#keith struggles with expressing what he wants and this in turn confuses lance on Keith's intentions

[klancer-warrior]

in which keith struggles to say what he wants

[autisticlancemcclain]

Truthfully, he should have seen it coming.

He’d anticipated the pain and loneliness for the first week. No signal, Keith had said, but it won’t last too long. Lance had hung onto those words like they were the only thing holding him up from a chasm of frustration. Every longing look at his laptop came with a reminder that he could talk to Keith soon.

And then the second week passed. And the third.

Lance had rationalized it to himself. Keith has a very hectic schedule, after all. It’s not too unusual for him to miss a call, for him to be unavailable. It’s not like he has a set schedule. He gets missions and then he has to go — Lance would rather him be focused, honestly, even if it means he misses his boyfriend worse.

He’s in a weird state of limbo, then, when the call from Kolivan comes. Part of Lance felt dread from the moment the Blade pushed through the call. Another part begged any god who would listen that he was wrong. There had been so much panic and uncertainty swirling through thin, then, that he’d hardly even heard the Galran’s words, hardly heard him confirm Lance’s worst fear: Keith had gone missing. He was assumed dead.

Something cracked in Lance, then. Something wide and sharp and gaping, splitting all the way up from the base of his tailbone to the tip of his head. Something fragmented, as every part of him imploded.

Before he felt the pain, though, before his heart cracked fully in half, his brain went foggy, like he was a panicking horse with a blanket thrown over its head.

This is for your own good, murmured a voice in his head, gentle and cool as a river, and then Lance went blank. He heard his teammates’ outcries, heard the demand for answers and details that Kolivan did not have, saw the confusion and fear and panic in everyone’s expression.

But he was blank. He felt nothing. Red had dragged Blue to him, and had her blanket his mind and soul, protect him from his own destruction.

He spent the next two months increasingly numb. He felt things happening, logged them in his brain, interacted as normally as he could, but it almost felt like he was tethered on a string a few feet away from his body, like he was watching himself live from behind.

It was nauseating.

Watching the team fall apart, struggle to even interact as a group; watching everyone branch off and grow more irritable, watching Shiro crack under his own pressure and turn into someone Lance couldn’t recognise…it was difficult to watch. It felt like watching two trains approach each other at full speed only for you it was in slow motion; you knew it was coming, could see all the damage it was doing, but you were powerless to stop it.

I can’t do this anymore, he begged his lions. He felt both of their apprehension in his mind, their fear; of him splintering where he stands. He’s never been very good at handling heartbreak. He can barely handle the pain of being so far away from home, from what he knows. Losing people haunts him in ways that never leave. He knows that.

But he also knows that he is capable. He has made it this far. Grief is all-encompassing, it always is, but he has grown around the pain every time, and he will again.

This time, also, he has no choice. He is the Red Paladin of Voltron. Whether Shiro wants him or not, he is the right hand. He has a responsibility, and he can hide from it no longer.

It will hurt, Blue warns softly.

Lance closes his eyes, shuddering. His hands clutch tighter on the shirt he has of Keith’s, soft with use, no longer smelling of him but comforting anyway.

“I know,” he whispers.

Hesitation blooms from both lions, but Lance’s resolve is stronger. Nothing happens for a moment, the anticipation of the pain worse than any muted emotion he’s felt in weeks. Then, suddenly, like the blanket was ripped off his mind, he lights up with pain.

He gasps out in the shock of it — it’s more than he expected, everywhere, like months of grief is hitting him at once. Sobs bubble up his throat and explode out of him, violent in how they tear out of his throat, his mouth, and the heaving turns his stomach so greatly that he barely makes it to the bathroom before throwing up. He clutches the icy porcelain of the toilet seat, like the grip can help the splitting ache in his head, the burning of his eyes, the bitter taste overflowing his mouth.

“God, no,” he moans, and he’s not sure if he’s protesting the pain of a trillion suppressed neutrons firing at once or the abstract pain of knowing he will feel this ache every day for the rest of his life. “God, please, no.”

He’s not sure how long he sits like that. How long he suffers. Long enough that he runs out of tears, long enough that his voice grows hoarse. Both Blue and Red howl in pain inside his mind, frantic to watch him but unable to intervene. He mourns until he physically cannot mourn any longer, and falls asleep crumpled where he sits, clutching himself tightly to try and hold his pieces together.

He wakes suddenly to the castle’s blaring morning alarm, muscles cramped from their night-long tense positions and eyes burning. He straightens as carefully as he can, rising to wash his face and dress as quickly as he can manage. He’s going to be late regardless. And Shiro is going to be angry with him, and this time he’s just going to have to deal with it. The ache in him has not lessened. He just no longer has time to cater it.

He is the Paladin of the Red and Blue Lions, the Right Hand of Voltron.

He has a job to do.

———

fics in the same universe: before after

[sleepdeprivedflower]

“Keith, no!” Hunk pleaded even as the red paladin strode out of the room, a set expression on his face and each of his steps resounding with the sheer weight of his determination.

Keith didn’t listen to Hunk. With a groan and a whispered “Not again”, Hunk trotted after him.

“Come on, Keith, it’s a bad idea, like, the kind of bad idea where you end up dead.”

Keith ignored him.

Huffing, Hunk tried to catch him instead. If the boy didn’t want to listen, then he'd have to stop him manu militari. But Keith hadn’t been chosen by the fastest of the lions for nothing. He effortlessly dodged Hunk and picked up the pace. As he turned around the corner, he stumbled upon Pidge, who took one look at him and frowned.

