#Shiro is just fondly annoyed

[flaming-potato-arson]

Cookie Crumbs, Singing, and Bad Dancing

So I entered the VLD Halloween Exchange (I never got anything but nm) and got @fumiikage. Here’s my entry from 2 ish weeks ago.

“We need to piss Iverson fucking off!”

“He did dare us to enter the talent show.” Hunk reminds Pidge, walking side by side to her in hallway. A laptop and what Keith thinks is a robot is pressed to her chest, a cord dangling by her knees. Shiro’s already tried to wrap it around her wrist but it came unwound anyway. He’s glancing over her shoulder to make sure it somehow doesn’t mysteriously grow an extra feet and trip the no-sleep genius. “Yeah,” Keith says, lifting and stretching his arm awkwardly so a girl can slip past him in the hallway. He tries not to hiss when his elbow hits the dorm wall when she’s past. “But he’s expecting us to do something crazy to win. We need to do the most classic, white thing ever. His favorite. And ruin it for him, so he’ll never forget the time we showed him up when he sees it. Really throw him for a loop and get his blood boiling.”

“White thing” Allura repeats to herself, tucking her face into her scarf a little more. She shifts closer to Shiro unconsciously.

Outside, it’s mid-winter and snow decorates half the city like frosting on a lumpy cupcake. December break is a week and a half  away, and he’s ready to escape the Garrison's dorms for as long as possible. For a prestigious high school, this place was bat shit insane most the time.

(He couldn’t deny he liked it.)

“Iverson has been playing Christmas music non-stop in class. Singing Christmas songs is white-person-y” Pidge trails off, biting her thumb. “We need someone who can sing.“ She snaps her head up, light reflecting off her glasses haphazardly. Keith feels his shoulders jump, but he ignores it to catch Pidge’s rant as they walk through the hall to Lance’s dorm. The one he shared with Keith and Hunk.

"-Iverson is a dick, as we all know, so of course he plays the oldest, catchy Christmas ear-worms...Jingle Bells isn't good enough, Carol of the Bells is too old-fashioned to ruin it, Hark the Harold Angel Sings needs a damn chipmunk to hit those notes" she snaps, nearly dropping her robot. "All I Want for Christmas is You is his favorite. He played it for an hour and a half straight, I kid you not. I can still hear it in my ears. The whole class probably can. Let's wreck it."

"Alright, so we've picked the song. Now we just need somebody to sing it." Keith nods, recalling the cheery music and screams he had heard passing Iverson's class one day. "Knowing Iverson, they'll have to sing it perfectly. Otherwise, he'll find a way to criticize it." Shiro pointed out, turning the corner behind Pidge. "So, we just need someone with the voice of an angel." Allura snorts. "Plenty of those here, in an academic and sports based boarding school." Hunk adds, stopping in front the door to his, Keith's, and Lance's dorm. "Maybe Lance will know someone?" Allura sounds hopeful. Hunk's silver key slots in the key hole with a quiet click.  "Who doesn't he know?" Pidge asks, tossing a look over her shoulder. Hunk twists the key and the knob. "We'll just have to look around and hope for the best."

Two things waft out of the open door: the warm smell of peanut butter cookies baking. They aren't Hunk's, but warm cookies always remind Keith of late nights sitting cross legged in front of the stove with a younger Shiro, watching round circles of dough bake. The tile floor would be warmed by the dingy stove in front of them, and they'd guess which ones would end up burnt. It was usually most of them. 

And the voice of a literal angel.

If he was a sinner, this voice would be the thing that made him repent.

It's gorgeously high and low, clear and in tune with the song. Each syllable is strong, concise, and obviously practiced. It was the voice of an angel rehearsing. It was beautiful. It was-

"-every mistletoe, until I know it's true love, he thinks of, so next Christmas, I'm not all alone boy- "

Singing a pop song.

"Santa, tell me, if you're really there-"

Keith slowly steps inside, clutching his messenger bag in his hand so it doesn't bang off his hip and hit the wall. Edging inside, he beckons two crooked fingers at the team of Verified Organisms Looking To Rage On Nit-Pickers (they didn't count the p because of the hyphen) to inch inside with him. Cautious breath sharpens his focus. Carefully, he peers into the kitchen.

A tacky radio plays out the song on the countertop. The window is closed, grey curtains leaving the lights to electrically brighten the room.  A tall, young woman twists the dials on the stove, long, light brown hair trailing neatly down the slope of her back. "Santa tell me, if he really cares-" Scattered dirty mixing bowls and a mess of cookie cutters and leftover cookies dough are placed around a smiling, red-faced toddler. He laughs, grabbing at the long, tan fingers playing with him, combing his hair or tugging his clothes.  The hands lead up to skinny arms with lean muscle, which curve inward to broad shoulders and sharp collarbones above a solid chest and narrowed waist. Rocking heels sway long legs and hips.

"-someone to hold, be my fire in the cold-"

All of that (glorious body) was under a smooth neck and narrow chin. Soft lips sing out the next line.

"-Or if it's true love, that he thinks of, -”

Lips he's seen before.

(Okay, fantasized.)

That glorious voice, is coming from Lance.

Lance fucking McClain, the memeiest of VOLTRON and target of Iverson.

Hell yes.

“Lance! You can sing?" Pidge screeches. Two reactions whip through Lance. His left arm is a literal blur as he smacks the radio off the counter. Cradled in his right is his baby nephew. Surprise and concern (and a little bit of fear and something new) sharpen his face.

"You bet your life my brother can sing." The woman snorts, turning around from where she had bent to take out a sheet of cookies. "Our uncle was a chorus teacher and no way in this world was he going to leave his nephew tone deaf." She slips off the oven mitts and dusts off her hands.  Her wide, demanding posture looked hilarious compared to Lance's awkward one. The toddler stretches out his arms from Lance's hold. His mom hauls her purse on her shoulder, throws the bowls in the sink, and takes the gurgling kid from Lance. "Name it, Lance can sing it. That's the last tray, I hope you won't eat all of them yourself, but that's always a hope. I've got to get home, love you little bro, don't forget to study!" A Confident Mom Whirlwind passes them in the hallway before the door in being closed with a bang.

"Hey, Lance. I've got a plan..."

"Oh God, oh God, that's a big crowd..."

Lance sways side to side in place, hand discreetly holding back part of the curtain. Loud, rambunctious teenagers and stoic teachers fill the seats. The Talent Show would start in 5 minutes, but Lance wasn't even going first. His fidgeting hands shouldn't be tugging at his jacket this early. That new, unusual emotion shouldn't be playing in his face. "Hey," Keith says. "Want to make fun of the other acts while we wait?" "What?" Lance asks, dropping the curtain back into place. The audience disappears behind it.  His pink face is turned towards Keith and his arms are wrapped around his stomach.

"Well, see that girl on stilts?" Keith points to the girl in the 4 foot stilts and strange sheets. "Give me the craziest story for her.” "Ah" Lance bites the tip of his finger, clearly thinking, checks still light pink. (Holy shit- that is cute, get it together Kogane-) "Girl high on smoke from burning hotel room that was used by a drug dealer becomes stilt walker?" Keith snorts. "Sure. Now, what's his?"

"Now, Lance McClain, singing "All I Want for Christmas is You!" 

This time, Lance's cheeks are starting to burn and Keith can clearly tell what that emotion from the first time he heard Lance sing was: embarrassment.

He steps on stage, pushing back the curtain, leaving the rest of VOLTRON in the shadowy wings of the stage

Even in jeans and a baseball tee, he's damn gorgeous, bright lights bringing out his beauty.

He stands. Brings the mic to his lips.

"I don't want a lot for Christmas..."

(The note hangs in the air and Lance's cheeks are on fire.)

Except Keith.

Impulsively, he jumps out on to the stage, ratty flannel on his hips and beanie smooshing his hair. He's even surprising himself.  The audience stares at him in shock, most having jumped back from the bang he made. Lance looks back over his shoulder.

Keith starts interpretively dancing.

Putting on a sassy face, he wags his finger.

Oh God, what am I doing?

There's a few giggles from the audience. But more importantly, the thing that convinces him to stay of this damn stage and make a fool of himself, is Lance's reassured smile.

"There is just one thing I need,"

He sticks up a finger and holds his hand close to his heart, sweet grin on his face.

"I don't care about the presents..."

Keith walks across the stage briskly, dismissively waving his hand.

He stops and folds himself into a box, crouching down.

"Underneath the Christmas tree..."

He springs back animatedly and hangs his arms over the spot he was in, mimicking branches.

"I don't need to hang my stocking, There upon the fireplace..."

Spinning around, he pushes a tack into the air before frowning at it.

"Santa Claus won't make me happy..."

Keith crosses his arms and huffs. 

"With a toy on Christmas Day!”

With loud, heavy thumps he clomps across the stage like a Nutcracker.Â

"I just want you for my own, More than you could ever know..."

(God, that was true)

Keith points out to the crowd, then pokes the top of his head.

"Make my wish come true, All I want for Christmas is you, You baby!"

First, he clasps his hands together and turns to them imaginary sky. And then, he points to the crowd and makes incredibly awkward rocking motions.

"Oh, I won't ask for much this Christmas..," 

He crosses his arms as an x.

"I won't even wish for snow...."

This is where he takes the awkwardness of dancing horribly on stage to a new level. He shakes his head, and then proceeds to wiggle his fingers while dragging them down through the air

"And I'm just gonna keep on waiting...."

A giant clock motion that involves both his arms.

"Underneath the mistletoe!"

Pinching his fingers, Keith shakes them over his head, stepping closer to Lance

"I won't make a list and send it , To the North Pole for Saint Nick....”

He scribbles quickly and slices his hand out, like he was throwing a playing card

"I won't even stay awake to, Hear those magic reindeer click!" 

More wagging fingers and snapping.

"Cause I just want you here tonight 

Holding on to me so tight...."

Keith wraps his arms around himself and takes big, wide, spinning steps

" What more can I do?

He throws up his arms and gives the crowd a what-can-you-do-about-it face. "Baby all I want for Christmas is you! You you you baby!"

More crazed pointing and irregular rocking.

"And everyone is singing, I hear those sleigh bells ringing!”

He shakes his fists and cups his ear. "Santa won't you bring me the one I really need? Won't you please bring my baby to me?"

He sways to the song, making a fist and pulling it down to his heart. 

"Oh, I don't want a lot for Christmas, This is all I'm asking for...."

The notes are slowing down, Lance's voice really being tested. It was sweet and slow and perfect, and Keith would've given anything to bask in it longer. 

"I just want to see my baby...

Honestly shady, he points two fingers to his eyes then flicks them out at the crowd. Then, more aggressive rocking motions.

"Standing right outside my door...."

He draws a doorframe with his hands and steps through. 

"Oh I just want you for my own, More than you could ever know..."

Keith sways over to Lance, and drapes himself over his back, putting a finger to Lance's temple. "Make my wish come true...."

It's been a long, impulsive night for Keith. And with a blinding smile from Lance and warm, soft skin beneath him, Keith literally could not make the wrong choice in his eyes.

He leans around and kisses Lance square on the mouth.

After the pause, Lance pulls back, face redder than ever.

"Oh, baby all I want for Christmas is you ,yo-ou baby." The voice crack does not go unnoticed.

The crowd hoots and hollers. Wolf whistles fill the room.

Twisting Lance to face him better, Keith pulls him down to his lips. The crowd's screaming, cheering, going utterly completely wild, but their energy couldn't match the feelings in their kiss. Lance winds an arm between them, the other holding the mic, and grips the hair at the back of his neck. Keith is slowly putting his back to the crowd, shifting for a better position but too caught up in the now to move quickly. Hot, pliable lips push back against his and trust and passion charge his motions. He responds desperately to Lance, the first sweet caramel taste just a temptation for the thirst in him.

The noise Lance makes when he bites Lance's lower lip gets caught in the mic.

And now they're both red, panting. Hurriedly, Lance shoves the mic in the announcer's hand and grabs Keith, sprinting backstage, away from the screaming.

They make out in a dark corner until they hear the announcer's slightly confused voice.  

"And the winners are.... Klance? What?

Breaking their lip lock, Lance gasps for air and pulls back, gulping air deeply like it'll glue his composure together. "C'mon, we won." He smirks, quickly fixing Keith to look as presentable as possible before pulling him off the wooden block. Lance forgets to straighten his clothes.

The masses start their trademark unholy screeching.

[autisticlancemcclain]

“And for the tasks we have today…” Allura says, flipping to a page in her sparkly pink planner (a gift from Pidge and Lance via the space mall, that Allura loved to pieces), “we need two people for a supply run, and one person to do that diplomatic mission for the Coalitions newest ally.”

“Do you have anyone in particular in mind?”

“Nope! Up to you.”

“Alright,” Shiro says, “I know Pidge and Hunk have that hyrdroponic system they’re hoping to work on today, so that leaves them out.”

“Coran mentioned he wanted to test his new training sim for any errors before he has us try it,” Allura adds.

“So that leaves you, me, Keith, and Lance available,” Shiro summarizes.

The words aren’t even out of his mouth before Allura’s hand fly to her nose: “Dibs on free time!” she shouts, and Shiro scowls.

“Not fair,” he complains, but Allura just shrugs at him.

“Bulk up the reflexes, beefcake,” she says, and dear Lord he needs to keep Pidge as far away from the princess as possible, apparently.

“Fine,” Shiro concedes with a sigh. “I guess I’ll go on the supply run.” He grins, suddenly remembering something that makes him very happy about this arrangement, actually.

Allura narrows her eyes. “Why are you happy about that. You should not be happy about that. You hate supply runs.”

Shiro rubs his hands together like a cartoon villain, because he feels like one, and it’s great. “I do hate supply runs. But. I was up early this morning, and I happened to see Keith come out of Lance’s room instead of his own, and I am suddenly very grateful for several hours locked in a pod with him, where he cannot leave the conversation and I can be as annoying as possible.”

“Hey, you withheld information! That’s not fair! If I had known there was klance drama I would’ve taken the supply run!”

Shiro smiles smugly at her. “Bulk up on the reconnaissance, beefcake,” he taunts.

Allura rolls her eyes. “It sounds dorky when you say it.”

Unfortunately she is correct, but Shiro left his dignity behind on Earth several years ago, so it truly does not matter.

“Don’t care,” Shiro says serenely. “Anyways, that leaves Lance for the diplomatic mission, which is good. He’s great at those, and he seems to like them. Well, I think he does.”

Allura raises an eyebrow. “You think?”

“I genuinely cannot get a read on him. Every time I give him a solo diplomatic mission, he gets this — pinched expression, almost? But then he gets all excited about making friends, so. I’m not sure how to interpret that one.”

“That is strange,” Allura agrees. “He’s usually pretty straightforward.”

“I know! But he does a really good job on the missions, so I think he’s happy with them? If he asks me to stop then I will, but until then…”

“No, I think he’s fine. He might just be nervous, you know he sometimes doubts himself.”

“Oh, that makes sense. I’ll make sure to remind him that we’re proud of him.”

“Good. We’re done here, then? I have free time to enjoy.”

Shiro sticks his tongue out at her. “Yes, you horrible cheater.”

She smirks back at him, gathering her sparkly planner and several dozen gel pens up before prancing out of the briefing room, wiggling her fingers in a smug little wave, because she is a horrible jerk.

Shiro rolls his eyes fondly, pulling up the files for the diplomatic mission and sending Lance a quick message on the comms, asking him to come down. It’s really only a sort of official welcoming into the Coalition; getting paperwork signed and meeting all necessary government officials, which is why it’s a one-paladin job. And Lance is one of their best in terms of socializing, so he gets sent on these missions often.

“Is that the mission folder?”

The voice comes suddenly, right next to his ear, making Shiro screech and jump so hard he nearly falls out of his chair.

“Jesus Christ, Holy Joseph, and the Mother Mary!” he shouts, pressing a hand on top of his galloping heart. He glares at the perpetrator. “Why do you keep doing that, Lance?!”

“S — sorry,” Lance tries, but he’s laughing to much for Shiro to buy it.

“You are not sorry, you little jackass,” Shiro snaps, but there is very little heat behind it. “You enjoy doing that every time.”

“I would enjoy it less if you had a less funny reaction.”

“My reaction is not that funny.”

“Shiro, you act like an astonished old Catholic lady. It’s funny every time.”

“It’s not that funny! Lots of people yell the lord’s name in vain when they’re startled!”

“Shiro, you’re a Buddhist.”

“Which is why it’s okay for me to do it! It’s not a sin for me!”

“Whatever, you goober,” Lance says. “Tell me about the mission.”

Shiro glares at Lance one last time, just so he knows he is Not Forgiven, before moving on.

“Right. The newest planet to join the Coalition — planet Juyin — needs our official welcoming spiel, and you’re my best bet to get that done. You’re very good at making people at ease.” Shiro makes sure to slip in a compliment, keeping his and Allura’s conversation in mind.

Lance still gets the pinched expression.

“Okay,” he says, and turns his gaze towards the file, biting his lip as he reads it over.

Shiro is familiar with the routine. Lance will read the file carefully, every word, then ask Shiro a million questions about the planet’s cultural norms — “Is eye contact seen as a form of aggression?” “Am I allowed to speak without asking permission, or is that offensive?” “Can I wear my paladin armour or do I need to get fancy clothes?” “Is there a type of greeting I should memorize?” — that are very thoughtful, and that Shiro can never answer.

(They usually end up asking Coran.)

Then Lance will slowly lose his pinched expression as he learns more about the planet’s culture, getting excited about all the people he’s going to meet an inevitably befriend, and then he’s off to complete the mission with ease. (After which he comes home and immediately ducks into his room, because “I’ve been smiling all day, Shiro, I need to do some extra skincare or I’ll get wrinkles. Do you want me to get wrinkles?”)

Lance finishes reading the file, then turns to face Shiro. Shiro braces himself for an onslaught of questions, and readies himself to message Coran —

“Is this your way of quietly kicking me off Voltron?”

— and freezes.

Huh?

“Pardon?”

Lance swallows roughly, eyes trained on his fidgety hands.

“Um, I asked if this is your way of kicking me off the team,” Lance repeats.

Shiro has never felt more like his brain was completely empty, because he has no fucking clue what to say.

“No, I got that,” he says, unsure how to proceed. “I just don’t understand where it’s coming from, buddy.”

“Well, you’re setting me up to fail, right? Giving me missions that I can’t do very well until I inevitably screw up, so then you have a real reason to get rid of me?”

Shiro feels completely lost. What is going on?

“Lance, I don’t understand. Why would I ever want you off my team?”

Lance shrugs. His eyes are still downcast, but to Shiro’s horror, a tear drips down his cheek.

