During Lotor's short nap, Lance took it upon himself to brush through the long hair with a proper brush. With a quick search around the room to find a door that lead into a bathroom, he grabbed for something that looked like a brush. If he ever got back to Earth, he was going to introduce the alien races with hair and fur the magical wonders of using such an invention.
As gently as he could, he started to brush out the prince's hair. It was a tad softer than he thought it would be the more he ran the brush through it. Lance honestly wanted to push his face into the white hair to feel the softness of it, as creepy as the action was.
Resisting his odd urge, Lance found himself wanting to do more than brush out the hair. He checked Lotor's state, seeing the prince still asleep. For a moment he wondered what had Lotor so wound up to make him this tired. After all he was the Son of Zarkon, he must be used to dealing with the duties that his father bestowed on him from a young age.
'But if he's such a powerful enemy, why didn't Zarkon use his son earlier against Voltron?' It was a thought that Lance had since the first battle against the Prince when he was just a voice that taunted them in the shadows. But now the thought persisted as he spent a few hours with Lotor.
It made no sense in his mind why Zarkon didn't have his son along with him to take down the team. Maybe there was something else he was missing?
As he spent time bouncing between ideas about why Lotor wasn't there from the beginning, his hands started to form a braid at the base of the Galra's skull. He left the hair near the forehead alone, planning on trying to use it for a bun. It was a familiar action that Lance didn't even have to pay much attention to how tight the braid needed to be for the length of hair. He really should thank his sisters for teaching him if he ever went back home.
As Lance was reaching the end of the hair, Lotor started to stirr from his nap. The Galra groaned at the prospect of being awake, not wanting to face Haggar again if she decided to be overbearing.
Really he did win the title of being the ruler of the Empire and he wasn't about to be shadowed by the witch because they could accept that they could gain allies in a more peaceful way than pushing their way onto planets. At least that's what Lotor believed.
He sighed as moved his body into a sitting position. Then he felt his head tug backwards. Turning his head to look behind him, he saw the Red Paladin holding his hair as he twisted it into a braid. Lotor watched for a moment, captivated by how fast the other's hands moved. It was an action that was familiar to the Paladin and he noted that to the back of his mind.
Perhaps he could be more than bait after all.
"I guess I'll be fashionable for my Generals today." He finally spoke up after a few seconds of watching. The paladin jumped up slightly at his voice before sending a glare at him. It only caused Lotor to smirk back.
"I wasn't paying attention. Your hair is so soft by the way. How do you manage it being this long without going crazy? I mean I tried to grow it out when I was younger, but my mom said and I quote 'Your hair is too thin Lance. Growing it out wouldn't benefit your face at all.' " Lance rambled as he reached the end of the braid. His face grew slightly red as he realized he didn't have anything to tie it with.
"I managed it for many years as it grew out. At this point if I didn't know how to take care of it, then I would have failed myself poorly." Lotor said, reach into a basket he had on the bedside table. He gave the paladin a hair tie and Lance snatched it away, quickly tying up the end of the braid. "As for your mother, I do think her words had some truth to them."
"Why you're such a gentleman Lotor. Complimenting a guy on his thin ugly hair like that." Lance quipped.
"While it may not be flattering to be as long as mine, the length of it now certain compliments your face." He said back. He saw the paladins face change to a red colour. He theorized that that only happened to the paladin when they were embarrassed. Maybe even when they were extremely enraged.
"Anyway, I need to sit closer to you. This is the difficult part when trying to do this. Especially if the person is squirmy." As Lance said that, he scooted to Lotor's back and positioned the other's head in a way that could benefit Lance as he started to form a bun with the rest of the hair.
They went silent as Lance gave his full concentration to finish up the hair do. For a few minutes, Lotor felt the way Lance tugged at his hair and found himself surprised that it wasn't rough. It was one surprise after another with the Red Paladin that it made even more curious about who he was.
Not many really caught the attention of Lotor, especially with his own species. He knew he was half Galra and half something else. He knew that since a young age when the other Galra gave his shorter stature and white hair a disgusted look. But the few who looked beyond his looks and his status as a prince were worth keeping around.
With one last tug to his hair, Lotor felt the paladin's hands move away from his hair. Even if he didn't allow anybody to touch his hair, he missed the way the paladin's hands moved through it. Like it was precious material that had to be handled with care.
"You got a small mirror I could use? I'm betting you want to see what I did to your hair." Lance said. He was happy to see that the difficult project he sent out to do to Lotor's hair was perfect. Especially with how the braid wrapped around the base of the bun.
"I do have one. Let me get it for you." With that Lotor reached into the drawer of he bedside table and pulled out the mirror he kept in there. Handing it to the paladin, he felt himself growing excited. While he did his hair himself, especially when he wanted to put it up, it was nice to see someone else excited as he was to take care of one's self.
Then he was tugged forward, nearly falling to the floor. The paladin righted him before that could happen and dragged him into the bathroom. "There you can see the back yourself."
