Sugar and Coffee- a Kallura fic
@kallurapositivitymonth
@neptunearts and I did this collaboration together for Kallura month and we decided to write how Keith and Allura met for my domestic modern AU.
Today’s theme was ‘Forgiveness’ so I figured it was fitting for this story.
Neptunearts did some awesome art for this and there should be more to follow. So, I suggest you go and check her out.
Here’s the story
Archive of our Own
Title: Sugar and Coffee
Rating: G
Series: Voltron Legendary Defender
Characters/Ships: Keith/Allura, Shiro/Pidge, Hunk and Lance
Summary: Every relationship has a beginning. For some it's love at first sight, but for Allura and Keith, it's less than sweet.
Allura was grumpy. She didn’t like to be grumpy, but she was grumpy. Granted, she would like to assume anyone would be if they were awoken by someone’s car alarm outside her window, forced to take a cold shower since her pipes were acting up again, spilled her pet mice’s breakfast, and realized that her coffee maker was broken.
The lack of coffee was truthfully the worst offender. She had a morning meeting and Allura knew if she didn’t get some caffeine into her system soon, she would be falling asleep before they were five minutes in. She already had to experience that humiliation once five months ago when she entered a meeting and before she realized it awoke to find Coran shaking her shoulder.
After some very humbling apologies and a lecture from Coran, Allura vowed to never let that happen again. In order to achieve that, she needed coffee and was currently grateful this coffee shop existed on her route to work.
She rubbed her eyes as the cashier took an order from the man in front of her, and then it was her turn.
“One large coffee with milk and three spoonfuls of sugar please,” Allura said as she forced a smile and handed over the money.
The cashier barely seemed to be paying attention as he typed it in and reached for a cup. “Name please?”
“Allura.”
The cashier yawned as he wrote it on the cup, and then she stepped aside to let him take another order. Allura rubbed her eyes and checked her watch for the time. Good, she had plenty of time to make it to the meeting if she didn’t get side tracked.
“Here you go,” the cashier announced as he put on the lid and handed it to her.
Allura said her thanks, turned to leave as she sipped her drink, and instantly gagged. She covered her mouth as she coughed. This did NOT taste like good coffee. Puzzled, Allura lifted the lid and saw pure black coffee within the cup. It was also then she noticed the name ‘Keith’ was written on side where her named should have been.
Allura’s eye twitched, but she took a deep breath as she went back to the counter. “Excuse me,” she said as she pointed to the cup, “but this isn’t my order.”
The cashier stared at her blankly, and Allura suddenly noticed the bags under his eyes. “Huh? What?”
“It is not my coffee,” Allura said as she tried to keep herself calm. “My name is not ‘Keith’ and I would not order my coffee black.” She glared at the coffee inside like it was an insult. “Coffee without cream and sugar is a travesty!”
The cashier rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry, what are you talking about?”
Allura’s eye twitched. Why was she arguing this?! She was going to be late at this rate. If everything was going to go wrong today, she was getting a proper cup of coffee! “Only bitter middle aged men take their coffee like this! Who else would drink it?!”
“I would,” said a voice, “and I’m fairly certain you got my coffee there.”
Allura froze, and paled as she saw the voice belonged to a boy standing next to her. He wasn’t much older than she was. If he wasn’t staring at her with irritated eyes, Allura would have admitted he was rather handsome in his red jacket and long black hair.
The boy looked to the cashier and pointed to his own cup. “Look, this cup says ‘Allura’.” Allura could see her name written on it as clear as day. “So, think it’s safe to assume you mixed them up.”
The cashier glanced between the cups and blushed bright right. “Oh, man! Sorry, sorry! I just didn’t get any sleep last night and I just got on- Here, let me fix it up right now.”
“Please do,” Allura replied.
She tried her best to avoid eye contact with the boy she had to assume was named ‘Keith’ thanks to the cup she had been given. She never would have been so frank if she thought the true owner of the coffee had been nearby. Should she apologize? But it was only coffee. It wasn’t the big of a deal, right?
Allura was forced to toss her mental debate aside as the cashier gave her the coffee and mumbled a second apology. Keith got his coffee and in silence they walked away from the counter. She drummed her fingers on her cup as Keith silently sipped his drink.
Is he angry? He probably is. Allura cleared her throat. “Um...I hope you weren’t offended by what I said. I didn’t mean to insult you.”
Keith glanced to her, and said nothing. For a brief moment, Allura wanted to believe all was forgiven, but then he stepped in front of her and blocked her path to the door. “By the way, I would highly suggest you go see your dentist.”
Allura tilted her head as she blinked in confusion. “I’m sorry?”
Keith pointed her coffee. “Your coffee, after taking one sip of it I could feel my teeth rotting from all that sugar in it.” He tucked his hand into his jacket pocket as he turned his back to her. “If you drink like that everyday, I’m amazed your teeth aren’t falling out.”
Allura’s jaw dropped, but quickly annoyance took over as she placed a hand on her hip. “Excuse me?!”
Keith didn’t answer, and didn’t even turn his head as he marched out the door and turned left.
Allura fumed and took all of her willpower to not spill her coffee out of anger. Of all the stupid- was he trying to be funny?
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“Ha ha!” Pidge exclaimed as she slammed her hand on the table. “That is hilarious.”
Allura crossed her arms and glared at her from the break room couch. “I’m glad it amuses you.”
Pidge removed her glasses to wipe away a tear from her eyes. “I’m sorry, but you do put WAY too much sugar in your coffee.”
