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Lance ambled slowly through the space mall, looking in different shop windows in hope of finding something even remotely familiar. Coran had needed to look for more parts to the castle, different necessities for various odds and ends. To be honest, Lance had gotten lost during his talk.
Everyone had gone, even Allura somehow talked her way into going, although she had been ordered, by Coran, to stay by Shiro’s side. Neither of them had gotten to go last time, and it was safe to say that they both looked excited. They’d have fun...
Lance did a double take, peering into a store. His eyes went wide as he practically glued himself to the window, taking in the products inside. It was a Space Sephora, that was the only way he could describe it. A variety of posters, ads, hung from the walls inside, and it may be aliens, but the aesthetic shots of different faces was a universal constant.
Lance found himself going to the door on autopilot. He’d been using the food goo, after asking Coran what properties it had, for a face mask, and he desperately needed to branch out. He missed his different blends, his makeup, creams, and pretty much everything beauty related. Not to mention the castle only had one universal soap.
Yes, soap. It was a 2 in one deal, Coran had said excitedly. They didn’t have to worry about stocking with other bathroom supplies because you could use it for both! Lance wanted to cry. He knew that they’d been asleep for 10,000 years, but they were in a castle, there had to be some other amenities. Right?
Reality stopped him right at the entrance of the store. His pockets were light, save for his phone. He hadn’t stocked up on tons of coins before hand, and he doubted that the employee would appreciate him trying to pay with random, wet change.
“Excuse me,” Lance whipped around, freezing as he laid eyes upon probably the most gorgeous alien he’d ever seen, rivaling even Allura.
His hair was slicked back, all except for one small strip that hung in front of their eye, shimmering in the light. Some of it curled upwards, but most seemed to fall effortlessly down his back. Honestly, Lance was a bit jealous. It was obvious that he had access to products that Lance did not.
That didn’t stop him from admiring, far from it. Instead, he took in every feature he could, the clear skin, the pointed ears, the way the white part of his eyes was, instead, yellow, his actual pupil a beautiful deep purple.
“Why hello there~” Lance purred, shooting the man finger guns and his best smirk.
The man looked him up and down, and Lance felt his face heat up at the calculating, bored gaze. “Why are you just standing there, in my way, instead of going inside?”
Okay, points for trying. The guy wasn’t throwing slurs at him, at least. Did aliens even have homophobia?
He remembered the man’s question and blanched, fumbling over his words, “Oh, well, uh, about that, I don’t really have money? So, uh, no real reason to go inside. Not really a fan of torturing myself with what I can’t have.”
“So, you’re flirting to try and get money-” The man started.
“What?” Lance exclaimed, eyebrows pinching in disgust. Reasonable deduction, but Lance had tact, thank you very much. “No! That’s horrible, I’m flirting because you’re gorgeous!” He threw his hands up, gesturing at the man, “Like, have you looked in a mirror recently, what the hell is your secret?”
The man’s eyes widened, blinking a few times before a sly grin took over his features. “I use only the best products. A acrelan body wash, and a virian shampoo.”
“Lucky you,” Lance couldn’t help the bitterness that tinged his voice, “I’ve been stuck with a 2 in 1 wash for the past few months. I can feel my pores screaming out, let alone the damage done to my hair.”
The man gasped, hand going to his chest, “Surely you jest.”
“Dead serious. My face mask? Repurposed food goo. Yeah it does the job well enough, but, quiznak, it’s horrible.”
There was a flash of movement as the man stalked by him, and then he was being tugged into the store. “This will not stand.”
~*~
The man, Lotor, Lance had learned, laughed at his story. He had been telling him about the time he had gotten into his older sister’s makeup supply when he was younger, and ended up doing the makeup for several of his stuffed animals, as well as the dog.
“What is a dog, anyways?” Lotor asked as his laughter died down, leaning forward so that his elbows rested on the table they were sat at. They had stopped at a small cafe sort of venue.
Lance thought a moment, “Kind of like a yupper? But smaller, a lot smaller, and doesn’t say yup?” He shrugged, “Only real equivalent I can think of.”
“I wish I could’ve seen that then,” Lotor shook his head with a smile, and Lance felt something in his chest squeeze.
Weird.
They had been shopping for awhile. Lance had tried to assure Lotor, at first, that he was fine, but when he got into the shopping mindset… Let’s just say a hefty amount of the bags they were carrying were for Lance as well as Lotor.
Lance pulled out his phone, checking the time and groaned loudly. Lotor looked over at him in confusion.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have to go. We’re supposed to all meet up to leave soon,” Lance pouted, shoulders sagging at the thought.
Lotor chuckled, “Do you need help with your bags?”
“No, I should be fine,” Lance sighed. He rubbed a hand down his face and stood with an exaggerated groan, “I just don’t want to leave. It's been awhile since I’ve had this much fun…”
Lotor frowned, tapping a finger against his chin before his eyes lit up. “How much time do you have?”
“Like, 10 minutes?” Lance tilted his head to the side.
“Perfect, let’s go,” Lotor stood up with a flourish, snatching his bags from the ground and walking off, a man on a mission.
Lance grabbed his bags, nearly stumbling as he rushed to catch up.
~*~
“Holy- Lance where did you get all that?” Hunk stared at his friend as he walked into the docking bay.
Lance shrugged, as well as he could with all the bags in his arms, “I met a person, a very, very kind person. And we went on a shopping spree.” He looked around at his friends, noting how none of them had anything that they hadn’t arrived with. “And because I love you guys, I bought you stuff as well!”
Hunk, Pidge, and Allura were on him in a second, even Shiro and Keith inched closer to get a look. Lance couldn’t help but laugh as they poked and prodded, asking question after question. He was alright with it though. He had beauty products, gifts for his friends, and a new space phone in his jacket pocket.
Best of all: he had Lotor’s number.