This was far from ideal for both of them. But, maybe it really wouldn't the the worst thing ever?

He was falling hard for this kid, and he had only just met him. The next seven periods were going to be hell.

Alright, chapter 2,

Oh gosh, I have so many other things I need to work on D: but oh well! This called to me! Hopefully you like it, hopefully it makes sense. It's sort of a slow build I know, but I want the Klance to be the focus of the fic. So just wait a little bit longer for the others to show up.

Also, still need names if you have any suggestions.

Once all the details had been hammered out, Lance was feeling only slightly better about the whole thing. Throughout the course of the last week and a half they had decided that the princes would spend the warmer half of the period there, on Prata Neptunia, and then the colder half, on Galra. They could switch if they so chose, and they could visit either planet at any given time regardless of the planet they were staying on currently. It was just as much for combating homesickness as it was to help with cultural integration for both princes. Both agreeing to it without too much of a fight.

Lance was at least excited that he would finally get to travel off planet for once. It had been a dream of his for quite some time, but was usually just that, a dream. Before the engagement, he was just a prince. The only heir to his father's throne, and as such, not allowed to do many things he deemed exciting. Keith on the other hand, wasn't too thrilled to be spending so much time so close to so much water. It made his nose twitch in mild irritation just thinking about it. But it was part of the arrangement. He would get used to it eventually.

"So, when I take the crown from my father, will you still stay here with me?" Lance asked carefully, they were in his chambers after finalizing all of the details. Keith sitting against the wall on Lance's bed, and Lance, sprawled out upside down in the chair across the way. His legs were dangling over the backrest and his head resting at what looked to Keith, to be a very uncomfortable angle, on the cushion. "Will I be bound here or would I still accompany you back to Galra occasionally? I don't see how this is going to work." He had a point. Keith thought about it and then shook his head before answering;

"I see no problem with staying here after you ascend the throne. It would be foolish for the king of an entire people to constantly be leaving the planet after all. I'm sure my father will understand if we only visit for special occasions."

"Keith … what is your father like? I have only heard the stories of him on the battlefield and the terrors from this war. He can't possibly be just as horrible in private, right?" Of course he would be curious Keith told himself, Lance was marrying into the family. It made sense that he would want to know all about it.

Keith was silent for a moment, trying to come up with just the right words to describe his father. "My father is … a complicated man." He finally settled on. "He is dedicated to his cause, and even when he's home, he is thinking of being elsewhere." Keith glanced down to his lap then to the right, yellow eyes darting towards the ceiling as he spoke again, trying to search the room for just the right words to use. As if he would find them in his hands or on the walls, dangling from the high vaulted ceilings. "My father, his aura demands respect, and he is most lenient towards myself, but I have seen him punish even his most loyal commanders for simply looking as if they doubted him." He sighed. "In private he is much the distant emperor you probably envision." Keith looked back up to lock eyes with Lance. "But he does keep his word, you and your people should not have to worry about his wrath. And if ever need be, I will advocate for you. We will be mates after all."

"He doesn't sound like much of a caring father." Lance felt his heart ache at the thought of being raised in such a way, but Keith sounded genuinely proud of his father, even if he wasn't much for affection.

Keith laughed. "I suppose not. At least, not by your standards. Your father is kind to all and I can clearly tell that he loves you. Mine, I know he cares, but it is in a different way that he shows it. My people don't readily show such open affections, and so the type of familial love that your mother and father show you, would be quite odd in a Galra household." Keith could tell that the current topic was bringing Lance's mood down, and so chose to ammend it. "But enough of things we cannot help, why don't you show me your water abilities again. They were very interesting, and you can talk as much as you like."

In the short time that Keith had gotten to know the younger prince he had come to realize that Lance loved the sound of his own voice. It was not as if his voice were grating to listen to either, and so, Keith tended to appease him and let him prattle on as he wished. It was unsettling when he was quiet, Keith had come to associate that quietness with Lance's insecurities. When the other prince was unsure, or scared, or worried, he would be quiet. They may have only known eachother for a week, but that was probably the first thing Keith had picked up on about his newly betrothed. It was a funny feeling in his chest that told Keith that he didn't like Lance being quiet, that he would rather listen to him drivel on than think that there was something weighing on his fiancé's mind in such a way.

