Chapter Text
“And so,” Coran droned on, filling the paladins in on everything they needed to know about their upcoming mission. Well, it wasn’t a mission, per se, but an important diplomatic meeting.
Even years after the defeat of Zarkon, and Lotor’s subsequent succession, they continued to form alliances, adding more planets and systems to the Voltron coalition. But there were still rogue Galran fleets that had yet to pledge their allegiance to the new emperor. And so, a paladin’s work was never done.
“Because of this,” Coran continued and Lance did his best to keep his eyes open. But it was hard. He’d been up late the night before, attempting to keep up with both Shiro and Keith in the training room. And that had been his first mistake.
Lance wasn’t sure when his eyelids had drooped completely closed, but a sudden swift kick to his shin had them flying open. He blinked for a moment before turning toward its source.
Keith was frowning at him, his brows drawn down. ‘Pay attention,’ he mouthed and faced Coran once again, his arms tightly crossed over his chest. And Shiro, who was on Keith’s other side, spared Lance a disappointed look before doing the same.
Torn between embarrassment and shame – one for being caught dozing during Coran’s briefing and the other for letting both his boyfriends down – Lance just ducked his head and faced forward. He barely caught Coran mention something about marks before he failed to stifle a yawn.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Keith turning his way. He could practically feel the red paladin’s gaze on him, hot and frustrated. Not in the mood for a lecture, Lance just burrowed closer to Hunk, who sat on his other side, and tried his hardest to stay awake.
Training the night before had been a mistake. But it had been so long since the three of them had been on the castle ship at the same time. Keith was often with the Blade of Marmora, honing his skills and becoming the best he could be. While Shiro – who, let’s face it, had been through more than his fair share of trouble – had finally returned in one piece.
Things were different now, though. And Lance had felt it while the three attempted to spar. Never mind that both Shiro and Keith were stronger than him, their skills better suited for close-range, hand-to-hand combat. But their movements just…clicked in a way that Lance’s couldn’t.
Like they were on the same page and Lance wasn’t even reading the same book.
As it was, the three of them had never really had time to themselves. Lance and Keith got together while Shiro was missing – sort of. They’d never really said what they were – and then, when Keith had first left to train with the Blade, Lance and Shiro had sort of become a thing.
If Lance thought about it too hard – which happened more often than not – he’d come to the conclusion that not a one of them had confirmed their relationship status. The three of them were together, he’d assumed, but after their late-night training…he wasn’t so sure about that.
“So, I want you to be on your best behavior, Paladins,” Coran finished with a flourish, one hand coming up to twist the end of his mustache. “I believe that’s everything,” he mused before turning toward Allura. “Princess?”
“You seem to have covered it all,” she returned with a bright smile. Then she faced the rest of the room. “Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
Lance shrunk down in his seat, knowing that his boyfriends – or whatever they were to him – were probably sending disapproving looks his way. So, instead of acknowledging them, he stood up with Hunk, patting his best friend on the back.
“You ready for this mission, buddy?” he asked with all the false bravado he could muster. “Should be a piece of cake, right?”
“Should be,” Hunk replied with a chuckle. “Their customs are a little strange, but…” he trailed off, giving a shrug. “No worse than we’ve dealt with before.”
Lance made a mental note to ask Hunk exactly what those customs were, but later, when Shiro and Keith weren’t around to accuse him of failing to pay attention. After all, that was their fault. Mostly. Sort of. Whatever.
“Then let’s do this thing,” Lance said, following Hunk out of the room and ignoring the two pairs of eyes burning holes into the back of his head.
When they arrived on the planet, it was business as usual. They went down as a paladin unit, Allura and Shiro leading the pack, with Hunk, Pidge, Keith, and Lance following behind. Keith, of course, was a relatively new addition, since he tended to spend more time away. But it was good to see him in his red armor again.
More often than not, the worlds they visited had a huge palace, home to the royal family or leaders. And this was no exception.
A servant, judging by the alien’s behavior, came to greet them, his head bowed low. “Mighty Paladins of Voltron,” he said with his arms held out and palms up. “It is a great honor to have you here on Avanyu.” He stood up, his form mostly humanoid, save for how long his limbs were. His skin was a light powder blue, speckled with darker shades and his eyes and hair were jewel-toned.
