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“This is a great responsibility, my son, are you sure you are ready to take it on?“
Prince Lance nodded, looking up at his father in awe.
“Yes, I am sure.“
His hands were slightly clammy but he kept his voice steady despite his nerves, a skill he was well trained in.
“Alright then“, King Alfor spoke, “bring the boy inside.“
Two guards opened the large wooden door connecting a hallway to the throne room and two more lead the prisoner inside. Lance gasped at the sight of his purple fur and recoiled a bit when his piercing yellow gaze fell on Lance.
This was the first Galra he had seen in person since the war started over ten years ago.
The now eighteen year old prince had been sheltered and safe in this castle and had since only seen pictures of them during battles. Having one in his castle, his home, set off alarm bells and made his proverbial hackles rise.
Even though Altea and their allies had won the war, the Galra Empire was defeated and this Galra was unarmed and in shackles, Lance couldn‘t suppress the fear bubbling up in him.
It wasn‘t helping that this wasn‘t just any Galra, but the son of Emperor Zarkon, the man who was responsible for the murder, rape and enslavement of at least 15 million people. The man who had personally ordered the destruction of over a hundred entire planets.
Lance didn‘t believe in entirely good or evil people or that someone from Zarkon‘s family automatically had to be a bad person, but considering Yorak was raised by Zarkon for nineteen years, there was a good chance he shared his father‘s beliefs.
Zarkon had died in a battle near the end of the war and after they had won, the allied forces had destroyed all Galra power structures and taken the Royal family as prisoners. The family members were given to various planets, for the inhabitants to decide to do with them whatever they wanted.
Lance didn‘t necessarily agree with that treatment but there were plenty of issues he was more concerned with at the moment.
Zarkon‘s only heir, Yorak, was sent to Altea and it had taken Lance‘s parents a while to decide what to do with him.
What they had eventually settled on was to give Yorak to Lance as a servant and to keep a close eye on him. They wanted to give him a chance to redeem himself so they didn‘t want any harm to come to him. After all, he had had no direct influence on what the Galra Empire had done.
Lance had reluctantly agreed and so he found himself in the throne room, looking down onto the former prince of the Galra, bound in thick chains and held by two Altean guards nearly twice his size.
Despite his predicament, he stood up straight, chin held high, his big, catlike ears perched up and his long, thin tail raised and swishing only slightly behind him. He looked proud, defiant. It was the posture of a Royal.
Lance gulped, wondering if he could really do this.
“Yorak!“ the King announced.
The Galra‘s eyes shot to Alfor and his ears twitched. Lance wondered if it was a sign of discontent at not being referred to with his former title.
“As a family member of the late Emperor of the Galra Empire, you were imprisoned and given to Planet Altea, for us to use you as we please.“
Yorak‘s eyes narrowed into slits and he bared his fangs, ears pinned back as far as they could go.
Alfor didn‘t let it affect him and he continued explaining what was going to happen to the Galra prisoner.
He left out that they were planning on releasing Yorak if he proved himself to be a good person, in hopes that he would not just pretend to do what they hoped for him to.
Throughout his speech, Lance kept watching Yorak.
He took note of his reactions, trying to understand his body language. He looked very riled up but the Altean prince couldn‘t tell if it was hatred, fear, or possibly even grief.
When King Alfor finished speaking, he ordered another guard to put a device around Yorak‘s neck. It was a remote controlled collar that would shock him at the press of a button.
The remote was inside a ring that was fitting tightly around Lance‘s finger. It could only be activated or removed with Lance’s and a few other people’s fingerprints.
The prisoner was then released from his shackles which fell to the floor with a loud clank and Lance‘s heart skipped a beat.
He half expected Yorak to immediately lunge at the nearest guard and attempt to tear their throat open with his fangs.
Fortunately, Lance‘s premonition did not come true.
Instead the Galra just stood there, hands balled into fists by his sides and glaring daggers into the guards that were no longer restraining him.
“Prince Lance“, Alfor said, pulling him out of his stupor.
“You are free to go now. Please take your servant with you and assign him his tasks.“
“Yes, father“, Lance concurred.
The entire walk to Lance‘s sleeping chambers, Yorak did not speak a word or spare him a glance. He just stared straight ahead and kept walking with him.
When they arrived in Lance‘s bed room, Lance showed him tasks he was going to perform in the future and once again, his servant did not acknowledge him in any way. Lance wasn‘t even sure he was listening to him.
Before ever seeing Yorak, he had been debating whether to let him have some time to settle in or give him something to do immediately.
