This was inspired by Gus' (yummygus on twitter) fanart of Lance (and Keith) wearing make-up. Posted it on AO3, now posting here.

"-not only this foundation has a soft melting texture that blends in perfectly with your skin tone, it also gives you a wonderful satin finish and wears up to twelve vargas. How marvellous is that!"

Lance grinned at the screen, watching genuine excitement shine in the beautiful Altean princess' eyes, his hands working swiftly on his own cleansed and moisturised face. He applied the foundation of the same mark, two tones lighter, with careful dabs of his fingertips and finished almost in time with her, reaching for the compact powder as she continued.

"Now apply a moderate amount of powder on your face to take off the shine and set the foundation. I use this big fluffy brush but you can also use a puff if your compact comes with one, just press it gently into your face to make sure the powder works into the skin."

Lance fiddled with the tiny button on his compact and opened the secret compartment where the puff resided. When he pressed it into the powder, he noted that almost half of it was gone already. He wondered idly how much faster it would go if he were to use it on a daily basis, and not only when he was cooped up in the dorm after his roommate left for the weekend. Not that Hunk would be against his random make-up sessions, at least Lance thought he wouldn't be. He never said anything about his daily skin care rituals, thankfully, but who knew how much a guy could take, and Lance would rather not risk it. One time was enough for him.

"Don't forget to apply some powder on your eye-lids, it will create a nice base for the eye make-up and make blending shadows much easier. But we'll come to that later. And now it's time to give your cheeks some radiance. I'm using this blush called Love Struck, very poetic, isn't it? To get it just right apply the blush lightly on the apples of your cheeks and then put a touch of powder over it. That way the blush will get a perfectly natural quality to it and make your skin glow softly from beneath."

Following the instructions step by step, and making a mental note to look for that particular blush next time he made a field trip to the mall, Lance remembered how he first tried doing make-up. He was twelve and adventurous, so when he sneaked into his older sister's bedroom one afternoon and saw the make up kit she got from their grandparents for her birthday lying open on the bedside table, it simply called to him and he couldn't resist. Lance had always liked using body care products and probably took the longest baths in the family. He enjoyed trying out different shower gels, shampoos and conditioners and even asked his mother to give him face masks. She always agreed, highly amused and thinking, perhaps, that Lance was just copying her and his sister and would grow out of it with time.

Only he didn't, and as soon as he tried doing it once make-up became his second biggest passion, first one being the space. But even if normally his parents were very indulging and allowed him to have any hobby he liked, from water guns to building space ship models, when he paraded into the living room, wearing a thick and a tad too bright layer of his older sister's make-up, stating proudly that he would be the prettiest boy at school, his father gave him a sharp slap on the cheek and a lecture he remembered word by word to this very day. He cried hard that night, hiding in the back yard, because that also wasn't 'how a man is supposed to behave', until his mother found him and explained that while there was nothing wrong with him liking to paint his face, he should better keep it to himself, because it would only make his life more difficult. What Lance himself thought made his life more difficult was that he had to hide it from his own family from then on.

"Now comes my favourite part, eye make-up! Time to get your eyes pretty and sparkling. And I just love everything sparkly, but you probably know it already. Anyway, I happened to find this glorious baked eye shadow palette and was absolutely smitten by its shimmer and how smoothly and easily it applies. On Altea a similar effect can only be achieved with a blend of crushed crystals used for ceremonial purposes, and believe me, it is so heavy on your eyelids it makes them droop and look perpetually unimpressed with any ceremony, which can be very inappropriate during weddings, especially the Galran ones. They may appear very reserved but let me tell you, if there is one thing they are truly passionate about it is tradition. Anyway, what I'm saying is that I am totally packing a whole bag of these shadows with me when I go back home."

Lance chuckled, watching Allura open the palette and talk about her favourite shades so far, her pointed ears peaking from the silvery locks pulled back into a messy but somehow still elegant bun. Maybe it came with being a princess, or maybe it was just Lance, thinking that everything suited her beautifully. Allura was Lance's role model since he saw her on TV at fourteen, when she was giving her first speech upon arrival. Lance always marvelled at the fact that she decided to go to Earth to learn their race's ways, following the Altean tradition, when she had a wide range of other galaxies to choose from. Not to mention how she got into social networks and became an active beauty vlogger and a fashion icon as a result. Allura was never afraid of judgement, and always ready to learn new things, accepting human traditions, however strange they may seem to an Altean, but adding her own view on them and drawing attention to some obvious faults in the human system of values.