Apparently, the Avanyuans – or Avanyuites? – were a very pretty people. Not that Lance was all about looks. He’d happily dealt with slug people and pulsing gas clouds before. But it was always a bit easier when he knew exactly where to make eye contact when he spoke.
“Thank you for having us,” Allura said to him.
“We understand that your king and queen are interested in joining the coalition,” Shiro spoke next, practiced and rehearsed. This was hardly new to any of them.
“Yes, of course.” The man bowed again. “But before you meet with their majesties, please allow us to escort you to your rooms.” He straightened and snapped his fingers. Instantly, five more servants appeared. Now there was one for each of them.
“Thank you for your hospitality.” Allura nodded before following after her own personal guide.
“So,” Lance whispered to Hunk as they were led forward. “We’re staying the night, then?”
“Uh, yeah?” he offered, quirking a brow. “I know you looked kind of out of it, but I figured you’d heard that part.”
“Please,” Pidge interject with a roll of her eyes. “He could barely keep his eyes open. I doubt he heard anything Coran told us.”
Lance would have taken offense to that if Pidge wasn’t one hundred percent right, so, he opted for changing the subject. “Guess they’ll probably serve us dinner, then,” he noted and then cleared his throat. “Anything I should worry about?”
“If you mean etiquette, just don’t eat like an animal and you’ll be fine,” Pidge said. “It seems like most of their customs are pretty similar to ours. Well, with one exception, of course.”
“Yeah,” Hunk added. “I thought that was interesting, too.”
“What was-” but Lance was cut off when their servants came to a halt, the one in front gesturing toward a large, elaborately engraved door.
“Your room, Blue Paladin,” she said, bowing deeply before pressing her long fingers into what appeared to be glossy wood. But the moment the tips came in contact with it, purple light glowed beneath the surface and it melted away to reveal a lavish suite.
“Whoa,” Lance gaped. He turned to see that Allura, Shiro, and Keith were gone – more than likely already shown to their rooms – and Hunk and Pidge were currently being led to theirs.
He’d missed his chance to ask them about what the Avanyuans did that was so peculiar, but he figured he’d just ask before dinner.
“This way,” his servant said, pulling him from his thoughts, and he blushed at his rudeness before following her inside. The door materialized behind them and he awkwardly cleared his throat. “The king and queen have provided you with Avanyu garments for the feast tonight in your honor.” She gestured toward the bed, where Lance spotted some blue fabric.
“Thank you,” he said, bobbing his head in thanks.
He expected her to leave, but she remained. Apparently, she was to stay with him until they went to dinner. That was a little awkward, but it wasn’t like Lance was shy. Still, it surprised him when he walked over toward the bed and she simply got down onto the floor, folding her long legs beneath her, and placing her hands on the tops of her thighs as she waited for him to change.
She looked very much like the first Avanyuan they’d met, though her skin was a light almost periwinkle. Her hair was short and matched her eyes, which glittered like amethysts as she patiently waited for him to dress.
And as Lance began to remove his armor, he wondered if the fact that Avanyuans didn’t seem to have any shame was what Hunk and Pidge were going on about.
However, when he unzipped the back of his body suit and slid it down his shoulders, the servant gasped, shooting up onto her feet and slapping a hand over her mouth.
Immediately, Lance panicked. Had he read the situation wrong? Was he not supposed to change in front of her? Was his inability to focus earlier going to cost them an alliance?
A million thoughts flew through his mind, Shiro’s and Keith’s disappointed expressions at the forefront, but they all dissipated when long fingers brushed against his back, just inside his shoulder blade.
“Your mark,” the servant said, her eyes wide and her gaze almost reverent.
For a moment, Lance was confused, but then he realized what she was looking at. “Oh, that?” He gave an awkward chuckle. “Just a birthmark. I’ve had it forever.”
It wasn’t one of his favorite features. A splotchy brown spot on his back that kind of looked like Norway? Not exactly something he liked to show off. But this Avanyuan seemed intrigued, almost enamored with it.
“You say you’ve had it since birth?” she asked, jeweled gaze darting up to his face.
“Uh, yeah.” Lance wet his lips, suddenly feeling nervous. His face must have shown his discomfort because she pulled away, clasping her hands behind her back and lowering her head again.
