When Allura looked at Lance with a solemn expression on her face, he knew that he was in for some bad news.

"You might as well spit it out now Allura," he said with a sigh. She nodded and brought up the holoscreens.

"We've been contacted by the leaders of the planet Draycott and they are requesting an alliance with us," she announced, sending the files to their separate consoles. They pulled up the pictures of the planet and looked back over to Allura with wide eyes.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Lance groaned slumping back in his seat.

"Unfortunately not," Allura sighed, more than used to the language that the paladins used by now.

"What is even happening here?" Keith asked, his head tilting side to side like a confused puppy.

"Draycott's atmosphere keeps their sun and moon in the same position in orbit on several day cycles, unfortunately, we're going to be there during that particular cycle,"

"Can't we reschedule or something?" Lance asked.

"We're paladins of Voltron, we can't just reschedule," Shiro reasoned with an unhappy grimace. Lance pouted but didn't argue any further.

"Yes, also the leaders of Draycott insisted that we put a priority of their alliance over all other matters," Allura informed them with a frown.

"What? And we're going to go form an alliance with them?" Pidge asked wrinkling her nose.

"I know, trust me, but the Draycotts are a highly intelligent race and have been able to keep out of the Galra's hands since before Altea was destroyed, they could be a valuable asset to our mission,"

"Are you sure? It doesn't seem like they really want to help other people," Hunk asked, looking through his files.

"We're not completely obligated to form an alliance, we can leave at any time without it if they demand too much," Coran added. They agreed and started on their way to Draycott, within a single wormhole jump they could see the planet in the distance. With that Lance doubled over in his chair, his arms wrapped around his stomach.

"Lance? Are you okay?" Hunk asked looking over at his friend.

"Yup," he rasped. His hair parted as his wolf ears popped up on top of his head. He hurriedly tugged his pants down slightly as his tail began to appear. He was completely used to the transformation and it was much less painful than a full-moon transformation. After a few minutes of burning and aching shivers running through his body, he sat up straighter, sweat rolling down his forehead. His ears were pressed against the top of his head and his tail was twitching widely behind him. He startled when Hunk's hand came down on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Hunk asked again.

"Yup! I'm good!" He said cheerfully turning to look up at the worried paladin. He stretched his arms above his head and jumped up from his chair to pace around the room.

"Are you sure? Do we need to postpone our visit?" Shiro asked in concern. Lance's head whipped over to look at Shiro.

"What? No! No, we don't need to postpone, we can't," Lance argued shaking his head frantically.

"Unfortunately, Lance is right, the leaders probably have already detected the Castle in their system and are awaiting our arrival," Allura sighed looking at Shiro.

"Alright, lets suit up then," Shiro decided, they nodded and headed towards the hangers as Allura and Coran started to steer the Castle to land on Draycott.

Lance huffed annoyed as he pulled his body suit on, stuffing his tail uncomfortably tight against his skin. He pouted as he looked at his helmet, not excited to try and wedge it over his ears. With a sigh he pushed it on to his head, pressing his ears flat to his head. With a slight shudder, they felt the Castle landing on the ground beneath them and they made their way to the lift to meet the Alteans.

"Everybody ready?" Shiro asked glancing at each member of Voltron. They nodded their heads and Allura activated the lift. As they began to descend to the ground, they didn't see the crowd that they were used to seeing and instead only saw a small gathering of about seven or eight aliens waiting beneath the ship. As they landed, the group moved forward to greet the team.

They were strangely humanoid, except for their off coloured skin and their gigantic size. They were at least three heads taller than Hunk and although they were on the thinner side, they also had defined muscles along their arms. They were draped in silky robes, much like the ones Lance had seen in history while studying about Rome.

"Greetings, Voltron," one of the aliens said as they got close. He had a smile on his face and by the circlet on his head, assumed to be the king of Draycott.

"Greetings, I'm Princess Allura of Altea," Allura responded politely, bowing her head slightly before turning to the rest of the team.

