It had started out normally, by space standards. Routine, by their standards.

"Pidge, watch your six." Keith sounded at ease, even as he dodged a large blast from a cruiser on his left.

"Shit, thanks," Pidge said and did a loop to get behind the cruiser on her tail.

"Language," Shiro reminded her. He didn't sound like he meant it, but there was an edge to his voice.

All in all, it hadn't been a bad day. Allura was being merciless with their training though, and the tension in the comms was high as everyone tried to avoid being blasted out of the sky. So, was it really Lance's fault that he decided to have some fun? He couldn't help it honestly. Sessions like this where everyone was on edge made his skin crawl. Blue purred in the controls at his hands, and he sent her a silent little thanks, but even that wasn't enough to keep him under control as he took her through evasive maneuvers.

He wasn't doing too badly, actually. Blue stepped in whenever he didn't react quite fast enough, but the edge of a blast singed their back leg. It hardly shook them, but he threw Blue into a nosedive and she followed willingly. He could almost swear she was laughing.

"Mayday, mayday, we're going down!"

"Lance?" Pidge had already caught onto what he was doing, and her voice was conflicted between warning and playing along.

"We're hit captain!" He pulled Blue up again and they swerved into elaborate and totally unnecessary fancy flying, weaving in between the other lions, around the cruisers, and generally being an agent of chaos all the while he made shitty sound effects with his mouth. It felt like he had let Blue loose, but at the same time she was giving him the reins. They moved in harmony, smoother than they had before. It was euphoric. And absolutely fucking hilarious. They made a tight circle around Keith's lion before zipping away. Red whipped around to look at them and Keith shouted..

"Lance!" Knock it off , he meant. Lance waved at Keith through the windshield, and then his stomach was dropping as Blue fell backwards. She was playing with him just as much as he was playing with the others. His hands blinked back to the controls and he laughed as he righted her and took her back into the sky.

She gave him an absolutely immature idea- and he took his hands off the controls, shouting into the comms.

"I've lost control of the ship, captain!" Blue took off, flying erratic. Hunk yelled as Blue whizzed past him, throwing off his shot at a cruiser, but it dissolved into a chuckle. Blue was just showing off now, as she baited two cruisers in close before pouncing on one. Lance got an up-close look at it through the viewport for a second as she tore into it and then chucked it back at the other one. They collided and the momentum pushed them off course, flying past the green lion before falling out of the air.

"That nearly killed me!" Pidge snapped.

"She's helping!" There was a grumble from Pidge and suddenly she was making a bee-line for Lance. Blue dived again, and Lance realized he was incredibly light-headed at this point. Green was right on their tail, and Blue was pushing even faster. The others were still above him, trying their best to defend against the cruisers and ignore Lance. That made him hesitate, but Blue was already rushing back up into the clouds. Pidge wandered away from the chase, called back by Allura telling them to focus over the comms. Blue slowed to making lazy circles around the group.

"A little help would be nice, Lance." Keith sounded on the edge of annoyance.

"Blue, what do you think? Should we help Mr. Grumpy-pants?" He laced his voice with a tease. Blue roared in answer.

"What did she just say about me?" Keith would be the one to pick a fight with a giant metal lion.

"She says you need to use the magic word." He really didn't mind bickering with Keith like this. It was fun to get him flustered. Tiptoeing the line between fighting and, well, flirting. He would never call it that though. Least of all to Keith. He'd die before it came to that.

"For fu- Come on, Lance, please!"

"Actually, the magic word is abra-" Just then, a cruiser appeared in Red's blindspot. Blue lurched forward, but the cruiser had already gotten off a few shots. Keith cursed and whirled to destroy the thing, but that left Shiro's flank open to another cruiser. The black lion reeled at the attack, knocking into Hunk, who had flown just a little too close. Lance blanched at the domino effect and Blue froze midair.

"Lance, can you just concentrate for once?" Lance blinked at Shiro's tone, his stomach suddenly turned to stone. He didn't sound angry, just… disappointed. Exasperated. Irritated. The black lion flew until it faced Blue head-on and Lance wanted to crawl out of his skin.