"Today I'm feeling a bit blue, so I'm picking this midnight hue that will give you just the right amount of shimmer and a metallic finish, and this pastel blue for highlights. Together they will easily take you from 'pretty' to 'irresistible'."

Lance giggled, remembering that he saw a similar line in one of the fashion magazines he stole from his sisters and read in secret. That was Allura's thing: she often used cliched phrases and spoke with that prim and proper accent, which could've been infuriating were it not so genuine and endearing coming from her. Lance suspected it was a side-effect of her speed-learning the most widespread language on Earth through the media (which got her closer to the masses, as one of the big smart analysts on the net remarked), but he actually liked it because at times the princess changed her intonation or threw in a facial expression that turned her speech from refined to sassy in a bit. Totally a role model.

Lance didn't have the exact same shadows, but fished out of his make-up bag (a hideously boring grey to make it as inconspicuous as possible) a pack of smokey eye mineral shadows, comprised of four shades of blue. They held at least some amount of sparkles so he believed he could manage to pull off a more a less similar look. As he watched Allura applying the shimmery substance to her eyelids, Lance thought how it reminded him of the vast bottomless night sky he loved so much and sneaked out onto the roof of his dorm to do star-gazing when he felt down. What he would give to be able to go to space, and not as a measly cargo pilot but as a member of the Earth fleet, or maybe even part of the delegation to Altea, which Allura joined each time to visit her planet and then return to Earth.

Ever since Altean and Galran space fleet generals decided to have peace negotiations on a neutral habitable planet outside of the systems already engaged in a century long war between Altea and Daibazaal, Earth had never been the same. Most importantly, it didn't get destroyed thanks to the successful peace talks, but became an important landmark for the two alien races, who exposed themselves to humans and established stable lines of communication with the blue planet. It didn't go all that smoothly at the beginning, and that's what brought Galaxy Garrison into existence some seventy years ago. Luckily, the Alteans managed to convince the Earthlings that they meant no harm and would guarantee the planet, which was much inferior to Altea in technology at that time, their protection.

The Galra went further, in a sense, and sent several groups of 'expeditioners' to Earth to integrate with the human society and show that they were willing to leave their people unarmed, which was, apparently, their sign of good will. Of course, it raised protests and rather hot debates, but with time people got used to it to the point where mixed galra-human families started to appear. It could've gone horribly wrong, were it not for an unprecedented technological leap that took Earth by storm and left interplanetary racial conflicts in the shadow. Besides, the number of visiting races grew every year: Earth turned out to be a very life-friendly planet with its variety of climate zones and landscapes, and people ended up accommodating them in exchange for their contribution to the development of the planet.

"Next comes eye-liner, I use this navy liquid one and this white one for lower waterline. I know some of you may feel more comfortable with pencil liners, and you can use them just as well, but if you're feeling up to a liquid eye-liner, here are some tips. To avoid a shaky hand plant your elbow on the table, or whatever flat elevated surface is closest to you, and rest your pinky on the cheek as you go. Also, try putting several dots first and then connect them slowly to get a smooth straight line. Just...like...this. See? It's much easier this way. But if you accidentally do get a smudge, you can easily cover it with a little bit of concealer using a q-tip."

While Lance was no beginner and had made enough messy lines to get the hang of it, he still followed Allura's advice and was very satisfied with the result, grinning at himself in the little round mirror that was propped up on the desk next to the laptop. If only his father could see him right now. Poor old man would totally have a stroke. And to imagine himself getting to class like this, he could hear the hushed snide remarks and giggles that would no doubt follow him wherever he went at the very thought.

