My Prince

Making Home

"Hey Lance, we got some of your shit!" Pidge shouted as she and Hunk exited the elevator with boxes in hand.

Lance groaned as he lifted his head up from Lotor's chest. While he didn't mind sleeping on top of Lotor, there was no room to stretch. It wasn't a very comfortable night for them. Neither felt well rested.

"Fuck," Lance untangled himself from Lotor, stumbling as he did so and fell to the floor. Lotor sat up, his hair messy. He clearly did not sleep.

"Lotor..." Lance snorted at how ruffled Lotor looked and the man was not a happy camper.

"My own prisoners get better cells than this." Lotor grumbled. His back hurt and he definitely had a crick in the neck.

"Sorry about that. We don't have prisoners very often." Pidge shrugged and opened the cell so that she could slide the boxes in.

There wasn't much but Lance pulled out his jacket that he had been missing. It had been a gift from his mother and it reminded him of home. Lance pressed the fabric to his nose and inhaled, happy to have a piece of his mother.

There were a few more of his things, such as face masks and creams, lotions, and other hygienic products. Lance appreciated skin care and he found out that Lotor did as well. Grabbing his brush, he passed it to Lotor who joined him and watched as Lance rummaged through the boxes.

Lotor gave him a small smile of appreciation and ran the brush through his hair. He always looked presentable in front of everyone. His generals included. Lance was the only exception considering they slept in the same bed and Lotor had a bad case of cow licks in the morning. It was pointless trying to look perfect with someone like Lance who loves his cow licks. Lotor's pride was taking a hit by looking unpresentable in front of the paladins.

"Thank you." Lance had his jacket clutched to his chest and looked at Hunk.

"I know it means a lot to you, so I thought you might want it." Hunk shrugged his shoulders.

"I appreciate it, I really do."

"Your pod is in there too if you want to listen to music. The others will be coming down in a bit to speak with you both." Pidge pointed to the boxes.

Lance grinned and dug through the box until he found his pod and hugged it to his chest. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Pidge had managed to download music from Earth and Lance never wanted to ask how considering the stuff she manages to get is questionable. In these cases, it was best not to know.

"Lotor, it's time to introduce you to Shakira." Lance grinned and shuffled until he found "Hips Don't Lie" and Lotor's face was priceless. "Mom is a big fan of Shakira."

Lotor tried to keep an open mind as he listened to the song but seeing Lance close his eyes and quietly sing along made him love whoever this Shakira person was.

"Just wait until you hear grimes." Hunk quipped and Lance rolled his eyes.

"Don't you hate on Grimes. She knows what's good."

"Oh, they're here." Pidge told them and Lance pouted as he turned off Shakira. Lotor stood up and offered a hand, which Lance gladly accepted with a smile.

"I don't even want to ask what a Grimes is." Lotor murmured quietly, making Lance laugh.

"Shakira isn't for everyone but you might like Grimes. You give that kind of vibe." Lance held his hand.

"Vibe?" Lotor did his cute head tilt thing and furrowed his brows.

"I'll explain later." Lance promised and they faced the rest of the paladins.

"Lance, we understand you are with Lotor now, but we want you back on the team." Shiro began and Lance believed that he wanted Lance on the team, but the others, such as Keith, didn't seem to be happy about the idea.

"I don't want to come back." Lance sighed and shook his head. "I don't belong as a paladin. I'm not just with Lotor, I am his general. I want you to respect my decision."

"Lance..." Shiro wasn't sure how to proceed.

"That doesn't mean we can't work together. We have the same goal as you and I truly do not want to fight against you." Lance began and took a deep breath. "We both want Zarkon gone. He has hurt millions of people across the galaxy and we fight for them too because they can't fight for themselves."

"What about the galra? Everyone under Zarkon's rule?" Allura asked, her tone sharp.

Lance expected her reaction. "Don't they deserve mercy? Zarkon is a dictator even to his own race. I have no doubt there will be many willing to break from the empire if they had a choice. The ones who thrive under Zarkon's rule will be taken care of. The empire can be reformed under Lotor's rule and instead of dominating the galaxy like Zarkon has done, he can make a difference."

"My home. My family! What about the lives the empire has already destroyed?" Allura was upset and she had every right to be.

"I'm not asking you to forget your grief and anger. But revenge will lead you on the same path as Zarkon. Not in the same way but in wiping out an entire race that I think deserves a chance at being saved. How long has the empire reigned? Thousands of years. Zarkon lived through it but there are children growing up in an unforgiving environment. They have known nothing except for the empire Zarkon has built. They deserve a chance to make choices for themselves." Lance finished and he knew his words hit home. They hadn't considered the innocents trapped in the empire.

"Lotor has a refuge planet. People who wanted out but were too afraid to fight for themselves got a chance to be free. Lotor provides everything he can to these people. Hybrids who were cast out and even prisoners were rescued. Lotor has been working against his father a long time but drawing too much attention would have been dangerous. If Zarkon found out about the refuge planet, he would've slaughtered everyone there just to teach Lotor a lesson." Lance squeezed Lotor's hand.

"I'm not expecting you to suddenly trust him, but at least trust me." Lance finished his speech feeling very confident that he got through to his former team.

"Lance... people won't just trust the galra." Allura crossed her arms.

"You're a Paladin of Voltron, aren't you supposed to defend the universe? The galra are a part of the universe." Allura looked down. Lance was right. She was blinded by her anger and grief.

"I'm sure the green Paladin has mentioned her father being my prisoner?" Lotor finally spoke up after Lance's very moving speech.

"She told us." Shiro replied.

"I have a plan that will not only defeat Zarkon once and for all but also bring your father home to you, Miss Holt." Pidge flushed at the formal use of her name and looked away embarrassed.

"P-Pidge is fine." She stuttered. "Can we wait for my brother and the rebels to get here before we dive into the plan?"

"Can we also get a cell with a proper bed? I'm going to be sore for weeks from that... whatever you call it." Lance raised his hand with a hopefully little smile.

"You can take your old room back Lance." Shiro agreed and Lance let out a relieved breath.

"Great." Lance turned to Lotor with a beaming smile. "Nothing beats our bed though."

Shiro just shook his head with slightly pink cheeks.