Authors Note: So, unfortunately my life decided to kick me in the face, and I broke my 'one post a day' goal completely. But Good News: I have more of the story to share! As long as you can put up with my sporadic postings. I know season 5 has dropped, but since this Story has always been AU please do not expect the story to mirror the new season, I already have my own plot decided for the rest of the story, and hopefully you will find it entertaining in it's own right. That seems to be enough for now, I hope you all enjoy the new (oversized) chapter :)

Keith woke up in his own bed feeling grimy and gross, he had somehow fallen asleep in his clothes, and they smelled like that horrible outpost planet, and he was suddenly trying to remember when he was last clean... far too quiznacking long ago. He rolled out of bed, and stumbled to his bathroom, yanking the taps until the water finally settled on a reasonable temperature. He wasn't feeling really picky, as long as he didn't freeze or burn. As soon as he was clean he turned off the water, and fumbled the Altean controls that turned on the full body air dry function. He always felt silly using it, since the same function reduced gravity temporarily leaving him floating through the air, but leggings didn't go on well with wet skin so it was a necessary discomfort. He dressed quickly, trying to get his fluffed up hair to lay back down as he grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.

The Hallway was dark, dimly lit by the columns glowing with one fourth of their normal strength. It was still night time? He struggled to remember what time it had been when he had fallen asleep... his face burned as he remembered exactly where he had fallen asleep, but surely... they had come back just as dawn was approaching, this planet stayed lit for 19 human hours everyday... so if it was night time again... how long had he been asleep? He looked around uncomfortably, but the castle was quiet, everyone was probably still in bed.

His feet started moving before he knew where he wanted to go, and he ended up at the top of the staircase in the great hall. He paused, if he kept going he would end up near Pidge's lab, maybe find some of the books she stashed there. Some books were off limits, but the other half she called 'dime a dozen' books were fair game. The plots were horribly predictable, but he always ended up lost in them anyways... maybe just what he needed right now...

He glanced at the doors and hesitated... Had anyone moved the Sincline back into the Bay? He frowned doing a mental tally of who could drive it and who would have had the time to bring it in. He groaned, mortified at how stupid he was... of course every one would have expected him to do it, he was the only pilot not suffering from injuries. Keith gave one last look towards Pidge's lab, and shrugged, it wouldn't take him that long to stow the ship.

When he opened the doors he stopped, the Sincline was were he expected it to be, just barely inside the particle barrier, nearly crushing some of the tree-like plant-forms they had landed next too. What he did not expect was to find a particular Galra sitting on a crystal outcropping in front of it. The dimmed light coming from the Castle behind him was still strong enough to cast a glow directly on him as it shined through the door.

Lotor looked up. "So you are awake." He moved to stand and Keith made a waving motion with his hand, urging him to sit back down."I shall have to assume that, since you are standing before me without any visible injuries, the energy I provided you was put to good use?" He beckoned Keith to come forward, "I do not wish to deny you such a useful trick in the future, but may I at least request you take more sparingly?"

Keith grimaced, "I didn't know that's what I was doing." He replied sulkily, "It's not like anyone gave me a 'Galra life bond for dummies' book when these things started happening." He walked over to the outcropping, eying it tentatively before finding a section that would serve him as a seat, though it was right next to Lotor's seat. He supposed being a bit close to Lotor was preferable to a spiky headrest. Lotor wasn't wearing his armor for once, opting instead for a black turtleneck and soft black pants. It made him look less intimidating, more approachable. "So what were you doing?"

"I was looking at the stars." He moved, pulling Keith closer to him to cuddle. Keith didn't resist as his head was guided to Lotor's shoulder, or those long purple fingers started stroking though his hair.

"Really? Trying to count how many have solar systems you still need to conquer?" Keith yawned, he wasn't still tired, but the action made him feel comfy. He snuggled closer to Lotor, the night wasn't that cold but his body heat was pleasant.

Lotor laughed, "No... trying to imagine how many are full of little children begging to see Voltron. Children can be very excitable I hear." His voice had taken on a purring quality as he reached out to catch one of Keith's hands with his own.

"Hmmm. Were you not?"

"No... I was quiet, and did my best not to attract attention... at least not until my adolescence." Lotor's eyes slid over the Castle towers. "What are you guys planning to do after defeating my father? Obviously not a mass genocide... that's not the hero's way... those who can be reasoned with will have to be reformed... and those who can't will have to be dealt with... but what about the planets you are 'liberating' Zarkon has had a long time to break the people in some of them and I'm not sure their Economy would survive the removal of the Empire."

