"Nothing at all, in moderation," Keith informed her dryly. "It's a kind of liquor."

She looked down at her mug. Alcohol? That certainly explained the growing warmth inside her, then. As she took another large swallow, a thought struck her. "What about you, Pidge? Don't tell me you were drinking when you were at the Academy!"

The boy grinned. "Don't worry, I didn't and don't! Hunk made mine a virgin."

Allura went scarlet. A general smile of embarrassment was exchanged between the others.

Pidge gulped and quickly said, "That means it doesn't have any alcohol in it, Princess. I'm sorry!"

She nodded, and quickly took another swallow of cocoa to hide her discomfiture.

"That was real smooth, twerp," Lance murmured to the mortified Green Lion pilot.

"Maybe so, but at least I didn't smack her one!" The youth retorted. His teammate lost his smile and sat back, vanquished for the moment.

Hunk snickered loudly, earning a glare from both Lance and Pidge.

Ever the diplomat, Keith quickly changed the subject. "So what were you smiling about when you came in, Princess? It looked like you were quite happy about something."

She blinked at him uncomprehendingly, and then an amused but wary look crept into her eyes. "Oh nothing, really, I was just thinking of some things I have to do." Her small smile grew to a grin.

"Oh?" The Black Lion pilot asked innocently. "Anything we can help you with?"

To his surprise, she started to giggle. "Nope!" She drawled out, between giggles. "It's- all- under- control."

"What's under control?" Hunk asked, smiling at the convulsed Princess. She just shook her head and laughed some more, then leaned back against the sectional in a manner Nanny would have found unbecoming to her charge's status.

~Everything's under control but you, Allura!~ Keith thought in amusement, seeing the flush on her face and the sparkling eyes. "Maybe you'd better slow down on the cocoa," he suggested, carefully.

That sobered her for a moment. Eyes flashing she stared haughtily at him. "Don't worry Captain, I can hold my liquor. Just. Fine." She waved the mug for emphasis on the last two words, almost baptizing the chuckling Lance in a river of chocolate. Keith hid a grin at the sudden consternation on her face as she helplessly watched the mug slipping from her grasp.

"Whoa!" The Red Lion pilot quickly grabbed the mug before it could tip. "Hunk, why don't you go make her a straight cup, huh?"

"Right!" The big man rose and left them to do just that.

"Is he going to get me a 'virgin'?" Allura asked Keith, her expression very serious.

Lance clapped a hand over his mouth and turned away as spasms of silent laughter shook his gut. Pidge inelegantly spit out his last mouthful of cocoa.

Keith bit down on his tongue, hard, to keep from chuckling. She was just too cute. Not drunk, just a little uninhibited. "Uh, yeah. If you're not used to drinking schnapps, the effect of it can really sneak up on you. It's best to go slow and easy your first time."

"You are speaking from personal experience, of course," she replied, solemnly.

He felt himself flush. "Uh..."

"Of course he is," Lance laughed heartily at the innuendo, and winked at Keith. Having had consumed more than his share of schnapps, he also was feeling quite loose.

"Keith is an expert when it comes to-"

"Shut up, Lance!" Keith barked out, with a fierce glare.

His best friend saw the storm clouds brewing. "Right, then!" He mumbled, turning away from Allura.

"What?" She asked, looking from man to man to Splat Boy. Pidge's face was puce colored from suppressed laughter. "When it comes to what, Pidge?"

"Nothing worth mentioning," was the disappointing reply.

She trained her eyes on a still shaking Lance. "Don't look at me, I value my life," he sputtered.

"Keith?" The limpid blue gaze turned to him.

"It's nothing you would find interesting, " he told her firmly.

The Princess' eyes went wide. "But Captain, I find everything about you fascinating- always have," she replied daringly, her eyelids rising and lowering coquettishly.

Keith felt his mouth hanging open and shut it with a snap.

"My, my..." Lance smiled into his cup. "That was a very fascinating statement. Maybe we should leave you two alone to discuss it." He took another swig of his brew.

Hunk, who up until now had stood by and observed the scene without comment, decided to interrupt. The Chief definitely looked like he needed backup.

"Here you go, Princess." He handed her a new mug, with a flourish.

She smiled up at her brawny friend. "Thank you! You are so sweet, Hunk. And may I say, really cute, too." She scrunched her face up in a puzzled look." Why hasn't some lucky woman snapped you up yet?"

He ran a hand over his blush, and chuckled. "I don't know, guess no one knows a good thing when they see it."

"I do," Allura said, smiling impishly as her eyes ran over his ruggedly handsome features and broad shoulders.

Hunk's eyebrows shot up to his ever- present headband. He ran a nervous hand through his tousled hair. "Gee, Princess...I...don't know what to say. Thanks for the compliment, I guess." He shot a wide-eyed look at his Captain. 'Help!' it seemed to say.

"O-kay, I think maybe we had better think about going over the workout itinerary for tomorrow," Keith suggested uneasily. Nothing in his training had prepared him for dealing with a tipsy, flirtatious Princess. She was a definitely loose cannon right now, fully loaded and ready to shoot. He had to stop her, for his own peace of mind. "Shall we start?"

The rest of the men hastily agreed after he tossed them a pleading glance.