It always seemed funny to Lance how society came to be so accepting of the existence of numerous alien races with their respective quirks and weird habits but still looked with scepticism and scorn upon reversing gender roles and choosing your own sexuality. Okay, maybe in the big cities it was not the case any more, but for a small conservative town where Lance grew up straying from old social standards was a big deal. Despite having a big loving family, Lance felt as if he was being strangled by the unspoken rules and norms that loomed over him every time he stepped out of the house. Damn, he felt like an outcast with a guilty conscience inside his own home. Even after his father's chastising lecture, meant to make him see reason and stop 'acting like a girl', Lance wanted to be pretty, and have his skin smooth and cleanly shaved, and wear make-up when he wanted to, and not feel like the whole world was judging him because of it. That's why he was so determined to leave his home-town to study at the Galaxy Garrison, once a military institution and now Earth's main space academy that prepared best space pilots and offered exchange programs with other planets. However, the change of place did nothing to magically boost his confidence (not that Lance let it show in class), and he found himself hiding his true self from everyone once again.

"Now it's time to give your lashes an instant deep drama volume, spectacular length and high definition. All that with the help of this tubing mascara that's nothing like its standard waterproof counterpart but just as long lasting, plus it doesn't smudge and can be easily removed with warm water. Now let me tell you, this is a genius invention, because what we have on Altea is made with xanthorn oil, it takes ages to wash off and really stings bad if it gets in the eyes. And look at the brush, it's so small and curvy. I was also extremely happy to find this pearl coloured mascara when I ran out of mine, but you can choose the colour you prefer, or try experimenting with something new."

Lance reached for his mascara, which was almost dried out and clumped awfully, but he had no other option at the moment. He'd just have to be more careful putting it on to not smudge his make up with the brush. Of course, it's not like he would actually be going anywhere, so it shouldn't matter if he messed it up, but Lance was a perfectionist and derived great pleasure from watching his immaculately painted face in the mirror, not the small one in front of him but the full-length one in the closet. Once he finished he would go open the door and admire his neat work. Even if this look was only for him to see, Lance still felt proud of himself for creating it. He didn't need anyone else's approval, he really didn't.

"All done. Now comes the hardest choice - the lip stick. It still amazes me how handy it is to have a stick of lip-paint, I have no idea why we still only have it in jars. Some of my fellow Alteans would argue and say that these sticks break easily and don't need to be baked after they are applied, also that they don't last as long, but I don't care because I find it much more practical than paint that comes off only when you sprinkle it with acid."

Letting out a little laugh, Lance took out the two lipsticks and two lip glosses he had, wondering which one would fit better. He loved lip products and always carried a chapstick with him for proper moisturising. He applied it when no one was around because naturally 'real men' were tough and would rather prefer their skin to dry out and crack than appear girly. Whatever, Lance wouldn't be kissing any of them in a million years, even if they asked. Okay, maybe he wouldn't mind kissing one. One cool grizzled fighter pilot with a terrible haircut.

"I'm thinking either metal blue Walk in the Clouds or matte white Ice Breaker. I think I'll try them both and see, tell me which one you think suits me most in the comments, or give your own suggestions, you know I love learning from you about wonderful Earth make-up products more than anything."

Lance glanced down at his own options and also decided to try everything he had. First he picked up a hot pink lipstick with tulips on the cap wittily titled Twolips. He didn't have a lip liner, so he rubbed his index finger on the stick, then moved it along the line of his lips, painting them with precision and adding more colour with a careful press of the stick on top of that. He checked out the result in the mirror, but felt like something was missing, so he rubbed off the lipstick with a cotton pad soaked in remover and uncapped the other shade of pink that he had, Coconut Grove, which was more on the lilac side but also had this metallic sheen that Lance found so attractive. He finished in time with Allura, who was adding the final touches to her make-up and beaming at the web camera.

"And it's done! I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and are now feeling as beautiful as you are, because I know for sure that each of you holds a special kind of beauty that make-up just helps to complement and highlight."

The kind encouraging words gave Lance a fuzzy warm feeling that filled his chest to the brim and was threatening to spill. Allura always made him like this, all elated and emotional. What made it even better was that Lance knew the princess of Altea addressed everyone, no matter the gender. She made it clear in one of her first videos that she admired beauty in all its forms, and expressed interest in make-up because she thought it was a means of bringing that beauty to the fore, mentioning that on Altea men wore make-up just as readily as women did and wondered how the Earthlings lost this tradition almost completely (she did her research and found the second millennium of the human history most fascinating). Lance wondered too.