“I dunno. I can’t really offer much, not like everyone else. And I’m frustrating and annoying and I mess up a lot and I’m not very smart and most people only tolerate me because they have to and —”

“Lance, breathe,” Shiro interrupts, scrambling forward to kneel in front of Lance, holding his hands tightly. “In and out, buddy, just like I’m doing. Take a minute. In and out. Just like that. Good, okay? You’re doing great.”

The tears don’t stop when Lance stops hyperventilating; if anything, they drip down faster.

Shiro has no idea how the situation slipped from him so fast.

“Lance, no one is frustrated with you, or annoyed. You’re plenty smart. No one ‘puts up with you’, we hang out with because we like you. Where’s this coming from, kiddo?”

Lance shrugs, sniffling. “You keep sending me on missions I can’t do right. When I fail, you’re not going to say it, obviously, but then you’ll have an excuse to tell me that I can’t be the blue paladin anymore and it’ll be out of your hands.”

Shiro is so confused, and a definitely little panicky. Where on Earth — or in space — is this coming from? How long has Lance been feeling this way?

And, most importantly: how can Shiro fix it?

“Lance,” Shiro says gently, “I send you on these types of missions because you’re very good at them, and because you always look excited about meeting new people. I am absolutely not looking for a reason to get rid of you; and even if I was, I would never be so underhanded about it. I promise. But seriously, hun, where is this coming from?”

Lance’s chin trembles, and more tears stream down his face. He untangles his hands from Shiro’s to press them tightly to his face. “That’s what Iverson did,” he says, muffled. “He would give me simulations that we’re different than everyone else’s and really hard for me, because he knew I’d mess up and then he’d have more of an excuse to kick me out of fighter class. I figured you were doing the same because you only really send me on the solo diplomatic missions, so.”

Shiro feels an intense mix of fury, guilt, and sorrow whirl around in his stomach. Fury because fuck Iverson — Shiro has always hated that man — and everything he’s done to Lance, who most certainly did not deserve it, and especially not as a young, still-learning kid. Guilt because he cannot believe he’s been putting Lance through this — however accidentally — and not noticed. And sorrow because, obviously, Lance is hurting, and he hates it when his kids are hurting.

“I’m not doing what Iverson is doing, Lance,” Shiro promises quietly. “I send you on these missions because I never realized you struggled with them. I thought you liked them.”

Lance peeks through his fingers to glance at Shiro, brown eyes wet and rimmed with red. When he evidently decides that Shiro is telling the truth, he drops his hands from his face, slipping them back under Shiro’s. Shiro takes the hint, squeezing them again.

“I like the part where I get to meet new people,” Lance says. “But it’s hard because I can’t read human social cues very well, let alone alien ones, so I always think I’m going to fuck up and then they’re going to get mad and call off the alliance and then their people will be unprotected and it will be all my fault. And I do fuck up all the time, too. I keep having to make up lies so they don’t know I fucked up. Like, last week I had to tell the S’eetns that plugging your ears when someone is talking to you is a human custom that means you find your conversation partner very intriguing, because they had really screechy voices and I couldn’t handle it and they got mad. I was so scared they wouldn’t believe me because I’m not very good at lying, but they did, but I was still nervous, and —”

Shiro is the king of all dumbasses. Like, seriously. He’s an idiot.

No shit Lance is having a hard time on these missions. God.

“Lance,” Shiro interrupts, “are you autistic?”

“Um, yeah?

“I didn’t know that, kiddo.”

Lance blinks. “Oh. I thought everyone knew.”

“Lance, if I knew, I never — not in a million years — would send you into intentionally stressful situations alone. Never.”

“Oh,” Lance says again, in a much smaller voice. “That makes a lot more sense. I didn’t think you were a jerk, I just thought I was being a screwup and you didn’t know how to tell me.”

“You are not a screwup, Lance McClain,” Shiro says firmly. “You are exceptional. I mean — look at you! You spent God knows how long doing these missions perfectly, even though it was unbelievably hard for you. That’s incredible.”

For the first time since this whole mess came to light, Lance smiles. It’s a small smile, but it’s a start.

“I guess so,” he says. His smile drops. “Does that mean I have to do this mission anyway?”

“Absolutely not, Lance, God,” Shiro says, aghast. “I’m proud of your strength, but I’m not going to make you keep suffering now that I know that you are, okay? God. I’m so sorry, Lance.”

Lance shrugs. “It’s fine. I liked the socializing part, anyway, so it wasn’t all bad. Besides, it’s not like I can never do a diplomatic mission again, or anything. I just maybe need to do it with a partner so they can tell me if I’m being a weirdo; that way I won’t be so scared that I’m going to fuck up all the time.”

“It’s not fine, Lance, and you’re not a weirdo.”

Lance makes a face. “I mean, objectively —”

“No, Lance. Listen to me. Are you listening to me?”

Lance looks at him with wide eyes, shocked by his intensity. He nods.

“You’re not a weirdo. I mean it. You’re just fine the way you are. And it’s not fine that I put you through that; I’m sorry and it won’t happen again.”

“I’m really not angry with you, Shiro. Seriously. I forgive you, or whatever. It was an accident, okay?”

Shiro’s clearly not going to get anything else out of him, so he decides to take what he can get.

“Alright, bud. Okay.” He squeezes Lance’s hands one more time, before moving to get up — Jesus Christ, that’s hell on his knees, he should have thought that one through and sat down, or something; but whatever, Lance is feeling better, so it’s worth it — and sit back down on his chair.

“Okay. Well, now that we’re on the same page, what do you think, Lance? Where should we go from here?”

As much as Shiro just wants to wrap Lance up in a million blankets and keep him away from anything that will every hurt him again, he realizes that that’s a guilty overreaction, and likely not what Lance needs. The best thing he can do for Lance, right now, is be as clear as possible so he doesn’t make mistakes like this in the future.

“Well, you were right on one part, like I mentioned,” Lance says, after thinking for a moment. “I like the social part. It’s fun. And so long as I’m not actively doing something wrong, I like the diplomacy stuff, too. But I’m always nervous because I feel like I’m going to say something wrong, or I’ll miss something and do something wrong. So that part kind of ruins the enjoyment part.”

“Okay — so what do you think will make that easier?”

“Maybe if I didn’t have to go alone?” Lance suggests. “Like, I have no problems when we do diplomacy missions as a team. I know we can’t afford to send everyone on these smaller missions, but maybe if I had a partner, it wouldn’t be so stressful?”

“That sounds great,” Shiro encourages. “We can do that. What else makes these missions hard?”

“Um, as much as I have fun, they’re kind of draining?”

Shiro hums. “I see. Is that why you always disappear into your room afterwards?”

“Yeah. It’s a lot of sound and light and stuff like that, so it’s nice to just quiet down after. And, some cultures are less direct than others, so I have a harder time trying to figure out the etiquette and what they’re trying to tell me, which is really draining. So sometimes I’m really exhausted after.”

“That makes sense. Hey, Lance —” Shiro gently bumps their shoulders together — “this is all easily doable, okay? This is not a problem in any way. We can make this happen. We want to make this happen, make this less stressful for you, okay?”

Lance takes a deep breath, shoulders slumping as he exhales. Most of the stress on his face fades, and he shoots Shiro a small, relieved smile.

“Okay,” he says. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, kiddo. I mean it. I want you to come to me if you’re struggling — we’re a team. I want to help you, not find an excuse to get angry with you. We’ll fix things together, but I can only do that if you come to me. Promise you’ll do your best?”

“I promise.”

“Good. Do you still want to do that mission today? I’ll go with you; Allura can go on the supply run with Keith; she’ll be happy about that.”

Lance brightens. “Yeah! Coran was telling me about the Juyins, they sound so cool! They have laser eyes. I can’t wait to meet them!”

Lance gets up, gathering the forgotten file and tucking it under his arm. Shiro follows him as he makes his way out of the briefing room, chattering all the while about all the awesome things the Juyins can do, and how much fun he and Shiro are going to have on the planet.

It’s very endearing. Shiro is very relieved he got the chance to sort this out with Lance, even if it was a difficult conversation to have, and also very pleased with how things turned out: it makes more sense to have a pair go on diplomatic missions, anyway. This decision was one he should have made months ago.

“Oh, by the way,” Lance says, stopping in his tracks. “Why did you say Allura would be excited to go on the supply run with Keith? She hates supply runs.”

If Shiro didn’t know Lance, he’d assume it was simply an innocent, offhandedly curious question.

But he does know Lance, even better now than before. And he can see exactly what that question is really asking.

“Don’t worry, Loverboy,” he says drily. “She’s not fighting you for Keith, promise.”

“That’s not why I was asking,” Lance says hotly, lying like a liar.

Shiro raises a teasing eyebrow.

“I’m serious,” he insists, but his red face gives him away.

“Okay, okay,” Shiro says, pretending to surrender. He waits a moment for Lance’s blush to fade, then strikes:

“She’s excited because she heard Keith came out of your room this morning, and is very interested to interrogate him and find out why.”

As expected, the flush explodes back on Lance’s face, and he immediately starts sputtering.

“That’s not — it’s not what it — how did she know —”

“Maybe I should send Keith with you instead of me, huh?” Shiro teases, and Lance yells.

“No! Fuck off! It’s not — you suck!” he shouts, decking Shiro in the arm.

Shiro laughs. “Oh, buddy,” he says, slinging an arm around Lance’s shoulder. “I thought I was going to get to bother Keith today, but this is so much better. You are going to be stuck in a lion with me for several hours. I cannot wait.”

Lance scowls, but doesn’t try to shove Shiro off, which tells Shiro all he needs to know. “I changed my mind. I don’t want your help anymore, I can do this alone. Ugh.”

Shiro presses a kiss to Lance’s head, ruffling his hair.

“Not a chance, kiddo,” he says over Lance’s grumbles, “not a chance.”

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid 115

115

115

   Lance fully accepted he was going to be in trouble with Keith. He was too cold to care, regretting not just taking a nap in the main cabin where it was heated by the fireplace. He’d found the quilt, embarrassed by how dirty they’d got it, and had decided to scrub it clean, then his stomach had rebelled, leaving him feeling lousy. Now he was using up all the hot water huddled on the floor of the shower, his by an intense feeling of loneliness that made him feel stupid, and sure Keith would be slightly annoyed there was no hot water if he wanted to shower. He’d felt nauseous at Matt’s scent, now he supposed he was reaping the rewards of his stupidity. Why did it have to be so far from the shower to the bed? He’d had enough blood to have the energy to move. Keith had made the shake almost more blood than shake... but he felt wiped out. Almost as if he hadn’t fed at all. God... This sucked... he was so fucking tired.

     *

Entering the cabin, Keith didn’t need to look for Lance. Hearing the shower, he headed into the bathroom area. The person who’d designed the cabin obviously had no shame. Any sane person would have hidden the toilet instead of the bath and half the shower. Curled into a small ball, Lance had ditched his clothes, Keith sighing fondly at the sight in front of him, unable to blame Lance for seeking out warmth, though he was annoyed to find his boyfriend had hand washed the quilt they’d messed up. He was supposed to check if there was a laundry in the main cabin, but had decided it could wait for later.

  Sticking his hand in the water to reach the taps, it wasn’t warm. He’d expected warm water. What was the point of being in the shower if it wasn’t warm?

“Babe?”

Lance didn’t answer him, his stomach dropping as he crouched down to shake Lance’s shoulder

“Babe, it’s Keith. Can you hear me?”

Lance felt like ice. Gathering his naked boyfriend up, Keith rushed him through the to bed, laying him down before jogging back to grab a towel. All sorts of panicked thoughts in his head. What if Lance had slipped? What if he’d fainted? What if something had happened to the baby? He needed to get him dry and get him warm.

  Towelling Lance off, Lance mumbled at him, and Keith nearly kissed him for it. Mumbling out he was sleeping, changed how Keith saw the situation. The shower must have been warm when Lance climbed in. His boyfriend so tired he’d fallen asleep mid-shower... not that he knew for sure, but Lance was skilled at sleeping in the bath

“Matt, I don’t know if you can hear me but I need you to send Shiro down to our cabin. Lance is really, really cold”

Speaking louder than normal, he really hoped his voice carried enough to be heard over the game the others were playing.

  Towelling Lance over twice, his boyfriend begged to be allowed to sleep, sounding agitated over being cared for. Keith had only gotten as far as putting underwear on his boyfriend when Shiro practically burst into the cabin, making Keith flinch away. The moment Shiro was in the space, the space felt invaded. He felt like Shiro was angry father bursting in to yell at him for making a mess, or to bust him for something someone else in the house blamed him for. Childhood trauma never really faded. Sensing he’d upset him, Shiro raised his hands to show he had nothing in them, taking careful steps towards Lance

“What’s happening?”

“He fell asleep in the shower and the water went cold. His body temperature’s dropped. I need help getting him dressed and up to the main cabin to warm him back up”

“Okay. You hold him and I’ll help dress him”

  Lance didn’t like Shiro touching him. His boyfriend baring his fangs as he roused enough to open those pretty blue eyes of his for a few moments before falling back to sleep. Keith wondered if his protruding teeth mean he was hungry. Pricking his thumb on Lance’s left fang, he slid the digit into Lance’s mouth, Lance sucking lightly

“Keith...”

The way his brother said his name was a warning

“I know. It’s to kick start his body enough for it to realise it’s warmer than it was”

“Does that work?”

No clue. Lance sucking his thumb made it kind of hard to keep the blood flowing to the brain he actually needed

“Can’t hurt to try. I’ll explain it to him later. My main priority is getting him warm again. He’s got his pyjamas in there somewhere. We’ll put them under his main clothes...”

“We should probably grab a blanket too. He did say he wanted to be a “Lance burrito””

“He can be as much of a burrito as he likes once he’s dressed. Shit. I think his boots are in the bathroom”

“I’ll grab them”

   Keith had plenty of experiences being on Lance’s end of things and a few with Shiro in Lance’s position when the loss of Adam was still raw. He loved his brother, but Shiro hadn’t been pregnant with his baby. He’d felt sick to his stomach that he hadn’t been able to do more for Shiro on the nights alcohol shouldered all Shiro’s pain. The best he could do was clean his brother up, get him changed, then into bed. Now he was facing all those feeling again with Lance being so tired. He knew he shouldn’t force his blood on Lance, but Coran said Lance got more from fresh blood. He just hadn’t expected Lance’s tongue to rub against his finger or his boyfriend to whole heartedly suck at his bleeding thumb. Lance was definitely not going to be happy with him. He’d overthink things, then apologise to everyone, simply for falling asleep in the shower. Keith had done that before. Coming back from missions bone tired then showering before he’d had coffee. He was still panicked but unbelievably relieved that it hadn’t been a slip that resulted in Lance on the bathroom floor. Getting Lance into his pants showed no signs associated with slipping.

   With Lance wrapped up like the burrito he longed to be, Keith shooed Shiro off, carrying his boyfriend himself. Lance was snoring now, adorable as hell as he did. His teeth had shrunk back, no longer poking out. Carrying Lance into the cabin, Pidge and Hunk both hit worried mode at the sight of him, Matt and Rieva had moved from in front of the fire, so he could settle down his vampire burrito

“Is he okay? What happened? I thought he was going for nap”

Ahhh Hunk. The constant worrier of the group

“He fell asleep in the shower. He’s fine, fast asleep and the cabin’s like ridiculously cold. So I thought it better he nap in here”

“What kind of idiot falls asleep in the shower?”

Hunk shot Pidge down

“Don’t you start. The amount of times you have and Lance has put you to bed...”

Pidge snappy as she replied

“Shut up. I was drunk”

“Still counts. Why’s he all bundled up if he was in the shower?”

Settling down with Lance propped up against him, Keith kept his arms around him, almost possessively

“He was asleep long enough for the hot water to run out”

“Damn. That’s some bad luck. Luckily he had you to take care of him”

Keith rolled his eyes at Pidge’s teasing tone

“You just wish you’d bundled yourself up”

“Maybe. He does look all cozy like that”

“He’s a Lance burrito”

“And you’re more whipped than Matt. What are we going to do if Lance is napping here? We can’t wake him up”

“I think he’s pretty dead to the world down there”

Keith groaned at Shiro. He saw what he did there

“You’re not funny... but you’re right. I don’t think he’s going to wake up anytime soon”

“Soooo... wanna play the game with us?”

Keith was content to hold Lance, but Lance would scold him for wasting time he could have been using to bond with the others

“I’m not great at games”

He didn’t mind them, he just didn’t have the same degree of interest as Matt and Pidge did. Pidge shrugged it off

“We know, that’s why you’ll be on Hunk’s team. You can be losers together”

    *

The Lance burrito didn’t stir until it was nearly dinner time. Keith sending Pidge for a pillow so his boyfriend would be comfortable sleeping on the floor. His boyfriend made a cute burrito, rolling back and forth when one side would get too warm. Pidge and Shay were going to give him a moustache with permanent marker. Shiro volunteering to do the eyebrows. Keith didn’t find it that funny seeing it wasn’t Lance’s fault he was out of energy. Besides, they weren’t being creative enough.

  Having bummed out of the game on account of his terrible drawing skills, he’d contented himself with his camera again. Lance wasn’t as bad as he thought he was, though he did manage to chop off heads and get his thumb in a couple of shots. He’d got a lot of Keith, and a lot of Kosmo. The pampered pooch sleeping next to Lance on his back... his dog just a little bit special, because there was no way sleeping on his back all the time could be actually comfortable.

  Lance woke in time to bolt for the kitchen, throwing up in the sink. The smell of chicken soup in the air didn’t seem to agree with the vampire. Hunk nearly dropping his wooden spoon over suddenly having Lance hacking up in the sink. Thankfully Shay had decided that watching Lance take a nap was a good idea, leaving them to it, as the others kind of did their own thing. Lance was a talker. Sometimes Keith forgot that there was a thing called “comfortable silence”, and they weren’t all being quiet because he’d done something wrong. Hunk was rubbing Lance’s back, as Keith headed into the kitchen

“He okay, man?”

Keith laughed it off, hoping he was being convincing

“You know vampire and human food. He loves it, until it decides to come back up. He’s got a snack stash in the cabin”

“Man... he hid it so well. I always thought it was a him thing, like he had too pee or something”

  Heaving himself dry, Lance let himself sink back into Keith’s arms as Keith turned the tap on to destroy the evidence

“Why do I taste blood?”

“Because you had it for breakfast and lunch?”

“Oh... ugh. I feel like I napped for hours”

“You did. Fell asleep in the shower”

Lance hummed, Keith noticing the way his boyfriend was still gripping the sink and hoping he was going to throw up again seeing it kind of looked like Hunk’s chicken soup

“Oh... I remember now... the hot water felt too good and it felt like too much effort to move”

“Idiot. I found you on the shower floor. The water went cold”

“That explains so much. I’m nice and warm now”

  Matt interrupted, walking into the kitchen to inspect the large pot of soup

“Talking about nice and warm, Rieva and I are going to take a run before dinner. Have we got time?”

