The entire palace was more lively than usual as the servants prepared everything for Lotor's return; the young prince was given breaks from his altean studies every so often so that he could come home for as long as he liked. The chefs were busy in the kitchen baking Lotor's favorite cake while the others were making sure everything was clean and the playroom was ready. Zarkon was eager for his young son to finally come home, feeling a little depressed during the entire time he was gone; his paternal instincts were still a thing and not having his only child around made him feel low-key empty inside. In galran culture it was normal for young children to still sleep in their parent's bed, so he made sure to put Lotor's favorite stuffed animal and blanket on his large bed. Zarkon might have been the emperor of a race of people who didn't show vulnerability but that didn't mean he was a heartless father who didn't care about his child, especially since he was said child's only remaining parent.

(Y/n) couldn't wait to finally meet Lotor, especially after meeting so many of the alternate reality's galra of whom were younger and living normal lives. She spent most of the morning with Sendak who was doing his routine patrol as usual, keeping her excitement under control. Sendak could easily tell that (Y/n) was excited just by watching her body language and he couldn't blame her, he couldn't wait for Lotor to come home either because he considered the little boy as the younger brother he never had, seeing as all of his younger siblings were girls. Lotor was pleasant to be around since he was well mannered for someone his age yet fun to be around due to his sense of adventure, although he never did anything too dangerous. As they walked towards the front of the palace they saw the royal altean ship lowering to the ground, both of them waiting for it to land before joining Zarkon and the other two royal guards in training.

"Are you excited to meet him?" Sendak inquired while looking down at (Y/n), a polite smile playing across his lips since he knew she was.

"Yes, I am; I can't believe that I get to meet Lotor in person." (Y/n) answered quietly; she looked up at Sendak for a moment but quickly returned to looking at the medium sized altean ship; she could hardly wait to finally meet Lotor, or rather meet one of the most adorable children on Diabazaal which was exciting for her.

When the door slid open everyone watched Melenor walk out followed by a small child who was dressed in altean clothes, a wide smile spread across her face. As soon as (Y/n) saw Lotor she could barely contain her excitement, she couldn't get over how cute he was in person and she hadn't even met him yet. Everyone watched Zarkon go to greet his son; Zarkon knelt down and picked Lotor up with ease, not minding the hug he received and returned it by giving his only child a soft affectionate nuzzle. After spending so much time away from home Lotor missed his father really badly and felt nothing but happiness once he was picked up by his only living parent. (Y/n) patiently waited for Lotor to notice her, briefly catching Melenor's gaze and giving the beautiful altean queen a polite nod as an unofficial greeting.

"Father, who is that? She looks Altean but she doesn't have markings on her face or pointy ears." Lotor asked his father when he finally saw (Y/n), looking at her with pure fascination and curiosity.

"Her name is (Y/n), and she's our guest; she's a Human from a Planet called Earth, although she's also from another reality." Zarkon answered fondly before he knelt down and carefully placed Lotor on the ground, happy to see that his son was just as inquisitive as ever.

"Is she friendly?" Lotor questioned while still standing next to Zarkon; he wasn't sure what to think of (Y/n) and felt a little shy when he was placed on the ground.

"Yes, she is." Zarkon told Lotor while giving him a reassuring smile, knowing his son would get along well with their guest.

Lotor shyly looked up at (Y/n) while bashfully fiddling with his fingers, still standing by his father who was patiently waiting for him to greet their guest. He saw Sendak standing next to her and saw the welcoming smile on his face, feeling a little less shy since his honorary big brother was standing by the human woman. Sendak hoped Lotor would get along well with (Y/n) and not be afraid of her; she was a wonderful young woman who was nice and a little bit quirky, but her quirkiness was what made her unique. Lotor just stood there, staring up at (Y/n) while feeling extremely shy to approach her until she knelt down to his level. (Y/n) just wanted Lotor to feel comfortable around her, knowing it was sometimes scary meeting new people for some young children.

"Hi, I'm (Y/n)." (Y/n) spoke calmly while introducing herself, forcing herself not to get overly excited about meeting the younger version of Lotor who was the cutest kid she'd ever seen.

"Hello." Lotor replied quietly after a few moments of silence, slowly walking over to (Y/n) until he was standing a couple of feet in front of her; she seemed friendly enough but he still felt incredibly shy.

"I've been waiting to meet you for a while, it's nice to finally meet you in person." (Y/n) said with a little more enthusiasm; she was practically bursting on the inside because of how cute Lotor was, but she had to remain calm so she didn't frighten him.

