03/28/17

Feeling stressed with the overtime at work and needed something to make me feel better.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2

The entry room of the penthouse suite looked more like a hotel lobby than an entryway. Large and spacious but brightly lit with floors that could have been space marble and a space chandelier hanging from the ceiling. There were many tables that seemed to only be there to display space artifacts and space art besides the one with space drinks and food by the large and but cozy looking space couch.

Okay, Lance really needed to stop putting "space" in front of things as he described them in his head. Really he blamed Team Four Star for it but he didn't have the internet connection to comment on it to them right now.

As he looked around, he barely heard the guard telling him to wait there as they left to go down a hallway. Not to go to adjoining door but down an actual hallway, this place was so fancy it was making Lance uncomfortable fast. Was he supposed to just stand there or take a seat? Well his clothes were still a bit wet so sitting was probably out; at least he wasn't dripping anymore.

What was Lance thinking agreeing to come here? Sure the prince had been charming and handsome but he wasn't some Disney Princess about to run off with someone he just met. Granted their running off wasn't straight into bed with said prince. Did he really want to sleep with this prince? His heart did a thing that Lance didn't even know how to describe but the aftermath was feeling the need to be sick. He should call for Mi'Dori and find anywhere else to sleep for the night. There were some nice benches in the garden that would do in a pinch.

Just as Lance was wondering if the other guard outside would block him from leaving, the first guard returned but didn't say a word to him. Instead he headed straight out and closed the door behind him without sparing Lance as much as glance.

"So I hear you're a Bakkeiasian guest," the prince's voice made Lance turn and immediately forget how to speak again. The prince was so much less covered up than when Lance saw him before. He was wearing nothing more than what looked like a stereotypical poufy, white spa robe, only half tied, teasing Lance that it could very easily slip open and expose even more of the prince's very well defined chest or something even lower.

Something that may have been a noise of confirmation escaped Lance. Though at this point it honestly could have been a squeak, Lance really didn't want to think too much on it.

Saving Lance from his own thoughts a beautiful woman came from the same hallway that the prince just did, soon followed by another equally beautiful woman. They weren't Bakkeiasian, or any alien species Lance had seen so far but these were one of the few that had hair like humans and almost could have passed for humans if they didn't have light pink fur instead of skin.

"Did you want to reschedule your appointment," one of the women asked the prince and Lance noticed they both had little baskets with oils and lotions. Maybe they were masseuses?

"I think I'll hold off for now and cancel my other appointments for the time being," the prince walked the girls to the door, thanking them when they agreed and closed the door behind them before turning to Lance again.

"I didn't mean to interrupt anything," Lance finally managed to speak.

"I'm happy you did," the prince smiled and made Lance's heart do weird things again. He looked Lance over and frowned slightly, walking towards him. "You're still in those clothes from before, aren't you cold?"

There had been a reply in Lance's mouth but it came out as a gasp when the prince's very warm hands slid over Lance's hips and came to rest on the small of this back.

"We should really get you out of those," the prince's face was so close, his breath tickled against Lance's lips, making Lance's heart race and his face heat up, especially when those warm hands moved to undo his robe.

"Wait," Lance quickly grabbed hold of the prince's wrists.

"What is it?" the prince asked, hands stilling.

"I, that is, I didn't come here for that," Lance felt like he was about to jump out of a plane, his body tense and heart racing and hoping this didn't get him killed.

"Oh?" the prince tilted his head to the side, having the nerve to look cute doing it.

"Yeah," Lance stammered, not sure what to think when the prince's hands stayed on his hips. "Look, I'm really flattered by your invite but I don't even know your name or anything about you other than you're a prince and that's not enough to make me want to jump into bed with someone I'll never see again, especially when," he took a deep breath, trying to keep himself from sharing far too much, "So yeah, thank you but I should get going now."

Still the prince's hands did not move, "Lotor."

"What?" Lance blinked up at him.

"My name is Lotor," the prince now known as Lotor finally slipped his hands from Lance's hips and Lance's hold on his wrists, but then took Lance's hands into his own and held them between them. "And you are?"

"Lance," the paladin answered slowly.

"Well Lance it took a lot of courage for you to come up here and decline my offer," Lotor continued to smile at him. "Not many would have given my status."

"Prince Charming not used to rejection, huh," Lance tried to joke.

"Not in these matters," Lotor confirmed.

Unable to help it, Lance chuckled, "Sorry but that sounded kind of conceited."

"Perhaps a bit," Lotor smiled, "But your honesty is very refreshing. Would you consider staying if I promised not to touch you without your permission? I would enjoy your company even if it's not what was originally intended."

"I would like that," Lance's mouth answered before he could properly think about it but found that he actually didn't mind it.

"Good," Lotor gave Lance's hands a gentle squeeze, "But you really should change out of those wet clothes. Why don't you go to the bedroom and change into one of my robes?"

"Still trying to get me into your bedroom I see," Lance smiled, feeling a little more at ease now.

"My intentions are solely for your well being, I swear," Lotor lifted Lance's hands and kissed them; making Lance blush again but at least the nerves hadn't returned. "They always stock the closet with several robes, find one that fits and put your damp clothing in the chute inside the closet. The Bakkeiasians will return them to you once they're clean and dry."

"How will they know where to return them?" Lance questioned.

"They're very good at their jobs," Lotor shrugged.

"Okay," said Lance and let himself be directed to the bedroom down the hall Lotor and the women had come from earlier. He looked over the numerous paintings and art in that hall as he went, the fanciness of the place hitting him again when he got to the bedroom.