“Keith, no!” she tried, but Keith ignored her too.

Like Hunk, she went after him.

“But Keith, you don’t even know for sure! What if it’s not there? You’d be risking your life for nothing! We don’t have enough data yet!”

Of course, Keith only accelerated more, the green and yellow paladins still struggling after him, panting as they tried to run and shout at him at the same time.

As he left the bathroom after a long, relaxing bath, Shiro saw the three teenagers and immediately tensed back up. He knew that look on Keith’s face. It was his ‘I’m off to be extra reckless and I’ll probably die in the process’ look. Shiro stepped in the middle of the corridor and spread his arms, blocking the way.

“Keith, no!” he ordered, his dad voice seeping through the two words — not that he would ever admit that he did have a dad voice.

In any case, Keith didn’t let that deter him. He easily ducked under Shiro’s arm, and damn Shiro's relaxing bath for making him sluggish!

“Keith, come back here this instant,” he tried instead, following after him as well, his voice joining the other two. “I won’t let you go out there and risk your life. If you don’t stop right now I will ground you for the foreseeable future!”

Just as Keith was about to enter the hangar, Shiro’s threats having flown well above his head, Allura and Coran stepped in front of the doors, arms crossed.

“Keith, no!” they both shouted.

“Number four, you don’t seem to realise how dangerous that mission is,” Coran continued. “If you just wait a couple more quintants, then we will be able to assess the situation better and-”

But Keith kept running towards them, not even slightly phased by the Altean’s words. Allura took a step forward then, standing regally before him.

“Paladin, you shall stop immediately. It is an order, understood?”

Her icy, authoritative tone would have made anyone react. Even Zarkon would have flinched. Granted, he wouldn’t have listened, but he would’ve reacted. Keith, however, didn’t falter. Instead he just pushed his way to the hangar and bolted towards his lion-

-only to stop dead in his tracks.

“Where are you going, Mullet?”

Keith sneered as Lance peeled himself off of Red’s paw and stepped right in front of him.

“Lance, move,” Keith gritted, his jaw clenched. “I don’t have time for this.”

Lance nodded, as if he understood perfectly the urgency of the situation — which, he did, but he had some self-control left, and he was putting to good use, for once.

“Of course you wouldn’t have time. Too eager to go on that mission, huh? Well, go ahead, then, don’t let me hold you back.”

Lance stepped aside and motioned for Keith to proceed, ignoring the others’ loud protests. Keith had yet to move, though.

“You’re not going to stop me?” he asked suspiciously.

Lance chuckled.

“Nah, man, go ahead, do it. I mean, why would I try to stop you? I don’t want to lose, you know.”

Keith frowned.

“Lose what?”

“Well, you know,” Lance drawled, a little smirk now stretching his lips. “Everyone knows you can’t not do better than me.”

A moment.

“I can’t- what?”

Keith crossed his arms, now looking very confused. To be fair, everyone but Lance looked very confused.

“You can’t not do better than me,” Lance repeated slowly. “I mean, sure, you’re good at doing stuff, like, you can do very well, you’re very capable of doing, but you can’t not do. Hell, you’re shit at not doing. Whereas I, yours truly, can not do. In fact, I can not do so well, that you could call me the can-not-doer.”

Keith grew more confused with each word that escaped the blue paladin’s lips, to the point that he looked almost distressed. Yet, he still recognised the underlying challenge, the implied taunt.

“Oh yeah? Well I’ll show you just who can do not- can- can’t not- I’ll show you!” he sputtered.

He stormed off, having somewhat understood that this had to do with him not rushing into his lion but still mulling over Lance’s nonsensical speech, trying to make it make sense.

Back in the hangar, everyone looked at Lance, who in turn was still looking at the doors through which the red paladin has stormed off, looking proud of himself.

“Er... What was that?” Pidge asked first.

Lance turned towards them, and he was radiating satisfaction and smugness. He grinned.

“That was reverse psychology, Pidgeon. Aka the only psychology that ever gets through his thick skull. Works like a charm against younger siblings and brooding Mullets”

[actress4him]

Bonus Whumptober Content

I had no plans originally of continuing the story from Whumptober Day 28. As far as I was concerned, it ended badly and that was that.

But you can all thank @outtacommission , because I was bribed into continuing it!

If you need a refresher on the original chapter, click the link above or read it on AO3.

This is the start of the new content, which ended up being super long, so I broke it up into three short chapters. I’m really excited and nervous to share this. Writing sequels for oneshots that weren’t originally supposed to be continued is...tough. This is the second time I’ve done it, and I always feel like the continuation isn’t as good as the original. But I’m pretty happy with how this turned out, so I hope that you guys enjoy it, too!

Fandom: Voltron Legendary Defender

Warnings: (big spoilers!) needles, implied CPR, broken bones, blood, brain damage, paralysis, amputation, panic attacks

.

“Quiznak. Oh, holy quiznak, Keith?”

.

“He’s not breathing. I’ve got no pulse.”

.

“Hold him steady, I’m cutting the back of this chair off so we can get to the shrapnel.”

.

“Come on, Keith. Breathe. Breathe!”

.

“Look, I found this in Red’s first aid kit. I’m a universal donor.”

“Get it hooked up, he needs everything we can give him.”

.

“Please, Keith. Please.”

.