"I-I'm sorry-" There was a lump in his throat. He felt a twinge of anger in his gut, but mostly just guilt. And embarrassment. He felt like a little kid, getting scolded for not doing his chores or something, but somehow much worse.

"People get killed when you slack off like that."

"I know, I'm sorry, I just- I'm sorry. It won't happen again, Shiro." He wanted to be angry. He really really wanted that nauseous feeling to go away. But Shiro was right. People got hurt when Lance goofed off. Blue was trying to say something to him. Something comforting, something like both an apology and support, but he pushed her out. They went back to training. Later, he would realize he had been clutching the controls so tight his fingers had cramped up.

It was about noon when Allura called them together. The incident at training had faded to a sour memory, and Lance was back to his old self. He walked into the command center with an arm slung around Hunk. The others were already there, Allura and Shiro already talking.

"Lemme guess, aliens need saving?" He drawled. Allura turned to face them, putting on her i'm in charge, listen up look.

"We've received a distress beacon." She always sounded slightly too positive, considering she was probably about to send them into a battle.

"Damsel in distress beacon?" It earned him a soft elbow to the ribs from Hunk and an eyeroll from Pidge. Allura ignored the comment and Coran jumped in to start telling them all about the planet. It didn't seem too risky, there was a breathable atmosphere and the society was actually pretty technologically advanced. Except that there were no signs of the Galra anywhere near the coordinates. Lance stopped paying attention after that, figuring he had enough information. Besides, he'd just wing it.

They suited up, for the most part at ease, but that itch of nerves was sneaking in like it always did before a mission. He felt antsy, and from the glances the others traded, they felt the same.

The plan was simple. Allura and Coran would stay in orbit, the paladins would fly down to the surface in their lions. They would all stay in contact over the comms, and if there was any trouble the castle would back them up. Easy peasy. The usual. Still, it was rubbing him the wrong way... He shrugged it off and made himself at ease in Blue. She settled over him with a soft, invisible weight.

It was a quick flight, and Shiro ran them through everything one more time. Lance was sometimes tempted to mute his comms in situations like this. He didn't though. That's the kind of impulsiveness that Keith would pull, and something in his chest always made him listen. Maybe it was his conscience, something deep inside whispering that if he stopped listening to them, even about little things, even once, they would stop listening to him altogether. That wouldn't be fun.

Before he knew it they were entering the atmosphere. A sparkling city sprawled out beneath him and his craned his neck to see out the window. The rest of the planet seemed so plain compared to this. He saw towers, skyscrapers really, roads, billboards that flashed neons. It reminded him of Earth in a way, but different. Lots of things out here reminded him of Earth, but none of it was very close. Nothing could ever come close to home.

They landed on the outskirts of the city, and had barely made it out of their lions before something was approaching them. It looked like a little golf cart, hovering in the air, and unsteady over the rocky ground. Two beings hopped out of it, and Lance lifted an eyebrow. Only two? Five giant lions appear in the sky and you send a golf cart to go check it out? Keith caught his eye, thinking the same thing. Shiro stepped forward and the guards did the same, letting Lance get a better look at them.

They were taller, not by much and not gangly either, but still tall enough to stand over Shiro. Their bodies looked masculine, but you could never really tell. Underneath the armor and helmets Lance saw pink skin, but the other guard had orange skin. Five fingers, no tails. For the most part they looked like one of the more humanoid aliens they had met.

"State your name and intentions." A weird accent. A message tapped out in morse code appeared across his visor. Pidge had forced them all to learn it so they could communicate wordlessly.

"Who the fuck hasn't heard about Voltron by now?" Lance barely held in a snort and dismissed the message. If Shiro saw the message, he didn't show it.

"We're the paladins of Voltron," Shiro began slowly, making sure his hands were visible to them. They shifted at the word Voltron but made no other moves. "We're here because we intercepted a distress beacon. We just want to help." Lance rolled his shoulders, the uneasy feeling in his gut growing. His fingers twitched over his bayard. The guards put their heads together and whispered for a moment, before one of them lifted their wrist to their mouth. It was straight from a spy movie.

"Central Command, Nux and Raal reporting from the western edge. The visitors say they're the," they hesitated but finished. "Paladins of Voltron."

There was a crackly silence for a beat. Then a deeper voice carried through the device.