“I am well aware,” Allura growled as she tapped her foot, “but he didn’t have to be so rude about it.”
Pidge shrugged. “Well, by the sounds of it, you were rude first.”
“That was an accident,” Allura argued with a blush. “How was I supposed to know he would hear that?”
Pidge rolled her eyes. “Somehow, I doubt the ‘I said it behind his back’ is the argument you want to use here. Besides, you would be annoyed too if you heard someone talking about you like that.”
Allura’s shoulders dropped and she gave a pout. “Please don’t apply logic to this, I’m in a bad enough mood.”
Pidge held up her hands. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop being the voice of reason.” She sipped her can of soda and leaned against her table. “How did the meeting go?”
“Fine,” Allura said as she straightened her shoulders. “Mr. Archer was pleased with the program so far, and he only had a small list of changes for it.”
Pidge scoffed. “That’s an improvement when he gave me a novel’s worth last time.”
“Indeed,” Allura said with a half smile. “I thought you like to hear that before your day off tomorrow.”
Pidge then paused as she sat up and fidgeted with her glasses. “Yeah...so, speaking of which, you’re off tomorrow too, right?”
Allura sighed. “Only because Coran insist I do.”
It was against her will, but she knew Coran wouldn’t stop bugging her until she agreed, especially since it had been two months since her last day off. The man’s heart was in the right place, and heaven knows he was like a second father to her, but she didn’t have time to goof off. The company her father left her was still quite small, and the only way to ensure its growth was to work every day.
Allura just hoped after this Coran wouldn’t nag at her for a few months as a result.
Pidge folded her hands into her lap. “Well...think you would be free to spend some time with me?”
Allura paused and then clapped her hands delighted. “Oh? I would love to Pidge it’s been ages, but I had assumed you would want to spend it with your boyfriend.”
There use to be a time she and Pidge had spent practically all of their free time together. Course, that was back when they were college roommates and only had the pressure of assignments to complete. Seeing as Pidge was the head programer at her company, they did see each other everyday, but Allura would lie if she didn’t miss spending more relaxing time with her best friend.
Pidge blushed, as Allura knew she would and gave a shaky smile. “See, that’s the thing.” She cleared her throat. “I want you to meet him face to face.”
Allura gasped. “Really? It’s getting that serious?”
Pidge hardly ever dated, and the few guys she had bothered to give a chance Allura had never meant or heard of a name. Pidge just never saw the point. Allura had began to wonder if Pidge was just content being on her own, which she could see her doing, but then she met someone at the library and they hit it off like lightening. Pidge had never told Allura his name, but she assumed Pidge didn’t wish to jinx the whole affair.
Pidge scratched her cheek. “It is, yeah, and he’s already met Matt so figured you were next on the list, but if you’re busy-”
Allura leaped forward and grabbed Pidge’s hand. “I can’t think of any better way to spend my day off! Name the time and place!” Pidge always came to work in a good mood the next day after one of her dates with this guy. If this man made even cranky in the morning Pidge this happy, Allura was going to encourage it.
Pidge’s shoulders relaxed and she reached into her pocket for a sheet of paper. “He and his brother run a bookstore downtown. So, meet me at this address around noon? I should be there shortly, but I have to drop something off at my parents first.”
Allura took the paper and smiled. “I will be there, I promise.” She clapped her hands. “I can’t wait to finally meet him.”
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This was a mistake. A terrible, horrible mistake. It had to be. Allura stood in the bookshop dumbfound as she heard the door shut behind her. Her eyes would not leave the boy standing behind the counter and reading a book.
The boy who had was wearing a red leather jacket. The boy that was an identical twin to rude Keith she had encountered yesterday.
Allura twitched an eye, and glanced behind hoping for some miracle Pidge would magically appear and clear the whole thing up. Nope, not there. She sighed and took a deep breath.
I shouldn’t jump to conclusions, she thought. It might not be the same ‘Keith’ maybe just his look alike? Besides, just because he works here doesn’t mean he’s Pidge’s boyfriend. He could just be an employee...yes, that must be it.
During all of this, the Keith look alike hadn’t bothered to glance up at her. Unsure of what to do next, she cleared her throat.
Keith kept his eyes on the page and pointed to the right. “Mystery novels are on sale, and discount books are on the table to the right.”
Allura twitched an eye, but kept her composure. “As tempting as that sounds, I’m not here to shop.”
Keith gradually raised his head and his frown deepened. “Oh, you again?” He arched an eyebrow and shut his book. “Please tell me you did not track me down to tell me how I should take my coffee.”
Allura huffed. So much for the look alike theory. She pulled her shoulders back and marched forward to prove she was unshaken by his annoyed glare.
“No, I did not,” Allura said as she stepped forward and placed her purse on the counter. “I am Pidge’s friend, and she asked me to meet her here.”
Keith opened and shut his mouth as he pointed at her. “You’re...Pidge’s friend? That one that she works with all the time?” He rubbed his neck and glanced to the clock. “Um..well, hopefully she’ll be here soon, and she promised to bring us lunch.”
Allura gave a forced sweet smile. Dang it, from the sounds of it, this was Pidge’s new boyfriend. Oh, well, like it or not, I have to support Pidge.
She glanced around the room and spotted a chair in the far corner. “May I sit down?”
Keith glanced and nodded. “That’s the reading corner, so knock yourself out.”
