Author's Note 1: This can be seen as a companion story to "Which Princess?" But it can also be a stand-alone story.
In all honesty, it had escaped team Voltron's attention on how ignorant their fellow alien allies were to the human culture. But, to be fair, they themselves were pretty ignorant to the Galra and Altean customs. Yes, there was most certainly a lack of communication going on here, and attempts would have to be made to further understand each other. Perhaps a sit down was in order, where they could all open up and be honest.
But, on the other hand, they were all still adjusting to accepting Lotor as an 'ally.'
Lance had to figure that old habits die hard. They were all still a bit leary around the Galra prince. Sure, they had trashed Lotor's ship when they introduced one of his robot guards to 'fun,' and they might have destroyed a few ships in the process.
Oh, and let's not mention the whoopie cushion on the throne. Nope. Not going there. Lance's head still ached where Lotor had flung the scabbard of his sword at the unlucky Paladin. Thank God that the sword wasn't in there, however, he was pretty sure that Lotor had momentarily forgotten that little detail.
But just because they were on sorta friendly terms with the prince, which gave them the opportunities to get into some mischief on his ship, Lance and the others were still a bit wary of Lotor. The prince did keep a respectful distance from them, although, he did seem to be growing awfully close to the princess. Lance obviously voiced his opposition on that.
But, there was always this stiff professionalism between team Voltron and Lotor.
But that all changed with a simple movie night.
Lance hadn't even thought to invite the prince. In fact, it was just something between him, Pidge and Hunk. Keith had gotten pulled into the movie night when he came in from one of his missions. Shiro and Allura could not participate, opting to instead do some work instead and go over strategic battle plans.
Stick in the muds.
But Lance had been sitting in front of the movie screen, eyes glued to the moving picture playing out before him. Beside him, Keith watched with a blank expression, chin in his hand as he narrowed his eyes. Hunk was right next to Keith, clutching a pillow with anticipation. "This part gets me everytime," the Yellow Paladin whispered to Pidge who just snorted in response.
"Oh Anna," Prince Hans said, smirking at the princess. "If only there was someone out there who loved you."
Keith snorted. "Called it."
Lance yelped, turning to look at the former Red Paladin with a shocked, possibly wounded, expression. "You so totally did not! I was just as shocked as everyone else! I thought Hans loved Princess Anna!"
Keith frowned. "A dashing, handsome prince with smooth words comes in and enchants the princess, then asks for her hand in marriage after knowing her for less then a day? Tell me that doesn't sound suspicious."
"Sounds like our predicament with Lotor," Pidge stated as she chomped on her popcorn. "He and Allura have been getting pretty close."
Hunk frowned worriedly. "He is dashing, smooth talking, and everything else you could think of."
Lance snorted, hugging his knees to his chest defensively. "I wouldn't say everything."
"I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to secure a marriage with Allura before stealing everything she's worked to hard to build," Pidge said.
"Oh, that's exactly what I would do," a different voice said. "But I would approach the matter a bit differently."
Everyone, and by everyone, just Lance and Hunk, yelped as they all turned to see Lotor leaning against the doorway. His yellow galra eyes were glancing at the screen, frowning as he watched the snowman, Olaf, come flouncing into the room at the right moment to save Princess Anna in the movie.
Lotor cocked his head, interested. "Do you humans have these odd…'snowmen' on your planet?"
Hunk shrugged, momentarily forgetting Lotor's previous comment. "Yeah, but they don't talk like Olaf."
"You would take advantage of the princess?" Pidge demanded, rising from her seat with balled fists. Apparently, she had not forgotten, and Lance had to give her pointers for her boldness.
Lotor glanced back at them, as if remembering his earlier statement. "Oh. I was just making an observation on Prince Hans motives. If I wanted to secure a kingdom through marriage, I would first attempt to woo the princess's affections before presenting her with an impossible position in where she would have no choice but to accept my hand in marriage. However, seeing as she thinks my affections are genuine, she will have no true qualms about our match." He nodded to the screen. "Instead of revealing my true intent, I would have gone ahead and kissed the princess anyway. I am assuming that this 'Hans' character's plans unravel because of such a trivial mistake."