"Voltron?"

"Yes, sir. They say they received a distress beacon and come in peace."

Another pause. "We have no records of a distress beacon being sent. Hold."

They stood around awkwardly for a minute. Lance was pretty sure they were about to be jumped, or something, or else he would have said something stupid. Keith kicked at the rocks and Pidge was rocking on the balls of her feet. Shiro shuffled uncomfortably. The sun was near setting, casting everything in orange, and he could swear the guards were glowing faintly.

Finally a reply. "Bring them into base. They have clearance as Traders."

"What about our lions?" Hunk spoke. The guards looked at him for a moment before the orange one spoke into their wrist again.

"Sir, they want permission to bring their aircrafts as well."

Lance sighed in relief as permission was granted. They loaded back into their Lions. It was slow going to follow the small cart but eventually they reached what Lance guessed was the "base". He gave Blue a pat as he left her again. This time they were greeted by a much bigger party.

"Welcome, Paladins of Voltron!" A stout alien in the front of the crowd stepped forward.

"Greetings." Lance shot grins at a few of the aliens. The one in the front as well as some others weren't wearing armor, and he could see much more of their features. They were all varying neon colors, some with speckles, or small stripes. They had flat chests, and none had even a little bit of hair. Their brows were just raised ridges of skin, like a lizard. There was a pink, feminine looking alien in the crowd with speckles all across the left side of their face that blended together on the bridge of their nose to make spiral stripes under their right eye. Lance thought this one had the most interesting markings, but he was intrigued by it all. The leader that had greeted them was a neon yellow with only a few speckles at the top of their head. All the ones not in armor wore loose, flowy clothing, with sheer sleeves.

Shiro took the lead again. "Hello." It was curt and Lance could tell Shiro was still on guard.

"We have heard stories of you, but we never expected Voltron to actually grace us!"

"Then why send a distress beacon?" The pleasant expression on the leader's face flickered.

"We are looking into that. We have no records of a distress beacon being activated, however. In the meantime, you are our welcome guests. I am Glurb, leader of the Eb. Welcome to Ebsliel."

"Thank you for having us. I'm Shiro, these are the other paladins."

They introduced themselves, but the warm diplomacy didn't match the feeling he got off these guys. Okay, yeah sure, there wasn't a sign of even a single Galra there, besides Keith. And sure, they've been pretty cool so far. And Lance was definitely a sucker for a pretty face. And now they were being led to a feast? Still… Lance was uneasy. He composed a morse code message to the others.

"What are you guys thinking about this?" He sent it and immediately wrote another. "Because I'm like, kinda suspish still."

Pidge shot a glance back at him over her shoulder.

A message from Keith popped up.

"It's shady. " He rolled his eyes at the short reply.

"I guess we just follow Shiro." Hunk shrugged beside him.

"Aight."

Shiro turned his head to look back at them all. Lance gave him a low thumbs up.

But the further they traveled into the city the more there was to look at. Bright lights flashed on every surface. There were more hover cars that stopped to let the procession through, more aliens glowing. It was dark now, the sun a small sliver of orange in the distant horizon, but the city was lit up with neons. It was easy to forget his suspicion with so much to distract him. They got to what Lance assumed was a sort of City Hall where a large banquet table had already been set out. There was so much activity and bustle Lance thought he was going to start bouncing off the walls. The paladins sat near each other, where they could see all the exits, and official looking Ebians filled in the rest of the table. Glurb took the head with Shiro at his left.

The food they brought out definitely wasn't the worst thing he'd ever eaten on an alien planet at least.

In the middle of the feast, a smaller Ebian approached Glurb. They whispered to each other for a moment and then Glurb turned to Shiro with a smile so wide Lance thought their face was going to split.

"Excellent news, Paladins! We have discovered the source of the distress beacon!" Shiro caught their eyes before leaning forward to hear what Glurb had to say. The hall faded away as Lance strained to hear.

"It seems that there was a mishap of sorts. We trade very frequently with a number of other planets but in order to arrange meetings we have to send out beacons. However, in one of our most recent messages, the signal was scrambled. No doubt because of the moon."

"The moon?"

