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Metal clashing against metal drew Lotor’s attention away from the holographic screen in front of him. Lately, he’d been researching independently, late at night in the observation wing, just for some peace and quiet, but for the past week even this respite had been interrupted by the raucous sound of fighting. Lotor had hoped it wouldn’t be a recurrence and he could simply ignore it, but it was starting to become a hindrance to his concentration. Fed up, he swiftly left his post to follow the harsh swishes of an object slicing through the air before colliding against more metal.
Stumbling upon the training room, which shouldn’t have been surprising considering the type of noise, he was confused who would even be using the training room this late into the night cycle. Placing his hand on the scanner, the door opened with a soft swoosh revealing to the Galran prince the Red Paladin of Voltron, Keith, who looked to be working on trying to kick down a droid with fiercely sharp attacks.
Remaining within the doorway, Lotor took a good look around the training room. The floor was littered with destroyed droids, over twenty by his guess, and a few types of weapons ranging from staffs to gun blasters. Obviously those were likely the droids choice of weapons, Lotor considered as he stopped studying the room and actually watched Keith fight. He appeared untouched by the training session.
Though, by just watching for the first few minutes it was clear this wasn’t really a training session. Keith moved gracefully, something Lotor was impressed with, but each movement he appeared more desperate to land a killing blow, making it sloppy and too harsh to really carry weight if it missed. He wondered what had Keith making such simple mistakes.
Lotor finally stepped into the training room to watch more closely for answers as the last standing droid fell, but that finally allowed the door to close behind him.
The movement or sound must have given him away this time as Keith’s frustrated gaze snapped up from glaring down at the now lifeless droid to pierce directly in Lotor’s direction. Clearing his throat, the half-Galran prince crossed his arms loosely over his chest as he glanced at the other, who looked ready to murder him for interrupting his next strike against the already lifeless droid.
“I’m assuming it has been you causing this ruckus for the past week?” Lotor muttered, brow arched in question.
Keith grumbled as he pulled his awakened mamoran blade away from pointing towards the droid's head and let it switch back into its knife form before sheathing it on his belt. “I didn’t think I was being that loud to be heard from the sleeping quarters,” he explained simply, moving some hair from his eyes. After a couple hours of rough fighting the only clue he had even been training was his shaggy black hair laced with sweat, sticking to his skin.
“Oh, not from there, just down the hall in the observatory,” Lotor corrected with a shrug of his shoulders as his arms fell back to his side. Now taking his time to study Keith, his ears twitched slightly at the almost silent sound of a growl? It was interesting to see him so flustered in anger like this. Sure, he knew the red paladin was more on the rough side, preferred violence and fighting before talking about his feelings but this...it seemed odd. The air was tense, almost suffocating by the oozing frustration coming directly off of Keith.
“You’re frustrated. Why?”
Keith was taken back and quickly turned his head off to the side, “That’s none of your damn business,” he quickly huffed out, arms crossing over his chest tightly and slightly hunched down into himself.
The prince brought a hand up to cover his laugh before it slipped down back to rest at his side, a smile gracing his features until he composed himself and gracefully took a few steps closer to the other. “You look like a complete wreck for starters. Now we might not be--ah..buddies--but we are similar. You can share something with me without fear of being judged.” Lotor offered a kind smile, one hand lazily resting on his hip as he looked at Keith curiously.
Keith grumbled something inaudible before releasing a tense sigh and fully turning towards the Galra with a blank stare. He took a few moments to actually speak up about whatever had him so ruffled. “Okay, so maybe I’m a little stressed...I mean, that’s normal. We are at war, I’m a paladin...a blade...part Galra.” The last words almost were a whisper on his tongue as Lotor saw his eyes drifting to the ground to avoid him yet again.
“Everything has just been weird since then. Not just with my friends, but with my blade members...or er, pack? I still am trying to understand all this bonding. It’s overwhelming and lately I just can’t sleep with it on my mind,” Keith finished off quietly, peeking up from the floor to look at Lotor, who looked complexed.
“Well...” Lotor started off, cupping his chin in thought as he looked up towards the ceiling. “From basic understanding, with your human age, adult galran instincts would probably be a little strong and forceful, considering you’re new to them. Self discovery and all,” he pointed out before looking to the disgruntled half-Galra. “That sort of affection isn’t for everyone, but considering you’re basically a touch-starved kit-”
“I’m not a kit,” Keith snarled out in disapproval.
Lotor cleared his throat, nodding as he fixed his mistake. “Ah, yes, sorry. Touch-starved young adult, the sudden needs would prove a little overwhelming and mess with your adapted instincts causing intense confusion. But it’s not something you can ignore either. It’s essential to a young one's health. I am sure you can feel that, right?”
Keith didn’t say anything but gave a slight nod. One of his newly clawed hands gripped tightly to his opposite arm, just slightly tearing into his jacket from the tight grip, while a frown appeared. Keith suddenly looked more defeated than angry.
“I’m not a fan, but I do feel lonely now being away from the Blade after they’ve spent so much time keeping me company. Is that weird? To crave...something like that?” Keith piped up, eyes slightly wide as he looked to Lotor for an answer.
Lotor eased his stance, a low rumble forming in his chest as he closed the gap between them and set his hands on the red paladin’s shoulders as a sign of comfort. “It’s not weird. It’s natural. To want to feel warmth from someone,” he hummed out, his smile remaining as he leaned down to be more at the other's height. “Maybe sleeping in a nest with a pack or participating in rituals like grooming might be slightly uncomfortable, but there are other ways to feel less lonely and feel more connected to others you deem important. And it might be a little less embarrassing for someone so...independant like yourself.” Lotor chuckled, earning a slight glare from Keith at that comment.
“Alright, so what is it then?” Keith questioned. And without another word, Lotor leaned in to press his cheek against Keith’s. A slight mewl of surprise leaving Keith before his body surprisingly loosened up as Lotor nuzzled him. His rumbles could be felt against Keith’s skin as Lotor made soothing sounds that relaxed the red paladin even further.
“A simple nuzzle will satisfy one for a little while,” Lotor whispered into Keith’s ear, then slowly pulled away and straightened his body to look down at Keith. Visually, Keith looked a lot better now. His body loosened and relaxed, hands resting limp on either side, and his shoulders weren’t squared up like he was ready to fight. Keith overall seemed to have lost his rage and his expression appeared free of his previous worries and stress.
Keith took a moment before he gave a small smile. “I feel...better,” he muttered, reaching up to place his glove covered hand over his cheek that was still warm from Lotor’s. “Thank you.”
Lotor bowed his head as he turned to take his leave and return to his work back in the observatory. “It’s not a problem. I’ll be in the observatory every night, come see me if you feel lonely again. I could use some company myself every so often without someone constantly questioning my work.”
Keith chuckled softly, “Pidge can be a bit nosy,” he said, before he quickly rushed over to Lotor, shoving his hands into his pockets. “You wouldn’t mind company right now would you? I think I would like to see the stars anyway.”
The prince smiled and shook his head, motioning for Keith to follow him back to his work station for the night. The two began to head off, taking solace in each other for the rest of the night.