{ Hope you all are having a good winter break. Thank you for not being mad at me for taking a week off! xoxo

Check out the fan art contest on my Instagram if you haven't already, Loves! It's @soki._.kun}

" They're going to grill me again, I know they are!" Keith breathed quickly and looked from side to side in a paranoid manner, Pidge having taken him across the courthouse so they could be alone.

" Shh... it's going to be okay." She assured, and Keith held his breath so that way he wouldn't spiral into a panic attack. If he would've kept up with that, there was no doubt that's what would've happened. What with Lance's outburst and being cross examined, he was more than a little on edge. There was nothing that could've prepared him for lawyers like that, even with Kinkade's help.

" Pidge, I can't... this is so stupid. Why can't they just throw him in jail where he belongs?" He whimpered and cupped his face in his hands. " I can't look like the bad guy in this situation, I just can't."

" No one thinks you're the bad guy. That lawyer just sold out for the money, that's all." Pidge tried to tell him, rubbing his shoulder as they took a seat on one of the benches near the far window.

" Then Lance had to defend me in front of everyone... I feel so stupid." Keith murmured. Don't get him wrong, Lance being protective of him was something he found attractive, but this wasn't the right time or place. He almost wondered if it had gotten to the point where he couldn't take care of himself, but then he shook the thoughts away.

" He didn't mean it like that, Keith. He loves you and lost his temper because of that. You two have a pre-bond, remember? There's nothing that guy wouldn't do for you." She explained, and Keith lowly nodded.

Meanwhile, Shiro and Hunk had Lance outside of the courtroom. Romelle and Matt had stayed inside with Lotor, who'd driven himself there.

" You need to calm down! Do you really think this is what's best for Keith?!" Shiro yelled, keeping his hands firmly planted on Lance's shoulders.

Hunk stared at Lance for a moment as the other remained quiet, not having said a word the whole time after the other yelling his head off.

" Mamá always said that love makes people crazy..." Lance murmured to himself, chuckling near the end of it. " I guess I'm no exception to that..."

Shiro sighed when he realized Lance was finally returning to his normal, civil, human being ways.

" We still have a few minutes. Go see Keith and talk things out with him. I'm sure he needs to see you."

Inside, things were way less chaotic. Well, other than all the people gossiping inside of the courtroom, waiting for Keith and the others to return.

Shiro went back to Matt and wrapped an arm around his waist, being very protective of his omega. He was far enough along where he couldn't be away from him for very long before he got anxious. Thank god there was no baby bump yet, though, since the public didn't even know about the pregnancy yet. They'd been waiting for the right moment to make an announcement about it, but with all of the drama as of late, they didn't want it to get lost.

" Hey, Daddy..." Matt whispered, snickering a little. He leaned closer and let Shiro hug him.

" Don't tease me, honey..." The alpha replied. " You know I won't do that as long as you're pregnant."

" Okayyy..." Romelle walked the other way, taking Lotor's wrist so he would walk with her. Shiro and Matt must've just been goofing off to get their minds off of how heavy the trial was.

Lotor blushed slightly and looked to the side.

" So... uh... do you have plans later?" He asked her, not sure why he was stumbling. Okay, that was a complete and total lie. He knew why, and over the past few weeks it was undeniable.

Romelle glanced over at him while they walked.

" Um... not really. I think Keith was just going to go home with Lance. They haven't told me." She replied. " Why?"

" Well... I just got settled in the new apartment. I was wondering if you might like to join me for dinner there?" Lotor asked, scratching the back of his neck.

Romelle felt her heart thumping as she looked up at him. She refused to ask whether or not it was a date, because... well... if he was just looking to have dinner as friends, it would've been awkward.

" Sure." She said, tucking some hair behind her ear. " Would you just give me a ride after this? I haven't seen the place yet."

" Of course." Lotor told her.

Lance walked swiftly in search of Keith until eventually finding him at the end of the hall talking to Pidge.

" You don't give yourself enough credit... you're actually great with people." Keith told his best friend, and she awkwardly coughed. " Honestly, after all this bullshit is over we're gonna find you a girlfriend." He said.

Lance chuckled while arriving and hearing the conversation, getting that Pidge must've been consoling him.

Pidge blushed and shoved Keith's arm.

" Shut up."

Keith looked over and saw Lance arriving, hoping that he had calmed down.