"Are you suggesting we set up some sort of inter-planetary Senate or something? Obviously you have never seen 'Star Wars.' Pidge has them on her hard drive, she calls it a 'retro essential', but that's a perfect example of what not to do... I guess Princess Allura will become queen. Were you hoping for a place in government?"

"No. No one would ever trust me, with my lineage. I am not so masochistic as Kolivan, I can not calmly accept helping people who openly despise me in return... if I do become part of your future government it will be in a clandestine position so I won't be such an open target of disdain. I can not play the misunderstood hero to the public, they would never accept it after what I've done... and they would know my weakness is you, and you would be pulled into it."

Keith turned rapidly to stare into Lotor's eyes, shocked by the blatant way Lotor just claimed him as his weakness. As if there was no doubt at all that was the case. "I'm not weak." he protested, unable to find any other response.

"No, Keithleb, But is it so surprising I can be?" Lotor nuzzled at Keith's hairline as the younger Galra thought over the words. "Regardless, I too would not trust a senate, in a perfect world representatives would have what's best of their people in their hearts when making decisions, but from my experience... people with power seldom get there or stay there without becoming hard-hearted and ruthless, rotating senators regularly might counter act that, but then you would constantly have amateur's in power, and there is nothing quite so intimidating as an inspired amateur." He sighed, looking at his ship.

"You Paladin's are lucky to have such a strong moral compass as your Lions. I have heard they will not fly for those they do not feel deserve them. My own ship is not so morally-rigid, or I doubt it would fly for me. If all applicants for the Senate had to pass some sort of soul-searching Ordeal before becoming a Senator, and were forced to reveal their true soul to themselves and possibly to Voltron to be deemed worthy, then I can see a Senate as being a good place to start... but I doubt even Coran could find a way to pull that off." He leaned down to kiss Keith's forehead again, "Just things that should have been thought about before committing to such a huge rebellion... something must always come next."

"Have you discussed this with Allura?" Keith wondered, the politics of the situation were starting to hurt his head, and he shivered at the concept of the ordeal... though part of him wondered what he would find there.

"I am not that bold. I am still only a surrendered royal who has been disowned from his throne... I may advise her once she is secure in her own power, but dare not attempt before I have gained her people's trust. Least they whisper about me polluting her mind, or playing Haggar to her crown." His hands stopped moving in Keith's hair as he remembered, "I, myself, have not done much in my former position of power to inspire confidence... mostly just fear, and obedience powered by it." He let go of Keith's hand to tilt his face up to his own. "I no longer aspire to regain that position, that door has been sealed to me... has the door to your heart done the same?"

Keith blushed, suddenly aware of how bright Lotor's eyes were, and how tightly they had become entwined, he didn't remember throwing his legs over Lotor's lap, but they had felt comfy there until this moment. "I... I don't know... before you came here I would have said 'yes.'" He couldn't look away from Lotor's eyes, even as he frowned at himself, was it still 'yes'? Or had Lotor found a way to sneak past his defenses and steal his love anyways?

"Close your eyes, Keithleb." The words could have been an order, but there was no weight behind them, Keith's eyes fluttered closed as Lotor took claim of his lips. Lotor tried to be kind, questing gently with his mouth over Keith's but Keith's own wishes surged in response. His hands rising to card through Lotor's hair holding him there as he tried to kiss his doubt away. He moved without breaking the kiss, shifting to straddle Lotor's lap, resting on his knees to keep their faces at the same height. He felt firm hands steadying his waist for a few seconds before they began to wander up his spine. Keith let out a frustrated sound as his lips and teeth sought purchase at Lotor's mouth, begging entrance. "Slow down, Kismet. I will not leave you." Lotor murmured, attempting to regain control.

Keith used the opening to initiate a deeper kiss, his tongue sliding into Lotor's mouth to tangle with the prince's. He felt a brush of soothing energy slide over his conscious, and he shook it off, redoubling his attack. He didn't want to think about the warnings or the doubt his friends kept planting in his mind, nor what the future might bring them, he just wanted to feel that Lotor wanted him too. That this was real. The telepathic energy, nudged him again, and he shoved back with his own message, one of pent up emotions, and desperation for a visceral demonstration of intent. Something he could prove concretely, that this wasn't just mind games.

