The Prince and the Pirate

by kendraleaanne

Sea Captain with a past meets Prince confined to his future in a fun, fluffy klance fic that stemmed from a random dialogue prompt. Lance, Pidge and Hunk are crew to the marvel that is Blue, Lance's ship. While following his own leads alone, Keith ends up a damsel in need of rescue which Lance is more than happy to lend a helping hand.

1. Chapter 1: The Prince and the Pirate

~So this is my first contribution the Voltron fandom and I hope y'all like it. Mostly fluffy dribble I wrote to satisfy my own thirst for more klance that I hope y'all like! ~

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"You make a pretty terrible captain." Keith's tone was bored, borderline antagonistic as he watched the smooth surface of the alien lilac oceans of Mizga swirl aimlessly from where he leaned over the side of the boat on his elbows, solidifying his urge to get the hell off this planet and away from this insane ship.

"At least I have a ship. You're a prince and haven't got a square foot of land to rule." The captain that saved him retorted smugly as the Altean features of his face twisted to show his outward lack of faith in Keith's proclamation of royalty.

The response was immediate and heated as he turned to face even further away from the deeply tanned, deeply irritating man, "For the last time, I do have land to rule! A whole planet! It's not my fault you don't keep up with intergalactic affairs."

Leaning against the wheel of his ship on his elbow lazily, Lance's head tilted curiously to take his newest stowaway in, the heavy gold of his earrings tugging at his lobe just lightly as the ship rocked a few meters over the surface of the water. The sea captain had been on his way off the planet when Space Prince hurdled into the water unconscious after a very high-key explosion sounded through the thick atmosphere that blanketed the whole planet.

You wouldn't guess it from his whole entire demeanor but without Lance's split-second decision and impressive swimming skills, Keith would have been lost to the strange behaving water. Mizga's seas were safe as long as you stayed above the surface of the water but the instant the surface tension was broken, the lilac water pulled anything and everything below in random whirlpools that set off a chain reaction of connecting pools across the entire planet with swirling death whirls.

"What's the name of your planet, Mullet Prince? I do a good bit of travelling in my line of work and I might have heard of it." He was trying to keep from laughing outright at the culmination of emotions being displayed on his damsel's face. Thick brows furrowed deeply, lip twitching in flashes of a sneer every now and then and even the way his shoulders were trying to curve even further as he crossed his arms over his chest. Lance knew he was Galra and he had no real doubts that this ball of tense respect was a royal which meant he only had about hundreds of planets to choose to rule over. He just liked riling the handsome man up.

Keith could hear the mocking in his voice and resisted the urge to throw himself back into the water and away from this ship. He had only been traveling with the captain for a few hours but the carefree, devil-may-care attitude of the younger man was grating on his nerves. He was pretty sure underneath all the lame jokes and bad pick-up lines held an equally as pointless and idiotic personality he just didn't want to be in the proximity off. You are only as powerful as the people you surround yourself with, that's what their father always said and this boy was not powerful. Cute but not powerful. Of course Shiro beat into his head that 'patience yields focus' but right now? He severely lacked both. Half of him fought the urge to stay quiet and not let this strange person know where he lived but unfortunately, the route his brain took was a much more aggressive and abrasive one. "What makes you think you've been there? You didn't have any idea who I was until your man in the crow's nest pointed out that I was Galran and I told you who I was." What Keith couldn't understand was why an Altean was all the way on Mizga and not in Altea. Their species as a whole had a tendency to keep to themselves which only made the still budding relations between their people even more challenging.

Maybe that's where all his irritation was stemming from. Misplaced anger.

Keith watched as Lance narrowed his eyes and grew haughty, flicking an errant brunette curl from his face as he spoke, "You think I'm the one who needs to-"

Just as quickly as the heat came, it abandoned the swirling blue of his irises in favor of a flirtatious, almost bubbly grin. The prince would never admit this out loud but his smile was downright beautiful. He had to shake his head from the thought, sending his long braid whipping behind him before the eccentric captain's voice sounded again.

"Don't worry your pretty Galra head, Prince Keith, we are on course to leave the planet and you'll be back to your duties before you know it." The carefree look on his face and near flippant tone only spurred the royals aggravation more as he crossed his arms over his broad chest. Unfortunately for him, when he turned his head away from the handsome pirate to hide his rapidly heating cheeks, Lance had already crossed the deck and very easily entered his personal space, the reflection of the purple water glinting off his eyes and making his altean marks glimmer just enough to catch his attention and draw his gaze into Lance's eyes.

Then again, maybe his annoyance was just from Lance after all.

Keith was pretty sure he was having a heart attack thanks to this gorgeous Altean pirate so in favor of not turning into a tomato at the sudden proximity, as in so close Keith was mildly horrified hoping the thing poking his hip was the captain's sword hilt and then doubly horrified with his own thoughts as disappointment started to set in when he realized it was actually his sword, he shoved passed the seafarer enough their shoulders connected in a casual brush, to find somewhere quiet and peaceful and away from Lance so he could put his resolve back together.

On the other hand, Lance was beyond psyched to see the little Galra prince ruffled enough to not only blush redder than the red fires of Arcturus but actually flee from him. With his hand confidently on his hip, he watched to see where Keith would go, giving him silent commendation for heading toward the galley, before heading back to navigation panel and calling Pidge down from the Nest. While he was a huge fan of messing with random pickups, he had a ship to captain and a job to finish.

It took his navigator and resident tech guru all but three seconds to grapple down to where he was, the hook of her gun barely skimming over the top his head of curly brunette hair before the heels of her boots connected with his chest and sent him flying backwards against the hip high wall behind them, Pidge landing in a graceful perfect crouch just in front of where he landed on his ass in a heap.

Rubbing the pain from the back of his head where it connected to the rail, he leaned forward on his knees and spoke with laughter in his voice, "I think that's a new record for you. Landing could use a little work though."

Her response was near as instant as her hook returning to the custom pistol in her hand. Pushing her glasses up casually as she fiddled with the release, "I've put you on your ass harder than that before. Or have you gone soft already, lover boy?" Her brow raised as if to emphasize her little jab at his admittedly flirtatious personality towards royalty of all people.

Rolling his eyes with that ever present smile on his face, he made his way back to the map, giving his navigator's shoulder a friendly squeeze before putting his hand to his chin in thought. The other of his hands was idly playing with one of the many baubles hanging from his pointed ears as his voice grew measured and more serious, "We'll be arriving to port before the second moon flashes. The real problem will be getting our ship off planet without them boarding to search us."

With a bored tone and borderline belligerent self-satisfaction, the smallest of his crew offered a solution to their problem. "Say, isn't Mizga under Galran protection? Wouldn't the prince of the whole Galra Empire be able to get us off this planet?"

Unperturbed by her sarcasm, Lance put the flats of his hands on either side of their holomap and spoke with a casual nature that made Pidge believe she could totally leave him to his thinking and get to mess with the new tech they just picked up from the rebels on this planet without her captain even knowing. Win-win for both. "No good. Few ports have actual Galra stationed there and even fewer of those actually listen to them. Mizga was one of the few planets left after the war that wanted completely left alone and they could manage it. They're a totally self-sufficient society but thanks to the furry idiots in charge of the Galra, everything save the alliance with Altea is falling to the wayside and they are damaging other relationships because of that blatant favoring. The only reason the Mizgardians haven't done anything more serious is a lack of military strength to back them up."

Pidge started slowly backing away from the captain as quietly as she could, emanating her favorite tip-toeing detective team as Lance continued his musings to himself.

"They could try an embargo. Cut off all exportation and close the ports but even Mizgardians aren't dumb enough to piss off the rest of their trade partners…"

She was almost to the point where she had a free shot straight back to her Nest when the Altean's back straightened abruptly, exclaiming, "Hah! That'll work perfectly," and grabbing his feathery captains hat and deep blue jacket to rush off to find Hunk, completely forgetting he even started the conversation with Pidge.

Pidge just shook her head with a light chuckle falling from her lips before aiming the other of her grappling guns and pulling herself across the deck up to her best in one swift motion. She couldn't help but grimace at Lance's confident words. Lance's plans had this insane way of working while not actually working at all. By that she meant, Lance was a mad genius that came up with batshit crazy plans that never worked the way they were supposed to while somehow managing to work out perfectly. The more confident he is, the more unexpected the twists are which was part of the reason why she and Hunk, and the rest of their crew, followed him. He was the embodiment of adventure with an amazing set of morals. A pirate set of morals mind you, but a set nonetheless. If he didn't, the prince would have drowned in the lilac water and most of their crew would have much worse fates.

Regardless, she was ready to back up her batshit captain in any way she could.