Hunk nodded

“Yep. Give it half an hour and it’ll be ready. Though I’m not sure you should be running around in the slush left behind from the snow”

Matt hugged Hunk

“Not that kind of run, bro. If it’s only half an hour, we’ll save it for tonight”

Hunk redden as he realised

“Oh...”

“All good, man. You’re still getting there. Lance on the other hand has no excuse. If you can’t regulate your temperature, don’t go falling asleep in the shower”

Lance huffed at his friend

“It’s not my fault. It was so nice and warm... seriously, the weather wasn’t suppose to be this cold”

“It looks like it’ll warm up tomorrow. Drink some blood and perk up”

“I’m getting there... I’m allowed to be sleepy”

“Actually, Keith fed you, so you really should have more energy”

  Keith shot Matt a glare

“What makes you say that?”

“Smelt it on you. Plus, you’ve got a scratch on your thumb”

Pulling out his hold, Lance frowned at him, finally putting space between him and the sink

“Babe... No. We talked about this”

“Relax, your teeth were sticking out”

Lance’s right hand came up to cover his mouth self consciously, his left arm wrapping around his waist in a self hug

“Stupid fucking teeth��

“Babe, it’s fine. No one saw, other than Shiro”

“That’s beside the point. These stupid things have a mind of their own”

Now he was in trouble with his boyfriend. Matt could kindly fuck off, though he had a better idea of how to get his revenge. Leaning in, the hunter whispered in his boyfriend’s ear

“Actually, it was pretty hot having you suck on me like that”

  Lance choked on air. Matt scrunching his brow

“Really, man? Was it worth it?”

“Yep. It shut your big mouth up, didn’t it?”

“I don’t want to hear about your kinks”

Hunk simply looked lost, sighing to himself as he went back to his soup

“Babe...”

“It’s fine. You should really have something to eat. You haven’t eaten much, and it’s not good for you”

“Shay...”

“Shay’s taking a nap, man. Keith’s right. Have some blood, take a load off. We’ve got dinner covered”

  Lance raised an eyebrow over how blasé Hunk was being

“See, our chef agrees. Do you want blood or shake? It’s probably better if you have a shake”

“Can we not discuss this? Like... like this”

Lance waved his hand, not okay with things. Keith didn’t see that much of an issue. Hunk knew and accepted it. Maybe he’d been feeling too much love to think about how Lance would react

“Dude, it’s fine. Why don’t you have some wine and relax?”

“See. Hunk’s totally okay with it”

“It’s still weird. Fine, I’ll have some blood. But not in a shake. That soup looks really good”

  Keith’s mind went to how Lance had sucked his thumb. If they had half an hour...

“You know, I don’t mind...”

Lance cut him off, a tinge of pink in his cheeks

“Don’t even think about finishing that sentence”

“Okay! That’s enough. Save it for tonight. Lance go drink some blood already. Keith... I’m disappointed in you man”

Keith shrugged Matt’s loud tone off

“If you don’t like it, then don’t listen”

“Oh, I would if I could. Fuck having super hearing”

“Consider it payback for all the times we had to listen to you”

Matt groaned at him

“You’re killing me, man. What happened to the Keith that didn’t used to talk all that much?”

“He started dating Lance. That’s enough guys. Lance, you really should eat”

Now Shiro was joining in... Too much concern and the secret would be blown. Lance casting them a glance that told them all to shut up

“You all suck. Let me eat in peace... weirdos. The lot of you are weirdos. Remind me; Why do I put up with this again?”

“Because you love us?”

“Touché. If anyone wants me, me and my wine bottle will be near the fire”

  Lance grabbed a bottle of blood from the fridge, stalking away with it. Hunk calling out as he left

“Don’t eat too much. You need space for dessert. Shiro helped me make Keith’s cake, and I made macaroons seeing you’ve been talking with Keith about them so much”

Keith let his head drop. Hunk was simply too pure for this world. Shiro chuckling a tad too hard, leaving Hunk looking confused

“Oh, he’s got his mind on macaroons alright and how many he can fit in his stomach”

Had they been closer, Keith would have definitely tried to punch him in the balls

“That’s fine. I made a whole batch up. There’s something like 24 in the container”

That only served to make Shiro laugh more. His brother was going to a special place in hell, and if he kept this up, Keith was going to put him there himself.

[thathopelessromantic]

Crossing Lines

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Rating: Mature (implied sexual content + mild language) Pairing: Lance/Keith Note: The comeback no one expected with a series I thought was finished in 2018 and a fic I started in 2019 finally finished lol

There’s a nagging worry in the back of his head that this is not normal friends-with-benefits behavior, but it is easily drowned out by Lance’s sleepy smile when he shifts again to face Keith. He hides another wide yawn in his shoulder.

“Those kids wore you out, clearly.” Keith observes, trying to fight back his own yawn.

Lance smiles fondly. “It was fun to see them, to go back and be with everyone for a while. But I’m really glad you were here when I got home.”

AO3: (X) Part 1 of the series: (X)

Keith looks away from his computer as his phone buzzes against his leg. Pidge sits across the room at her desk, muttering to herself as she readjusts the device’s calibration – again. Their project was supposed to be at least 80 percent theoretical, but Keith knew the moment he was paired with Pidge that option was thrown out the window.

He flips his phone over just as it vibrates again. There’s a text from Shiro, asking him for the third time about a shirt Shiro insists Keith stole and Keith insists Shiro just lost, and a snapchat from Lance. Dismissing the text notification, he opens snapchat.

Most of the picture is just of a bright blue sky above him, but Lance’s face peeks out from the bottom, at an extremely unflattering angle. The selfie is taken at chest level while Lance looks down at the camera. His hair is pushed under a backwards baseball cap with frayed stitching along the edge and there is, what appears to be, a sparkly butterfly sticker on his cheek. Above his head it reads:

don’t blow up my apartment while im gone, mullet. i live there.

Shaking his head, he taps away the message. Pidge still appears absorbed in her tinkering and doesn’t notice as he takes a blurry picture of her.

we’re not that irresponsible

It only takes a few seconds for Lance to reply, no longer bothering with pictures and just texting back.

HA! but seriously, hunk’s been sending me worried messages all weekend

…Hunk had seemed particularly anxious the last time Keith emerged from Pidge’s room for a drink.

hm…like an hour ago pidge thought she had gotten the laser to work for real and did seem a little maniacal…

Lance replies with a supremely unimpressed expression, made, of course, all the more effective by the butterfly sticker. Keith snorts, but also half-heartedly wonders how easily he could get away with saving a screenshot of the selfie. He just saved one last night, of Lance cuddling with his parent’s dog ruined only slightly by the caption insinuating the dog had better breath than Keith, but he brushed it off with a lie about trying to lock his phone and taking the screenshot accidentally. He’s not sure if Lance believed him then, but he definitely wouldn’t believe it two times in a row.

Pidge loudly clears her throat across the room. Startled, Keith dismisses the message, and nearly drops his phone in the process. When he looks up, Pidge is looking at him over the rim of her glasses, with one brow raised.

“…Yes?”

“How’s that report coming, Keith?”

He glances back at his computer, at the three and a half pages he had finished of their ten-page report. “Fine.”

“Hm.” Pidge looks away, jotting down some other measurements on a pad besides her. “And how’s your boyfriend?”

“He’s not my-” Keith starts before he gives up with a heavy sigh. It’s a waste of breath with her. “Lance thinks we’re going to blow up the apartment. Well I guess actually Hunk does, and he turned to Lance for help.”

Pidge rolls her eyes, muttering something under her breath about worry-warts and ridiculous roommates. Keith smiles at the, somehow, simultaneously exasperated but fond tone she uses and turns back to his computer, tucking his phone under his leg again. But it takes a while to focus on anything other than blue eyes and familiar, silly banter.

It’s nearly three and a half hours later, though it hardly feels like it, when Hunk knocks at the door, tempting them out of the room and their work-stupors with the promise of pizza, the heady aroma already spilling out from the kitchen. They settle in the living room, Pidge and Hunk on the couch with Keith on the floor in front of them, legs stretched out under the coffee table. Pidge is still complaining around mouthfuls of burning cheese that they were almost done, if Hunk had just waited a little while longer, but Hunk turns on the sci-fi series they’ve been watching together and within ten minutes into the episode her complaints have turned into an analysis of how the character’s spacesuits work.

Keith relaxes against the couch as their familiar chatter falls around him. He’s a little lost in what is happening in the show, they’re further than he’s been able to get on his own, but it’s nice to share it with them anyways, especially with the way Hunk laughs triumphantly when he guesses the ridiculous plot twist twenty minutes early and Pidge keeps comparing the characters to people they know with frightening accuracy.

It only takes them an episode and a half to completely demolish the pizza, but when the third one starts up in the queue, no one bothers to reach for the remote. Full of good food and only half-paying attention to the show, Keith can feel himself being lulled to sleep right there on the living room floor. He fights against the urge as much as he can, but the last thing he remembers is the upbeat opening starting for the next episode, and then suddenly the episode is ending as he jerks awake, knocking his knee on the underside of the table, hard.

After his unfortunate waking, he extracts himself from under the table, gathering up dirty plates, despite Hunk’s protest, and taking them into the kitchen – the moving helps wake him up, even if his knee still hurts like a bitch. The stove clock reads 7:03. He slips through the living room as another episode is starting and goes to their bathroom.

As he’s washing his hands, his phone buzzes with another text. He opens the text as he exits the room. It’s a picture from Adam, Shiro’s fiancé, of Shiro sitting on the floor of what Keith is pretty sure is their laundry room, head buried in his hands. There’s a very dusty pile of something next to him.

The text says: we found his shirt.

Keith leaves the text conversation, trying not to laugh. Considering all the trouble Shiro gave him, Keith feels like he should be at least mildly annoyed by this instead of amused.

He turns the doorknob to the room in front of him and swings it open before he even realizes what he’s doing. He freezes, looking in at Lance’s dark, empty room. Distracted, he had apparently been moving through the apartment on autopilot – straight to Lance’s room. Feeling like he’s breaking some kind of unspoken rule, he takes a few steps in. Lance’s bed is still a mess of blankets and pillows, and there’s piles of books and discarded shoes covering his floor. He’s only been gone a few days, but his absence feels so prominent, especially like this, Keith can’t help but feel like something is wrong.

He’s texting Lance before he can think better of it.

when are you coming back again?

Lance’s response is almost instantaneous.

why? missing me that much already, mullet?

Yes, Keith’s head or heart, or maybe both, shout.

no just wondering how much longer we get to enjoy this peace and quiet he says instead.

whatever, asshole …….tomorrow night

Keith silently but firmly tells himself to stop being so damn happy about this news as he slips his phone back into his pocket. He takes one last look at Lance’s room before stepping back out into the hall and pulling the door closed behind him.

He just barely manages to fight the telling smile off his face before he gets back to the living room.

 Keith crashes at their apartment for the night, on the couch. Hunk and Pidge both try to convince him that he could take Lance’s bed and Lance wouldn’t care, but Keith is fairly certain he wouldn’t get much sleep if he was in Lance’s room – even if he would be alone – and insists the couch is fine. He wakes up once around 5 or 6 in the morning as Hunk is getting ready for his opening shift at a local diner but otherwise sleeps well until about 10:30. He wanders into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee before going to roust Pidge. He doesn’t mind mornings much, but he learned very soon into their friendship that Pidge is very firmly a “night owl,” and has no interest in trying to deny her nature. She’s lying upside down on her bed when he gets to her room, and somehow managed to kick all of her blankets off of the bed, except one, which looks dangerously close to suffocating her.

He stands in the doorway for a moment, just staring at her. “How do you even manage this?”

“Mmphf.” Sleeping Pidge replies, very firmly.

“Right.” Keith pauses. “I’ll come back when the coffee’s done, actually.”

With a little extra time, Keith hops in the shower. As soon as he opens the bottle of shampoo, he recognizes the familiar, fresh scent as Lance’s soap. He’s a little surprised Lance left his favorite soap behind, even if he was just going to his family home for a few days. He also isn’t sure what to do, looking around the shower space for other soap. There’s plenty, and surely none of them would care either way if he used a little soap but…

Is he totally over thinking this? Absolutely.

Does that realization help him make a decision about which soap to use? Absolutely not.

What feels like ages, but is hopefully only a few minutes, passes before he finally convinces himself to stop being ridiculous and just use the damn shampoo. He just grabbed Lance’s first, it was a coincidence and if Pidge noticed later…well, she would just have to accept that.

…Right.

He washes up quickly after wasting who knows how long second-guessing his soap choices and leaves the bathroom to the smell of coffee slowly starting to fill the apartment.

He has to break the nonexistent, unspoken rule his brain has built up in his mind a second time, and trespasses across Lance’s room to find some spare clothes he’s left behind for overnight stays. He pulls on some clean boxers and his jeans from yesterday, but after he’s pulled the worn Altea University shirt over his head, he realizes its Lance shirt, not his. There’s a small hole starting in the bottom hem and the white letters are fading and cracked from excessive wear. It was folded in his drawers, so Keith is like…ninety percent certain it’s clean, but it still smells like Lance’s cologne. Or maybe it’s his lotion or laundry soap or bodywash, but between whatever lingering scent Lance has left on his clothes and the smell of his shampoo still obvious in Keith’s damp hair, he suddenly feels overwhelmed.

He hates how much he hates that Lance is gone.

It’s just a couple of days. Why is he such a disaster? They’re friends. When was the last time he missed Hunk or Pidge this much when they were gone? Even with their friends with benefits arrangement, what made Lance that special to him?

Actually, that was a can of worms he wasn’t really prepared to open just yet.

Keith makes a hasty retreat – a calm, completely normal walk out of one room to another if anyone asks – back to the kitchen for coffee. He pours a generous amount for both Pidge and himself, before he returns to Pidge’s room to finally wake her. He’s not exactly eager to spend another full day working on this project, but he wants to get it done, and he officially really needs the distraction.

It takes another hour, even with the promise of coffee, to pull Pidge out of bed, and she insists on showering “to feel like a real person” before they can get back to work on their project.

Keith has gotten as far as turning his laptop back on and opening their report, rereading the last few paragraphs to remember where he left off, when Pidge returns to her room in some leggings and a baggy t-shirt Keith is pretty sure belongs to either Lance or Matt.

“How about food first?” she suggests.

It’s not exactly the distraction he was looking for, but he shuts his laptop anyways, pushing it off his lap before she even finishes her sentence.

 Sal’s is a small 24-hour diner just outside of Altea's central campus that makes it a popular place for both students and professors. Sunday morning, it is practically bursting at the seams, but it’s got good food for reasonable prices and Hunk, Lance, and Pidge had become regulars even before Hunk got a job in the kitchen. Within a few months of becoming friends, Keith had been invited along enough times that the waitstaff began to recognize him too.

Their wait for a table is reasonable, all things considered, and then Keith and Pidge have only been at the table for maybe three minutes before their waitress, Flora, drops drinks off at the table with a promise to be back for their orders in just a minute. Her long, red pony tail swings wildly behind her as she flits around the small space.

They hadn’t ordered anything, but Flora had been there for a long time and was used to their group stopping in, especially on weekend mornings when Hunk was working. But sitting on the table in front of them is two coffee mugs, and a tall glass of apple juice.

Keith and Pidge both stare at it for a moment, before looking to each other. Keith has a feeling the juice is making him feel a whole lot more…things than it is Pidge.

“I guess she just assumed?” Pidge finally says after a moment and goes back to the menu, as if she hadn’t memorized it within the first three months of their visits.

Keith pulls out his phone and takes a picture of the juice, sending it to Lance with a text:

from flora

Lance’s response comes in a few minutes later, interspersed with at least a dozen crying emojis.

i cant believe u traitors went to sal’s w/o me. tell flora i love her and one of u better drink that. we don’t let apple juice go to waste in this house

i am not telling her that. but i will drink the juice for u

Flora comes back to the table before Lance’s next reply comes in. “Just your usual’s today?”

Pidge hums and haws over the decision a few times, like she does every time they come, before agreeing to her usual order. Though she asks for fresh fruit as well today, just to mix it up.

He can feel his phone buzz against his leg almost the entire time Pidge is ordering. And again a few more times as he confirms that he would like his usual order as well. “But, Lance isn’t with us today so…nothing for him.” Keith adds awkwardly at the end.

Flora blinks at him a few times, surprised, before she snaps her fingers as if suddenly remembering something. “Right. I remember Hunk mentioning one of his roommates was out of town for a few days. Sorry guys, I’m just so used to your trio, or just you and him,” she says to Keith, thankfully not seeing the way Pidge wiggles her eyebrows and makes kissy-faces at him for the aside. “I’ll take that juice back for you.”

“Oh no, that’s fine.” Keith says, moving the glass closer to him. “It’s already poured, we’ll drink it.”

Flora arches a brow, but doesn’t argue with him. She promises their food will be out shortly and leaves the table.

“I can’t believe Lance didn’t request you deliver any messages to her for him, or insist we eat his chocolate chip pancakes in his honor too.” Pidge says once she’s gone.

Keith pulls out his phone, flipping it around to show Pidge the twelve messages he got while they were ordering. “Oh, I’m sure he did somewhere in there.”

 It’s hard to get back to work on a full stomach, but they power through it. Their shared determination to not have to worry about the project after today deters the usual urge to distract each other. Still, progress is slow, and they’re still working when Hunk comes home from work and peeks in to check on them. They pass on lunch when Hunk asks after his shower, and give non-committal answers to his questions about dinner plans.

Keith is entirely unaware of time and date and hell maybe even location by the time he drags himself through the conclusion but he is bordering on ecstatic when he finally saves the document for the last time and looks up from the computer only for Pidge to look up from her own work and meet his eye a few seconds later.

“Done?”

He nods, and she gives an excited “whoop!” stumbling off her desk chair to throw herself on the bed besides him. “So I just need to add in my input and double-check the details match up, right?”

He nods again, and she immediately scrolls to the top of the document to start reading. “Oh!” she jumps up again, grabbing her laptop from the desk and the notebook she was working in besides it. “Do you want to double check the equations and make sure the experiment outline matches the order you have everything in the paper?”

He is relatively confident in Pidge’s work, but he agrees, nonetheless, and the two settle against each other in the twin bed to finish their work.

 Keith isn’t sure when he dozes off, he doesn’t even really remember falling asleep, but when he wakes up, it’s dark in Pidge’s room. Both of their computers are on her desk and he’s alone in her bed. He sits up, half-heartedly feeling around the blankets for his phone to check the time.

“C’mon Mullet, you really had to move right then?”

Keith about jumps out of his skin at the unexpected voice, though he’d vehemently deny it if asked. Lance is sitting backwards in Pidge’s desk chair, pushed close to the door. He lowers his phone, smirking at Keith’s startled expression.