"This is Coran my royal advisor, the black paladin Shiro, the red paladin Keith, the green paladin Pidge, the yellow paladin Hunk, and-" she started before being cut off by the king moving forward to take Lance's hands in his own.

"The blue paladin Lance," he said almost mesmerized. "I've heard much about you blue paladin, I've come to admire you," he admitted looking into Lance's eyes.

"Oh, uh thanks," he said with a smile.

"I apologize, I got ahead of myself, I am King Evenon of Draycott," he said turning back to look at Allura. She looked annoyed as he fawned over Lance, until he turned to apologize to her.

"It's quite alright, I can understand the excitement of seeing a paladin of Voltron for the first time," she nodded her head. "Shall we go and negotiate the conditions of our alliance?" She asked.

"Actually, there is only one condition that I require before our alliance can be completed," he said with a wide smile. Allura paused in shock.

"Really now? That sounds quite far-fetched," she admitted. Evenon laughed, his shoulders shaking.

"Yes, I admit it does seem too good to be true but really there isn't much that we need from you other than your friendship in these trying times,"

"Very well, what is your condition?" She asked curiously.

He turned to look over at Lance again, affection clearly across his face.

"I just wish for the blue paladin to accompany me for the night, it is Draycott's summer festival," he said sending him a blinding smile. Lance's face lit up with a blush and his eyes went to the ground in embarrassment. When he looked up, he saw Allura looking at him waiting for his approval. His eyes darted over to Evenon and saw his eyes looking at him pleadingly.

Obviously, he couldn't refuse to go with him. Their entire alliance depended on him going on this date. Oh, my God. This was a date. His hands came up to cover his face before he spread his fingers to look at Allura and give her a shallow nod.

"We agree to your terms," she stated. "After Lance comes back, we'll finish the alliance and we'll be on our way,"

"Thank you so much Voltron," he said with a relieved smile, he turned to Lance. "I'll be back in two vargas to pick you up, wear something nice,"

Lance nodded and watched as he walked back to the group and they left towards presumably the kingdom. He couldn't believe it. Someone liked him that much that just a date with him was going to get them an alliance? He was absolutely giddy with excitement and turned to the rest of the paladins with an excited smile.

"Aww, my baby is going on his very first date," Hunk cooed, walking forward to pinch his cheeks. Lance scowled and pulled his face away from him.

"Come on, you got to get ready for your date!" Pidge said excited, grabbing Lance's hand and dragging him back to the lift. He yelped stumbling onto the platform and held fast to where he reached out to Hunk.

"Make sure he gets you back at a decent time," Shiro said sternly, crossing his arms.

"Not you too Shiro," Lance cried.

"No one is good enough for my little boy,"

"SHIRO! STOP!"

______________________________________________________

"Are you sure that I look okay? Maybe I should put my paladin armour back on," he sighed. He looked at himself in the mirror. Allura and Coran had found a few Altean outfits in storage and brought his a few to try, even cutting a hole in the back of the pants for his tail. His ears were pressed against the top of his head, showing the others just how nervous and insecure he was feeling.

"What! No, Lance, you look great!" Hunk argued coming up to put his hands on Lance's shoulders. Lance swallowed but nodded and gave him a small smile.

"Lance, King Evenon has arrived again, he's waiting beneath the ship," Coran announced from his control centre. Lance nodded and breathed out before they loaded onto the lift.

As soon as they got into the open air, he could see Evenon gazing up at the lift. Before he could think of anything further a jolt went through his body and he doubled over slightly, grasping onto the edge of the lift.

"Lance? What happened? Are you alright?" Shiro asked, his hand landing on Lance's back soothingly. Lance grunted and forced his watering eyes open. Instead of looking at the other paladins, his eyes went to the sky.

"Is that normal?" He asked turning to Allura and gesturing up at the sky. Confused she looked up and gasped quietly.