Allura took the seat and drummed her fingers against her purse. She always loved bookshops and tried to enjoy the ambiance of being surround by books, and hear nothing but the sound of the ticking clock, except she couldn’t. Her eyes kept glancing to Keith who seemed unfazed by her and decided to stack some books on the shelves.
I should say something, Allura thought. I need to try to fix the tension between us.
She debated on what to ask, and decided on what should be a safe question. “So...how did you meet Pidge?”
Keith glanced behind and frowned. “Um, at the library with my brother, Shiro.”
Allura pouted. “Yes, I know that part, but how EXACTLY did you meet? Were you reaching for the same book? Bump each other in the hallway?”
Keith looked as if he swallowed a lemon as he placed the books on the counter. “Huh? Why does that matter?”
Allura twitched an eye, but kept her smile. “Well, normally people try to remember a first meeting and all the details that come with it.”
Keith raised an eyebrow. “Uh, okay, well I’m not ‘normal’ then since I never bother to keep track.”
Allura tapped her shoe, but kept calm. “Well, why don’t you try then.”
Keith grumbled something under his breath, but after shoving a book on the shelf he turned back around. “I went there because I wanted a new book to read, and Shiro came along. He went to the science fiction section and I went off to mystery.”
Allura nodded feeling more intrigued. Pidge had never bothered to tell her the full details, but perhaps this was the chance to get the whole story. “And?”
Keith shrugged. “I decided to read Sherlock Holmes.”
“And?”
“Met Pidge in the science fiction section when I went back to look for Shiro.” He shrugged his shoulders. “And that’s it?”
Allura pouted. “That’s it?”
“Yeah, what were you expecting?” Keith asked.
Allura sighed as squeezed her eyes shot. “Alright, then what about your first date?”
Keith choked and staggered slightly. “Uh...why are you asking me that?”
“Because I’m curious,” Allura insisted, “it’s a harmless question.”
“Sounds more nosy to me,” Keith said as he pointed a finger at her.
“It’s not nosy, I’m just trying to make conversation.”
“I can’t see how my dating life makes good conversation,” Keith retorted as went to shelf another book. “It’s none of your business and I don’t get why you would even care.”
Allura’s eyes narrowed. Alright, she was done being civil. “I care when your ‘dating life’ involves a dear friend of mine.”
Keith blinked and tilted his head. “You mean...Pidge?”
“Who else could I be talking about?” Allura shot back as she shot up from the chair.
“Hey, guys,” Pidge cheered as she entered and placed two takeout bags on the table. “I came over as fast as I could and…” She trailed off as she caught the icy glares Allura was exchanging with Keith. “Oookay, I’m guessing you two did not get off to a good start.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Keith grumbled.
Allura tapped her foot and looked to her friend. “Pidge, I am sorry to inform you, but you have a terrible boyfriend!”
Pidge’s eyes grew wide and looked as if she just been told peanut butter cookies no longer existed in the world. “What? Why are you saying that? What did Shiro do?”
Allura froze, lowered her hand and suddenly a feeling of dread grew in her stomach. “Who’s Shiro?” She pointed to Keith. “Is Keith not your boyfriend?”
Pidge’s jaw dropped and then slowly her head turned towards Keith’s. “Why is she thinking you’re my boyfriend?”
Keith tossed his hands up in the air. “Don’t look at me! She’s a crazy lady who apparently just jumps to conclusions without letting anyone else get a word in.”
Allura’s hands formed into fists. “I did no such thing! You didn’t probably introduce yourself? How was I to know?!”
Exactly that moment the backdoor behind Keith opened and a tall man with a scar on his nose entered while carrying a large box.
“Keith, I got more mystery novels,” he said as he set them on the floor. “How about we organize them by-” He went silent as he spotted Allura, looked to Pidge and then smiled. “Oh, hey, you must be Allura!”
He moved from behind the counter and offered a hand. “Good to finally meet ya! Pidge is always talking about you. I’m Shiro.”
“Um..hello,” Allura said as she took Shiro’s offered hand and shot a glare at Keith. “Nice to know someone has manners around here.”
Shiro frowned, narrowed his eyes and looked back to Keith. “What did you do?”
Keith sucked air between his teeth. “I didn’t do a thing.” He pointed over to Pidge’s direction. “Apparently, I’m dating Pidge now.”
Shiro blinked, looked to Pidge and laughed. “Oh? And when was I going to be informed of this?”
“If it helps, I didn’t find out until now,” Pidge retorted as she strolled up next to him. “But I’ll break up with him to be with you.”
“So,” Allura said slowly as she pointed to Shiro, “you are Pidge’s boyfriend?”
“Yes,” Keith growled as he pointed to Shiro. “That is Shiro and he is dating Pidge.” He pointed to himself. “I’m Keith, his brother and partner of the bookshop.” He pointed to her and looked to Shiro. “This is Allura, the girl I told you about that puts way too much sugar in her coffee!”
Silence entered the room. Allura’s brain slowly put the remaining pieces together and it was then her memory recalled that Pidge had mentioned her boyfriend ran a shop with his brother. When she entered the shop she should have deduced that Keith was either the boyfriend or the brother. Her face turned bright red.
Oh. Quiznack.
Pidge burst out laughing and leaned against Shiro. “Wait, wait, so Keith was the rude coffee guy?! Oh, man, that is a Keith thing to do!”
Keith huffed and crossed his arms. “I wasn’t rude! She was the rude one!”
Allura stomped her foot. “Excuse me?! How was I rude?!”
