Archive of Our Own ^beta

This is so unfair.

It was totally a setup, from the very start. Lance should have noticed how his sisters were giggling when they made plans to go to the beach together. He should have realized that they’d put extra emphasis on talking about what they were going to wear. But he didn’t, and now he’s so screwed.

“Are you ready to go, Lance?” Allura asks. Her blue eyes are bright with excitement, sparkling like twin stars. She’s wearing a straw sun hat with a pink ribbon on it, and her long ivory hair is pulled back into a low ponytail. The swimsuit his sister lent her fits perfectly. She looks absolutely gorgeous, and that’s the problem. Lance isn’t sure how he’s supposed to make it through the entire day at the beach without doing something foolish like kissing her, or declaring his eternal love for her.

Yep. He’s screwed.

Clearing his throat, he wills himself not to stutter or blush. “I was born ready,” he replies, shooting her his usual charming grin.

“Oh, good,” Allura exclaims, so excited that she practically vibrates in place. She somehow manages to maintain a regal air about her, even when she’s about to explode with happiness. “Let’s go then!” she says, grabbing his hand. He lets her tug him along as they make their way to the beach, trailing a little ways behind his family. Allura has been eager to swim in the ocean since she first got here, but the beach near his house is too choppy and rocky . Fortunately, a more swimmable shore was not too far away.

As they walk, Allura chatters excitedly, sounding much more like your average teenage girl than the dignified princess of Altea. Lance loves seeing this side of her, now that the war is over and the Galra are defeated. She doesn’t have to be a fearless leader all the time now; she can just be herself.

It makes Lance fall even more in love with her.

Allura’s gasp breaks him out of his thoughts, and she stands, frozen in place as she stares at the clear blue water that stretches to the horizon, reflecting the clouds but not revealing its hidden depths. “It’s beautiful,” she murmurs.

“You’re beautiful,” Lance says, and immediately flushes bright red when he realizes what he just said. Allura finally breaks her gaze from the hypnotic allure of the ocean and turns around to look at him, brows furrowed. “You look really great in that swimsuit.” Apparently his brain-to-mouth filter broke on the way over, because he’s suddenly incapable of keeping his thoughts to himself.

Allura pauses and thinks for a moment, before releasing his wrist and flashing him a dazzling smile. “Race you to the water!” she says before sprinting off across the sand.

Lance is frozen for a moment before he takes off after her. Oh yeah, he’s definitely screwed. But maybe, just maybe, his feelings aren’t quite as unrequited as he thought.