Hunk nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much what happens." He yelped when a pillow was thrown at his face by Lance.
"Don't spoil it for him!" Lance all but shrieked, leaping to his feet and towering over the Yellow Paladin.
Keith shrugged. "Kinda obvious for a Disney movie."
Lotor's frown deepened. "Disney?" he asked. "Is that a faction?"
Lance growled as he pulled out a load of CDs at his side. He shot a challenging look at Lotor. "Would his royal highness like to join us mere mortals for a movie night to better understand the Earthly ways?"
"The Princess did," Pidge offered, after seeing the blank look Lotor wore. Lance was unsure how he felt about having Lotor join them. Just his very presence made him a bit cautious. But, Lance was curious about the Galra prince, and he had to wonder just what this night would reveal.
However, having Lotor join the group seemed to put a damper on everything. Especially when Keith and the prince began to agree on certain topics.
"She would never walk around without her guards," Lotor scoffed. Unlike the rest of the team, who were sprawled on the floor or on the large couch, Lotor sat as he always did: with a calm, poised air. Lance couldn't help but think that Lotor never truly relaxed and slouched, even at a movie night. "If she was a princess, she would have a trope of surveillance for her protection."
"It's the Dark Ages," Lance growled, not bothering to explain to the confused prince what the 'Dark Ages' were. "There was no surveillance!"
"Still," Keith stated, earning him another growl from Lance. "She would have guards flanking her for protection." It seemed that Lotor and Keith had reached a mutual, unspoken agreement and truce over their share of disbelief on Disney movies.
That all ended when Lotor started questioning the classical Disney movies.
"Are all your earthly movies so unrealistic?" Lotor asked when they watched the disturbing scene from Pinocchio when the boys turned into donkeys.
This time, both Lance and Keith growled at him.
"That's it," Pidge announced when the credits rolled on the screen as Cinderella ended. "I get the next pick."
"I actually like Cinderella," Hunk stated. "She's my favorite princess."
"I like Sleeping Beauty," Lance said with a smirk. "She reminds me of Allura."
Keith snorted. "In what way? She reminds more of a Mulan for several reasons."
Lance stroked his chin before shaking his head. "Nah. That's more of Pidge's suit." He smirked when the Green Paladin shot him a glare as she got the movie ready.
"What about Hercules?" Lotor asked suddenly, surprising them all.
Keith blinked. "You...you see Allura as...Hercules?" The sudden image of the princess dressed in such an outfit with large muscles seemed oddly disturbing.
But Lotor shook his head. "No, not the princess. During that odd sixth movie-"
"You've been keeping count on how many movies we've watched so far?" Pidge demanded, surprised.
"I have to keep track on all things," Lotor said, unfazed. "But during that movie, something about that Hercules character reminded me of Shiro. Especially his singing voice."
"I will find my way," Shiro sang as he rode atop the Black Lion, sword out as his white, Greek outfit showed off his toned muscles. "I can go the distance! I'll be there someday. I would go most anywhere to feel like I belooooonnngggg!"
Lance shuddered at the very image, wiping at his eyes. "Dude," he muttered, causing Lotor to glance at him at the odd phrase. "You're totally right! Coran could be Phil!"
Pidge huffed as she started the movie. "Yeah right. If Shiro resembles Hercules, then I'm Venus."
Lotor shot her a quizzical look. "You do not resemble a planet in anyway," he stated.
Pidge huffed. "Um, no. Venus is the goddess of love in Roman mythology."
"Kind of like Freya from Norse mythology," Lance said with a smile. "Loki is my personal favorite of the Norse gods. Marvel destroyed me." He smirked. "In fact," he turned to look at Lotor. "You sort of remind me of Loki."
Hunk brightened up. "Oh yeah! He does!" He leaped from his seat on the couch and positioned himself behind Lotor. "Just picture it!"
