Hey guys. This is my fic I made for loudlydistinguishedhologram on Tumblr. This takes place after season 2 and will obviously contain spoilers. I hope you enjoy this.
The large ballroom was dim, only the light of the stars and space above the clear dome lighting the room. Music blasted from speakers from the DJ booth at the front of the room, drowning out every conversation being had by faceless and nameless ball goers. Aliens, who wore fine dresses or suits, chattered about or danced together in pairs in the centre, twirling to the beat of the song. Hunk danced with Shay while Allura continued talking with the countries queen along side Coran.
"Ugh," Lance, who wore a suit with a blue shirt under it, groaned. "There's nothing to do here other than to stand around talking."
"I thought you'd enjoy this more," Pidge, who was dressed in a black suit with a green under shirt, said, taking a sip of her punch. "Flirt with the guests or something."
"Believe me I tried..."
"Flirted and got turned down?"
"Nope."
"Whatever you say..." Pidge trailed off with a shit eating grin which he knew translated out to 'I'm gonna try to find out later'. Lance wasn't really all that concerned. Nothing much happened, anyways. He just tried to flirt with a gaggle of women, who just giggled and walked off, really.
"Hunk seems to be having a good time, at least."
"I'd say..." Lance said.
Lance cupped a hand around his mouth.
"Hey Hunk!" Lance hollered.
Hunk cocked his head towards the Blue Paladin, causing him to crash into a table and falling on the ground. Lance mouthed a quick, "Sorry" as his cheeks heated up. Hunk shot him a thumbs up as Shay giggled, helping him up.
"You probably shouldn't distract him, now," Pidge said, laughing.
"Yeah..." Lance said, rubbing his arm. "Good point."
Blue eyes darted around the room.
"Where's Keith, anyhow?"
"He said he wanted to talk with the King of Amazonia along side Allura last time I checked," Pidge said, stifling her laughter. She took another sip of her punch. "Not sure where he is now."
A slow melody filled the air as people slowly paired off into couple, twirling around the dance floor.
"And there's my cue to go to the snack bar," Pidge said. "Talk to ya later, Lance."
"Yeah, you too," Lance said as she walked off towards a long table lined with food at one of the far edges of the room.
His foot tapped. Great. All alone. Again.
Putting his hands in his suit pockets, Lance pushed his way through the crowd, eyes darting about. Come on; come on! Where are Coran, Allura or Keith! At least then he would have someone to talk to and not stand around like a complete dumbass.
Blue eyes landed in the corner as he walked by. Keith, who was dressed in a black suit with a red shirt under it, stood in the corner. His black hair was slicked back, instead of being its usual unkempt mess. A warm smile tugged on his lips, secretly thankful the dark lights probably hid the blush on his cheeks. As much as he hated to admit it, Keith did dress-up nicely.
Shoving that thought aside and snapping out of his trance, Lance yelled, "Hey, Mullet!"
Head snapped up as Lance walked up to him.
"Wanna dance?"
"Um..." Keith said, blinking and shifting away from him.
"What's the problem?" Lance said, walking up to him. "If you have to business or something, than-"
"No. It's not that," Keith said, arms crossed. "I just don't want to dance right now."
A blink. "Really?"
"I rather not."
"I get it," Lance said, smirk slowly crawling onto his features. "You don't know how to dance?"
"No," Keith said, bristled. "I just said I prefer not to."
"I think someone is in denial," Lance said in a sing-song voice with a simper on his lips.
"No, I'm not!"
Lance raised a brow at this, lips pursed.
"Alright, fine!" Keith gave in, slumping over and prying purple eyes away. "I don't know how to dance. There, happy?" Keith said, voice hardened.
"I can teach you if you want," Lance offered. "My family and I used to dance a lot back at home."
For a moment, Lance's face dropped.
Home. His older sister and ma.
Lance shoved that thought of his mind, forcing a smile onto his features. He didn't want to think about that...at least for tonight.
"The answer is still no," Keith said, straightening up and shooting him a deadpan look.
"Keith, your the Black Paladin now. I wasn't kidding when I said not enjoying yourself here would make you and us look bad."
Keith sighed. As much as Keith hated to admit it, Lance had a point. He was the leader of the team for now and had to set an example otherwise who knows how the aliens on this planet might react. As much as a part of him wanted to go back on the ship...
"Fine, I'll do it."
"Great."
Lance grabbed his hand, putting a hand on his shoulder blade before putting his free hand on his shoulder blade too. The two swayed to the music, moving completely out of touch with each other. Keith pushed the them forward as Lance tried to take the lead. A foot stomped on him, making Lance wince. And then another foot crashed on his, making him curse.
As Lance twirled them around, Keith's back smashed into an alien woman, who was dancing with her girlfriend.
"Watch it," the person growled, shooting Keith a glare. Keith leered, leaning forward.
Lance awkwardly laughed at the sight as he swayed Keith out of there before he had the chance to pounce on the guy.
"Having trouble, Mullet?" Lance mused with a smug grin on his face.
Cheeks gained a hint of red to them. "Shut up!"
"Flow with the music more."
Brows scrunched together in confusion. "That's super vague."
"Try to move to at the same time as me. You're being to impulse and stiff."
"Jeez. Thanks," Keith said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Okay...that came out wrong. The point of dancing is loosening up and having fun. Slow down and move to the beat of the song."
A nod. That made a bit more sense.
Shiro's advice ran through his mind. 'Patience yields focus.'
If he was going to do this, Keith had to calm down. This was a challenge. He couldn't fail.
Keith focused his mind on the rhythm of the song, moving at the same time as Lance. Purple eyes got lost in blue. They spun and moved at the same time. No toes were step on; no one crashing into some hapless alien (with his luck, probably starting a war). It was as if he and Keith really were moving as one. As if he fit perfectly in Lance's arms, hands linked together, while they glided gently across the dance floor.
The slow medley slowly faded away, replaced by a much faster paced song.
"See told ya," Lance said, smiling as the two let go of each other.
"Uh...thanks," Keith stumbled. "You did good."
A grin slowly tugged on both of their lips.