A/N: This was supposed to be chapter one, but I think it works better as a stand alone prologue. I was planning on writing this story fully from Lance's POV, but please let me know if you would like to see a few parts from Keith/Shiro/Allura's POV instead, or even another character. I could try to swing it. I'm mostly doing this for practice, and also to indulge in my selfish ships, so feel free to throw suggestions and criticism my way!

Painless

"No. Not gonna do it. How would that even work? Oh wait, I don't care, because I'm not doing it." Lance heard Allura sigh over the phone as he rooted around his fridge for something to eat. He settled on an apple and regretted his decision as soon as he bit into it, wincing at the cold. "Aaaah ahhaaa."

"Lance, listen to me. Shiro and I have been talking this over and we think it would be very good for both of you. Not just for your careers, but for you." She paused for a moment, probably expecting Lance to respond. Instead, however, all she got were his pained whimpers as he tried to figure out why the hell he even kept apples in the fridge in the first place. They were bowl fruit. You keep them in a bowl. Out of the fridge. On display. To make people believe that you eat healthy. Lance glared over at his dining table, where he would keep his bowl of fruit if it weren't for the fact that it was covered in miscellaneous papers, notebooks, and folders full of more papers and random pages of sheet music.

"Allura, listen to me. How the hell would a top of the charts pop-star and the lead singer of some dirty garage band even manage to collaborate? We both have entirely different styles." He could hear Allura sigh through the phone. She was getting annoyed with him. That either meant that she was going to give in soon, or he was going to be forced to do something that he didn't want to because she 'is not in the mood to put up with your drama today Lance.' "Besides, that guy's band split up. He doesn't have a career anymore." And from what Lance heard, it was his fault that everyone left. He sounded like a pain in the ass to work with when you all had a common interest, forcing Lance to work with him would surely result in death and destruction.

"The Paladins just broke up hardly a week ago! He still has a considerable fanbase to work with, and besides, the differences in your styles is exactly why we want you two to partner up. Endless possibilities for experimentation and growth. The good outweighs the bad, no matter what you think." Lance groaned and wandered into the living room so that he could flop down in a chair as he continued to pensively eat his apple. "It's just one song Lance. You've recorded singles in less than a week before and they were hits! You'll barely have to deal with him." She did have a point. Although those songs were purely just because he had been lucky enough to get a phrase or a series of notes and chords stuck in his head. It wasn't like he could get this project done in a week. Not with all the challenges he was facing. "Come on, Lance. The fans would love it."

Lance sighed dramatically and sprawled out on the chair he was sitting in, throwing the hand that was holding his apple over his forehead. He was going to regret this. "If I say I'll do it, will you stop calling me every three seconds on my day off?"

"No."

Lance snorted. "Of course not. I'll talk to you later Allura. If you guys can convince him to get on board with this we'll have to work out some kind of schedule, I guess." Allura clapped excitedly as Lance reflected on the horrible decision he had just made.

"You won't regret this, Lance. I'll call you later." With that she hung up, no doubt to tell Shiro that one half of their little experiment was ready to go. He was so going to regret this.