The Princess pouted prettily, but grudgingly complied.

As he had hoped, the routine conversation seemed to put a damper on Allura's hi-jinks. She sat quietly and even asked some very pertinent questions at one point. Evidently she wasn't as far gone as they had thought.

After the discussion, it was almost time for the party to break up.

The Princess waved off Hunk and Pidge when they started to collect the mugs. "I'll clean up, it's the least I can do after you guys included me in your fun. You go and enjoy the rest of your down time. I know you must have letters to write."

"Thanks Princess," they said, with broad smiles, and followed her order.

"I'd help, but I need to go and finish some paperwork," Lance informed her with regret. He had fought off the effects of three cocoas but was feeling rather sleepy. "Then I think I might take a little nap before supper." A huge yawn split his face and he wobbled a little.

Allura grinned at him. "Good- go sleep it off," she said, knowingly.

Lance laughed quietly and gave his leader a sly elbow as he walked by.

"Better stay and make sure she's okay, Chief. Demon alcohol can be quite unpredictable, you know." He told Keith in an undertone, knowing full well that was exactly what his principled friend would do.

The Captain nodded, his expression impassive.

Nevertheless, the Red Lion pilot was smiling as he exited, making sure he shut the doors behind him.

Keith rolled his eyes at the sound of the closing panels. Subtlety was never one of Lance's strong points.

Allura bent down to load the serving tray, not noticing there was one person that hadn't left. She hummed a nameless tune under her breath as she gathered the mugs, one by one, and then wiped the table with a soft cloth Pidge had brought her from the kitchen.

She smiled in satisfaction as she worked. At last, she could really get rolling on decorating this place, it had just occurred to her upon entering this room that it was their refuge, their home away from home, and therefore, a perfect place for the gift opening and the tree. After she cleaned up, she would call Coran and tell him to have the tree brought down here, and then...as thoughts whirled around in the scheming Princess' head, she automatically bent to lift the large platter off the table. She immediately gave a loud gasp upon hoisting it upward; the mugs were heavier than she had thought! Her arms shook with the effort of keeping it aloft.

"Let me carry that," a husky voice said, close to her ear.

The Princess gave a violent start and the mugs clattered together as her body jerked in surprise. Two strong arms came quickly around her to steady and level off the sliding tray.

"Keith, I thought you left with the others." She puffed, freezing in place as his body's warmth wrapped around her.

"Sorry, I just wanted to hang around to make sure you were all right." He replied, his words caressing the hair at her temple. "I've got it, you can let go."

She slowly released the death grip she had on the tray and ducked down and out of his arms. "Thanks, but I can handle this. Believe it or not, Nanny has seen to it that I'm not lacking in skill when it comes to household duties." She informed him pertly, while reaching out for the dishes.

He simply smiled blandly and walked past her toward the kitchen, carrying the burden is if weighed next to nothing.

"I said I can do it," she repeated, following him. "Contrary to what you may think, I am not drunk."

"I know." He set the tray down on the small counter and began unloading the mugs into the sink. Discarding the tray, he opened the cupboard below, and located dish soap. " I just wanted to help."

"Don't you have some reports to write?" Allura asked him, somewhat rudely. How was she going to get anything done for the celebration while he was around?

"Already did them." He replied with infuriating calm, while turning on the tap. He set the plug in the drain and squeezed in a generous amount of soap; then stepped back to wait for the sink to fill. His warm brown eyes finally met hers, and his expression was one of mischief. "What's the matter Princess? I thought you'd like it if I stayed, since you find me so...fascinating."

Oddly, a very slight rise in color was the only reaction he got to his teasing.

"Well of course I do, but I am sure you have better things to do with your time than washing dishes, Keith." She replied coolly.

Her lack of response brought out his wolfish side.

"I can't think of anything I 'd rather do at the moment." He responded suavely. His gaze lowered to her mouth. "Well, maybe one or two other things," he amended huskily.

Ah, that was better. She definitely seemed more aware of him now.

Allura looked away, swallowed hard, and wiped suddenly damp palms along her thighs. She could was aware of his eyes tracing her profile, and she tensed as she sensed them lowering to trail down her body. "I see." She murmured.

"No, I don't think you do," he said, his tone suddenly ragged. His arm lifted, making her jump; he crooked an eyebrow at her skittishness as he reached right past her to shut off the faucet. The silence between them was deafening when the gush of water was stopped.

She finally risked turning to look at him. He faced her, one lean hip resting against the counter, his arms folded across his muscled chest. Her eyes rose to his face and took in the strong jaw line, the classic shape of his nose and mouth, the long, glossy hair, black as a raven's wing.

"So what don't I see?" She asked huskily, as their eyes made contact.

"This," he answered, uncrossing his arms. Gently he reached for her hands and placed then on his chest, over his heart. Beneath the cream cable knitting, Allura could feel the warmth of his skin and the rapid pounding of his heart. She closed her eyes and her breathing became stilted.

"Every time you're near me this is what happens." He informed her in a deep voice. "I'm not sure what to do about it."

"Me either," she half-whispered. Her eyes opened, and he could see the longing that she didn't even try to hide. "Maybe if you kissed me again..."

Before she could finish the thought, his mouth was on hers.

To be continued....:)