"I also have a little surprise for you. As you know, I've been inviting my friends to do make overs and create fresh new looks for them. Next time it's Shiro's turn."

At that the tweezers Lance was going to put away fell from his fingers and clattered to the ground. This cannot be true, he must've misheard it somehow.

"Yes, Takashi Shirogane finally agreed to be my guest after some serious coaxing on my part. We've actually been having little make-up sessions for some time already, but you know how shy our dear Hero is."

Allura's voice held very distinct tenderness and Lance could hardly suppress an excited squeal as he realised that she was completely serious about inviting the Takashi Shirogane, Earth's diplomatic hero who was just as ready to fight for peace as he was able to negotiate for it. He graduated from the Garrison five years ago and worked at the Interplanetary Embassy, in the Galra Department, being one of those who organised the campaigns meant to support the mixed marriages and the Galran residents on Earth in general. Shiro had an active blog where he posted about the projects he currently took part in and about his insight into the Galran culture, as he had visited Daibazaal several times already. During one of those diplomatic missions he met Allura and they had been friends ever since. In fact, there were rumours of them being together but no actual proof, even though tabloids went crazy publishing outrageous stories each time the two were spotted together. If Lance was completely honest with himself, he preferred not knowing for sure about the kind of relationship the two had, because he had been crushing on Shiro for as long as he could remember, and as long as his status was still 'single', and thus 'potentially available', Lance could fantasise about them magically hooking up. But now hearing Allura allude to her and Shiro's time together Lance couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.

'Of course,' he thought bitterly, 'being a princess and a hero helps lots in not being shamed for getting pretty whenever you want.' Then he immediately felt guilty. Both Shiro and Allura were wonderful kind souls and they deserved to be loved and admired, it was just that Lance also wanted the kind of freedom they had. He realised, of course, that it wasn't that easy for them either, coming from different planets and trying to maintain stability and peace between different races. Compared to them Lance's problems were smaller than invisible specs of dust, and yet to him they were still as large as boulders.

"Alright, kittens, see you in a week. Can't wait for next Saturday to come, and what about you? Share your thoughts with me, I'll get back to everyone as usual. Goodbye."

With that the video ended and Allura's smiling face in the last frame shone brightly from the screen. Lance barely noticed that it had grown this dark and went to switch on the light, intent on checking himself out in the big mirror before washing his face and doing an evening mask. He opened the closet and grinned at his reflection.

"Hey there, gorgeous," he flashed it his best seductive smirk and did finger guns. Seeing his long fingers in the mirror made Lance think of Allura's, so much more delicate and thin, with nails done in a pretty shade of turquoise with a violet sheen, the polish called Night Fever if Lance remembered correctly. He wished he could do his nails like that, but he knew that even if he did he'd still have to wipe the polish off all too soon, and the smell of nail polish remover, as well as the polish itself, were really strong and would linger in the room for much longer than he needed. Lance simply couldn't let his secret slip out, the other cadets would make him see hell then, he was sure of it.

That's why when he heard a loud rap at the door he almost shrieked. 'What the hell, Hunk isn't supposed to be back 'til tomorrow evening!' Lance thought frantically, but when the door didn't open as it should have, because Hunk had his card key, he started to hope that, perhaps, someone just got the wrong door. His hope shattered when another rap came, firmer and louder this time. Lance freaked out and did the last thing he wanted.

"Who's there?" it was practically a yell, but he didn't care, he was nervous, alright. Then again, what if there was a fire or something, he would have to get out anyway, make-up or not.

"It's me, Keith," there was a small pause. "I brought the book Hunk lent me yesterday, he said I can leave it with you, uh," another pause. "Larce, right?"

Okay, if there was one person Lance absolutely didn't want to see him like this it was Keith Kogane. The little prodigy in his class with perfect grades and piloting practice scores, who transferred to the Garrison in the middle of the year from one of the Galra colonies on Mars. The guy wore a stupid out-dated mullet and refused to acknowledge that he and Lance were rivals. In fact, Keith refused to acknowledge Lance period, which kinda hurt because even if Lance was reluctant to admit it even to himself, he actually thought Keith was cool, and hot, and downright gorgeous with his sharp cheekbones and expressive grey-blue eyes which Lance could swear sometimes flashed yellow. And the way he moved when he brought down student after student in their sparring sessions during PE, Lance wished he would get paired with Keith for once just to get the feel of his well-defined muscles. He knew, of course, that he wouldn't stand a chance against Keith but he wouldn't mind being pinned down by him either. Not that he'd ever say that out loud.

