CHAPTER 3: Space Alcohol
There's only one bed.
It's large and comfortable looking, with what look like incredibly soft white blankets piled on it. It's hard to miss as it rests against the opposite wall than the door.
Keith takes another step into the room so that they're not just awkwardly hanging out in the hallway. He slowly walks around the bed, examining the other parts of the room as he goes. There's a dresser against the wall to the left of the bed and a small table in the corner with some books stacked on it. Keith comes across another door at the right of the room and opens it. It's the bathroom, which is much larger than he thought it would be, almost the size of the bedroom and elegantly furnished with different types of soap on a shelf near the tub.
Lance is going to have a field day with that.
"Hey look at this! This is what I'm talking about." He hears Lance call from the bedroom. Keith comes back to the doorway and leans against the frame to see what Lance is talking about.
He's holding an intricate glass decanter with a dark amber liquid inside of it in one hand and two matching glasses in the other.
Later, Keith will remember this as the moment where he should have known what was going to happen.
"Don't break that, the last thing we need is to have to owe these people a bunch of money." Keith says in response, folding his arms over his chest.
Lance fakes like he's going to drop it but puts it back on top of the dresser when Keith gives him a look. Keith's eyes return to the bed. It's hard not to, it's so big. That situation can wait until later though.
Keith walks across the room and pulls out one of the chairs at the table and sits down.
"I can't believe they didn't have a plan for when we got here. They want us to just remain on call? We could be helping other people right now." Keith gripes, resting his chin on his hand.
Lance plops down on the bed, splaying out like starfish with his feet hanging over the side.
"They don't know when they're going to be attacked. It's not like they have a whole lot of options."
Keith knows this, he's just feeling tense and needed to complain about something. He guesses that Lance can sense his uneasiness because Lance stands up and comes to sit with him at the table.
"I'm telling you man, we could drink the alcohol. Space alcohol. It could be fun."
Keith is saved from having to answer when there is a knock at the door. Lance gets up to go open it, swinging the heavy door open. It's Rhaegar.
"Weren't you here, like, a second ago?" Lance questions.
Rhaegar nods. "I left to go find you a second set of clothing." He hands Lance two folded piles and Keith gets up to take them from him, setting them on the dresser before joining Lance at the door.
"Also", Rhaegar continues, "the queen requests your presence tonight in the grand hall for dinner. Please wear what you have been given. A guard will send for you. That is all." Then he's gone, turning down the hall yet again.
"Thanks?" Lance calls after him at the abrupt goodbye.
They shut the door and Keith goes to investigate the clothing situation. One pile is red and one pile is blue so at least they're not stuck wondering whose is which. He hands Lance his. Keith starts to unfold his set and is relieved that there is a shirt component and that he won't be naked from the waist up like Rhaegar. It's a simple design with a sleeveless top made out of a nearly sheer material the color of red wine and a neckline that's probably lower than Keith would like. The pants are a soft grey and look to be fitted in order to work with the flow of the top.
It could be worse.
He looks up to find that Lance has already put his on while Keith was figuring his out. Keith can feel the blood rushing up to his face and he really hopes that he didn't make a sound. He thinks he didn't. Lance hasn't looked up from the knick knack he's investigating that he apparently swiped from on top of the table.
Lance is gorgeous. Or he would be, if Keith had thoughts like that about Lance. But he doesn't. They've dressed Lance somewhat similarly to Keith in terms of material and the pants situation, but the back of Lance's top is only connected at the top and allows the back of his shirt to hang open, revealing the long expanse of his back. It's a deep royal blue, sheer like Keith's, and Keith thinks that he's too young to have a heart attack.
He should have taken Lance up on that offer of a drink.
"I'm, uh, going to go put this on." He says lamely, holding his pile up before making the quick walk to the bathroom. He spares another glance at Lance as he passes, who is looking at him with wide eyes. Keith makes it to the bathroom and he breathes, leaning over the sink and staring at himself in the mirror.
