Chapter Text
Shiro had suggested they find a planet to relax on for a day or two. They'd dealt with some serious bull fuckin' shit and honestly, it was probably good for all of the to just take a break from worrying.
Unless a distress call came in, the Paladins got to relax.
Naturally, this meant that things were quiznaked from the start.
Agreeing on a planet in the first place proved to be exceptionally hard. Lance wanted a beach, Hunk wanted to visit Shay's Balmera (as did Pidge, for some reason), Keith wanted to visit some kind of lava planet - on and on it went, until Coran suggested rolling a several-sided die.
Everyone picked a number, Coran rolled the die to ensure no cheating could be had, and then everyone groaned.
"What, what's the number?" Lance asked, tilting his head. He tried not to be too reliant on Chulatt's eyes outside of battle - it really put some intense strain on his mouse friend, and he didn't want to hurt him.
"It's three. Your number," Hunk said with a sigh.
Lance whooped. "Beach planet, here we come!"
Finding the planet was the next problem. First, they had to ensure the Paladins could, well, breathe on the surface. Then survive in the water. Then make sure the waves wouldn't crush them because the moons were too close, or something or whatever that Lance didn't listen to. And also make sure the sealife wouldn't eat them.
Finally , Coran found a planet he deemed suitable that was strangely uninhabited by a sentient species, though Coran said that maybe a species had yet to rise to sentience, like the way the apes had had genetic split thousands of years ago that the humans cropped up from. The planet was just in limbo.
"Keith, you have to tell me how it looks," Lance said as he snuggled him on the couch.
"What about Chulatt?" Keith asked, furrowing his brow.
"He deserves a break too," Lance defended, "Anyway. You'll tell me, right?"
"Of course I will," Keith huffed, leaning into Lance, "I wouldn't, you know, not do that."
"Good. I love you," he said, petting Keith's hair softly.
Keith blushed. "Yeah, I love you too."
----
Lance frowned as he tried to adjust the swimming trunks and his packer. He wanted to make sure he wouldn't lose it - who knew if he could get a fake human dick in space if he lost his? Sighing as he adjusted it one last time, making sure it was firmly in place, he marched out of his room, towel draped over his shoulders.
It was beach time and he wouldn't let anything get in the way of that.
Keith's eyes narrowed as he looked Lance over. He knew for a fact that Lance's chest couldn't be easily hidden by a large and baggy shirt, especially when it was going to get wet. Not that they'd even done anything besides sleep beside one another, but Keith had made sure Lance didn't sleep with his binder on because that would not be good.
So seeing Lance's chest as flat as it normally was sent a ton of alarms off in his head.
Before Lance could get to everyone else, he grabbed his boyfriend and pulled him aside. "Are you fucking kidding me, Lance? You're going to wear your binder while swimming?" he hissed under his breath, glaring at him - not that it would have any real effect, but still.
Lance crossed his arms, glaring right back. "Yes," he hissed back, "I'll be fine, Keith. Really. I know my limits. I want to have fun on the beach without being questioned, alright?"
Keith growled softly. "Lance. I know that's bad for your health," he scolded, "What, have you been wearing it while training, too? The armor should do more than enough binding."
When Lance shifted uncomfortably, Keith's face went slack. "You. Fucking. Wear your binder. During training. Are you kidding me?"
"Yes, okay?" he snapped back, "Only sometimes. On days where I feel the worst, okay? Dysphoria fucking sucks and sometimes wearing this, even when it's dangerous, is the only way I can feel like myself!"
"Lance, I don't want to see you get hurt," Keith shot back, stepping into Lance's bubble, "I know that it's bad. I'll admit I don't know everything because I'm a cis guy and I didn't exactly put a ton of effort into looking up trans guy stuff back on Earth, but I sure as hell know you're not supposed to wear it while sleeping or exercising!"
Lance huffed. "I told you, I know my limits," he insisted, "Look, if it gets to be too much, I promise you, I'll take a break on the sand, okay? Really. I don't want to accidentally drown or some bullshit."
Keith rubbed a hand over his face, exhaling sharply. He needed to calm the fuck down. Taking a moment to inhale deeply, he said, "Okay, fine. I know you love the beach. I'm not going to take this away from you or anything. But you have to swear on your life that you'll come out of the water and take a break when you feel too tired or can't breathe, okay?"