"You there?" right, back to the problem at hand. And what the hell did he call him?

"It's Lance!" okay, maybe that was a bit too loud, and now he was coming off as a downright hysterical person. God, this was embarrassing and he was making it worse by the second. He needed to fix this before it was too late and Keith thought he was a total nut case.

"Um, right, Lance. Will you take the book then?" Keith sounded as uncomfortable as Lance felt at the moment. He was torn between just opening the door wide enough to get the damned book through the crack or sending Keith away by coming up with a ridiculous excuse along the lines of 'I'm not properly dressed right now'. Then again, maybe it could work with Keith, who knew what Galra thought about seeing each other naked, it could be an everyday practice for their community for all he knew. Alright, Keith was only half-Galra but still.

"S-sure, wait a sec," Lance cursed himself inwardly for that little stammer. 'What do I do, what do I do,' he looked around, searching for something that would miraculously save him from the imminent embarrassment, and just as he was about to give up and maybe try escaping through the window (from the third floor, ha) his eyes fell on the towel lying crumpled on his bed. It was still damp from the shower he had taken earlier in the evening and Lance grabbed it like his life depended on it. Not wasting any more precious time he draped the fluffy white cotton over his head, making sure it covered most of his face, and was almost at the door when it dawned on him that half of his beauty products still lay scattered in plain sight on his desk.

"Shit," Lance cursed under his breath and scrambled to shovel them all in the bag, knocking down the mirror in the process and making it fall to the floor with a loud clatter.

"You alright there, Lance?" came Keith's uncertain voice from behind the door and Lance automagically whipped his head in that direction to shout a quick "Yeah, totes!" which, however, cost him his bottle of make-up remover that toppled over after one particularly uncoordinated swipe while he was looking away. And because the universe apparently loved him so much, the cap on the damned bottle was screwed loosely enough for the pinkish liquid to splash all over the front of his white tee.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me!" Lance almost whined, inspecting the damage. Some of the flowery-smelling liquid got on his navy sleeping pants as well but the stain on the front of his shirt was what concerned Lance the most. It'd just have to go. Anyway, he was supposed to be straight out of shower with the whole towel cover-up, so him shirtless would at least be credible. With that thought in mind Lance yanked the tee off himself and straightening the towel on his head rushed to finally open the door.

"Hey, I just got out of shower and was going to dry my hair so, uh, sorry for the wait," the words started tumbling out of his mouth as soon as Lance heard the electric lock give a soft beep and the panel started sliding to the side to reveal his late night visitor. Oh how Lance wished he was here for an entirely different reason, because the whole scenario right now, taking away the actual context, looked a whole lot like something from his mother's cheesy romantic novels (he read those in secret too). Only, perhaps, involving more eye-to-eye contact, which Lance was avoiding like fire by keeping his head low and staring at Keith's torso and hands. Very nice hands, if you asked him, with long pale fingers and neatly cut nails – something a bit unusual for a guy but still pleasant to look at. Like the rest of him.

"Yeah, right, uh," Keith sounded unsure but held out the book he was clutching in the aforementioned nice hands nonetheless. "Here, the book," he added awkwardly and Lance was about to reach out and take it, like a normal human being would, but stopped abruptly as he spotted a streak of glittery blue powder on his forearm. Lance covered a horrified gasp that escaped him at the sight with a small cough and a sniff and hurriedly placed the already outstretched hand on his head, as if he was afraid the towel would slip. He held it there, making a show of drying his hair with short jerky rubs.

"Great, why don't you just drop it somewhere among Hunk's stuff," Lance had no idea what he was doing at this point any more, he just knew Keith absolutely couldn't see neither his face, nor his hands. And that's exactly why he invited him in. Neat.

