The 'Space Mall' was nothing at all what Nayni had imagined it to be. There was no conceivable reality where this place could have ever been an Unilu Swap Market. Everything was far too pristine and organized. There were just rows and rows of shops in every direction. The polished white floors reflected the colorful signs from every shop. Motorized walkways and lifts were scattered around in such an intricate manner that Nayni wasn't exactly sure where they actually went to. Aliens of every color and origin were shuffling around and chattering in languages she wasn't even familiar with. If she was totally honest she didn't even recognize all of the species that were marching around. The soft music that was playing over the sound system did nothing to relax her.
Coran had insisted that they take the time to stop and resupply. There was apparently no point in just sitting on their duffs while they waited for the Blade of Marmora to investigate those odd quintessence levels. The sight before her seemed far more terrifying than that mystery. Coran had warned her but his words really hadn't prepared her for this. He had been right about one thing though, seeing all of this made her feel very old. Hunk and Lance just looked absolutely bored. To them, it wasn't really a big deal. This was the most absurd thing she had seen since they'd awoken her from the sleep chamber.
She looked to Coran for some kind of explanation. How could a race of smugglers and pirates transform into this? When she'd been in the Army, she'd fought against the Unilu raiders and now they were just walking around casually trying to peddle their trinkets. Coran gave her a reassuring pat on the back.
"Now, now, Nayni, you wanted to see this. Are you just going to stand around gawking?" Coran teased.
He seemed very satisfied with himself. He put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest. She had deeply regretted coming with them now. Hunk seemed a bit tense, she wasn't sure why. He just was rocking back and forth on his feet rather awkwardly. Lance winked at a group of alien girls that strode by. They skittered away giggling and blushing.
"Is this supposed to be some kind of trap?" Nayni asked. "Is this supposed to entice us to come inside and then they spring out from the shadows and snatch up our coin satchels?"
That was the only reasonable explanation she could come up with.
"Relax, Nanny, it's just a mall. No one's out to rob or murder anyone," Lance said.
She'd still keep alert. The Unilu were not to be trusted. It didn't matter if thousands of years had gone by. Lance grabbed Nayni by the arm and started to escort her away from the others.
"C'mon, I'll show you around. It's really pretty cool," Lance said.
Nayni looked over her shoulder. Coran just smiled at her brightly.
"We'll just be-you know- resupplying. Just getting some essentials," Coran said.
He was just spewing a pile of ruggle at her. He had that gleam in his eye again. He was up to something. Lance tugged on her arm again and she stumbled forward. The Blue Paladin's brown coat swayed as he dragged her along the stretch of polished floors and shops. When Nayni looked back again. Coran and Hunk were nowhere to be seen. This was a fantastic turn of events. She was trapped, alone with Lance, in this terrifying Unilu trap.
"Don't worry about them, Nanny, we're just gonna have a good time and unwind after all of that hard work we've been doing," Lance said.
She didn't trust the smile he flashed at her. He was in on this too. What was Coran trying to hide from her? She'd been under the impression that he was going to be the one showing her around this place, not Lance. The Blue Paladin was already on autopilot though. He weaved around the people as if he'd done it hundreds of times. She had a hard time keeping up with him. The crowds and the lights and the noise were all so overwhelming. Every face she looked upon could be the face of a killer.
"There's a shop here that sells goods from Earth," Lance said. "It's my favorite."
He sounded a tad dejected about the latter. It was an intriguing enough proposition that it distracted her a bit from the paranoia that this place brought on. Most of the Paladins were from Earth. If she was going to be working with them, she should learn something about their culture. But from what she'd gathered, Earth hadn't exactly been discovered by the rest of the universe yet.
"I mean the stuff they have is kind of old—it seems kinda sketchy how they get their inventory but I don't ask too many questions," Lance explained.
His hands were stuffed in his pockets. He wasn't really looking at her as he spoke. His was still trying to maintain that air of confidence about him. Coran had said the boy was terribly homesick. This shop was all he really had to stay connected to his home.
"It's old?" Nayni asked.
Lance nodded.
"Like really old. Like, they have stuff from when my grandparents were young, maybe even my great-grandparents to be honest," Lance said.