“Shiro, his ribs…”

“I know. They’ll heal.”

.

“Wait! Look!”

“Oh my g-...okay. Okay. Hurry, let’s get him to the Black Lion. I’ll need you to ride with him so you can keep up the transfusion.”

“Right behind you.”

.

.

Consciousness came in spurts. The first time, he surfaced from the never-ending blackness to nothing but cold and pain, and the feeling that his insides were twisted into a big knot and trying their best to exit his body. As he retched, body automatically jerking to try to sit up or roll over and sending even more pain shooting through him, frantic voices surrounded him.

“...reaction...blood…!”

“But...O neg...shouldn’t…”

Somebody scooped him up like a baby and ran, jarring his screaming abdomen with every step, before depositing him onto a semi-soft surface.

“...Galra…”

“...sample...synthesize more…”

The words meant nothing to him. All he knew was pain and nausea, and a blur of lights and movement above him.

Just before he passed out again, there was a sharp prick in his forearm that momentarily drew his attention away from the rest of the pain. He couldn’t find the energy to protest it.

.

.

The second time, voices were the first to filter in, hushed tones that sounded as if they were speaking a foreign language. His eyes fluttered open, but the bright lights overhead made him wince and squeeze them back shut. 

“You’re okay,” someone soothed, the only words he could actually pick out from among the rest. “You’ll be just fine. Go back to sleep, now.”

There was a prick on the back of his hand, and he whimpered involuntarily. But a moment later the nothingness was taking back over, and he gladly slipped underneath.

.

.

The next time he woke, he had no recollection of the first two times, or of anything that happened before, but for some reason he was surprised to be waking up. Somehow, he didn’t think he was going to do so. But here he was, awake. Only, he had no idea where here was.

“Keith? Bud? You with us?”

He knew that voice. Turning his head toward it, he willed his eyes to open, and after a moment, they obeyed. A blur of yellow and brown met him. 

“Hey, bud! It’s good to see those eyes open. Can you hear me?”

Keith blinked, trying to bring the person into focus. Once their features had solidified enough that he could make out dark brown eyes and a smile, he licked his chapped lips and attempted to speak. 

“Hunk.” For some reason the N dragged on for much longer than he had intended, but it was a word, regardless.

“Yeah! That’s me! Oh my gosh, you have no idea how happy I am that you’re awake and okay.”

How long had he been asleep? It must have been a while for Hunk to be worried. And he was pretty sure he felt okay, though maybe a bit numb overall. Maybe he really had been asleep for a long time. It kinda felt like he was waking up after one of those naps you take while you’re sick and your fever breaks in the middle of it.

He licked his lips again, to no avail. “‘hirsty.”

“Yep, yep, I’m sure you are.” Hunk turned and snatched something up off a nearby table, bringing it toward Keith’s face. “Here ya go. Small sips.”

The water was the most wonderful thing he had ever tasted in his life. He wanted to gulp it all down, ignoring what he had been told, but Hunk pulled it away after only a couple of seconds. 

“Okay, I’m gonna go get Shiro and Fallenta and let them know you’re awake, alright? I’ll be right back.”

Keith struggled to process that sentence. He didn’t think he recognized one of those names, and he still couldn’t figure out why him being awake was such a big deal. Unless...he had gotten hurt in one of their fights. But then why wouldn’t he be waking up from the pod, not in whatever bed this was?

“Wha...happened?” His words continued to come out strangely, despite his best efforts. Maybe he had been sleeping on his face, because it was one of those numb parts of him that didn’t seem to want to move properly.

Hunk froze at the doorway, turning slowly to face him. “Um...what do you remember?”

It was a good question. Wrinkling his brow, he searched his still half-dazed mind, trying and failing to grasp at the snippets of memories that danced by. It didn’t take long for his head to start hurting, and he shut his eyes, giving up for the moment. “Don’t know. A fight?” He had a vague recollection of being in Red recently. “In the Lions?”

“Um, yeah, well, that’s...one thing that happened.” Hunk seemed nervous, fidgeting with his hands. “I’m gonna go, um, get the others, and they can tell you everything, ‘kay?” Without giving Keith a chance to protest, he disappeared through the door.

Keith sighed, and tested out various parts of his body. Other than most of his right side being curiously numb, and an almost unnoticeable ache in a couple more places, everything seemed to be working properly. He had been in Red right before waking up there...right? Maybe she could tell him what was going on.

Only when he closed his eyes and reached for their connection, he came up empty. There was nothing there. No hum, no purr, nothing. His heart leapt into his throat. Red! Red, where are you? What if something had happened to her? What if she was gone? What if he had done something to make her reject him, and he wasn’t even a paladin anymore, what if that’s what Hunk didn’t want to tell him? If he wasn’t a paladin anymore, then he’d...he’d be nothing. Useless. There would be absolutely no reason for him to be in the Castle anymore, in space at all. The other paladins would take him back to Earth and dump him off, and he’d have no one and nothing yet again.

The door opened, and Keith shot upright, ignoring the way it made his head swim and that ache in his ribs twinge. “I can’t feel Red! I can’t...what happened? Where’s Red?”

“Hey! Hey, shh, Keith, it’s okay!” Shiro was across the room in an instant, sitting down on the side of the bed and grasping Keith’s shoulders in both his hands. “I need you to calm down for me, okay? I’ll explain, but I need you to take deep breaths.”