He felt Lotor's desires flare to match his own, as if swept away in a tide of Keith's. Lotor's hands seized Keith's hips, dragging them down to rock against his to prove how strongly he returned the feelings Keith was expressing. Keith moaned, shifting rhythmically against him, the vibration of the sound traveling down where their tongues slid together. Lotor's hands found a way under his shirt, skimming over his ribs in a way that brought bumps to Keith's skin. Keith felt as though his whole body narrowed down to the taste of Lotor, his hands sliding over Keith's skin, the smell of indigo, cool air at his back and the heat trapped between them. The sensations vied for his attention with increasing urgency as Lotor used his distraction to take over the kiss. At the same moment his fingers brushed over Keith's nipples sending jolt of pleasure streamlining through him.

Keith succumbed, arching into the touch and retreating with his tongue. Lotor's purrs grew louder, punctuated by the upwards thrust of his groin against Keith's, sparking delicious friction between them. His tongue danced across the erroneous zones of Keith's mouth, too dizzying to follow, Keith felt as if he was just hanging on, each pass of Lotor's thumbs over his nipples eliciting yet another jolt, and a frustrated sound quickly swallowed by the kiss. Keith's shifting tempo increased, as his rutted himself against the prince, needing more stimulation, feeling propelled to the brink of something... something...

He felt a twang against his consciousness as Lotor's restraint frayed under the onslaught of Keith's need. It was followed by the scratch of claws sliding down his spine and yanking his leggings down, too impatient to be gentle. Keith gasped, rocking forward and away from the pain, only to succeed in thrusting his arousal into Lotor's palm. Purple fingers slid over the pink skin, tracing it's shape, and Keith huffed out all the air he just gained, burying his face in Lotor's hair with a whimper.

"Da'hos am'hagg" Lotor crooned into Keith's hair, as his hand began to stroke Keith's cock. Keith blushed, pretending he didn't hear Lotor's compliment as he fisted his hands in his shirt, and wiggled closer to him. Lotor chuckled affectionately, giving Keith's ass another squeeze to remind him to stay still. Keith's prick twitched in Lotor's grasp, and he obeyed, soon losing himself in the series of strokes Lotor preformed. With nothing to block the sound, Keith's whimpers of pleasure became more insistent until the sounds themselves started to embarrass him. He bit into Lotor's shoulder to muffle them seeing as he could no longer control them.

He fled his embarrassment, narrowing his focus to the movement of Lotor's hands over his skin, warm and infuriatingly slow. Lotor's fingers twisted slightly, tracing the vein along the underside of his cock as they moved up, circling the tip, then barely grazing the slit on the way back down, spreading his own precum to lubricate the motions. He felt like he was melting into Lotor, their desires fusing until he couldn't tell them apart, as if both the hand and the cock were his own. The sensation scared him, and he instinctively blocked it out, until all he knew was the floaty feeling of pleasure, and the silence of the void.

"Don't. Don't leave me." Lotor's words sounded like pleas as his hands stopped there motion, "not now, never in this." Lotor was pressing kisses to his face, the sensation fought through the buffer of his focus, and Keith dimly realized there was an ache of loneliness in his voice. "Don't leave me where I can not follow." Suddenly Keith felt cold, and isolated, and it stung, the warmth and security of the void seemed to have turned against him. He felt a shiver run through him that wasn't so much physical, as though it had touched his soul, and he felt a desperation to get out of the cold. He was adrift in the void, but he knew where the warmth was.

Lotor clung to Keith until he felt the tether that connected them re-attach, felt the fear and doubt that had triggered Keith to cut it in the first place, and pressed his forehead to Keith's, sharing his air. The loss had hurt more than it did before, instead of an interesting emptiness, he felt as though a part of him had been ripped brutally away.

"Lotor?" Keith questioned, unsure if he needed to apologize, looking into Lotor's eyes and realizing they weren't just glowing, but burning like two suns in the night. The light lifted, only reaching Keith's lips before Lotor's eyes snapped shut again.

"Close you eyes, Kismet, trust me." He knew Keith could not understand the motive behind the order, he was too caught in the spell already. He furrowed his brows, his hand returning to Keith's prick, as if resuming a favorite pastime, naturally and without thought. He felt Keith's confusion, the heat of his eyes on Lotor's face, but both were quickly consumed by the pleasure he was receiving. The lust from earlier rebound back into place as if uninterrupted, drawing a whimper from Keith as he surrendered himself back to it. Lotor pressed a kiss to Keith's hair, letting the soft strands tickle his lips as he fought down the territorial urge to claim Keith as his in a more permanent manner.