"The moon! The moon has a very strong magnetic pulse. Every night, when it passes over the city, everything goes a bit… chaotic. Nothing serious, though it seems that this time it warped a trade signal so much you intercepted it as a distress signal."

Lance glanced across the table at Pidge and Hunk, who already had their heads together. The story sounded questionable to him, and he had learned that aliens were usually hiding something, but he was no expert in moons. Shiro shifted back in his chair, and looked to them, considering Glurb's story. Pidge and Hunk finally looked back at him, and gave the tiniest of shrugs. Lance wished he had payed more attention when Coran had told them about the planet. But there was no way to contact Allura at the table with everyone watching them. He sent Shiro a message.

"Go with it."

Shiro locked eyes with Lance. His heart was suddenly hammering in his chest at the tension in the room. Then Shiro turned back to Glurb. He smiled, bowing his head slightly.

"Well, I'm glad there's no trouble. We're glad to have your hospitality."

"Will you be staying the night then?"

Coran and Allura had been coaching them in diplomacy. Pidge and Keith were far too clumsy, far too blunt. Not to mention bad table manners. Hunk was better, but he tended to get… intense. Shiro was the oldest and most mature of course, and they were all glad to let him take the lead most of the time. But sometimes he faltered. Lance had been, aside from dumb jokes and bad attempts to flirt, the most promising of the paladins. He knew how to talk. It's what he's always been good at. He knows how to get along with people. Even Keith sometimes.

At Shiro's hesitation, Lance jumps in.

"We would hate to impose, especially since we showed up without calling ahead, all for a false alarm." He leans forward onto the table, taking Glurb's attention from Shiro and oozing charm.

"You wouldn't be imposing at all! We would be honored to have the paladins of Voltron spend the night here."

A message popped up on his visor, interrupting him. The helmets were a burden but he was glad for the communication.

"Will we be able to contact Allura?" His gaze flickered over to Pidge in confusion.

"The moon. If it really messes with signals, can we comm her?" Glurb was looking at them quizzically and Lance realized he had to say something.

"Uh-"

"I'm not sure we can-" Keith butts in, his voice confrontational.

"We're not prepared to stay overnight." It takes most of his willpower not to elbow Keith in the ribs.

"Nonsense, we will provide all you need!" Lance really wasn't trying to drag the team into a sleep-away, but if the dude kept insisting- a quick glance around the table told him the rest of the team was thinking the same thing. Shiro spoke up again and Lance sat back.

"Well, then, I suppose we accept the invitation."

"Splendid!" The rest of the feast was a blur of food and faces, far too much to keep track of. Eventually it was all cleared away, and Glurb's entourage led them to a large building. The inside looked like any hotel on Earth with the same shitty patterned carpet, too bright hallways, and chairs in the lobby no one would use. The only difference was that everything looked like someone had tried to combine motel chic, and the set of the Aliens movies. They were given three rooms on one of the top floors with keycards for all of them. The fact that the doors had locks should have been comforting, but it was a very small comfort.

"Okay, who's bunking with who?" Lance looked to Hunk, but he and Pidge exchanged a glance.

"Wait, seriously?"

"Sorry, dude. Me and Pidge wanna try to fact check some of this stuff. Science, you know?" he shrugged.

"Aw, dude! Then who-" Keith raised an eyebrow as the complaint died in his throat. He turned away, begging Shiro silently, but Shiro just raised his keycard.

"I got a single bed room. Sorry." He didn't look very sorry. And he didn't look like he was willing to change bedrooms with anyone. Not that Lance would force him, but still. With a sigh, he turned back to Keith. It wasn't as big a deal as he was making it, and he really didn't mind that much, but there were appearances to keep up, you know. He gestured to their door.

"After you."

"How polite." Keith deadpanned and pushed into the room. The others weren't trying to hide their smiles as they left too.

Lance sighed again and closed the door behind him.

The room was decorated like the rest of the hotel with two beds pushed against the left wall. A large window across the room that no doubt looked over the city center. He crossed the room and went to look out it. The view was almost breathtaking. Almost. Neon lights lit up everywhere, and he studied several of the billboards around. He couldn't read the language of course, but they were still interesting. The moon up above caught his attention. He wasn't sure, but he thought it might be slightly yellow. A door opened and shut behind him, and he stepped out of the curtains. Keith was leaving the bathroom, water dripping from his face.