"I swear on my life, Keith," he replied quietly. He pulled his boyfriend into a hug, burying his face in his hair. God, Keith smelled nice. "I'll be good, I swear."
"Good," came the muffled reply from Lance's shoulder. "I'm gonna kick your ass otherwise."
"Ooh, kinky."
"Lance!"
----
Lance didn’t deny himself a happy groan as he ran his bare toes through the sand. It was an odd blue-green color, and the sea itself was a soft, clear purple (he’d wound up bringing Chulatt along after the mouse insisted on being a part of it, and Coran had come up with a special scuba suit for him), but Lance didn’t care. This was the closest to a real beach he’d been since the last break from the Garrison on Earth.
The whole crew were there, all in their swimsuits. Even Coran, though thankfully, instead of a Speedo, he wore one of those weird single-pieces with short sleeves and shorts on it.
At least Lance wasn’t the only guy not going shirtless. It made him feel a lot better. Taking a deep breath, he ran forward into the spray of the sea with an excited yell, diving in below the swell of a wave.
Keith felt his heart seize up at the sight for a moment, but Lance broke the surface with a happy yell, and he relaxed. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that Lance had promised to take care of himself, so while he shouldn't freak out over every little thing, he would definitely keep a careful eye on his excitable boyfriend.
At Lance's beckoning, he rolled his eyes, but carefully waded forward, not venturing further than chest deep so he could bounce with the waves easier. He'd never been to the beach, but he'd been to a pool with generated waves, so he sort of knew how to handle not getting bowled over by the water. He still didn't like going too deep, though.
Lance swam over to him, digging his toes into the sand of the shelf. "Come on, I'll teach you how to swim so you can go out further," he coaxed, taking Keith's hand.
Keith stiffened. "I don't think I want to," he replied stiffly, staring into the distance.
"Whoa, hey, okay," Lance said softly with a squeeze of Keith's hand, "It's okay. I just thought, you know, it's kind of nice out there. I'd like to, you know, try to share with you the thing I loved most in life before space. But if you're really unsure, don't risk it, yeah? Trust yourself. If you know you can't do it, don't. I could probably get Hunk to tell me what the fish look like and everything."
"I didn't say I couldn't," Keith snapped immediately, fire in his eyes as he turned to Lance, who seemed unaffected - right, because he wasn’t looking with Chulatt. Lance had wanted to give the mouse as much space as possible. Keith's glares really didn't work on him. "So show me then. Teach me how so I can see your fish."
Lance grinned. Honestly, Keith, you're easier to play than the world's tiniest violin.
While Lance was goading Keith into swimming deeper into the ocean, Shiro threw Allura and then Matt into the water, enjoying their squeals and shrieks of delight. He loved listening to them enjoy themselves, and they kept paddling back for more a few more times until they eventually tried to throw him together - they barely got him out of the water before needing to drop him, but he came up laughing and hearing their laughs, too.
"Good try," he said with a wide grin, taking them both in a hug.
"Not all of us can be beefcakes," Matt teased, slapping Shiro's pec. "Damn, babe, you got beefed up like crazy out here."
Shiro shrugged. "Part of fighting. But look at yourself; you're not exactly a string bean anymore," he teased back, squeezing Matt's bicep gently.
"I'm all lean muscle," he replied, turning to Allura, "Just like you. You really have some good muscle, 'Lura."
She blushed at the praise and gave Matt a kiss on the cheek. "You're sweet." A moment later, she smirked and shapeshifted into the Galra form she'd used before. "But how about now?"
Matt gaped like some of the many fish swimming around them, causing more laughter from Shiro.
"I think if you can do things like that, the bedroom's going to be an interesting place," he said honestly, grinning once he'd gotten his bearings.
Allura chuckled. "Yes, I think so too... But this can be used in many ways," she said with a mysterious grin. Quickly, she reached out and grabbed Shiro, throwing him a few feet away into the water.
He shrieked in surprise, flailing as he sank into the water. Gasping as he broke the surface, he looked to his laughing datemates. Allura had shifted back to normal and she and Matt leaned on each other for support as they cracked up over whatever expression he must have made. He felt very warm and happy in this moment as he swam back over to dunk Allura. He loved them. They made his life so much richer - his whole family did, really, even Lotor (except he was a little more drive-Shiro-up-the-fucking-wall) - but they somehow did it more.
Meanwhile, Hunk was busy trying to coax Lotor into the water.
"It is the same color as my skin!" Lotor protested, "I do not trust it!"