“You said ‘I was a bitter old man’!”
“I didn’t say it to your face, which is exactly what you did!”
“That’s because I can’t stand talking behind people’s backs!”
“Okay, okay, calm down,” Shiro said as he stepped in between them. “Clearly we got a few misunderstandings here.” He clapped his hands like he was a teacher trying to bring order back to the classroom. “I’ll put up the ‘close for lunch’ sign and we can go eat lunch together.”
Allura shot Keith a glare, but after recieving a look from Pidge she gave a nod. “I believe lunch is an excellent idea.”
“Yeah, as long as you don’t sprinkle sugar on everything,” Keith grumbled.
“Keith,” Shiro warned in an older brotherly tone. “Be nice.”
“Alright, alright,” Keith muttered as he picked up the bags Pidge brought in. “I’ll go get the plates then.”
Allura sighed and sensed it was going to be a very long lunch.
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Thankfully, lunch had only proven to be slightly awkward. Keith and Allura had somehow reached to a mutual understanding of not even looking at each other, and both tried to focus their attention on Pidge and Shiro.
Shiro, in Allura’s opinion, was far more pleasant than Keith. He was chatty, friendly, recalled far more details than Pidge did of how they first met, and had made it clear he held Pidge in high regard. The last statement caused Pidge to blush quite a bit and Allura couldn’t resist a giggle.
Afterwards, the boys had to reopen the shop, and the girls left to return to Allura’s apartment. The mice squeaked happily from the cage and were thrilled with Pidge and Allura released them to let them snuggle in their laps on the couch.
“Shiro is lovely,” Allura said as she stroked Platt’s ears. “I believe lunch went quite well.”
Pidge gave a smirk as she fiddled with Chuchule’s ears. “Yeah, besides the murderous glares you and Keith kept tossing at each other.”
Allura flinched and gave a slight pout. “Yes..well, in my defense he did catch me off guard.” Platt rolled onto his back for a bellyrub. “I must admit, I’m not thrilled with seeing him again.”
Pidge’s smile vanished and she straightened her back. “Alright, real talk for a moment.” She placed a hand on Allura’s shoulder. “Joking aside, I want you and Keith to learn to get along.”
Allura scoffed. “That’s easier said than done-”
“Allura, I’m dead serious,” Pidge said firmly and Allura went quiet. “You’re one of my best friends, but I like Shiro a lot, and honestly I like hanging out with Keith. He’s a cool guy once you get to know him.” She shook a finger. “He’s the first person I met who’s seen all of Star Trek and I can have actual fan debates with him that isn’t online.”
Allura chuckled a bit. “Sorry, I never carried the same passion.”
“Don’t change the subject,” Pidge continued as she stroked the mice’s ears. “Point is, you’re all important to me and I rather not have to worry about you and Keith secretly planning to kill each other if we all hang out together.”
Allura shut her mouth. She could see Pidge’s point. Last thing she wanted to do was cause Pidge to feel like she had to pick sides. Allura never wanted to put her in that position, and her friendship was far more important than keeping an ongoing spite war.
“That’s fair.” Allura looked back to her. “But, I’m not sure how to go about it-”
“Try talking to him like a normal person?” Pidge said with a smirk. “I hear that does wonders.”
Allura laughed as she pulled Pidge into a tight hug. “Alright, I’ll do it for you.”
Pidge hugged her back tightly and then yawned as she let her go. “Okay, I need to go home and catch up on some sleep.” She placed Chuchule and Chulatt into Allura’s lap. “See you at work tomorrow.”
Allura waved as she watched her go, and made certain to keep her smile until she was gone. With a defeated sigh, Allura flopped back on the couch and stared at her mice.
“Just talk to him? That’s easier said than done.”
The mice squeaked at her and she patted their heads.
“Granted,” she said with a wince, “I..suppose it was my rudeness that began the whole mess.” She grumbled as she buried her face into her hands. “I have to be the bigger person here don’t I?”
The mice squeaked again and seem to give a nod.
“...Sometimes, I hate being a mature adult,” Allura said with a pout. She brought out her phone and stared at the contact number Shiro had given her. She didn’t have Keith’s number, but they lived in the same apartment above the store, so naturally Keith would get it.
Allura chewed her bottom lip and before she lost her nerve she hit the bottom and waited for the phone to the ring. Allura wasn’t certain if it was good or bad luck she got the voice mail.
“Uh, hi, Shiro, it’s Allura,” she began rapidly after the beep. “This is a message for Keith. I believe we got off to a bad start and I thought we should have a more one on one meeting.”
It sounded so formal. Why did it sound so formal?
“So, Keith would you be free on Friday night to meet me? Just have call me back when you have the time..um..bye.”
Allura hung up and let her arms drop lifelessly to her sides. “This is crazy,” she grumbled as she looked to her worried mice. “I can not see him wanting to go.”
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“No way!” Keith stated as he tried to keep his attention on his book. “Forget it, not happening.”
He could feel Shiro staring at the back of his head with his older brother disapprove glare he’d perfected when Keith was 6. “Come on, Buddy. It would be good for both of you.”
“It would be a disaster,” Keith retorted as he sunk deeper into the chair. “It’s clear she hates me.”
“She doesn’t hate you,” Shiro said as he yanked the book from Keith’s hands and forced him to look up. “Although, saying her teeth were rotting did not win you any points.”