"HELP HIM!" Hunk screamed as he staggered out of the elevator while carrying a disinterested Lotor over his shoulders. "My brother is dying! Please! HELP HIM!" With that last shout, Hunk launched the limp Lotor across the room and sending him crashing into the guards.
"See," Lotor groaned as he scrambled up. "Humiliating."
"How come you're Thor?" Lance demanded. "I want to be Thor!"
"My story," Hunk stated. He then smiled. "Oh! And my favorite part!"
"Your savior is here!" Lotor shouted as he descended from the ship in all his glory. "I am here to liberate you from all those that sought to crush you under their feet. Mainly Hella!"
Lotor blinked when the narration was done. "That does not resemble me at all. And how did the Yellow Paladin become my sibling?"
"It's for a dramatic story affect," Lance said simply, folding his arms.
"Although," Lotor said. "I did know a powerful woman named Hella a few centuries back." He hummed thoughtfully. "The people of that region called my Jokul Frosti for some odd reason."
Lance blinked, gaping. "Wait, Jokul Frosti is a Norse Deity! Are you saying that you're-"
"Shut up!" Pidge hissed as the lights dimmed, throwing her pillow at Lance. "It's starting!"
"Are we seriously not going to talk about the fact that Lotor might be a Norse deity-gloopmh!" Lance's words were cut off when Pidge nearly strangled him with the pillow.
Star Wars seemed more of Lotor's taste, considering that they were in space at the moment.
"What a fascinating weapon," Lotor murmured as he watched the lightsaber fight between Vader and Obi-Wan.
"Allura is Princess Leia," Keith said with a smirk.
Pidge groaned. "Are we seriously going to do this game again?"
Lotor turned his attention away from the movie to look at Pidge. "What game?"
Pidge adjusted her glasses. "Eh, it's stupid, really. We got into this dumb conversation where we were comparing the princess to other Disney princesses."
Lotor blinked before understanding crept across his features. "Ah, I see. So you pick the trait that best fits everyone in the room?" He glanced at Keith. "I would say your former Red Paladin would make an interesting Han Solo."
Lance sputtered. "What!?" he shrieked.
"Looks like you managed to cut off our only way of escape," Allura stated as blaster fire surrounded them from all angles.
"Maybe you'd like it back in your cell, your highness," Keith snapped as he returned fire at the stormtroopers.
"This is some rescue," Allura snapped back. "I'd figure you'd have a way of getting out."
"He's the brains, princess!" Keith retorted, shooting a glare at Lotor who was returning fire. Lotor shot Keith a dark glare at the insult and looked as if he was about to reply back. However, Lotor's attacks were halted when Allura stole his gun and shot at the wall near Han, er, Keith.
"What are you trying to do? Kill me?" Keith exclaimed. "Your aim is off!"
"Someone has to save our skins," Allura stated. "I'm going into the garbage chute where it is safe!" With that, the princess jumped in with all the grace anyone can have in the heat of battle.
Both Keith and Lotor stared at the princess before looking back at each other. "Woah," Lotor stated.
"You said it," Keith said, pushing his dark hair back in a dramatic fashion. "What a wonderful girl. Either I'm going to kill her, or I'm beginning to like her." He stopped firing his blaster to look upwards for a serene moment. "Huh, do you think a princess and a guy like me-?"
"Nope," Lotor answered simply as he jumped into the garbage chute.
"That's ridiculous, I should be Han! And how did Lotor get stuck with the part for Luke Skywalker?" Lance demanded. "Surely he's more like a Darth Vader. Or a Thrawn!"
"Thrawn is from the books," Pidge said with exasperation.
"Doesn't make him any less awesome!" Lance resorted.
"Besides," Pidge continued. "Lotor would make a great Luke Skywalker because of Zarkon being Darth Vader!"
"Is this really necessary?" Lotor asked Keith as he eyed the two bickering Paladins. "It all seems rather pointless."
Keith merely sighed. "Let them have it. Trying to stop them will only give you a headache."
"I've got it!" Lance shouted triumphantly, ending all conversation in the room with his dramatic outburst. "This is how I see it going."
