A full white moon is out, bright glowing stars shoot across the skies and fireflies flutter about like citrine candies in the night air. He walks along a pebble pathway, down a flight of stairs and into a field of translucent coral colored grass-like flowers. The boy with an old brown pilot's jacket stares up towards the dark sea and tries to spot Earth among the billions and billions of dazzling lights. He gets lost and soon looks back at the flickering bugs and with a defeated sigh, he sits down on the soft ground. Head in hands, his thoughts begin to take him way back… to the sugar-cookie sandy beaches, the crashing whitecaps and the song of the gulls in the distance.

"Lance…?" A gentle, inquisitive voice calls from behind him. He knows who it is, yet it surprises him that she's here. Perhaps she too had wanted to enjoy the cool breeze and the planet's transcendental landscape of vibrant neon plains. It was indeed a marvel of wonders and held a certain enigmatic aura, that radiated out from every stone and running river. She sits down by his side, her legs pressed up against her chest and hands folded up on her knees.

"It truly is a unique place we have found ourselves in... it reminds me a lot of my own childhood dreams."

Her words pour out like nectar and he blushes at her tenderness. It's not the first time she's been sweet, and it wouldn't be the last. If only he hadn't been so god-damned coquettish all those other days, she might have shown this side of her, to him, much sooner and more often. He couldn't help it, though. His father, whom he admired greatly, had been a relentless ladies man and it influenced his personality at an early age.

Princess Allura was a remarkably strong young being of such titanic power and Cygnus poise. He often thought of her during his reverent daydreaming and scribbled his musings in a small notepad he kept hidden in his room. It wasn't an obsession, just a sincere fascination of the complex emotions she brought up in him that inspired the young paladin of water, in many ways.

"Hmm, I hear ya! It reminds me of a painting my mother did when my sister was in the hospital. She had fallen off a horse and broke her leg and to cheer her up, she spent three days working on a masterpiece. A lot of the colors she used, can be found all over this planet. Like in the blades of grass and the crystal rocks."

He chuckled at the 'not so long ago' incident and lost himself in a momentary wave of bliss. His family was the center of his whole world, and he deeply missed them. "You know… there's a lot of pain that I hide… and it's not always easy being the life of the team all the time. I wish that I could just release all this baggage and be like the rain again. Innocent, refreshing and cool."

His head sunk into his hands once again and looked over at Allura with a downhearted smile upon his face as crestfallen sapphire eyes gazed at her intensely. She was startled at his introspective behavior and watched him closely for a long while. His hair, a milky chestnut brown, reminded her of an Altean sweet that her father would often gift her during special celebrations. It was a little treasure she had loved eating and it transported her back to warm memories of the floating sangria-hued street lamps, carts carrying a cornucopia of lavish delicacies, and a bouquet of savory aromas filled the city. Music playing and crowds of people dancing, brought the festivities to full circle, and she remembers twisting and twirling around in laughter and childlike merriment.

A gust of wind blows and she snaps back to reality. Lance is still sitting beside her but his attention is now focused towards the huckleberry-blue horizon and she wonders just what it is, that's running through his head.

"Dance with me," She commands.

The words rushed out before she could even contemplate them. She stood up with an assertive huff and offered her hand out to the lanky young man. Heat flowed to her cheeks as she waited for his response. His eyes, wide as a deer caught in headlights, held such pure amazement, that he simply froze up before finally coming to his senses.

"A leisurely dance in clear shallow water… soft nature sounds and lots of tropical-like flowers around… seems awfully romantic to me, princess." He was back again, that Lance that she knew so well. She laughed as he grabbed her hand and pulled him up to his feet. He stood there, close to her, his clean scent filled her nose and she genuinely smiled at the wildly dashing earthling.

"You are so reliable, Lance… truly."

And that's all that was spoken. They drifted off into a loosely based Paso Doble style gyrate, nothing too fancy but Lance was an experienced dancer and lead the way with flare and spice. Back home he was a stunning black stallion, at least that's what his family would tell him, and if he was completely honest, he knew it was true. One way to a girl's heart, his mother had told him, could be through an expression of the physical form, and since he was a natural at it, he took full advantage of his skills and sought to woo her with his charms. And it seemed to work.

They whirled around through the glassy flowers and the buoyant firebugs, holding on tightly to each other as they dipped and dived like peacocks.

Her hair had come undone and Lance watched as it swirled around her like a cloud of mist and magic. He had never been in love before, despite his flirtatious ways, he had never experienced an intimate and meaningful connection with someone. But as he danced with her under the moonlight, spiraling around like fractals in space, he felt a spark ignite within him and he wondered if that seed of passion had started to sprout. He held her lower back with such an unknowingly loving touch, that Allura, for a fleeting second, felt her heart unraveling to his magnetic intentions. It was when Lance decided to place his hand a little too far south, on her round derriere, that her initial defenses arose and she flipped him down a petite rolling slope into a stream of transparent rosewood water. He laughed as he laid there soaking wet and called up to the princess with a silvery tone, "Oh my god Allura, I keep forgetting just how strong you are!" With that, he folded his arms behind his head and basked in the afterglow of having been in such close proximity to the girl of his fantasies.

His eyes were closed, but he was listening... to all the sounds of eternity! Lance could hear the faint footsteps of the hazel skinned girl, as she crept down the slight incline, to once again sit next to him.

"I didn't mean to toss you so far, but your actions provoked me subconsciously. I'm sorry, though you are a silly boy."

Allura looked down at the seemingly asleep paladin, and for the first time, truly gave him a thorough once over. From his outstretched legs to his flat chest and smooth skin, it was hypnotizing and she couldn't pull her focus away from him. She sighed and found that, as insufferable as he could be, he was more than just a flirty, obnoxious pilot but someone with a great deal of depth to his character, that she probably had only now just begun to scratch the surface of. She fluttered her eyes and studied his slightly agape mouth. He was so captivating, so tempting. When he'd managed to have this sort of hold over her, she'd never really know.

The Altean princess got up and moved closer, placing his head on her lap, so that she could run her fingers through his hair. Did she dare steal a kiss from him? An innocent, silky, delicate kiss? She closed her eyes and leaned in slowly, just barely did she touch his lips. Allura lingered for a little bit before tasting his peachy red harbor, and such a juicy flavor it was, like a burst of stars!

Lance was awake, he always had been. Though, not a movement did he make. Just a tiny grin upon his face and a modest rise in temperature but his eyes remained shut. His breathing was patterned and hearty. She can not help but gaze at all his angelic features.

"How handsome, my darling is... so paradisiacal and enchanting."

He trembled as her fingers sailed over his cheeks in figure 8s. She teased his nose and traced his jawline with a devotion he had never known before. He could feel her aura wrapping him up in a benevolent blanket of security, and he felt his own fire spread to his very core, shaking his world in ways he never imagined possible. When the heat was too much to bare, he opened his eyes and pierced right through her mysterious icy pools with a newfound energy.

"I'm your centenarian turtle out at sea, lost in the depths of the great abyss. Floating, floating, floating... in the cerulean currents of adventure and romance." He whispered, and she kissed him once again.

Author's Note: So there you have it, my first of many Lance/Allura fanfics to come. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. I spent a lot of time on the story and even though it's not perfect, I'm fairly proud of this one-shot regardless. Feel free to critique my work, as I know I could use some improvement.
Thank you! (;