1. Under the Mistletoe

Lance McClain sighed unhappily as he unsuccessfully thought of a way to ask out Allura before Christmas. Every idea so far had gone down the drain. He paced back and forth, nervously eyeing the clock on his dorm room wall at the Galaxy Garrison.

It was only a couple of days before students were required to leave campus for the holidays, and Lance was panicking as much as Keith did when he was forced to socialize. Two days meant less than forty eight hours! So if ya boi wasn't gonna do this now, it was never gonna happen. Sure, he was smooth and charming as it is, but Allura was a perfect girl. And when asking out the perfect girl, the way of asking her out had to be perfect too.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the nineteen year old Cuban boy still had no ideas. His mind was absolutely blank. What would Allura like? Something classy, but not too classy. Maybe a letter? Then I won't mess up. Or maybe I could send her a text. Ugh, all of these ideas sucked. Groaning with frustration, Lance flopped onto his unmade bed, burying his face in his ocean of fuzzy Christmas blankets.

"Maybe Hunk knows more on this stuff than I do…"

He thought aloud. He grabbed his phone from the desk, and fingers flying over the screen, he sent his roomate a quick text.

Lance: Hey

Lance: i still have NO good ideas on how to ask Allura out :( kill me now

Hunk: still? That sucks. Im over at Pidges with Keith helping them decorate

Hunk: Alluras not here, you should come join us maybe we can help

Lance: b right over

Lance grinned and hopped off of his bed. He grabbed his keys before locking his dorm and dashing down the hall. The aroma of freshly baked Christmas cookies wafted through the air, and at this time of year there was always a different feel about the Garrison. Everyone seemed to be in a festive mood. Lance glanced at a happy couple holding hands, and he felt loneliness tugging at the back of his skull, like he wouldn't feel that way this year.

Once at Pidge's dorm, Lance knocked and Hunk opened the door. He grinned and let him inside.

"Hey, man! We're almost finished decorating. You can help us wrap gifts,"

Pidge and Allura's normally organized room looked like a tornado of wrapping paper, tinsel, and ornaments had passed through it.

"Come on, just put it on! Everyone's doing it. Oh- hi Lance!" Pidge's boyish voice chortled as she forced a Santa hat upon Keith's dark mullet.

"Noooo. Stop. I am not going to wear this." Keith groaned, while laughing. He nodded at Lance(meaning hello, I am pleased to see you, in Keith language).

"Fine. Be that way." Pidge sneered, sticking her tongue out. She wore an oversized green Christmas sweater that seemed to swallow her whole.

"Where's Shiro?" Lance wondered.

"On a date with Adam," Keith replied.

Lance crossed the room, kicking pieces of tissue paper out of the way. He cleared a spot on the floor and sat cross legged. He gazed out the window, where snow was softly beginning to fall in small clumps.

Pidge sat on her bed, wrapping a book in brightly colored paper adorned in candy cane designs, while Keith scrolled through his phone. Hunk waded through the jumble on the floor and offered Lance a Christmas cookie.

"Thanks…" The brunette mumbled, nibbling at it halfheartedly.

Keith smirked and glanced up from his phone.

"I take it it's not going well with Allura?"

"Yeah. You always like my cooking," Hunk whined.

Lance snorted. "Except when you made those nasty ass cookies using that goo you found in the castle. You made us all try them, and we nearly broke our teeth."

"Anyway," Pidge intruded, before Lance and Hunk would get in a full blown argument, "You still have no ideas on how to ask out Allura?"

Lance's shoulders dropped.

"Ugh… yeah, and I'm running out of time. What should I do?" He asked desperately.

"Lance. Lance. Girls don't like it if you try way too hard to impress them. Allura will like you for who you are, I promise. It doesn't matter it it's super fancy or simple."

Hunk grinned. "Yeah, just be yourself."

Lance nodded and stood up. "You guys are right. Time is running out, and I need to make my move now. Thanks for the help, guys. Where is she?"

"Getting some last minute studying in, I think she's in the library." Hunk said.

Lance was about to rush out the door, when Keith stopped him.

"Wear this," He said from behind, as Lance felt a hat being put on his head. It was the Santa hat Keith had refused to wear.

"Fine," Lance grinned.

"Be festive. Now go out there and do your thing."

Lance raced through the halls of the Garrison, everything surrounding him a blur. And lacking a plan, he prepared to approach Allura with his declaration of love. But this time he felt confident. It would go right.

He entered the library, heart racing, and looked around. Only a few students lounged around on laptops or talking quietly, otherwise the area was pretty empty. Then Lance spotted her. A waterfall of long white hair streaming down the back of her red jacket made Allura easy to spot, right as she was exiting the other side of library that led into the courtyard.

The blue Paladin dashed through the room, collecting several stares, but he didn't care. Once outside, the cold winter air hit Lance's face and his breath appeared in front of him in white tendrils. Snow was falling quite heavily now, and everything was covered in a light blanket of snow.

"Allura!" His voice penetrated the still quiet as the Altean turned to face him. They stood, facing each other.

"Lance? How nice to see you. What's going on?" She said.

"Allura, I-" He started, but his voice caught in his throat. Now that he was actually doing this, he realized how hard it was. Just say it. Say it.

She was beautiful; her dark skin contrasting her white hair which framed her slender face and delicate features. A blue scarf was wrapped around her neck.

"Allura, there's something I've been wanting to ask you for a really long time now, but I couldn't think of the right way to ask. But now I'm just going to say it. Will you go out with me?"

Dammit, I done messed up. She's going to say no, I know it. Lance felt the Santa hat tickling his ear, and he suddenly felt stupid wearing it.

"Lance, of course I will. I was wondering when you were going to ask." She smiled, and Lance felt happiness fill his entire body from the bottom to top.

"Really?"

"Yes, really." She paused, and pointed to his hat. "Isn't it an Earthen tradition for two people to kiss when under a mistletoe plant?"

Lance swallowed. "Uh, yeah. Where is it?"

Allura laughed. "Hanging from your hat."

Pidge, Keith, and Hunk! This had been their doing.

"So…I guess we should…"

Before Lance could finish his sentence, Allura moved in and they kissed. Although Lance had kissed many girls before, this was different. He had waited a long time for this moment, and now it was really happening. A curtain of falling snow surrounded them, and Lance wished that this moment could last forever.