The mission had gone well. So well. He was pumped! It had been dicey for a split second, some kind of new security protocol that Pidge hadn't yet encountered had slowed them down a few ticks, and that had led to sentries starting to pile up at a bottleneck in the corridors that they NEEDED to get past. With Pidge and Hunk occupied trying to override the new protocol, it had fallen to him, Allura, and Shiro to take out the oncomers. They were getting bogged down when he'd looked over at Allura and somehow he'd just KNOWN what she was going to do. She went low, and he popped up, laying down cover fire as she went all out with that whip of hers. It was a sight to see, to say the least. She ripped through sentry after sentry and every time, every movement, he somehow knew exactly where she would be exposed and was already aiming before the Galra could even get close to her. By the time Pidge had worked her wizardry, they had taken out almost all of the enemy. Even Shiro had been impressed- they'd earned themselves a low whistle and a 'nicely done' from their leader, which was actually pretty high praise from Shiro in the heat of a mission.

The entire trip back to the Castle they'd all engaged in excited crosstalk and singing each other's praises. They should have been tired. He should have been wrung out. He was proud of his ability as a sharpshooter, but sometimes it weighed on him to be so good at what boiled down to 'killing from a safe distance', even if he KNEW that without him doing exactly that, the odds of one of them not coming home from a mission were very different.

"Celebratory milkshakes?" Hunk had cheerfully suggested to the group as they met up again after disembarking from their lions. Pidge and Shiro had immediately agreed. Lance's eyes had slid to Allura's. She'd given a tiny shake of her head, and he'd declined the group hang, as had she. Hunk had given him a bit of an odd look, but otherwise no one seemed to think there was anything odd going on.

He'd gotten to the little studio before her, just finishing his warm-up when she arrived. "Ready?" he'd asked as soon as she came through the door.

"Yes," she laughed, "I was doing stretches in Blue on the way back here."

"A-ha! I KNEW you sounded distracted on the comms!" he crowed. "Excited to come dance with me?"

"I was on such a rush, and I KNEW that once we got back, I was going to NAIL that spin. So, in Blue I was just too wound up to sit still. Stretching helped. That was such an exhilarating mission!"

"You," he said, catching her hand and pulling her into a impromptu quickstep, spinning her out and back, "were AMAZING back there! I wish you could have seen yourself. Melee magic. Whip-wielding wizardry. Fighting finesse! Razzle. Dazzle."

"Lance, stop," she giggled, "you flatterer."

He pressed a hand to his chest, staggering backwards as if he'd been shot. "Allura," he gasped, reaching out to her, his face one of abject betrayal, his entire being full of playful dramatics, "you wound me!"

She shook her head at him, good-natured amusement radiating from her. "Alright, you silly man, get back here and see if can't I figure that step out THIS time."

He gave her a deep, highly flourished bow, "as you wish, my darling Allura." Still smiling, still bouncing with excitement, he pulled up their music and stepped back, holding his hand out to her and giving her an eyebrow waggle of invitation.

Shaking her head and laughing softly at him, she stepped into place, taking a moment to triple check the placement of her hands, arms and feet. He loved that she did that. So many beginners ignored the importance of a good frame, but Allura seemed to understand how that was the foundation to everything that came after it. Plus, the way her brow furrowed while she did it was just precious. He felt a smile bloom on his face.

"What?" she asked, looking up to meet his eyes, "what did I just do that you found so... charming?"

"Just watching my favorite student, get ready" he answered, "plus, you make this really cute little face when you are thinking. All serious."

"Well then... as long as it is.. cute, I guess," she laughed, falling into the perfect posture.

"Oh, it is," he assured her, "downright endearing. Ready?"