Chapter Text
It was a normal day on the ship. Everyone was lazing around the lounge, decompressing from their long training session and waiting for Allura to start the debrief meeting. The young pilots lay splayed out in various positions on the couches. Lance was half hanging off with his eyes closed, Pidge was curled up against the cushions, Hunk plopped on the floor with his limbs spread out starfish-style and Keith was sitting arms folded and eyes closed. Even Shiro looked dead on his feet slumping against the wall to the side. But the universe doesn’t wait for heroes, so here they were, feeling half-dead, waiting to get details on their next assignment.
The princess barged into the room, Coran in tow.
“Paladins! Glad to see you all in here!” Coran spoke, voice too loud for Lance’s ears, and he groaned.
“Hopefully, your lunch break was filling enough. I have come with news of our next assignment,” said Allura from the middle of the room, pulling up coordinates on a holo-screen, “We’ve been called to attend a diplomatic event in Xandia. From what they’ve told me, they heard of the Voltron Coalition and wanted to discuss joining our forces. Xandia holds a lot of resources and power in this sector of the galaxy, it would be very beneficial for us to have them on our side.”
Shiro nodded at her, looking more alert now, “What do you need us to do?”
Allura eyed each of them carefully.
“This will be a two-day assignment. The first day, which is tomorrow, will consist of mingling, dancing and food. On the second day, we will meet with Xandian leaders to discuss the details of joining the Coalition.”
“Woo, it’s been a while since we’ve been to a party!” Lance stretched from his spot on the couch, already formulating a plan to convince the princess to go as his date.
“Yes…” Allura barely glanced at him. Lance’s heart sank a little.
“We need to be careful,” she continued, “Even though this is a party of sorts, the impression we make on the first day could greatly affect our talks the next.”
The paladins all nodded in unison.
“Don’t worry, Princess. I’ll make sure Keith is on his best behaviour tomorrow,” Lance punctuated his statement with a smirk, not needing to look at the new black paladin to feel his glare.
“I’m not the one who flirts with everything that breathes,” Keith spat out, annoyed.
Before Lance could retort, Allura chipped in, “Unfortunately, Keith is correct, Lance. We cannot overcomplicate things right now. Remember Nyma?”
Lance deflated at the mention of the girl. Even though it’s been months since then, he still felt embarrassed at allowing his flirtations put the team in danger. He’s tried to be more careful since then, questioning the motives of those who take specific interest in him. Still, it hurts to know that Allura hasn’t noticed his efforts.
“I think we’ll be alright, Princess,” Shiro spoke this time, breaking Lance out of his spiralling thoughts, “When are we leaving?”
As Allura relayed the details, Lance tuned her out, determination etching his way through the hurt. He’ll just have to make Allura notice him.
Once the meeting was over, most of the team filtered out of the room, itching to finally get some real rest. Only Lance lingered behind, hoping to talk to the princess. Keith eyed him as he walked out, and Lance childishly stuck his tongue out at him as he passed by.
Alone in the room, Lance made a determined step to where Allura still stood in the centre, looking at her holo-pad.
“Hey, Allura?” he squeaked. Smooth.
“Yes?”
She barely looked up from her screen, distracted.
Lance swallowed and tried again. “I was thinking, since, you know, I tend to get… distracted during these diplomatic missions, maybe I could go to this thing as your date? That way, you can keep an eye on me and I…" will finally get to spend some time with you.
Allura lifted her eyes to meet his gaze thoughtfully, “Hm, I suppose that could be a good idea. I shall be your date for the night, then,” she said with a sense of finality, turning back to the screen in her hands.
Lance almost couldn’t believe that actually worked.
“Oh, okay, cool! I mean– I’ll see you, uh, tomorrow, yeah!”
Lance walked out then, heading to his room. His heart was beating fast in his chest, but he was still left with an oddly hollow feeling. She had agreed so hesitantly, so mundanely. Lance felt the doubt and insecurity crawl back up his throat. He pushed them down, not wanting to ruin this opportunity for himself. Instead, he went through the process of properly pampering himself for tomorrow.
***
The red paladin scrutinised himself in the mirror. He barely got to style his hair into something more elegant than the usual mess that it was, thinking he looked a little too much like a Victorian vampire with it slicked back. However, once he put on his formal paladin robes (the castle was equipped with a variety of paladin outfits for different occasions), the look came together perfectly. He looked good, he thought, but anything would be better than wearing the same worn-out jacket and jeans every day.
He was walking out of his room when he heard a loud groan from next door. He should really keep moving if he doesn’t want to be late to the party, but another exasperated sound escaped between the walls and Lance found himself knocking on his neighbour’s door.
“Hey, buddy, you alright?” he asked hesitantly but was met with silence.
Instead of a reply, the doors opened with a soft whoosh, and oh boy. Lance burst out laughing. Keith looked like a mess. His red blouse was tucked in messily (and inside out) into fitted pants, his hair looked close to a rat’s nest and the clasps and straps were all tangled along his torso. The slight redness in his face, probably from his attempts at composing himself, added to his frazzled look. It’s cute. Nope, no it’s not. Lance stopped that train of thought before it even began to properly form.
“Shut up,” Keith growled out, but it wasn’t very effective with the way he was looking.
Lance moved to enter the room and Keith let him.
“Come on, let’s fix you up, Mullet,” he said with one last chuckle.
Keith quietly followed him, not even putting up a fight. He must really be desperate, then. They had fifteen minutes until landing and there was a lot to fix. Lance walked up closer to the older boy, reaching out towards his waist. He pretended not to see how Keith’s face burned brighter as he startled and backed away from Lance’s hands, clearly flustered. Lance was confused at his reaction but chalked it up to his general aversion to physical touch.
