Chapter Text
In the beginning, Lotor hadn’t even bothered to learn their names. In his opinion, respect was something that was earned and while the paladins had been worthy adversaries… their behavior off the battlefield was perplexing at best.
Take for instance his first night in the castle. While they did not hide their suspicions, they did not immediately take him into their custody as a prisoner either. He had waited for the inevitable—to be shackled, isolated in some supposedly inescapable room, and interrogated (perhaps even tortured) until they could, without a doubt, trust his intentions. But, that never happened.
The yellow one lead him through the halls of the castle, muttering about how it would be just his luck to lose an 8-way game of rock-paper-scissors, before stopping at a room at the end of the hall. The door slid open soundlessly, revealing an empty, though pristine room furnished only with a cot, a single set of drawers, and had an adjoining bathroom.
His nervousness was apparent even before he spoke, gaze darting to and fro, never once meeting Lotor’s eyes. “So uh, Prince Lotor? Or is just Lotor fine? Anyway, here’s your room. Since you were kinda running from the entire Galra empire and stuff, I doubt you packed anything with you. Here’s an extra pair of pajamas I took from Lance—if Galra even wear pajamas. Toothbrush and other toiletries should already be in the bathroom. Bye.”
He had shoved the clothing into Lotor’s hands without another word, practically sprinting to what Lotor assumed to be his room, a few doors down.
A moment later, he saw the green, red, and blue paladins dart from their own rooms, all barging into the yellow paladin’s room. The blue one had actually given a wave, while the other two merely regarded Lotor with thinly veiled wariness.
All in all, the behavior was confusing at best. They did not trust him, but they strove to make him feel welcomed. Like he was one of them. A fine strategy indeed… if trusting him wasn’t a gamble that could end in bloodshed if Lotor so desired. Here he was, a fox in the henhouse, unguarded and given free reign. Perhaps it was the Galra blood in him that made the thought enticing, imagining the paladins’ downfall coming from within.
But it had been a long night for the ex-prince. From braving the heat of a star to saving the paladins themselves from a painful demise, Lotor merely retired to his room. There would be time to plan and scheme, and even if the ‘pajamas’ as the yellow one had called them were quite comfortable and the bed somehow softer than even his own back on his ship, he fell asleep with the belief that he would wake up and machinate some grandiose plan to retake the power and authority that was stolen from him.
Yet, time passed, and he still hadn’t harmed a single hair on any of the paladins.
If anything, he had learned to tolerate their existence. They were new, novel stimuli to observe and take stock of. He had an unabashed view into the very people his father had sworn to destroy. Lotor took some pride in seeing the black lion, the beast Zarkon so coveted, which he could visit at any time in the hangar. He even trained with the paladins from time-to-time, especially sparring and aiding in the red one’s swordsmanship skills.
It was right after one of their impromptu training sessions that Lotor heard a knock at his door. With his hair sloppily pulled into a ponytail and workout attire consisting of another paladin’s hand-me-downs (the black paladin, specifically), he called for the person to enter while he busied about the room.
“Hey Lotor, I just ran into Keith! Heard you guys had an awesome training sesh. Think I can join in sometime?” The blue paladin asked, plopping down onto one of the chairs in the corner as if he always hung out in Lotor’s room.
“I do not see a problem with it as long as you do not cause any distractions.” Lotor supplied, taking a long draught of water.
The boy fist-pumped the air. “Hah, Pidge owes me ten bucks!”
“Glad I could help you in attaining human currency, I assume.”
“Yeah, thanks man! Hey, since you’re free right now, do you wanna go on a mission with me?”
Lotor crossed his arms. “Only if there is something to be gained.”
…
The blue paladin—Lance, he now supplied without much preamble—was much more shrewd than he originally gave him credit for.
“This activity is… just for leisure?”
Lance nodded enthusiastically. “Yep! You ‘gain’ relaxation which is always something we need with the whole ‘gotta save the universe’ stuff going on 24/7. Oh, but I also heard that video games can increase your dexterity, so there’s that too.”
He handed Lotor the controller before setting up the game, leaving the half-Galra to stare in mild amusement as the screen loaded.
“I heard talk of video games among the barracks, but it never interested me. Why waste time on something so trivial? Real adrenaline can be found easily in the gladiator ring or through piloting.”
“Just wait man, you’ll be hooked in no time.”
For once in his life, Lotor didn’t bother to keep track of the time. Despite the beginning awkwardness of using a controller with his sharp nails, he got into a rhythm thanks to Lance’s enthusiastic coaching. After learning the controls and given a brief introduction into what he called the ‘lore’ of the game, Lotor began what would be his rapid descent into video games.
Before long he was able to play as Lance’s second, aiding in a ‘dungeon-crawl’ as he called it. With rapt attention, Lotor followed his character’s actions on the screen, summoning up a maelstrom to deal a significant amount of damage to the final boss, an undead dragon.
“One more blow should silence the beast. Use your strongest melee attack now, Lance!”
“Got it!”
The screen exploded with confetti as the dragon gave its last roaring breath, allowing the pair to pick up the loot from its skeletal remains.
“A dragon-forged long sword, finally!” Lance cheered, equipping the item immediately.
Lotor was pleased to find a mage’s circlet, one also dragon-forged, which would increase his sorcerer’s defense tenfold. So lost in the celebration after what was around a ten-hour campaign, they both stood, backs cracking at the movement before Lotor was seized into the tightest hug of his life.
“We did it, man! God, I was never able to beat the boss, even with Hunk playing! You’re way too good at video games already. It’s not fair, haha!”
Lotor’s first instinct was to still, right hand hovering over the dagger he kept sheathed at his side. Physical intimacy was rare for Galra and Lotor couldn’t shake the feeling that he should protect himself in some way. A flash of something from his childhood, from a time before Zarkon’s bloodlust, flitted across his vision and he found himself hugging back, however briefly. It was really just a touch of Lance’s back, clawed hand settling briefly before he pulled away.
It was then that the door to Lance’s room slid open, suddenly flooding the room with light. Lance and Lotor shielded their eyes, turning away from the door. The entire population of the castle stood, near-gawking, at the screen and the two figures huddled away from the light.
Hunk was the first to break the silence with laughter. “Told you, Allura, Lance wasn’t in any danger. Lotor’s pretty cool, actually.” He paused, finally noticing what was on the screen. “Seriously, you two beat the game without me? Not cool!”
“Yeah,” Keith agreed. “He’s alright.”
“I guess we really were worried about nothing.” Shiro said. He followed Corran back out to the lounge.
Matt and Pidge smirked at each other, both sneakily taking photos of the scene before darting out of the room.
Allura sighed. Still, she couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips. “Glad you two are having fun. When you’re ready to return to the land of the living, let me know. I need some help with planning the next mission... Lotor. If you don’t mind.”
Lotor gave a sharp grin. “It would be my pleasure.”