Lance had decided to go with the second option but now he was second guessing himself. He decided to stick to the plan anyway, hoping he made the right decision.
“I will show you to your own room and you’ll be allowed to rest soon but first I need you to take the sheets off my bed and bring them to the laundry room.
Yorak grit his teeth. “I‘m not a servant!“ he growled, barely loud enough for Lance to understand him.
His voice sent a shiver down Lance‘s spine. He didn‘t know what he had expected but he just sounded so hostile.
“Yes you are!“ Lance snapped back.
“You are officially a servant to the Altean Crown. You should count yourself lucky you didn‘t end up on Crommyon! They would have put you in a pit of Acid and let your body dissolve over the course of an entire week!“
Yorak scoffed. “What if I just don‘t do it?“
He turned to face Lance abruptly and stepped closer until their face was mere inches apart.
Lance‘s heart was hammering in his chest and he was clutching the ring, ready to press the button if needed.
“Are you gonna zap me?“
“No“, Lance replied, voice steady, not betraying his inner turmoil.
“That‘s only for self defense.“
Yorak, who Lance now noticed was about half a head shorter than him, stared up at him intensely with an expression Lance couldn’t read.
“I just won’t do it then“, he said and turned his back on Lance.
The Altean Prince could only gape at him as he strode across the room and plopped down on Lance‘s bed.
“You have to follow my orders!“ Lance squawked, momentarily forgetting his Royal etiquette.
“Or what?“ Yorak challenged with an almost playful gleam in his eyes.
“There will be consequences!“ Lance asserted and tried his best to appear authoritative when he stood in front of Yorak, arms crossed.
“Oh yeah?“
A smirk now stretched across the Galra‘s face and he laid back, stretching his arms above his head.
“I haven‘t slept in a proper bed and got more than five hours of sleep for over two weeks, so I will sleep here. If you want me gone, looks like you‘ll have to drag me out by yourself.“
Lance couldn’t believe the audacity of this Galra. And furthermore how he could be so nonchalant about it? That he didn‘t want to comply was understandable but why wasn‘t he angry anymore?
Not knowing how to deal with this situation any longer, Lance went over to his desk and continued his studies.
The room was quiet, safe for the occasional turning of a page or shuffling from the bed and when Lance looked over to Yorak about thirty minutes later, he saw that the boy was curled up in a ball on top of his sheets, eyes closed and snoring lightly.
Lance scoffed and continued his work until the sun started setting.
It had already been afternoon when Lance had received his new servant and he had been up since sunrise, doing important things in preparation for Yorak’s arrival.
Lance was exhausted.
He took a look at the Galra boy sleeping in his bed, wondering if he could leave him unattended like this but after watching him for a couple of seconds, he felt safe in leaving him alone for a few minutes.
He slipped into his bathroom and got ready quickly, not without checking on Yorak a few times.
He hadn’t been aggressive so far but there was no reason to trust him. However, when he returned, the Galra was still curled up and snoring lightly.
Out of curiosity, Lance leaned over him and studied his face.
He looked younger like this, features completely relaxed. He looked … peaceful.
Lance had no idea how it happened but suddenly the Galra‘s eyes snapped open and in the next moment Lance found himself pinned to the bed, a snarling Yorak above him.
Reflexively he pressed the button on his ring and the effect was immediate.
Yorak‘s entire body seized up, his eyes widened comically, and then a scream tore through the silence of the night.
Yorak scrambled backward, grabbing the collar, trying and failing to get it off his neck and falling off the bed in the process.
When the pain finally stopped, Yorak was laying on the floor, gasping and shivering, eyes staring into the side of the bed.
“What the fuck!“ Lance breathed before he could process the situation.
“Fuck!“ he cursed again and jumped off his bed, crouching down to his prisoner‘s level.
“I‘m so sorry, I didn‘t mean to do that. You scared me and I - I didn’t know it was gonna be like this. I didn‘t expect it to be so long and intense - shit! I‘m sorry, Yorak!“
When he reached out a hand, Yorak flinched and hissed at him, before stopping abruptly and crawling backwards.
He was sitting up now and still clawing at his collar, gasping for air. The skin around it was turning dark.
“Shit! Let me help you! I won‘t do it again, I promise! Let me take it off!“
At first, when he crawled closer, Yorak kept scrambling backwards but eventually he let Lance catch up to him and touch the collar.
Lance pressed his thumb on the little pad on the side, which flashed blue for half a second and then the collar clicked open.
Yorak immediately flung it across the room and took in gulps of air, finally starting to relax a little.
Horrified, Lance realized that the area the collar had touched was swollen and dark purple - which he guessed was the Galra equivalent of skin turning red.