Drawing in one such breath to appease the man, Keith glanced around the room, taking in Hunk’s worried expression and the alien stranger that stood on the other side of his bed. “Somebody please just tell me what's going on.” The words were still slurred, which was getting more frustrating by the second. “Why’m I here?”

He hated the look that Shiro shot up at the alien before catching his eyes again. They were treating him like a fragile child. Even when he was a child, he had gotten more bad news in his few years than most adults did in their whole lives, so it wasn’t like he didn’t always expect more. 

“You were in an accident,” Shiro finally explained, still speaking far too slowly and softly. “You and Red got hit with a zaiforge cannon and crashed into a nearby planet. Do you remember?”

Keith already knew he didn’t, so he wasn’t going to waste time searching his memory when he still wanted answers. “Where’s Red? Is she okay?”

Offering a sympathetic smile, Shiro squeezed his shoulder with his flesh hand. “She’s in rough shape. All her systems are shut down right now. But Pidge and Coran and Hunk have been working on her, and they’re optimistic that everything can be fixed. With time.”

Letting all his breath out with a whoosh, Keith slumped over forward. It was simultaneous good news and bad news. Red hadn’t rejected him, or at least he didn’t think so. But he hated that she was so badly hurt. “I wanna see her.”

Shiro’s smile twitched up a little higher. “I know. But first, we need to check on you. You’ve been unconscious for quite a while. Everything seems to have healed up alright, but there were some things that couldn’t be tested while you were out.”

As if this was their cue, the alien - an objectively pretty, willowy creature with mauve fur, four long, thin arms, and a myriad of long, thin fingers on each hand - stepped forward. Their voice was light and feminine, and had a lilting accent that reminded him of Lance when he fell into his native tongue.

“I am going to give you some simple instructions to follow, okay?”

Keith frowned. “Who ‘re you?”

“Oh, yes, right.” Shiro indicated the newcomer with one hand. “This is Fallenta. She’s a Tellimite. They’re one of the most medically advanced species in the universe. We wanted to make sure you had the best care possible, so Allura brought us to Tellima as soon as we had you in the pod. Fallenta has been...indispensable.”

His explanation only caused Keith more confusion. If he had been in a pod, then why did he need a doctor? And again, why was he in some bed now? 

Seeming to sense his questions, Fallenta smiled and settled down opposite Shiro. “There were some...complications from your injuries. Coran and Shiro made the right call by placing you into a healing pod right away, knowing that it was the only way to save your life, but that meant that your bones that were broken could not be reset before healing. One of my jobs was to correct this once your abdomen wound was no longer life threatening.”

“Yes, you actually had two different stints in the pod,” Shiro nodded. His brow furrowed. “Well, three, if you count the time that your body rejected the blood Pidge had given you and started trying to shut down. Thankfully, Coran had those samples he took from all of us at the beginning, and was able to synthesize some more of yours.”

Keith couldn’t stand the troubled expression on Shiro’s face, especially since he had been the one to put it there. Lifting his left arm, he gently squeezed his brother’s elbow. “I’m okay now.”

Shiro smiled, but there was a sheen to his eyes. “You have no idea how relieved I am about that.”

“Your cognition seems to be just fine,” Fallenta said, “and losing memory of the traumatic event is not uncommon. There are a few other things I need to check, though.”

She spent the next few minutes shining a flashlight into his eyes, asking him some questions about things that happened prior to the accident, getting him to remember a short list of objects, and observing his reactions to various movements and sounds. All of it led Keith to believe that it was his brain being tested, and it made him nervous. No one would tell him anything else, though, simply repeating that they would explain everything shortly.

It seemed to be going well, though, and everyone was smiling and calm, so he tried not to let it get to him. Until Fallenta moved on to testing sensations. She started on his left arm, lightly touching it with her finger, then poking her claw into his skin, then digging in her knuckle. Everything felt like it should.

“Alright, the right arm, now.” She smiled at him and held his gaze, but after a moment of nothing further happening, her smile faded into a neutral expression. Another moment, and he was wondering why she hadn’t done the test yet. 

“Do you feel any of this, Keith?”

“What?” He looked down, and her finger was on his forearm. As he watched, she moved it up and down his arm, tapping lightly. He swallowed hard. “It's...it's been really numb e’er since I woke up. My face an’ leg, too.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Shiro stiffen. “What does that mean?”

Fallenta smiled again, and as nice of a smile as it was, he was beginning to hate it. “Let’s complete the tests, and I will be able to tell you more. Can you feel this?” 

This time he watched as she pricked him with her claw, and to his relief, there was a faint jolt of pain. “A little. It's muted, though.”

“That’s good. And this?” She used her knuckle that time, and again, the pressure was faint.

“Same. What's wrong with my arm?” he demanded, glaring first at her, then Shiro. “Why can’t I talk right?”

“Have patience -”

“No!” Keith yanked his arm away from her with far more effort than should have been required. “I'm out of patience! Tell me what's wrong!”

Shiro put a hand on Fallenta’s shoulder, nodded at her, then reached forward and took Keith’s hand. “When we found you…” He paused, his jaw clenching and eyes flicking away for a split second before he seemed to steel himself to continue. “Your heart had stopped. It’s impossible to say how long you had been like that. I was able to get it started again, but it took a few minutes. So your brain…” Drawing in a deep breath, he let it out in a sigh. “It was without oxygen for several minutes, at the least. Brain damage has been a concern from the very start. When I said you have no idea how relieved I am that you’re okay...it was possible that you wouldn’t ever wake up. Or if you did, that you wouldn’t be able to function at all.” An errant tear slipped out, and he dashed it away with his metal hand. “But you’re here. You’re awake, and you can speak and think and...and it’s gonna be okay. I promise, it’s gonna be okay.”