XxXxXxX

The plan to get the not so legal tech off the planet was simple initially; get the goods, get the ship, get off Mizga but when Lance broke the surface tension of the water, it sent the rest of the planets lilac ocean into a mass of swirling death which messed with the hydropower grids which meant the port would have sent guards to keep the peace until they could get power back to situation normal. The guards were easy to trick but the power grid being unstable meant the rest of his ship is still docked up and anchored in unless they can figure out a way to get the fluctuating power steady enough to release the boot from his ship. Without the rest of his ship, they couldn't leave the atmosphere. Minnie had her benefits but the open deck style of her meant no space travel and they needed space travel capabilities right now.

He was slipping on the silk-lined captains jacket lost to his own thoughts as he turned the corner to talk to his engineer. Without caring to see if anyone else was present, Lance started speaking in a rush of animated information spilling, arms flailing along with his words, "Hunk! My buddy! My pal! I've got a problem only you can fix. Well you and Pidge. Probably. Anyway, thanks to my perfectly executed rescue dive we've got to figure out some way to power the clamps stuck on the rest of Blue so we can leave." He paused his almost frantic pacing to shoot the Balmera a cheeky wink to accompany his duel finger guns before continuing, "That's where you come in. Or Pidge," he added with a shrug before turning his bright eyes to Hunk expectantly. "What do ya say? Think you can get us off Mizga?"

Keith had only wandered around the ship for thirty seconds before Hunk beckoned for him to come into the galley to try a pinkish-yellow goo that looked far less appetizing than anything he'd ever seen in his life. He outright refused to be a test subject but Hunk didn't seem to mind much as the two fell into a surprisingly easy conversation about the Balmera when Lance burst into the galley with tunnel vision so intense he didn't recognize Keith's presence in any way shape or form.

Before the prince could say something about not being able to leave the planet or the fact that Lance was entrusting the task of getting them off planet to the cook, Hunk's immense hand went to his chin in thought. "Well, I'm going to have to talk to Pidge so you can try to convince her to leave the Nest and help. I'm not using those hooks and I'm not being hauled up there like some barrel of nunvill again. It was embarrassing and uncomfortable." The easy way he spoke without putting any real fire in his words, as if he was just stating a fact and not making a demand, quirked the Galran prince's brow curiously to see how Lance's flair for the dramatic would counter that no nonsense statement.

Keith watched the handsome Altean physically deflate and pout. Like a child. It got him wondering just how this outrageously young and reckless man came to be a captain of any ship at all, let alone one like this one in the first place. He spent all his spare time flying but he'd never seen anything like Lance's vessel and it irked him to think he stole it. They were pirates though so maybe it would best to not bring it up.

Lance crossed his arms over his chest and sulked comically while dressed in his impressive and intimidating captain's regalia. "You know she doesn't listen to me and last time I tried to force her down, she changed all my lotions around and it took me movements to figure out which was which. Movements, Hunk! Movements!"

The towering Balmera wasn't moved by his captain's pleas in the slightest as his eyelids drooped to dangerously apathetic levels. "I'm not going up there."

"Ugh, you know I'm going to have to give her something for this, right?" He had pushed the folded brim of his hat up to rub his temples to try and ease the rapidly growing migraine beneath them. It couldn't be helped; any time he had to bargain with the goblin, she always got the better deal and he always ended up hurt. Emotionally, physically, mentally; one or more always applied.

Hunk's tone grew more and more teasing until he hit the end of his retort. The end of his reply was distinctly deadpanned for maximum effect. "You know, I'm more than happy to stay on Mizga. The food is good, the ocean is usually peaceful and I don't have to be lifted into a confined space with a pulley system made to move cargo."

The clearing of a throat caught Lance's attention and only after did he realize for the first time since arriving that Keith was also there which was what he wanted to avoid. What he wanted was to impress the grumpy, handsome Galra by getting him back home without a hitch and that's hard to do when they couldn't get off the planet and most definitely had a hitch.

Ignoring the utterly amused look on his first-mate's face, Lance tried to rein in his mini tantrum only to be cut off by Keith's distinctly serious voice that somehow came across as condescending and also angry all the time. "Are you saying that I'm stuck here and you don't have a way to get me home?"

Rubbing the back of his neck nervously, the Altean explained the situation as best he could to contain the already raging fires of the prince. "We are stuck here only temporarily. I just need my wonderful crewmates to do their genius thing and make a gizmo to channel the unstable power into the port's anchor system to release the rest of my ship and then we are on our way. No biggie."

The incredulous and again, angry look didn't waver from Keith's face and it made Lance's stomach flip from his own nervousness. He tried again to reassure their unwilling stowaway with a shaky but confident smile, "So I'm just going to get the devilspawn and those two can explain." He bolted from the room and cursed himself for voluntarily running toward Pidge and for fleeing away from Keith.

The moment the tails of his jacket flapped through the door of the galley, Keith's face dropped into disbelief and Hunk burst into loud, rolling belly laughs because Hunk knew what fleeing in panic looked like and it looked especially good from Lance.

When he finally managed to get his humor under control, the towering Balmeran picked up his bowl of goo and nodded his head towards the door the Altean just escaped through as he made his way around the counters. "C'mon, Prince Galra, we've got a show to watch."

Keith's sharp brow rose inquizically as he asked, "A show?", only get no reply from the humming behemoth.

He followed the cheerful Balmeran reluctantly. Keith was starting to get the impression that getting saved by this crew was only putting off the inevitable. He wasn't going to leave Mizga and even if he did, Mizga is a long jump from the fleet. His hand ran through the sea breeze loosened black hair framing his face as he tried not to think about just how angry his brother was going to be when he realized he was missing.

When the pair made it back out to the main deck, even Keith had trouble keeping from laughing at the scene before them. Lance was using his hat to bat away tiny projectiles being launched from the Crow's Nest at the highest peak of the ship. They sounded like they were really packing a punch as they bounced and ricocheted off anything and everything in their way.

Though he was very clearly annoyed with the situation, the captain's tone stayed bubbly and bright as he yelled up towards Pidge, "You know Hunk doesn't like it up there and I need you both to work together or we can't leave and if we can't leave, we don't get paid which means you don't get paid either. I know you've been eyeing that alloy from Antikythera and I know it's not cheap-"

The whole time he was trying to speak, he was dodging tiny metal-like balls before one managed to slip past his defenses and hit him in the center of his forehead which earned enthused cheers from the Nest and half a yelp from the captain as he fell backwards on his ass for the second time thanks to Pidge.

Her victory was short-lived as Keith watched Lance's marks start to glow faintly beneath sharp determined eyes. It was barely ten seconds before howling laughter was heard and Lance's smirk widened, growing more and more attractive as it did.

"You filthy cheat!" Pidge's voice was tight due to Lance's magic and the tickling sensation he was sending through her body just under the skin of her sides where he knew she hated it the most. "All right! I'll come down! Just stop, you asshole wizard!"

Watching as Lance flipped his hat back on his head and his marks faded back to normal, Keith expected him to be arrogant like he was before at the victory but was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. Lance was actually just grateful he didn't have to sell his soul or give up his first born and no one got hurt save the slingshot hit to his face so all in all, this was a massive win for him and he had no reason to be anything but grateful to have the family he managed to rustle together no matter their occasional dysfunction. Especially when he would be the epitome of lost without them. "Where would I be without your mad scientist brain?"

Grumbling could be heard from where Pidge had fallen in a heap from the sensory attack. She managed to use her hook and lower herself to the deck with familiar child-like pout on her face. She made an immediate beeline for Hunk as she answered her captain's totally rhetorical question, "Without a doubt, you'd be dead, Cap. We should have everything handled on our end before we get to port but if not, you'll have to stall someway that doesn't draw attention. You're so good at that."

Her tone was all bright supportive crewmate but Lance knew it was a dig somehow. Even so, he didn't let it get to him as he started crossing to deck to where Keith was standing with a silent edgy attitude that both irritated and encaptured him. "Leave it to me and the prince, Pidgey." Lance's confidence was near blinding as he made his way next to the sassy Galra to sling his arm around his shoulders and squeeze them together in a tight side hug, "Isn't that right, buddy?"

His words barely registered as he gave a slow nod of his head. He couldn't think straight with the way all of the Altean's attention and apparent charisma were aimed directly at him in that moment and boy, was he struck by it all the way down to his core. Being a prince never gave him any mind into pursuing relationships and it had made his desire to have one diminish to nothing. He would be set up in a political marriage that benefitted his people as well as improving the Galra society as a whole and that would be that. He would have a son and that would be his responsibility filled. But now? Now he had rumblings in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't place and his chest constricted the moment Lance's beaming smile split his lips and aimed right at him. His lips. Unconsciously, his gaze dropped from the enchanting Altean eyes to watch Lance's tongue dart out and wet his shapely top lip from the dry, acidic air, the insignificant motion pulling Keith's face unconsciously closer.

"Uh...Keith? You okay? You look a little...well, not sick but…" An amused kind of concern took hold in his bright eyes and before Keith really could process what was happening, they were moving.