Well, Nayni might not be getting caught up on the current climate of Earth's culture but she was fine with a history lesson.
"Old things can be fun sometimes," Nayni said. "Look at Coran. He's a blast."
Her joke just seemed to completely disgust Lance. This brought Nayni a great deal of joy.
They came upon this Earth store that Lance had been discussing. It was tucked in an odd corner of the mall. An alien with a massive head and grey skin hung around the doorway. His clothes looked like nothing Nayni had ever seen before. His pants looked like empty ration sacks and the gold chain around his neck was rather unbecoming. The shop was poorly lit and cramped. The boxes of goods looked faded and worn. The clothes hanging on the wall looked much different than what she'd seen Lance and the other Paladins wearing. They were obnoxious neon colors and the shapes of them were blocky and unflattering. If everyone on Earth dressed like that, things must've been dire.
Lance headed for a shelf in the back. It was filled with strange plastic squares that were wrapped in something crinkly and shiny. He flipped through them. Some of them had strange pictures on the covers, such as plants or machines that Nayni didn't recognize.
"What are those?" Nayni asked.
Lance pulled out one of the squares that had a scantily clad Earth woman on the cover. He handed it to Nayni. She turned it around in her hands and examined it.
"They're called CDs. They have music on them," Lance said.
Nayni furrowed her brow. This little square had no speakers or anything on it that seemed to be able to project this music.
"A see-dee?" Nayni said. "But how does it work?"
Lance seemed to find a CD he liked and pulled it off of the shelf.
"They're out of date by modern Earth standards too," Lance went on. "Pidge rigged up a way for me to listen to them though. Most of this stuff comes from the early 21st century."
He paused and stroked his chin.
"I'm not sure how long ago that would be compared to Altean history," Lance said.
Nayni flipped the CD over in her hand again and tried to make sense of the Earth language written on the back. There had been so many different types of music on Altea. She couldn't really wrap her head around what Earth music could be like. Lance plucked the CD from her hand and put it back on the shelf. He was scrutinizing the selection very closely. Nayni felt rather awkward and useless. She didn't know what half of this stuff was.
"What kind of music are you looking for?" Nayni asked.
She honestly didn't think she'd know even if he told her.
"I'm partial to Miss Britney Spears. She was everything," Lance said.
That woman was named after a weapon. She must've been a mighty warrior as well as a performer. But if she was 'everything' than she had to possess a great deal of power.
"What does it sound like?" Nayni asked.
She was most interested to hear what this warrior goddess sounded like.
"You could really get down to her stuff," Lance said. "She sang a lot about-romantic stuff."
From the way he said 'romantic,' Nayni could tell the subject matter must've been a bit risque. Lance plucked another CD from the shelf and added it to his pile.
"We can always listen to some stuff back on the Castle," Lance said. "Though I'm not sure it would be your thing."
Nayni thought about all the times she and Allura would listen to bad Altean pop. They would sing along and Nayni was usually rather off-key. Allura had always been a better dancer than her too. Lance didn't know about this though and Nayni didn't dare share such an embarrassing story with him. She couldn't have him sassing her about it.
"I'd like to do that. I might enjoy it," Nayni said.
That was all he was going to get out of her. Lance seemed very surprised. Nayni had been a tad more aggressive with him than she'd been with the other Paladins. He was just so cocky and flamboyant. Nayni grimaced as a realization came to her. Lance reminded her quite a bit of Coran. That made her swallow a bit of bile. Lance gathered up his pile of CDs. As he turned to head to the counter, his jaw dropped.
"Is that chocolate?" Lance said.
He ran over to the counter. A collection of colorfully wrapped objects of varying shapes and sizes were stuffed on a rack by the counter. The boy was practically drooling. He ran his fingers over the various items and seemed unable to control himself.
"What is chocolate?" Nayni asked.
Lance pulled a few of the objects wrapped in a paper that was a deep, rich shade of brown. It had simple white lettering on it. He handed one of them to Nayni. It was thin and hard. Why was everything from Earth some type of square shape? Even this 'chocolate' came in a rectangle.
"It's candy. The best candy," Lance said. "I mean it's probably so old it's bad but I haven't had it in so long."