"There aren't any towels in there."

"Were you trying to drown yourself?" Lance pointed to a rack outside the door, where a few hand towels hung. Keith ignored the comment but did take one of the towels and dry his face. Before either could say more, there was a knock at the door. Keith snapped to attention and went to look through the peephole.

"It's- an Ebling? Ebian?" Keith stumbled on the pronunciation. "A servant? I dunno."

"Ooh, watch out. They might have a gun."

Keith opened the door a bit, just enough for Lance to see over his shoulder out into the hall. The Ebian held a pile of towels. They were a bright green color, but with a neon blue flush and markings. They were on the smaller side from what Lance had seen, but they were still taller than he was. The Ebian, not the towels.

"Apologies. We did not have your room ready, with such short notice. I have brought towels."

"Oh- uh, thanks." He took them from them, the neatly folded pile collapsing as he took them with one hand while the other held the door.

"And your bedclothes." They offered him a smaller pile.

Keith hesitated. "It's alright. I don't think we'll need any-"

"Yeah, I usually just sleep in the nude." Keith whipped around to glare at Lance, before finally taking the clothes from the servant.

"There will be another set in the morning." They bowed and the door was shut.

"Dick."

Lance ignored the insult. "They were cute."

"If you've got a thing for aliens."

Ah, if only you knew, Keith. Lance smothered a laugh and caught the clothes Keith threw at him.

"You gonna stay up all night on guard duty?" Lance asked. He was already pulling off his armor, but Keith stood by the door with his arms crossed.

"I'm not sure I could sleep, even if they weren't creeping me out."

Lance set a wrist-guard on the nightstand. He didn't feel very tired either. It was probably only 5 o'clock castle-time. He flopped onto the bed, half his armor still on.

"What do you think the chances of them having a board game around here are?"

"About as likely as us not being murdered in our sleep."

"That's a bummer."

"Are you really that bored?"

"Not bored, just- I dunno. Long day." He heaved himself back up and finished removing the rest of his armor. Keith excused himself to the hallway before Lance could figure out a way to ask for some privacy, and for once he was glad the other boy was so aloof. The fabric the Ebian servant had given them was similar to what the Glurb had worn- sheer and loose in the same style as everyone else, but with golden embroidery. If Lance was going to murder someone, he wouldn't let them wear his best clothes first. He paused in the middle of putting them on, catching a glimpse of himself.

"Shit." The back was sheer. The translucent fabric did little to hide the scar that blemished most of his spine. He clenched his jaw, panicking for a moment, before remembering that the servant had given them two outfits. He switched out the offensive top with the one Keith had abandoned on his bed. This one was a much better fit, and if he got to see Keith wearing the other shirt later, he wouldn't complain.

Semi-crisis averted, he grabbed his keycard and ducked his head into the hall. It was quiet, as most hotels are, but Keith and Shiro were talking a door down in front of Shiro's room.

"Psst." They looked up at him and he approached them. "What's up?"

"Nice outfit." Deadpan from Keith, and the flicker of a smile lit Shiro's face.

"Thanks, I thought you'd like it." It wasn't the most vulgar thing he could have come up with, but it still served to fluster Keith a little.

"We're figuring out a night watch."

"I knew it." He shot a look at Keith, who crossed his arms. "Call me when it's something interesting."

"Don't complain when we haul you out of bed to make sure we don't get killed tonight."

"Don't interrupt my beauty sleep." He stuck out his tongue and Keith rolled his eyes as Lance walked away. He was immediately hit with a wave of relief that they couldn't see his back.

Pidge and Hunk were still wearing some of their armor, and they all sat in a circle on the floor in their room, wasting time until it really was time to sleep. True to his word, Keith was sitting in a chair watching the door when Lance slipped back into their room. They didn't exchange banter this time as Lance shuffled past him to fall into bed.

"D'you think they'll have baby muffins for breakfast?" Keith snorted softly but didn't reply. A sleepy smile found it's way to Lance's face. "Thanks for keeping me safe." He thought he saw Keith turning to say something, but he was already burying his face in the pillow and fading to black.