Keith's hands fumbled at the clash of Lotor's pants for barely an instant before the cloth parted. The warmth of Keith's gaze was a physical thing as it swept over Lotor's erection. A splash of surprise colored Lotor's mind for a moment and he smirked, unlike the human's clothes, his were designed to wear without underclothes. His nails scratched over the cloth of Keith's underwear teasingly before his hand continued it's motions. As Keith tentatively traced Lotor's shape, slightly intimidated by the size and foreignness, purple and proportionate to his larger size, and etched with an intricate pattern of ridges that did not seem like a cosmetic modification, but were more intricate then the veins he was used to seeing on his own. He gently pressed one underneath the head, which was thankfully of a similar shape to his own, and was relieved to feel it give and pulse under the pressure, so it was veining... of some sort. Lotor purred encouragingly, causing the ridge to vibrate under Keith's finger. Keith snatched them back, earning a laugh from Lotor.

"It can't bite." Lotor joked. Keith glared at him mutinously. "See?" Lotor opened his hand, scooting Keith closer on his lap, and using his fingers to encircle them both. Keith shivered as the purr vibrated down his whole length, and his thighs jerked, as if wanting to close and escape the intense feeling. Another chuckle split the air and Keith forced his legs to behave, closing his own hand over Lotor's and pulling at it. Lotor got the message, finally increasing his pace to match Keith's wishes. Keith sighed gratefully, wrapping his arm around Lotor's neck and guiding his face down for another kiss.

Lotor could feel the pleasure in Keith build up again, spiking back towards the brink with every stroke and pulse. He felt the heat of Keith's gaze on his eyelids and forced them to stay closed. As his own pleasure raced to match Keith's as if fueled by it, Lotor let go, changing his grasp to Keith's cock only. Keith reached out, sliding his hand down Lotor's erection to replace the missing stimulation. Lotor grabbed his fingers, tightening them around the base of his dick and holding them there, when they tried to move he replaced them, squeezing tighter until he was sure Keith wouldn't let go. Keith huffed but obeyed, too distracted by his own pleasure to argue.

Then Keith was cumming, Lotor's hand flew up to cover Keith's eyes as the shadow of sensation sized through him, calling Lotor to follow his mate over the brink. His fingers and eyelids burned as the thwarted magic of the bond thrashed against them, seeking the bridge across to the other soul, searing the purple flesh that blocked it from reaching it's goal. Lotor panted, struggling to breathe around the ache, even as Keith's cum cooled on his skin and the human's breathing returned to normal.

As Keith dropped back to earth, his fingers released their near bruising grasp on Lotor's cock, sliding over his skin to repay him for the orgasm, but Lotor pulled his hand away, kissing his knuckles. "No Keithleb... not this time." He kisses the human's temple, cheek, and nose. "I can not trust myself to stay in control... and I will not force the mate bond upon you." Keith blinked foggily at him, wondering why the skin around Lotor's eyes seemed darker. He opened his mouth to argue, to insist they continue, but Lotor was already moving.

Lotor slowly but firmly moved the Paladin off his lap, gently rolling so that Keith was sitting on the crystal, while Lotor stood in front of him. He stayed, using his back to block the castle's view of Keith as they put their clothes back in order. Keith felt the awkwardness of the situation sinking in, and felt he had to say something... surely what had just happened had been... he licked his lips, torn between regret it hadn't lasted longer, and embarrassment over how wantonly he had behaved... was Lotor regretting it?

"Keith... for your sake... no matter how tempting it is, this can't happen again." Lotor spoke before Keith could decide what to say, sighing and pushing his hair back into place with angry scrapes of his fingers, "Unless you are willing to chose me, forever... I can't be trusted to touch you again without forcing you into something you haven't chosen." Lotor shook his hand, restlessly, and Keith noticed that his fingers had the same strangely darkened skin that his eyes did.

"Wha-?" Keith started, but the prince never gave him a chance to continue.

"You are reckless. I adore that trait of yours, and I don't hold it against you, but you don't act in your best interests. You throw yourself into things without thought of the consequences. You take chances with your life, and I... I can't. You're my weakness Keith... I can't live with you hating me."

He left, leaving Keith more confused than he was when he walked outside, conflicted and feeling slightly guilty. In the end, inside the burning, he had felt what the magic was asking him for, and he had wanted to give it... but part of him knew Lotor was right, how could he know for sure he'd want it after the bliss faded? He bit his lip, feeling like he was breaking someone's heart... but who's? It felt like the same thing either way.

(Da'hos am'hagg: You are so beautiful)