Taking the time to not think about how much he liked being this close to the Altean, he tried admiring the boat that was hopefully going to save his life. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen with a massive sail cutting through the center of the ship made of some force field connected to the crow's nest and two other points low on either side of the ship. The ship itself wasn't very large, needing maybe only five to sail it effectively but so far, he had only seen Lance, Pidge and Hunk.

"How are you keeping this ship sailing with only three crew members?" He hadn't meant for the question to come out as brusque as it did and honestly, he held hope that maybe Lance didn't hear him over the wind and tumultuous water and he could just take in his closeness with silent reverie.

He wasn't that lucky it seemed.

Instead of pulling away from him to answer, Lance kept his languid pace up and tilted his tanned face towards his own as he responded with his usual flair, "This? This is technically just a transporter I like to call Minnie but the real magic lies with Blue. Minnie by herself is basically just the helm separated from the rest of the ship for easier maneuvering planetside. When we get to port and release the real knockout power, you'll have to check in with your boots."

"My...boots?" The childish confusion in his tone and on his face was downright precious coming from the surly Galra.

"You know...to check to see if your socks are still there? Cause I'll have knocked them off…" Noticing his words were going right over Keith's head, he halted their moving to explain better. "Because you'll be so blown away and impressed with my ship that she'll blow your socks off? Nothing?"

Giving a hesitant shake of his head, Keith looked away from Lance's gaze to mumble, "What are socks?"

Lance was genuinely taken aback by the genuine question. "What do you wear on your feet?"

"Boots?"

"What about inside your boots?"

"My...feet?"

"There isn't anything between your foot and your boot?"

"No?"

"Dude, that's gross."

Offended by the teasing tone and at being called gross, his arms went out to his sides as he countered grumpily, "I don't even know what socks are! How does that make me gross?!"

His anger ceased almost instantly when he heard the quiet lilting chuckles coming from Lance. The young Altean was grabbing his stomach he was laughing so hard at Keith's quick offense before wiping the corner of his eyes and pulling his boot off to reveal a bright turquoise sock with little black and white creatures woven on them.

Making a dramatic motion to emphasize his feet, Keith took in the 'sock' with a curious tilt to his head and pointed to it skeptically. "That's a sock?"

"Mhmm." Lance was decidedly proud to have showed him something new. He also happened to be wearing his favorite pair of specially-made Kaltenecker socks.

"What's the point?"

"The point? Of a sock?"

Keith gave another quick nod of his head as his lips pursed into serious thought territory over socks.

Looking down at his own socked foot, back up to Keith's face and back down to the sock, he hesitantly offered, "Well, it's a hygiene thing for some and they do come in all the colors of the rainbow so they are pretty fashionable but for me? I'd rather have a wet sock than have my precious skin rubbed off from the inside my boots." He bent to tug the supple leather shoe back on his foot and missed the panicked look on the prince's face when his gaze fell to the ridiculously low split in his billowy powder blue shirt and saw just a flash of his tanned and very toned chest, the teasing black lines of tattoos hinted at existence before Lance was upright and beaming once again.

Both his hands were on his hips, the hilt of his sword sticking from his right side as a pistol rested in a holster strapped to his thigh. It was an impressive aesthetic but Keith still had his doubts about getting off the planet. Regardless of just how much Keith wanted...something with the Altean, he didn't have the luxury. With his thoughts back on what should be his only priority, his voice went back to the even measured tone from before, "What's your plan for getting us out of here?"

The slow curling smile that formed on Lance's face made him physically back away from fearful surprise and he suddenly felt very nervous for what was to come next.

XxXxXxXxX

This was officially the dumbest plan in all of existence. Not only was Lance banking on no Galra guards being here but he was also banking on no one recognizing him in this shoddy disguise while Pidge got the generator for lack of a better term to the systems room and Hunk flew Minnie into port to connect her to the rest of Blue. Not to mention, Lance was going out of his way to hit on everything with a pulse and drawing lots of attention to them.

He really wished his craft hadn't exploded and he had a way to just get in contact with Shiro to have him come pick him up without their father finding out. Or worse yet, the Blades.

In a hiss of a command, Keith latched onto Lance's elbow and dragged him back towards the reception desk to see how long they would have before the port opened officially and it would be too congested to leave, "Focus, you idiot."

Of course his terrible mood didn't phase the energetic captain as he gave him a casual wink and tossed sassily, "Aww, did I make the prince jealous? If you wanted my full attention, all you had to do was ask, pretty boy."

To prevent himself from choking on his own attraction for Lance, Keith shoved past him once again, releasing his grip on Lance's toned arm to grumble under his breath, "Pfft, jealous. I'm embarrassed for you. That's what's going on…I'm not jealous."

Lance smothered his giggles in favor of trailing behind him. Though the armor the prince was wearing when he crashed was skin tight and had its benefits, there was something to be said about the way Keith's broad shoulders filled out one of his loose, billowy shirts, the white material hugging the muscle of his back to display them marvelously for Lance. Though they were about even as far as height went, Lance having maybe an inch or two on him, but Keith was bulkier. Still lithe like himself, but bigger nonetheless and it was enough of a distraction for the flirt to lose sight of the rest of the people in the large port save for Keith. A feat not many could have succeeded in.

When Lance had the nagging thought that he could easily send just enough of his magic through to Keith's skin to make him have to stretch those muscles, an actual villainous cackle escaped from his body before his hands clamped over his mouth and he decided to focus on just getting off Mizga unscathed.

XxXxXxXxX

"THAT WASN'T A PLAN, LANCE! THAT WASN'T EVEN A QUARTER OF A PLAN-"

While Keith wasn't wrong, Lance certainly didn't appreciate getting yelled at when they were now happily on their way to getting paid and pulling away from the port full of Galra soldiers. While no one recognized Keith, they certainly noticed Hunk's clumsy piloting enough to raise alarm and send the whole place into overdrive. Pidge just barely managed to make it back to Blue before Lance practically threw Keith over his shoulder and hoped for the best.

"-YOU JUST THREW ME OVER YOUR SHOULDER YOU ASS! I HAVE MY OWN TWO LEGS DAMNIT! YOU CAN'T JUST-"

Lance put a halt to the Galra's panicked angry yelling by taking his shoulders in his hands and forcing his eyes to meet his as his voice came through calm and oddly soothing, "Keith, calm down. We are fine. We made it out with all pieces in tact-"

Pidge's unhelpful voice of false-longing sounded over the comm system, "Not true. I had to leave that beautiful work of art behind…"

Looking up to the ceiling as if she could see his exaggerated eye roll, Lance continued without acknowledging her words further, "All we have to do is make a quick stop on one of Procyon's moons, the best moon if you ask me, and then you can give us the coordinates to where you want to go. Boom, you're home and we get paid. Everyone's a winner."

Keith was doing his best to keep in control of his emotions but after spending ten hours with the captain, he could feel the sharp points of his teeth against his tongue and all but ripped himself away from the Altean's grasp. His breath was ragged and uneven as he muttered and started pacing in front of a flabbergasted Lance. "What am I gonna tell Shiro? What am I gonna tell Kolivan? I'll never be allowed out of his sight again… How should I have known that fog would knock out my systems? I'm going to be alone for the rest of my life. That's it. I'm going to be a puppet now."

Lance could hear everything he was saying crystal clear thanks to the perks of his magic. His uncle had called it sensory awareness but it just meant he had heightened senses with the capability to project 'feelings' or 'sensations' on other beings. Keith had no way of knowing but his panicked words struck a chord within the Altean. He knew what it felt like to not have any control over your own life and he especially knew just how heavy the weight of an empire can be when you don't want it.

With a soft tone and an even softer touch, Lance gently put his hand on the prince's elbow to try to at least stop his frantic pacing. Though his now tangled and ruffled head of hair snapped to glare at where they were connected, he made no effort to move away. "Keith, I...I'm sorry."

Taken by surprise by the unwarranted apology, he assumed Lance was talking about the near-failure of a shit show that just went down in the port and almost involuntarily sputtered, "That's not- You don't have to...be sorry. We did make it out okay and that's really the only-"

"Not for that. I mean," suddenly very self conscious, he ran his hands through his curls and focused on staring at the pendant around Keith's neck that set him aside from other Galra peeking out from beneath the deep v of his shirt instead of the harsh look that was sure to be on his face, "I mean, I'm sorry you can't live your life the way you want to. I know what-" He had to cut himself off before he gave entirely too much to the prince before whispering with enough emotion that even Keith could recognize the genuine feeling behind it, "It must suck to always have to put everyone else before you all the time."

The moment hung in the air like a dead weight on Lance's chest. He was desperate to tell someone where he came from and who he was but lacked any real motivation to go back. Allura would take up her father's mantle and he was just someone to marry off 'for the better of all Alteans'. A piece of a puzzle he never asked to be a part of anyway. He hoped he didn't give anything away but somehow, he couldn't find himself caring even if he did if it meant easing some of the tension riddling Keith's body.

