Chapter Text
“Come again?” Lance could see Allura's face pale as she stared at the newcomers.
“Did you not ask for the chance to strengthen alliances, Princess? Here is your chance,” the silver-haired Galra said pointedly through gritted teeth. He embodied the discomfort of everybody there as awkward silence took hold of the throne room. Truly, the silence took a physical weight on top of their drooping shoulders. Lance took this tense moment to observe the scene in front of him with confusion.
In front of the throne were three Galras. The oldest one was none other than Takashi Shirogane. Odd name, but rumors about his half-Galta heritage flew across galaxies. He was the prince of planet Daibazaal, the heir to the throne, and most importantly, a star pilot. Lance wasn't the proudest of it by any means, but his friends had been subjected to ten too many rants about how awesome witnessing Shirogane's flight skills would be (and it didn’t seem like he planned to leave anytime soon, so maybe it was possible). The prince in question stared expectantly at King Alfor, an amicable but tight smile across his face.
The Galra standing next to Shirogane had long, silver hair that reached past his waist. Lance recognized him as Prince Lotor, cousin to Shirogane and the son of the infamous past tyrant ruler, Zarkon. Zarkon had ruled Daibazaal with an iron fist and caused war to erupt throughout the universe, until the now-Queen Krolia and the Blade had taken him down. From what Lance knew, she chose to take in Prince Lotor despite his parentage. Now, Lotor stood there— tense— but in a different way than Shirogane. His hands fidgeted with the sleeves of his shirt like a child caught breaking a vase. If all Galra didn't have such clipped expressions, Lance would call him angry at the ordeal. Dark eyes darted back and forth between Allura and Shirogane so often it made Lance too dizzy to continue watching him.
Then, there was Keith.
Prince Keith (what a weird fucking name by the way) was quite literally Lance's entire problem. Scratch that— he was literally everyone's problem. With his famous short temper that more often than not got him into fist fights with others and his snarky attitude, Lance had had his opinion set on the younger brother of Shirogane since day one. In fact, just looking at him made something unpleasant settle in Lance's stomach. Like… demon butterflies or something.
Keith didn't even look like a proper Galra. His features were smoother than any Galran he had ever seen. Though he looked to be around Lance’s height, he lacked the defining muscle of a typical Galra. And his obnoxiously dark hair. Not only did it look out of place, it was styled like a mullet! The atrocity. The only thing he really retained was his weird Galran ears. Sure, with Shirogane possibly only being half Galra, it would be a given that he was too. But Shirogane pulled off the look, whereas Keith did not.
His formal attire was a deep purple color and hugged his torso tightly (not that Lance was looking). Keith's poker face had not budged one bit the entire time Lance had been in the throne room— even his lips hadn't moved to defend his point. Even though Lance was oddly infuriated, he could admit that pictures had not done the prince much justice.
The young prince stood confidently, but anyone could see him practically wilting on the spot. Honestly, he looked pretty miserable if one was actually paying attention. His blade hung on his hip because of course he had to bring it and inadvertently flex his swordsmanship. Keith was well known for skill with a sword, being asked to join the Blade (a super secret Galra force that Lance would give anything to join) multiple times. Keith was regal and important in a way that Lance would never be. And no, Lance was not jealous of that. In fact, he had a perfectly good reason (this time) to hate Keith that most definitely did not involve jealousy.
See, Keith was trying to marry Allura.
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Lance often visited Allura in the castle. He had been, ever since they first met decaphoebs ago. His family status was not nearly close enough for them to meet on their own, but by a stroke of luck, they had bonded at the ripe age of ten over a fascination of mice. Even after graduating from Altea Academy, Allura’s growing responsibilities, and Lance’s recent training to join the Royal Guard, they had stuck together like glue.
The two spent many days strolling through the halls, looking for something to do. On this particular day, they sat in the garden, talking. However, Lance couldn't help but notice how off Allura was acting. She was shy, circling around topics like there was something she needed to desperately get off her tongue, but didn't know how. He nudged her with his elbow.
“Hey, what's up with you?” he asked. “You're acting kind of off today.”
“It's nothing,” she sighed. “Or well, it's something that I don't know how to state.”
“You know you can tell me anything.” They shared secrets that neither would share out in the open. For Allura, because it was unfit for her to look less than proper in the public eye. For Lance, he just needed someone who knew how to listen.
“Lance, you mean so much to me.” Oh. “You know I would never put someone else above you, right?” Oh.
Suddenly, Allura's odd attitude made a lot more sense. The refusal to tell him certain things, claiming they were unimportant or that she already told him. The quick topic changes and dismissals when he teased her about a potential new crush, not that she had expressed one in months. The way she was trying to hang out with him more often as of late. Sure, she hung out with Hunk and Pidge too, but they were on her staff. Hunk was the castle chef, creating the most extravagant dishes out of thin air. Pidge had recently moved from Olkari, using her advanced engineering skills to drive Altea's growing technology. But despite how close they had all grown, Allura had not acted anywhere near as friendly with either of them, which only meant one thing:
She was in love with him again. Duh.
They had dated for a while years back, but had fallen out of love and agreed to stay close friends. Lance had definitely entertained the idea of getting back together over the years, but each time he did, it felt less like something natural and more like a goal he might want to cross off when he wanted to get his life together. But they were just so perfect together. Lance could see how people whispered about them— how rumors flew every time they got too close.
And in a life which wasn’t very put together, being with Allura was safe.
So of course, he probably liked her romantically. It was like the order of things in the universe. It just made sense, and that feeling in Lance’s gut was just butterflies or something. And all he had to do was confess to her.
…nope. Too hard.
“Of course I know, Princess,” he chuckled. “Oh, would you look at the time! I have to, uh—… do my homework?”