Although they could clearly still see the sun that shared the sky with the full moon, it was obvious that the moon was overtaking more of the sky than earlier.

"Will you be okay?" Shiro asked, never taking his hand off Lance's back.

"I should be, as long as the sun stays in the sky,"

"It should," Allura assured him. "I assume that the moon overtook most of the sky because it is closer to night now,"

Lance nodded his head and straightened before the lift touched the ground. He wasn't willing to risk the alliance just because he felt a little uncomfortable. He wasn't about to let Evenon see his weakness either.

"Ah, Blue Paladin, how lovely to see you again," he stated happily striding forward.

"You can call me Lance, your majesty," he bowed politely.

"Only if you call me Evenon," he said taking one of Lance's hands and kissing it gently. He blushed and looked helplessly at the rest of the team and saw them smirking at him. He pouted and turned back just as Evenon brought his face back up.

"Shall we?"

"Of course," he slipped his arm through Evenon's offered one. With one last glance to his friends, he started leading Lance away through the forest.

______________________________________________________

It wasn't until they were in the middle of exploring the various stands set up for the festival that Lance felt the first twinge of pain in his abdomen. Thankfully, they were stopped looking at a few painted decorations so Evenon didn't notice him flinch. He stepped back to look up at the sky and saw that the sun was almost completely set.

"Um, Evenon?" He called quietly.

"Yes, Lance?"

"The sun, does it always stay in the sky?" He asked putting at where it was setting.

"Oh, yes it does, doesn't yours?" He asked with a confused tilt of the head.

"No, the sun and moon's cycles are separate," he said wistfully.

"How fascinating,"

"Yeah, there's no place like Earth," with the thought of home in his mind, his body gave a violent shudder and sweat started pouring down his forehead. He knew that his half wolf transformation was going to stay put, but he knew that if he fully shifted he would feel so much better.

"So, how come you chose tonight?" Lance asked. Hopefully, he would say no reason and they would be able to reschedule for tomorrow while the sun was higher up.

"Tomorrow morning, we will begin migrating underground for the winter season, its why we put so much priority on your visit, we didn't get word of your position close to our system until very recently," he stated with a smile. Lance smiled in return.

Fuck.

"Wow, sounds like a lot of work," Lance guessed.

"Yes, everyone including myself will work through the day and night for the next couple days before going underground, thats why we hold this festival, to lift our spirits before going to work,"

Double Fuck

"Well, let's make the most of it then," Lance smiled, dragging Evenon down the lines of stalls. Even if he wasn't feeling great, he could help Evenon have a good night at least.

______________________________________________________

He could feel his skin heating progressively through the night. He took him on a tour through the small city, highlighting several landmarks. Through his pounding headache, he nodded and smiled at the appropriate times and even threw in a few jokes and comments that got a laugh out of the King. However, while they were watching the citizens dance in the square, Evenon leaned over in concern.

"Lance, are you alright? Your face is quite red," he commented reaching up to lay his hand on his forehead. "Your temperature is very high,"

At that moment all Lance wanted to do was tell Evenon how he was feeling and what was happening to his body but the lingering fear that it would ruin the alliance and Evenon's night stopped him.

"I'm fine, this is normal for my species," he lied taking Evenon's hand in his own instead. He chuckled when he caught sight of the blush on the King's face.

"Alright, if you're sure," he conceded before standing and offering a hand out to Lance. He took it and Evenon easily hauled him up off the ground.

"There is one more place I would like to take you," he requested looking to Lance for permission.

"Alright, lead the way," he said with false cheer. He wanted to go home. He wanted to go back to the Castle.

Every step he took was beginning to feel like agony. His breath huffed out of his mouth, and pain laced up his legs. He bit his lip, afraid that he would let out a yelp at any moment.

He could faintly hear the sound of voices drawing closer and Evenon pushed past a line of hanging ivy. His eyes widened at the sight of the massive lake. It was surrounded by groups of citizens that were excitedly chatting to each other and glancing at the lake every few minutes. What really caught his attention though, was the way the lake was glowing sky blue.

