Lance's p.o.v:
As Lance stood there in front of the smaller prince waiting for the other to take the wine glass from him, he had noticed Lotor was showing a completely different side of himself. Lotor was treating Keith a lot differently than how he treated Lance, appearing like he was genuinely concerned for the little prince. Not that Lance wasn't worried but he didn't peg Lotor to be the type to really care, in his opinion Lotor seemed like a complete ass-hat.
"Here, It's for you you know. Drink up." He said bluntly, not meaning for it to sound like a command. Was Keith going to think he was trying to order him around? He hoped not as he continued to hold the wine glass for Keith to take, the smaller prince gave Lance a puzzled look but took the wine glass from him anyway. "What for..?" Keith questioned as he stared down at the glass, still seeming a little dazed and out of it. Lance looked to Lotor for help, he didn't exactly want to upset Keith by insinuating that an alpha- let alone an alpha prince was in anyway scared or frightened. It was kind of taboo and might get you punched for saying such things. But Keith really did need to calm down, the poor guy was shaking. Lotor looked away from him to look at Keith, as if he was silently informing him that he'd be the one to say it instead. Guess it wouldn't hurt his pride as much if a friend suggested it rather than a stranger.
"You're still out of it and seem on edge right now, I had Prince Lance go fetch you some water so you could try to calm down easier." Lotor mumbled, trying not to make a big deal out of the situation even though his facial expression definitely made it seem like a big deal. This guy's tone of voice and facial expression just don't match right now. "Just drink up and calm down." Lotor added, now patting the small prince's head. It was such an intimate interaction. They must know each other pretty well huh? Keith did as he was told as Lotor continued to pat his head, taking small sips from the glass while trying to steady his breathing.
Lance wanted to tease the smaller prince for being so.. Well, cute in his current vulnerable state. But maybe now isn't the time. The tender moment that was happening right now wasn't his to be apart of, it felt a little awkward. "-Prince Lotor! There you are! Some of your lords are looking for you, it's rather important your majesty!" A Galran man dressed like a royal advisor stated, looking panicked as he held an important looking tablet firmly against his chest. Lotor looked at the man and only sighed in response, then looked back at Keith who kept his gaze on his now empty wine glass. "I'll be right there. Prince Lance, I know you don't owe me any favors but could you please look after Keith for now? I've no idea how long these matters will take or if I'll even be back before the ball comes to an end. They tend to vary depending on what's wrong." Lotor trailed off, kind of rambling to him at this point. Why was he so worried about Keith? Why was he treating another alpha like a child, as if he wasn't sitting right there to hear him make such an offensive request? Lance wasn't opposed to hanging out with Keith but the way Lotor had phrased his question was weird to him. "Uh... Sure Prince Lotor. I'll stay with him." He replied, still not sure how to feel about this request. Keith seemed fine now, surely Prince Keith wouldn't need any supervision. It seems kind of insulting, really.
Prince Lotor got closer to Lance as if he was going to walk past him but stopped moving when he got to Lance's side. "Keep him safe alright? Try to stay clear of the other alphas, keep him as calm as you can. If anyone messes with him, get their damned names for me. Got it?" Lotor said with a low growl into his ear, it was more of a threat than a request. Did Keith have enemies or something? What was Lotor so concerned about? It sounded as if Lance was going to get hurt if he didn't do as he said- If he couldn't keep Prince Keith safe while Lotor was away. If the growl didn't get the message across to him the look Lotor gave him definitely did, confirming he was going to be in big trouble if he didn't properly look after Keith. "Now I'll be off." Lotor mumbled as he left with the Galran man that had come all this way just to fetch him. Didn't have to threaten Lance, he would've tried to stay and hangout with Keith anyhow.