“As you have already told me,” Keith said as he sat up and tried to take it back. “Look, I don’t see why I should-”
“Because she’s Pidge’s friend,” Shiro stated cooly as he tucked the book under his arm. “It would mean a lot to both her and me for that matter.”
Keith paused and let his hand drop in his lap. At the moment, his cat Red came out of the kitchen and went to sit up in his lap. He reached under Red’s chin to scratch her as he felt his shoulders drop.
“It means that much to you two doesn’t it?” Keith asked.
“Yes,” Shiro said as he placed a hand on his shoulder.
Keith shook his head, and squeezed his eyes shuts. “Fine, I’ll do it for you two, but don’t have high expectations.”
Shiro smiled as he handed his book back to him. “Thanks, buddy.”
A meow was heard and the brothers glanced down to see Shiro’s cat pawing at his leg. Shiro laughed as he scooped her up and she purred. “Sounds like someone wants dinner.”
“You go and do that,” Keith said as he reached for his phone and Red rubbed her face against his hand. “I got a call to make.”
“Good luck,” Shiro said as he took Black to the kitchen.
Keith pressed the numbers, but his fingers hovered over the call button. He swallowed and glanced over to Red. “Here’s hoping I don’t regret this, girl.”
Red gave a comforting meow as Keith hit the call button.
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They agreed to meet on the boardwalk. There weren’t as many tourists this late in the fall, so it wouldn’t be too noisy for them to talk, but there would still be enough things for them to do so they weren’t just stand around talking.
At least, Keith had assumed that was the reasoning when Allura suggested it. Their conversation on the phone had been stiff and short. When Friday came, Keith half pondered if he should just call Allura and claim he was sick. He swiftly tossed the thought aside since he knew Shiro would keep nagging him about it if he did that. In the end, it was easier to go.
Keith rode his motorcycle to the boardwalk, parked it and headed towards the entrance. He spotted Allura immediately and she looked a bit different. She hair was loose and free, and her clothes looked less business woman, and more casual. Well, it was a fancy casual. She still looked like she walked out of a fashion magazine.
She offered a smile and waved to him. “Hello, glad you could make it.”
Keith gave a shrug. “I didn’t really have anything else to do tonight.” They stared at each other for a moment that felt like an eternity until Keith coughed into his hand. “So…uh, what do you want to do?”
Allura pursed her lips together as she glanced around and pointed ahead. “Why don’t we head towards the carnival section? We should be able to find something to do there.”
Keith gave a nonchalant nod and headed in that direction. For several agonizing moments, they said nothing. The only thing Keith heard was the sounds of the ocean to his right, the squawks of a few seagulls, and the happy laughter of people that were likely having a far better time than Keith was.
Should I say something? Keith thought as he tucked his hands into his pocket. I wouldn’t know where to start.
He glanced to Allura, but upon seeing she was glancing in his direction at the same time he instantly looked ahead. “So...uh...you like the ocean?” he asked.
“Uh, yes, it’s very pretty,” Allura replied.
“Yeah..um, my friend Lance likes the sounds of the waves crashing...and stuff.”
Keith internally groaned. This was torture. Were they just going to be walking in silence all night? Shiro and Pidge owed him big time.
Suddenly, Allura stopped dead in her tracks, and shut her eyes. “I can’t keep doing this, this is pure torture.” She stood in front of Keith and clasped her hands together. “Keith, there is something that we must address and I feel we can not progress until we do.”
Keith’s body stiffened, uncertain how he was suppose to respond until Allura reached for his hand. He found himself gazing upward and staring directly into her eyes.
Allura took a deep breath. “Keith, I sincerely apologized for my rudeness the other day.”
Keith blinked, not positive on what he just heard. “Excuse me?”
Allura let go of his hand and fiddled with the tip of her hair. “I was having a rather rough morning, and without realizing it I believe I unintentionally took it out on you.”
Keith swallowed as he rubbed his neck. He had not been expecting this at all. “Um..it’s okay,” he blushed slightly. “I mean, I..was kind of rude about it too.”
“It still doesn’t excuse my behaviour,” she continued as she bowed her head. “I did not give you the best first impression and I would like for us to start over.” Allura raised her head and her eyes were wide and pleading, and Keith saw no hint she was mocking him. “Would that be possible?”
Keith’s eyes softened. There was no way he could keep a grudge if she was this sorry about it. Only a jerk would at this point.
“Yeah, we can start over,” he said as he crossed his arms. “If anything, we can both agree we want to do it for Pidge and Shiro, right?”
Allura gave a relieved smile. “Agreed.” She held out his hand to him. “Hello, my name is Allura.”
Keith stared at the hand and slowly took out his own to shake. “Hi, I’m Keith.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” she greeted and then returned to his side. “So, Keith, you and Shiro are partners for the bookstore?”
“Yeah,” Keith said as they walked and entered the games section. “We’ve only been in business for a couple of years, but so far we’re able to keep it open.”
“Is it just the two of you working there?” Allura said with a frown. “That must be difficult.”
Keith shrugged. “Not really. The place use to belong to our mom, but she left it to us when she died. Our dad and uncles are always offering to help if we need it.”
Although, Keith would call it pestering. Granted, he and Shiro were used to it. Their father, Kolivan, had always been rather over protective of them and it only gotten worse when their mom passed away. Keith was just grateful their uncles Antok, Thace and Ulaz were there to talk some sense into him when he needed it, and he especially mellowed out after marrying their stepmother. Although, Keith still wasn’t sure why Ezor wanted to in the first place.