“You don't go to school anymore.” Allura gave him an odd look. “We graduated four years ago?”
“Really, Allura? Everyone knows that education never truly stops, of course I decided to go back to school—”
Behind them, someone cleared their throat. The two turned to face Coran, the royal advisor. His face was a little pinched, but Lance didn't place too much thought to it. He was too busy thanking any and every divine being for this interruption.
“King Alfor requires your presence in the throne room at once, Princess.”
Allura and Lance exchanged a glance. Coran's usually cheery demeanor seemed dull and hesitant. The man was tapping his foot impatiently. He also looked at Allura with a sorry expression, like he was practically leading her to her doom; that couldn't mean anything good.
“I'm sure this is some super secret official business, so I'll catch you later?” asked Lance as they stood up.
“No no, come with me— I insist!” Allura pulled him down by his arm, leaning to whisper pleadingly. “Don't let me deal with whatever this is alone.”
“Princess, I’m not sure if it would be best to have him in the throne room today—” Coran started before he was cut off.
“And why not? It’s usually not a big problem,” Allura asked. That was true, Lance was usually allowed to go into the throne room during trivial matters. He had been close to the royal family for over decaphoebs, after all. Even if not, Allura was a stubborn woman. It was great when she was fighting for good causes (yes, letting Lance and his friends tie up a couple robot guards for Pidge’s funny experiments was indeed a good cause) but not so great when Lance was looking to escape uncomfortable conversations. Like this very moment. “Unless, of course, it’s of utmost importance or something.”
“I wouldn’t say utmost importance,” Coran sighed. “But it is a more… delicate matter. My boy, you would need to promise not to speak out if you want to come.”
Both of them stared at Lance with anticipation, and who was he to say no?
“Sure, lead the way.”
It didn’t take them long to reach the throne room. King Alfor sat there with his usual stern face, albeit a little more pinched than usual. That was when Lance took notice of the other guests in the room, suppressing an audible groan at the sight of Prince Keith before respectfully turning his attention over to the affair playing out in front of him.
“Princess Allura,” Shirogane started, stepping up with a rehearsed speech and smile. “In the years of Zarkon’s reign on our planet, he has destroyed many alliances and friendships alike. While Altea and Daibazaal have reconciled, the two have never been as close as they were before. However, we were both shocked and glad to receive your letter with suggestions to strengthen our alliances back to how they were before. Which is why we have come to offer Prince Keith’s hand in marriage.”
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So there they were, the entire throne room still gawking at each other while Lance finished mentally cursing out Keith. Shirogane cleared his throat, catching everyone’s attention.
“Like my cousin said— we recognize that planets are phasing away from the traditional royal marriages for only alliances and benefits. Still, I do think that you and Prince Keith would make the best pair.” He turned to the king again. “King Alfor, what do you think?”
The king pursed his lips. No way, was he actually considering this? It was so obvious that Allura was not comfortable with this marriage. She should marry for love!
...
For love.
Lance probably liked her romantically. Scratch that— he totally did. So it wasn’t the burst of love that had hit him immediately felt for her the last time they were dating, but maybe that was the universe’s way of telling him to slow down and take it slow.
(In hindsight, what he did next was not exactly ‘taking it slow.’)
To the side of him, he could see Allura start to open her mouth, but Lance was quicker.
“If he really wants to marry Allura, Keith should have to fight for it!”
All heads turned to him.
“...What?” Keith asked, speaking up for the first time.
And damn, that was enough to make Lance pause for a short second. Keith’s voice was low and gravelly from not speaking much. He enunciated the single syllable in such a perfect, practiced manner, suited for a prince. It was painfully beguiling. Keith’s voice was unlike any that he had ever heard. It only made Lance sure of one thing: Allura would fall under Keith’s sudden seductive charm of a voice and forget that the prince was a complete douchebag.
Lance shook his head, snapping out of whatever trance that siren voice had put him in. “I mean it. He can’t just get a pass to court Allura so easily.” He straightened his back in confidence, flashing Allura a quick smile.
“I’ll fight for Princess Allura’s hand in marriage as well!”
Yeah. Lance totally had this in the bag.
The Galra trio looked at him with varying degrees of bewilderment and distress. Allura continued looking pale, though there was an addition of a gawking look on her face. Coran looked oddly amused at the whole ordeal. King Alfor actually looked to be considering it.
“I’ve been in love with Allura for like, forever,” Lance began as he tried to sell himself to a king that had known him for decaphoebs. “And even though it didn’t work out the first time, we’re thick as thieves and halfway in love again already. We’d be a way happier married couple than her with Prince Keith. So uh… what do you say?”
Allura squeezed his hand. “You don’t have to do this,” she hissed quietly. “You really don’t have to do this.”
Yeah, Lance wasn’t completely sold on it yet either. Maybe relationships were more of an acquired taste.
Now that his words were actually out, Lance felt immediately suffocated by the tension that he had added to. If looks could kill, Prince Lotor would have already done so. Why he even cared that much about who Allura would marry, Lance didn’t know and didn't want to know. Keith was staring at him too, with more shock than anything. He didn’t actually look all that mad.
Suddenly, King Alfor stood from his throne.
“This is a peculiar situation. However, I do think it’s only fair to let both Prince Keith of Daibazaal and Lance to court my daughter and let her decide for herself."
Oh. I wasn't actually expecting that to work.
"The two of you and the rest of our guests can stay in the castle for the meantime. In a month’s time or less if needed, Allura will decide which of you she wants to spend the rest of her life with.” The king turned to his daughter, his voice growing soft. "Allura, you should not feel obligated to choose. But I do think that you should give both of them a fair chance first."
The look on Keith's face was absolutely priceless.
(Somewhere to the side, Allura exchanged a guilty look with Lotor.)