“I guess the deer-in-the-headlights look is fun too, but I was really going to enjoy lording the drooling-all-over-Pidge’s-sheets picture over you.” Lance teases.

Keith’s heart brain is doing some kind of stupid, fluttery thing over the boy across the room that he is pointedly ignoring.

“Shut up.” Keith mutters, even as he hastily wipes at his mouth. There’s nothing there. Asshole. He pushes himself off the bed. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Lance presses a hand to his chest in fake offense. “Really? You sleep through my grand return and when you finally bother to wake up, that’s how you greet me?”

Keith crosses the room, folding his arms over his chest and summoning the most unimpressed expression he can muster. “You know what I meant.”

Lance doesn’t seem deterred by the new height difference between them, or Keith’s attitude, crossing his arms over the back of the chair and batting his eyelashes up at him cheekily. He’s wearing the same baseball hat from the picture he sent Keith yesterday, but he’s got it on in the right direction this time, making him look minorly less like a douchebag. The baggy zip-up, which may very well be Hunk’s, over a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, and sweatpants isn’t really helping though.

“When did you get back?” Keith askes instead of commenting on his poor outfit choices.

Lance shrugs. “A little after five. Pidge said you started to doze off around four.” He adds before Keith can ask. “Hunk made stir fry for dinner.”

Taking that to mean Lance was actually sent here to wake him up for dinner, rather than simply coming to terrorize him because he was bored, Keith steps around him to leave. A moment later Lance stumbles off the chair after him, complaining all the way.

“Hey,” Lance calls after him.

Keith is already rolling his eyes as he turns around, assuming Lance has a few more jabs he wants to get out before they get to the kitchen, so he is wholly unprepared for Lance to hook a finger in the collar of his shirt and pull him close.

“Is this my shirt?”

It takes all of his self-control not to fly away from Lance’s hold, though the heat rising rapidly to his cheeks is probably giving away his embarrassment all the same. “Maybe? I just grabbed something from your drawers after my shower this morning.”

Lance has a look in his eyes that Keith recognizes as usually meaning something dangerous is in store for him. He leans in closer, stopping just before the bill of his hat brushes the top of Keith’s head. “Did you use my shampoo too?”

“I think you’re a little too obsessed with your things for someone wearing someone else’s hoodie.”

“Well I think you missed me while I was gone.”

Keith isn’t entirely sure who moves first, but one second they’re staring each other down daring the other to give in and the next he’s shoved Lance’s baseball cap off his head, burying his fingers in Lance’s messy hair while Lance’s hands have dropped to his waist, pulling him close with a bruising grip. Their kiss is uncoordinated and messy. Keith is ninety percent certain he was not the only one missing someone a stupid amount this weekend. His back hits the wall, and he faintly registers Pidge yelling something about her room from the other side of the apartment.

Lance rucks up his shirt, warm hands brushing over his sides, and Keith is dangerously close to wrapping his legs around his hips and saying fuck dinner.

They finally break apart for air and Lance laughs against his throat, the sensation sending shivers down his back. “I knew you missed me.”

“And what?” Keith asks breathlessly. “You were ambivalent about it all? I don’t think so. Not kissing like that.”

Lance pulls back to look at him with a surprisingly soft look. “I just wanted to hear you admit it,” he teases.

Normally, Keith would have a comeback for that, probably, but now he’s distracted as he runs his fingers through Lance’s bangs. “You have blue hair.”

Just the tips of his hair that are dyed, actually, not his whole head, he’s still surprised by the change. It seems a little silly, but it still looks good on him.

Lance, not one to be deterred by much, winks at him, striking a pose. “Hot, right? Rachel did it.”

“Yeah, it looks good.”

That does give Lance pause and he blinks at Keith and his easy admission a few times. “Er, well…we should probably go eat now. If just to reassure Pidge we aren’t defiling her room.”

 Dinner is great, as usual when Hunk cooks, and they sit in the living room with another show on in the background, but they fill most of the time talking about Lance’s trip and gossip in their department that Keith is somehow always unaware of.

It is well after eleven before conversation begins to fade and they start to disperse around the apartment. Keith is, maybe a little, embarrassed about it, but he doesn’t bother to hide his intentions to stay with Lance rather than going back to his own apartment now that the project is done. For once, Pidge and Hunk leave them be with minimal suggestive looks.

Considering the brief tryst in the hallway earlier, Keith isn’t entirely sure what to expect when they finally retire to Lance’s room, but Lance doesn’t seem to be in a particular rush to do anything. Keith shimmies out of his jeans and drops into bed while Lance puts on some kind of moisturizer. He strips down to his boxers after and Keith can see new, blue markings up and down his arms before Lance turns the light off. Predictably, a moment later there’s a crash and Lance swears. Keith leans over to turn on the lamp next to the bed. Lance is leaning against the footboard, rubbing his shin.

“What did you knock over this time?”

Lance sticks out his tongue. “Don’t worry about it. Move over.” He says. He doesn’t wait before he climbs over the end of the bed and flops down, half on top of Keith.

“I would have moved if you let me,” Keith says into his shoulder.

Lance hums in consideration before he shifts on the mattress. Keith lets him maneuver him around the bed, mostly curious as to what he’s doing, until they end up on their sides, legs tangled together and arms around each other. Lance’s head is pressed against his chest, and his hands are, conveniently, on his ass.

“Lance-”

“Shh,” Lance interrupts immediately. “I had to go a whole weekend without even being able to see this ass, give me a moment to enjoy it.”

Keith laughs despite himself, rolling his eyes. “You are ridiculous.”

Lance wiggles against him, sighing contently. “You like it.”

“Whatever.”

Absentmindedly, Keith runs a hand against Lance’s back, trailing nonsense patterns against his warm skin. Eventually, he looks down, just to make sure Lance hasn’t actually fallen asleep like that, and sees the blue drawings on his arm again.

“What is all over you?”

Lance lets go of him to roll onto his back and show off his arms. “After Rachel dyed my hair, Nadia and Sylvio wanted to match, but Lisa, their mom, wasn’t really thrilled with the idea, so we found these tattoo markers at the dollar store and they were washable, so we went kind of crazy.” Lance shifts so his side is up where the black outline of a shark tattooed into his waist is now black and blue. “They also colored in my tattoo.”

“Did you draw these?”

“Haha,” Lance elbows him in the side half-heartedly. “I drew the rocket ship on my wrist, and the constellations on my shoulder, if they’re still there, are from Veronica, but everything else is from Nadia and Sylvio. Oh, and Luis,” Lance points to a…something near his elbow.

“A flower?” Keith guesses.

Lance snorts. “A lion, according to him.”

“Not the most artistically inclined I’m assuming?”

Lance shakes his head. “Not at all. Nadia’s pretty good though,” he turns over his arm to show off a dog on his forearm. “That’s pretty damn good for a seven-year-old drawing on a moving canvas with dollar-store markers.”

They just spent the last few hours talking about this weekend with Hunk and Pidge in the living room, but Keith can’t help but ask more questions about his family and what they did over the weekend. He brushes Lance’s hair out of his face, and Lance settles deeper into his arms, waving his hands in the air as he talks about the piñata he had to fill for the party by himself, that was bigger than the birthday boy, and the balloon mishaps that had his mother ready to call the whole thing off more than once.

There’s a nagging worry in the back of his head that this is not normal friends-with-benefits behavior, but it is easily drowned out by Lance’s sleepy smile when he shifts again to face Keith.

“Did you guys have fun this weekend?”

Keith shrugs one shoulder. “As much fun as you can have the weekend before a Kolivan deadline.”

Lance grimaces sympathetically. “You finished everything though, right?”

“I think so. We were just checking each other’s work before I fell asleep. If there was more to do, I doubt Pidge would have let me sleep for long.”

Lance hides a wide yawn in his shoulder. “That’s good,” he tries to say, only to break off half-way through into another yawn.

“Those kids wore you out, clearly.” Keith observes, trying to fight back his own yawn.

Lance smiles fondly. “It was fun to see them, to go back and be with everyone for a while. But I’m really glad you were here when I got home.”

The admittance is so quiet in the still room, and almost immediately drowned out by the way Keith’s pulse races, blood roaring in his ears.

Lance had closed his eyes, but he opens them again and looks up at him curiously. Keith knows he has to be able to hear the erratic beating of his heart. He wonders if Lance is even remotely aware of how many lines they’ve crossed in the period of their relationship, if he thinks at all about how little like fuck-buddies they behave when they spend nights wrapped in each other’s arms saying soft things and doing nothing else and if it affects him at all or if this is just how he is casually intimate with everyone. And he wonders why he hates that idea so much.

“Can I kiss you?” Keith asks. It’s usually Lance’s question, but for once, Keith can’t help but ask, ignoring, for now, how overwhelmed he is.

Surprisingly, Lance is quiet, and just nods his agreement, watching Keith with wide eyes.

The kiss now is nothing like the ones they shared before dinner, slow and gentle where the others were rushed and near-frantic. Keith wraps both arms around Lance’s waist, and Lance cradles his face with one hand, threading his other hand through Keith’s hair.

“Good night,” Keith whispers against his lips as they break apart feeling like he’s doing something unbelievably stupid even as the words come.

Lance presses one more quick, closed-mouth kiss against his lips. “Good night.”

Keith flips off the bedside table lamp, dousing them in darkness.

He isn’t sure how long they lay in the dark before Lance finally relaxes and falls asleep, but it feels like at least another hour before Keith admits to himself, he can’t sleep yet and carefully extracts himself from the bed. Lance makes a quiet noise of displeasure in his sleep, but easily stretches out, taking up the empty space and doesn’t wake up.

Keith goes out into the hallway, thinking he’ll just go to the living room and calm down but a light shines through the crack of Pidge’s closed door and he finds himself drawn there instead. He knocks once and Pidge opens the door immediately, looking around the hall almost alarmed.

“Keith? What’s wrong? It’s almost four in the morn-”

“Pidge, I think I love him.” Keith interrupts. “I think I’m in love.”

[gyllen-haall]

Request: Omegaverse, where a possessive Alpha Shiro who is embarrassed by his own jealousy when someone comes and flirts with Lance. (Who can be either a beta or an omega) Lance just acts like it's fine and allows Shiro to do as he wishes. No smut, please. Thank you!

Hello Anon! I typically post these on AO3, but this one was hard so I'm sorry it's not the usual quality of my work. Here you go!

____________________________________________________________________________

"You're not going out in that." 

Shiro said as Lance walked toward their shared bedroom door to leave. The brunette turned back toward the older paladin with a confused expression. Lance was wearing a blue shirt and black skinny jeans, super simple and comfortable.

"Is something wrong?"

He looked up at Shiro and saw a look on his face he'd never seen before, all of his instincts were telling him to obey as he stood there frozen. The brunette just gave the alpha a nervous smile and all but sprinted to their closet until a hand caught his wrist.

Steel gray eyes peered down at Lance, lance felt a cold chill run through him because shiro has never acted like this before. Even when Lance has stumbled out of their room only dressed in boxers, the older male just happily followed after him in similar attire. 

"Shiro," the younger stumbled out as Shiro slowly pinned both of Lances arms behind him in a gentle but firm hold. Then his metallic hand held Lances head to the side to give him more access to the youngers neck.

Their newly formed mating bond was covered by Lances shirt, which was quickly becoming a problem. He released Lances jaw and used his prosthetic to cut open the collar of his betas shirt. 

"There," Shiro chirped as he released Lance and stood back to look at his work. Lance just stood there dumbfounded, because they'd created these bonds a few months ago during Lances heat.

But they've refreshed their bonds a few times since then just to make sure the bonds were done properly and accepted by their respective sub genders. Their most recent one was yesterday, which would probably be their last because the bonds were healing perfectly and embedding into their skin after being welcomed by their bodies.

Each time after, Shiro was a bit possessive and clingy, but never to this extent. Suddenly, Lance was being picked up and laid back in bed as shiro followed after him. The brunette didn't even have a second to breathe before a hickey was being created right behind his ear.

He pushed Shiro off in a panic, who looked like a kicked puppy. They had only agreed to places where others couldn't see, not that it had stopped Shiro when in a possessive fit before, but still.

"What is going on? I'm not mad, I just want to know what's up."

Shiros cheeks flushed instantly, "I don't know what came over me, my instincts are just all over the place." Lance hummed in response as the older figited in place, like we was fighting himself from doing something.

Lance guilded shiros chin up so that they were making direct eye contact, thats when he smelt it. A small chuckle came from Lance as he pulled the confused alpha closer, "you're  jealous."

The pink went to red as Shiro put his head down in shame, Lance just cooed and settled into the alphas lap. Giving him perfect access to his neck and half done hickey, they had a few more minutes before he had to leave anyway.

"You have a minute to mark me, as dark, large, and much as you want." The second the words left lances mouth, Shiro went from a kicked puppy to a dog about to get a whole bag of treats. Lance swore he could see his lovers forelock swaying gently like a dogs tail would when happy.

And oh my, did Shiro use every single second. When Lance stood, it was like a bunch of ants had just bitten at his neck. The hickey behind his ear was about the size of a golf ball and at least 10 dime sized hickeys were scattered across his neck.

"Holy shit 'Kash," Lance said as he inspected his neck further, "you got a mini vacuum I should know about?"

Deep laughter is all the response he got from his lover who smiled back sheepishly. 

"I just didn't like the way the people looked at you yesterday."

Lance shook his head fondly as he took off his now ruined shirt and rummaged through their closet in amusement.

"Everyone looks up to the mature, collected, and responsible leader, but if only they knew the utter puppy you are." 

A small groan was heard from behind Lance as he pulled out a white dress shirt with 'Shirogane' on the pocket. He grabbed his cream trench coat and slacks before he turned around with a solid nod.

"Marking me like a puppy establishing their territory," Lance said as he stuck his tongue out at the other. 

"I'm not a puppy," shiro said stubbornly with his arms crossed.  Lance rolled his eyes, "but puppies are cute." He walked over to press a kiss to Shiros lips before he whispered, "besides, I wouldn't mind if you wore more adult dog stuff in be-"

"Lance."

The latter just giggled at his lovers stern tone and flushed cheeks, opting to just press a kiss to his mates nose and go. But his plans were quickly foiled as he noticed as Shiro pulled him down into bed with him. 

"Please be safe," Shiros worried tone made Lance frown, he ran gentle hands through the alphas short hair and brought their foreheads together. 

He and keith were going to go stroll around a planet who they were newly at alliance with, a planet that also had similar sub genders. They were still at risk for getting kidnapped or jumped by people who were still working for the Galra.

"We're bringing our bayards and staying in highly populated areas. I promise we'll be okay."

Lance was a beta, but he was a little more sensitive to smells and alphas than he would like. But with lances heightened senses, many thought he was an omega and would try to command him around. 

It happened yesterday, when the locals were very flirty toward Lance and Keith, which in turn made both hunk and Shiro turn into overprotective alpha shadows. A handmaid held him back and offered to show Lance around, he politely declined as he tried to catch up to the others.

She stopped him and pressed herself as close to him as she could, releasing her pheromones in an attempt to seduce the beta. He backed away from her slowly and bumped into a strong chest.

It was his lovely mate who growled at the maid who took off running the second they made eye contact. He smelled a little bit like her which made Shiro walk him back to the castle so that he could wash her scent off. 

After his shower, Shiro had claimed Lance again and kept Lance attached to his hip at all times. But during the alliance discussion, Shiro was calm and sensible throughout the whole thing. He masked being possessive very well and only let it flare when him and lance were alone.

A small beep on the wall clock told Lance that he had gotten lost in the moment and that it was already 10 am. Shiro let him go with one last kiss to the lips and a worried, but sweet smile.

When Lance stepped out into the lounge, he was surprised to see that Keith wasn't there before him. He had a pretty good idea that Keith was also going through the same thing,  because alphas wanted their mates to smell like them so people knew that they were taken. 

Like right now, as he smelled of his possessive boyfriend while Keith walked in also smelling of his alpha. He smiled over at Keith who immediately grabbed his hand and rushed them into a pod. 

Once inside, he watched Keith immediately relax and shoot him a small smile. 

"Sorry, Hunk just wouldn't let me go this morning. First, it was that I needed to shower. Then, it was that he didn't like how I smelled. Finally, it was that I wasn't dressed properly for the weather! I just wanted to shake him till his head came off!"

He put an arm around Keith after he had set the pod on autopilot as he punching in the coordinates. The elder just curled up with Lance and laid his head on Lance's shoulder, near his scent gland.

It was common for them, they curl up with each other and sometimes even pidge because Lance likes contact and the others are instantly soothed by his scent. Keith was no longer tense and a small smile pulled at Lance's lips.

"You know how alphas are man, just be patient and go along with it for the time being. I used to get upset with Shiro when he got like that. But I've found that if you just go along with it, they get all pleased with themselves and let you go on your merry way."

Keith hummed and silently urged Lance to keep talking, his voice was really nice to listen too as he grew older.

"Remember that one time I looked like I had just tumbled out of Alaska when it was hot as all hell on that one planet?"

The elder nodded against Lance's shoulder as gentle laughter shook through Lance's chest.

"Yeah...that was Shiro, he didn't like how the people flirted with me so he covered me up in things that smelled like him."

"Of course he did."

Lance watched as Keith shook his head gently with amusement, he had witnessed some of Shiro's overprotective moods over the years. 

"Trust me, it's annoying at first but you'll get the hang of it as you continue."

"I believe you, and...thanks Lance."

The pod had landed on the planets surface, so with a small pat on the shoulder, Lance stood up and helped Keith up after.

"No problem buddy." 

They stepped out of the pod and Lance immediately took a deep breath. He saw Keith looking at something, and immediately got an idea.

"Race you to the city!"

And the brunette took off, with Keith hot on his heels.

[keijitranslates]

[KH side story translation] the beginning of Other Diamonds

“Riku!”

Sora runs up like he always does, kicking up sand as he approaches, which wakes Riku up.

“Noisy as always, aren’t you, Sora?”

“Because you’re being lame and just laying on the ground when we came all the way out here.”

“Unlike you little children, I’m tired.”

Sora and Riku were a year apart. Only a year. Even though they were so close in age, pointing out the difference was always enough to shut up Sora when he was being kind of annoying. Sure enough, Sora pouts and wrinkles his face.

“Did you need something from me?”

“Nah, nothing really.”

Sora grabs his knees and sits next to Riku.

“I mean, Riku, all you do lately is sit and look at the ocean.”

“You say that as if there’s anything else on this island to look at.”

Riku peers at Sora’s face. He must’ve been doing some sword play. Wakka and Selphie can be heard yelling as they play in the distance.

This inlet is a little far off from where everybody plays, and not a lot of people come here. Even the waves crashing against the shore sound a little more calm.