Yorak‘s ears were pinned back and he stared up at Lance with wide eyes, fear clearly written across his features.
“I‘m sorry“, Lance repeated. Then: “You don‘t have to be scared anymore, the collar is off. I can‘t hurt you anymore.“
Yorak seemed to calm down a little at that, ears perking up the slightest bit.
“Come on, let‘s get you to a healing pod.“
Before Lance could offer a hand to Yorak, the Galra stiffened again, expression turning sour.
“No! I‘m not going inside that!“
Lance blinked in confusion. “Why not?“ he asked tentatively.
Yorak hissed and scrambled backwards, jumping to his feet and backing away from Lance on wobbly legs.
“I won‘t!“ he growled and Lance nodded.
“Okay“, he accepted, “you don’t have to. But will you at least let me treat your neck with some healing ointment?“
Yorak stared at him with narrowed eyes before eventually nodding.
Lance made it a point to move slowly as to not scare Yorak more than he already did.
He got the ointment from his bathroom and asked Yorak to sit on his bed.
To his surprise, the Galra complied and barely even flinched when Lance sat next to him.
Lance used his fingers to tilt up Yorak‘s chin and scooped up some of the ointment which he then cautiously spread all over his neck.
Yorak gasped lightly when Lance first touched him but then closed his eyes, face scrunched together and claws digging into the mattress.
Lance could only assume that it was painful but he worked quickly and meticulously to keep the pain to a minimum. When he was done, Keith let out a stuttering breath.
“You um… you can continue to sleep here tonight. I‘ll just… sleep in your room and let the guards know we switched places.“
Yorak furrowed his brows.
“This is your bedroom“ he protested. “You should sleep here.“
Lance couldn‘t believe what he was hearing. Was Yorak being nice to him after all that Lance had done to him?
“It‘s okay, really“, Lance assured him but Yorak shook his head.
“Your bed is big. Enough space for two. We won‘t even touch if we sleep on different sides.“
Lance heart rate sped up. Suddenly, a dark thought came to him which made him recoil and get away from the bed all together.
What if Yorak was trying to get him to fall asleep around him to he could kill him in his sleep? Was that why he suddenly seemed to trust Lance? He could be wrong but he also couldn‘t risk it.
“Nope!“ He was already half across the room when he added: “I need my own bed to fall asleep. Good night!“
He then slipped out of the room, closed the soundproof door and explained to the guards outside where he was going and to not let Yorak get out.
He slept restlessly that night and the next morning he hurried back to his room, a strange mix of worry and curiosity pooling in his belly.
It took a week until Lance and Yorak had their first casual conversation.
Lance asked him what kind of food he liked so he could ask his cook to make it for him and Yorak started telling him about a certain type of meat balls his nanny had always made for him when he was young.
“Did your parents not cook for you?“ Lance asked, momentarily forgetting who said parents were. By the time he realized what he’d said, Yorak was chuckling.
“My parents only paid attention to me when they wanted me to show off my progress in something they forced me to learn.“
Lance blinked. Spared a side glance at Yorak. Looked away again.
“Sounds like your parents weren‘t very nice to you“, Lance said carefully.
This time Yorak let out an actual laugh.
“You think Zarkon would have been nice to his child? Come on, you guy fought the bastard for ten years, you know what kind of person he was!“
Suddenly, a weight lifted from Lance‘s shoulders that he hadn‘t even noticed he had been carrying around.
“Are you sad that he‘s … gone?“
“Fuck no!“ Yorak exclaimed.
“I‘m glad he‘s dead. I hope he‘s burning in hell right now. He was a monster!“
As much as Lance was relieved to hear this, it also stung in a way he couldn‘t really explain.
Maybe it was because he had such a good relationship with his parents.
He knew they weren‘t perfect and they made mistakes but they were trying their best to be good parents and good leaders.
He admired them, hoped to be a little bit like them when he grew up.
It sounded like Yorak had only bad memories of his parents.
No one to look up to, no one to be his role model.
Or maybe there was someone else Yorak had looked up to. His parent‘s views must have been challenged by someone for him to be so against them after all.
“Was there anyone you could trust at home?“
Yorak‘s expression turned from amused to grim so quickly it gave Lance whiplash.
The Galra deflated and avoided Lance‘s face.
“I‘m sorry, you don’t have to answer -“
“My brother, Shiro,“ Yorak interrupted.
“He‘s - we‘re not blood related. He was my guard and trainer but he was a brother to me.“
A cold shiver ran down Lance‘s spine. “Is he … dead?“
Yorak shook his head.
