned up the remainder of his excess seed from her sore cunt. Once she was all clean he wiped down his cock and then rinsed the washcloth in the bowl again to clean it. He hung the washcloth on a hook to dry then carried the bowl over to the door, opened it and tossed the now dirty water onto the sand before coming back inside and locking the door.

"You can get under the covers." Keith says as he goes and puts out the candles. "Fucking you took a lot out of me. I'm exhausted. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm going to be out." He says and she giggles.

He smiles at her then notices she's not making eye contact with him. Instead, she's checking out something else.

"Are you checking out my ass?" He asks and Allura blushes.

"I can't help it. It's a really great ass." Allura says and Keith blushes.

"Well I think yours is pretty cute too." He says and blows out the last candle, letting the room sink into darkness.

He gasped when he felt something slap his ass and when he heard girlish giggling coming from the bed he knew exactly why.

"Get under the covers Lu." He says in a mockingly stern tone, while smiling from her playful antics. "It's time for bed."

He slides in next to her while she lies on her side, facing away from him. Just as she closed her eyes, she opens them again and gasps when she feels something pinch her buttock. She turns and finds Keith smirking at her.

"I couldn't resist." He says and Allura smiles at him and they look at each other adoringly.

They hear a coyote howl and Allura gasps in surprise and slight fear.

"What was that?" She asks. "It sounded like the kind of wail a predator would have."

"That's because it is." Keith says. "That was a coyote."

"A coyote." Allura repeats. "Could they hurt us?" She asks.

"No." Keith answers and wraps his arms around her, pulling her up against his chest as he strokes her hair to soothe her. "We wouldn't be their first choice of prey anyway. They'd only attack us if we go after them."

"Are they big?" She asks.

"Not really." Keith answers. "They're smaller than us. Are you scared?"

"Perhaps just a bit." Allura admits.

Keith places a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Don't be scared." He says. "I won't let anything out here hurt you. You'll always be safe in my arms."

Allura smiled and snuggled into the warmth of his chest. Speaking of which...

"Why do you have so many blankets if this is the desert? Isn't it hot?" She asks.

"Yeah. During the day. At night it gets cold." He answers.

Allura hears an owl hoot and gasps. It sounded fairly close.

"Was that a coyote?" She asks.

"No. That was a nocturnal bird called an owl." Keith says then yawns.

Her ears perk up and she hears some chirping.

"And those?" She asks.

"Crickets." He mumbles sleepily.

"They sound beautiful." Allura says.

"Yeah." Keith agrees. "I missed them. I used to fall asleep to hearing them every night."

"It's a lovely sound to fall asleep to." Allura says, happy that she was learning part of Keith's history. "What kind of creatures are they? Are they about as large as coyotes or-" Keith groans and holds her tighter and smiled into her hair.

"They're bugs. I'll answer all your questions in the morning Lu. I'm starting to fall asleep." Keith explains.

"I think I may be starting to as well. Goodnight my love." She says and kisses his lips.

"Goodnight my princess." He says and kisses her goodnight and goes to sleep.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed! If I do write more chapters to this I promise they'll be a lot shorter! This one's only long because I had a lot I wanted to establish. I do have ideas for other chapters of this but I'll only post them if you guys want me to continue this story!