"LAHnnce," he cooed in a ridiculous falsetto, batting his eyelashes at her, "you are sooo handsome and brave. You are my favorite paladin!"

Allura laughed so hard she was grabbing at her sides and gasping for breath, "I do NOT sound like that!"

"Yup," he answered, flopping back onto her bed, a smug smile on his lips, "that is a spot on impression. Ask anyone."

When she finally got her breathing back to normal, she smacked at him playfully, "you are not my favorite paladin- for the record."

He looked stricken, "what? Allura- no! How is that even possible?"

Now it was her turn to look smug, "it's true. Of all the Paladins, you are not my favorite."

"Awww, my Princess, how could you betray me like that?"

She smiled, leaning down to kiss him softly, "I like when you call me that. 'My Princess'... I don't like it when you leave the 'my' out. Isn't that odd?"

"I don't think so," he answered, "changes it from a title to a pet name. I can see how that would make a difference. You want me to see YOU, not your... umm... pedigree? I don't know what the proper term is."

"Is that because English isn't your first language?" she asked gently, moving to lie beside him, her face pillowed on his chest.

"Ummm.. maybe?" he answered, "but I'm very fluent. I don't think I know the right term in any language. I'm not used to thinking much about Royalty and how it works."

"I didn't know that Cubano was your first language until tonight when Hunk mentioned it," she traced her finger along the line of his jaw.

"Well, I didn't know anyone who spoke it at the Garrison except Hunk, so it wasn't really something that came up much. I just got used to living in English." He turned his head and caught her finger, playfully nibbling at it, which made her laugh and pull her hand away.

"I am so often surprised at how little I really know about you," she said. "I am enjoying learning you."

"I am, too," he replied easily, playing with her hair, "I like opening up to you, and I like learning more about you. You are so amazing."

"Don't be silly, I am not amazing," she giggled.

"Not true- you amaze me all the time... but to be fair, so do the mice."

Smiling, she cupped his face and drew it down to hers so she could kiss him, sweet and slow and tender. When the kiss broke, his expression was dewy and he looked so young it made her sigh.

"What was that for?" he asked, rolling onto his side so they were pressed together from shoulder to toe, and he nuzzled her throat affectionately.

"Just for being you," she answered softly. She'd noticed he did that often, nuzzle into her like he couldn't get close enough. Her fingers slid through the soft hair at base of his neck, nails skimming lightly over his skin, making him sigh. "I never knew about Keith."

"What about him?" he asked, not even lifting his head.

"How you feel about him," she breathed, no change in her closeness, or the way she was touching him.

He stilled, going quiet.

"We are empaths, remember," she coaxed. "I could feel it. Still can. Did you not realize? It is very... powerful."

He lifted his head then, meeting her eyes. The deep blue of his gaze was troubled, turbulent, vulnerable, just like the shift in his emotions. "What are you feeling from me about Keith, Allura?"

She let her eyes drift shut, sinking into the feeling. He was thinking about Keith now, so it was easily accessible, right at the surface of the layers of emotions she'd learned to recognize as Lance just as easily as she recognized the features of his face or the sound of his voice. "Attraction," she breathed, "the kind that likes to push into your awareness at all the worst moments. Mmmm... that little thrill when he smiles, because it is rare and exciting." She smiled, "concern- you worry about him a lot. Envy. Jealousy... of... someone... Shiro, maybe? Someone close to Keith, so it must be Shiro... but now that doesn't feel right... oh... I know. The Blades." Her eyes fluttered, and she felt herself sink deeper into this new pool of emotion that was 'Keith' in the ocean that was 'Lance', "oh, Lance... the longing. So much longing. It aches... and that irritates you. So does the rejection... and the confusion... There's a lot of pain here... but, fear? Why fear?" Her hand reached out, catching his, her thumb rubbing at the back of his hand, wanting him to feel their connection in a physical way. "Lance, oh darling, darling Lance... These are not new emotions... they are well established... deep roots, strong patterns. They are part of your being." Her eyes opened, filled with compassion, "how long have you been in love with Keith?"

"I'm not," he said, ready to argue... which was pretty stupid, because she'd just demonstrated that she could feel everything he was feeling. "You think I am in love with Keith?"

"Well, that's how I would describe something this rich and deep. But I am not you," she said gently.

"You don't seem angry..."

"I don't seem? Lance, you can read me just as easily as I can read you. Am I angry?"

"No, not angry," he answered with a smile, pressing his forehead to hers, "not hurt, either... or jealous. You feel... warm... and kind... and happy... but concerned."

"Mmmhmm... not angry, or hurt, or jealous... so... tell me about it. How long?"

"Since... I don't know... maybe a few weeks after we met. I didn't really understand why I was so... fixated. It really bugged me, so I started... pitting myself against him."

"Ohhhh," she smiled, "he was the first boy you fell for! Oh, that's so sweet and scary. How long did it take to figure out that you liked boys, too?"

"Longer than it would have if I'd known you back then, I'm guessing," he laughed, "look at you, putting all my pieces together."

"I like the pieces of you, and how they fit together," she answered him, "and he IS very pretty... those eyes of his."

He made a face at her, "do YOU think that, or are you picking that up from me?"

"Hmmmm..." her brows furrowed, making that cute little crease in her forehead that looked so different when she wasn't wearing her crown. "I'm not really sure... does it matter right now?"

"No, I guess not," he conceded, dropping a little kiss on her shoulder. "I didn't really understand it until after we were here. It was a whole angsty process that I dragged poor Hunk through with me. Actually, it was that talk with you that really made everything sort of fall into place."

"I'm glad I helped- even though I had no idea I was doing so at the time," she giggled.

"You're really not upset at all, are you?" he marveled, running his hand through that impossibly soft cloud of silvery white hair.

"Why would I be upset?" she asked, confusion plain on her face. "Your feelings for Keith have nothing to do with me."

"A lot of people would feel like one negated the other," he answered, "I grew up hearing that you could only care for one person at a time, and if you found your thoughts drifting to someone new, it meant you didn't care about the person you were with anymore. I was such a jerk to people because I believed that."

"Ooof, so much regret... You were LEARNING," she purred, "of course you made mistakes. That's how learning happens."

"¡Dios!" he breathed, gazing at her face, "how are you even real? Mi preciosa princesa."

"Was that your native tongue?" she asked, "oh, it sounds so pretty, Lance... but I have no idea what it means."

"Mmm," he kissed her cheek, skimming his lips along her skin to whisper in her elf-like ear, "I said, god, how are you even real? My precious princess."

His breath skittering over her ear made her gasp and clutch at his shoulders, a swell of affection blossoming in her chest. He chuckled softly, "felt that."

"Good," she answered, "kiss me."

He did as she asked, taking his time to really enjoy the little intimacies of being with her like this. When they were alone, everything took on a strange, dream-like feel that his romantic soul just loved. It was almost like dancing.

"I could kiss you forever," he breathed between embraces.

"Stay," she whispered some time later, punctuating her words with small, heated kisses, "I don't want to be alone tonight. Sleep here with me."