You can do this. It's just a shirt. It's just Lance.
It's that last part that he's worried about.
After about half an hour of them sitting in their room, trying to hash out a plan of how they're going to go about defending the planet, there's another knock at the door notifying them that dinner is soon to be served.
They follow the guard past several rooms and they walk past the entrance they came in so Keith guesses they're heading toward the other half of the building. They stop in front of an open room that is large enough to hold the long table in the middle, piled high with food. The queen stands from where she is sat at the head of the table and all the guests rise with her.
"My honored guests, please join me in welcoming these two paladins of Voltron, without whom our planet would stand no chance against the Galra."
The room erupts into polite applause as Keith and Lance are led to their seats. Keith ends up directly to the queen's right and Lance to her left. Everyone sits again as the applause dies down and the guests dig into the food.
The dinner is long, with several courses, and the social interaction is greatly trying Keith's patience. They almost make it to the end of it with no hiccups, Keith can tell, but then the queen decides to pick up her earlier flirting with Lance.
"Tell me, are the missing paladins at Adrik as beautiful as you?" The queen asks, leaning toward Lance and putting her chin in her hand.
The question takes Lance off guard who flounders for a second while he registers that an actual female is trying to flirt with him.
"Well, I mean, I guess we're all about the same. I mean, obviously I'm handsome." Lance says awkwardly. He bounces back quickly enough. "I'm sure they're jealous."
The queen laughs and puts her hand on lances arm. Lance's eyes flick over to Keith, who is resolutely trying not to get involved by examining the pattern on his dinner plate.
This didn't used to be so painful to watch, Keith thinks.
"Actually, you know what? I'm not feeling so good, I think that maybe we should head back to our room." Lance says, slipping his arm out from under the queen's.
Keith looks up at that, catching Lance's eye. He doesn't know what Lance is doing, usually he'd be all over this, but Keith just goes with it. He's tired of being at this dinner.
"Yeah, we're pretty tired", Keith agrees easily, "Thank you for the meal."
"Yes, of course", the queen says disappointedly, "enjoy your rest."
With that, the two paladins get up and start the trek back to their room.
In the hall, it's just the two of them, their footsteps echoing off the floor as they walk in silence. They find their room like that, Lance being too quiet. They open the door and Keith is reminded about the bed situation.
"I'll take the floor." Keith wasn't lying about being tired.
"What? No, that bed is huge. We can share it."
Keith gives in easily, too tired to argue with him. "Fine."
They find something appropriate to wear as pajamas in the dresser and they both get changed.
"I'm going to go shower." Lance announces, already pulling the bathroom door shut.
Keith gets in the bed, staying to his side and turning on his back. Keith guesses that it isn't that much later when Lance climbs into his side of the bed. They lay in silence for a moment and Keith is nearly asleep when Lance breaks the quiet.
"I don't like the queen."
Keith stares up at the ceiling. "Well, she likes you." He winces. That was petty.
Lance turns his head to look at him. "She doesn't think you're handsome."
Keith honestly has no idea what to make of that. What does that even mean. Lance isn't insinuating that he thinks Keith is handsome, right?
Keith keeps his eyes on the ceiling. "Yeah, well, she's right. Just go to sleep Lance."
Lance doesn't turn back to his side. "No, she isn't. I didn't like what she said to you earlier when we met her. 'you, not so much.' Like, what does she know?" Lance says, for some reason angry on Keith's behalf.
Keith suddenly remembers how he interrupted Lance when they were meeting the queen. Keith turns his head to look at Lance, about to ask him what he was going to say, but finds that Lance is already asleep, breathing evenly.
Keith is glad that Lance is asleep. At least someone will be well rested in the morning.
She doesn't think you're handsome.
Eyes shut, Keith smiles to himself.
Author's note:
You ever want to just like, take their heads and mash their faces together? Ooooh Lance thinks Keith is handsome.