Mafia Princess (Klance)

Dad?

   Allura sat at the edge of the pool, moving her feet gently through the water, listening to the water move as the families around her played and cheared. It felt as if nothing had happened at all, that they were completely safe. However, the man at her side was a quick reminder that all was not well. She shifted her gaze to him without moving her head. The man was simply leaning back on his hands, smiling kindly as he watched the people around them enjoy themselves.

"You seem calm. Are you not worried about your father finding us?" She brought up.

"Of course I am." He said, gazing over the pool. "But you said today we were to relax, it's not every day I get to see people being..... Happy."

"No?" Allura was a little surprised.

"What's there to be happy about in my line of work? We hurt and kill people to make money to survive in this world, but if we get caught or cross the line, we will be killed by the world we made." He sat up, letting his head fall. "I'm tired of living in fear of my father and the consequences of my action. I want to do good for our community, just as our fathers had before."

"I know." She smiled sadly. "I'm afraid that this war our families have created might not end without sheading blood."

"I agree." Lotor looked to her. "But I believe if we can slowly begin to rally the Galra to our side, then perhaps less blood will be shead."

   Allura wanted to think his hopes would come to be, but she knew that was impossible. "Zarkon has instilled fear into every last Galra. They will not betray him."

"Although I know you are correct, I do hope you aren't." He slipped into the water gently before facing her with outstretched arms. "Whether you're right or wrong, I suppose we should enjoy this day as you proposed."

  Allura giggled in her throat before taking his hands and slipping into the water. The two began to swim together, not saying much, but being in eachothers presence.

******°•🧡•°******

   Lance and Keith left their room, deciding it best they be away from the others for a short time. They brought themselves to a tall library filled with books and board games. Blue white and red furniture surrounded a long glass coffee table with a silver mat covering the center. The two pulled from the shelves an interesting board game called "Stars of Akarios" a narrative driven coop game where the two would build and upgrade their ships while flying the galaxy to fight baddies and complete missions. Keith had never played before, so he watched as Lance set up the table, passing each other a gameboard with slots to place their chosen characters and ships. There were many pieces that were confusing at first, but as Lance slowly brought them into the game, Keith got the hang of it and eventually became very good at it. The two got deep into the campaign but were soon interrupted by Hunk and Pidge.

"Keith?" Pidge said, first getting their attention.

"Uh, yeah?" He turned to her.

"That blade you have had the same mark as the card we received, right?" She continued.

"Yeah." He became more interested.

"Well, maybe you could help us with something then." The small paladin looked over their game. "Or do you need more time?"

   Lance peared up at Keith a little sad but knew this was important. "No, we'll help ya." He got up from the floor leaving the game behind.

   The group followed Pidge to the computer room they would usually use to keep tabs on the Galra. The older monitors were off except for one that had a plethora of tabs and codes open on.

"What have you been doing in here?" Lance took an office chair by the computer.

"We're looking into the Blade of Marmora before considering calling them." Pidge began taking a seat next to Lance. "So far, we have learned next to nothing. These people are under underground. They do not want to be known or found. Even this business card is to a 24/7 convenience store."

"Franchise, or Local?" Keith leaned against the desk to look at the screen.

   The green lion opened google to search for the number again to show a small mom and pop corner store. "Huh, Local."

"Could be a front for something bigger." Hunk raised a thoughtful hand to his jaw. "But usually there's something special you have to say if you call a place like that. They aren't just gonna start chatting about their secrets over the phone."

"Best shot would be to bring the card to the corner store. But we can't afford to be sending people out. But we can't risk calling them either." Pidge laid back in her chair. "It's not like the card expires or anything. We could try to do more research on this corner store, get as much Intel as Google can give us, and then have a meeting with the paladins to decide on what to do."

"So this is all you needed us for?" The raven haired male looked a little disappointed.

"Well, how long have you been with the Galra? Do you remember anything from before?" Hunk placed a gentle hand over Keith's shoulder.

"I-" The young man began seeing slight glimpses of his early childhood. "I was maybe 6 or 7." He began. "My father was a firefighter, I remember him coming home sometimes smelling like campfire. My mom was already gone by this point, but my father spoke fondly about her, though I don't know what happened to her. My dad got into something.... bad. The Galra used to hide drug dens in the basement of families. If the cops got too close, they'd have them destroyed and claim insurance...... They burned one of the homes down. The family and everyone in it perished. My father was at the scene, and he found what was left of an open jerrycan. Through further investigation, it was obvious that someone had spread gas throughout the home while the owners slept. So the Galra who owned the building and were renting it to the family were not able to claim insurance until they were sure who caused the fire. Of course, Zarkon was not happy with this. He sent men to our home to try to convince my father that what he had seen was the families Jerrycan, that they had just used it and forgot it where he found it. They offered him money to change his report to an accident. He said no."

   Lance stood from his chair immediately, knowing where the story was going. He rushed to his partners side, holding him tightly. Keith sighed in his arms before finishing.

"The other fighter on the scene that night agreed to the money. But my father was a witness..... They killed him for what he knew. They set a trap in a burning building. He went in.... and he never came out."

"I'm sorry, Keith." Pidge lowered her head.

"Ditto." Hunk nodded.

   Lance was at a loss for words as he nuzzled his face into Keith's fluffy black hair.

"Sorry, guys." Keith started again. "You probably wanted about my mother. Not my dad."

"Dont apologize. That story may have given us more information than you think. In fact, did your father leave a will?" Pidge brought up. "A lot of people working in high-risk jobs have a will in place."

"Um, I don't know. Why?" The long haired male crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side.

"Well, if you never received anything nor was told about it, maybe the money was sent to your mother in hopes she'd take you in." Pidge turned back to the computer. "I can hack into the local lawyers' offices and try and find the will. Your moms name and info should be on it! She should have the answers we need!! Now. What's was your father's name?"

   Keith flinched as everyone turned to await his answer. He opened his mouth awkwardly before answering. "Dad?"