For Keith, there was a different kind of tightening in his chest. After nearly 20 decaphoebs of not knowing if people cared for him as a person or just his title and 20 decaphoebs of swallowing his emotions and dreams in favor of being a level-headed and responsible prince, someone finally acknowledged him and his feelings. Someone acknowledged them and cared about them. Shiro was always there for him and would happily listen to anything Keith would have to say but it just felt wrong to put his burdens and complaints on top of the mass of responsibilities his older brother already had loaded on his shoulders but Lance had absolutely nothing to gain from caring for him in any capacity. He was a pirate and an Altean. If anything, his rescue benefitted him none and even hindered his escape. So why did he do it?

Raising his eyes to look over Lance's features openly now that the captivating blue of his eyes weren't boldly meeting his demanding to be seen for once, he took in the almost fragile features of the young man in front of him. He had a feline quality about his bone structure that was distinct and almost sensual.

Looking closer, his brows furrowed deeply before recognition washed over him and his body went white hot with a feeling that mixed the opposing feelings of 'finally' and 'please, no'. He wouldn't have the horrible, fantastic luck to have found Alfor's lost boy making Lance not only a Prince in his own right, but another problem in it of itself. You've got to be kidding me…

Unknowing of Keith's thoughts, Lance's word throw up got the better of him as he moved to rub the back of his head with an obviously forced smile that was riding the cusp of psychotic, "Not that I would know what that's like but you know, being a captain kind of puts pressure on you? Yeah, so I could imagine what it might be like to be in your shoes. It gets pretty lonely when there is no one there to actually hear what you have to say. No one to ask what you want. Which isn't a problem for me because, you know," he pointed to himself in a weirdly uncontrolled and spastic manner, "pirate, right? I get to do whatever I want all the time."

It was Keith's turn to be smug. "Are you trying to convince me or you of that?"

Not realizing the far too casual stance of his counterpart with his arms crossed loosely over his chest and a knowing smirk firmly in place on his face, Lance answered honestly in a breathy huff, "Both maybe? I'm really a no good pirate anyway. I don't have the bloodlust or the golden motivation to do it but I can't go back now."

"Why not?"

Rolling his eyes, he retorted with an almost snide tone, "Because I ran away, Keith. I don't just get to come back like and they'll be all 'hey Lance, we really missed you while you were away. Please take your rightful spot as'-" Realizing what he was about to say, his jaw snapped shut as he let out a tiny squeak of sheer panic.

Totally enjoying seeing the lost Altean royal flustered, Keith stepped forward with a smug confidence that made him seem larger than life to Lance. "Spot as what exactly? You've made it very clear you are not what you seem and you obviously have some experience in ruling in some capacity so tell me, Altean, where do you belong?"

He hadn't realized he had been backing away from the Galra until his back hit the cold metal of the wall, Keith's frame less than a foot from his own as he whisper-blurted, "Pidge and Hunk know but the rest of the crew doesn't so keep your voice down."

"You bear a striking resemblance to the Altean royal line in features. How much of your concentration goes into changing your features?"

Rolling his eyes before he spoke, Lance tried to keep from sounding defensive, "I'll have you know I'm not hiding anything right now. I only have to change if I venture too close to home. It's been decaphoebs and I have serious doubts that anyone is still looking for me."

Keith's eyes widened at the realization that Lance was naturally that attractive before steeling his nerves for one more question. One that might break his spirit right here. "Was it worth it? Was it worth it to run?"

It was Lance's turn to have shock take root in his body. He wasn't sure how to answer that question. He missed his family every single day and most nights were worse than others but he got to be who he wanted to be and make decisions for himself. He got to make mistakes without other people bearing the consequences. He got to have a life he chose.

But Lance only ever had Allura and her family to take care of him. Without them and their generosity, he would have been left to the streets as a baby. His mother was Alfor's sister but both his parents died when a solar flare went off while they were out of their ship doing repairs while on a diplomatic mission when he was a baby. He owed his uncle his life anyway, so was it really his to be selfish with?

"I- I don't know."

His words were the barest whisper as the bright blue of his eyes washed out with tears and met Keith's own deep purple ones as Keith himself felt something snap in his body at the electric connection. He needed action and that action needed to wipe the horrifying lost look off Lance's face. It looked foreign there and made his chest ache even more than it already was.

Trusting his instincts when it came to the alien interaction of comforting someone, he wrapped his arm around Lance's shoulder and pulled him in tight to his body in his attempt at a hug and the moment he did, Lance came undone. Keith knew this kind of undoing. It wasn't loud and dramatic; it was quiet and all-consuming and most of the time, it was necessary to move on.

Silent sobs heaved Lance's chest as he pressed his face into the crook of Keith's neck, taking in the masculine scent of his hair to soothe him enough to be able to wrap his arms around Keith's frame unabashedly.

Eventually, Lance tired enough to pull back but not meet the other man's gaze, his arm coming up to wipe his face. "Sorry about that."

Knowing it would be useless to tell him he had nothing to apologize for, he opted for a distraction rather than forcing him to talk about it too soon. "So, do you have anything to drink on this ship?"

"Drink?', the confusion in his voice apparent through the quiet sniffles, "Um, yeah but all the good stuff is in my room so I could go get it-"

"Great. Let's go. I can't wait to see what state your room's in." It was a little more forceful than he meant it to be but Keith watched as Lance wiped the rest of his tears away on his shoulder and a small smile replaced his frown.

With little more than a noise of acknowledgment, Lance pushed off the wall he had nearly crumpled down with the intention of going around the Galran prince but the man had other plans as he grabbed Lance's hand and wrapped it around his forearm in the only princely gesture he's made since meeting him as if it was the most normal thing for him to do.

They walked in silence. Lance internally fighting with the different aspects of his personality and Keith trying to figure out why of all the beings, he found himself rapidly becoming attached to this one in particular.

By the time they came to Lance's quarters, his personality had shut down entirely and Keith had came to the conclusion that if he wanted to see where things went, if they could even go anywhere further than this, he would need to be around the Altean and that meant, he had to go home which worked out perfectly because that's where the fleet, the Blades and his brother all were on their way to.

Lance opened the door and let Keith in, rubbing the back of his head nervously as he rambled, a sound Keith was finding more and more endearing as it happened. "This is it. My room. Don't mind all the...stuff. Oh and don't mind Fluff, he's not a huge fan of sharing space with new people."

Fluff? What kind of a name is that? The prince's confusion was short-lived and replaced with deadpanned incredulity.

"Is that a quiznacking dragon?"

"What? No! Dragons don't exist you idiot but for all intents and purpose, yeah he is a dragon and he's the best little fluff there ever was!" His tone morphed into a coo as the eyeless space lizard crawled up Lance's body to settle around his neck and get comfy. Fluff seemed to be made of some sort of deep red crystal but the way the Altean was petting and scratching under his chin made him think otherwise.

"That's a dragon." The tone was concrete as he completely ignored Lance's denial.

Turning his back away from Keith to make his way to his 'secret stash', Lance's voice grew less and less tight the longer he moved and chatted. "He's not a dragon. I found him after we had gotten boarded by real pirates and he's been here ever since. I tried to take him somewhere for him to be free but he never flew away. He's never actually flown at all but he climbs really well and he moves things with his mind from time to time which is cool. I've never even heard of anything like him so we mostly just had to feel things out for awhile. Huh, little baby boy." The little dragon-creature rubbed his head under Lance's chin at the showering of affection he was receiving. "I know, I know, I'm sorry. I'm late for a good reason this time. A new friend!"

Lance's eyes met Keith's with a determined smile and his voice was at least back to something resembling positive neutrality, "He has a tendency to not like new people so don't feel bad if he doesn't take a shining to you right away. Sometimes he just needs some time to adjust but he won't hurt you."

Before Keith could stop him, Fluff was being draped over his shoulders and his whole body went rigid. Animals of all kinds did not like Keith. Shiro had tried to get him into the stables and every time he went there he ended up getting kicked or stepped on by something and the last time he went to a 'zoo', one of the piromoke managed to angle his firespit just well enough to burn a chunk of his hair off. He could feel careful paws moving and the breath from the little thing was hitting the back of his neck as he burrowed into the loose waves of his hair before he heard a girlish 'awww' and cracked his eye open to take in the proud look on the captain's face.

"He'll probably stay like that for awhile. He likes when his face is hidden in something. It helps him sleep so you'll be stuck with him til he wakes up." Which was true, the little devil slept like a rock. A rock that's feet acted like super glue regardless of consciousness. Of course, Lance knew that all he needed to do to get him to release long enough to move him was to keep his head covered and rub his tummy but Keith didn't know that and damn it, Lance was going to make the most of his time with the Galra, even if it means employing some good old fashioned deception to keep him in his room.