"This piece of junk is not working!" Lance growled, kicking the walls of the ship. "But she'll hold together...if I can get the darn hyper space to function."
"Maybe you just need a new ship," Lotor stated casually as he reclined in the seats.
"Oh, pipe down you farm boy," Lance snapped. "Don't you need to engage in an intense laser sword fight with your father?"
Lotor cocked his head in confusion. "I thought we were rescuing the princess from that worm gangster?"
Lance blinked. "Oh yeah! She was in that really odd metal bikini, right?" He cracked his knuckles. "Well then. Let us go save her royal highness. Jousting with your tyrannical father will have to wait, along with your delusions of grandeur."
Lotor blinked. "Why would Allura be in a metal bikini?"
"Wait till we get to Return of the Jedi," Pidge muttered.
Lance groaned. "The whole trilogy?" he demanded. He brightened up. "Why not The Lord of the Rings?" He flexed his muscles. "I have to say, I think I'd make an amazing Legolas."
Pidge smirked. "And Lotor would make a great Thranduil."
"What?" Hunk exclaimed, outraged. "I would make a better Legolas then you!" He pointed an accusing finger at Lance.
The Blue Paladin gasped. "You? Never! I have the locks to pull it off!"
Keith scoffed. "What locks?"
"Why not let Lotor choose?" Pidge suggested.
Lotor blinked and looked away from the TV that he had previously been looking at. "Chose what?" he inquired.
"Your son!" Lance exclaimed, as if it were obvious.
Lotor, for the first time, looked startled. "But I don't have a son. And even if I did, why would I need to chose a son?"
Lance huffed, rolling his eyes. "No. For Legolas," he said. "The elven prince," he clarified when Lotor's expression became confused.
Lotor had the distinct feeling that he was going to get dragged into another one of those odd stories again.
Lotor flipped his long hair back as he surveyed the mountain before him where those stubborn dwarves resided in. Well, they would conquer the mountain soon enough, along with all the gold that was inside.
He straightened up. "Sons 1 and 2," he called out, his regal voice carrying throughout the air.
In response to his call, two men scampered forward, grappling with each other to get there first. "Yes father!" Hunk announced.
"Here papa," Lance said.
Lotor shot them both a steely glare. "You will address me with respect, Lego and Las."
Hunk nodded immediately while Lance snapped to attention. "Understood Pa-I mean...your lordship," Lance said quickly.
"Making us share the character was a smart idea," Hunk whispered to Lance when Lotor, now dressed in Thranduil's battle garb, had his back turned to them.
Lance nodded in agreement. "Although, I still have the golden locks of a true prince." With that, he flipped his blond whig, smacking Hunk in the face.
Lance nodded, satisfied. "So we are both Legolas. Makes sense."
"Can we stick with Disney movies?" Hunk whined. "I want to watch Aladdin."
Pidge frowned. "Huh, I was thinking we could watch a TV show instead to finish the night off."
"How long do these movie nights of yours usually last?" Lotor asked.
Lance smirked. "All night!"
"It's a human ritual," Keith sighed tiredly. His eyes looked glassy, like he was fighting to stay awake. He looked at Pidge. "What TV show do we have?"
Pidge held up the DVD cases. "The Walking Dead," she said simply.
Now everyone was wide awake and concerned, minus Lotor who did not seem to understand the reason for everyone's startled fright.
"No," Lance said. "I'll never go to bed after watching that! It's so addictive and scary!"
"Why would you pick something like that?" Keith demanded.
Pidge shrugged. "Because I need to catch up on the seasons," she said simply. She cocked her head. "You know Keith, you kind of remind me of Glenn Rhee."
Keith blinked owlishly. "What? No I don't!"
"The guy who gets bludgeoned to death in the show?" Lance asked thoughtfully. He began to stare at Keith with such intensity. "You know, I can see it."
"I do not look like Glenn Rhee!"
"Who is this 'Glenn Rhee' character?" Lotor questioned. "Is he a warrior?"