The corners of Lotor's mouth twitched upwards when he realized how nice (Y/n) was, deciding that she wasn't so bad and she was a new friend. He asked her a few questions about her home since she was from another reality and he was fascinated with everything she told him; he'd always wanted to meet someone from another reality and his wish finally came true. Sendak knelt down next to (Y/n) and politely greeted Lotor, making the young child giggle when he moved his big fluffy ears up and down a few times. Eventually Melenor bid everyone farewell before she went back in her ship and flew home, knowing Alfor and Allura would be worried about her if she wasn't home before dinner. When (Y/n) and Sendak stood up he gave her a teasing look; Sendak knew how excited meeting Lotor was for her and how hard she was trying to contain that excitement.

__________

When it was time for dinner (Y/n) made sure she looked presentable before she left her room; after everyone went inside for the day she wanted to catch up on reading something and almost lost track of time. Sendak and his buddies went to hang out somewhere not too far away while Zarkon and Lotor spent father-son time together, something they both needed since Lotor needed to spend time with his father. On the way to the dining room (Y/n) was ready to answer more of Lotor's questions if he had any more for her and she knew he would; all young children asked questions, even the polite ones. (Y/n) smiled after she walked into the dining room and saw everyone sitting at the table, thinking they kind of looked like a family in an odd way. She sat next to Sendak while Vrul and Kumo sat across the table; Zarkon sat at the head of the table as usual while Lotor sat in the chair near his right side.

"Well, what do you think of him?" Kumo quietly asked (Y/n) with curiosity, a knowing grin tugging at her lips.

"He's the cutest kid I've ever met!" (Y/n) responded in an equally quiet tone, barely able to contain her excitement; meeting each galra was an experience she looked forward to, especially when said individual was too cute.

Sendak smiled while (Y/n) and Kumo quietly talked to each other, happy they had become close friends. While he ate he couldn't help but glance over at Zarkon and Lotor who were speaking together, it warmed his heart to see his mentor be involved in his son's life when he was home. Sendak wanted to eventually have a life mate who he could raise kits with, although with how busy his life was he unfortunately didn't have time to court anyone. He did have a slight crush on (Y/n) but human courtship rituals were very different than galran ones and he wasn't sure if an intimate relationship could work or not, he really didn't want to lose her if things didn't work out between them. At some point towards the end of dinner Sendak noticed how Lotor kept looking at (Y/n) with pure curiosity, knowing the young galtean child still had lots of questions for her.

"(Y/n), can I ask you something?" Lotor asked (Y/n) when he turned to face her, an inquisitive expression on his face while he looked at her.

"Sure, go ahead." (Y/n) replied kindly; she honestly didn't mind answering the young prince's questions.

"How did you get here from your reality? And how did you know who I was? Are you a sorceress?" Lotor queried with pure curiosity, he wanted to know so many things about the only human on Diabazaal and the only way he could achieve that was by asking lots of questions.

"Well, to be perfectly honest I have no idea how I actually got here. I know everyone because in my reality everybody were characters in an animated series called Voltron Legendary defender and no, I'm not a sorceress." (Y/n) replied to the best of her ability, especially since she still didn't know how it was even possible for her to be transported into another reality.

"Do you like Sendak?" Lotor asked her innocently; even though he was just a little kid he noticed how Sendak and (Y/n) acted around each other.

"Yes, of course I do." (Y/n) answered without thinking much about her answer, thinking he simply wanted to know if they were friends or not.

"Are you two going to get married someday?" Lotor questioned, speaking in a genuinely curious tone while looking at her.

"W-what?!" (Y/n) stammered with shock and awkwardness, completely caught off guard by Lotor's question; she wasn't sure exactly how to respond.

"We're not- I mean-" Sendak responded as he pinned his ears back a little; he wasn't expecting Lotor to ask such a thing, especially since he wasn't even courting (Y/n).

Everyone at the table looked at Lotor for a moment; no one expected him to ask such a question, least of all Zarkon who was shocked by what his son asked (Y/n). (Y/n's) heart and mind were racing; she liked Sendak a lot and she definitely wouldn't mind dating him, but she understood how galran courting methods worked and knew he might not see her as a potential life partner. There were so many thoughts running through Sendak's mind too, although he was still stunned about Lotor asking (Y/n) if she wanted to marry him. In the meantime, Lotor went back to eating the food on his plate so that he could finish his dinner before the servants brought dessert to the table. Throughout the rest of dinner and all through dessert hardly anyone talked to each other; Lotor didn't think much of the silence but he did apologize to (Y/n) who couldn't be upset with him for asking her such an odd question.