Anything that was supposed to taste sweet was something Nayni would naturally be interested in. His face was lit up looking at the chocolate candy in his hands. He was marveling over it. He even seemed to be tearing up a bit. Lance sniffled and averted his gaze from Nayni. She felt it was best to let him believe that she hadn't noticed his emotional reaction.
Lance grabbed another handful of the brown wrapped bars. The stack was so thick he could barely hold onto it. Lance slipped the total of his spoils onto the counter and the grey alien started to barter with him. Nayni looked over some of the technology that was scattered around the shop. It all looked so primitive. The designs were geometric and cumbersome. Life on Earth must've been extremely difficult for the humans. She still understood why Lance missed it so much. There was a lot that she missed about Altea.
Lance finished his dealings with the grey alien. All of his purchases were stuffed into a strange flimsy, tan satchel. Nayni followed him out of the shop. Lance's hand was already groping around in the bag. He whipped out one of the chocolate bars and tossed it to Nayni. He pulled out another for himself and ripped open the wrapper with his teeth. Nayni just stared at it and fiddled with the paper nervously. She peeled back the paper. A waxy looking brown material was lying underneath. She sniffed it. It certainly smelled pleasant. It was a sweet scent mixed with a foreign smell that was unknown to her.
Lance took a bite out of the brown wax. He let out a moan and tilted his head back. He closed his eyes as he savored the flavor.
"It's perfect," Lance sighed.
Nayni sniffed the wax again. Lance seemed to be enjoying it. She'd seen the humans eat Altean food and enjoy it so their taste buds couldn't be that drastically different. Nayni took a small bite of the chocolate. It was much softer than it looked. It started to melt on her tongue and she shuddered. The flavor was pure ecstasy. It was rich and creamy and so orgasmically sweet that goosebumps erupted on her skin. It was the most delicious thing she had ever consumed. Of all the exotic foods she'd tried from across the universe, this was quite possibly the most spectacular of them all.
"It's great, isn't it?" Lance said.
Nayni bit off another chunk of the chocolate. She wanted to devour every bar that Lance had in his bag. She had to have all of it. This food tasted like how it felt to have Coran inside her.
"I think I might have to move to Earth," Nayni said.
Lance laughed and shook his head.
"What is this? It's the greatest culinary invention I have ever encountered," Nayni said.
Lance took another bite out of his chocolate.
"I don't know for sure how it's made but it comes from a plant," Lance explained.
Nayni took another bite and let the blessed substance melt on her tongue. This needed to be shared with every living being that existed. It could bring about peace to the universe again. Lance craned his neck around some of the passers-by and looked down the long stretch of shops. He gazed back at Nayni and smirked. If he was going to look out for Coran, he could've tried to hide it better.
She'd shoved most of the bar in her face now. Brown globs of the chocolate were stuck to her fingers. She wanted to share this chocolate with Allura just as they'd shared sweets when she was a child. The Princess had to have this.
"We need to bring this to Allura immediately," Nayni said.
Lance seemed to toy with this idea for a bit.
"You think she'd like it?" Lance asked.
He was genuinely interested in the answer. This wasn't exactly surprising to Nayni. She licked the last globs of chocolate from her fingers. She still wanted more of it. Holding herself back felt like she was restraining a wild animal.
"Allura will love it," Nayni said. "She's always loved sweets and that's never changed."
Lance got a devilish gleam in his eye. Nayni might regret having given him this suggestion but she owed it to him. She'd been a bit harsh with him and after this moment they'd shared, she regretted it a bit. His gift to the Princess wouldn't do too much harm. Though, this substance seemed like it would be the easiest way to woo any sentient being in the galaxy.
Nayni's heart was pounding as she headed to Coran's personal quarters. Her footfalls echoed through the Palace halls. She couldn't believe that she was heeding the advice of a child. It had been absolutely terrifying earlier in the day when Nayni had asked Mister Smythe if he'd a enjoy a game of muril after the day's work was done. It was the week's end anyway so they had nothing going on tomorrow. Well, she at least had nothing going on tomorrow. She felt bile creeping up her throat. It didn't matter how many times she'd been alone with Mister Smythe, he still drove her mad. She hungered for him but she was still anchored down by fear and doubt.
