Lance's Birthday Surprise! 2017 Lance Week!

Lotor

The next day Lance had even more bile in his stomach then before. It was the day before his birthday and the mix of dread and depression for the day to come was killing him. He played it off like nothing was wrong but there was an Ally visiting the ship that knew better, Prince Lotor could spot family issues a mile away. Not because he had any himself of course, he would try to tell himself as he approached the blue paladin when he was alone.

"So, what's wrong?" Lotor leaned on the wall next to Lance with a 'I know something is wrong so spill it' look on his face.

"I...Uh....How could you tell something was wrong...?" Lance asked skeptically.

"Please Paladin, I am the KING of family drama" he paused "Never repeat that to anyone or so help me I will gut you" the prince threatens with a slight blush on his face.

Lance snorted and laughed.

"Oh don't worry I won't tell anyone" he grinned, Lance was pretty sure if Lotor was asking him to keep quiet everyone was already well aware of whatever he thought was a secret.

"My birthday is tomorrow" he said finally, Lotor gave the paladin an odd look.

"And that's a bad thing? Honey I thank the stars every day you fell into my life" he winked at his companion before moving to wrap one arm around him gently.

"But that's not what's wrong is it?" Lance shakes his head.

"Well...On my birthday my family usually throws a huge party, and my mom..." he chokes up at the mention of his mother.

"My mom was always there for me, and she was always my biggest supporter and she always baked a cake from scratch just for me....This is my first birthday without her..." he covers his face as he tears up.

"This must sound so pathetic."

"No....No not one bit" Lotor tightens his grip and pulls Lance into a hug.

"I know...how much it can hurt when...your family isn't there for your birthday.." he says simply as he pets the paladins head.

"It's not pathetic to miss them, to want them to be here, I can...I can empathize with how much you must miss your mother, you sound like you really love her."

"Yeah..." Lance's voice broke again as he hid his face in the prince's shoulder.

Lotor simply held onto his human lover, letting him get his emotions out as no one ever did for him when he was in Lance's shoes. Then the prince had an idea.

"How about we go for a ride hm?" he looks the paladin in the eyes, letting their foreheads touch.

"There's a planet with vast warm oceans where we could go for a swim, I could have Hunk pack us some food?" Lotor nuzzles Lance who blushes and thinks for a moment.

"Are you sure?" the paladin looks hesitant but not unwilling.

"Of course! Think of it as an early birthday present from me" the prince grins as he lets go of the paladin to radio Hunk and explain the situation.

"Grab your swimsuit and towel and meet me in the hanger in...what do humans call it? Half an hour?" Lance nods as he waves the prince off.

"Until then." he heads to his room to pack his things.

Once he had everything together Lance met Lotor in a smaller ship. Inside it seemed Hunk had them set for the whole day. Unknown to Lance Lotor found out about his birthday present and was asked to keep Lance busy today, which, the Prince eagerly agreed.

"Ready to go?" The prince asked looking almost excited.

"I guess, whoa, did Hunk think we were leaving for the day? There's even overnight bags."

"The other paladins have noticed you depression and have asked that I...err....show you a good time until your birthday~" he lied easily as he pulled the paladin into the ship to sit.

"Aw...Those guys..." Lance had to keep himself from tearing up again like a crybaby.

"You can thank them when we get back~" The prince didn't give him much time to think as he quickly readied for take off.

"Here we are" The prince smiled as they finished wormholing to the planet he'd found. There were lush jungles and deep, clear blue waters.

"Whoa! This almost looks like earth!" the paladin exclaimed as they landed.

"Ah yes, the Green Paladin noted that when I asked her about it. She said it was like the jungles of earth" Lotor smiled thankful his companion approved of his choice for a tiny vacation for the two.

The two spent the entire day exploring the jungles and swimming in the warm sea. Lotor was fascinated by Lance who seemed to be an excellent swimmer and diver. At one point they'd even found a cliff where Lance actually showed off his diving skills.

By nightfall the two had a tent set up on one of the smaller, uninhabited islands, where they'd have no fear of any creatures sneaking up on them.

Lance sighed as he gazed at the stars from the blanket he now shared with the galra prince.The tent came with a mesh top which they could see through.

"How are you feeling?" Lotor ventured to ask as they cuddled. Lance smiled sadly.

"Better, this was definitely a good distraction..."

"But you still miss them" Lance nodded. Lotor kissed the paladins forehead tenderly.

"I know, I'm glad I could distract you, even for a little while, but I know all too well that sometimes, the pain just...isn't that easy to get rid of" the prince smiled sadly in return.

"I would do anything to take this pain away from you" Lotor held his lover close. As the two men continued to snuggle with one another, sleep slowly set in, and the two drifted off in each other's arms.