Keith on the other hand was trying to not have an emotional breakdown that not only had he found a real person he might be able to connect with but a pet actually liked him and trusted him enough to fall asleep near him. He didn't mind that his breath tickled the hair at the back of his neck and even fought his need to bind his long hair back in its usual braid.

He hadn't moved his hands from the fists at his sides but very very carefully turned his head to look at the little fluff in astonishment. Despite looking very sharp, his scales were soft to the point of feathery to match the scales on his tail. His body was maybe a foot long and his tail was double that but the thing that really got him was his ears. At first glance they almost look like horns, twisted at the ends like corkscrews but they too were soft and pliable. They seemed to be his way of expressing himself as they bobbed and twitched since he completely lacked eyes and he had yet to see a mouth of any kind. There were two holes on either side of his head with one big one at the center of his face flanked by two more smaller holes. Somehow the overall effect was adorable and not creepy and Keith was pretty sure he was in love with the fluff.

Lance's soft laughter was filled with warmth and affection as he reached a jewel studded hand out to run the back of his fingers down Fluff's back, the tips of them barely ghosting over the sensitive skin below Keith's ear all the way to the column of his throat forcing the older of the two to swallow the sudden desert that formed in his mouth at the sensual contact. Did he...mean to do that?

Continuing his ministrations for a minute longer before handing Keith a glass of some crystal clear liquid that most definitely wasn't water, Lance motioned for him to come sit on the low plush cushions of his bed surrounded by at least thirty pillows of varying colors, shapes and sizes. "I'll be right back. Did you want me to see if something of mine will work for you to sleep in because those clothes are ruined and your armor didn't look all that comfortable for sleeping anyway."

Lost to his own circular thoughts of the pretty Altean and his pet dragon, he tilted his head and responded only with a quiet but questioning 'hmm?' before Lance gave him a toothless smile and let him know he would be back in a dobosh.

In that one dobosh, Keith made the mistake of downing his entire glass of liquor in one teeth rotting sweet gulp followed by the worst burning sensation he's ever felt in his whole existence. It was like swallowing molten lava and he was trying to keep it together but he could feel his forehead start to drip with sweat. I'm gonna die like this.

"DID YOU DRINK THE WHOLE THING?! Why the quiznack would you do that!? Hold still, Keith. I promise...everything will be okay...if you just let me get...my...hands- Hah! How's it feel now?"

During Lance's one-sided dialogue and his impressive flexibility while wrestling, he managed to get the soft skin of his palm over Keith's throat to soothe the damaged nerves and ease the burning sensation but now the royal was going to pass out from their position. The only way Lance could get Keith to stop flailing and move his hands out of his way was to pin them down on either side of his head but he still needed to get at least one of his own hands free which is how Lance's foot ended up in the crook of Keith's elbow but it didn't explain why the Altean was wearing shorts loose enough to give the Galra a clear shot right up them. As if that wasn't enough, he could feel Lance's breathy huffs across his face from how close he had gotten during their struggle. He wasn't going to mention what the gentle touch around his throat was doing to his already fragile sexuality. He couldn't think about that when he was desperately trying to keep from popping a boner directly underneath Lance's ass.

"Keith? You're still breathing right?"

The concern lacing his words pulled him from himself enough to give his raven head of hair a subtle nod and the look of relief on Lance's tanned face almost rivalled the relief he felt under his touch.

"You're supposed to sip at it. Don't get me wrong, I don't understand it either but initial sugar rush relieves the burn and then by the time you finish the drink, you're too jacked to feel the final burn. I hope you aren't a lightweight because we are about to have a serious bonding moment otherwise." Despite the current position he was in, Lance was completely oblivious to anything save easing Keith's pain. In his distraction, he hadn't realized his thumb was tracing over the column of soft skin over his throat in lazy passes. "You ever spend the night with your head in the toilet?" He didn't leave any time for Keith to actually answer as he put his full weight down on Keith's hips in an unconscious effort to be more comfortable and less like a spider trying to avoid water, "I have and trust me, it's a lot better when you have someone there to rub your back and hold your hair. I'm also going to make sure you drink a lot of water and stay hydrated. Can't have my little prince-y poo dehydrated when he goes back to ruling over millions of battle-hardened Galrans."

Somewhere between 'feel the final burn' and 'bonding moment' Keith really started feeling good. Better than good, he felt alive and uninhibited and thanks to the added effects of Lance's mystery space moonshine, he lacked all filters and simply wanted to see if the Altean's marks felt different than the rest of his impossibly soft skin.

Lance watched a lazy grin pull at Keith's lips as his arm lifted from beneath his hand with little effort to trace the pad of his thumb over the pastel turquoise marks framing hypnotizing almond eyes, the rest of his cheek cradled in a rough, scarred hand. "...mmm, so soft. Like the rest of you…"

Big blue eyes blinked owlishly as a hot blush spread across his cheeks. Letting out a few self-deprecating chuckles before gathering his thoughts enough to speak. "Right, so you are feeling it and I'm going to get you into comfy clothes that way you can feel even better. How's that sound?"

Lance was now fully aware of the position they were in and was trying his hardest to stay cool, calm and collected since Keith was about to be non-functional for a few hours and if he was really lucky and if the stars showed him favor, maybe Keith wouldn't remember that he almost melted his throat off.

The brunette let out a surprised gasp when instead of being a pile of mush like he would have been after downing the entire glass in Keith's situation, the hand that had caressed his cheek wrapped around the back of his neck to brace him as his sat the two of them upright but kept his other hand hovering just over his hips hesitantly, suddenly aware that this was crossing an imaginary line.

"Keith-"

"Lance-"

They both paused, Keith with a smile on his face and Lance looking like a tomato before each gestured for the other to go ahead.

"Is this-"

"Are you-"

Unable to keep from laughing at the quick exchange, both let out quiet, breathy chuckles, breaking the awkward tension enough to have Lance get out what he needed to. "You aren't going to remember any of this tomorrow and I really don't want you to do anything you'll regret. Soooo yeah. I should probably get up and you should probably take your clothes off." His eyes widened to astronomical levels before he backpedaled, "Wait, I didn't mean it to sound- That's not what meant. You do need to change and that does require taking the previous clothes off but I could leave. Or you could just use the bathroom but you can't lock the door because I've already had to replace that door twice and I don't want to have to do it again-"

"Lance."

"-because it took Hunk five quintants just to find the right metal. Do you know what it's like to not have a door on your bathroom? Let me tell you, it blows-"

"Lance, shut-"

"-Pidge hacked my door and took videos of my in shower! I sounded fabulous of course, but still! The gall of-"

Without thinking, Keith put his hand over Lance's mouth to cut him off and without thinking, Lance's tongue immediately darted out as a knee-jerk reaction from having to play with the servants kids even though they hated him.

Both sets of eyes turned to saucers before Keith removed his hand from soft lips in favor of gripping the bottom hem of Lance's shirt at his waist and Lance put his hand over his mouth before leaning forward so his forehead was resting against the exposed skin of his collarbone.

He moved his hand from his mouth long enough to speak, "Oh my stars, I didn't mean to lick you. I mean, I meant to lick you but it was an involuntary reaction so I didn't mean to lick you in particular. I should stop talking," before replacing his hands back over his mouth to try and bar in any more ridiculous things from escaping.

Only when Keith raised his hand to run his fingers through the brunette curls at the nape of Lance's neck did Fluff move from where he had attached himself to Keith to one of the many extra pillows lying about around them and even that was reluctantly done on the space dragon's part.

The Galran couldn't believe how impossibly soft Lance was. Every part of him was soft and warm where he was hard and cold and he craved more of it. He wanted to see this soft boy smile again and listen to him ramble. No one ever talked to him long enough to ramble. No one ever had a real conversation with him anymore. The Blades had their own problems to keep them plenty busy and so did Shiro which left passing soldiers or diplomats and the staff as his only facet for socialization.

His voice was husky from the liquor as he continued to play with brunette curls, "I like hearing what you have to say. No one talks to me like I'm a person like you."

Knowing himself well, Lance's response was easy as he lifted his head shyly, "I'll remember you said that you know. Can't take it back now."

Keith was trying to take in as much of him as he could and that coupled with a lack of inhibitions that would usually keep all emotion internalized had the handsome, droopy-eyed Galra purring out honestly, "I like your face."

Left blinking once again, Lance offered earnestly in an effort to keep from lying but not intentionally provoke the guy, "I like your face too."

That head tilt of his is going to be the death of me. Just take me now. It hit him right in the chest when Keith's hair flopped to the side and he asked without a trace of his usual standoffish attitude, "You do?"

Narrowing his eyes skeptically, he cautiously answered, "Yes...which I'm sure you are used to hearing. You're the prince and also hot as quiznack-" Lance cleared his throat casually before continuing, "Yeah, I'm sure you aren't lacking in compliments."