“Please excuse my forwardness,” she said and then raised her head. “My apologies, Blue Paladin, but I must leave you for a moment. Another servant will return to assist you momentarily.” And before Lance could even give her the go ahead, she was gone, dashing through the doorway as if the solid material was nothing more than vapor.
“O…kay…” Lance blinked and, as he finished undressing, he glanced over his shoulder at his reflection in the mirror. He didn’t regularly look at his own back, so he sometimes forgot about the scar he’d gotten when Sendak had tried to take over the Castle of Lions back on Arus. “Oh, I wonder if she meant that,” he mused, remembering how wide the servant’s eyes had grown when she’d seen it.
Ah, what did that matter? She was probably just embarrassed for reacting like that. Then again, she had run off in a sort of tizzy. But Lance just shook his head. Hunk and Pidge had been right about the Avanyuans being a little odd. Of course, Lance wouldn’t realize just how odd until dinner.
But for now, blissfully unaware, he lifted the blue material from the bed, pleased that it wasn’t something completely unflattering or revealing, and changed just in time for another servant to greet him and lead the way to the banquet hall.
It seemed as though the Avanyuan royalty spared no expense in their feast honoring the Mighty Paladins of Voltron. Lance was used to receiving a hero’s welcome by now, but this really took the cake. There was course after course of exquisite concoctions. Even Hunk was blissed out beside him, deliriously chattering about flavors, textures, and mouthfeel.
Across the table, Lance spotted Shiro and Keith. The former was speaking with the first servant, who’d greeted them earlier, and who Lance guessed was more of an advisor or at least someone pretty important, judging by his seating assignment. Both he and Allura were doing their usual thing – Princess and Leader business.
Keith, on the other hand, was staring down at his plate, his brow furrowed as he attempted to determine just what he was about to put in his mouth. Lance found it cute. Even if things were a little tense between the three of them at the moment, he could still appreciate Keith’s awkwardness and Shiro’s cool and calm diplomatic presence.
He really did like them a lot. Actually, he more than just ‘liked’ them, but that was something none of them had ever dared to mention. And, honestly, he wasn’t about to be the first. He couldn’t even imagine how embarrassing it would be if he said those three little words and the other two just stared at him blankly or, worse, ‘let him down easy.’
Lance shook his head and turned his attention on his own meal. He was on course nine – or was it ten? – and, although he was starting to get full, he was eager to give it a try.
“Everything okay?” Hunk asked from beside him, pulling him from his reverie.
“Hmm?” Lance turned toward him. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Because you’re doing it again,” Hunk offered, his dark eyes soft and his expression concerned. He was the only one who knew about their relationship. Well, Pidge knew – of course, she did – but Hunk was the only one Lance talked to about their…issues.
“Is he making goo-goo eyes?” Pidge asked, butting in and, when she noticed Lance hadn’t touched his food added, “Are you going to eat that?”
“Yes,” Lance said, blocking her utensil with his own before she had a chance to steal his slice of blue meat. He quickly stuffed it into his mouth before she got any ideas and, still feeling Hunk’s worried gaze on him, he faced his best friend again. “What?”
“Did something happen?” Hunk drew his brows together.
“Nothing happened,” Lance confirmed, eyes flicking over toward Shiro and Keith before settling on Hunk again. “Just…same ol’, same ol’.”
Hunk nodded, offering an apologetic smile. Lance didn’t really want his sympathy. He was happy to have it, of course. But the other man shouldn’t have to worry about him and his relationship problems, even if he had been his shoulder to cry on and his ear for the past few months as he tried to figure out exactly where he stood with Shiro and Keith.
“She keeps looking at you,” Pidge said from his other side.
Lance blinked and faced Pidge, confused. “What? Who?”
“The princess.” Pidge gestured toward the head of the table with her fork-like utensil. “She’s been doing it all dinner.”
Lance followed the length of the elongated fork toward her royal highness. He hadn’t really noticed her before. But when he made eye contact, she looked away, her cheeks tinting. She was pretty cute, actually, maybe around his age – if Avanyuans aged liked humans – with pink skin, long, magenta hair curled in ringlets, and bright rose-quartz-like eyes.
Her coloring was the same as her father’s, the king. But she looked more like the queen. Though, it was hard to tell with how she now hid her face.
“Earth to Lance,” Pidge called, waving a hand in front of his face. “We get it, pretty alien girl. But can we focus?”
“Huh?” He turned away from the royal family. “Focus on what?”