"His stuff?" Keith sounded so genuinely lost Lance could barely fight the urge to look up at his face to see the expression. Instead he side stepped, letting Keith enter and hunched in on himself a little more, making an awkward nod towards Hunk's desk while carefully retreating to his closet.

"Yep, over there," Lance opened the door again, glancing in the full-length mirror and catching a glimpse of Keith's lean figure, his sufficiently broad shoulders and his perfectly trim waist as he moved across the room in a few strides, depositing the book on top of a pile of Hunk's other manuals. Just as he was turning around, Lance ducked down and pretended to be searching for something on one of the lower shelves, feeling the towel slip a little on his head.

"Done," he heard Keith saying, but no footsteps indicating that he was leaving. Lance hummed in acknowledgement, praying for the boy to just go, yet he faltered for some reason. "I'll, uh," Keith paused, "I guess I'll be on my way then," Lance grunted in response once again and continued his fake search, all the while struggling to catch any sound above that of his own heart, hammering madly in his chest. For a couple more seconds there was none and then, finally, after a soft "Okay" Keith slowly went to the door and Lance heard it slide twice, first open, then shut.

Lance fell back on his butt and let out a long relieved sigh, throwing his head back and letting the towel pool down around his shoulders. His secret was safe, thank God.

"Phew, that was close," he muttered at the ceiling, feeling his heart rate gradually slow down to a normal pace. He really lucked out on this one. Just to think what would happen if Keith, his reluctant crush (like, he didn't choose to be so ridiculously attracted to the half-Galra, no way), was to catch him red-handed. Lance was one hundred and one percent certain he'd never hear the end of it. Probably would even have to leave the Garrison to escape the shame. But not today.

As he scrambled up to a sitting position Lance suddenly spotted the tweezers he had dropped after hearing about Shiro's future cameo on Allura's vlog. They were lying peacefully under the chair, completely oblivious to the drama that had almost transpired in the room. Lance huffed and got on his knees, crawling the short distance to grab the metal object, when the door swished open.

"Listen, I just wanted to ask if you'd like to-"

Lance froze.

Actually, he was pretty sure the whole world froze right at that moment. It was Keith. Keith was back in his room. Because it took the freaking door about two minutes to lock automatically. So now he was staring at Lance, who was down on his knees, facing him, with just a towel around his shoulders. Shit. The towel. Realisation hit Lance like a truck and set him into motion.

"I c- I can explain!" he literally yelled at Keith, trying to stand, but tripping and almost falling face first onto the floor. "I-," almost, because all of a sudden strong arms were being wrapped around his shoulders, steadying him and helping him up. Lance blinked in confusion and looked up at Keith. Who was decidedly Way Too Close now that he still held Lance around the waist and peered with strange intensity right into his eyes.

"You're stunning," Lance couldn't help but gape at Keith for a moment. What. His shocked expression must've been rather impressive because Keith immediately let go of him and even made a little step back, looking nervous and fidgeting a bit. "I mean... This is, I never knew you were-," Keith was obviously struggling and Lance took pity on him.

"A weirdo?" he prompted. Well, that would be a milder version of what people at his home town might call him if they ever found out.

"What- No!" Keith clenched his fists and looked positively ready to fight someone. Hopefully, not Lance. "I mean, I never knew you were already promised to another," and with that Lance could swear he heard gears in his brain screech to a halt. What was this guy going on about?

"Wait, hold your horses, you-"

"I should leave, I didn't mean to disgrace you like that, I'm-," Keith was backing towards the door, pointedly not looking at Lance now and almost tripping himself.

"No, it's not what you-"

"I just wanted to say," Keith was out of the room now and looking down the corridor, but still obviously addressing Lance, "that your chosen mate is the luckiest in this galaxy." And then he left. Just like that.

Lance stood stock still long enough for the door to slide back shut on its own, hearing Keith's parting words in his mind on repeat. Promised? Disgrace him? Chosen mate? What on Earth-?

The lock beeped and the door opened yet again.

"Lance, man, you awake? Shay called me to help her with a project and I barely managed to hop on the last bus. Can you imagine, she actually called instead of just texting or-"

Hunk caught sight of him and trailed off, staring, and to be honest? Lance didn't think he cared that much about being found out any more. Not second time in a row anyway.