“You know the ocean’s never going to change no matter how long you look at it, right?”

“That’s not true.”

“Hmm, I wonder…”

Sora tilts his head.

“What are you two doing?”

A smile appears on Sora’s face as he turns to look at who the voice came from.

It was Kairi.

“Nothing really,” Riku says, slowly turning back and smiling a bit.

“Ah, you’re doing nothing, are you?”

Kairi sits next to Sora.

“Nothing sure is boring, huh?” Sora says to Kairi, looking for a kindred spirit.

“I think it’s nice to sit and look at the ocean every once in a while.”

Not getting the answer he wanted from Kairi, Sora pouts again.

“Hey, Riku, wanna do the usual?”

Sora turns toward Riku.

“Hmm?”

“A beach race!”

That was a short race Sora and Riku would sometimes run around this inlet. They’d start at the inlet and run to the paopu tree at the top of the cliff. The rules were simple – just touch the paopu tree and run back.

“Again?” Riku asked, exasperated, and shrugged his shoulders.

“What do you mean ‘again’? It’s been forever! I think the last time we did that was, uh…”

“Three days ago,” he stated, even more exasperated.

Just three days ago they had raced, and the result was Sora’s crushing defeat. But Sora would never stop trying until he won, no matter how badly he was beaten.

“If I were to keep losing like Sora does, would I keep on trying until I win?” Riku had thought about that sometimes, but wasn’t sure if he would.

“Yeah, it’s been a whole three days!”

Kairi chuckles as Sora stands up assertively.

“If you insist. Just once, though.”

“Hooray!”

Sora does a little jump as Riku reluctantly stands up.

“I’ll be the referee,” Kairi says, walking to a higher spot from which she can see the start line.

“The usual rules apply. Take any route you want. First one to tag that tree and make it back here wins.”

“Yeah, yeah, got it,” Sora says, nodding at Riku’s explanation.

“If I win, I’m captain!” Sora declares.

In response to Sora’s proclamation, Riku glances at the logs lined up on the sandy beach. Riku, Sora, and Kairi had gathered them together. They were trying to build a raft right now with those logs. In order to go somewhere that isn’t here – to go somewhere else, beyond the sea.

“And if you win…”

Sora tries to continue, but Riku interrupts him with a thought that came to his mind.

“I’ll eat a paopu with Kairi.”

Sora physically stops in his tracks, surprised by Riku’s blunt assertion.

“Huh?”

“Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi.”

“Wha, wait a minute…”

Sora gets flustered.

The paopu tree. There was a special legend about its fruit.

“The two who have shared the fruit of that tree shall be tied together for eternity.”

I know who Sora wants to share the paopu fruit with. And, perhaps, who Kairi wants to share it with as well.

“Ready? On your marks!”

Oblivious to their conversation, Kairi’s voice echoes over the beach.

“3, 2, 1…go!”

Kairi kicks off the battle. Riku runs straight across the tree bridge, but it looks like Sora had opted to run along the beach route. Riku knows that the beach route is actually faster if you run it quickly enough. The bridge has gaps and running smoothly across the beach is much faster than jumping the trees.

Sora practically ran for his life on the beach. Riku knew that Sora would get serious in response to that challenge. But he can’t take back the words he’d impulsively let slip out of his mouth.

At that time, he’d suddenly remembered that drawing in the cave.

Sora surely doesn’t even know I know about that drawing.

Riku takes the leap from the tree bridge to the watch tower and looks down at the beach. Sora looks like he is running behind.

Riku takes one big, deep breath and jumps up to ride on the slider. If he keeps up this pace, Sora probably won’t overtake him.

The difference between 14 and 15 is still pretty big, and when he’s fought seriously, Riku has never lost to Sora. Sometimes he did lose, but it was either on purpose or because he was annoyed and not really putting effort into it. Sora hasn’t noticed that, but Riku thinks Kairi might have. He also thinks that, someday, he might lose to Sora.

For instance, right now, with how he was winning the battle for how much of Kairi’s heart he occupied.

Riku sent sand flying up as he landed on the beach from the slider. Sora is still behind him. He jumps to the rocky area, and as he goes to touch the paopu tree, Riku jumps up higher to the palm tree growing at his side, where he waits for Sora’s arrival.

Sora finally jumps up from the ground, and, confirming that he touched the paopu tree, Riku jumps to the wooden bridge.

Kairi is just beyond their line of sight, and Kairi is staring at Sora.

I probably won’t lose to Sora today, either, but I’m sure I will someday. If that’s true, then…

Sora runs in a daze.

That’s definitely why I can’t beat Sora.

“Whoooo!”

Riku had lost, just by a couple of steps.

“I did it!” Sora yells, falling down on the beach. Riku looks down at his face.

“Sure is like you to get all worked up over who’s captain, Sora,” Riku tells him, calm and composed.

Sora then puffs his cheeks, sulking.

“Uh, a-about that thing you said…” Sora asked.

“That thing I said? Oh, about the paopu fruit. It was a joke. You should’ve seen the face you made…it sure was funny,” Riku says, as Kairi runs up to the two.

“Congratulations, Sora!”

Sora answers by raising a fist, as if he didn’t have the energy to face Kairi.

“What were you two talking about?”

“Secret,” Riku answers, jumping to leave the inlet towards the cliff. He kind of wanted to be alone.

“Where are you going?”

“Also secret.”

Kairi tilts her head a little, staring at Riku, who’d answered bluntly.

“And you won’t beat me next time, either!” Sora shouts.

“Yeah, yeah, sure.”

And Riku climbs the cliff.

People don’t tend to come up the cliff. Riku stares fixedly toward the horizon.

There’s no way I can lose to Sora.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d convinced himself of that. Probably since he’d noticed how Kairi felt. Because of that, he’d convinced himself that there’s no way he could lose to Sora at something else – like that race they’d just had.

I’m jealous of him.

I can’t desperately push myself like he did back there, and I can’t smile like him either.

Why am I the only one who’s a year older?

He might not have felt that way if he were the same age as them.

I can kind of feel a pain deep in my chest.

The wind felt nice, but he was still in a bad mood.

If Sora weren’t here – or if Kairi weren’t here – I’d probably get along fine with whoever was here. But right now, I don’t know what I should do. This world is so cruel that I dream of both a world without Sora and a separate world without Kairi.

The wind blows through.

Is this wind coming from the sea?

Or is it coming from the sky?

The sea and the sky in front of me are the same as always – and this world will never change.

Riku closes his eyes. Even with his eyes closed, the image of the blue of the sea and the sky is burned in.

I wanted to be pulled out of this unchanging world.

 “The door will soon open.”

Riku opens his eyes, responding to the voice that came out of nowhere.

“Who are you!?”

However, there’s nobody there. All he could hear was the cries of the seagulls and the sound of the waves.

“The door will soon open.”

He heard it once again.

I have heard this voice before.

Yes – I know whose voice this is.

 “You understand the darkness within you, don’t you?”

“And what of it?” Riku yells, to the voice coming from the darkness within him – to Ansem’s voice.

“Then why won’t you submit to it? Just go ahead and destroy Sora, or Kairi.”

“Like hell I would!”

When he comes to, his surroundings are pitch black.

I can’t see the blue anymore. I can no longer see the sky and sea I remember fondly.

(Because I feel a bit bad just posting something so long without this, you can find the novel at the following link!  It has a lot of other short stories that aren’t quite as interesting but still fun to read if you know Japanese, and of course some Shiro Amano illustrations - though none for this story in particular: https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/4757521529)

[makorragal-312]

Void (Part Four)

This was by far the hardest chapter I��ve ever written, but I really hope you guys still like it tho. XOX

"...or the time when we were kids and Veronica mixed dirt with the water and told Lance it was chocolate milk."  

Lance heard the entire table laugh at the memory. Normally, he would laugh along, too, or at the very least attempt to deny his young obliviousness. But he just didn't have it in him tonight. Fifteen minutes into the dinner and the most that he could do was move his slice of chicken from one side of the plate to the other, head slightly down. He had a knot in his stomach that gradually began to grow the longer he sat and hasn't gone down since he had left the Garrison.  

The paladin's ears suddenly perked at the sound of Allura's laugh. Her vibrant, gentle laugh. He finally cut a piece of his chicken and plucked it into his mouth, hoping its juiciness would quench his now dry throat. His eyes slowly moved to focus on the princess. How her hair bounced when she laughed. How much her eyes sparkled with clear intrigue. How her bangles accentuated her beautiful hands.  

"What did he do?" Allura asked Veronica, the current topic of the chocolate milk incident still fresh.  

"He told on me, of course. Then Pop-pop gave him ice cream and I got none." Veronica replied. Lance managed to let out a small smile as he took a sip of his drink. It didn't take long for the knot to lessen for just a moment. Guess I was just thirsty, Lance thought.  

"Speaking of dates, maybe you can put in a good word for me with that long- haired friend of yours, hmm?" Veronica asked teasingly, a seductive smirk making residence on her face. It didn't take long for the red paladin to remember who in his circle had long hair. The same person he left atop of the Black Lion. The knot returned instantly as Lance's eyes widened.  

"What, Keith?! No, no, no!" Lance shouted. Just the thought alone of his sister having anything to with Keith just bugged him out. At this point, he wouldn't be surprised if the knot in his stomach erupted into a fireball and started destroying his organs. What if it did and he had yet to feel it? Was this how the red paladin met his end? Set aflame by his own body because of the mere thought of his sister dating his friend? Lance laughed nervously before getting a grip on his senses.  

"No way. No."

"Why not? She seems to be cool around you guys. I've even seen her spar with your friend Keith a couple of times. I just thought you were at least on speaking terms with, um. What's her name?" Veronica replied in confusion. Lance's eyebrows furrowed.

"W-wait? You mean, Acxa?" Lance answered with hesitation.  

"Yeah, her! I've been wanting to talk to her but nowadays I rarely see her. Plus, I don't think she really talks to anyone."

"Oh. My bad." Veronica smirked.  "What's wrong? Worried I was gonna steal your friend away?" Lance leaned away from her in disgust.  

"Are you crazy?! AS IF!!!" the Cuban teen exclaimed, earning laughs from the table and chuckle from his older sister, along with a bump on the shoulder. Yeah, there was no way in hell that Lance was gonna let Keith near his sister in any capacity after this conversation. The red paladin shoved the remainder of his chicken into his mouth and chewed in earnest embarrassment, plotting the black paladin's murder for no apparent reason.  

Yeah, there is no way in HELL he's getting near Veronica. It's not like he's interested in anybody. Unless there's something in his Galra DNA that can attract people. Great, one look at his purple eyes, cool dog and sexy mullet and the masses are done for! I swear, the moment he even looks at Veronica or Rachel, it's ON!  

Did I just call his mullet SEXY??!!  

Veronica stood from her chair and raised her glass, everyone else doing the same.  

"A toast...to family. Though we may be apart after tomorrow, we'll always remain close at heart. Family is forever."  

"To family!"  

As glasses were clinked at smiles were shared, Lance took another look at Allura, who was sharing a smile at his mother. To say that Lance was confused was definitely an understatement. He had the girl of his dreams right in front of him, with his family no less. She was laughing and smiling and having a good time with them. Having a good time with HIM. For once, everything felt right.  

Listen, if she's going out with you, it's because she likes you. The annoying, stupid, Earth version of you.  

So why didn't it feel like enough? _________________________________________________________________________________  

The sentiment continued to ring through Lance's head as he and Allura walked through the park. They had just finished dinner with his family not too long ago and his sister Rachel suggested he take her to his favorite park for some "royal private time" as she called it. His eyes became trained on the tree that stood at the center of the park, all withered and drained of life. As he stood before it, he became reminded of when he was a boy, running around the tree with his siblings in an intense game of tag that resulted in him and his siblings being covered in handprints. Fast forward a few years and he would carry his niece and nephew on his back, pretending to be an airplane and zooming around the tree.  

"This place used to be so beautiful." Lance said somberly.  

"It's all my fault the Galra did this to your home." Allura replied, guilt laced in her voice. The red paladin was quick to shut down her notion. He swiftly turned his head towards her.  

"No, it's not your fault. Besides, meeting you is the best thing that ever happened to me." Lance replied, smiling fondly at the Altean. His sentiment though seemed to be unheard as the princess walked towards the tree, placing her hand against it. Guess I said something wrong, Lance thought in disappointment.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in amazement as the tree began to glow, trails of quintessence consuming every root and branch upon it. Soon enough, balls of light began to float in the air as new batches of leaves grew on the branches and the tree's base. It wasn't long before the tree was revived to its former glory, strong and covered with healthy leaves; New flowers in bloom as the once blue balls of light were dimmed down to a calming orange hue. A smile graced Lance's face as he gazed upon the newly revived tree, amazed at the sight. He was so entranced with the sight he almost didn't realize that Allura had started to speak.

"When we were out there, fighting the Galra, I somehow felt like...like we were a family. Each of us was alone, but we were alone together."

Lance stayed silent as she turned.

"But now, here on Earth, I see that everyone already has a family and a home to return to once the war is over. Everyone except me. And for the first time, I feel uncertain about what my future holds."

Heartbroken couldn't begin to describe how Lance felt at that moment. He never realized just how along Allura felt. She had always made it clear that she saw him and the others as her new family, but deep down he knew that they couldn't replace the ones she knew before them. Looking back, he could see why. Since they've been back on Earth, Hunk has been spending time creating new recipes with family and feeding them Earth versions of the Altean dishes they had in the Castle of Lions (with Coran's permission of course.) Pidge has been busy doing her tech stuff with Matt and her dad, along with the occasional squabbles she has with her mom with her being grounded. Even Keith, who he once saw as nothing more than a moody loner, now has his mother and Kosmo. And even though he knows nothing about Shiro's loved ones, the red paladin is fully aware of the place he has in Keith's life and how much Keith viewed him as his older brother. Hell, Lance had just finished having dinner at his family home filled with his parents, siblings, niece and nephew. All Allura had was Coran, the mice, and her memories of a home who she's giving her life to avenge.

"It's silly. I used to think that the team relied on me. That I needed to be strong for everyone else. But now I see it was I that needed all of you. You are my strength." Allura finished, a small smile finally gracing her face as she looked at the young man before her.

Her strength? I'M her strength? No, by "you" she probably meant the team. Yeah, that's it. Or maybe...not?

The red paladin gathered his words together, not wanting to mess anything up.

"Allura, you are not alone. And if I have anything to say about it, you'll never be alone."

This is it. No turning back.

"I-I don't care if this is only our first date. I..."

Say it, damn it!

"Allura, I wanna be your family. Earth can be your home, or anywhere you wanna go. It doesn't matter. I would follow you across the universe if it meant helping you find your home." he finished somewhat confidently. Allura was frozen as she took in his words.

"You truly feel that way?" the princess inquired. The Cuban teen walked towards her and grabbed her hand, putting it on his chest. He held it tighter as a light smile formed on his face, his eyes holding sincerity.

"With all my heart." Lance said, love and admiration laced in his voice. He was frozen in place as Allura continued to look at him, her body completely towards him and looking at him in pure relief and security. Her smile soft, yet still full of hope for the future. Lance continued to stare as it appeared that the princess was moving towards him slowly. His breath became hitched, as he never in a million years expected this. For so long, the princess would pull away, sometimes hesitantly or immediately depending on what he had said or done before hand in his vain attempts to steal her heart. This might be the first time she actually pushed towards him. So why turn away now?

He exhaled shakily as he contemplated leaning forward or staying in place, his gentle grip on her hand becoming slightly firm. As he gazed into her eyes, he thought about all the things that brought him to this moment. Finding the blue lion. Getting tossed into space. Finding the Castle of Lions. Finding her. All the battles. The fights. The cheers. The tears. Everything. This was it. He saw everything he ever wanted and desired. The blue waves from the beach near his home. The hues of pink he would spot in the seashells his niece would pick up for him. The orange rays of light the sun would cast as it set for the night.

He saw the red and blue fireworks in the sky in celebration of the war's end.

He saw the green pieces of envy in the team's faces when he told him about tonight.

He saw the yellow in the lemonades he would sip with his family and friends once they had time for a proper vacation.

And when thought of this moment, he saw purple.

Purple.

Purple eyes.

The grip on Allura's hand was revived as he lifted it to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss. He felt the pause in Allura's movements as he bent slightly in a princely manner, his best attempt of a smirk appearing. The Altean seemed to buy into it as she chuckled, bringing her hand to her lips as she laughed on.

"I guess I shouldn't expect anything less then." said the princess. Suddenly, her eyes moved past the paladin as she gasped, making the boy stand in front of her for protection's sake. Luckily for them, it was simply the robot Pidge had built...who just so happened to be stalking them. The two looked in confusion as it squealed.

"I think he wants us to smile." Lance guessed. Allura looked at him for a moment before she put two and two together. The two decided on standing next to each other, Lance with his hands in his pockets with a wink on his face while Allura stood with her hands clasped in front of her, head on Lance's shoulder. As pictures were being snapped, Lance couldn't help but reflect on everything that had just happened prior to this.

He was moments away from doing the one thing he always dreamt of doing since he met her. He was almost going to kiss her. He was almost going to kiss the girl of his dreams. He had every opportunity at that moment to go for it, but he didn't. So many emotions were rushing through his head at once.

But the one that stuck out most was relief.

[feverflushed]

Heyoooo, I haven't written anything in a hot minute! Here, have some actual husbands Sh/eith! As usual, a big thank you to my dear @vcepsis for beta reading this!

————————

Keith sighed, biting his bottom lip nervously.

Shiro was asleep on the couch next to him, snoring loudly. He normally didn’t snore that bad, but that monster of a cold had completely messed up his breathing.

Keith stared at his husband pensively, deep lines of worry running across his brow. 

Rarely he had seen Shiro so miserable.

Sure, Keith had stayed by his side during a couple of flu bugs that had left his beloved husband completely wiped, but this… this sounded miserable, and Keith was sick and tired of it. 

They were three weeks in that awful cold, and it still didn’t show any signs of clearing up. 

It had begun as an innocent sore throat and runny nose, that had quickly deteriorated and become an awful head cold, leaving Shiro a sneezy, sniffling mess. He was constantly battling the pain in his sinuses and the annoying buzzing in his ears.

Then, after a few days, Shiro’s cold had decided to take a trip and settle into his chest too, leaving the poor man to deal with an alarming range of rattling and wheezing sounds coming straight from his lungs.

“You sound like a broken tea kettle. I think you should go to the doctor before you drown in your own bodily fluids” Keith had tried to suggest, but Shiro had scoffed, action that had left him in the throes of a vicious, rough coughing fit.

“I’m okay, Keith. Just a cold and a bit of a cough. It’ll go away on its own eventually.”

Keith had tried to argue, but had ended up giving up.

How he wished he had insisted. 