“Why she’s been staring at you,” Pidge said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Um, maybe because I’m irresistibly attractive?” Lance offered and, ignoring Hunk’s amused snort, he continued. “What’s it matter, anyway? She’s the princess, right? She’s free to look all she wants.” He shrugged and sat back as a servant removed his empty dish and replaced it with a bowl of what appeared to be soup.
“Hmm…” Pidge eyed him before picking up a shallow spoon. “I guess…”
Of course, now that Pidge had pointed it out, Lance could practically feel the princess’s eyes on him. Not that he minded, exactly. But it was unusual. He was the flirt – before whatever it was he had with Shiro and Keith had started – but to have a pretty alien pay him special attention before they’d even spoken a word to each other? And a princess at that? Well…that was odd. Nice. But odd.
And then, once dessert was done and the plates were cleared away, Lance understood.
“Honored guests,” the king said as he stood up, his glass raised high in the air. “We thank you for joining us tonight.” He beamed. “Not only are we happy to announce our solidified allegiance with the Voltron coalition,” he continued, his expression turning fond as he looked toward the princess, “but to find out our daughter’s betrothed is among us, well…” His smile widened further. “That is the greatest gift we could ever receive.”
“Your daughter’s betrothed?” Allura asked, glancing at the advisor for clarification.
“Yes,” the king explained. “One of my most trusted servants saw the mark, herself.” He turned toward Lance and suddenly all eyes were on him. “We were certainly surprised, but overjoyed to learn that the blue paladin bears my daughter’s soul mark.”
Everything stopped. Lance froze as his mind fought to process that information. He just stared at the King, mouth agape, the room beginning to spin around him.
In the back of his mind, Lance vaguely recollected Coran saying something about marks. But there was no way. How could he be the princess’s intended? He wasn’t even from this planet. His ‘mark’ was nothing more than off-color pigment in his skin – either that, or remnants from an old wound. She could take her pick and either wouldn’t add up for a betrothal.
He couldn’t be the one. And yet, when his gaze shifted, the princess was beaming at him, still a bit shyly, but open and pleased.
Lance wasn’t sure what shocked him out of his trance, but the heavy scraping of wooden-like legs against the polished floor definitely caught his attention.
“You’re wrong!” It was Keith who spoke. He was standing, his hands planted firmly on the dinner table and his expression livid.
“Keith,” Shiro interrupted, standing beside him and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Calm down. We’ll get this sorted-”
“I understand the red paladin’s astonishment,” the king said, his long-fingered hand suddenly on Lance’s shoulder and his jovial tone seemingly unaffected by Keith’s outburst. “But we are proud to be tied to Voltron in this way.”
“Your highness,” Shiro said, facing the king, though his eyes darted to Lance’s for a moment. “There must be some sort of error.”
“No such thing!” the king interjected with a wave of his other hand, the liquid in his goblet sloshing. “We have waited many deca-phoebs for my daughter’s chosen one to grace us with his presence and now the time has come.”
Keith made to argue, but Shiro’s grip on his shoulder tightened. Lance felt trapped, only able to watch as his boyfriends let it sink in.
The king remained undeterred, raising his glass even higher. “Tonight we celebrate,” he announced. “And tomorrow,” he paused with a grin in Lance’s direction. “My daughter will be wed!” He leaned closer, speaking so only Lance could hear. “Welcome to the family, Blue Paladin of Voltron.”
After that, Lance was whisked out of the dining room and to a new, even more grandiose private chamber. And it was there, after being washed and dressed by no less than six servants – all of whom didn’t answer a single one of his questions – that the night finally caught up to him. He sat heavily on the bed.
Surely Shiro, with his diplomatic prowess, could talk Lance out of this. Or Keith. Maybe Keith could fight for him. Was this a dueling planet? They’d been on plenty of those.
Lance buried his face in his hands. He really wished he’d stayed awake during Coran’s briefing.
Just then, there was a knock at his door. “Blue Paladin,” a familiar voice called – the servant who’d seen his back earlier. “His majesty requests your presence in the ballroom for your formal introduction.”
Lance groaned. He really, really needed to think of something and fast.
Wait. Maybe he could get clarification from her! If it was his scar, he could easily explain that away. After all, she’d be under the impression that he’d had it since birth, which he clearly hadn’t. Maybe he could fix this all on his own without bothering Shiro or Keith.