Hunk suppressed a laugh and smiled gently. "Okay, and? Coran tested everything - it should be fine for us to get into. Besides, you'll have fun. Look at everyone else," he said, gesturing. Pidge and Coran floated near each other, chatting quietly; Lance and Keith checked out the fish; Shiro, Allura, and Matt all played water games with each other.
Lotor huffed, crossing his arms. "I am not everyone else," he continued to protest.
Hunk sighed. "Come on, man, for me?" he tried, giving Lotor puppy eyes. Lance always gave in when he did this, and honestly, Lotor and Lance were alike with how extra they were, so maybe this would work.
Lotor stared, trying to get Hunk to back down, but fuck if he wasn't already weak for the yellow paladin. He really wanted to make Hunk happy, and if he could squirm his way into Hunk's heart by swimming, then maybe... He could ask for his hand as a suitor. (He refused to use such juvenile words like 'boyfriend').
Finally (after only three seconds), he sighed and gave in. "Alright," he said as he uncrossed his arms, following Hunk into the waves.
Hunk slipped into the water effortlessly, swimming out to the deep and grinning as Lotor carefully followed.
"Come on, Lotor, nothing's gonna eat you," Hunk coaxed, "You can come farther than that."
Lotor grumbled under his breath, but hesitantly, he kicked his way forward until he bobbed in the sea beside Hunk. "There, are you happy now?" he asked with a small huff.
Hunk rolled his eyes. "I could do without the attitude, but yes," he replied. "You can swim fine; what's the big deal?"
Lotor sighed, shifting to float on the water and let the waves push him back to shore very slowly. "As I said before, it's the same color as me so it's already suspicious," he said in a bored tone, "If you want me to be more honest, however..."
Hunk paddled back over to him, adjusting his headband to get his now wet bangs out of his face. "I'd like that, but you don't have to be," he said gently.
With another sigh, Lotor glanced at Hunk and then gazed resolutely up at the gentle blue sky. "When I was younger, before my parents got addicted to quintessence, we had a beach day with the paladins, similar to this. The water was crystal clear, not even a hint of any color. I should have been noticed right away when I got out too far and began drowning, but I wasn't. I was stuck out there for a long time, just trying to keep my head above water long enough to breathe before the next wave knocked me down. Eventually, Blatyz noticed me and pulled me out. I was sick for nearly a phoeb after that. I was told I'd been out there for the better part of a varga. It felt like a lifetime. Apparently, my parents were too busy necking to notice I'd been gone." He slapped the water angrily.
"Oh, geez, Lotor... I'm sorry," Hunk murmured, "Good for Blatyz to have noticed you though, right?"
"Yes. Lance reminds me a lot of him," Lotor said with a rueful smile, shifting to tread water next to Hunk, "All of you are very alike the paladins of old if I am truthful. But ever since that day, I've had a hard time with being in water where I wasn't able to stand safely in it."
"Oh, man, if you need to go to shore, that's okay," Hunk rushed to say, feeling guilty for begging Lotor to come out earlier.
Lotor shook his head. "No, Hunk, I'm fine. I know I can trust you if something happens," he said with a soft smile, "I've learned how to keep my head up since then, but having a swimming partner helps."
Hunk blushed, but beamed, and Lotor felt warm, despite the coolness of the sea.
"Yeah. I'm glad you're okay," Hunk finally replied, "Hm. Are you okay enough to have a splash war?"
"Splash war - ?" Lotor tried to question, but suddenly he had a face full of water and he spluttered. "Oh, it is on , as you Humans say!" With a smirk, he shifted and sent a wave of water crashing over Hunk a moment before the ocean's own waves dunked him.
Hunk came up with a gasp and immediately splashed back again, chasing Lotor back to shore. They laughed as they "fought" each other in the water, eventually breaking into a wrestling match when the water was shallow enough.