“Not to my knowledge. But he has no idea where I am. And I have no way of contacting him.“
“Oh.“ Lance needed a moment to process the information before he blurted: “You can talk to him!“
That same day, Lance arranged for Keith to call this Shiro and he stepped out of the room to give them privacy.
He still heard the softness in Yorak‘s voice when his brother picked up.
If the Galra boy’s eyes looked a bit puffy after ending the call, Lance didn‘t mention it.
So… do you wanna play as the red or the black lion?“
“Red lion“, Yorak immediately replied.
“What?? Whyyyyy? Black is the leader! He‘s so much stronger!“ Lance cried out.
Yorak‘s face fell and he immediately started defending his choice, apparently not picking up on Lance‘s theatrics and that he didn‘t actually mean it.
This is something Lance had noticed a couple of times already. Yorak seemed to have trouble discerning sarcasm from honest statements sometimes.
Lance had pretty much given up on the idea that Yorak was a servant and he was basically treating him like a guest.
Perhaps even… a friend…?
He had started sleeping in bed with him around the same time Yorak had talked to Shiro for the first time since arriving in Altea.
One day, he barged into his room, wearing a bathrobe, sunglasses in his hair and a bunch of towels under his arm.
“Yorak!“ he yelled. “We‘re going swimming!“
It was then that he took in Yorak‘s puzzled expression and another Galra man‘s face on a screen behind him.
“Oh! My apologies, I didn’t mean to interrupt you two.“
He was already halfway towards the door again when the man chuckled.
“You’re Prince Lance, am I right?“
Lance halted and turned back slowly.
“Yes, that would be me. I assume you must be Shiro?“
The man nodded.
“So you‘re my little brother‘s master.“
Lance recoiled a bit at the phrasing and Yorak bristled and hissed a low: “Shiro.“
“I - I mean that‘s a fair question. Um. Technically yes. But I’m not making him do anything. He was supposed to be a servant but he just refused to do anything so now I kinda just let him, uhh roam around. Only thing he can‘t do is leave the castle.“
Lance was surprised to hear Shiro chuckle again.
“Sounds like Keith.“
Lance nodded. Wait.
“Keith?“
Yorak sighed. “It‘s my nickname. Shiro came up with it when I was a kid and it just… stuck around.“
“It sounds strange, it‘s not a Galra name, is it?“
“No“, Shiro responded.
“It‘s… I don‘t actually know what culture the name is from but I picked it up from a TV show I found in a Space Mall. It was my favorite show as a kid and when Yorak was growing older, he just reminded me a lot of a character called Keith.“
“He made me watch the show six times“, Yorak deadpanned and stared at Lance unimpressed.
The interaction prompted a giggle from Lance and it made an unfamiliar warmth bloom in his chest.
“Alright, well, I‘ll leave you two alone then. Seems like you have plans for the day. Have fun!“
“Thanks, Shiro“, Yorak replied, a slight blush dusting his cheeks.
“Thank you!“ Lance grinned, throwing one of the beach towels he was holding at Yorak.
“Come on, Mr. Grumpypants, I got you a swimsuit that should fit you. Put it on and come out when you‘re done. Goodbye, Shiro!“
“Bye Lance“, he replied and Lance left the room.
“Last one to reach the water loses!“ Lance yelled and sprinted toward the lake.
He ran across the grass, skidded down a steep dune, jumped over the last few feet of sand and finally landed in the water belly first.
He didn‘t waste any time before paddling deeper into the lake until he could comfortably float without having to crouch. The cold water came as a bit of a shock to him but he pushed through and paddled further out into the lake until his feet were barely able to touch the ground anymore.
When he turned around, he was surprised to see that Yorak was still standing on the shore with only his feet in the water and eyeing the lake suspiciously.
“Why aren‘t you coming? Are you coooold?“ Lance mocked and splashed some water onto the other boy.
Yorak flinched and pinned his ears back, tail starting to swish faster - which Lance had learned meant he was irritated.
Lance waded back a bit and Yorak walked three steps backwards which had Lance bursting into laughter.
“Oh my God, do you hate water that much? I‘m not going to splash you again, I promise!“
Yorak frowned but seemed to believe Lance and walked further into the lake until he was almost at Lance‘s level. The water was now at his hips and because Lance had already emerged his entire body underwater and wanted to stay that way, his face was now level with Yorak‘s belly.
And oh wow, did he have an interesting view.
Lance was ashamed (but only a little bit) to admit that he had been checking Yorak out when he first saw him in swim trunks. But being so close made it a lot more intense.