No one had noticed how Hunk had snuck over with his specific disk until the movie screen flickered back on. "Aladdin it is!" he exclaimed gleefully.
It did not take long for everyone to start bickering on who would fit which character in the movie. Lotor had decided in that moment that it was high time that he slip out and catch what little sleep he could get. He had not set out to further understand these humans, but he was now confused more than ever.
"Lotor could be the Genie!" Pidge exclaimed suddenly, catching his attention.
Lotor blinked, confused. "What?" he asked bluntly. Maybe the lack of sleep was getting to him, but he found himself curious.
Pidge nodded. "The Genie," she said, waving her arms around. "Picture it…"
"You ain't ever had a friend like me!" Lotor sang, jazz hands shaking in the air in front of a very confused, blinking Keith.
Keith looked down at the golden lamp in his hands before back up at the glowing Lotor who was grinning at him smugly. "So...you can grant me three wishes?" he asked.
"Within reason," Lotor said as he studied his nails with casual grace. "But yes, the world can be at your fingertips with just three wishes."
Keith rose up from his seated position, a gleam in his eye. "Very well," he said. "Then I want my revenge on that pesky vizar, Lance, who resides in the palace!"
"Hold it!" Lance exclaimed, glaring at Pidge. "Why did I get the role of Jafar?"
Pidge simply shrugged. "My story, my rules." She smirked. "My casting."
Lance growled. "Fine then. My turn…"
"Oh, I must marry my daughter off!" Hunk moaned as he slouched in his golden throne. He huffed, causing the blue feather attached to his tuffy hat to flutter a bit. "She's getting on in age and will be an old hag before long!"
"She's got time, your highness," Lance assured, twirling his awesome, golden snake staff. "She's only fourteen."
"Well," Pidge huffed, crossing her arms. The green two piece outfit that she was forced to wear was an absolute embarrassment, but at least she could wear her pants. "I don't want to just settle on any old guy! Can you really blame me for that?"
"I know what could solve your problems," Lance said with a simple shrug. "Marry me, and I will give you a separate palace all to yourself. I really just want the throne, not the chick."
Hunk nodded in agreement, perfectly content with the idea, before the rest of Lance's sentence caught up to him. He sat upright in alarm. "Wait, what-?"
BOOM!
"Prince Keef is here!" Lotor announced as he and an entourage of people came swooping in, a display of music and riches before them. Lotor sighed. "Now, I must sing and dance to further display my talented skills which reflect on my master."
Keith strode in, white cape billowing about him. He struck a pose. "Princess-gah!" Whatever Keith was about to say was cut off when he tripped over his cape and went sprawling down to the ground."
"Oh! Oh!" Hunk said eagerly. "Let me have a try, I have the perfect ending!"
Pidge huffed, hands on her hips as she stared at both Lance, the vizar, and Keith, the handsome street rat who was formerly known as 'Prince Keef'.
"Let me see," she mused. "You," she pointed at Lance. "Are a liar and someone who tried to hypnotize my father. Plus, you're too old."
"I'm only seventeen!" Lance protested.
"Not in the movie," Pidge asserted. She turned to Keith. "And you live on the street and have been lying to me since day one. What do you even have that's yours?"
"He lives on a roof," Lotor offered unhelpfully. "It's not really his roof, so no rent."
"Just make a decision," Hunk pleaded desperately, crawling towards his 'daughter' in a pathetic manner.
Pidge glanced at them all before turning and pointing. "You," she said to Lotor. "I choose you."
Lance sputtered, eyes nearly bulging out of his head. "What?"
"Why?" Keith demanded, equally shocked.
Pidge shrugged when she hooked arms with Lotor. "He's tall, he's good looking, and he's got a great singing voice."
"The voice of a canary," Lotor said with a smile. He stroked Pidge's cheek. "Wait until you see me dance, my little pidgeon."
"Gah!" Lance exclaimed, horrified. "You would chose him over one of us?" he demanded, aghast. To his horror, Pidge actually seemed to be considering it. She shrugged. "Well, he is a prince…" she trailed off as she glanced at Lotor who seemed oblivious to the attention he was getting from the young girl. He did, however, notice Pidge staring at him, and he offered her a simple smile.