Allura’s eyes softened as she stared ahead. “I inherited my business from my late father,” she said in a bittersweet tone. “It’s tricky sometimes, isn’t it? Feels like you have to carry on the legacy.”
Keith’s shoulders relaxed and gave a nod. “Yeah, granted, our dad is always telling us just to do things our way, but still can’t deny I feel responsible for that sometimes.”
Keith blushed slightly. He wasn’t often this open, especially with someone he just met. Where had that come from?
A joyful squeal interrupted his thoughts. Allura had clapped her hands and there were sparkles in her eyes as she pointed. “Oh, that is adorable!”
Keith looked around, but all he saw were a couple of game booths. “Uh...what is?”
“That,” Allura said as she pointed to the ring toss booth to their left. “That plush mouse prize! It’s so cute!”
Keith saw the said mouse. It was large, yellow, and had a patch around it’s sleepy looking eyes. “I..guess it is kind of cute,” Keith replied.
Allura grinned and remind Keith of a little kid. “It looks just like my pet mouse Platt.”
Keith raised an eyebrow. “You have a pet mouse?” That was surprising. He had thought Allura to be more of a cat person or have a pet that was a bit more fancy than a mouse.
She kept her smile as she reached into her purse and brought out her wallet. “I have four mice, Platt, Chulatt, Chuchule, and Plachu.” Allura unfolded her wallet to reveal a photo of the said mice. Keith assumed the largest mouse in the photo had to be Platt and boy did he look close to the stuff animal.
His eyes narrowed as he looked back to the stuff prize. “You really want that, huh?”
Allura sighed as she put away her wallet. “It would be nice, but I never win at these games-Keith, where are you going?”
Keith walked up to the booth and locked eyes with the vendor. If Allura really wanted it, he might as well try. Besides, he did felt like he owed her a little. Also, her being so proud and gleeful over her mice was rather cute. It was like watching a mother brag about her kids.
“Can I get a go?” he asked.
The vendor looked up with a grin. “Ah, want to win something for your lady friend there,” he said as he took Keith’s money and passed him the rings. “It’s hard, but I’m sure you’ll win something eventually. Just keep trying! I have nowhere to go!”
“Noted,” Keith said as he fiddled with one of the rings. He then held it up high, took a breath and tossed a ring. He grinned when it landed on the peg perfectly.
The man huffed and looked unimpressed. “Lucky shot.”
Keith smirked as Allura approached, and tossed the next ring which also landed in the right spot. It repeated several times until Keith had landed all five rings, and the man was twitching. He forced an irritated smile as he climbed up the ladder and handed the stuff mouse over to him.
“Here you go...please, don’t come back,” he asked.
“Didn’t plan to,” Keith said and handed the mouse over to a stunned Allura. “Here, hope this makes your mouse happy.”
Allura took the mouse, but her face suggested she had trouble registering what just occurred. “Keith..that was impressive. How did you get the many shots?”
Keith shrugged as he tucked his hands into his pockets. “I practiced a lot with one of my friends, and trust me he’s way better at sharp shooting than me.”
On that note, thank goodness Lance isn’t here for this, Keith thought as they began to walk again. We would be playing it five times just so he could show off.
Allura fiddled one of the stuffed mouse’s ears. “Thank you, Keith, you didn’t have to do that, but I appreciate that you did.” She gave a smile, and it was a sincere one. Keith had thought Allura was pretty when he first spotted her, but with the wind blowing threw her hair, and the warmth in her eyes, she looked rather radiant.
Keith felt his cheeks blushed and abruptly turned his face forward. “Um...it was no trouble. Don’t mention it.”
Allura said another ‘Thank you’, but Keith didn’t pay attention. His mind was reeling. She’s pretty, but why do I suddenly care about that now? I already knew that. Dang it, why won’t my heart slow back down already?
“So uh,” Keith said as he desperately tried to get his mind off the situation, “what should we do next?”
Allura frowned as she hugged the mouse to her chest. “Hmm...I suppose we could-”
“Hey, Keith!”
Keith paused and turned to see Hunk waving at him with a bag of popcorn in his hands. “Dude, I didn’t realize you were here too.”
Keith shrugged. “Was kind of a last minute thing.” He looked around him. “Wait, is Lance with you too?”
Hunk nodded and looked behind him. “Yeah, we were getting snacks...Huh, where is he?”
“Over here, next to the beautiful lady.”
All three of them jumped. Keith spun around and shot a glare at Lance who was now standing next to Allura. “Lance, will you stop sneaking up on people?!”
Lance smirked and shrugged. “Hey, not my fault you guys aren’t as stealthy as me.” His eyes then remained glued onto Allura. “On that note, why don’t you introduce us to the very pretty girl here?”
Allura’s eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced over to Keith. “Who are these two?”
Keith ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry, Allura this is Hunk and Lance. Lance, Hunk this is Allura, Pidge’s friend.”
Lance dropped his sly smile and raised a surprise eyebrow. “Wait, Pidge’s friend?” He gestured to Allura. “The one that complained Keith has bad taste in coffee?”
Allura grimaced as Keith sighed. Had Pidge and Shiro told everyone that story? “Yes, Lance that one.”
Lance grasped his chin and patted Allura’s shoulder. “Well, don’t feel too bad about it. Keith does have terrible taste in coffee.”
“Hey,” Keith said with a growl, but was cut off as Hunk got in between them.
