She nodded and on the proper beat they started moving. Keeping his eyes on hers, he counted out the steps. "Alright, give it a try on four," he coaxed, gently leading her into position and... "nope! Allura, you HAVE to stop grabbing my hand like that," his voice was a mix of patience and laughter. It really wasn't that difficult a step, but it involved a level of trust that she just didn't have in him yet and so, when she SHOULD be spinning, secure in the fact that he HAD her, she panicked and clamped on his hand- locking her whole body up.
"I KNOW!" she barked, angry with herself.
"You have to trust me," he coaxed.
"I DO!" she insisted.
"Not in that moment, you don't. You think I'm going to let you fall."
"No," Allura argued, "I think I am going to mess it up and fall."
"I'm not going to let you fall, even if you mess it up." He sighed, shaking his limbs to get rid of the building tension. "Okay. We are getting past this. Tonight. We were 100% in sync on the mission. We KNOW we can do this. This is nothing compared to a battle field. Right?"
"Right." Determination laced her tone and she set her jaw.
"There we go," he purred, "that's my Princess. Alright. Trust falls."
"What are trust falls?" she asked, eyeing him.
"You, stand here. You cross your arms, over your chest, like this. I stand behind you, you close your eyes, and you fall. I catch you."
"That seems... silly and pointless."
"It's not silly and pointless. It builds trust in me. So that you KNOW I am not going to let you fall. We'll do 10 of them... and then we'll try that step again."
She took a deep breath and nodded- closing her eyes and crossing her arms and... nothing. He waited. She didn't budge. Tension and fear rippled off of her like waves from a skipping rock.
"Allura?" he asked.
"This is silly," she insisted.
"Okay, it's silly. Nothing wrong with silly. Do it anyway."
Another nod. But still no movement. "I trust you," she said feebly, "I do. I just can't..."
"Okay, okay," he soothed, putting his hand on her shoulder and stepping in close. He held her against him, her back flush against his chest, his chin resting on her shoulder. "It's okay," he breathed, his voice soft, running his hands over her arms lightly. "I got you. Okay? Relax. Just relax against me. No trust falls. I promise."
She nodded, still stiff and tense against him. "I don't understand..."
"I do- it is really hard to let yourself be vulnerable. Especially when you feel like you need to be strong all the time."
"But it is just dancing," she murmured.
"Doesn't matter. Still hard to do," he swayed with her gently. She caught both his hands in hers.
"I really do trust you," she insisted, relaxing in tiny increments.
"I know you do. You never would have jumped out and engaged those sentries the way you did if you didn't trust me to keep you safe. This is just a new context, so it's tripping you up."
"That... kind of makes sense," she said shyly.
"It makes total sense," he countered, his voice light and teasing. "Okay, you've got a good grip on my hands, so why don't you try just sagging back against me? It's not like I can go anywhere. I'm strong enough to hold your weight."
"I... think I can do that," she agreed.
He could feel her slowly, cautiously transfer her weight to him. He held her steady. He was solid, steady, unshakable, and he held her easily. "See? I got you. You're fine. Feel that?"
She nodded again, even though he could tell she was still feeling unsure and frightened.
"I'm just going to hold you here," he promised, "until you are ready to let go of one of my hands. Just one. You can still hang on to the other one. I'm not going to let you fall. I promise, Allura, you are completely safe."
After a moment, she took another deep breath, letting it out slowly. He felt her head give a little nod- a movement he recognized from her time piloting the castle as an indication that she'd made some sort of decision. He was already smiling before she relaxed her grip on his hand.
"There we go," he cooed, "perfect. See? I still have you. I'm not going anywhere. I would never let anything happen to you."
"Lance, I really do trust you," she breathed, relaxing her grip on his other hand slightly.
"Shhh, Allura," he breathed, nuzzling her face slightly, "you don't have to keep saying that. I believe you. I do. Whenever you feel safe to do it, let go of my other hand. Okay?"
It took a few minutes, and Lance was becoming increasingly grateful for the level of training Shiro insisted they all do- because without it, being as out of condition as he would have been from going so long without dancing, it would have been very hard to stay so steady and he KNEW that even the slightest muscle tremor would make Allura bolt at the moment, but eventually, Allura let go of his hand. He was completely supporting her weight, and she was no longer clinging to make sure he didn't let go.
"I knew you could do it," he whispered, his mouth right next to her ear. "So, next... when you TELL me to, and not a second before, I am going to take a step back- just a little one- and YOU are going to keep those pretty little feet of yours exactly where they are. I will hold your weight, just like I am now. Deal?"
"Um," she wet her lips and swallowed, "okay. Deal. Just... don't drop me."
"I'm not going to drop you," he promised. "I would never drop you. I catch you. That's my job. Since the day we met. I. Catch. You."
The reminder of how they'd met, and his cheesy pick-up line, made her laugh and chased away any lingering nerves. "Alright then, Lance, since I am already here in your arms. You can take that step."
"That's my badass," he answered, smiling hugely as he stepped back and she didn't so much as twitch. "Another one?"
"Yes," she laughed, "take another step."
He shifted his hold on her and stepped back. She'd tipped enough now that her head was resting lower on his chest and they were no longer pressed together from toe to shoulder. "See? I'm not going to drop you," he smiled at her, his face upside down to her. "Ready to try that spin again?"
"Absolutely," she grinned. "We've got this."