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"Actors, on the set!" A voice came over the loudspeaker.
Lotor sighed, taking one last look at the scene they were about to film, and swallowed nervously. What if they don't succeed on either the first or tenth take? What if he's so bad that Allura won't even look at him again? And anyway, where did this kiss scene come from all of a sudden? They have a kind of space action, a bunch of ships plowing the universe, war, shooting…
"Lotor, are you coming?" The director's assistant knocked on the door of his dressing room.
"Yes, one moment!"
He took another look at himself in the mirror. He wondered if Allura found him attractive. He was not considered a handsome man among the Galra. And the Alteans… this is a difficult question. Usually they were confused by his violet skin. In general, on the love front, Lotor was more like a beggar than a prince.
"Lotor, on the set!" The assistant knocked on the door again.
"I'm coming!"
Lotor pushed open the door of his personal van and descended the steps as if all the subjects of the galaxy were about to greet their Emperor. But Lotor is not an emperor in this reality. He was an actor who was going to kiss the girl for whom he would have given up the throne. If he had one, of course.
As soon as Lotor took his place in front of the cameras, the makeup artist immediately jumped up to him, checking her work.
"Hairspray! Urgent!" she shouted, and a second later she had a can of hairspray in her hand. "Eyes!" She gave the order, and Lotor, already familiar with the laying procedure, obeyed meekly. A pungent smell assaulted his nose, and a sticky cloud enveloped his forehead. He could barely keep from sneezing.
"Hello, partner! Still preening yourself?" A clear, cheerful voice rang out. Lotor jerked to the side in surprise and almost opened his eyes. But the makeup artist caught his arm deftly, "Freeze!" and he paused again, though he longed to look at the intruder. In addition, Lotor felt his cheeks begin to burn treacherously.
"No, Luka, my hair is fine. Thank you," Allura was saying.
Lotor tried to imagine what had been done to her hair today. Maybe they let it down, gathering a couple of strands at the temples? Or did they braid her hair in elaborate braids, coiling it around her head?
"Done!" Lotor's thoughts were interrupted, and he was relieved to be left alone at last. He opened his eyes to meet Allura's gaze.
"Tell me, why they always use so much hairspray on you?"
He hadn't guessed right, her head was decorated with a very ordinary bun. But if someone had asked Lotor's opinion, he would have said that Allura really suits all the hairstyles that are made for her. He thought about the scene again and suddenly felt his palms start to sweat.
"Are the actors ready?" Director Chris signaled. "Let's start!"
"Scene 10, take 1."
"Allura… I want you to know that," Lotor, to be honest, had not had time to get into the role and now hardly looked like a prince, more like a boy in love, which means that there will be more than one double. " I am happy you were there with me."
Lotor hesitated, knowing that now he had to kiss Allura, but not knowing how it was possible. After all, then she might guess his feelings for her.
"Stop!"
Lotor drew back, almost relieved.
"Clarissa, fix up Allura's suit a little," Chris said to the assistant. "Yes, that's it. Once again!"
"Scene 10, take 2."
Lotor started to read out his text again, but the director cut him off again on the second word.
"You have to take her elbow like this," Chris explained. "You're the Emperor, after all!"
"Y-yes, of course." Lotor squared his shoulders. He is the Emperor only in the script, but actually he is a young aspiring actor, who quite accidentally got on the set mainly due to his unusual Galra-Altaian origin. And it wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't lost his head falling in love with his co-star.
Of course, it didn't happen right away. At first, they barely communicated, meeting only during scenes together. Then more and more airtime was allocated to them, and they had to spend more time together, rehearsing, discussing the script. Gradually, somehow, the communication turned from working to personal, and at one point Lotor found himself thinking about Allura and off the set. And then awkwardness and embarrassment, came from somewhere. But Allura did not seem to notice anything, she was always friendly, open and cheerful with him.
"Lotor, really. It's just a little scene, that's all," Allura suddenly interjected. "We'll do it and go to rest. One little kiss won't kill you."
"I just didn't expect us to have to kiss at all."
"You're so funny," she smiled at him.
"Here we go!" The director shouted.
"Scene 10, take 3."
"Allura, I want you to know," Lotor took the girl's elbow, as he had been taught, "I am happy you were there with me."
He leaned toward her quickly, but then the voice came again.
"Why is such hurry?" Chris asked Lotor. "It's a kiss! The first kiss. Slow down. A little uncertainly, but still with feeling and desire. Like this. Got it?"
Lotor nodded, praying that it would work out now, because it was a real torture.
This time he did everything carefully: the right words, the right gestures, the right body position, he even slowed down as much as possible as he approached Allura. His heart was pounding in his throat, making it difficult to breathe, and Lotor closed his eyes because he couldn't bear to look at Allura. He could already feel her breath on his lips, when suddenly she exclaimed, "Ouch!" and jerked back a little.
Lotor felt the hair on his forehead pull forward and opened his eyes. It turned out that the lock that the makeup artist had so carefully arranged every time, pouring tons of hairspray on it, had become entangled in Allura's hair, and now they simply could not physically stand apart from each other.
"Wait, one second-" Allura struggled to extricate herself.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Lotor apologized softly, feeling his cheeks flush.
"No, it's all right," Allura said with a smile. Then she purred softly, "What are you so afraid of? Don't you want to kiss me? I might be offended."
"No! It's not like that. I want to. I mean… I… damn it."
There was no saving the situation. Lothor looked away as soon as he met Allura's gaze.
"It's just a kiss," she said again, fiddling with a lock of his hair. "That's it, you're free!"
"Thanks!" Lotor took a step back, feeling both relieved and wistful. Really, what's wrong with him? Just a kiss! According to the script, nothing more.
He looked at Allura, and she was smiling at him so warmly that he felt a tremor in his knees — it was simply impossible! Lotor began straightening his suit to distract himself. And suddenly he felt two small hands on his cheeks. He opened his eyes wide, meeting Allura's gaze. Her breath burned his lips, and a moment later she kissed him, closing her eyes. Determinedly, confidently, passionately. He was looking at her face and before Lotor knew what was happening, Allura had already recoiled.
"Yes! I got my kiss!" she exclaimed happily.
"Cut!" The director shouted at the same time. "I even like it better, it looks much more natural. Allura, you are my treasure."
Lotor covered his burning cheeks with his hands.
"You didn't get a kiss, you stole it!" he muttered softly.
"Well, if you couldn't make up your mind," Allura whispered in his ear. "The Princess is tired of waiting for her Emperor. I had to be a little persistent. Now, be a sweetheart and ask me out on a date…"