A while ago, Yorak had asked if there was some place he could use to exercise.
In response Lance had shown him the castle’s training room and Yorak had made it a habit to disappear into it every now and then.
But because Lance still had a lot of duties to attend to, he didn‘t know how often and how regularly the Galra actually trained.
Seeing him shirtless confirmed his theory that Yorak was very into staying fit.
He was skinny but more muscular and more compact than Lance. Galra tended to be more sturdy than Alteans but Yorak wasn‘t very broad. He was on the shorter side too.
A splash of water to his face pulled Lance out of his thoughts. He squealed and dove under.
Now, he had just promised Yorak not to splash him anymore, but if the other boy attacked first, Lance didn‘t think he really had to stick to that commitment anymore.
So, as his revenge, he propelled himself toward Yorak‘s legs, hooked his arms around them and pulled him into the deeper part of the lake.
He could feel the Galra thrashing above him.
He had no doubt that Yorak would absolutely crush him in a fair fight but in the water, Lance had the upper hand.
You see, he was practically raised in the water.
As the Prince of Altea, there wasn‘t much he could do outside that wouldn‘t get him recognized and swarmed by admirers immediately.
What he could do, however, was ask his parents or chauffeur to bring him to a small lake a few miles out from the castle.
It wasn‘t often that people came here because it was pretty far from the nearest city and in between the castle and a big mountain range.
Occasionally, some hikers would cross his path but most of them would just politely greet him and move on with their day.
So when he was old enough to drive his own hover car, he took it out to the lake almost every day.
He became a masterful swimmer.
The longest he‘d ever swam without a break was eight hours and he could hold his breath for up to fifteen minutes.
The average Altean would probably give up after two and three, respectively.
He giggled internally at Yorak‘s struggling and let go when he felt satisfied with his punishment. He resurfaced, a boisterous smile plastered on his face.
He expected Yorak to come up to the surface and immediately attack him back but instead the thrashing continued and Yorak stayed underwater.
It took another second or two until Lance realized something was wrong.
Alarmed, he dove under, grabbed Yorak by his arm and pulled him up to the surface.
When the Galra‘s face was above the water again, he started gulping in air like he hadn‘t breathed for an hour.
He held onto Lance, claws painfully digging into his arms and back, and his tail wrapped itself around Lance’s waist. Panic shone from his yellow eyes.
“Are you okay?“ Lance inquired while slowly paddling back to the shallower water.
“I can’t swim, Lance! I can‘t fucking swim!“ Yorak croaked, voice still shaken up.
He was still clinging to Lance when they reached an area in which the water barely touched their collar bones.
“I‘m sorry“, Lance said earnestly, “I shouldn’t have done that, I‘m so sorry!“
After a few seconds, he cleared his throat.
“You can let go now. You can stand here.“
It looked like Yorak stretched his legs under him carefully until his feet reached the sandy ground and he finally relaxed a bit. His grip on Lance, however, stayed.
“Watching the stars?“
Lance startled when the voice interrupted his alone time in the castle‘s observatory.
“Can‘t sleep“ he replied.
Yorak hummed as he sat down next to the Altean Prince.
“Me neither.“
There was a moment of silence in which both of them just looked at the sky through the big window front, comfortable in each other‘s presence.
“Do you miss your home?“ Lance asked eventually, glancing at Yorak from the corner of his eyes.
The Galra shrugged.
“I miss Shiro. Everything else… not really.“
Lance nodded slowly.
“You know, I hate that I have to keep you from seeing him in person. And just everything. It seemed like the best arrangement at first but you‘re not like your father at all. I hate keeping you a prisoner here.“
When Lance looked over again, he saw a small smile stretching across Yorak‘s face.
“I wasn‘t happy about it at first but you don’t treat me like a prisoner. I‘ve honestly never felt so free in my entire life. I mean, you don‘t tell me what to do, you let me walk around the castle as I please, you take me outside with you sometimes. I feel like -“ he trailed off, looking the slightest bit flustered.
“Feel like what?“ Lance inquired. In response Yorak just blushed harder.
“Nothing“, he said hastily and shook his head.
“Hmm“, Lance began. “I‘m glad you feel… like you‘re not a prisoner but that‘s technically what you are. You shouldn‘t be cooped up in a castle, you should be free to go wherever you like.“
“How many people can do that though? Only a small handful of rich people. I‘m lucky. I was born into Royalty and then my entire family was given away as slaves or slaughtered. I‘m so lucky to have ended up here. There‘s millions of civilians who would kill to be in my place right now.“
Lance looked at him, brows furrowed.