They had decided to watch a movie after dinner, a relaxing, domestic evening, but Shiro had fallen asleep during the first half of the movie.

The man looked absolutely spent, and Keith had been happy to see his beloved finally getting some rest. That peace was destined to be short lived.

Shiro was mouth breathing, he did that on good days, due to the massive scar across his nose, but when colds ravaged his sinuses, he was loud. So loud that Keith could barely hear the dialogues of the movie. He gently poked Shiro’s side with a finger, and the man jumped awake, startled.

The air caught into his throat, sending him coughing. Deep, painful rattles shaking his whole being, leaving him breathless. 

“That… doesn’t sound good” Keith observed worriedly, as he rubbed Shiro’s back through the fit. 

Eventually, Shiro’s lungs stopped spasming, and Keith managed to take a glimpse of his husband, before the latter buried his face into a handful of tissues. He looked absolutely wrecked.

“Do you want me to make you some tea, Kashi?” he offered, trying to help. 

Shiro tried to reply, but he only managed a small, hoarse rasp of approval. Man, all the coughing had destroyed his throat. 

Keith went to the kitchen, setting the water to boil. He was busy choosing the most fitting tea for Shiro, when a big, beefy blanket wrap trudged through the kitchen, half collapsing on a chair.

Keith clicked his tongue.

“It was not necessary for you to come with me, you know.”

The blanket burrito stayed silent for a few seconds, then sniffled wetly, and a congested voice came from the depths of it.

“...Felt lonely.”

The poor man sounded so sad and miserable, that Keith couldn’t help but feel a pang of deep affection for Shiro. He was just so sweet. He was miserable with that cold, but even then, he was… meek. He had been feeling horrible for weeks, and it showed, but Shiro never complained, never felt sorry for himself. He had just accepted it, trying to make the healing process the least annoying possible, for both of them. 

He didn’t want Keith to worry.

And Keith knew it. But Keith also knew that Shiro was feeling awful. They had been married for two years, he always knew when his husband was unwell, no matter how hard Shiro tried to conceal it. His actions spoke for him.

Keith kissed the top of Shiro’s head fondly. Or at least, the point of the blanket burrito where he estimated Shiro’s head was.

“Go lie down, Kashi. I’ll be there in a minute. Why don’t you choose another movie in the meantime? Something fun and easier to watch than this one.”

The blanket burrito nodded, and dragged itself back to the couch, sniffling miserably. A couple of loud sneezes reverberated through the apartment, as Keith brewed the tea, the lovely scent of mint and thyme filling the air. 

When Keith brought back two mugs of tea, Shiro had already made his choice. 

Keith stared at the tv, reluctantly.

“Coco? But you know that the ending makes you cry.”

“Maybe crying will help me unclog my sinuses for a while. Worth trying.” 

Keith chuckled, and settled down on the couch, but then stood up again.

“Ah, we almost forgot. We have to try the new nebulizer treatment they gave you at the doctor’s office today. Hopefully, this one works.”

Shiro groaned.

“Can I do that tomorrow? I’m so tired...”

“No, starlight. You do it now. The sooner you start with it, the sooner you’ll get better. And I want you to get better.”

Shiro looked at Keith from his nest of blankets, defeated.

“Okay. Just because you asked me so nicely. And because you called me… heh…” Shiro let out a throat scraping sneeze, immediately hiding his face beneath a handful of blankets. Ugh, gross. He reached out to the tissue box on the coffee table, swiftly grasping a wad of tissues, and promptly blowing his nose. 

Gosh. The more he blew, the more he wanted to blow, even if the skin of his nose was absolutely ruined at this point. 

While Shiro busied himself with the tissues, Keith set up the nebulizer. 

Shiro gave him puppy eyes, but Keith didn’t fall for it.

“Don’t give me those eyes. You know the drill.”

Shiro coughed deeply into his fist, resigned, before picking up the mouthpiece of the nebulizer and cuddling against Keith’s side, pressing the play button on the remote and switching on the nebulizer at the same time. 

“Sometimes, I think I’m cursed. ‘Cause of something that happened before I was even born. See, a long time ago, there was this family. The Papa, he was a musician…”

Shiro relaxed, focusing his full attention on the movie, while the medication worked its magic. 

Sometimes, the mist would tickle his lungs just right, sending him into a coughing fit and prompting Keith to gently pound on his back or rub circles on his chest, congestion shifting noticeably under Keith’s hand. He couldn’t help but think that his husband sounded absolutely terrible, and that maybe that was a bit more than just a cold. After several minutes of coughing and sniffling, Shiro’s lungs stopped spasming, the medication finally starting to soothe the itch in his chest and throat.

Slowly, Shiro started to drift off, eyelids heavy with sleep. The hand holding up the mouthpiece started to go limp, dispersing the mist in the air.

Keith chuckled, holding the small plastic tube in place himself.

He focused on the movie, while his fingers slowly brushed through Shiro’s hair. 

Keith hadn’t even realized that he had fallen asleep, but when he woke up again, there was static on the tv screen, and Shiro was still sleeping, still leaning against him.

He smiled, and kissed the top of Shiro’s head. He seemed to be breathing easier. 

Keith turned off the tv, and slowly shifted to better accommodate Shiro’s body. He was heavy, but it was a pleasant weight, warm and comforting. 

Keith slipped into a comfortable sleep, hugging the man he loved.

He had never felt so safe in his entire life.

[whatarubberchicken]

The Bodyguard’s Tale -Chapter 4

<<Previous - Ao3 or ff.net - Next>>

Chapter 4

Keith felt awful. His head hurt, his neck hurt—hell, his whole body hurt. Plus, he had a fever. He’d already called Lance’s former bodyguard captain, and fortunately, Hunk was very understanding and agreed to take over Keith’s watch.

Which was good, because Keith wasn’t sure he could move right now.

Not that it stopped Lance.

“Hey! Mullet!! Why are you still in bed?!” he yelled, entering the room without so much as a knock.

“Lance, wait! I told you, he’s sick!” Hunk was whispering, trying to pull the prince away.

“No, he’s not! He’s Galra! They never get sick! He’s just faking it so you can’t go to that fancy cooking competition you were telling me about.”

“Lance, seriously?” Hunk exclaimed, still trying to be quiet. “I doubt Keith even knows about that, much less made himself sick just to spite me!”

“We’ll see about that!” Lance said, glaring down at his bodyguard, who was currently cocooned in his blankets. “Mullet! Are you dying?!” He cocked his head as Keith stared blearily up at him.

Maybe, Keith thought. He sure felt like it. Death would even be a mercy at this point. Surely the universe could do him a favor just this once, right? Lance got right up in his face, so Keith had to cross his eyes to see him. Ugh. That didn't make him feel better...

“Then again, you don’t look very good, Keithy-boy.”

Oh, no, you think? Gods, my stomach hurts….

“Lance,” he groaned, surprising himself with how scratchy his voice sounded. “Go away.”

Lance blinked at him and finally allowed Hunk to shoo him out of the room, the big guard muttering apologies to Keith the whole time. Keith made a mental note to apologize to Hunk too. He hadn’t heard about a cooking competition, but he did know it was a beloved hobby for the other guard….

He fell asleep before he could think anymore.

And woke up to something poking his cheek.

“I’m telling you, Coran, I’ve never seen him like this before!” Lance was exclaiming, way too loudly.

Something poked his cheek again. Keith growled and attempted to burrow further into his blankets. He DID NOT FEEL GOOD! Did they not get that memo? Why was Lance here again?!

“Welp, judging from these pheromone levels, I can tell you that he hasn’t got anything contagious, at least,” this Coran person said.

Keith was still annoyed, but felt a bit of relief. At least now he knew Lance couldn’t catch whatever-this-was by continually barging in here. Lance would be the biggest baby if he ever got sick—and Keith would have to take care of him!

“He’s just going into heat.”

“WHAT?!?!”

Keith wasn’t sure who screamed louder, him or Lance. He sat up, feeling instantly dizzy, but very aware that there was a man with a huge orange mustache peering at him—waaay too close into his personal space!

“I—I am not in heat!” he sputtered.

“Oh, a rut then?” Coran said, glancing down Keith’s body. Keith felt his face go bright red and pulled his covers closer. If this man tried to peek under his blankets, he was going to be missing an arm! “You’re a bit small for an alpha… might be because you’re a half-breed—”

“Who are you?!” Keith asked, very, very offended now.

“Ah,” the mustachioed man said, standing up straight, “I am Kórann Hieronymus Wimble—”

“Are you a doctor?” Keith interrupted, really not caring.

Coran pouted. “Well, not exactly…. Perhaps if we contact Prince Lotor, he can—”

“NO!” Keith didn’t know if it was the hormones of whatever-this-was or what, but the idea of seeing Lotor right now…. He either wanted to kill something or vomit. Possibly both.

“Coran, maybe we should just let Keith get some sleep,” Lance suggested quietly, staring at his bodyguard.

“Yes, yes, nothing to do but wait it out I’m afraid,” Coran agreed. “Don’t worry, you’ll have your usual bodyguard back in a few days, your grace.” He clapped the prince on the back and led him out of the room.

Keith watched the door close behind them and flopped back down on his bed, suddenly drained of energy.

Great. Just great. He’d presented! And much later than anyone had ever thought he would! No wonder he felt like he’d just spent a day on the training deck with Kolivan!

He woke up to someone humming a lullaby and gently stroking his hair. The touch was slow and soothing, and it made his stomach stop churning for a moment. It felt good. And the dip of the bed and the solid warmth at his side felt extra good. Maybe he should invest in a heating pad?

“…softer than I thought,” he heard the person beside him mumble as their fingers ran through his hair. He couldn’t resist snorting in laughter, now knowing exactly who was in the room with him.

“Despite what you may think, I do wash regularly,” he said, laughing a bit when Lance startled.

“Oh hey, Keithy-boy! How long have you been awake?” Lance asked, chuckling nervously.

Keith felt his suspicion flare. “Why? What did you do to me while you thought I was asleep?” he asked.

“Nothing!”

“Lance,” Keith groaned, rolling over so he could properly face the Altean prince currently sitting on the edge of his bed. “No offense, but you are a terrible liar, your grace.” He stressed the title mockingly.

“I just came to see how you were doing!” Lance exclaimed. “And because, ya know, I saw Coran talking to Lotor earlier, and I don’t think he’d go behind my back like that, but I wanted to make sure your brother didn’t make an unwanted appearance in your bedroom or anything, since I know how much you hate him—plus, Hunk really wanted to go to that cooking competition and I figured that if I’m with you, then I’m technically with a bodyguard and he’s free to live out his dream, so everyone wins, right?!”

Keith chuckled, still half-asleep. “You’re cute when you ramble,” he muttered.

Lance stared at him, eyes wide.

Keith ignored it. He was too tired to deal with all of this. Instead, he grabbed Lance’s hand and put it back into his hair. “Keep doing that,” he demanded. “It felt good.”

Lance hesitated for a moment, but then Keith felt fingers start running through his hair again. He sighed and relaxed against the warm body beside him.

He almost missed Lance’s incredulous whisper, “Oh my God, you’re purring,” before he drifted back off to sleep.

………..

He awoke to more fire in the pit of his stomach, and all of his limbs feeling like they were made of lead. Plus, Lance was no longer petting him or humming a lullaby. Instead, Keith heard a low mutter and saw an annoying blue glow through his eyelids. He cracked an eye open to see Lance sitting nearby, muttering to himself and waving his hands. His cheek markings were glowing.

“You’re not cursing me, are you?” Keith grumbled.

Lance jumped and looked at him. “You’re awake! You want some water?”

“Yeah,” Keith said, struggling to sit up. Ugh, he felt awful! Was this really gonna be a regular thing?!

“About every six months, according to Shiro,” Lance chuckled, handing him a glass.

Keith paled. “I said that out loud?!”

“Yeah, you’re pretty talkative when you’re in heat,” Lance grinned, resting his chin on his hands.

Keith glared. “It’s not a—”

“A heat, a rut, whatever,” Lance said carelessly. He gave Keith a sideways glance. “Shiro seemed surprised it happened at all, and he says he’ll be by later to check on you. Haven’t you talked with someone before about this?”

“There was nothing to talk about,” Keith said, finishing his water. “It’s never happened before. Not all half-breeds have the same… reproductive cycle as pure Galra, and I guess they figured I didn’t get it.” He handed the glass back to Lance and flopped back down on his bed. “Though, if this is how most Galra reproduce, it’s a wonder they aren’t all extinct. I have never felt less sexy in my life.” His whole body hurt, he had a fever, and he felt like he was going to throw up at any minute…

Lance snickered. “Yeah, you don’t look so hot. I mean—well, you look hot, but sweaty-hot, not sexy-hot.”

“Thanks,” Keith said dryly. “Let’s just stop talking about how hot I am.” Lance blushed and looked away and it was Keith’s turn to laugh. “What were you doing earlier?” he asked, gesturing to Lance’s cheek markings, which were still glowing blue in the darkness of the room.

“Just practicing,” Lance said, touching them and smiling fondly. “Allura promised to work on spellcasting with me later this week.”

“You two are so close,” Keith murmured. “Lucky.”

“You sound jealous, Keithy-boy.”

“Mmm,” Keith agreed, rubbing his face and wondering if the room would ever stop spinning. “I dunno if you’ve noticed, but Lotor and I don’t have quite the same relationship that you and Allura do.”

“Yeah,” Lance drawled, relaxing against Keith’s bed and providing that blessed, blessed warmth again, “I’ve never been able to figure that out. You guys really can’t stand each other, huh?”

“It’s how we were raised,” Keith said, curling up against the other boy’s back. Ahh, this felt so good. “Lotor’s always been the undisputed heir, but I do have a small claim to the throne because I’m the emperor’s son. Lotor’s always hated me for that, no matter that the empire would never accept me. Though,” he gave a small laugh, “now that I’ve presented, the council may reconsider and determine I’m Galra enough to take the throne. That’ll be fun.”

“They won’t recall you, will they?” Lance asked, grabbing his hand and looking anxious.

“Doubt it,” Keith mumbled sleepily. After all, he was still only the son of a slave. He peeked an eye open at Lance. “Why? Would you miss me, your grace?” he teased.

Lance blushed bright red and snatched his hand away again. “Course not!” he stammered. “I—I just wanna make sure nothing’s gonna get in the way of Allura taking the throne, that’s all! I mean, if you took over, then something would’ve happened to Lotor, and that means something probably would’ve happened to Allura, and you think you’re not ready to rule, can you imagine what would happen if they put ME in charge?!”

Keith cackled. “We’d burn the universe to the ground.”

“Exactly! …Hey!”

Keith just gave him a cheeky grin. “Let’s do it.”

Lance blinked in surprise, and then laughed. “I think I like it when you’re in heat, Keithy. You’re much more fun—EE-OW!” he yelped when Keith grabbed his collar and pulled him down so they were face-to-face, inches apart.

“I told you,” Keith growled, “it’s not a heat.”

“Okay, okay!” Lance agreed quickly, hands up to show he was no threat. “Not a heat. Got it!”

Keith studied him, still growling. Lance’s eyes were wide and—had they always been so blue? Plus, he smelled amazing. Keith would always hate Lance’s many lotions and scrubs, and he absolutely loathed that the prince’s care routine took way too much time, but he had to admit, Lance’s particular smell was really doing it for him right now.

And his skin—especially his lips—looked so soft….

Keith pulled him down the rest of the way and captured his lips with his own.

Lance made a strangled, confused sound and his arms were probably flailing wildly, but Keith didn’t know or care. He’d closed his eyes to enjoy the softness and the warmth flooding from the other boy, but oh, the taste! Warmth, sweetness, and something just the right kind of tangy. And Lance wasn’t actually trying to get away or anything… In fact, he made another, softer, confused noise, and then he relaxed against Keith, kissing him back.

Keith felt a jolt of electricity jolt down his spine, his heart skipping a beat as he realized… he was kissing Lance! And Lance was kissing him back! And he could totally understand why Lance was making those little contented sighs, because this felt so good! So right!

IwantIwantIwant….

He shifted his grip on Lance’s collar, reaching around to bury his hand in the prince’s hair instead. Lance gave a very gratifying groan (which Keith decided he liked quite a bit) and shifted so it was easier to kiss him. They both decided to deepen the kiss at the same time, and Keith could scarcely believe the needy moan that escaped his own throat. He could feel Lance grin into their kiss and nipped at his lips a bit to teach him his place.

Now, if only he could get rid of these cumbersome clothes and—oh, Lance’s pointed little Altean ears were softer than expected—

Altean.

Altean prince.

Lance was an Altean prince.

The prince Keith was sworn to protect and serve.

He was about to—QUIZNAK!

Keith pushed against Lance, just enough to break their kiss.

“Lance,” he gasped, very aware of how ragged he sounded right now. “You—you need to leave.”

“But—”

“Lance,” he groaned, as the heat in his belly protested by flaring. Apparently, all his previous pain had managed to focus right where he needed it the least! Not helping! Not helping! He had to get the other boy out of this room. Now. “Please.”

Either Lance heard the desperation in his voice or he realized that Keith wasn’t breathing in an effort not to smell the prince and go crazy again, but either way he got up and backed away. His eyes—his beautiful, bright blue eyes—shone with confusion, and Keith groaned again.

“I can’t,” he said, pleading with the other boy to understand. “You’re my job! And I’m not normal right now, you can’t—”

“Yeah, I get it,” Lance said coolly. “I hope you feel better soon, mullet.” With that, he turned and left.

Keith curled up on his tiny bed and tried not to sob as the beast inside him raged at having been denied what it wanted. It wanted to call the other boy back; kiss all that anger and confusion away—But no matter how much he might want it, or how much Lance might think he wanted it, there were rules, dammit!

Rule Number One: don’t sleep with your charge.

Friendship was fine, it was even encouraged. Plenty of bodyguards developed bonds with the ones they protected. But friendship was one thing. Anything more could get them both in trouble. Especially him. He was the disposable one. The screw up.

Frustrated, Keith punched his pillow and screamed into his mattress.

[void-tiger]

Shirotember Day 14: Stars

Shiro exhaled a sigh as he stared up at the night sky, grass prickling his skin and dew long since soaked through his clothes, causing a dull ache in his joints as he shivered slightly in the cool air. He’d hoped seeing the stars Planet-Side for a change would...

But he didn’t know these stars. The Castle hopped to new regions of space too fast for him to ever learn their names, the secrets they whispered, hear their siren song to come see! come see! Even spending vargas at a time pouring over starcharts for both tactical practicality and more innocent curiosity just...

Oh he loved being a Paladin. He loved flying with the Black Lion, and he couldn’t help but be tickled that out of all the Lions that chose him he’d been chosen by the one with wings. The actual, honest-to-god Guardian of the Sky.