The closer she got to his personal quarters, the more it felt like her heart was going to hammer its way out of her chest. She was still so afraid to get close to anyone. Nayni was already standing right on the precipice of something dangerously risky. Pining for him from such a distance seemed safer than actually letting him close to her. If anything ever happened to him it would still hurt but it couldn't be nearly as horrific as what she'd experienced with Tomyko. Yet here she was, on her way to spend the evening with him alone. Like a fool.
She reached the door to his quarters and her hand wavered over the control panel. She could still turn back. Nayni could still make the trek back to her quarters and avoid all of this. The urge to be near him was so overpowering. Nayni typed into the control panel. Sweat was already rolling down her forehead. She was going to be an idiot after all. At least the Princess would be happy with her. The door to his quarters swung open. Coran was already hovering in the doorway. She felt like she was going to choke.
He'd already changed out of his uniform and was clad in some blue silken monstrosity with gold trim. A part of his neck was exposed that she had never seen before. She felt a heat rushing to her cheeks and ears. He greeted her with that signature grin of his. Her gaze kept falling to that exposed patch of pink flesh on his neck. She struggled not to imagine what the muscles of his shoulders and bare chest looked like. She went rigid.
"Madame Nordontu," Coran said.
He sounded rather sly.
"Mister Smythe," Nayni said.
Her voice wavered as she spoke. That was most embarrassing. He just smiled and stepped aside. He gestured for her to come in. Nayni had only been to his living quarters a few times. It was never for more than a few dobashes either. It was as extravagant as expected. The atmosphere was warm. The light of his lamps was soft and seemed to make the plush, red velvet furniture glow. He'd probably had dozens of Alteans in here, quivering like excited virgins to his touch. He'd set out two wine glasses that had a delicate gold design along the stems. A bottle of blue Altean wine sat at his gaming table.
Nayni was so overwhelmed that she hadn't the slightest clue how to act or what to say. This wasn't exactly what she'd been expecting. Soft lighting and wine wasn't a sign of anything she was ready for. Nayni took a seat at the gaming table. She practically melted into the plush chair. It felt like she was sitting in a cloud. Coran slid into the seat across from her. He moved with such subtle grace.
"I didn't know you enjoyed muril, Madame Nordontu," Coran said.
He poured himself a glass of wine. He pointed the bottle towards her cup and raised a brow. Nayni's legs were shaking. She was definitely going to need alcohol to get through this. She just nodded and Coran poured her glass. She wasn't particularly fond of wine. She didn't really care for the strong smell or the overly sweet taste. It was too sugary even for her. It never sat well with her either.
"It's all right," Nayni said. "I've just been rather bored lately so I figured I should actually go out and do something."
Nayni wrapped her fingers around the wine glass. She couldn't really hide the fact that she was shaking. She took a cautious sip from the glass. Nayni tried not to wrinkle her nose too much after she swallowed the wine. Coran's eyes were locked on hers as he took a sip from his glass. He was such a torturous and cruel man to look at her that way.
"You don't ever go out with any of your Guardsmen?" Coran asked.
Nayni went to great lengths to not maintain any friendships. If she thought about it, Allura was probably her only friend and she was just a prepubescent child. And of course, there was Coran.
"I don't like to fraternize with my men too much," Nayni said. "I try to keep things as professional as possible. My days of running around bar hopping are far behind me anyway."
It was more that she was too frightened to make that connection with any of them. She'd been to plenty of awkward Nameday parties for her Guardsmen and given lots of friendly pats on the back but not much more. Coran started typing into the control panel of his gaming table. Nayni saw the familiar blue board appear and the holographic pieces arrange themselves on the table. It was going to be much harder for her to remember the rules with him sitting across from her.
"Yet it's all right to fraternize with me?" Coran teased.
That made her die a little bit. Nayni chugged down quite a bit of wine to get past that one.
"We just sort of fell into this friendship didn't we? We're both around the Princess so much it's hard to avoid it," Nayni said.
It was a half-truth at least. She gulped down more wine and poured herself another glass. This was already not the best idea but it was her closest escape route. Coran moved his first piece across the board. Nayni followed suit with a maneuver that she imagined was incredibly stupid. She was pretty sure Coran could take out the piece rather easily already.