They rolled up the bach into the soft sand and Lotor wound up pinned beneath Hunk. He found he didn’t really want to move, even though the rational part of his brain was screaming at him to get out, get away, don’t let yourself be exposed like this - but he couldn’t move, staring up at Hunk’s beautiful, laughing face. Fuck, Hunk had Lotor’s wrists both in one hand, pinning them above his head, while Hunk’s free hand held his chest down, and Lotor was pretty sure this was what death felt like right before actually dying because his heart wouldn’t stop beating like crazy, and surely Hunk could feel it with his hand all over Lotor’s chest -
Hunk could definitely feel that and his lips parted in shock as he gazed down at Lotor, sort of struck by his beauty. Wait, Lotor was giving him a look? What was that… Like he wanted to kiss Hunk? But… okay, yeah, Hunk couldn’t deny that, not when he could feel Lotor’s heartbeat going nuts, and Lotor looked cute and kind of terrified - if Hunk were honest, he had only passing thoughts about Lotor like that, but they’d definitely made his heart skip beats and knees quiver, so yeah, maybe he was into Lotor too, and if he could get his brain to shut up and stop freaking out for five seconds, then maybe, maybe they could -
And Hunk was leaning down and Lotor was leaning up and their lips met in a soft, sweet kiss.
Lotor felt like he was melting. Hunk's lips were so perfect on his, and the way Hunk had him pinned sent delicious shivers down his spine. His eyes snapped open and he jerked back as reason rushed back into his brain, taking control back from whatever had taken him and told him to kiss Hunk.
"Wait," he gasped, "Wait, Hunk..."
Hunk bit his lip nervously as he stared down at Lotor, realizing he saw fear in his face. "What?" he whispered, "Lotor... I..."
Lotor swallowed and struggled to get free. He did not want this conversation, no sir.
Hunk kept him pinned. "I'm not letting you run from this because you're scared," he said firmly, "If you don't want this, fine, I'll let you go. But Lotor... I really like you."
Lotor.exe has stopped working, please reboot, because what the fuck did Hunk just say to him?!
Hunk bit his lip some more, watching Lotor's expression go slack in shock. "Look, Lotor, if you don't really like me back and just kissed me because the moment kinda seemed like you should, that's fine, I don't want to push you into anything and - "
Lotor's lips returning to his stunned him into silence and he gasped, letting his eyes slide shut as he kissed back again.
"I like you very much, Hunk," Lotor whispered when they parted, leveling Hunk with a serious look, "I would like it if we were suitors. You are... perhaps the kindest person I've ever met. You see people exactly as they are, and you were correct not to trust me in the beginning. But now, you see me... Past all the layers of protection I carefully laid out for myself. When you started to talk to me and coax me out from behind all of the walls, I panicked, but you pulled me out anyway. I trust you so deeply. You make me laugh. You're gorgeous. I adore your cooking and the way you laugh, how you assess a situation, how just being a Paladin, a leg of Voltron, brings you such simple joy... I'd really like to be your partner, Hunk."
Hunk blushed through Lotor's entire speech, open-mouthed with shock. "You... You really think all that about me?" he asked hesitantly.
"Of course. Surely you trust me after all this time," Lotor said with a feeble smile.
Hunk laughed a little. "Yeah. Yeah, I do. You're amazing, Lotor, and I'm so happy that you trust me to tell all these things to. You're... Well, you're an asshole on top of all those layers. But under all that, you care. You care so much. You want to see your own parents taken down, for Pete's sake. That takes a lot of guts. You want the universe to be righted. You care about all of us, you listen to Lance's ramblings for ages, you help Pidge with reading Galran, and you like learning to cook from me? That's just, that's all so cool and I like every bit of it. You're also kinda pretty yourself, but like, your personality and stuff is way more important to me than all that, you know? You're just so wonderful and you hide it, but it's cute, and yes, I'll be your suitor or partner or boyfriend or whatever you wanna call it," he finished with another light laugh, tears of joy gathering in his eyes as he finally released Lotor.
The prince didn't move except to gaze at Hunk in wonder. "Did I hear that right?" he asked faintly, "You actually want to be with me?"
"Yes," Hunk said, grinning as he bent to kiss Lotor again. "Gee, it only took rolling around on a beach for us to confess, huh? I'll never hear the end of this from Lance. he always says about how beaches are the most romantic places in the world."
Lotor let out a surprised laugh. "Yes, well, I'm sure I could find a way to silence him. Perhaps threaten to take spa day away," he suggested, eyes sparkling with fond happiness as he gazed at Hunk. "You're a darling, Hunk, and I'm very happy that you picked me."
Hunk nodded. "I'm happy you picked me, too."
The rest of the beach day was spent splashing around with everyone, eventually devolving into a wild game of chicken. As the sun started setting, Team Voltron dragged themselves up to the beach, out of the water. They splayed out on their large beach towels, laughing and talking about the day. It was a well-deserved vacation.