The bedroom was large and regal, looking like something that belonged on the history channel but with advanced technological flare. There was a weird bed table where massages probably happened, a regular table with a couple of chairs to eat at, some comfy looking chairs near a grand window that currently had its curtains drawn, a couple of dressers and a closet as big as his dorm room at Garrison.

As he changed Lance tried not to look at the bed but couldn't help but notice it was rather big as well but also very soft looking as if the mattress was really just a giant pillow. Curious he pressed a hand down on it and while it really wasn't a giant pillow, it was certainly plush.

Trying not to blush, Lance mentally scolded himself for touching Lotor's bed and tried not to think about how he was now naked under his spa robe. At least it was long and he had tied it securely so he should be safe on those fronts.

Returning to the lobby of the suite seemed to take longer than the walk to the bedroom but still hadn't expected there to be a small feast on what worked as a coffee table by the couch where Lotor was currently sitting. There was more regular looking food there than Lance had seen in the entire time since he had left Garrison. Plus there were bottles of several different kinds of drink squeezed in between the plates. He imagined Hunk would be rather jealous of him right about now.

Holding up what looked like a wine glass, Lotor smiled at him, "I hope you're hungry."

"How did you get so much here so quickly?" Lance couldn't resist asking, going over to join Lotor on the couch.

"The Bakkeiasians are very good at their jobs," Lotor actually winked at him.

"I feel like that's your answer to a lot of things," Lance futilely hoped he wasn't blushing.

"It works for a lot of situations on this planet," Lotor set down his own glass to pick up an empty one. "What would you like to drink?"

Even if Lance could read Altean like Pidge, he could tell that the bottles were in different alien languages. Some of them looked familiar from the space mall but Lance didn't even have the slightest of clues of what they said.

"I have no clue what any of this is," Lance admitted, picking up one of the bottles. "It looks like juice."

"Only fermented," Lotor nodded, "they're all different flavors though."

"Oh so they're like wine," Lance weighed his options. Technically speaking he wasn't old enough to drink, at least not back home. But on Earth the drinking age varied on where you were and who knew what the drinking ages were in space. For all he knew Pidge was old to drink in space, though he felt no desire to suggest that to them. And really, should he be drinking around someone he barely knew that had already expressed interest in sleeping with him?

"If you would prefer something in the non-fermented variety there's also water," Lotor suggested to a clear bottle with no label.

Opening the bottle he was holding, Lance sniffed the top, curious that it smelled more like something citrus than grape.

"I think I'll mostly have water but trying this couldn't hurt," Lance let Lotor take the bottle from him in order to pour Lance a small glass. Once Lance had the glass he looked at it more closely, it was indeed a light orange and actually had bubbles. He almost dropped the glass when he took a sip, "It tastes just like orange soda!"

Lotor blinked a couple of times and Lance noticed that Lotor's right ear twitch just slightly, "What is orange soda?"

"A drink from back some," Lance explained, "Though soda isn't fermented."

As they drank and ate, Lotor asked more questions about orange soda and Lance did his best to explain without getting into too many flavors or talking about brands. The conversation went from soda, to the art around the room, to stories they've read – Lance had to admit he really liked the way Lotor's ear twitched when Lance talked about fairy tales and how they've been retold in so many different ways, to space to really nothing at all. Everything was just so oddly comfortable that it didn't really feel real.

At some point Lance stopped sitting up on the couch and had turned to properly face Lotor, kicking off his shoe to curl up on it with his legs half tucked under him as he leaned against the back of the couch and kept his head propped up against his arm. His currant drink tasted like kiwi and his head was starting to feel heavy.

Taking the wine glass away, Lotor set it down on the table before facing Lance again. He kept his feet on the ground but moved closer to him before running his fingers through Lance's hair and speaking softly, "I think you've had enough to drink."

Lance hummed, eyes drifting shut as he concentrated on the feel of Lotor's fingers carding through his hair and lightly scratching his scalp. He almost wished that he was a cat so he could curl up further and purr.

After a moment Lance realized that Lotor said something. Regretfully he opened his eyes again to give Lotor his full attention, "I'm sorry, what?"

"Did your host arrange for a room for you?" Lotor repeated.

"No," Lance yawned and closed his eyes again. "Just need to call her."

"That would take a while and you're a practically asleep now," Lance told almost hear Lotor frowning and pretended that his ear was twitching too. "Would you be alright staying here for the night?"

Staying here? Well the couch was rather comfortable and much better than one of the benches he had considered earlier. He sort of felt like he'd be sleeping the moment he was no longer vertical anyway.

"Here's fine," Lance murmured, no longer propping up his head and resting fully against the couch, thinking maybe he didn't even need to lay down to fall asleep, though a soft whine did escape him when Lotor's fingers left his hair. He'd protest more if he was awake enough to think of words but still tired enough to not be embarrassed by them.

Lance woke up a little when he felt himself being lifted, looking up to confirm that Lotor was indeed carrying him, "Where are we going?"

"To bed," Lotor headed towards the room Lance had changed in earlier.

"The couch is fine," even half asleep, Lance could feel his face heating up.

"It's just to sleep Bright Eyes, I promise," Lotor's voice was soft, trying not to wake Lance any further and Lance couldn't help but find it endearing, leaning against him and closing his eyes again, murmuring something that was probably and "okay" but just sounded like humming even to Lance's fuzzy mind.

For a moment Lance must have dozed off for the next thing he knew he was laying in the very plush bed, the covers tucked around him with Lotor in the bed beside him and stroking his hair again. Wishing that he could purr was the last coherent thought Lance had before he drifted off to sleep.