"Well, I do enjoy your company so I have nothing to complain about," Coran said.
Oh by King Groggery's spirit, she enjoyed his company too. Her fingers were just permanently wrapped around the stem of her wine glass now. She could already feel her head getting a little fuzzy. At least now she'd be able to relax a bit more. Coran left Nayni's vulnerable piece alone and moved one of his that was on the opposite side of the board. This little act made Nayni take another gulp of wine.
"You are tolerable," Nayni said.
Coran chuckled. It was such a cold response but she was too afraid to say much more. She made another stupid move in muril. Nayni wasn't doing it on purpose, she just still had no idea exactly what she was doing. The air in the room was so tense that they could've sliced right through it. They kept taking turns moving their pieces across the board. Nayni was positive that she was missing some opportunities to take out a few of his pieces.
It was a tad bit harder to concentrate on the game with the wine working its way through her system. Coran's face was starting to flush from intoxication as well. Nayni was smart enough not to consume too much more wine. She didn't want a repeat of what had happened all those years ago with the Space Pirate Gin.
She wasn't used to a game of muril lasting this long. The Princess had slaughtered Nayni's forces rather quickly but Coran just seemed to be dancing his around the board and doing everything he could to avoid hers. Nayni was beginning to realize that Allura's prediction had been correct but she wasn't really sure what to make of that. Coran was fiddling with one of his holographic pieces. His other hand was rested on the surface of the table. She got absorbed in the sight of his slender, long fingers as they rapped on the table.
"I was rather surprised when you asked to meet like this," Coran said.
Oh, this was a discussion that she did not want to have. He was leaning a bit farther over the table than he was before. His violet eyes were twinkling in the soft lamplight.
"You were surprised that I was so desperately bored that I elected to pay you a visit?" Nayni teased.
Her words were her shield. As long as she could tease him with these little insults she could keep him at arm's length. He moved one of his pieces right next to hers. If she didn't move hers, he'd take it out. Nayni reached for her holographic piece without thinking things through properly. His fingertips brushed against her hand and she froze. The feeling was almost electric. She should've pulled her hand away but she didn't. He wasn't pulling away either. Their eyes met.
They were both a bit tipsy but not nearly enough for her to feel absolutely fearless. Nayni's eyes darted over to the door to his bedroom. Was she really thinking about this? It was so tempting. Her innards felt like they were on fire. She felt like she was going to vomit. He'd never looked at her that way before.
"What're we doing, Mister Smythe?" Nayni squeaked.
"Um-playing a round of muril," Coran stammered.
They certainly weren't playing this stupid quiznacking game anymore. He slid his hand over hers and Nayni felt a wave of panic flood over her. Her hand felt like it was coated in burning acid now. The exposed flesh of his neck was giving her a lot of very bad ideas. But she continued to let him hold her hand. Her head was screaming for her to just stand up and leave. It was very hard to listen to her rational side with this wine in her system though.
Coran's fingers brushed along the curved of her wrist. Her stomach was bunching up in knots. The wine must've been making him do this. She couldn't even look him in the eye. Nayni just stared at his hand gingerly latched onto hers and his fingers rubbed along the surface of the tender skin under her wrist. Every hair on her skin was standing on end. Nayni was looking over the edge again. She was either going to take a leap of faith now or she never would.
"I-" Nayni stammered.
She couldn't bring herself to say it. The fear was just too overwhelming. She felt as if she were going to choke. All she wanted was to take Coran back into that bedroom and have her way with him but that desire was being smothered out by her overwhelming fear.
"What is it?" Coran asked.
He spoke so softly that she could barely hear him. He'd leaned in so closely now. Those perfect lips of his and that mustache were right within her reach. She desperately wanted to taste the wine on his lips and feel his skin against hers. Nayni felt herself trembling.
"I need to go," Nayni said.
She pulled her hand away and stood up. She felt like she was going to cry but she couldn't do this. She could never do this again.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Coran said.
It didn't help that he was being so nice about it. Nayni just shook her head.
"It's not your fault, it's just—the wine- yes the wine," Nayni said. "I feel a bit ill."
