The prince and princess kept one another's gaze. Lotor looked furious, and Allura was sure she had the appearance of a scared mouse. His silence terrified her.

"I-I apologize, Lotor, I should not have struck you, even if I am angry with you for your… for kissing me." She felt bold stating it, but it was the truth.

"No, you're not."

She blinked at him and watched as he relaxed his jaw and smirked.

"You're not angry at me, Allura. You're angry at yourself for liking it."

She felt her eyes go wide and had to look away. He was right.

"That's… not it." She knew she was lying but to admit it to his face was just too much. Her eyes began to fill with tears.

He hummed a laugh in response, and then both of his palms were on her cheeks. Gently turning her head to face him, he grinned up at her. All his previous anger and annoyance was gone, even if his face still held the telltale mark of her hand striking him.

Allura's emotions were all over the place. She closed her eyes, unable to maintain looking him in the eye, from both shame and all the unstable feelings due to his new attitude. She felt hot tears start to roll down her cheeks, but they were stopped by him wiping them away with his thumbs.

"You don't need to cry," he whispered, far closer to her than she had remembered him being. She could feel his breath on her lips before he gently pressed against her. When he didn't push for more, she let this still new experience of the feeling of his lips and his lack of forcefulness overcome her senses. Allura felt positively sinful, but felt a rush of craving something she had never had before. Tilting her head slightly, she parted her lips and his with them. Hesitantly, she moved her tongue to touch at his, and that was her undoing.

Many passionate kisses later, Allura had a hand around his neck and another tangled in his hair. Lotor was holding her at the small of her back like when they danced, and she felt a hand on her thigh near her knee. She realized he had pushed her knees apart when she felt him pressing his chest flush against hers, leaning her backwards towards the bed. Slightly alarmed, she broke the kiss.

They stared at one another, both breathing heavy. The prince looked incredibly pleased with himself, and the princess was unsure what to do. When he began to push against her again, she put her hand on his chest with some force.

"Lotor… this is not… we can't…," she trailed off, unsure how to voice that he needed to stop.

"Whatever you want is fine," he murmured as he moved his head to nuzzle her neck under her chin. Allura was struck by how intimate that gesture was, and how he wasn't.. arguing. He wasn't pressing the issue, and was content to just be here with her in any capacity she was letting him. That fact alone did more to endear him to her than anything he had tried to force on her the entire time she had known him.

Her hand moved to his hair, and she pet down the back of his head. The princess almost laughed when she realized his hair was softer and sleeker than hers. She absentmindedly continued to caress her hand down his hair repeatedly, and ended up running her fingers through it, rather jealous of how his it felt in her grasp.

The prince hummed in pleasure at the touching, and Allura was struck by how human his reactions were. Add to that he was still kneeling on the floor in front of her bed, wrapped in her arms and being… pleasant. He was acting like a lover. And he was getting exactly what he always wanted. The thought made her begin to panic.

"This is all a ruse, isn't it?"

Lotor slowly lifted his head to look at her.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Allura."

"This. You being too amicable. You're just trying to do whatever to get what you really want."

He frowned and even pouted a bit.

"Please explain."

Allura was slightly concerned about how much his niceness was for show and if any of it was genuine.

"You… you always just want to do everything you can to try and take my people and my planet. You're up to something. You always are. I have every reason to distrust you."

Lotor's mood soured and he was visibly trying to keep his composure.

"Allura, I have always told you exactly what I wanted. Countless times have I declared my feelings for you, gone out of my way to find you when I could just let the battle or schemes take you. I care for you and want you by my side, as my Queen, as I have told you many times over."

She could feel herself frowning and he spoke again, this time in a whisper and looking away from her, in an uncharacteristic lack of confidence.

"I just wanted to have you speak to me like you do to others in your life."

Allura felt guilt swelling in her breast. If he was actually being honest with her…

"Lotor, why did you first come here? When you snuck into my bedroom uninvited… why were you here?"

He glanced up at her, and then back away.

"I just… wanted to see you. After everything, I never thought you would willingly spend time with me like this. I expected you to be asleep, I just… wanted to look at you. I was drunk, I wasn't thinking clearly."

She could feel him watching her in his peripheral vision, and she smiled. Tears prickled at her eyes again, but she ignored them. Catching his cheeks in her hands, she turned him to face her, this time.

"I concede that you are making a noble effort in manners and listening, Prince Lotor." She could see his eyes light up at her words. He had been listening to her in everything, not just in the book. The reading certainly helped, but he was taking this startlingly new behavior to every aspect of their interaction.

"I am glad you are pleased, my sweet."

Him gently smiling up at her caught her off guard. She blinked, and went to remove her hands from his face. Before she could, he caught them, holding her in place. He closed his eyes and turned his head to kiss both of her palms, one after the other.

"I will never again do anything you don't want."

Allura swallowed, unsure how to take what he was saying. Did that mean… was he…

"And does that include attacking my people and fighting with Voltron?"

He sighed. "Yes, but I am not sure how I will accomplish that easily. You don't know what he's like."

The mood was suddenly sour once more. Allura's mind started racing to try and think of a solution for their situation, and she was uncomfortable that only one was clear. That wasn't a worry for tonight.

"Lotor. It's getting late. We should start if we intend to read tonight…," she said while trying not to watch him lean into one of her hands, eyes closed.

"Hmm, I suppose. Or we could just sleep and forget the reading."

She was so shocked by his suggestion that she couldn't find the words to respond with. Even more shocking was when he grinned up at her mischievously, and moved his hands to pick her up by the waist. Allura nearly shrieked before schooling her reaction so as to not alert anyone in the palace, as she was hoisted into the air while he stood. One of his hands left her, the other pressing her to his chest for stability, while she heard him disturbing the blankets on her bed. After a few seconds, his other hand returned to her waist, and she was gently set down on her bed. He sat on his knee next to her, smiling down at her scandalized expression.

Pulling the covers across her, Lotor kept smirking. Allura frowned.

"I was under the impression you weren't going to do things I did not want," she spat out while crossing her arms.

Lotor laughed.

"I apologize, my sweet, you hadn't told me not to tuck you… us… into your bed." His grin turned devious.

"US?!" This time she didn't managed to control her volume.

His grin increased as he reached down and threw his boots into the darkness of her room, and then slid himself down next to her. He pulled the covers over himself, as Allura pushed herself back away from him. His grin turned into a frown.

"Allura, it's just sleep. Aren't you tired?"

"Yes, but…." She had no idea how to explain to him that this was not good!

"Sleep then, my love," he said as he laid his head back on one of her pillows and closed his eyes.

The princess eyed him, and when he didn't do anything besides breath calmly, she sank back into her bed. As soon as she settled, he placed his head on her shoulder and looked up at her, grinning once more.

"You cannot stay all night," she said with authority.

He continued grinning.

"I know."

She watched him close his eyes and tilt his head back down into a more comfortable position. He was still leaning on her shoulder, and snaked a hand back around her waist. Her mind was racing, but eventually she heard his breathing even out and his hand went slack as he fell asleep. She was astounded. Here he was, the prince and a commander to his people, in the heart of their enemy's territory, in the bed of their leader, and he just fell asleep like it was the most natural thing. Allura was convinced she would never understand him.

She was also convinced she would never fall asleep with him there. When she woke to sunlight streaming into her room, she bolted upright, finding herself alone…. unless he was hiding somewhere, which seemed unlikely to her, given his usual boisterous attitude.

Jumping out of bed and running to check the window, Allura began to remember when she had woken up as he was leaving. A soft kiss to her forehead, and a murmuring in her ear that she couldn't quite remember. She had a lot to mull over before he returned that night.