The Sweet Escape

Chapter 1

Allura and Lotor has just barely escaped with their lives. After fleeing Zarkon's ship and stealing the closest spaceship they could, they thought little of the cramped space in the pilot's seat. They were too busy getting out alive and without any injuries. And as soon as they were home free, heading to the Castle of Lions and their ship zipping along far past Zarkon's reaches, they were finally able to relax, take a deep breath, and look around at their surroundings.

Lotor sighed, his eyes closing at the sight of thousands of stars drifting slowly past. He'd been on the run from his father for so long that it almost didn't feel like a challenge anymore. But getting Allura out of the prison cell had been another matter entirely. He opened his eyes and looked back at Allura, who was slumped against the window, eyes closed, breath coming evenly.

"You should rest," Lotor said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Allura opened her eyes slightly, looking at him through her lashes. "Rest," she repeated. "Yes, that sounds nice." She looked behind her. There was only one chair in the pilot's space, and it was pushed all the way back, it's back pushed so far down that it was almost flat.

She looked back at Lotor. "If it won't be a bother, of course," she said.

"Allura, please. It's no bother at all. You're tired, you need rest. Go ahead. I'll just stand here," Lotor said. He pulled his eyes away from her and looked out the windshield again. He leaned on his arms, pushed up against the controls. He was tired, too, but he was used to being tired.

"I promise I won't take too long," Allura said, going over to sit down. "I can see you need rest too."

"Allura—" Lotor began, but Allura cut him off.

"I can see you swaying on your feet," she told him. "You can barely stand up. If it wasn't for the dashboard, you would have collapsed on the floor by now."

Lotor couldn't deny that. But he didn't say anything, he only nodded and leaned up against the windows like she had done. He was tired, but she needed the rest more. Plus, it was the least he could do for her, since he was partially responsible for her getting captured in the first place. He had never expected the mission to turn out so wrong, or that Allura would jump at the chance to put herself in danger—especially for the likes of him.

He still thought back to it. Allura had pushed him out of the way, saved him from being captured by the Galra, only to be captured herself. Lotor still didn't completely understand it, why she had done such a thing. Maybe she really had grown to like him. Maybe she had come to see him as more than just an ally but as a friend, like one of her Paladins or Coran or anyone of the alien subjects she and Voltron protected. The thought was still mind-boggling.

Allura had risked her safety—her very life—for him.

And why?

Lotor went over the question again and again. His lids drooped, but he snapped them back open, knowing that at least one of them had to keep awake. He looked back over at Allura; she was laying down in the pilot's seat, her hair fluffed out around her, one arm tucked beneath her head, her legs curled up close to her body. She looked so peaceful like that. Not a worry in the world, not a nightmare in her head.

"She knows she's safe with me," Lotor whispered in disbelief. It hit him so suddenly then, but it had been so obvious for so long. How had he not noticed before now? Of course she felt safe; she had grown to trust him more and more, treating him as friendly as she did with the Paladins, joking around with him, smiling at him, her eyes sparkling when she saw him, her face lighting up when he spoke to her, her always finding some excuse to be around him…

Wait a minute…

Lotor's eyes widened and he looked at her a bit closer. She wasn't like that with the other Paladins…not exactly. He knew she liked him but…maybe she liked him more than he initially realized. All her lingering looks, her soft smiles, her teasing, the way she would touch him briefly…

How had he not realized sooner? Maybe he had always thought it so impossible that he could never even entertain the idea, but now, as he stood there watching her sleep, it dawned on him that Allura liked him. More than liked him. She actually had feelings for him. Strong feelings. She wouldn't have done this if she didn't.

Lotor looked back out the window, needing to clear his head. He slumped harder against the window, trying to get comfortable. His fatigue was wearing down on him, but he'd be damned to fall asleep now. He wouldn't be surprised if Zarkon or his witch were scoping out his ship at this very moment. He was sure that they were safe for the moment, and that they would make it back to the castle safely, but he couldn't rely on the off chance that his gut was wrong.

He glanced down at the scanners. They didn't show anything near them for two parsecs. They were a few stray asteroids to their left, but too small and too far away to be of any concern. So long as the ship continued on their path, they shouldn't encounter anything until they reached the castle.

Who knew how long that would be though? Even was they folded space behind them, it was still a good distance before they would reach them. This ship couldn't open wormholes, so they were stuck traveling at this speed.

We escaped and that's what important, Lotor reminded himself. Still he couldn't help the taste of bitter regret on the back of his tongue. The destruction he'd left behind him when they destroyed Zarkon's fleet, the injuries to countless Galra allies that had helped him find Allura, the fact that he had almost killed Haggar…his moth—no, not his mother. His mother had died long before he was born, and whatever was left was just an empty, twisted shell of what she had been.