Brain damage? The words hit him like a blow to the chest. That meant his arm...his face...they weren’t just numb, they were...they were…

He ripped his hand from Shiro’s grip. “How can you say it's gonna be okay? Do you hear me? I soun’ stupid! An’ my arm...how’m I supposed to fight an’ fly if I can barely move my arm?”

“But you still have some movement and sensation,” Fallenta broke in. “That is very good news. It means that, with physical therapy, you can regain even more use. You can even have speech therapy to help you build up your facial muscles.”

“Speech therapy?” He almost laughed at that. “We’re in the middle of a war, we don’ have time for speech therapy!”

Shiro’s hand landed on his leg. “We’ll make it work, Keith.”

“No. No.” He shook his head harshly. “Get off. Get off me, I need...” Flailing his one good hand toward Shiro and Fallenta, he gritted his teeth against the tears that wanted to fall. The weight on either side of the bed moved as the two of them stood. “I need some air. I need...” Red, that’s what he needed. He reached for the corner of the blanket that covered his legs. “I’m gonna -”

“Keith, wait!”

Shiro and Hunk both lunged, but it was too late. He had already flipped the blanket to the side, revealing what lay underneath.

Or rather, what didn’t lay underneath.

He was gonna be sick.

His leg. It was…it was missing from the knee down.

Keith screamed.

The next minutes or hours were a blur of tears and pain in his chest and breaths that wouldn’t come. He vaguely recalled Shiro being in front of him, his lips moving but no sound coming out. He vaguely recalled thrashing and slamming his head into the wall behind him. 

After that, though, the nothingness took back over.

Next

[vldkeith]

klancemas prompt #5: sleep

a/n: another prompt from mine and kenzie's 100-page google doc of kl fanfic/thoughts, lol. i wasn't convinced that i was the one who wrote this, but kenzie assures me i am, so here u go :)

They’re just sitting in Lance’s room, staring at different things together (a pastime that was becoming more and more frequent as they grew comfortable with the silence), when the thought crosses Lance’s mind. They’d only been dating, what, a week? Regardless, he can’t help it when his body and mind are simultaneously struck with boldness.

“Do you wanna stay the night?” he asks, words a little quiet. The nervousness was still there, making him almost shy, but not enough to shut up for just a few seconds. Keith’s eyes, previously stuck to his DS, snap to attention with his head quickly following.

“Huh?” he answers, eloquent as ever. Lance smiles softly, heart weirdly surged with affection at Keith’s expression. His eyebrows are knitted in confusion, lips slightly parted, eyes struggling slightly to focus on Lance after having been glazed over from staring at Animal Crossing for two and a half hours.

“Do...you...wanna...stay...the...night?” Lance repeats, teasing grin dancing on his lips. Keith’s eyes narrow with annoyance.

“I know what you said, I just...I don’t know! I’ve never stayed over before, I don’t really know how to react to that!” he answers, exasperated. “No offense, but like...why?”

Lance’s eyes roll lazily as he flops backwards onto his bed, narrowly missing slamming his head against the wall. Oops.

“I want to cuddle you. Is that cool?” he answers bluntly, raising a daring eyebrow in Keith’s direction. Keith’s expression drops into deadpan annoyance.

“I don’t cuddle.”

“Fine. I want to lay next to you and wrap my arm around your waist and hold you close to me as we fall asleep next to each other. Better?”

“...I guess that’s fine,” Keith agrees reluctantly, voice hesitant. Lance’s grin is now beaming as they quickly hash out arrangements for brushing teeth and Lance’s 30 minute nighttime skin routine.

Exactly 40 minutes later, Lance is laying in bed, and his mind is racing. Will Keith actually be comfortable sleeping next to him? Oh god, they’re going to be touching all night. Will Lance be able to handle this level of touch thrown at him so suddenly? His heart is beating fast as he watches Keith, now dressed only in boxers and one of Lance’s too-big pajama shirts, climb into his bed.

His bed. The bed he sleeps in every night. The bed he lays in, dreams in, wakes up in the middle of the night from dreams where thoughts of Keith leave him gasping. The bed he silently touches himself in, wishing that Keith’s hand were there instead, with thoughts that plague him of pale skin, leather gloves, and a stupid black mullet.

And Keith just crawled into it.

His skin is buzzing like ice has been poured into his veins, but he forces himself to ignore the heart-pounding feeling and just act normal. Normal, he thinks, laying down next to Keith under too-hot covers. Normal, he reminds himself as he sidles close to Keith, their skin coming into explosive contact that leaves a hot blush on Lance’s cheeks. The lights are off, but the TV blares on in the background, the infomercial for a MyPillow casting a blue light over everything. Keith doesn’t even seem phased, and Lance is infuriated by it, though unsurprised. He’s probably thought this through too far, much farther than Keith likely would have, and each moment that for Keith is average is becoming excruciating.

Finally, he’s laying flush with Keith, skin burning from the contact in a not-unpleasant way. Keith smiles just so slightly in his sleepy state as Lance reaches over to turn off the TV, letting the total darkness envelop them fully. It’s silent, suddenly, and the air is heavy with some buzzing feeling that’s hard to pinpoint.