He sat in the seat Lotor had used when he was calming Keith down, he wondered how Keith felt about all this. "So... Are you feeling better Prince Keith?.." He asked, trying to check up on him of course but it felt awkward somehow. Lance didn't want Keith to think he was only checking up on him because Lotor told him to look after him, he genuinely cared if he was okay. "Just Keith is fine, Prince Lance." Keith said, his face in a rather neutral state. Why would he ask to be addressed in an informal way? Usually people specifically ask for their formal titles to be used. "Well, alright. If you say so then.. just call me Lance. Okay?~" Lance replied with a smirk, kind of happy that they were using just their names. Keith looked up at Lance and then chuckled to himself. "Oh-Kay~" Keith playfully mocked while setting the wine glass down on the floor beside his chair.
For a while they sat and just talked about things like their own kingdoms, parents, and siblings, both of them are the younger of two in their families. Lance had his older sister Allura and his father Alfor, Keith had his older brother Orion and his mother Ophelia. He found it interesting how alike their family situations were. When Lance had asked what Keith liked to do for fun and he responded with 'training', he was almost appalled. How could someone train for fun!? "You're kidding right?" He asked as they made direct eye contact with one another. "No, I'm not kidding. I find it rather fun, do you not train? That kind of leaves you a little vulnerable if you don't, you know." Keith said with a certain edge in his voice that Lance couldn't quite place. "Well, I obviously do train. I tend to choose a blaster when I train though, hand to hand combat is literally the bane of my existence. You know~ I'm like a sharpshooter of sorts!~" He said enthusiastically while turning his attention towards the dance floor, admiring how graceful some of the guests that were currently dancing were.
The current song playing is upbeat and fast paced, he caught himself tapping his feet to the rhythm. "A sharpshooter huh?" Keith mumbled. Lance guessed that Keith realized that he wasn't really focused on their conversation at the moment because the small prince waved his hand in front of Lance's face, tryin to regain his attention. "What's wrong, hm? You look like you're itching to dance, do you happen to like to dance Mr. Sharpshooter?" Keith questioned with a slight tilt of his head, a smile on his face as he waited for an answer.
"Yeah, I love to. I assume you do too, I mean- you danced fairly gracefully earlier.." He trailed off realizing that came off weird, making himself sound a bit creepy. "You ditched me for Lotor earlier so I guess I'll never get to know if you're a good dance partner or not." Lance added with an exaggerated shrug. "Sorry about that." Keith replied with an amused smile.
Lance knew that what he was planning to do was stupid and might be overstepping some boundaries and probably insult Keith's alpha pride in the process but he patiently waited for the next song to come on, hoping to the gods it'd be a good one. The songs that had been playing at the ball tonight ranged from slow dance songs to other songs that required partners and were quicker in pace, these songs were from all over the galaxy so Lance just hoped one he knew and liked would play next.
The song that came on next was a song he recognized almost immediately, it's a song that originates from the second Altean kingdom. It's medium paced and requires a partner, he hoped it wouldn't be too awkward if he put his plan into action right now. This song is perfect for it. The song was barely just starting, which gives all the guests at the ball enough time to figure out if they wanna stay or get off the dance floor. Lance got up from his chair and went to stand in front of Keith, taking one of his hands into his own. "Shall we dance Keith?~ After all I didn't get my turn before Lotor whisked you away!~" He asked. Lance was being cautious and not gripping the other's hand in a pushy or forceful way, wanting to let the other know that this was a choice and that they didn't have to dance if he didn't want to. Two alphas dancing together wasn't exactly 'normal' but Lotor and Keith did it earlier, Lance didn't really care if others judged him for wanting to dance with another alpha. He did care however.. About how Keith felt about it.
While he was waiting for a reply the small prince simply got up from his chair, Lance figured Keith would free his hand from his own and just meet on the dance floor but Keith was actually leading him there. Hand in hand. He suddenly felt kind of flustered as he fumbled into position to dance with Keith, this was his idea so why did he feel so panicked about it?