"Lotor…" Allura whispered behind him.

He turned. "You're awake," he said. "You shouldn't be. Get some more sleep."

"I've gotten enough," Allura said, stretching her limbs. Her legs stretched so far that one of her feet hit his leg. "Oh. Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to."

Lotor brushed it off. "Don't exert yourself on account of me."

"I'm not," Allura said. "It's been…I'm not sure how long exactly, but enough for one full sleep cycle."

"Has it?" Lotor asked. "It certainly doesn't seem like it."

"No? Perhaps you dozed off yourself then," she said with a small chuckle.

Lotor didn't like that thought, but Allura's laugh brought a smile to his face. "I doubt it. I've been awake this whole time; I'm sure of it."

"If you say so," Allura said, another chuckle escaping her lips. "It's your turn," she said as she got out of the pilot's seat, offering it to him.

Lotor shook his head. "No. I couldn't possibly."

"Well, I'm not going to use it so you might as well," Allura said. She crossed her arms and smirked at him. Lotor knew that look well. It was a look that meant that no amount of arguing would change her mind. He sighed and went to the pilot's seat, stretching out his limbs and leaning back down.

Honestly, it did feel nice to get off of his feet and just lay down. His eyes drifted closed, but he still tried to stay awake. He thought of something, anything, to try to keep himself awake, but nothing came to mind. Nothing but how tired he was and how good it would feel just to sleep.

Allura watched as he drifted to sleep. She gave a slight smile. He really didn't get enough sleep, and she was glad to see that he was finally falling asleep. She wouldn't wake him, no matter what. She could stand to be awake for a little while before needing another nap. No matter how tired she was, and she was tired.

The Galra had tried their unique interrogation techniques on her, which including sleep deprivation. She'd never thought that being so tired counted as torture, but the Galra had managed to prove her wrong. Eventually she had started to crack, telling them nonsense at first, just to try to get some minutes of sleep, but it just got worse and worse. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore, and no matter how much noise, how much light, how much electro-shocks, she fell asleep, sleeping through the pain and screams of it all. Only to be awakened with a bucked of cold water poured right on her face. And even then that wasn't enough to keep her awake. She was about to slip right back into another deep dream when she was roughly pulled from the floor by some guardsman, made to march through the hallways half asleep.

"Just keep quiet," the guard had told her.

No problem there, she had thought. She was too tired to make a sound, or to keep her eyes open long enough, or even to get her feet to move quick enough.

"When you see him, grab onto his shoulder and follow him, say nothing, do as he says, and we might all get out of this alive," said the guard.

"I'll never—" Allura was about to say, when his words finally registered. "Who…?"

"It doesn't matter who I am. Just follow my instructions and you'll get out of here safely," he whispered back. "Understand?" He gripped her arm roughly to emphasis his point.

Allura nodded, too tired to talk. A small part of her brain said that this might be a trap, but she was too tired to figure out how. So she ended up trusting the guardsman. And just as he said, he led her to the next guard, a short Galran man who had been Lotor in disguise. She didn't know at the time, but she slumped up against his shoulder all the same, following him quietly through the corridors to get back to his ship.

And then the explosion hit. The alarms had all sounded, too loud for Allura to block out, and then they were running and hiding, Lotor cutting down guards and leaving them screaming in pain on the floor. Allura was trying her best to keep up, but in the end she was lifted onto Lotor's back, her arms around his neck, hanging on as he ran through Zarkon's ship, trying to find some escape route.

And then she remembered letting go, falling roughly to the floor, Lotor screaming her name. And she got up, looked around and found a room full of docked spaceships, and dozens of Galra with their weapons out, all aimed at her. She knew what she needed to do, though she wasn't sure how she did it. She knew she avoided them, something exploded, there was a massive whoosh as all the air was being sucked out into the void of space. There was a fight, screams and the clang of metal and the blast of guns, Lotor was there again, picking her up in his arms, they were in a ship, they were escaping as the ship accelerated so fast that shockwaves destroyed the docking bay behind them. Then they were traveling, and he said something, and now she was here.

She tried to recall more but that was all she could remember. She tried to remember if anyone else was there. There was her, Lotor, a couple of helpful Galra…perhaps The Blade of Marmora members? Either in disguise or working as double agents. She honestly couldn't recall. None of the Paladins had been there; she was sure of that. Something that important she would remember. No Keith, no Pidge, no Shiro, or Hunk, or Lance, or Coran…

Just her and Lotor making a desperate escape together.