“But they‘re free. They can change where they want to be if they want.“
Yorak’s scoffed. “You think someone born in asteroid mines has a choice? They will stay there for the rest of their life. They don‘t have any money to leave. They only have two choices: stay and work their lives away or die.“
They didn‘t speak for what felt like half an hour.
“I might be the luckiest of all then“, Lance considered.
Yorak glanced at him, brow raised.
“I was born into Royalty as were you, my parents, despite being busy a lot, did their best to raise me with love and understanding, I am free to leave if I wanted to and I will always have a job for me here.“
Yorak nodded. “Yeah, sounds nice. You do have a lot of responsibility though.“
Once again, a comfortable silence fell over them and Lance almost closed his eyes and considered dozing off, when he felt a pressure on his shoulder.
With a start, he realized Yorak was leaning his head on him.
He didn‘t say anything but didn‘t dare to move either until he heard Yorak lightly snore.
An unfamiliar warmth blossomed in his chest and he resisted the urge to pet his fluffy purple ears.
Lance couldn‘t believe his eyes when he came into his room and he found Yorak in the swim trunks he lent him weeks ago, holding a towel.
The Galra boy turned around to face Lance, a slight blush spread over his cheeks.
Lance was even more surprised when he shoved Lance‘s own swim wear at him and grumbled: “Teach me how to swim.“
He didn’t have to tell Lance twice.
It was the first time either of them were back at the lake after Lance almost drowned Yorak accidentally.
He was still ashamed of it and honestly never expected the Galra to want to come back. But Yorak seemed to trust him more than Lance expected - or deserved if he was being honest.
Lance showed him the swimming motion and asked Yorak to imitate him in shallow water.
The first few times he panicked and stopped quickly but on the third try, he managed to swim a few meters towards Lance.
The Altean grabbed his sides and helped him regain balance before his feet found the ground again.
“Good job!“ Lance praised, feeling proud of his impromptu student.
Yorak‘s eyes lit up and he looked at Lance with an expression that made the taller boy‘s knees feel weak.
He cleared his throat, gently pushing Yorak away from him and instructed him to swim a larger distance.
They slowly transitioned from a few meters in shallow water to 10 meters into deeper water and back
Lance stayed by his side the entire time, making sure to stabilize Yorak whenever he started pushing his arms and legs out a little too erratically.
Although Lance taught him to do big, slow movements, Yorak had a habit of falling into a paddling motion, reminiscent of a cat.
It made Lance chuckle and when he got close enough, he reached out and patted Yorak‘s head, making sure to scratch behind his ear.
He expected Yorak to pull away, growl at him, roll his eyes or splash him in revenge.
What he didn‘t expect though, was the soft gasp and being able to watch as the Galra‘s eyes widened and his pupils dilated in response.
Intrigued, Lance swam a little closer and repeated the motion.
Yorak ducked his head, ears twitching and a violent blush spreading over his face.
“You know“, Lance began, voice laced with mirth, “I always thought Galra were really dangerous and scary but at the core you are just overgrown cats. Do you like belly rubs too?“
In response, Yorak whimpered and pushed himself into Lance.
Suddenly the Altean was surrounded by his arms and he could feel Yorak‘s tail swishing around, occasionally hitting Lance‘s side.
Their stomachs were pressed together and now it was Lance who gasped, struggling to believe that Yorak, who had been so standoffish in the beginning, was suddenly cuddling up to him.
He continued petting his ears and a low rumbling noise emanated from Yorak‘s throat.
Confused, but not opposed, Lance let one arm snake around Yorak‘s waist.
He caressed his purple skin carefully, which tore a moan from the boy and had him arching up into Lance’s body.
The swim instructor felt something suspicious poke against his crotch.
At this point his legs were the only thing holding them above the water. Yorak had stopped paddling and was now just clinging onto Lance.
Lance caught the tail swishing behind Yorak‘s back and experimentally gave it a tug before stroking down its‘ length which made Yorak purr much harder and start rocking into Lance.
The Altean prince was pretty sure he was hard.
“Yorak?“ he whispered, stopping the ear petting for a second.
The Galra let out a pitiful whine and grumbled his discontent into Lance‘s collarbone.
“What?“
“As much as I‘m enjoying this, I feel like we need to talk about what‘s happening right now. I‘ve already hurt you by making assumptions about you and I have no idea how any of this works for Galra, so I would rather not test my luck. Also, we should probably get out of the water.“
Yorak nodded, his head still ducked. It was another reason Lance was hesitant to continue.
He wanted to see Yorak‘s face so he could be able to judge whether or not he was actually enjoying this.