“G’night, Lance,” Keith mumbles softly, turning onto his side gently. Some of the tension in Lance’s heart is pierced and bleeds out by the softness of it.

“Night, Keith,” he manages, turning onto the same side under the covers and ever so gently resting his hand on Keith’s hip. He feels the muscles underneath his light grip tense, and finds some odd satisfaction in knowing that Keith’s calm is likely to be an act. But the facade is quickly recovered as Keith grabs Lance’s hand and pulls it around his own waist, cutting through the space between their bodies in a single motion as they crash gently into each other.

Lance pulls himself closer, nervous and excited. He feels Keith relax against him, which feels both like a victory and panic-inducing, but Lance keeps himself calm, smiling a little against Keith’s back and tightening his circling arms.  

Man, Keith is warm. Lance just knows that, come morning, it’s going to be torturous to tear himself away from this position. He’ll just have to savor it as long as he can.

And maybe, if he’s lucky, this’ll be the start of more and more nights like this. He can only hope. But, judging by the easy breathing Keith has adopted and the relaxed tension of his body, Lance is pretty optimistic that this won’t be the last time. With that thought in mind, he allows himself to drift off to sleep, thinking of gloved hands and pale skin and the scent of pine. 

Perfect.

a/n: check the notes of this post for a link to my ko-fi if u wanna support me/my work this december! thanks :)

[fandom-smut-shots]

Keith Kogane - Boyfriend Does My Makeup

Boyfriend Does My Makeup – Keith Kogane

Redandgoldgirl

A/N: The order of steps for Keith doing the reader’s makeup is based on how I do my makeup.

If the last few steps seem rushed, it’s because this was written over several weeks (I actually took a break from it for so long that I thought I had finished it and got really confused as to why I never uploaded it) and I didn’t want to repeat the same phrases for every single step, cuz that would get boring.

Words: 1,782

           The video began with a plain view of your face, grinning and sporting minimal makeup.

         “Hey, everyone!” you grinned, waving enthusiastically at the camera lens. “Today is the day! You all voted – literally, every single one of you voted for this video. Oh my God, I didn’t think I would get so many votes. I don’t think you guys have ever been so unanimous.”

         A groan sounded from somewhere off screen, and you giggled somewhat maniacally.

         “As requested, and obviously as the title says, this is the Boyfriend Does My Makeup Challenge! I have my man Keith here with me- come on, babe! Say hi!”

         You tugged at an arm, pulling the body attached to it into the frame. Your boyfriend grumbled, sitting beside you and waving noncommittally to your viewers.

         Your smile never wavered. “How do you feel about the challenge today, Keith?”

         He shrugged, the fabric of his maroon hoodie shifting with the movement. “Just wanna get it over with.”

         You rolled your eyes, turning back to the camera. “I know he seems like a grump, but he’s way more fun in real life, I promise.”

         “Lance would disagree,” Keith smirked.

         “Lance is an attention whore,” you countered, crossing your arms. “Getting a rise out of you is one of his favorite pastimes. Besides, he doesn’t get to be intimate with you like I do.”

         A soft blush dusted the raven-haired boy’s cheeks, and you beamed triumphantly.

         “Now,” you cleared your throat, eyes glancing downward. “We’ve assembled my entire makeup collection, which, let me tell you, takes up quite a lot of space-“

         “There’s literally a whole table set up just for your palettes,” Keith commented, lifting a brow.

         “Aww!” you cooed, reaching out a hand to ruffle his thick bangs. “Look at you, knowing what palettes are called!”

         He rolled his eyes. “I do watch some of your videos, you know.”

         You snorted. “Yeah, when I force you to.” Shaking your head, you looked back at the camera. “Anyway! Keith will have his choice of literally every piece of makeup I own, and I’m not going to guide him one bit! In the comments of my last video, you all voted for what color scheme Keith should employ for this challenge, and I’ve written down your choices for him to look at!”

         You handed your boyfriend a small notepad full of scribbles, and he glanced over them quickly. He hummed softly in thought, nodding once he’d made a decision.

         “Alright, baby,” you inhaled. “Are you ready?”

         Keith simply nodded again.

         “Let the challenge begin!”

         An undecipherable expression sparkled in Keith’s eyes, but you misread it as uncertainty. You watched as he rose from his seat and sauntered away from the camera frame, rummaging through the collection of makeup on the table. He plucked up an armful of products, holding them in his lap as he sat back down, not wanting to have to get up again later. He seemed hesitant as he thumbed through the brushes he’d selected for your eyeshadow, and you worried for a moment that he’d do something crazy like try to use your blush brush instead. Luckily, he picked up the correct one, setting the others on the small table beside him. He then lifted up the first of his chosen eyeshadow palettes- you were moderately surprised that he’d selected more than one- and opened it, scanning its contents for the shade he wanted.

         “Close your eyes,” he instructed without looking at you, and just before you complied, you caught a glimpse of him swiping the eyeshadow brush across one of the colors. The top of the lid was facing you, so you couldn’t tell which one he chose, but you knew what the options were based on the palette in his hand.

         A soft sigh escaped you as the brush swept across your left eyelid. Keith may appear rough around the edges to the rest of the world, but with you, he was unimaginably gentle. He repeated the action with the other eye before pausing, checking his work and trying to determine if he needed more product. You guessed that he’d leaned back, considering you could no longer feel his breath on your skin.