He smiled in awe and just a tad bit bashful at that. Him. Black chose him. And she sang the same song that he chased into the sky and space since he was a child.

But he couldn’t deny that the stars changed. He’d accepted that they wielded both life and death. If their radiation didn’t kill you, their gravity would. The light that allowed sight also caused blindness if stared at directly for too long. They contained the masonry to support and create life, but just as easily snuffed it out

And the atmosphere that bound him also provided protection. (He’d really fought tooth and nail against that one...especially when the Space Program expanded and many of the old dangers that plagued astronauts historically either were greatly negated or now simply non-existent. Especially when the Garrison threatened to use his seizures to tether him in a way that Earth’s Gravity and even the seizures themselves never would.)

Shiro accepted those risks. He spent hours by the Garrison’s Memorial for those lost forever to the stars, with not even a body returned or a fragment of their vessel returned for those left behind to mourn them by. He even accepted that aliens might be closer and further along with their own technology than Earth (and might not be as peaceful as Sam believed. He hoped they were. He practiced a speech in case they weren’t.)

But Shiro hadn’t truly understood that death lurked behind and between the stars, and not from the stars themselves.

The dew and frost covered blades crunched slightly, and a blanket plopped heavily onto his shoulders. Shiro grunted in protest.

“The stars aren’t going to change from you staring at them, ‘Kashi.”

Shiro huffed. “Thanks, Captain Obvious. I never would’ve guessed.”

Shiro’s bayard flashed briefly before dropping back into his lap. “Hey. Thief.”

Jiro snorted unapologetically. “I am not about to get soaked. And hey, I gave it back.”

Shiro grinned as he settled on the corner of the blanket Jiro laid out. (Although he wasn’t about to surrender the one around his shoulders. HIS.) “Yes yes you’re the smart twin. We’re very proud.”

“Why thank you. Mind signing that?”

“...although out of the two of us, who actually has a masters in astrophysics and their astronautical piloting licence?”

Jiro scowled.

“Uh-huh. That’s what I thought.”

“Ass,” Jiro grumbled as he shoved his brother playfully.

Shiro slung his good arm around his twin, grinning cheekily. “You know you love me,” he sang.

Jiro smiled softly in response. “Yeah, I do. Well, somebody has to put up with your crap, anyway...”

“OUCH.”

The two fell silent as they gazed up at the inky sky of drifting stars underneath the light of the planet’s triple moons and undefined rings. A meteor streaked across the sky, swirling drifting bands of green and orange in its wake. Shiro poked his twin.

“Hey Roo, quick! Make a wish!”

“You know those aren’t actually lucky, right?”

“Hush. And maybe it’s your Lion.”

“...don’t even joke like that.”

Shiro pulled him closer. “I’m not,” he said softly.

Jiro rested his head on Shiro’s shoulder and sighed. “You really believe that, don’t you.”

Shiro shrugged. “You met them, right?”

“Well...yeah...but—“ Jiro huffed through his nose heavily. “Nevermind.”

“Dingding! NOPE, none of that,” Shiro scolded lightly.

“The hell was that.”

“Oh, just the Shirogane Bullshit Alarm. We call eachother out on my-crap-that-you-got-stuck-with-by-proxy that I figured we might as well officially get one.”

Jiro snorted. “Says the guy who wouldn’t let Lance have a Space Police on Patrol Siren.”

“Hey! I was playing along!” Shiro pouted.

“Uhuh. I’m sure,” Jiro deadpanned.

“Oi. No sidetracking or the alarm goes off again.”

“Please don’t,” Jiro remarked dryly, then fell silent. Shiro poked him lightly. Jiro swatted him. “It’s just...the universe is so big,” he admitted. “And what if you guys weren’t the only eligible candidates for Paladins over the past ten thousand years...just the only ones that could reach the Lions.”

Shiro tore his gaze away from the star-speckled sky and watching the moons’ orbital paths to look his brother in the eye. “Hey,” he said softly. “You remember what I told Lance, right?”

“That the Blue Lion chose him, and that he should trust his Lion’s choice,” Jiro replied. “But—“

“Jiro,” Shiro interrupted. “Compatibility isn’t the only thing that makes relationships. All parties also have to choose the other, and have it be mutual. Which, to me it sounds like this unknown Lion has chosen you, and possibly bent time and space to do it. And we all know how much you want to be—and stay—a Paladin.”

Jiro ducked his head. “More than anything,” he said in a tight whisper.

“So there you go. The Lions and Paladins mirror eachother, yeah, but—“

“We also have to choose,” Jiro finished.

Shiro grinned at him. “Now you’re getting it.”

Jiro snorted. “Says the Perfect Paladin.”

Shiro exhaled a breath. “...Hardly. I spent too long resenting you and the Team for feeling replaced that I nearly lost my Bond.”

“You’re still not going on about that, are you?!” Jiro exclaimed in exasperation. “You. Had. Every. Right.”

Shiro shot his brother an irritated glare. “...Moving along,” he drawled. “I wasn’t certain I wanted to keep being a Paladin, not when I was struggling so badly with trusting both my Lion and the Team. But fortunately somebody talked some sense into me,” Shiro said while poking Jiro yet again.

Jiro growled in annoyance.

“You know that wouldn’t be nearly so fun if it didn’t annoy you.”

Jiro glared balefully, then flopped back onto the blanket to stare up at the night sky. Shiro squawked as his twin dragged the blanket wrapped around his shoulders down with him. “H-hey! That’s mine!”

“Dingding, I’m the one who brought it. So, mine now,” Jiro smirked while looking up at his brother partially upside down from his back. “And one, I’ll grant you that that’s fun. And two, you never did say what the stars did that was oh so offensive.”

Shiro flopped down next to him on his side, reached over, and yanked the blanket back until it draped around both of them (but left their feet exposed). “Dingding, you brought it for me, so share. And...I don’t know these stars. We never stay still long enough for me to ever know them. And the irony of being the first (human) astronaut to see them and have access to technology to make that possible, but not actually getting the chance to really study them? Their compositions, if stuff orbits them, how they affect life on said satellites if life’s there at all, if said planets have histories and mythologies surrounding them? I don’t get to know any of that. And I built a career around it.”

“Oh...” Jiro murmured. “Well, I guess that makes sense.”

Shiro’s brother-sense tingled, but chose not to use the alarm this time. “But...?” he prompted gently.

“But of the two of us, one has an actual degree and licence. The other just has some really epic cinematic memories...from someone else,” Jiro continued. “Which, they never really felt like mine, anyway. So I guess I don’t get it. I’ve only ever known the fast-travel version, and getting data in just enough time to spit out some new battle or travel plan, or convoy, or trade routes to either attack or build.

“So...I guess you could say, I’m born of the stars, but not born for the stars. Just constantly trying to learn everything in time, and stars don’t get to be much more than ‘oh, shiny!’ or ‘oh, useful,’ whether I like it or not.”

Shiro fell silent. Sometimes he forgot that Jiro hadn’t ever gotten to see their home galaxy’s stars for himself. And while Shiro had the luxury for nostalgia as everything he knew about them became mundane or obsolete, the mundane was all Jiro ever got to know about them actually firsthand and as himself. And Shiro couldn’t help but wish Lisa had somehow been Earth-bound when he first crashed. She’d probably understand the best where Jiro was coming from...but Shiro could still try.

“Well, then I guess we’ll just have to make up our own constellations,” Shiro said suddenly.

“Wait. What?”

Shiro smirked. “Think about it. Most of them got connected by a bunch of lonely drunk guys, and aren’t even all that useful for navigation. We’re both pretty smart guys. I’m sure we can do better than that.”

“Oh...uh, okay,” Jiro stammered. “Well, um, see that bright blue one? Yeah that one looks like an eye. And I guess that red one over there is a nose. And the rings kinda look like a mane?”

“Okay, yeah I can see that. Wait. Is he one-eyed?”

Jiro scoffed. “Don’t be stupid. He’s reclined in profile, obviously.”

“Fair. Well those three bright ones in a row? Well they kinda look like a rocket, especially if you connect them down to those other three at a slant for the fins. And the galaxy arm even looks like smoke.”

Jiro nudged his arm. “Nerd,” he teased fondly.

Shiro shoved him back with his foot. “Guilty as charged.”

They continued to point out new shapes, unaware of the dew and frost seeping up from the ground and drenching them. But then again, neither cared. They found their places in the stars.

[imhereformysciencefriends]

Fandom Ask Thing! Fandom - BNHA Ship - Sheith Character - Claudia (TDP)

001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you my:

Favorite character: Iida!!!!!!!!!!!!

Least Favorite character: BakuBITCH

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): 

Dekusquad ot5

Iidekuchako

Todoiideku

Iida x any of his friends really

Shoutoko

Character I find most attractive: Iida

Character I would marry: Iida

Character I would be best friends with: Iida and also probably Ochako

a random thought: If 20% of the world population is still quirkless, Deku ABSOLUTELY should have had quirkless classmates. 20% is one in five. 1/5. There’s absolutely no reason why quirklessness should already be seen as lesser, uncommon, or otherwise stigmatized. No way in hell Deku could’ve been the only one in all his classes without a quirk c m o n

An unpopular opinion: I don’t think Shinsou should be in class 1-A. I think his goal to get there is reflective of his all-or-nothing mindset that has been holding him back and part of him overcoming that mindset will and should involve accepting that there are ways to become a hero without the schooling that some of his peers are getting, and being a hero is about doing HIS PERSONAL BEST and doing the right thing, even when it’s hard, not where he graduated from. Also, he has friends in the gen class and I want him to keep and appreciate those bonds.

My Canon OTP: I don’t… think anyone in that show is actually canonically dating. I think literally everyone we see in that show is single. Eh fuck it. Iida’s Mom x Iida’s Dad

My Non-canon OTP: Iida x The fucking respect and appreciation he goddamn well deserves

Most Badass Character: Iida

Most Epic Villain: I fuckin love that warp dude. Handman went off on the aesthetics I’ll give him that but I mean what could be better than a tired half-dad in a barkeeper getup?

Pairing I am not a fan of: :) Bitchboy x MY GREEN SON

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): Mineta could’ve been a genuinely compelling character if he’d been more firmly characterized as “I am small and also a coward but I want to be a hero more than anything so even though I am very afraid and also definitely crying right now I’m still gonna give it my all” and less as “I am a perverted little bastard. I’m here to be a fucking pervert joke.”

Favouite Friendship: Iida & Deku & Ochako

Character I most identify with: Iida

Character I wish I could be: Shouji

002 | Send me a ship and I will tell you:

When I started shipping them: Literally episode 1 lmao

My thoughts: THEY’RE SO IN LOVE!!! FUCK!!! THEY’RE SO TENDER!!! tHEY’RE SO SOFT!!!! LITERALLY EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM IS SO TRUSTING AND GENTLE AND WHOLE-HEARTED AND SWEET AND GOOD AND KIND AND I!!!!!!!!! DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What makes me happy about them: God, everything? When they call each other’s names, when they stare fondly at each other, when they touch each other’s shoulders in fondness or reassurance or comfort or simply to remind the other that they’re there and they have their back. God. Keith would and did cross the stars to find Shiro, and Shiro CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD for Keith! They’re soulmates!!!

What makes me sad about them: :) Such a shame we never got a season 8 :) I bet we would’ve had a really amazing resolution to the passion and intimacy of their friendship :) Really just such a tragedy season 8 was cancelled before it could ever air :)

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: I really and genuinely do not care for femsheith. Even when it’s a genderbend, which usually checks out for me, I am just Not About It

Things I look for in fanfic: A good balance between tenderness and friendship. It’s not all serious heavy emotions all the time, they’re best friends and they LIKE each other, but it’s also not just all goofs and gags, they’re very soft with each other. Also smut.

My wishlist: Not entirely sure what this is asking but

1. Shiro to acknowledge Keith’s confession from the clone fight

2. Keith to try and play it off (he’s a terrible liar so we know this would not work) because he thinks he’s being rejected

3. Shiro to gently take his shoulder in hand and say he feels the same

4. A tender kiss

5. Absolutely nothing about their public relationship changes. They were in love before they confessed and they are not the types to get all blushy and nervous. Maybe they’ll hold hands or sling their arms around each other’s waists in front of others now but that’s it.

6. They do cool space-politics stuff and then travel the stars together after the war ends, retired and exploring all the wonders the universe has to offer them with their cool space dog.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: I don’t have, like, alternate ships for them. I like Heith, and Rolo x Keith, but only really as concepts? I like Keitor and Lotor x Shiro (they have a ship name but I’m forgetting it right now) but only in the context of fanfic, in canon I would want him to work it out with Allura so that’s kinda out. I just genuinely cannot see them with anyone but each other, really. 

My happily ever after for them: In a houseboat, but like, for space. Not a spaceship, since those are really big and built for a lot of people, but a spaceboat. Them, their dog, and the endless expanse of space for them to travel and explore together.

003 | Give me a character & I will tell you:

How I feel about this character: I love her!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of the main tdp cast I think she’s probably my favorite! (She and Aaravos are duking it out for first place in general)

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character:

Callum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Prince Kasef 

Idk I guess I like Claudia x Rayla content but I also don’t really see it? It’s cute to observe? But not something I actively partake in? But I find it charming? I can’t really say if Rayla should be in this list or not. 

Weird one but I think she and Nyx would get along super well

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: SOREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEYRE SUCH GOOD SIBLINGS! 

runner up is her relationship with Ezran the two are super heartfelt

My unpopular opinion about this character: I don’t think her using dark magic is any different than a butcher carving up a cow to be eaten. Yeah if she’s using elf or dragon body parts that’s fuckin bad, because those are people, but humans have a LONG history of killing animals for food + tools + materials, so using certain body parts for magic is also?? Not the worst thing in the world. If a magic sheep can have its meat turned into mutton, its wool turned into clothing, its skin turned into parchment, and its bones turned into  magic, why SHOULDN’T Claudia use it’s bones? Yes, there’s a toll on her body, but like we’ve seen in the show, Dark magic is a FORM. It requires practice, study, patience. The reason Callum reacts to it so badly is because he’s basically some dude who’s never worked out in his life waltzing into the gym and immediately going for the heaviest barbell. Claudia has studied this extensively, practiced it, built up her “magic muscles” so to speak, and so her body can handle it. Viren also overdoes it, but that’s because he knows he can butterfly the negative affects away and doesn’t particularly care if he gets a little ghostly in the process.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: she and Callum had had a chance to talk it out and make up. They’re friends! Best of friends! They have been since they were young kids! She genuinely was trying to do what she thought the right thing was, that’s all she’s ever tried to do, and I think Callum is the kind of person who, with some time to simmer down, has enough empathy and understanding to see that and reason with her.

Favorite friendship for this character: Callum and Ezran

My crossover ship: I don’t actually have one

[immortalarhiart]

Voltron Speculation- Why Klance is still K.I.C.K-ing

So if there’s one thing I love to do when watching shows or games or anything in between- it’s finding parallels or things that don’t quite add up. The sudden relationship arc that seems to be developing between Lance and Allura is one of those things. So I started thinking back on previous seasons and interviews.

Let me share what I've thought of~

The forced feeling behind Allurance was planned. Hear me out here.

Lance is confirmed to have a romantic end game, while Allura was confirmed NOT to have one. Why say that if they were gonna end up together? Everyone would have assumed Lotor and Allura were endgame with seasons 6, and by the time season 3 came out as we know, the next few seasons were already finished or halfway done. They also confirmed that Lance’s relationship was a slow-burn. Lance has liked Allura since season 1, and she’s never treated him very fondly until season 3 when the lion switch took place. Even then, the relationship was mostly admiration. The sudden affection hinted at in the second to last season wouldn’t be very slow.

However multiple things did happen with the switch- Lance encouraged Keith to take on the role of leader and put his own pride aside. Then the Blue lion shut Lance out during a dire battle, and when Lance doubted his place on the team the Red lion called out for him. Cue right hand man Lance.

Something I noticed that maybe not everyone did, was that the gender of the lions match their paladins. Except Lance and Blue. Black, Yellow, and Red are male. Green and Blue are referred to as girls. It only matches when Allura takes over piloting the Blue lion. When applying just the pronouns to the scene and a few quotes from it;

She (Blue) chose someone else over Lance, and He (Red) chose him instead.

And then Allura says “As much as I would have liked it to be me, The red lion chose you.” 

“He chose you.”

Then the next season happens and ‘Shiro’ is found- which leads to Lance coming to Keith about his place on the team. Once again with doubting if he should be one, he’s comforted by Keith with ‘things will work themselves out’. Next thing we know, Keith is distancing himself from the team before he eventually leaves. He mentioned one reason for leaving which was essentially, ‘The blade need me/I need to be a part of these missions’. When asked if that was the full reason he was leaving, he mumbles “I suppose that's part of it.” This second part is never expanded on. At first I thought it had something to do with his mother- but he had no idea she was alive. Plus he just got his brother back- why leave suddenly after unless he had another important reason? 

It’s like that scene between Krolia and Keith in season 6.

 ‘I finally understand. You put the mission before everything else.’

‘That’s not true. I left to protect the one I love move. You.’

Keith left so Lance could stay, and they could both still be useful. But it hurt Lance, though he tried to hide it. It was confirmed that it left a VOID in Lance’s heart. When stranded in space Lance even yelled at Keith ‘You left Keith! Maybe you should have stayed gone.’

It was also confirmed that Lance will end up with something totally different to where he began- Something/ someone he NEEDS instead of wants. Someone confident and self assured.

He’s always wanted Allura. And Now Allura wants him.

But it’s like Lance told his first girl, the Blue lion,- ‘Sometimes what we want isn’t necessarily what we get’.

During “The Feud”, Lance even chose Keith to escape, saying “He’s like- the future.”

In short, Allura and Lance have been hinted at failing since the beginning, and they’re SUPPOSED to feel forced. They both have too many doubts about themselves and their places in the world to truly work together. They clash, even. They’re trying to find a source of comfort to fill the void they have in their hearts. They’ve had moments, but not nearly enough.

Keith and Lance have truly the most developed relationship in the series dare I say. A rivalry built on mutual annoyance, that shifted to indifference, to friendship with admiration and trust and fond looks. There was even several parallels to Krolia and Keith’s dad, and the VLD Crew said ‘Parallels are for a reason.’ It was such a natural progression that flowed smoothly and suddenly seem cut when season 7 rolled around. Not destroyed, but definitely not where they were. Bonding back to that closeness and familiarity and even more would be incredibly easy in 13 episodes.

 Much easier and simpler than suddenly making Allura in love with Lance after she chose a psychotic killer over him originally and didn’t have a single regret until she found out what Lotor had done. That’d be a great message to send to audiences. “Hey turns out that my Ex you warned me about WAS actually a dick. So after technically years of being annoyed by you, I suddenly love you!”