Though, the thought that this had caused them any trouble – and the rest of his team, too – had Lance feeling pretty low. Still, he had to try.
However, as he opened his mouth to grant her entry, someone placed their hand over it, cutting him off. Lance panicked. He was certain he’d been alone in his new room. He tried to break free from his captor’s hold, but the other only held on tighter.
“Calm down,” came a husky voice against his ear. A voice he knew very well. Keith’s. “It’s me.”
Keith slowly removed his hand and Lance turned to face him, confused. “Keith?” he whispered. “What are you doing in my room?”
“Getting you the hell out of here,” he said, gaze darting over his shoulder. “If the Avanyu think they’re marrying you off, they’ve got another thing coming.”
Lance’s eyes went wide. “Keith. Are you kidnapping me?” he gaped.
Keith faced him again, his expression serious. “Yes.”
“Oh.” Lance’s brows shot up.
“Blue Paladin?” the servant called again, a hint of worry in her tone. “Am I no longer an acceptable servant for your highness?”
“No, no! You’re fine, uh… Just a minute!” Lance returned and then lowered his voice again. “Does Shiro know about this?” he hissed.
“What Shiro doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Keith answered and then, at Lance’s astonished expression, he smiled. “I’m kidding. It was his idea.”
“Shiro? Mr. Diplomacy? The face and decisive head of Voltron?” Lance blinked. “He suggested kidnapping me?”
“Yeah, well, the king wasn’t exactly listening to reason,” Keith said, taking Lance’s hand and tugging him toward a large window. “He wouldn’t even speak with us.”
“And so the best option was to kidnap the princess’s betrothed?” Lance deadpanned, but drew back when Keith shot him a glare.
“You are not her betrothed,” he said, like it was the hundredth time. “And, even if you were, none of that matters because-” he cut himself off with a shake of his head. “Never mind. Let’s just get you to the ship.”
“No, no, no.” Lance pulled his hand free. “What were you going to say?”
He tried to play it cool, but deep down, Lance was nervous. Could Keith be insinuating what he thought? Was that the reason why Shiro had done something so rash? So…un-Shiro-like?
“Lance, I know you’re an idiot, but you’re not that dumb,” was Keith’s reply and Lance immediately deflated before puffing himself back up, insulted.
“Well, excuse mmmm-” but he didn’t get to finish what he was saying, because Keith’s lips were on his, silencing him.
“Do you think Shiro and I would just let the person we love marry someone else?” He smiled softly, caressing Lance’s cheek with his thumb. “Now, let’s get going before that servant reports you missing.”
And Lance followed with a bounce in his step, his heart light.
He’d been worrying for nothing. Of course, it was a shame that he had to get accidentally engaged for either of his boyfriends to confess flat-out. But, hey, beggars couldn’t be choosers.
And, when it came down to it, given all his options, he was glad he’d chosen them.
But then Lance paused mid-step. “Wait,” he called, earning an aggravated huff from Keith. “What does Allura have to say about all this?” Had he ruined their chance at gaining an ally? Would she be upset with them when she found out?
At that, Keith smirked. “Who do you think called Coran to bring the ship around?”
Lance’s jaw dropped as more of that happy warmth filled his chest. Gosh, he sure could get used to being wrong. But, uh, speaking of being wrong…
“Uh, did the king happen to show you his daughter’s mark?” he asked, nearly falling forward as Keith grabbed his wrist and gave him a tug to hurry along.
“No.” Keith stopped dragging him toward the window and turned around again. “Why?”
Lance chewed on his lower lip. “Well, there may have been a mistake.”
“Yeah, obviously,” Keith snorted.
“No, I mean-”
“Is someone in there with you?” the servant’s voice came from the other side of the door once again. “Are you in danger, Blue Paladin?!”
They were out of time.
“Listen,” Lance said, not fighting Keith anymore. “I think we can fix things, both the engagement and the alliance. But you have to trust me.”
Keith sighed and faced him fully, wrapping both arms around Lance and pulling him close. “I trust you, I just…”
“Have everyone return to their rooms,” Lance instructed, pulling back. “If I’m right, I think we can leave this planet on a peaceful note.”
Keith hesitated, but agreed. “And…if you’re wrong?”
“Well.” Lance shrugged. “Let’s have Coran keep the ship close.”