         While your eyes were closed, Keith wiped the remaining product from the brush onto a tissue before setting it aside. He picked up another brush and dabbed it into a slightly darker shade than before, though keeping in the same realm of color. He leaned in again and placed the pigment in the outer corners of your eyes, blending the two shades together where they met. You exhaled a soft hum at the sensation – doing your own makeup never felt this relaxing. What was it about letting someone else take control that was so soothing? Was it simply the gentleness of Keith’s hand, doing everything in his power to make you comfortable?

         You felt him shift away again. “Can I open my eyes?” you inquired.

         “Not yet,” he replied, cleaning and setting aside the second brush in search of a third. He discovered the one he wanted and peered into the palette before frowning and setting it aside. His hand found one of the others that he’d selected and he opened it, making a soft noise of triumph when his amethyst eyes spotted the color he was looking for. He was much softer with the pigment this time around, not wanting the color to be too heavy. Once it was on the brush, he leaned in once more and deposited the color onto your inner corners.

         “Keep your eyes closed,” Keith murmured as he put the palettes away and picked up your collection of eyeliners. He set aside the odd colors that you used for specialty looks, like blue and purple and white. He then separated the liquid eyeliners from the others, holding only the black ones, and opened each of them to inspect their applicators. Picking the one that seemed the most user-friendly, he closed the others and set them aside before turning his attention back to you.

         “Don’t move,” he commented, resting the heel of his hand on your cheek. Before you could offer a sassy retort, you felt the cold wetness of liquid liner on your lash line and decided to keep your mouth closed as to not disturb your boyfriend.

         He grumbled to himself, and you could only guess that he’d messed up the first attempt. He reached blindly for a makeup wipe and dabbed carefully at the awkwardly-shaped attempt at a wing, waiting for your skin to dry before he tried again. There were no more grunts, so you assumed he’d steadied his hand and accomplished his task. With the eyeliner done, he sat back, admiring his work thus far. When he’d been inactive for about two minutes, you opened your eyes to find that he was rummaging through your collection of foundations. Only a few were brands and shades that you’d chosen for yourself – the mystery makeup packages you received in the mail every month usually included foundation, but despite your skin tone being clearly stated in your account preferences, companies often sent you horribly inaccurate shades.

         Keith picked up one of your favorites, and you struggled to hide praise from your expression. He struggled to open the bottle before managing to pop off the cap, examining the spout in search of instruction. He made a soft noise of recognition, pressing down on the spout and watching the liquid pile onto the back of his free hand. Setting the bottle down, he dug through the collection of large brushes, searching for the one that still had remnants of old foundation littering its bristles. He dabbed it into the goo on his hand before pressing it to your face, his lips quirking into the tiniest smirk at discovering that he had in fact chosen the right shade for your skin.

         Your boyfriend apparently knew far more than you’d given him credit for. He found another fat brush, this one completely clean, and swiped it across a bronze pigment. After blending that onto your jaw, hairline, and the sides of your nose, he cleaned the brush and picked up a highlighter palette. Your eyes followed the brush as it collected a shimmery shade before it dusted the apples of your cheeks, the center of your forehead, and the bridge of your nose.

         By the time he thumbed through your various mascaras, an outsider would have assumed this was his makeup-centered YouTube channel, not yours. He instructed you to keep your eyes open as he carefully brushed the mascara along your lashes, coating the strands a few times before closing the mascara and setting it aside. The last item was lipstick, and he hated tasting it when he kissed you, so he hunted specifically for your collection of quick-drying mattes that wouldn’t transfer to his own mouth afterward. You bit back a smirk as you watched him search so carefully. He found a shade that complimented your eyeshadow and twisted it open, studying the small applicator before leaning towards you. He gently painted the pigment onto your lips, lining your lower edge and cupid’s bow before filling them in. Closing the lipstick and sitting back, his violet orbs danced across your face, ensuring that he hadn’t missed any steps in the course of your makeover. With a nod, he ducked his head.

         “You can look now.”

         Turning to face the camera, you reached out to adjust the large mirror you usually employed to apply your makeup during your videos. You’d turned it away to reduce temptation while Keith was completing his challenge, but now it was time to check his work. Your jaw dropped as your brain absorbed the image in your reflection. The eyeliner was slightly smudged from being applied more than once, and the bronze could have been blended in a bit more, but the rest of the products looked as though you’d applied everything yourself.

         “Keith… It looks amazing!” you gasped, turning to face your boyfriend. You lurched forward, wrapping your arms around him in a tight hug. “How did you get so good?”

         Checking that he was still visible to your viewers, he smirked. Before you could question it, he leaned in, kissing you fully on the mouth. You found yourself grateful for the full face of makeup, knowing your cheeks were flushing at the affectionate gesture.

         “I watch all of your videos, babe,” he commented, pulling back from the kiss. “Not just the ones you ‘force me to’.”

         You were left dumbfounded on camera as Keith rose from his seat, shuffling into the kitchen to prepare lunch for after you finished filming.

[silverineontherun]

I don't know what you mean exactly when you say "Keith prompts" but I have always had a soft spot for royal Keith or knight Keith (*-*) Anyway, HB to this beautiful boy, so precious, must protect him at all costs ♡

As usual, I don’t provide enough info, sorry 😂 I intended to write small pieces for Keith if people asked for something specific! Now, for Knight Keith, I have a snippet of a discarded fic I wrote a while ago, Knight Lance x Knight Keith. This was the part that inspired the whole thing, actually, I hope you like it!