" I'm sorry, KitKat..." The alpha murmured while getting on the bench and pulling Keith into his lap. " I don't know what came over me..."

Keith leaned back into Lance's scent gland.

" Just don't let it happen again... I don't want you to go to jail." He whispered.

With that, Kinkade could be seen down the hall.

" Keith, we're getting called back in." He told them, and Keith nodded while getting to his feet. Lance guided him and Pidge walked by the couple's side as they all made their way back toward the courtroom, where they were about to reconvene.

After they were all seated once again, Keith was put up on the witness stand.

James' shark-like lawyer approached the stand after the judge made an announcement he could resume his questioning.

" So, Mr. Kogane," He began. " Can you tell me what this is?" In his hand was a photo.

Keith gulped and took a deep breath.

" A picture... of me." He replied. The black lingerie gave him chills and he remembered the exact day that picture was taken, even if he didn't want to.

" Can you tell me who took the picture?"

" James Griffin."

" Now let me ask you this... if you were so scared of the defendant, why would you pose so provocatively for him in these pictures?"

Keith looked around the courtroom and made eye contact with Lance for a moment before regaining his focus.

" He forced me to." Keith responded.

" How so? You're an adult with free will. You could've said no."

" Don't you get it? He'd beat me if I would talk back... there was no point in fighting it after a while. He wouldn't let me leave." Keith told him honestly.

" Well, my client claims you consented to everything. Who's to say you didn't have a thing for private photos and asked him to take the pictures?"

Keith glanced over to the jury, seeing that some people looked deep in thought after that proposal.

" That's a lie. I would've never done anything like that unless he threatened me." He retorted.

" Then it's your word against his. Given the fact that your current boyfriend also had pictures get leaked, I wouldn't put it past you to have asked him for those."

Keith grit his teeth and tried not to lose his temper. He couldn't afford to right then. He just couldn't.

" I've said everything I'm going to say about this. I didn't want those pictures at all. Ask me whatever else you want to know."

The lawyer looked to the judge, who told him to proceed.

" Fine then. Maybe the dirty pictures weren't enough for you." He pushed. " What with all the pictures of flogs and whips, you two got kinky. Those items are used for people who like pain during sex, is that correct?"

" I'm not a masochist."

" But you are aware of the term?"

" Yes, I've heard it a few times." Keith replied.

" James claims you asked him to do those things to you... and when it was too much you didn't say to stop. Instead of just leaving and going, you decided to exaggerate your injuries. Sure, you had abrasions and everything, but you asked for them and enjoyed the pain at the time."

" That's bullshit." Keith growled.

Murmurs came alive in the crowd.

" This is all just an exciting affair gone wrong... the sex was too much for you and you decided to call it rape because you were angry he pushed you too far."

" That's a lie!"

" Objection!" Kinkade cut in. " He's using circular reasoning on my client. If he has any other different questions he can ask, fine, but he's just repeating the same thing."

The judge thought for a moment.

" I'll allow one more question."

" I yield back." James' lawyer smirked and walked back to the bench.

Keith clenched his fists, completely ticked. He didn't want to even think about the possibility of people believing that.

Once he reconnected with Lance, he hugged the alpha close to himself and hid his face away from any paparazzi out front. The doors kept opening and closing as people left, and they were waiting for their opportunity to slip out as well.

" Hey, Keith... I'm heading to Lotor's for a while." Romelle told her brother. " Don't wait up."

Lance eyed Lotor warningly, hoping that the other's intentions were pure. Trust was something earned, not given, and earning it back from him was nearly impossible after everything. It didn't matter that Romelle wasn't a technical part of his family yet, but she was his probable future sister in law. He did care about what went on with her.

" Okay. Be safe." Keith muttered.

Lance didn't even have to say anything for Lotor to get the message, and after that, they all were on their way out.

" Lance, what do you have to say about your alleged yelling in the court?!"

" Keith, how do you feel after saying your story?"

" When does James testify?!"

There were plenty of people with cameras out there and Lance just held Keith to his side. Cops from the courthouse had joined them by then, serving as bodyguards.

By the time they were all back in their own houses, Twitter was imploding and the world was reeling. Keith tried to think about anything else as they walked in the door, Kosmo coming to greet them.