"What is it 'sharpshooter'?~ Deciding that you don't like being my dance partner after all? We didn't even start yet!~" Keith teased with a slight tilt of his head. Cute bastard knew what he was doing and was so smug about it! "No, no I do! I want to be your dance partner. I just didn't think you'd actually be up for it is all." He answered, almost too quickly. Did that make him sound desperate? This is embarrassing... Keith rested his right hand in Lance's left, facing one another as the small prince rested his other hand on the right side of Lance's chest. Thank the gods the positioning wasn't the opposite way, his frantic heartbeat would've given him away! He readjusted his hold on the other's hand, resting his free hand on Keith's waist. They were very close together, their bodies were brushing against each other as they danced. All he could think about was how loud his own heartbeat was and hoped he wasn't making Keith uncomfortable with how close they were, that's the last thing he wanted to do was make him feel uncomfortable.
The beginning of this song is slow and steady, as it starts to pick up and get cheerier and faster paced later on. He couldn't wait for it to start picking up because he loved this song, the slow dancing portion would usually feel awkward but it didn't with Keith and Keith didn't seem to mind this part of the dance either. Lance decided in his head that this plan of his was a great idea and that his new goal was to make sure Keith enjoyed the rest of this ball.
The slow dance portion started to come to an end and the song was finally picking up, their bodies drifted apart and Keith did a slow spin out and then back towards Lance. He twirled the small prince twice and went back to how they were when they had begun, it felt so effortless with Keith. He never wanted this night to end. "So, what do you like to do besides dance and be a sharpshooter?" Keith asked as they circled one another, the palms of one of each of their hands against the other's. "Well, I like to visit a far away planet called earth. My father bought a house on earth there for us to stay in whenever we find time to visit, I have a few human friends there as well! There is so much to do on earth like... Surfing and swimming- There is plenty to do at beaches in general now that I think about it- Oh! There are festivals, theme parks with roller coasters, roller skating- Ice skating is also pretty fun! Well- that is if you don't fall down on the ice that is!~" Lance knew he was ranting at this point and stopped himself from continuing, there was plenty more to mention but he didn't want to bore Keith to death. He didn't realize just how much he had missed his earthling friends until now. Him and Keith both spun out, still connected by his left and Keith's right hand. They spun right back towards each other a moment or two later, they were dancing so fluidly together even though it was their first dance they've ever had with one another.
"Earth, huh?... Sounds interesting." Keith mumbled before Lance spun him in place a few times. "It is very interesting in my opinion." He said as he dipped Keith, then slowly brought him back up. Lance pulled the small prince close to his chest, having Keith's back to his chest as they neared the end of the song. He figured it was fine since he wasn't trying to get away from him and didn't seem that uncomfortable with the gesture. Even though he was fighting it he was pretty sure his own face was a blushing mess, it felt like it was beyond warm and luckily Keith was currently faced away from him like this. "Maybe I could take you there sometime Prince Keith." He said as they swayed, their arms semi-crisscrossed over Keith's chest still from their last spin in as they waited for the last few ticks(seconds) of the song to end.
When the song finally ended Keith turned his head enough to look up at him but Lance was lost in thought, thinking of his friends all the way back on earth. "Hey!" Keith suddenly said with a displeased tone in his voice. He snapped out of it. "Hm? What is it?" Lance questioned, petrified of the idea he had done something to offend the other. Keith pouted. "You said 'Prince' again!" Keith grumbled. He set the small prince free from their very up-close and personal embrace they've been in since the last song and smiled, Keith startled him a little by smiling right back at him. "Like I said Lance, just call me' Keith'!" Keith stated. He couldn't help but find the other's smile absolutely adorable, Keith was cute in general but this was just too much. Cuteness overload. Lance knew calling another alpha cute is considered insulting- but how could he not think of that word when looking at Keith? He can't lie to himself. Lance smiled down at the small prince brightly, probably looking like a complete dork right now but he could care less. "Just 'Keith' it is.~" He replied back.