Keith's, Hunk's, and Lance's horror only grew when Pidge actually blushed. "My bad," Hunk muttered when Keith glared at him.
"Next movie!" Lance shouted, scrambling for the remote.
The next movie, as it turned out, was Tangled. It was rather an enjoyable movie, though Lotor seemed disinterested.
Until the talks, once again, started up about the characters.
"I think I would make a great Flynn Rider," Lance said surely, chest puffed up with pride.
Keith huffed. "Hm, yeah, and this is how it would go…"
Lance heaved himself upward, gasping for breath as he pulled himself up and over the tower and into the window. "I made it!" he exclaimed. "Ha! I made it!" He leaped into the room straightening his blue vest. "Now, where is my princess-?"
"There you are," a voice snapped, and Lance let out a startled yelp as Lotor strode forward. "Did you bring any rope?"
Lance stuttered. "Rope? For what? And where is my princess?"
Lotor huffed. "No rope? Well, how else am I going to get out of here?" He paused as he rummaged through the drawers. "Oh, and your princess is over there. I knocked her out with a swift kick to the head."
"What?" Lance exclaimed in shock. He gasped when he saw Princess Allura passed out on the ground, her long, silver hair strewn around her. She seemed to be blissfully asleep, unaware to the chaos around her.
How convenient.
"Guess I'll have to use the princess's long hair," Lotor said with a tired sigh, already resigning himself to a long climb downward. As Lance continued to gape about like a fish, Lotor tied the hair around his waist before striding towards the window. "Gotta escape from Mother Mullet. Dealing with the crazy in-laws is not worth it."
Lance finally stopped gaping to stare at Lotor in confusion. "Mother Mullet?" He let out a startled squeak before a dark figure in red and black robes came storming down the stairs.
"You!" the figure shrieked, flinging their hood back to reveal Keith, yellow Galra eyes glowing. "How dare you perverts enter our home! Do you know how this story goes? With the prince blind, possibly dead!" A dagger appeared in his pale hand. "I prefer the later."
As Lance stood there shaking in his boots, Lotor smirked as he got ready to jump out the window. "She's all yours."
"You know what you are Keith?" Lance demanded with a scowl. "You're a jack-"
"Lance!" came Pidge's sharp retort, glaring at him with a warning stare.
"...Biblical donkey!" Lance finished with a firm, satisfied nod. He turned away with a huff while Keith just rolled his eyes, unimpressed.
"Maybe we should have Lotor pick the last movie for tonight," Hunk suggested thoughtfully. He was rather tired, but he was unwilling to have the night end just yet. He looked around in confusion, eyes narrowed. "Hey, where is Lotor?"
Lotor tiredly stumbled into the main computer room, running a hand over his face. While he was eager to get some sleep, he had some work to finish up. However, thoughts of the humans kept flickering over his mind. They were rather a confusing bunch, and a puzzle he could not put together. It was a fact he did not like at all. He liked to understand both his allies and his enemies. But these humans were making it rather difficult to do so.
"You're looking rather thoughtful," a soft voice said.
Lotor glanced upward to see Allura approach him. Unlike him, she seemed well rested and refreshed.
He nodded politely to her. "I have spent some quality time with your fellow Paladins," he stated.
She blinked, surprised. "Really?" she asked, and he could hear the pleased delight in her voice. "How did you find their company?"
The words 'confusing' and 'startling' came to mind, but he was unsure how she would take those responses. "I found their company to be rather...vibrant." Yes, 'vibrant' seemed to be the right word. "Princess," he said suddenly. "Are all humans so…" he seemed to struggle for the next right word. "Flamboyant?"
Author's Note 2: Yes Lotor, yes we are. *smirks*
Also, fun fact: Did you know that Josh Keaton, the guy who voices Shiro, also voiced Hercules in the Disney movie? Steven Yeun, the guy who voices Keith, also played Glenn Rhee in "The Walking Dead."