“Dude, what are you doing?” Lance said, exasperatedly, “Let me help you look presentable, at least. Wouldn’t want you embarrassing the Coalition." A weak excuse, really.
Once again, he stepped closer to the black paladin. He tried not to think about how Keith’s abdomen contracted when his fingers grazed it as he tucked in the sleeveless shirt properly, and he definitely didn’t think about how the other boy’s breath hitched when he reached around him to do the same at his back. It left them chest to chest and able to feel each other’s soft exhales on their necks. Lance must be coming down with something because he felt his own cheeks burning by the time he was done. He refused to dwell on it.
Next, Lance turned his attention to the monstrosity that was the rest of Keith’s outfit. His fingers worked quickly to detangle the accessories. He buckled the belt that loops around Keith’s middle and settled it firmly around the boy’s waist. Lance couldn’t help his hands lingering on Keith’s hips as he moved back to assess his work.
“There you go. Looking better already, my man,” he winked jokingly as the older boy shied away from his gaze. “Now, let’s move on to the atrocity on your head.” He dragged Keith to his bed next, instructing him to sit facing the wall.
Keith frowned at him but stayed quiet, allowing Lance to run back to his own room for a brush.
“Did your mom never teach you how to do your hair? You’ve had a mullet for as long as I’ve known you, what the hell is this?” he asked when he came back.
There was a long pause as Lance started combing through the thick locks. Keith had thick, bristly hair, but despite him not even owning a brush, it wasn't unpleasant to touch, rather smooth, actually.
“I never knew my mother,” he spoke suddenly, “She left when I was a baby, and my dad died when I was eight.”
Lance froze. That was not what he was expecting, but now everything about Keith’s actions made sense: how he never talked about his family, how it seemed so easy for him to leave Earth, how closed off he was until very recently. And, christ, Lance was such a dick to him at first. He excluded him, wouldn’t let him near the little family he built around himself with the team, and Keith just took it, because that’s probably all he’s ever experienced. Lance felt his heart break a little at the thought, guilt settling deep in his chest.
“Oh, uh, sorry, man. I didn’t know.”
For all his efforts to be noticed by the team, he regretted not paying more attention to Keith, as well. Keith lowered his head.
“It’s okay, Lance, that was a long time ago. I’m over it,” he mumbled, but there was a tremble in his voice that said otherwise. "Besides, I'm sure Krolia wouldn't even know how to braid hair."
It took a total of two seconds for Lance to blurt out, “Do you want me to teach you?”
Silence. And then, a small nod from Keith. Lance reached down to take his wrist and led him to the mirror. He turned Keith so that he was looking at their reflection and positioned himself right behind the other boy. Lance couldn’t help but find the position intimate, not-so-PG images flashing through his mind, but he locked them all away in the furthest corner of his subconscious.
He took a section of Keith’s hair, splitting it in three.
“Okay, we can start simple for now. In a braid, your main goal is to make the sections equal. Now you take the section at the side and put it over the middle one. Then you take the one at the other side and put it over the middle one again. And then just repeat until you reach the end. You can pull it apart so it looks thicker and voilà!” Lance finished with a flare.
Keith was staring at him through the mirror blankly and Lance felt his cheeks burning up again.
He cleared his throat and asked, “Um, do you want to try now?”
Keith nodded and undid the braid himself but after three failed attempts at re-braiding the section of hair, huffed to himself, dropping his hands to his sides.
“Oh, you poor, poor soul. Here, let me do it then.”
Lance made him sit down again, quickly fashioning a single French braid. A few pieces of Keith’s fringe slipped out, framing his face beautifully. When Lance finished, Keith turned around to aim an incredulous look at him.
“How the fuck did you do that so fast?” The glare from earlier was gone and replaced with wide, awed eyes. The red paladin couldn’t help but chuckle at his expression.
“I used to do my sisters’ and niece’s hair all the time,” Lance admitted with melancholy. He really missed them.
“Well, um, thanks, I guess,” Keith spoke shyly, shifting on the bed. Lance wondered why he was so nervous.
“If you still want to, I can teach you properly when we have more time,” Lance offered as the other stood to admire his reflection. He turned back at the words, offering a small smile.
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
Lance couldn’t help but rake his eyes over the boy’s form, appreciating how the silky fabric hugged his fit build. That is, until they stop at his leather-gloved hands. Seriously, this guy.
“Nope, you are not wearing those to a royal party!” Lance pointed to the offending garment. Keith almost looked panicked at the suggestion of taking them off, which didn’t go unnoticed. He softened, “But if you want something covering your hands, there are gloves that go with this outfit. Give me a second.”
Lance raided his wardrobe, finding the gloves and sheer cape that completed the outfit. He watched Keith trade leather for red silk. They’re fingerless and go up to rest at his bicep, leaving only a sliver of skin visible. He stepped in front of Keith then, fastening the clasps of the cape on his shoulders, hands resting against his chest to smooth out the fabric there. They were so close Lance could feel Keith take a deep breath. He pretended not to know why his own breath stuttered.
“There you go. Now you look like a proper prince,” his voice dropped, almost a whisper.
“So do you.”
They held a strangely intense eye contact until Lance snapped out of whatever spell Keith put him under, pulling away.
“We should head to the control room. Everyone’s probably waiting for us.” He didn’t wait for Keith to respond, walking out the door and sensing the other following in silence.
They ignored the pointed looks in their direction when they joined the team as the ship landed on Xandia.