Lance smiled from his seated position, moving to sit properly in the wicker woven chair. The sudden movement causing a draft to sway the small tendrils of smoke of the incense stick he had lit. An import Lance often requested from a nearby planet, Keith had learned that too was one of the tan skinned prince's small quirks. He loved things that smelled good or looked pretty. It was a mystery to him why Lance prefered a male form when he clearly took more after his mother. He had claimed that the smells helped him to stay calm and focused, and that the pretty scent stayed in the room was an added bonus when Keith had asked it if were really necessary. A Galra's nose was sensitive, and Keith's was especially. But Lance had assured him that he would double check the scent with Keith before lighting it, which he stuck true to.

"That's a good idea!" And with that Lance lept from his chair and the Galra prince was hoisted up none too gently and dragged, almost quite literally, to Lance's privet wave pool. Once there he was released and Keith took a seat on the decorative cushion they had brought there for him on the floor, against the wall as he watched Lance descend into the water. The pools were deep but Lance was never more than knee deep regardless of how far out he went.

This time, Lance chose to go all the way to the middle of the pool. Keith had asked once how deep it actually got in his pool and Lance had simply answered that the end went directly down into the lower levels of the palace, submerged under water. The palace was built on the sea floor and reached all the way to the skies above, and so the many wave pools were the doorways to the deeper levels of the castle and when following the right paths, some went straight out to the open sea. The reason being that the small land mass next to the castle was the only one on the watery planet. It was mostly used for markets and housing the richer Prata Neptunians. The Galra colony was to be set up on the land mass too, close to the southern docks. Most of the inhabitants of the planet lived under those crashing waves though.

Keith wondered what it was like under those waves, to see the full extent of the Prata Neptunian culture. But alas he had no gills and his body was not made to stand the deep sea pressure to reach the cities far below them. Keith focused back on Lance and watched as the previously calm wave pool became a mighty storm. Lance had been working on the basics when he had happened upon him the first time, but he had soon come to find out that the young prince was much stronger than he had expected. He could control the clouds in the sky, and the rain from the heavens.

Lance now had three dark rain clouds hovering high in the air at the far end of the pool, the rain trickling down slowly. He controlled the clouds with a flick of his wrist and the rain with a constant twitch of his fingers on the same hand. He brought up his other arm, starting a slow rocking motion with his hand. Out, in, his hand dipping and cresting shallowly, Keith watched in awe as the water below began to form waves, slow at first, the steady motion producing one small ripple after another. He watched as they floated his way and disappeared in the calm just behind Lance's body. Bit by bit, tick by tick, the waves began to grow. The tiny waves that Lance had started with ebbing and flowing, giving way to larger waves as his hand motion picked up. Soon, lance had a full storm raging in front of him, in full control of the whole thing. The rain came down in sheets as his fingers quickened their motions. The clouds grew and plumed more as he rolled his wrist. Keith would expect thunder and lightning in a storm of such magnitude if it were nature made, but as it stood, Lance could not control that part of the storm. It was not water, and therefore out of his reach.

While he was marveling at Lance's show, Keith noticed that his prince was now waist deep in the wave pool. He must be having a hard time keeping his concentration split. "Lance." He called carefully, he didn't want to startle him, lest he lose control entirely. He knew that Lance would be fine if he were to fully be submerged in the water, but he still hoped that he would stay above the raging waters. It seemed that helped though, Keith smiled a little to himself as he saw Lance raise once more to knee level. He slowed the rain and the waves bit by bit, and soon, the water was calm again and Lance was making his way back over to him. He had his hand to his head, but a huge - albeit exhausted - smile on his lips. He flicked his wrist once more as he exited the pool and Keith watched as all the water that still clung to Lance's robes was removed and returned to the pool, leaving him just as dry as when they had first arrived in the room.

"So, what'd you think? I've been working on multitasking lately." his breath was ragged and Keith knew that he was tired. He smiled to his eyes and pulled Lance into his lap, hugging him tight. It was a short time, not even a month had passed, but Keith knew that he could form a deep bond with this silly boy in his arms. He hadn't felt quite so at home with anyone before.