"It's beautiful," he whispered in awe.

"Yes, but at just the right time, it's even more beautiful," he said mysteriously. Lance froze at those words.

"How long will it take?" He asked trying not to sound rude. By the way Evenon tapped his chin in thought, he guessed he sounded merely curious.

"No one really knows for sure, it seems to change every year," he concluded.

"Wow, um, mysterious," he gulped. He already felt like he wanted to scratch off his own skin, now he had to wait even longer to safely transform?

"Indeed it is, oh, there is one of my advisors, do you mind if I go talk to them?" He asked turning to Lance.

"Not at all, go ahead,"

When Evenon was safely out of range, his facade dropped and he dropped to the ground, curling himself into a ball. He let out a low whine and pushed his hot face into his knees. Thank God, it seemed like Draycott didn't have pets or very many animals because his ears had been pressed to his head the entire time. His friends would have known immediately that something was wrong.

His stomach was turning with nausea and hoped that the show would be over soon so he wouldn't throw up in front of Evenon. He let a few tears roll down his cheek before trying to wipe them away. He could be strong. He only had a little bit more to go before he could go back to the Castle.

A hand was pushed onto his shoulder and he jolted up looking over to see that Evenon had returned.

"It's starting," was all he said before a bright light burst from the lake, the same glowing blue as the water. He watched in awe as orbs of light burst from the water, almost like fireworks. He clenched a hand in the fabric of his shirt.

It didn't help the pain though.

______________________________________________________

The team was extremely worried. Through out the night, they were monitoring the sun's position. Lance had told them that he was uncomfortable before he left, but now that it was barely grazing the sky, they knew that he had to be in pain.

They were tempted to go out and find the two of them to check on Lance's condition but knew that he wouldn't like it.

A huge sigh of relief came from all of them when Coran announced that he could see the two of them returning from the forest. He didn't get out anything else before they were cramming themselves in the lift and descending towards the floor. By the time they got there they composed themselves and calmly filed out.

Immediately they knew something was wrong. Lance's ears were flat and his tail was dragging along the ground behind him. A smile was still stretched across his face though and his arm looped around Evenon's. They could see the relief though, when he turned and saw them.

"Hey, guys!" He called cheerfully with a wave. He slipped away from Evenon and joined the others.

"With this our alliance is complete, Draycott will always be on your side," Evenon said as he made it to Allura, who was standing in front of the paladins.

"Thank you," she handed Evenon one of the communication devices. "With this, you can contact us at any time that you are in grave need of assistance,"

"Thank you," he bowed his head slightly and turned to look at Lance. "Lance, it has been an absolute pleasure, I thank you for your company tonight,"

"I had an amazing time, thank you," he smiled politely. Evenon nodded and turned from them, making his way back to the forest. They watched until he disappeared beneath the trees.

Immediately, Lance shot into the lift barely letting the rest of them on before it started ascending to the Castle.

"What's happening?" Hunk asked, hands hovering anxiously over Lance's now trembling form.

"I have to transform, I feel so sick and it hurts," he sobbed out, pressing his hands to his eyes. The lift jolted as it docked into place and Lance stumbled out. He started fumbling with his clothes, stripping it off his feverish skin. Coran looked over at him in concern and abandoned the controls.

Lance gagged as he struggled to pull off his clothes, now completely ignoring everyone in the room. As soon as everything was off, he started to transform and slumped to the ground in a furry pile. They could still see his form shaking in exhaustion and his blue eyes were slightly glassy.

Coran quickly transformed and laid beside the paladin.

"I'm okay Coran," he tried to assure the Altean.

"You almost weren't though," he pointed out disapprovingly.

"I couldn't just leave," he argued weakly. "It wouldn't have been right,"

Coran sighed in exasperation and laid his head over Lance's

"Sometimes your heart is too big for your own good,"