Nayni stumbled on her way to the door. It wasn't because she was intoxicated.
"You should definitely go home and lay down then," Coran assured.
She couldn't do it. She hadn't been able to do it. Maybe she'd been delusional but she felt like she was really running away from him this time. She had to though. Coran would never understand but he didn't need to. It was for the best.
"It was a pleasure, Mister Smythe," Nayni said a bit too loudly.
She hovered by the door.
"I'd like to do this again sometime," Coran said.
Nayni had to look away from him. She closed her eyes and tried to muffle the sob that was trying to escape. She took a deep breath.
"I don't know about that," Nayni said.
It was the first truly honest answer she'd given him all night. It was breaking her heart to say it. She couldn't stand any of this. Looking at him was too painful. Nayni trembled as she stepped out the door. She'd been so foolish to ask for this meeting. It was her own stupidity. It was all because of her own fears that this beautiful evening had fallen apart. He deserved so much more than her. Coran didn't need to be held back by her insecurities. The Princess had been half right. Nayni hadn't lost the game of muril but she was certain she'd lost something else tonight.
Lance, Allura, and Nayni had gathered in the Blue Paladin's quarters. Allura was inspecting the chocolate bar with much more caution than Nayni had. Nayni had made it quite clear to Allura that the chocolate was the greatest creation that the universe had ever seen but this hadn't done much to alleviate the Princess's concerns. Allura had mentioned something called a 'milkshake' and how it had a rather horrifying process of being created. Coran and Hunk had yet to return to the Castle. The Royal Advisor was definitely up to something. She wasn't going to figure it out anytime soon. He had far too many co-conspirators.
Lance's quarters were rather cluttered. The shelf near his shower was covered with strange bottles filled with different scented gels and fluids that made Nayni's nose wrinkle up. He had stacks of those 'CDs' piled up in one corner. Posters were plastered across his walls. They were covered with that Earth text that Nayni couldn't read. In another corner was a monstrous mechanical device that was an amalgamation of a bunch of scavenged parts. Lance claimed this was the device Pidge had constructed so he could listen to his CDs.
A set of worn looking books was on his dusty shelf. The humans on the covers were clad in very strange clothing and seemed to be holding onto each other in the same manner that she and Coran had clung to each other after making love. The books reminded Nayni of the teledramas she used to binge watch back before the war.
Allura was still nervously sniffing her chocolate.
"Lurie, just eat it," Nayni said.
Allura pouted and reluctantly took a bite. Allura closed her eyes and shuddered. She seemed to melt into Lance's bed as she chewed on the chocolate.
"I told you," Nayni said with great satisfaction.
Allura clutched the chocolate bar to her chest and looked as if she was about to weep from the overwhelming bliss of the treat. A soft smile crept across Lance's face. He turned to face his monstrous musical contraption and started fiddling with one of his CDs. The Blue Paladin thought he was hiding that lovestruck look on his face but Nayni saw right through him. Allura finished stuffing the chocolate in her face. She laid on Lance's bed and let out a very deep satisfied sigh.
"It's made with-" Nayni began.
Allura shook her head and waved Nayni away.
"Nope, I don't want to know. That was too divine to let it be ruined by whatever disgusting process brought about it's creatoin," Allura said.
Those milkshakes must've truly been traumatizing for her. Lance slipped one of his CDs into a thin slot in his machine. He pressed a few buttons and adjusted some dials. The machine sputtered to life. Green and blue lights blinked on.
"This is a classic," Lance said. "My mom really loved this song."
His eyes twinkled with a bit of sadness as he spoke. He cranked up the volume on his device. The rhythm of the music was upbeat. The music swelled as a woman's voice floated through the air. She sang with such passion and strength. Nayni couldn't help but tap her foot to the beat. She tried to hide this from Lance though. The woman sang about a longing to dance the night away with a lover. The lyrics spoke to Nayni on a deeply spiritual level. She found herself tearing up a bit.
"It's like she's singing to my very soul," Nayni stammered.
Nayni clutched at her chest. This was the only song she wanted to listen to for the rest of her life. It was a song about passion and longing and it brought Nayni right back to that ball where Coran asked her to dance. Lance seemed rather taken aback by Nayni's strong reaction but he just smirked.
