Chapter Text
Lance and Hunk plonked down on the large sofa in their base. They let out small huffs and stretched, easing their sore muscles after the long hours spent out in the cold. Hunk then wrapped a blanket around both of them and they leaned into the backrest. Allura knew they were friends, yet their closeness never ceased to amaze her. Growing up, she had a few friends among the rich kids that attended the high society parties, but everyone was only gossiping about everyone else and she never felt like she could truly trust any of them. The closest person she had was Coran. He raised her and was like a father to her. That was different, though.
"Good job you guys," Pidge said, glancing up from her laptop. "You were even faster than last time."
"Hell yeah we were," Lance said and held out a flash drive with all the intel they collected that night. Pidge took it from him and plugged it in.
Another upside of their friendship was that they worked amazingly together. Of course, everyone in her rebel cell proved time and time again their worth, but no other pair worked so much like a unit. Allura rarely went into action, but hearing them over the comms was enough to recognise that they trusted each other with their lives. Deep down, Allura envied them. As she sipped on her sugary coffee, she wondered if she could ever be this close to someone.
Even though the time was coming to the small hours bit by bit, everyone usually stayed until the intel was safely sent to the headquarters. The usually just chilled and chatted, relieving the stress of the mission. The base was more of a regular downtown flat than a resistance post anyway.
"Anyone want more coffee?" Keith called from the kitchen. "We'll be up for a while."
Lance scoffed. "You're making it? No thanks."
"What?" Keith leaned over the pass through and over Lance and Hunk's heads. "It's coffee. What's hard about that?"
"Um, excuse you, coffee brewing is like science," Hunk turned to face Keith.
Keith crossed his arms defensively. "Well, luckily for you, I am great with science. Chemistry at least. As far as explosives go."
"That's great, man. Remind me never to eat or drink anything you make, ever."
Keith just chuckled and put the kettle to boil.
Pidge put down her headphones and pushed the swivel chair away from the tiny desk her laptop was on. "They will get back to us as soon as they receive the intel to make sure everything went fine."
"Oh, Pidge, by the way, I wanted to talk to you about something," Lance said and straightened up a bit. "I might be imagining it, but the G.A.L.R.A. guys found us real quick after we dropped into that building. If we hadn't hidden in that air vent we'd be pushing up daisies."
"Yeah, I thought we code-protected the locators," Hunk added.
"We did," Pidge frowned. "Leave your gear and I'll look into it. I have some sweet tweaks for the communicators anyway."
She reached for the cup Keith handed to her and then made room so that he could sit in the armchair next to her.
Lance watched Keith get comfortable and tilted his head. "Where's my coffee?"
"You didn't want one!"
"Oh my god." Lance got up and walked into the kitchen while muttering something about 'just kidding' and something else, which Keith suspected was neither very nice nor in English.
Allura smiled amusedly. "If you two could pull it together, we would make it to the A teams in no time."
"On the bright side, B teams have a much lower mortality rate," Hunk commented. "Just saying."
Allura couldn't help but wonder what their stats would be like if she went into action with everyone else. Whenever the mission went wrong and she was called for backup, she felt alive in the thrill of the danger. Even if her only job was to save the boys' butts, it felt truer to her than anything else she's ever done. However, she understood her role and she knew she couldn't be selfish. Everyone depended on her – to lead the cell, to eavesdrop on private conversations at posh galas, to fund the resistance. She knew her inherited money and influence were more valuable to the rebels than her skills as a soldier. No matter how hard a pill that was to swallow, she had no choice but to come to terms with it. And she did.
The room became gradually quieter in anticipation of the reply from the rebel headquarters. Lance felt drowsy despite the coffee he had earlier and made no effort to keep up the conversation. Keith occasionally took a sip from his cup before forgetting about it altogether. It was as if the time has stopped.
Both Hunk and Lance soon dozed off, resting against each other on the sofa. Pidge stayed in her chair, never moving an inch. Allura could swear she saw digits running in front of her eyes. Keith was either sitting in his armchair, deep in thought, or pacing the length of the room and taking quick glances from the window. His worry was justified – most of the rebel cells they lost were uncovered and swept right after a mission. It was when they were most vulnerable. Still, Keith's relentless movement was making Allura antsy.