So either it’s a struggle and they’re both gonna realize that- or Dreamworks is gonna say fuck it and leave us with a terrible and random end. 

Lance is someone's first choice. He’s almost always been Keith’s. 

Please tell me your thoughts or if you can remember anything else!

@singingartbird

[psychicscavenger]

More headcanons, cuz I’m writing and the mood just hit me ya know? Yeah this might be boring info but I find little details like this entertaining so here we go!

The story will be set in the South cuz its where I live, what I’m used to, and has potential for an interesting story background setting, in terms of a romantic and eerie atmosphere. (Think late night stargazing underneath the trees with lightning bugs flying around, and nothing but the moon shining above Shance enjoying one another’s company).

Lance drives an old hand me down light blue volkswagon bug, it was previously his sister Rachel’s and he’s been stuck with it ever since college. Hunk and the others fondly refer to it as the ‘clown car’ whenever they all have to pile in that tiny thing to go anywhere. Shiro hates that thing since he barely fits to where he has to slouch in his seat in order to fit inside, but tolerates it since he knows Lance loves it dearly. 

Shiro however, has one of those big ass annoying tailgating monster trucks that everyone tends to think the driver is trying to compensate for something else ifyouknowwhatimsayin Lance totally squints at his future husband when they first started going out, thinking the exact same thing. Boy is he happy to be proven wrong. Eventually the truck grows on Lance, liking the roomy interior and that they can happily fuck inside and outside the thing. Lance convinces Shiro to turn the truck bed into a mini pool during the summer heat. They get maybe two uses out of the ‘truck pool’ but then it becomes a swamp.

The truck bed is the first place they did it.      

[incorrect-sheith-quotes]

Shiro: [talking excitedly to Keith]

Keith: [listening while gazing fondly at him]

Shiro: …I’m sorry. I’m rambling, aren’t I? People say I talk too much. Just tell me if I start to get annoying.

Keith: You’re not annoying. And I love listening to you. Talk all you want.

Keith, internally: I’m going to murder whoever told him that he talks too much.

[sol1056]

I cant find your posts on the production timeline so i have to ask, if DW really did started planning for a sequel (w/o the EPs) roughly one year ago and it will be announced soon and air roughly one year from now, when in your production timeline calculations did their decision fall? What season were EPs working on (or reworking on? as they already had been given permission to break the series?) when they were notified and they spitefully started to sabotage things?

hrm, maybe try my #television-production tag? I’d suggest my #sol-thinks-about-stuff tag but that’s probably going to get you a lot of other stuff that’s not relevant to your question. 

Okay, trying to recall off the top of my head… April is the traditional shopping-for-staff month. It has something to do with when TV series finish their year, wind down, and new series put out feelers for people to do pilots... uh, I can’t remember the details, only that March-April is when you’d act if you wanted to snag people coming off other projects. 

That would’ve been one month after S5 was released, which was not a good one, numbers-wise. It would’ve been far enough into the Kuron storyline execs were aware VLD was going off the rails in terms of storyline, bible, skeleton, etc. Oh, and there would’ve been several months negotiation with Hedrick over his transfer and promotion, all of which was formalized and announced in, you guessed it, April. 

Discussion probably began earlier, of course (this stuff doesn’t happen fast). I’d bet the EPs heard rumblings in the grapevine, hence their use of interviews to pitch/push their vision of a sequel. That was around March, and somewhere around April is when they went silent; when asked in a followup (May, iirc), JDS shut down the question, saying such decisions were over their heads. 

No other mention of a continuation until after S7, when Kimberly and Josh both talk fondly of continuing their characters. I don’t think it got much traction, since most people seemed to see the EPs’ silence as cue that talk of a continuation was just a fantasy. 

So, what’s below this line and behind the cut is entirely my speculation, and based on nothing more than tugging at the various pieces and trying to make sense of things. Not really organized, but my brain isn’t entirely out of vacation-mode yet, so go easy on me.

If DW started a new team to come up with a sequel, let’s say around March, that would’ve been S5’s release. That means the execs may’ve already decided they didn’t want the EPs continuing on the project, and already knew the broad strokes of S7/S8 and where the story would go from there.

But it could be internal politics stifling attempts to course-correct. Sometimes you do just have to do an end-run around certain obstacles, so DW may’ve decided their best choice was to write off the loss as a lesson learned.

Which means: if they brought on a new team, and there’s no story bible… either the new team had to wait and watch the entire series… or maybe they were told, “just start from this point”? 

(Keeping in mind that any approval for the Keith-BP storyline had to have been fall, possibly winter, of 2017. Any earlier and animation wouldn’t have been completed in time for it to be reworked into its final version, after all.)

What if the execs didn’t really fuss all that much about S7/S8 because they already knew they were going to ignore it? Timing-wise, they’d already have two seasons of the Kuron fiasco, knew what the fandom wanted – and may’ve known the EPs were determined not to deliver that. 

That could be why DW saw reason to amend S8 only enough to communicate their corporate position (against BYG, for LGBT storylines). The rest – Shiro being benched, Keith shoved into leadership, Allura dead, Lotor condemned – they knew the sequel would fix or ignore. 

So they picked the area that sent the fandom into the worst paroxysms of fury, plugged in enough to send a signal, and washed their hands of the rest?

Another -- and this is way out-there but humor me -- theory is that when JDS got permission to keep Keith as BP, he did so by going over his own bosses’ heads, and getting the okay from Bob Koplar specifically. 

Harking back to the Feud being written by Hedrick as a last dig at his soon-to-be-former team, it’s notable that a) the all-powerful but incomprehensible (and somewhat ridiculous) deity is... Bob. And that b) Bob bestows his blessing on the second lineup, leaving Shiro entirely out of the equation. It just seems a little pointed, and we know the writers weren’t above that (”I’ll never get rid of you, Shiro!”). So... maybe. 

Thing is, you never ever go over your boss’ head unless you’re on your way out the door or you didn’t like your job and wanted to be booted soon. That’s pretty much a scorched-earth thing, but then again, we’re talking about someone who seemed baffled (and a bit annoyed) at fandom furor over the BYG trope. It takes that level of arrogance to think you could contact what’s effectively the client, talk them into a major change, and then use their agreement to put your own bosses on the spot and force them to go along. 

It’s also a really quick way to find yourself not wanted around, anymore. idk, execs just seem to take that kinda personal. Who’da thunk it. 

Either way, DW may’ve seen it as something they’d write off, but also learn from: would the fandom react well to Keith being BP? Which is grasping at straws if it’s supposed to be a lesson, since even Keith stans needed Keith to be, y’know, actually Keith, and not Recycled Shiro v2... so who knows. 

Well, if anyone really wants to dig into this theory, here’s one way: check IMDB for writers and staff whose series ended in late 2017 or early 2018. Cross-reference that with people on linkedin listed as starting a new position at DW for an unnamed project, and you might be able to narrow down some possibilities. 

[panda-noosh]

Hi! I was wondering if I could please submit an angst Vampire! Shiro x reader where he hates humans until a stranger accidentally wonders in his castle during a deadly winter storm (with a little NSFW please??) If not then that’s fine!😊 I saw a fan art of the Paladins as monsters the other day (and Coran as a funny poltergeist lol) and thought this would be cool written out lol, thank you for taking the time to read my ask♥️ have a wonderful day!!

    There was a human in his castle.

    A human. One of those filthy, annoying little things that he had isolated himself purely to avoid - and there was one of them in his home.

    Shiro felt like he should have been angrier, furious even. Humans should be terrified of him. Humans were terrified of him - he had spent the majority of his long, long life trying to ensure such a thing were true. He didn’t want them anywhere near him.

    And yet he stood over your bedside now, and pondered on why he felt absolutely nothing.

    Nothing but concern, but he didn’t want to acknowledge that side of things. Although he hated the human race, although he had isolated himself purely to avoid the existence of such things, he would openly say that he wasn’t a complete monster. He got his blood from animals rather than human veins, hadn’t killed a single human being in his time on earth. He was a kind hearted soul, meaning he of course wasn’t going to let you die from hypothermia and exhaustion right outside his door.

    But there was something a little bit different about this one. He watched over you, checked up on you every few hours, made sure that the cupboards had something for you to eat when you woke up. For some reason, he was worried.

    Your lips were blue, hair matted against the pillow, skin sunken-looking. He reached out a tentative hand, hesitated only a moment before he placed his knuckles against your flesh; you were boiling, running a fever despite the shiver coursing through your body and the weather you had emerged from only moments before. You should have been freezing.

     The days passed. You improved. Shiro watched over you. For a little while, Shiro truly believed he was peaceful. He had trapped himself into a routine, consisting of waking up and checking on you every few hours - it was easier that way. He could keep a close eye on you without having to speak, without having to explain the situation or where you were. He liked it like that. In a way, he still felt isolated - he just had company.

    It was on the third day when that changed.

    Shiro walked in to see you sitting up in bed, running your hands frantically through your hair. He stopped dead in his tracks, unsure of what to do or how to handle the situation. Was he meant to tell you to lay back down, because surely being awake and upright wasn’t good for the fever you had been dealing with only hours beforehand. 

    He stepped forward into the light of the dimly-lit room, and you jumped at the sudden intrusion. You hadn’t heard him come in initially, though Shiro wasn’t surprised by that. He had no reflection to be seen in the windows, and he was incredibly light on his feet. It was one of the perks that came with being legally dead.

    “Oh God,” was the first thing you said upon seeing him; pale skin, sharp teeth, red-tinted cheeks. Shiro swiped a self-conscious thumb along his lower lip to ensure he hadn’t left behind any traces of the blood he had digested for breakfast; there was none.

    “Hello,” he said hesitantly. “Do you have any idea where you are?”

    The question was simple, and yet it sent you into an obvious panic. Your eyes widened, hands slamming down onto the covers as you looked around frantically. “God, no. No. I have - I have no idea where I am. I ran away from home and ended up … somewhere! Then it started snowing, and-”

   “You collapsed outside my door,” Shiro explained, taking the reigns to allow you a moment to breathe. “I brought you in, human.”

    He winced almost as soon as he said it; how could he be so daft? You looked over at him slowly, teeth nibbling on your bottom lip, eyes raking his form slowly. Shiro had never been intimidated by a human being before, but the look you were giving him now was enough to turn even his stiff veins to ice.

    “So it’s true, is it?” you asked quietly.

    Shiro froze. “I don’t know what you mean.”

   “The stories,” you explained. “The ones they all talk about. Takashi Shirogane, the vampire. The recluse. They’re all true.”

    Shiro stared back at you. You did not waver, did not break the gaze - Shiro could respect that. 

   Slowly, he nodded.

    You pursed your pale lips and looked away, as if trying to collect yourself. Shiro couldn’t blame you; he, too, would be in shock at the revelation that something he had only heard of in childrens tales had turned out to be true this entire time. He settled himself back against the door frame and stared until you finally looked back up at him, running a hand through your hair.

    “Do you perhaps have anything to drink?” you asked. “Anything that a human can drink.”

    And despite the voice in the back of Shiro’s head telling him that he should just send you back the way you came, get rid of you as soon as possible, he smiled, nodded and made his way into the kitchen.

+++

   Shiro looked at you from across the table. He had been doing a lot of that recently - looking at you. Inspecting you. Putting together the puzzle that made up your existence, hoping the end product would tell him exactly why he allowed you to stay here, exactly why he had taken so fondly to you.

    It was your third week in his presence. He had given you a room, was feeding you, was enjoying your company most of all. It was odd. He had never felt like this before, and yet he couldn’t find the strength to fight against it. It was strange having been an emotionless corpse one moment, to suddenly being thrown into a world of feelings that he couldn’t quite explain even to himself.

   So he just watched you and hoped that, in the end, he would have the answers he wanted. Perhaps even the strength to do what he knew would be best - send you on your way, get you out of his presence before he could hurt you.

    That was his biggest fear, though he tried desperately to ignore it. These feelings were new to him. He didn’t know how to handle them. Easily, they could drive him mad, distress him to the point where he lashed out, because it certainly would not be the first time such a thing had happened. He lost control. He was so used to doing what he wanted, of people being afraid of him, that holding back was no longer something he worried about.

    But with you it was different. He realised that from the moment you looked up at him with those beautiful eyes, a piece of steak dangling from your lips. You awkwardly blinked in his direction, having only just caught him staring. He smiled, nodded towards the plate of food you had in front of you. He had a cup of deer blood.

    “Enjoying your meal?” he asked pleasantly.

   You let the piece of steak splatter back onto the plate, quickly wiping the gravy with the back of your hand. “I am. Thank you. It looks .  . . Well, I know talking about expenses isn’t exactly very good, but it looks expensive.”

   Shiro shrugged. “It didn’t put me in debt, so I wouldn’t worry.”

   “That’s not the point.” You set your fork down, suddenly looking serious. Shiro raised his brows, trying to fight off his smile of amusement. “You shouldn’t be buying all this expensive stuff for me. My bill by the end of this is going to be incredible.”

    “Bill?”

   “Well, I’ll have to pay you back. Rent and stuff.”

   Shiro chuckled. “If I was expecting rent money, I would have asked you for it by now.” He shook his head. “No, no. Don’t you worry about paying for anything. I’m taking care of you.”

   You blinked. It confused Shiro. He had spent his entire life believing that human beings were selfish. They took and they took without any consideration for others - and yet here you were, sitting in front of him with a look of pure confusion at the mere idea of Shiro allowing you to stay in his home for free.

    He gestured towards your food. “Though if you let the expensive steak go to waste, I’ll be most disappointed. Perhaps even a little angry.”

    You flushed, but said no more on the topic. You picked up your fork and went back to eating at the food Shiro had provided, and Shiro went back to putting the puzzle that was you back together in his head.

+++

    The argument started not long after midnight.

    You had, once again, insisted on staying up with Shiro. He didn’t see the point; he had slept throughout the entire day whilst you had been up cleaning and doing the housework as a way to thank him for his hospitality. Now that the sun had gone down and the moon was in the sky, it was Shiro’s time to thrive.

    It was clear you were exhausted, and yet you still insisted on sitting beside Shiro, refusing to go to bed.

   He glared at you. “You’re going to wear yourself out.”

   “If I hear you saying that one more time, I swear to God-”

    “I’m serious, Y/N. One or two nights staying up with me is fine, but whenever you’re up all day and all night, it’s going to take it’s toll on you. Just because I’m dead, doesn’t mean I don’t realise that.”

   You folded your arms over your chest, refusing to look at him. You kept your gaze directly on the smouldering fireplace in front of you, the flames echoing off of your eyes and creating a very distinct, interesting pattern in your irises that nearly had Shiro sidetracking just to take a closer look.

    He sighed. “You’re giving me the silent treatment?”

   “I just wish you’d let me do what I want. I want to keep you company - it can’t be very nice sitting up all night on your own.”

   “It’s all I’ve ever known.”

   “Because you had no one else.” You turned to him, eyes glittering in a way that made Shiro’s heart retract, his black-tipped fingers tingle with the need to reach out and hold you. “I’m here now, though. You saved me. Why can’t you just let me thank you?”

    Shiro pursed his lips. You made it so difficult. You made everything so difficult, and you didn’t even realise it. You looked at him with those innocent eyes, and you tilted your head back when you laughed, and you danced when you thought nobody was there. Shiro was only awake during the night, but you made those times feel like the brightest, most magical times of the day.

   And you didn’t even realise it.

    Shiro jumped when you reached out and gently grazed your fingers over his. His skin seared where you touched him, urging him to flinch back, hide away just like he had always done. But he stayed rooted to the ground, watching your fingers glide through his own until you were doing that thing humans did - held hands. An action Shiro had never understood, but was beginning to understand now. It left him breathless, and he felt stupid for it. It was such a simple action, and yet…

    “This is nice,” he breathed. He wasn’t even sure if you had heard him or not, though judging by the small giggle you let out, you had heard him perfectly fine. 

    “Tell me how you want to spend your night, Shiro, and we’ll make it happen,” you whispered. “We’ll make this the best night of your life. Your long, long life.”

    Shiro inhaled shakily and looked up, eyes meeting your own. So many things came to mind. He wanted to hold your hand some more, wanted to go outside into the moonlight and hug you beneath the magical rays. He wanted to hear you laugh, wanted to play the music you always spoke about - he had no radio, no access to music but in this moment, he would have done anything just to see your eyes light up at the sound of it. 

     But he couldn’t give you that, and in reality, it really wasn’t the only thing he wanted. He felt the anxiety clawing at his chest, a most unfamiliar feeling for him, but he embraced it and used it to spur himself onwards; that’s when he tipped his head down and pressed his lips to your own, sloppy and unpractised because he had been repulsed by humans up until this point.

    You responded, and Shiro took that as a good sign. He choked back a protest when your fingers glided away from his own; he wanted to keep holding your hand! 

    But you made up for it by instead trailing your fingers along the back of his neck, and Shiro was sure he had never felt anything more stimulating in his entire life. He growled against your mouth, causing you to giggle, breaking the kiss only for a second before Shiro got greedy and pressed his lips back against your own.

    You smiled, winding your arms around his shoulders, allowing him to pick you up and wrap your legs around his hips. You slotted against him so well. It amused him. How had you been living in his home for nearly a month and a half, and he was only figuring all of this out now? 

   He was only just now figuring out how good your fingers felt weaving through his hair, how good your lips tasted, how pleasant your body felt against his own as he pressed you down onto the velvet sofa. You sunk into the material, letting out a sigh that could only be described as one of bliss, Shiro hovering over you, glancing down at you as if you were prey.

    But you weren’t.

   For once, Shiro wasn’t hungry, wasn’t craving the feel of human skin enveloping his fangs. He just wanted you. You and your personality and you in general, and he let you know this by tracing his fingers idly beneath your shirt, drawing invisible little butterflies onto your stomach.

    You squirmed in his grip, looked up at him almost pleadingly and said, “Shiro.��

   His name on your lips was music. He was sure of it. Whilst you enjoyed a beat and a tune, all Shiro needed was your breathless murmur of his name and he could have danced the entire night away.

   He leaned down and peppered kisses along your jaw. He could hear the blood pumping through your veins, loud as a siren in the distance, but he ignored it. 

     “You’re not scared,” he whispered against your flesh. It was not a question.

    You shook your head slowly, looking deep into his grey eyes with an intensity that had even his insides turning to liquid.

     “I could never be scared of you, Shiro,” you whispered back. “Now, what about my promise?”

   Shiro nuzzled his head in your neck, hummed against your flesh. “Promise?”

   “To make this the best night you’ve ever had,” you replied, and Shiro stiffened. You leaned up, pressed your lips to his ear and whispered, “Tell me what you want to do.”

    Shiro inhaled deeply, letting his hands roam just over the swell of your hips. He pressed you back onto the sofa, pressed his own lips to your ear and replied, “I have a few things in mind.”