“Okay, okay, cut the teasing, Lance,” he said and looked to Allura. “Nice to meet you. We have honestly heard good things about you from Pidge.”
Allura blushed slightly. “I sincerely hope so,” she said as she fiddled with the tail of her stuffed mouse. “So, uh what are you two up to?”
Lance reached over to take some of Hunk’s popcorn. “Not much, although thought I would win a giant teddy for my little sister.” He gestured to the mouse in her hands. “I would offer you one too, but I see you got something already.”
Allura beamed. “Yes, Keith was nice enough to win it for me.”
Hunk and Lance went quiet. Silently, in unison, they glanced over to Keith. “You..won it for her?” Hunk asked.
“Uh, yeah?” Keith said as he crossed his arms. “Is that a problem?”
“No, no,” Lance said as he swallowed his popcorn. “But man, never thought I see you trying to be romantic.”
Keith blinked. “Romantic?”
“Lance, knock it off,” Hunk said with a grumble.
“Hey, if you want I can give you some pointers,” Lance continued, but was stopped as Hunk grabbed him by his arm.
“Okay, yeah, we’re going to go,” Hunk stated as he began to drag Lance away. “Nice to meet you Allura. Keith, I’ll call you later to...talk.”
“Talk about what?” Keith said as he tried not to sound frustrated. What was with them?!
“Yeah, yeah, we’ll just leave you two lovebirds alone!” Lance called out as Hunk pulled him away. “Have fun on your date!”
Keith’s eyes widened. “Date...THIS ISN’T A DATE! Hey! Get back here!”
He was ignored, and before he could stop either of them they vanished around the corner. Keith’s eye twitched as Allura’s cheeks blushed. “So,” she began, “friends of yours?”
“Hunk yes,” Keith stated as he rubbed his neck. “Lance is sometimes and other times I want to murder him.”
Allura laughed. “That makes it sound like you’re siblings. So you must be good friends.”
Keith went quiet at that statement. “Huh...yeah, I guess it does...but never tell Lance I said that. He would never let me hear the end of it.”
Allura raised her hand. “I swear to keep it our little secret.” She pointed ahead. “Do you mind if we get something to drink? I’m a little thirsty.”
“Sure,” Keith said as he led the way, and felt his heart beating a bit fast in his chest again.
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Keith ordered the drinks, and leaned against the booth as he waited for them. He found himself glancing back to Allura, who was sitting at a table with the stuffed mouse in the centre of it.
This meetup, which was NOT a date, was going a lot better than he thought. Allura was actually pleasant to talk to. Keith had never been good at small talk, but Allura, for some reason was easy to talk to. Topics just seemed to roll off the tongue between them. They discussed their families, friends, jobs and even their pets.
Granted, maybe Allura was bored to tears with Keith and was just being polite. Yet, the smile she kept giving him seemed sincere. Keith just wished he could solve the mystery why his heart kept racing a bit tonight.
Keith was brought back to reality when he was told his drinks were ready. He turned back around, paid the man and picked up the tray. He glanced at the two soft drinks and chuckled slightly.
“Wonder if Allura would have laughed if I had gotten us coffee,” he muttered as he headed back to the table, but then paused.
The stuffed mouse was at the table, but Allura had vanished. She was nowhere near it. Keith arched an eyebrow as he set the tray on the table and looked around.
“Allura?” He crossed his arms as he sighed. “Where did she go-”
“Lady, this is none of your business!” a male’s voice called out.
“I make it my business when it’s clear you are bothering these two girls!”
Keith jumped at hearing Allura’s voice and turned to his right. Allura was standing near the edge of the boardwalk with her arms crossed and looked fully prepared for battle. A man was glaring as he loomed over her, but she didn’t budge.
Just what is she doing?! Keith thought, but then saw the two girls standing behind her. They looked nervous as they stuck close together and looked to Allura like she was their only shield against a wild animal.
The man twitched an eye. “Bothering? I wasn’t bothering them, I was complimenting them, wasn’t I girls? We were just being friendly.”
The smaller of the girls tried to raise her head. “I..I told you, we just want to be left alone.”
Keith eye’s narrowed as he stepped closer. Okay, thinking I’m starting to get the picture.
“You heard them,” Allura stated and didn’t seem to notice Keith as she pointed at the man. “Now, I will say this one more time, leave these two girls alone at once.”
The man snered. “Or what? Girlie?”
Allura gave such a murderous glare, Keith was suddenly very glad he wasn’t on her bad side anymore. “Or you will deal with me.”
The man blinked, burst out laughing and pointed directly into Allura’s face. “You? Oh, I’m real scared, Girlie? What you going to do? Paint my nails- OW!”
Allura had grabbed the man’s hand and gave the wrist a hard squeeze. Before the man could respond, she spun him around, and pinned his arm to his back as she forced him to kneel.
Keith stared stunned as a small crowd now gathered around them. I did not know Allura could do that.
“Ow, ow, ow!’ the man cried. “Let go, already!”
“Gladly,” Allura said as she released him and placed her hands on her hips. “Now leave, or I will be forced to make you.”
The man grabbed his wrist and snarled at him as the two girls stared at Allura in awe. “You little-” He cut himself off as he saw the crowd and cursed. “Ah, fine! Those two weren’t worth it anyway!”
He huffed as he left and the crowd broke out in applause. Allura blushed like she just realized how many people were watching. “Oh, um, thank you.”
“You were awesome!” one of the girls cried as she grabbed Allura’s arm.