Keith gave a casual shrug because he wasn't wrong but none of them had been from Lance so none of them mattered. "Can I have my pajamas now?"

"Oh right," he said as he twisted around to pick up the abandoned clothes and hold them out to Keith, "Here you go. I think they'll work for you but if not, I'm sure one of the other guys would have something to fit."

Keith took the clothes silently and waited to see how long it would take the boisterous Altean to realize he needed to get up, his eyes never leaving Lance's as a solid minute went by.

Looking down and remembering he was currently straddling one of the Princes of the Galran Empire, he practically shot off his lap before offering his hand to help the just shorter Galran up, his face a very pretty shade of pink under the deep tan of his skin.

It didn't take long for the calluses from decaphoebs of training in sword handling and combat to slide across the over sensitized nerves of his palm and save a wave of shivers through his body. Before he even registered actually helping Keith up, the Galra was upright and wrapping Lance's hand around his forearm again in a simple chivalrous act that had his heart racing.

Lance wasn't going to complain about the casual touch. He would never admit it out loud but Keith's skin did things to his nerves he's never had happen before. It was like his nerves could relax for the first time since his magic manifested at the age of four.

They stayed quiet as they walked toward his bathroom. It was the biggest Blue had and he adored it but right now, he just wanted Keith to shower and change and go to sleep. His heart couldn't take anymore without wanting to do something rash. Lance's voice was tentative but kind, "Do you want to shower before we go to bed?"

Keith waited for Lance to realize that he said 'before we go to bed', waited for his cheeks to turn rosy beneath the blue of his marks the way he liked at the implication but it never came. They both just stared expectantly at the other until Lance waved his hand in front of his visibly not sober face before repeating, "Hello? I said, do you want to shower before we go to bed? Between the unexpected swim and the near-disaster at port, I'm sure you could use one so here's a towel and a luffa," Lance was pulling fluffy towels down and handing them to Keith without really looking, "Feel free to use anything in there. I'm just going to turn around until you get in though because a) I don't want you to fall and break something important so I'm not leaving and b) I've got a serious night ritual that has been lacking so get to stripping because I'm not leaving."

Lance turned his back, his hip cocked out defiantly only making the loose fabric of his shorts pull tight over the defined muscle of his ass as his legs flexed with each impatient bounce of his foot.

Keith was completely mesmerized by the shape of the man before him. He'd never taken the time to really look at anyone in more than a calculating manner but Lance was extremely attractive. He liked the deep bronze of his skin and how it looked next to his own pale purple tone and he especially liked the way all his bronze beauty held together sinuous, toned muscle capable of things you wouldn't expect.

"I don't hear shower noises, my lost prince!" The playful sing-song of his voice was at complete odds with his body language but the only thing Keith's brain latched onto was the possessive pronoun 'my' with gleeful satisfaction before pulling the dirty shirt from his body, dropping his pants and stepping into the shower.

His confidence was short-lived. "Lance?"

There was a quiet innocence about the way Keith said his name and it pulled at him. "Yeah? What do you need?" He was standing just on the other said of the frosted door waiting for Keith to answer.

"How...does this work? Why are there so many knobs? What do they even do?"

The raven-haired Galra heard a 'smack' from the other side of the door and almost threw the sliding door back open to make sure Lance was okay before the Alteans voice sounded from the other side, "I guess I kind of assumed you would just know how to work the shower. I'm going to open the door and show you which knobs you want and which you don't, okay?"

Without waiting for Keith to answer, Lance's upper body entered the shower facing away from him as he explained how to work the water before shutting the door to get back to his routine. The instant his curly mop of hair poked in to the instant it popped back out, Keith's body temperature had risen as his bodies version of rebelling against him resisting the effects of the booze. And boy were there effects. None of them mattered when he was close to Lance but something about the way the liquor was feeding his suppressed desire was forcing him to choke down very instinctual urges. Urges that would definitely get him into trouble.

It was another fifteen doboshes before Lance heard the shower stop and Keith step out from the cloud of steam fogging the top edges of his mirror. His voice distorted with the odd ways he was pulling at his face to check his pores, "Took you long enough. I almost finished my ridiculous skin routine before you even got out of the shower."

"Do you think you'd ever come with me?"

Utterly confused by the completely random question, Lance mused out loud, "...In the shower? I mean, I guess if that's what you were into and it would be efficient...so probably? I don't know though, it feels kind of sudden to be thinking about kinks already."

This time it was Keith's turn to blush from head to toe at his blunt words and Lance's equally as blunt response.

When the Altean looked over to look at Keith's face, he was instead greeted with the sight of a still completely nude Keith as he toweled the water from his long hair, his face completely hidden away.

While his brain short circuited at the sight of just how sinfully well built the Prince was, the hard, defined muscle littered with scars that made him want to reach out to trace along the hardened ridges and valleys setting him apart from everyone else, especially the other royalty he'd come in contact with. This man was used to combat and Lance was willing to bet Keith was very good at it.

"I wouldn't know what I'm into but if you're offering to help me figure it out, who am I to refuse a helping hand?" Though the prince's words were confident and playful, he refused to move the towel from his face for fear of Lance seeing the dark shade of red that surely covered it.

"I- Um, well- The thing- You know what? Fine. Fine. If you remember all of this tomorrow, we can circle back to it but for now please, just put some pants on. I am not dealing with the aftermath if you wake up next to me without pants on." His facial expression and tone were his attempt at casual and cool but on the inside, he was pretty sure all mental facilities were misfiring as he exited the bathroom and immediately flopped backwards onto his mattress to get lost in the sea of pillows, his arm thrown casually over his eyes as the last dregs of his energy started fading from the unanticipated events of the day.

He vaguely remembered feeling the thick cushion beside him dip before one of his softest blankets was draped over him and Keith's heat encompassed his body. Sleep came shortly after he felt warm breath ruffle his hair.

XxXxXxXxX

Keith woke up with a pounding headache and his entire right arm was completely numb but it was worth it to wake up next to someone like Lance. Before he laid down, he made sure put a blanket over the Altean's lithe form before finding the biggest one he could to pull over them both. He spent the next ten minutes in awe at how much the captain readjusted in his sleep as his nose twitched until he got comfortable which apparently meant Keith was to be used as a teddy bear. The last time he could remember sharing a bed with another living thing was when he and Shiro were kids. It was only a fleeting memory and there was much less spooning involved. They still had Lance's blanket between their bodies but at some point in the night the Altean backed his butt up to the nook of his hips and claimed his arm for a pillow which put Keith's face right at the nape of Lance's neck to run the end of his nose along the smooth tanned skin. The slow, lazy smile that pulled his lips felt like the first real smile he's had for phoebs and it set his mind at ease for the time.

"...mmmKeiththattickles…" was the still fast asleep brunettes attempt at scolding despite his shoulders shaking with involuntary giggles as he pushed back into the hard planes of warmth behind him, his cheek rubbing against Keith's bicep in a purely affectionate show before settling back into sleep.

Before he could fully relax again, an electric bolt shot up from the back of his arm where the tips of Keith's fingers ran up and down bronzed skin lazily. The featherlight touch drove his hypersensitive nerves to the point of twitching.

Without putting much thought into his actions, Lance flipped himself over and glared into deep pools of shining purple before grabbing the offending hand and trapping it in both of his like a teddy bear and cuddling into his chest, his voice a serious sleep-mumble in the thin fabric of his shirt, "I get five more minutes and you are going to deal with that however you need to without moving from this spot."

Keith didn't need to answer as he listened to his breathing even out once again, his right arm curling up around the Altean as he flexed his fingers to try and work some blood flow back into them so he could feel Lance's curls.

Lance managed to squeeze another ten minutes of sleep out before Pidge's voice was blaring through the comm system, "Attention crew of the big beautiful Blue, due to our captain's utter lack of control, I'll be the disembodied voice you wake up to today. Congrats maggots! Now get up and get moving, we have two vargas until we reach our first stop of the day which means GET YOUR ASS OUT OF BED, LOVER BOY. WE HAVE SHIT TO DO."

Lance let out an unbidden groan before stretching his arms high above his head and arching his back, pulling up the hem of his tank top up enough to give Keith an eyeful of his abs and tease at the beginnings of the well-defined 'v' leading to his groin. "Stars do I hate when she gets a hold of the intercom. She's like a death harpy crossed paths with a banshee and had an angry, angry lovechild."

"Sounds like you could have stopped that from happening." The tone of his own husky, sleep-ridden voice was far more gentle than he was used to hearing sound from between his own lips as an impish smile spread across Lance's face.

He spoke casually as one of his hands raised to move some of the mussed raven hair back over his shoulder, "Easily. My comm is right there." Motioning lazily in the vague direction of an impressive desk taking up most of one of the corners, he continued with a cat-like grin, "But I lack the proper motivation to get up so I won't."