" Let's just have a nice night together, Keith..." Lance told him, and Keith nodded as they trudged toward the couch. He just wanted it all to be over.

...

The inside of Lotor's apartment smelled really nice. It was a weird thing to notice, but Romelle couldn't help but think that as she walked inside with him. It was neat inside of there and all the furniture was placed just so.

" I thought alphas were supposed to be messy." She teased him, slipping out of her Vans at the door.

" Not this one." Lotor chuckled, shutting the door and locking it. They were up on the 5th floor, with a view of the LA skyline from outside one of the many windows. It was clearly an expensive place, but someone such as him could afford it.

Romelle walked in and looked around, seeing the grey and white aesthetic had been used to set up the place, and there were occasional aspects of lavender which had been spread throughout the apartment. She admired how their styles were similar, finding that it was a perfect balance between their tastes.

" So... what did you plan on making for dinner?" She asked, turning over her shoulder. It was so quiet in there, and maybe it should've been awkward, and it was a little bit, but not much. It just sort of felt like much needed alone time for both of them.

" I thought maybe we could just whip up some pasta and bake it into a dish. Then have some cheese bread and a salad?" Lotor asked. He was actually an amazing cook, but he wondered if she even knew that.

" Sounds great... but... uh- I don't even know how to chop an onion." She laughed slightly, scratching her wrist.

" I'll teach you. I promise it's not hard." Lotor assured.

Romelle blushed a little and went along with things, and it wasn't long before they were in the kitchen and Lotor had given her an apron. She pulled up all of her hair into a large bun and washed her hands, and they'd begun soon enough.

The water on the stove was boiling and they'd added some jarred red pasta sauce to a pot, along with some seasoned diced tomatoes and tomato paste. They added a touch of brown sugar, and Lotor had to convince her that it would turn out well.

" What else?" She asked him, and Lotor grabbed some produce out of the fridge. A green pepper, and then a clove of garlic and a red onion from the counter.

" Do you know how to mince garlic? Cut up anything?" He asked her.

" Uhhh- maybe the pepper." She replied, embarrassed.

" Let's start with that, then." He said, rinsing the pepper under the faucet and then setting it on the counter. She grabbed a knife from the block, one which was way too large for what she was doing.

Lotor chuckled and took out a smaller knife, then stood behind her.

Romelle was beet red, not having realized what was going on until he had taken her wrist and begun to guide her actions.

" You start with this..." Lotor told her, and she almost found herself leaning back against his body figure, but caught herself at the last second. Her heart was racing and her cheeks were burning as she stood there, unable to get a grip.

Lotor leaned closer, his chin nearly on her shoulder as he showed her everything. He tried to tell himself that he was wrong, that he was just upset about Allura, but he knew he was right. He did like Romelle... but not just as a friend.

Romelle wondered if she should've cut the awkward tension by asking something, by asking when and where he'd learned to cook, or who taught him. She couldn't bring herself to do that, though. With his body so close against hers, it was something she'd wanted for a long time.

" See... easy." Lotor told her, as the pepper was now stripped up on the board in front of them. All the seeds and everything they didn't want was pushed aside, leaving only one thing left to do. The dicing. What else would it possibly have been?

Romelle turned over her shoulder and her blush was visible thanks to the overhead lights, and Lotor smiled at her fondly. It was a mushy facial expression, and she couldn't help but take it personally.

" Can... can I ask you something else?"

Lotor rose a brow at her, and they were still standing very close together at that point.

" Is this about the pepper, or is it about me?" She asked, looking up to him.

" Who do you want it to be about?" Lotor responded, and she ran her hand up his chest, resting it there and continuing to blush. There was only so much that she could take of this, the hiding it, the way she felt.

" I think you know."

Lotor reached down and let his hand slide on her waist.

" Then you have your answer." He told her, leaning down slowly. Romelle's eyes beaded and she stood still as he pressed a kiss onto her lips. She didn't know what to do, never having been kissed before. She was 19 and all, but she'd never even had a boyfriend!

Lotor pulled back slowly, wiping some lipgloss off of his lower lip and chuckling lightly, and she smiled shyly, not wanting to tell him it had been the first for her.

" Let's just keep this between us..." She whispered, and he nodded.

The world would've imploded if it found out they were more than friends.

{ Is it obvious I have a cooking background? Lmao I'm exposing myself little by little with this book. }