"That's Whitney Houston. She was a gift to us all," Lance said.
Allura was swaying to the melody with Nayni and giggled like a little girl. Between the chocolate and this splendid music, Nayni understood why Lance missed his homeworld so much. It was filled with many delights from what she'd seen. Lance's gaze was locked on Allura. Seeing her so happy seemed to bring him a great deal of joy. The music faded and the song came to an end. Allura hopped out of Lance's bed. She seemed to be sparkling as she approached him.
"May I have another chocolate, Lance? Please, please please," Allura said.
"Sure thing," Lance said.
He had a gleam in his eye. Lance handed her another bar and Allura excitedly tore open the wrapper. Allura let out a soft moan as she took the first bite. An idea came to Nayni and she knew she was going to regret it. She'd had her fill of holding back now. She'd done it for years and she'd wasted a great deal of time because of that. Watching the Blue Paladin was far too familiar to her. She couldn't believe she was going to do this. Nayni got to her feet and let out a sigh.
"I should get going, I'm rather tired," Nayni lied.
Allura made a rather over exaggerated pout. Globs of chocolate were smeared across her face.
"But Nanny you have to stay! Dance with me and eat chocolate! Just like the old days!" Allura said.
That sounded very nice but Nayni had other intentions now. Nayni patted Allura on the shoulder and tried to fake a yawn.
"I'm sorry, I really need a good nap after all that shopping," Nayni said. "Do enjoy yourself, Lurie."
Lance's eyes darted around the room. He seemed a tad nervous. Nayni knew exactly why too. Lance followed Nayni to the door. He typed into the control panel on the wall. Nayni tugged him out of the door with her. The metal clanked as it slammed closed behind them.
Nayni seized the boy by the collar and pushed him against the wall of the hallway. Lance looked like he was facing his death. They could still hear the muffled sound of the bass pounding from his room. Nayni let out a sigh. She didn't exactly like Lance, but she was finding it very hard to hate him now. And she couldn't sit back and watch him make the same mistakes she had.
"Listen here, you little bunghopper," Nayni said.
She wagged a finger in his face and he recoiled.
"Take note of what I'm about to tell you. Don't wait ten thousand years, like I did, to tell her how you feel," Nayni said.
Lance's eyes widened in shock. He seemed quite surprised that she'd figured him out. It was plain as day to Nayni and Coran but the Princess was clearly oblivious.
"You're cocky and stupid and you make me want to retch most of the time," Nayni said. "But I can see how much you cherish Allura and I have to respect that. Just tell her."
Lance's gaze fell to the floor and his lips were pursed.
"Don't lay down some witty one-liner or give her a stupid wink. You need to actually talk to her, face to face, and let her know how you feel." Nayni said. "You don't have to do it right this second but we're at war so I wouldn't waste too much more of your time. You'll regret it if you don't do this. I promise you that."
Lance rubbed the back of his neck and nodded sheepishly. He was an idiot. Nayni still firmly believed that but he worshipped the very ground Allura walked upon. That was enough for Nayni. She didn't want to watch the boy running away from his feelings to the point of torture either. She couldn't let him be as incredibly stupid as she had been. Nayni gave him a firm pat on the back.
"Thanks, Nanny," Lance said. "I should probably get back in there."
Nayni folded her arms across her chest.
"Get back in there and make her smile. And I swear on King Groggery's ghost that if you keep being a complete imbecile, I will throttle you," Nayni said.
Lance chuckled. He looked like a child that had been caught with his hand in a jar of crisps.
"All right, all right," Lance sighed.
Nayni waved him away and he Lance reentered his quarters. There was a short blast of music that erupted when the doors slid open. Lance plastered on that fake grin as he stepped in. Nayni shook her head as the doors closed. Allura had quite a few admirers in her past but none of them had piloted two of the Lions of Voltron. None of them had tried to bring her joy in the same way that Lance had. He was infuriating and annoying and stupid but of all the boys that had thrown themselves at Allura's feet, he was the only one that Nayni thought was actually worthy of her. This realization made Nayni cringe with disgust.