“Yeah! Oh, man, you saved our butts!” the second girl stammered. “I was so scared...I didn’t know what to do!”
The crowd began to break off as Keith approached.
“Oh, it wasn’t much, really,” Allura replied.
“Actually, I have to agree with them,” Keith spoke up. “That’s was pretty impressive.”
Allura looked up to Keith and rubbed her neck. “Oh..thank you, Keith.” She coughed as she turned her attention back to the girls. “Will you two be alright to head home on your own?”
“Oh, definitely,” the smaller girl said. “We were just killing time until my brother came to pick us up.”
“And he should be here by now,” the other girl said as they began to walk off. “Thanks again! Man, I wish I had recorded that.”
Allura gave a nervous laugh as she waved and then turned back to Keith. “Um..sorry. I noticed that man was bothering those girls and felt I had to step in.”
Keith shrugged. “Hey, it’s fine, I figured as much.” He watched the two girls turn the corner. “Truthfully, I probably would have done the same thing, minus the pinning the arm to his back. I didn’t know you could fight.”
“I’ve had lessons for self defense,” Allura said as they head back to their table. “Although, I still practice to try to keep my skills sharp.”
Keith picked up his drink to sip. “Well...got to admit it makes me want to fight you.”
Allura tiled her head. “You..want to fight me?”
“I spar with Shiro and my dad a lot,” he explained as he swallowed a mouthful of his drink. “You look real strong, so makes me want to see how I would do against you..” He then realized how he was sounding and trailed off. “Uh...sorry, probably sounds weird.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” Allura said as she picked up her stuffed mouse. “Honestly, it’s been a long time since I had a proper sparring partner myself. It could be fun.”
“Yeah,” Keith replied as he rubbed his neck. He gazed upward and saw just how dark it was now. There were no clouds so they had a clear view of the stars and moon. Course, with all the lights of the boardwalk, it wasn’t a pretty view as it could be at…
“Hey, want to go for a ride on my motorbike,” Keith blurted out.
Allura seemed confused as she hugged her mouse. “Your motorbike?”
Keith chewed his bottom lip as she scratched his cheek. “Well...we got a good view of the stars tonight, and I know a perfect viewing spot, but we need to drive there.” He turned back to her. “I..just thought you might like to see it, but if you rather-”
“No, that’s fine, I like the idea,” Allura replied as she looked up, “but I have never ridden on a motorbike before.”
For some reason, that statement alone just made Keith more driven. “Then, let’s go have your first ride,” he beckoned her her to follow, “come on. My bike is just at the front gate.”
Allura frowned, but hastily caught up to him as she hugged the stuffed mouse in her arms.
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Keith had a storage box attached in the back where they could store the mouse, but there was no extra seat for a passengers. The only way for Allura to ride with him was to sit behind him and wrap her arms around him for support.
She seemed reluctant with the idea, but was more willing once Keith presented her a spare helmet.
“I’ve given Pidge a few emergency rides when she’s been late for work,” Keith explained as he slipped his helmet on, “and also when she’s been craving peanut butter cookies .”
“Ah, that sounds like her,” Allura said as she placed her helmet on. “How far are we going exactly?”
“Not far,” Keith said as he took his seat and turned on the engine, “you’ll be safe. I promise.”
The lines in Allura’s forehead puckered, but then she relented and sat behind him. She wrapped her arms around his chest and Keith tried to ignore how fast his heart was beating again as they took off.
There was were no cars on the roads. For miles on end there was nothing surrounding them except the sea, the starry sky and the wind blowing by them. Allura’s grip tightened as they picked up speed and he could feel her pressing into his back.
“Don’t worry,” Keith tried to shout over the engine, “you won’t fall off.”
He didn’t know if Allura heard him, but she grip loosened slightly. They continued the drive for a few more minutes until they were at their destination and Keith pulled over.
“We’re here,” Keith declared as he turned off the engine and removed his helmet.
Allura took hers off and glanced around. “You took us to a deserted beach?”
Keith grinned as he walked onto the sand and sat down. “Yeah, you get a way better view of the stars out here. There aren’t any street lamps or other bright lights to block the stars.” He pointed upward.
Allura glanced up, and her frown of confusion was replaced by a smile full of wonderment. Keith glanced up at the same time. The moon was shining brightly, as the stars twinkled. There were thousand more stars they could see here away from the crowd than they would have been able to see at the boardwalk.
Allura silently took a seat next to Keith without taking her eyes off the sky. “It’s beautiful,” she muttered, “it’s like staring into an ocean of stars.”
Keith leaned back. “Yeah, and I like how it’s quiet out here. Makes it easier to be alone with your thoughts.”
Allura nodded and briefly lowered her gaze to stare out of the ocean. “So...does this mean we’re friends now?”
Keith shrugged. “I hope, or at the very least not sworn enemies.”
Allura giggled and glanced to him with a smile. “Yes, with that said, I am glad we did this, and I would happily welcome doing this again with you.”
Keith stiffened at the thought, but gave the same smile. Doing this again with Allura was somehow nerve wrecking and exciting. It was a weird combo. “Yeah, I would be up for that.”
Allura continued to smile as she stared up at the stars. “Although, I might suggest we not go out for coffee.”
Keith chuckled. “Yes, especially with your terrible taste in it.”
Allura lightly punched his shoulder, but she was laughing in amusement. They returned their gazes up to the sky, while Keith listened to the ocean and the pounding of his heart in his chest.