And what of that traitor Altean? Allura wondered. No, nothing of her she could recall either. Just nameless, faceless Galran guards whose faces all blurred together as time went on.

"You're about to collapse," Lotor murmured.

Allura came back to the present. She was; she was leaning so heavily on the controls, her forehead leaning against her hands, her knees buckled.

"I'm fine," Allura told him. "Maybe I'll just sit down…"

"You shouldn't have to sleep on the floor, especially since there's so little of it," Lotor said with a soft chuckle. "Allura, you could…" Suddenly a lump appeared in Lotor's throat. He swallowed, trying to make it go away. "You could…sit here with me. I know there's not much room, but I think it would be comfortable enough for us both."

"You mean…sit on your lap?" Allura questioned.

"Or I could sit on your lap if you wished," Lotor said with a smile.

"I think you're a little too big for that," Allura said, smiling. "I suppose we could. We're both safe; no other ships around for several parsecs. No tracking device located, no signs of—" she yawned, "—of being tracked…"

"Allura," Lotor said, trying not to blush, "come and sit with me. We both need sleep." He held his hands out to her.

Allura glanced down to the side. She didn't know if she was blushing or not. She felt a little too tired to blush, but just tired enough to take him up on his offer. She took his hands and he pulled her down to him. Allura easily fit. She sat on his lap, her back up against his arm and chest, her head falling into the crook of his shoulder. He was so warm, though his armor was a bit hard on her sore muscles. But she found herself sinking into him regardless of his armor. His arm came to wrap around her, and Allura shifted slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position.

In the back of her head, some part of her was screaming in excitement. The fact that she was this close to Lotor, laying down with him, his arms wrapped around her as they fell asleep together. It was almost like they had gone to bed together.

It wasn't the first time the thought had crossed Allura's mind—going to bed with Lotor—but she never pictured it would be quite like this. In a cramped little spaceship, on the run from Zarkon, still recovering from her torture, hurdling through space in a desperate attempt to reach the Castle of Lions as soon as they could.

Her heart hammered in her chest. The fact that she was this close—this intimate with Lotor right now…

She wondered if it was affecting him as much as it was her. Maybe he was already asleep. Maybe he was completely unaware of anything happening, other than he had gone to rescue a friend and now they were innocently sharing a chair to sleep.

Lotor's hand wandered through her hair slowly. Allura's heart beat harder. So he wasn't asleep…and he was touching her hair. He stroked her hair once before letting his hand rest on her hip, but soon his thumb starting stroking little circles around her skin. It felt so nice to have Lotor touch her this way, but the rough burlap of her prison clothes was quite distracting.

"Lotor…" she said.

His hand jumped away from her. "I'm…I'm sorry, I thought you were asleep." He shouldn't have said that; now she'd think he would do this when she was asleep. "I…I didn't mean it like that. I only meant—"

"It's alright, Lotor," Allura said, putting a hand to his chest. "I don't mind. I only meant to tell you that the fabric is irritating. That's all."

"Oh. Of course," Lotor said. A small of relief escaped him. Tentatively, he let his hand wander back to Allura's hip, not to stroke her, but simply to rest there.

Allura breathed deep and snuggled up against him. He could feel her breath ghosting over his neck, and he relished the feeling. It hand't been his sleep-deprived imagination; Allura was attracted to him and he to her. He moved his head a bit closer to her.

Allura giggled.

"What's so funny?" Lotor mumbled.

"Your hair tickles," she replied.

"This said by a woman with the most hair in the galaxy," Lotor said. "How can you be sure it's my hair?"

"I know what your hair feels like," Allura said. "It's very soft…and smooth…and silky…and straight…and it always smells so nice."

Lotor smiled. "You flatter me," he said. A tick went by before he asked, "What does it smell like?"

"Like the summer wind on Altea, carrying with it the scent of freshly bloomed flowers and trees, and the new life of the night figs."

"I had no idea my hair smelled so specific," Lotor said. "And here I thought that it only smelled like cleansing water."

"Guess I just have an overactive imagination," Allura said.

"Just another thing I admire about you," Lotor said.

Allura blushed and opened her eyes to look at him. His eyes were closed and the most peaceful look she had ever seen on his face graced her eyesight. It was truly such a rare scene that she was momentarily breathless. To see him so unguarded and happy…she couldn't help herself. She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead.

Lotor opened his eyes and looked at her in surprise.

"Sleep well," Allura said, closing her eyes and leaning back down on his shoulder, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Sleep well," Lotor replied.