He pushed away from the other boy and started swimming towards the shore, keeping one arm around Yorak to make sure he wouldn’t panic.
When they reached the beach, Yorak stopped Lance and threw himself on top of the Altean, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Lance squinted up at him.
The sun was starting to set but the sky was still bright so it took Lance a few seconds to adjust and be able to see Yorak‘s features.
His eyes were half lidded, sharp fangs piercing into his lower lip.
“Do you wanna fuck me or not?“ Yorak demanded, dropping forward, only to catch himself, effectively encasing Lance in his arms.
“W-what?“, Lance stuttered. “Fuck you?“
Yorak sat back, frowning. “Is that not what you want?“
“I- I mean. It‘s not like I don‘t want it. I‘m just surprised by how forward you‘re being all of a sudden. This is kind of coming out of nowhere for me.“
“What?“ Yorak exclaimed incredulously. “But you started this!“
“I did?“ Lance raised a brow.
Yorak blushed before answering: “You touched my ears.“
The ears in question twitched. It took Lance a moment to really understand his words.
“Is that like foreplay for Galra?“
“They are incredibly sensitive body parts. You don‘t touch them unless you‘re mates or trying to be intimate with someone. I assumed you knew that.“
“Holy shit“, Lance breathed.
“I‘m sorry, I shouldn‘t have just touched them. I honestly just thought they looked cute and I wanted to pet them.“
“Oh.“
Yorak shrank in on himself.
“I‘m sorry too. I shouldn’t have just jumped you.“
Lance cleared his throat.
“Well, um… I know this is a bit awkward and all but we already started this and you seemed pretty eager a minute ago. So… should we just… continue?“
Yorak bristled. “Not if your only reason is that we already started!“
He began to get up but Lance caught his wrist, making him still in his movement.
“That‘s not my only reason. I want this. But only if you‘re comfortable with it, of course.“
Yorak seemed to consider his words for a moment before he nodded and sat back down on Lance.
Despite their conversation Lance was still half hard and he let out a soft gasp when Yorak‘s ass pushed down on him.
The Galra leaned down, coming dangerously close to Lance’s mouth but before their lips could touch he intercepted: “I have one condition.“
Lance‘s breathing was labored and he didn‘t trust his voice right now so he just nodded.
“Call me Keith.“
It caught Lance off guard but he agreed.
“Okay… Keith“, he tried out the name.
The boy hovering above him smiled wickedly and then proceeded to gyrate his hips, brushing their dicks together through their swim wear.
Lance moaned quietly before pointing out: “We should get rid of this“, while tugging on Keith‘s trunks.
“Not yet“, the Galra murmured before leaning down to nose along Lance‘s neck.
“We have no reason to rush.“
He then started leaving little kisses, trailing down towards his collarbone, nipping at his skin and teasing with his fangs.
Lance‘s hand flew to Yu- Keith‘s butt and he squeezed, causing Keith to groan and grind down particularly hard.
As a result they both moaned and Keith‘s hips sped up.
Lance started rocking up into him and they both started grabbing at one another.
When Keith lifted his head, Lance surged up to finally capture his lips and his fingers disappeared in the damp black mop of hair.
It was still fluffy despite the wet lengths.
“Can I?“ he asked, hand hovering near an ear.
“Yes please!“ Keith said hurriedly before connecting their lips again.
When Lance started caressing the ears again, Keith melted against him, letting out a small whine.
With their bodies pressed together, Lance put one hand on his lower back, pushing even harder while thrusting up into Keith.
The Galra mewled and bit down on Lance‘s lower lip a bit too hard.
Lance flinched, trying to push Keith‘s face away from his. When the fanged boy let go, Lance tasted blood.
“How about you try not to literally eat me?“ Lance suggested breathlessly.
Keith‘s eyes widened, mortified.
“I‘m sorry“, he rushed to say but Lance already grabbed him and flipped him over.
“We’ve been patient enough“, he said, taking his own swim shorts off and throwing them to the side.
His fingers slipped underneath Keith‘s and he looked up at his face, looking for confirmation. Keith nodded and he helped him shimmy out of his pants.
For a few seconds Lance couldn‘t pry his eyes off Keith‘s now exposed dick.
It was shorter than his, but slightly thicker and covered in little nubs, surrounded by a thick layer of dark purple fur.
Lance couldn‘t help himself from running his fingers down his happy trail, stopping at the base of his dick.
Keith hissed and arched his back, ears pinned back, and claws digging into the sand beneath him.
Lance smirked at his receptiveness. Time to find out how sensitive the rest of his body was.