Turning his head to raise a brow at this Altean already half asleep in his arms at both his nonchalance with their current situation and his laziness, his voice gained an unwanted edge, "Aren't you going to help?"

Lance put his hand to chin but kept his eyes closed while he pretended to really think about the accusatory question. After what seemed like far too long to Keith, he spoke in a calm, decisive manner as one of his hands scratched at his stomach, "Nope. I don't need to."

Sensing the way Keith physically bristled at his words, he clarified in hopes of keeping them in bed for longer. "I mean I literally don't need to help. This ship could run itself if Pidge or I wanted it to but my crew needs to earn their cut or the whole system would crumble."

"So you have time…?"

Lance laughed openly at the tentative and adorable question before turning to his side to face Keith and prop his head up in the palm of his hand. "I could make some for the right reasons."

The Galra was unable to keep his thoughts from becoming audible after Lance's flirtatious words. His complete lack of care and capability for small talk coupled with his overwhelming need to know took hold as he spoke bluntly, his brain noticing the myriad of blues held in Lance's irises unconsciously, "I remember last night and I'd like to ask you something. I want you to be…", he paused only to make sure he picked the right words, "...open-minded with me."

Tensing as the mostly innocent memories flashed behind his eyes, Lance grimaced before mumbling under his breath and dodging the intense gaze directed right at his soul, "You don't beat around the bush, do you, Mullet?"

The prince took a steadying deep breath before closing his eyes and just blurting out, borderline yelling at the anxious Altean, "I want you to come with me."

Not the way to go about that. Now he's never gonna consider it and he's probably freaked out that you just threatened him. He probably thinks you want to kidnap him-

Thankfully, Keith's downward spiral was cut short by Lance's hesitant voice sounding quietly from where he was still not looking at him. "Come...with you? With you where, Keith?"

He was trying his best to convince Lance he wasn't a nutcase and that he could be trusted as he spoke evenly, though the excitement softened the edges of his tone, "I'll be meeting up with my brother and the fleet to finish a diplomatic mission to try and broker an alliance between our people and I- You wouldn't have to go home if you didn't want to. There are ways I could keep you safe without having to reveal who you are I just...I don't think I'm going to be able to go back to the way it was before- I refuse to go back to the way it was before and the only thing that's changed in my life is you."

Lance couldn't believe what he was hearing and almost immediately did the voices in the back of his mind start rationalizing all the different reasons Keith would actually want him to come with him and not a single one of them thought of the vague possibility that the Galra would actually like him.

That didn't mean that Lance didn't hope it might be because the Galra liked him.

Sitting up to be able to actually look at Keith and look into his eyes to make sure he was actually here and this was actually happening and he actually just heard what he thought he heard. "Just to clear things up, you, the Prince of the Galra Empire, want me, nobody from nowhere, to what? Accompany you while you go about your life? Like a pet? Or a secret scandalous mistress?"

Though there was no real indication that Lance was upset, Keith assumed the worst and sat up on his elbow to reach out to run his thumb along his cheekbones only to realize that that might be too sudden, too forward, despite the fact that his morning wood had been neatly nestled in Lance's ass just thirty minutes ago. "No! No, I mean, I want Shiro and the Blades to meet you. Thace will love you but you should probably avoid running into Kolivan without one of the other Blades with you. I don't want to put you in a cage or keep you somewhere you don't want to be, I just- I don't want to not see you again."

"...huh..."

"Huh…? That's it?...You aren't- You're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad? Confused definitely, but not mad. We've known each other for a very short amount of time and while I don't think that dictates the strength of a relationship, one day is a very short amount of time for you to be inviting me to go with you on a diplomatic mission. I like the part where you said you'll keep me safe though. It would be funny to watch you try to keep me from harm. I've been told I'm a sucker for pain."

Keith's voice was near silent as hands starting clenching and unclenching in an even rhythm from the foreign nature of the conversation but Lance could hear every emotion behind the softly spoken words, "I...have a hard time connecting with people. I'm too blunt and aggressive and the others don't like being around me but everything is different with you."

Lance was fighting his basic instincts to just wrap him up in a hug the more his shoulders hunched. He knew this could play out so many different ways, most of which ended well for him anyway but what he really wanted Keith to know is that he wasn't alone. Not in his title, not in his life and certainly not right now. It was time for the Altean to face what he had been running from. He had been having dreams of the night he left and knew that this was going to be his chance to at least do it sort of on his terms. He didn't belong back then; always too loud, too brash, too optimistic. Allura's old tutors told him everyday just how much he didn't fit in and that no royal in their right mind would marry him, even for an alliance with the infamous King. While he could say with confidence that he still wasn't marriage material, he was willing to at least face what he's done for the sake of saving the Prince of the Galra empire. Stipulations will be had of course but this all somehow felt right.

With a renewed sense of purpose and a significant burst of assurance, Lance slid his arm around Keith's shoulders with a featherlight touch before giving him a tug to put his body flush with his side. His voice was light but the smile on his face was so bursting with genuine care that Keith honestly though he might melt from it. "So here's the proposal, yeah? I go with you only after the rest of my crew is safe. I know Pidge and Hunk won't want to leave Blue but everyone else should be set to settle. Most of them have been with me for a-"

Without any tell at all, the casual touch turned almost frenzied as the strength of the Prince's arms tightened around Lance's ribs. The Altean's shock quickly faded into proud satisfaction.

Realizing just what he'd done, deep purple eyes wide as saucers looked up as a faint blush crossed his cheeks to pull back, only to be caught in surprisingly strong arms. His voice was tinged with the obvious embarrassment he felt at having such a emotional gut reaction as he tried to avert his eyes and failed due to Lance's downright criminal way of always putting his face in front of his, "The fleet has plenty of places for anyone willing to do the work."

"I'm also not leaving Blue behind so you'll have to add a tagalong to the 'fleet'. She's fast, agile and can pack a punch so we won't be a problem in a fight. I think you're going to have problems with allowing an Altean, a Balmeran and whatever you want to classify Pidge as on your ship. You're still a prince and we are still pirates. I don't want to say I'm famous or anything but Blue did do the Teixa run in fifteen vargas. I mean, we aren't 'criminals' but I've definitely stolen from you. Not you personally, but the Galra. You guys got a lot of stuff that you don't need."

Trying in vain to get loose from Lance's oh-so-casual deathhold, Keith's brows furrowed in frustration as he grit out, "You stole from the fleet?"

In a blatant show of strength, Lance lifted one hand to check the perfect blunt tips of his manicured nails and admonished, "Now, now, Prince Mullet, I stole from Galrans, not soldiers. Although, now that I think about it, they were pretty far out from the usual hangouts for your boys."

That piqued the angry man's interest enough to stop his fight altogether. As his body went limp, his words came out brusque, "How far out were they?"

Sensing the drastic switch in mood, Lance pulled back enough to give him room without withdrawing his arms. He liked the way they felt around Keith and Keith didn't seem to mind. "We were out a good 60, maybe 70 jumps from where the bulk of you guys are. We saw a Galra ship heading for an asteroid with enough lights to make things look very suspicious. We landed and saw it was mostly storage; weapons, rations, uniforms. So we took some of the grub and the relief supplies that were there and left. Come to think of it, I never ran into a single soldier." Noticing the crease between his brows getting deeper and deeper, Lance switched gears as his head tilted, "I can take you there if you want. You'll have an easier time with the doors since you know, you're Galra and I'm not. Nox is but he usually doesn't leave the ship. He's an amazing organizer and he was born to keep my pockets sufficiently filled because I'm terrible with keeping track of what goes where when but that's not the point," shaking his head to get back on track, "the point was, I can take you to the asteroid of creep after I get my crew paid."

"You'd take me there?"

"Yep."

"But I'm the Prince."

"And I'm the Captain. I'm also a very good listener and I can lick both my elbows but that has nothing to do with investigating said asteroid of creep."

"What if something happens to me?"

Lance could hear in his voice that there was no real worry or concern from Keith himself. It was almost like a horrible regurgitation of what was surely ground into his head as a young boy, 'you're the future of the Empire. You must remain safe at all costs to improve the future of the Empire', which was surprisingly not unlike his own time with Altea's royal family. "Not to sound like an ass but like, what if something happens to you? What if something happens to me? Or anyone? We do our best and leave no one behind. I can't promise you that nothing will happen but I can promise everyone on this ship will do their damnedest to make sure you make it back."

Taking a moment to mull over all the information and options suddenly available to him, it took a few doboshes to pull together enough resolve to decide today would be the day he did what he wanted. He could be away from the fleet for a few quintants longer and he wanted to see what life was like through the eyes of an Altean pirate.

XxXxXxXxX

"No."

"No? I haven't even said anything yet, how can you already say no?" Lance should have known Pidge would be onto him. They were already on their way to the Galra outpost he told Keith about and Hunk had already told him that he and Keith were absolutely not going back down there. Lance was hoping that Pidge's thirst for knowledge on Galra technology would be enough to at least get them on the asteroid seeing as how now that Keith was a willing participant and virtual skeleton key for the whole base but trying to convince her meant that she actually had to listen.