Lotor looked into the mirror that the paladin had positioned at the back of his head, showing the design of the braid. He could see where the other had started and where it went up to the bun. From there the braid wrapped itself around the base of the bun, making it look like it was tied there. He also noticed that the end of the braid couldn't be seen, probably tucked somewhere in the bun.
He was really impressed with the Red Paladin's skill.
"What is your name Red Paladin?" He asked, curiosity wanting an answer.
"My name?" Lance asked hesitantly. He had honestly forgotten that the Galra Prince didn't ask for his name until now. Lotor nodded in a yes motion.
"It's Lance. Lance McClain."
"Lance of the Red Lion. My, you are a curious thing." Lotor said. Before Lance could question what he meant, Lotor gently pulled him out of the bathroom. "I have get back to my generals, they must be wondering where I am."
_____________________________
"Prince Lotor, who did your hair? You never let anyone touch it." One of the Generals said, zipping over to the two of them as they came into the bridge.
"The Red Paladin did my hair. His hands are much gentler than yours, Ezor, so he's allowed to touch my hair." Lotor replied, sitting in a chair. Even if it looked closer to a throne than a chair. With a hand, he motioned Lance to stand near him.
"I'm a better spy than I am a hairstylist anyway." Ezor said, joining back up with one of the other Generals.
Lance noticed that the look of the Generals looks all varied. They all had different heights, most taller than Lance and all had different shades of skin. But the one that looked close to a typical Galra was the one stationed at the front of the bridge, near the window.
He was quickly introduced to each of them, each giving their own greeting. Especially Zethrid who gave a hearty grin at him. If she wasn't with the Galra Empire, he would have loved her to join the team. In his gut he knew she would be useful in a battle.
Lance was surprised at how Lotor's Generals acted towards each other when they weren't on a battlefield. Or maybe he was surprised that Galra soldiers could be anything other than aggressive. He couldn't decide at this point.
Still he watched them silently at Lotor's side, taking in any information that could be useful to the team if he was ever rescued. If he could do that, then he wouldn't be only known as the sharpshooter of the team.
The one known as Ezor was standing beside Acxa, talking quietly to each other. Lance could see hints of what could be a start of a romantic relations (or just a close friendship, who knew with aliens). Zethrid and Narti were by themselves, working on different parts of the bridge.
It wasn't a lot of information to go off of, but anything was better than nothing.
"I could get a chair for you to sit in." Lotor said quietly. "We do spend a lot of time here, so standing around for that long won't do your legs any good."
Lance considered the other's words. While he could stand for long periods of time, sitting sounded more appealing in this case. But on the other hand, it could be leverage for the prince to use. "I wouldn't want impose your generals that way. I'm sure they have much more important things to do."
Like finding his friends and taking Voltron from them.
Lotor gave him a look, but didn't say anything further on the subject. He wouldn't push it as it was Lance's decision, but at some point he would have to take charge. He did need the paladin in good condition to be bait for the Voltron team after all.
Silence came over the room, everyone working at their stations. Lotor swept his eyes over everything, making sure that nothing was out of place. It was one lesson that his father had taught him, that he begrudgingly had taken to heart with him into adulthood and as the current leader of the Empire.
A ship only ran as good as the people who were aboard it.
So he only had the best to be his generals, both in combat and who would be able to support him as a leader. They kept the ship running and in return he gave them a place to stay. In an odd sort of way the generals and him were a family.
His eyes landed on Lance and for a quick second he smiled. Maybe the odd family could accept another member?
Lance could only stand in silence, his mind going through his thoughts. He knew that he couldn't escape without distractions, but what could he do without the team there to give him courage to go through with anything?
Then his blood ran cold when Axca announced that they had found another signal of Voltron. As Zethrid gave a cheer, Lance felt himself crawling into his mind. It came up with countless scenarios, each one growing worse than the last.
The worst thing about the whole situation was that he couldn't warn his friends.
When his knees hit the floor, Lance knew that even if Lotor treated him well for a prisoner, the prince was still going to attack his friends. He was going to make Lance watch as he took down Voltron and take his friends prisoners. That was the only outcome with no paladin to pilot the Red Lion. Even if Shiro could, that still left the possibility of Voltron being captured.
He remembered that disaster of an incident and he knew it would repeat.
All he could do was curl in on himself, trying to find something that was familiar, something that would bring comfort. Lance didn't feel the clawed hands touch his back nor the concerned look Lotor had while he watched the paladin. He knew the signs of what was happening to the other, but he honestly didn't know what action to take to snap them back to reality.
He didn't to cause Lance any more harm than what he's done already.
The only thing he could do was pick up Lance and bring him back to his room. Lotor noticed how light the paladin is, a moment of concern to feed the boy more food passing through his mind. As quickly as he could, he jogged down the halls that lead to his room.
When Lotor reached his room, he placed the paladin down on the bed as best he could. Then he dug through his bedside table, finding the pill he gave to Lance earlier on his ship. It would give him the chance to relax while a battle raged on.
"Here." He whispered, giving the other the pill. Lance's eyes didn't open as he took the pill and swallowed it.
As Lotor was leaving the room, he heard "Don't hurt my friends. Please don't hurt them."