"It was amazing! But maybe, try to not push yourself so much? You started sinking towards the end there."

"I would have been fine, but thank you for calling out to tell me." Lance nuzzled closer to Keith's shoulder. Keith was warm and soft. His hugs were like curling up with a blanket. Maybe marrying this Galra prince wouldn't be the worst thing ever. He felt sleepy after using so much energy. And if he fell asleep in Keith's arms, well, Keith didn't seem to mind.

Keith just shook his head. He still wasn't used to this kind of attention yet, but was quickly learning that Lance had zero sense of personal space boundaries. He was like a storm himself. There one minute, gone the next. Full force with everything he did. He was a flurry of hands and long legs, of kisses and loud laughter, of hugs that you never wanted to be let go from. He also had the habit of getting in your face when he was upset. Poking or prodding at his chest when he thought Keith was in the wrong. Raising his voice and sticking his face right in front of Keith's nose, those small hands resting on his narrow hips. His galra instincts kept telling him to mark him, to put his scent on Lance. To make sure everyone knew that this moody, adorable dork was his. Maybe Lance wasn't really his yet, but he would be, and that was close enough to drive his instincts wild. But that wasn't how the Prata Neptunians worked.

He had known from the small bit of research he had done on the planet on the way there initially that their people we pretty much exact opposites. The Galra mated for life, once, only engaging in sexual acts to solidify their bond or to breed. The Prata Neptunians though, were promiscuous at best. Their physical needs starting to show through at only fourteen, they thought nothing of taking care of these needs with others. Their bodies were not ready to breed until much later, so there was no scare of childbirth while they were exploring themselves. And they would explore, quite often. Lance was not even twelve yet, so he had not reached that age, but Keith knew it was coming. Knew that he needed to be ready for that day when Lance would come strolling into the room reeking of someone else, and he would have to keep his baser instincts under wraps. Because they weren't mates yet, and Lance could, should , grow up and live his life normally until they were.

The Galra hardly ever showed physical affection, but within the first two days of being there Keith could honestly say that he had had more physical contact in those two short days, than probably in his whole life prior to meeting the rambunctious prince. Not that he was complaining. Lance's tan skin was soft and smooth, there was nothing to slow him down while he was in the water. It was slightly cold to the touch, but that was just Lance. He had asked about it once, having been taken by surprise and Lance had just shrugged, muttering something about Goddesses and trade offs.

The Prata Neptunian people were also very tall. Keith wasn't short by Galra standards, but compared to Lance, he felt like a little kid. They were all long legs. Lance stood a good two inches taller than him and while it was kind of irritating, he just had to accept it. It was just the differences in their genes. Perhaps once his growth spurt hit he would be taller? He could only hope. Keith brushed a lock of shoulder length brown hair from Lance's eyes, paying attention to the way his eyes seemed to reflect the light at certain angles, those eyes were mesmerising. In low light they almost seemed to glow. He knew his eyes did it, but Lance's eyes weren't that soft yellow he was used to, they were a dull white usually, sometimes if he looked close enough, he could almost see the blue of lance's eyes bleeding into that white light. He knew they weren't really glowing. That is was just a trick of the light on the reflective film that covered his eyes when he was in the water, but that didn't change how it looked, how it felt.

He was falling hard for this kid, and he had only just met him. The next seven periods were going to be hell.

Okay so, that was Chapter 2 ... these dorks are starting to get to know each other, coming to terms with the arrangement. Hopefully this is interesting. ... I at least like how it's coming together.

So these chapters are shorter than I usually write, but I'm hoping to pace it out a little, so I think this is the best way to do it.

Also, I decided to forgo most different time measurements. I'm going to keep Period for year, and Ticks for seconds, Tecks for minutes, and Tocks for Hours, everything else was getting hard to keep track of. I'll update this list if I decide to change that, but for now, I think that's the only thing to keep track of.

I know they had other words for stuff in the show, but I honestly don't want to have to remember all of that. (Or figure out/remember how to spell some of those words, like, my spelling is already shit, thank god for spell check, but adding made up words would probably kill me.)

Thank you for staying with this so far ^_^

~ Evi