"Your coffee's cold," she said, hoping to interrupt his trance.
He only shot her a quick glance and then shrugged. Before she could think of any other ways to make him calm down, he sat in the armchair across her and rested his hands on the cold mug.
"Everything will be different when our cell moves south," Allura said. "Better different I hope. We'll be at the centre of the big plans."
"When is that?" Keith asked sceptically. "We've been waiting for relocation for months."
The plan was for them to join the main rebel forces in the south, possibly in preparation of an attack. Shiro and Matt already left some time ago to ensure their spot and to make the communication easier. The rest of their cell was supposed to leave soon after them, but they haven't gotten the order yet and everyone was getting nervous.
"I don't know, Keith," she admitted. "They keep telling me 'soon', but perhaps it's simply not the right time? With our forces making progress, the government and their secret police are getting more aggressive by the day. They're like a wounded animal. We cannot afford any false moves."
"Yeah, 'there wasn't a right time' and the next thing you know the G.A.L.R.A. is sweeping every corner of the city."
"That might not happen for some time. Or it might not happen at all. Look," Allura reached out and put her soft hands on his rough calloused ones. Keith locked his eyes with hers with unexpected intensity. She didn't draw back. "You have to stop worrying so much. You're only losing sleep. Things will work themselves out."
Keith gave her a small smile and then Pidge's laptop let out a silent ring, telling them their mission was officially over.
Pidge snapped out of her contemplative coma and rolled over to the desk. "I got it."
Allura slowly let go of Keith's hands and stood up. "I should get going. I do have responsibilities to attend to tomorrow, after all."
"Can I hitch a ride?" Pidge asked while typing a reply to the headquarters.
"Sure," Allura said as she threw her jacket over her shoulders.
Pidge took the locators and other gear and put it in her bag. She nodded toward Hunk and Lance who were still sound asleep. "Looks like they're not leaving anytime soon."
Keith only shrugged and waved the girls goodbye. He didn't mind having company in the base from time to time. When Allura first offered this apartment as a base for their operations, they took turns in watching over it. After Shiro left, Keith moved in and stayed on guard. He thought he would be mostly alone, but there was almost always someone to bug him even on the quiet days. He really shouldn't be surprised – it's not like any of them had anything better to do. Except for Allura, obviously. She only showed up before missions or whenever she had important information. And even that wasn't very often as fas as he was concerned.
Keith sighed and watched Allura drive away. The war comes first and all that bullshit I guess.
. . .
Allura still had about a ten-minute ride left after she dropped Pidge off. The sky was steadily changing its colour from black to blue, revealing the abandoned city blocks. Allura paid no attention to the scurrying shadows in the dark alleys but spotted the "wanted" posters that were stuck to the lamp posts. She recognized them from a few weeks ago and was confused when she realized they haven't changed since then. At that moment she couldn't decide if it meant anything though, so she just ignored them.
Allura crossed the bridge over the bay and entered the suburban areas where her parents' manor was located. She parked in the driveway and was embraced by the calm and cool of the night. Only then she thought back to her short exchange with Keith.
The next thing you know the G.A.L.R.A. is sweeping every corner of the city.
The thought alone was enough to make her shudder. Of course, the G.A.L.R.A. wouldn't come to anyone living in the rich suburbs without any proof of treason. The rest of the city, though, would be beyond doubt in great danger. They would claim to be looking for the rebels while turning the whole thing into bloodshed. It would give them the perfect opportunity to "wipe the slate clean".
Allura shook her head to chase such thoughts away. It will not come to that. You said it yourself.
As she walked into the house, she stopped in the kitchen to leave a note for Coran, saying that she was okay and that the mission went alright. She kept it vague enough in case the staff found it first (which was often the case). Then she stuck it to the fridge and went upstairs to her room.
She forced herself to change into her pyjamas and plopped onto the bed. As she curled up under the covers, she tried not to think about the responsibilities awaiting her the next day. The gentlemen she had to charm and the ladies she had to flatter. Instead, she focused on the soft smile Keith gave her and the ghost warmth of his hands lingering on her skin.