"Hunk already told me what you want to do." She and Lance were repairing what they could for Minnie from the minor bumps and bruises attained by Hunk's short stint behind the wheel and while she hadn't looked up from where she was double checking the lines, she knew Lance was giving her his best 'pirate captain face'. It amused her endlessly that he thought he had the temperment of a pirate while being as menacing as a mouse. They were more like Robin Hood and his band of very unorthodox thieves.

"Okay, okay...new plan: we all go down, full firepower, full armor, and we scope it out to make sure it's clear….and then Keith opens the base up and we get all the loot. Not to mention all that sweet sweet Galra tech just waiting to be used."

Without waiting a beat or interrupting her work, she teased, "Ah, yes, Keith. What an interesting topic you've brought up all on your own. How are relations with the Prince going?"

Crossing his arms over his chest, he sulked lowly at being called out again by the younger, smaller human. "Relations with the Prince are just fine, thanks for asking."

"And I'm sure the Galra base has nothing to do with Keith…"

"No! I mean, yes, it does. He can get us into the good parts that have the good tech."

"We don't need the tech and we are really going out of our way to get there…"

"It's not that far out of the way."

At that, Pidge turned to face Lance fully, her face set in an unamused deadpan. "It's in the Ixlan Cluster. The Ixlan Cluster is the opposite direction as the Galra fleet."

Taken back by her mentioning the fleet, the Altean's head tilted in confusion. "You know where the fleet is?"

Pidge rolled her eyes before returning to her work. "Of course I do. It's massive and I pay attention to the comms."

Lance gave a noise of vague interest, one hand coming up to tap his chin before snapping out of it and putting both his hands on his hips. With a wide smile and a bright tone, he made his way away from Pidge to their little armory. "Well, you have a varga to figure out if you'll be joining the prince and I on our little excursion. We'll be in the armory if you change your mind."

Before she could voice her strong opposition to the plan, Lance was whistling as he made his way out of the helm and up to the armory.

She mumbled under her breath as she pushed the bridge of her glasses up with the back of her hand, "Should have known that idiot would try to impress Keith by doing something completely insane." While she was used to his flirtatious personality by now, Lance rarely held this much interest in anyone outside the crew and he never had people outside she and Hunk in his bedroom. Maybe it would be best to just see how the two play out for now and deal with the lineage problems later.

Meanwhile, Keith was already in the armory looking for something a little less flashy than his royal armor having found a few pieces that fit somewhat but not quite right for his liking. The smorgasbord of styles and sizes had him apprehensive at the origins of their apprehension but he found himself getting over it in favor of putting on something he felt a little less exposed in. A concept he found hilarious considering Lance had seen him naked already.

His ears twitched from the cheery sound of whistling approaching and felt his whole being shift a little with the hope that it would be Lance. That feeling was then followed by an almost nauseating joy that even if it wasn't, Lance agreed to come with him. He would be able to see Lance whenever he wanted.

As the whistling got closer, Keith leaned his back against the wall to watch the archway with his arms crossed over his chest. He had no idea what they would find at this secret base and for both the safety of his new makeshift team and his duty as a Blade, he would need to keep a level head and focus on leading them through this without incident. Lance's plan might have worked well enough for his satisfaction but Keith liked to be prepared.

Before Lance could take in the way the bottoms of his undersuit were just barely too small to fit over the galrans thighs or the fact that he was only wearing those too small leggings, Keith launched into a militaristic briefing that pulled a dumbfounded expression from the Altean.

He checked over his shoulder then poked his head back out into the hall to see if maybe someone else was around to at least witness the prince's speech which sadly, he was the only victim of. Though he was throwing around phrases like 'stealth phase' and 'strike team' at him and the only thing Lance could focus on was the way Keith's ears adorably twitched along to add another means of expression to accompany the easy to read emotion behind his defined brows and hand motions, making the uncovered muscle of his arms flex and bulge in delightful ways.

Unfortunately for Lance, Keith was now staring at him with a slight pout to his lips and an expectant gleam in his eyes. He could feel it grow hotter and heavier the longer he stared back, face blank of any sign of intelligence as he hoped maybe Keith would just keep talking.

Crossing his arms over his chest out of irritation with the air-headed captain, Keith shook his head sending his hair fanning behind him before turning his back to Lance and attempting to find armor that was made for people with a build like his own. His voice held a commanding tone that Lance couldn't place just how it made him feel though the butterflies in his stomach begged to differ, "I only asked because you would know your team better than I would but it would make the most sense for Pidge to stay here and be our eyes, Hunk and a few others to handle starting the power relay from just outside the hanger bay and for you and I to head into the base. The security should be as simple as me unlocking the system for Pidge and then she can just shut it down from here. Depending on how long this outpost has been out here, we might have a few drones to deal with but they won't be difficult to take out."

Before Lance could redeem his earlier and continued distraction, Keith continued, his actions growing more rough and abrasive as he rummaged through yet another storage bin unsuccessfully, "Why is all your armor made for giants or midgets? Do you not steal armor from normal shaped people?"

Tilting his head to take in the taut muscle of the prince's backside, Lance answered casually in spite of the accusation of thievery, "I have armor that will fit you in my room," pointing in the vague direction of his armor stache," and none of that is stolen. Its scavenged. From bodies."

Keith halted his movements completely as a look of utter mortification took over his features, his voice a deathly calm as just his one eye peered over his shoulder at the Altean still ogling him despite the daggers he was shooting at him in his mind, "You took these off of dead bodies."

"Mhmm or they were given to us. It's really hit or miss honestly."

Again, the flippant tone and bored expression seemed to ruffle the Galrans feathers enough to have him spin and face Lance in a bold move that put their faces within six inches of the other; Keith giving Lance the stink eye while Lance gave Keith a languid, toothy smile before smirking. "I'm completely messing with you, dude. The stuff we keep is just hand-me-downs and things actually given to us by willing doners. There's not enough disinfectant in the universe to get me in some dead guys shorts." Lance nudged a totally done Keith's arm with his elbow as he laughed to himself, "Get it? Eh, necrophilia jokes aren't for everyone," before jamming his hands in the pockets of his pants and heading back down the hall, whistling away.

It wasn't until he heard a heavy sigh from behind him and felt the familiar soft touch of Keith's hand taking his and wrapping it around his scarred forearm in silence that he stopped his cheery tune in favor of tightening his grip around the handsome Galran and asking Keith if he had a preference for a view for his own room. Blue didn't have many rooms left to choose from but there were a handful that had views to die for and he wanted to make sure Keith was comfortable while he was here.

Not understanding why he needed to choose a different room, Keith voiced both his concern and confusion in one innocent string of thoughts. "Why can't I just stay in your room? I like your bed and I like sleeping there-..." Cutting himself off before he finished with 'next to you', he kept his face from flushing before finishing in what he thought was a solid cover, "but I can sleep wherever is easiest for you-"

"No!" Lance cleared his throat, his hand coming up to reinforce his false coughing before trying again a little less abrasive and loud while walking right next to Keith, "No, you can stay with me if you want to. The bed is plenty big for the two of us and I like the cuddle-time. Hunk's always falling asleep in the lounge and Pidge doesn't affection well. Or at all." Raising a brow with a sideways smile at the prince, he added shamelessly, "You, on the other hand, are an amazing cuddler. I've haven't slept that well in ages and it's all thanks to you."

Keith was having another critical meltdown in functionality as Lance rambled on about how nice it felt to sleep next to another living thing, how perfect and beefy his arms were without being too big and hurting his neck to make him uncomfortable, even how cute it was that his sharp teeth made little airy whistle sounds when he exhaled and his mouth was open just a little. It was one thing to think it and hope for the same in return but to have him just say it out loud directly to his face was almost too much. Like things were going too well and the other boot was about to drop.

"Except maybe this time we can actually be under the same blanket because I got tangled up in mine trying to roll around and get some cool air and I almost kicked the quiznack out of you in the middle of the night. I do not like being tangled or wrapped up. Really anything constricting is a no-go for me."

As if what he was saying was perfectly normal, Lance just continued all the way until they made it back to his bedroom completely ignorant of the other man's inner struggle and ultimate victory. Keith was thankful his input was required for the conversation to progress for a multitude of reasons but his favorite was as simple as he liked the way the Altean's voice lilted and dropped, always full of unrefined emotion. It was one of the things that set Lance a part from everyone else and he would happily take the embarrassment over loneliness any day.

---

~I hope it was up to par because I had so much fun with this and it's one of those things that I wasn't going to post but thought 'eh, wtf let's do it' XD

You'll have to let me know how you guys liked it! I'll probably add more if enough people want it because y'all fuel me. Thank you so so much for reading my brain trash!~