The Altean leaned over him, pressing a kiss to his lips, then trailing lower, past his collarbones, lingering around his pecs.
He admired the muscles in his belly with his hands and marveled at how they contracted under his touch.
Meanwhile he started kissing around Keith‘s left nipple and the Galra gasped in response.
Lance closed his lips around the little nub, letting his tongue run over it.
He moved one hand higher until it reached the right nipple and started drawing circles around it while suckling on the left side.
Keith was moaning like a whore and bucking up into Lance uncontrollably.
Lance felt his dick leave a wet trail on his own stomach.
He moved over to the right nipple with his mouth and grabbed for Keith‘s dick, starting to jerk him off slowly.
Keith reacted by moving his hands to Lance‘s back, digging his claws into the brown, freckled skin.
It made Lance suck in air sharply but he could tell Keith was holding back, trying not to hurt him.
“Please don‘t rip my back open with those“, he joked nonetheless.
Keith immediately loosened his grip, using his fingers and not his claws.
They stayed like this for a while, moaning and rutting into one another.
“Lance!“ Keith gasped, throwing his head back in ecstasy. “Fuck me!“
Lance was curious about how that ribbed dick would feel inside him but he couldn‘t say no after Keith asked so nicely.
So he let Keith suck on his fingers and prepared him with the Galra‘s own saliva.
By the end of it, Keith was gasping and writhing desperately and it would have been cruel for Lance not to give in to his demand.
Keith mewled when Lance started sinking into him. Lance himself was panting and trying very hard to hold back and not slam into the other boy in one go.
Keith was clawing at Lance’s back, Lance’s earlier request forgotten but the Altean couldn’t care less.
“Please, Lance, I need you!“ Keith panted and that was it.
Without another warning Lance slammed his entire length into Keith‘s hole.
The Galra cried out, eyes screwed shut, mouth wide open and his hips rocking frantically into Lance‘s.
When the prince looked down at where they were connected, he spotted cum on Keith’s belly, the white substance a pretty contrast to Keith’s purple skin.
The realization hit him that Keith had just cum from just him entering.
Lance was painfully hard and throbbing but he didn‘t want to overwhelm Keith.
“Do you want to keep going?“ he asked.
Keith just nodded, eyes still closed and Lance took that as his sign to go to town.
With every thrust, Keith let out a punched out moan or whimper which just spurred Lance on more.
He would usually last longer but he could tell was nearing his climax this time. He started fucking harder at the same time as yanking on Keith‘s hair which made the purple boy yell out in pleasure.
Keith hooked his legs around Lance‘s back, pushing him deeper and making both of them moan broakenly.
Lance felt his orgasm build and so he moved his hand up to Keith‘s ears with the intention of scratching them.
But he was so riled up and focused on his own pleasure that all he could do was grab onto one while rocking into Keith and bringing himself to orgasm.
The Galra screamed and this time Lance felt Keith‘s cum hit his own stomach right before he was tipped over the edge and they moaned and fucked each other through the waves of pleasure hitting them at the same time.
Lance was panting hard when he came down from his aftershocks. He looked down and Keith just laid there, looking fucked out and exhausted.
For a while they just stayed silent until a small smile crept onto Keith‘s face. His eyes were still closed when he spoke: “Thank you.“
Lance blinked. Then barked out a laugh.
“Did you just thank me for making you cum?“
Keith opened his eyes and squinted up at him.
“No. I‘m thanking you for letting me stay with you. For treating me with kindness. And for being… my - friend?“
Lance bit his lip. Before he could respond, Keith continued: “I never had anyone besides Shiro. And when I was in Daibazaal, I couldn‘t even see him often. I was stuck with my parents and a handful of servants that were taught not to speak unless spoken to. I was so… lonely.“
He gulped and looked away from Lance.
The Altean Prince felt a panic in his heart and he couldn‘t resist the urge to run his hand through Keith‘s hair.
“I‘m sorry to hear that.“
Keith smiled again and turned his head to look at Lance.
“Don‘t apologize. You showed me that life doesn‘t have to be like that. You“, he paused, taking a deep breath, “showed me that I can be happy.“
Lance wouldn‘t want to admit it but he was quite the emotional person and Keith‘s confession had him fighting off tears.
He didn‘t know how to respond so instead he just leaned down and pressed his lips to Keith‘s.
Keith kissed back, throwing his arms around him and pulling him impossibly closer.
They had kissed earlier but this time was different from the lust filled haze they had been in. This kiss was slow and passionate and it felt like they lost themselves in the embrace.
That night, they fell asleep holding each other, limbs tangled and minds at peace.