***

Snippet from “The Heart of the Lotus” (Klance, Medieval/Fantasy AU, discontinued)

Sir Lance remembers to shut his mouth on time, clearing his throat and commanding his men to descend from their horses and form in front of the first set of stairs that lead to the entrance, where a line of soldiers and courtiers dressed in solid black and red are already waiting for them.

He checks on his company and corroborates they are standing in clean formation just as instructed, to his utmost relief. Proud, he feels his chest swelling as Coran hurries back to the princess’ carriage to help her descend from it. Lance walks in front of his people instead, facing the Thayserians who look at them like hawks. They look like servants and guards, and Lance is glad they are not being received directly by the king himself, feeling uncomfortable under his sweaty clothes. The trip was long and the entire contingent needs to refresh before the anticipated meeting…

That’s when, suddenly, the local soldiers break their formation in two, leaving some space right in the middle. The servants hurry to the sides, keeping their heads low, and a figure appears from behind them and walks resolutely to Lance’s encounter. 

He is dressed in black from head to toe, from his shiny boots to his elegant silk robe, a garment Lance hasn’t seen before, decorated in soft grey patterns that surround his wide torso like a painted canvas. Just like the Palace itself, the only ornament that adds some color to his outfit is a long red scarf, crossing his chest and dangling behind him, secured to his shoulders by two silver pins with the shape of flowers — flowers whose name escapes him right now, but are part of Thayserix royal family’s crest. The ends of the silky scarf flutter like a weightless cape behind him as he walks.

This time it’s not that easy to keep his jaw from slacking. The closer the man gets, the more Lance can appreciate his gorgeous features while feeling absolutely struck by them. 

So... what had Coran said about King Shiro? 

Dark hair, sharp eyes, high cheekbones…

Check, check, and check. The man’s pale face is framed by rebellious black hair that falls to his shoulders and suits him disturbingly well, despite its unkempt state. The rigid line of his mouth is not amicable, but Lance can’t stop staring at it, his head momentarily empty with only Coran’s voice resonating inside. 

‘Beauty can be a lethal distraction…’

Indeed, thinks the Altean First Royal Guard sweating a bit because, in that regal attitude and the way the man’s eyes scan the whole contingent and then settle on him as if measuring him, he can testify that ‘lethal’ and ‘beauty’ can absolutely go together, and the king of Thayserix is the living proof of that.

But he isn’t one to be intimidated by looks, no sir. He will let nothing distract him from his duties, and this is the best moment to show that. Sweeping his hair back and then taking his fist to his chest — ignoring how his feet seem to need some convincing before moving again—, he walks until he meets the king in the middle of the esplanade, and before they can lock eyes, he bends the knee and lowers his head, wishing to appear humble and obliging.

“Your Majesty,” he says loudly so his people can hear him too. “It is truly an honor to make your acquaintance. I am Sir Lance of Altea, and I speak on behalf of Princess Allura of Altea, deeply grateful for your welcome, and in hopes of being of service to you, as you may see fit.”

Silence. Lance is satisfied with his words for around three seconds until he notices the unnatural silence around him. He frowns, not daring to raise his face yet, a bit taken aback by the fact he doesn’t even get an answer, until, finally, a manly voice answers him.

“Welcome. Our king has been eagerly awaiting your arrival.”

A pause. Lance, stunned, raises his eyes slowly, and he finds the man’s eyes not looking at him, but at the people and the carriages. From this close, Lance notices a scar that crosses his right cheek, and also the long sword hanging from his side, as well as his gloved hands. 

If he wasn’t so dazzled by that first impression, he could have noticed before that the man has no crown and probably never will. He confirms it when he finally has the delicacy of introducing himself.

“I am Keith, King Shiro’s Shield Guardian. I am to lead you to your new chambers…” The man makes a pause, and his eyes settle on Lance again. With a smirk, he murmurs: “Your Majesty.”

And that’s when Lance feels the weight of the entire world dropping right over his head. Unable to turn back to his people, with his cheeks burning, he watches how the Thayserians hurry to help the Alteans with their luggage and horses, while this Lord Keith turns around with the ghost of a smile lingering on his lips. Pinned to the floor and humiliated, Lance’s mind fills with gibberish until he reconnects his brain to his limbs, and then, furious, adrenaline propels him forward, deaf to Coran’s call coming from behind. 

“Wait a moment! Hey!”

Lord Keith stops and looks back, curious. Lance struggles a bit to find his words. He doesn’t remember ever being this mad in his entire life.

“You— How— You!!” 

“Excuse me?” asks Keith, looking unimpressed. This irritating attitude is like oil to Lance’s already burning rage.

“You... How could you let me bend the knee in front of you instead of your king? Have you no shame?!” he fumes.

Keith makes a pause, staring at him with cold eyes. And Lance adds another unwanted discovery to his list: the knight’s irises are colored in a strange shade of violet, regarding him with an intensity that makes him feel they can see through him. His heart beats faster at this against his will, and he notices the heat creeping up from his neck up to his cheeks once more. Worse, when Keith smirks again, his gaze inevitably drops to his full lips instead.

“It was funny,” he says, shrugging. He smirks wider at Lance’s outraged expression, and turning around, he adds, “Your men are really loyal to you. Laudable, though I honestly feel for them.”

He starts walking again and Lance stays there letting his arms dangle foolishly by his sides, confused, until he hears Coran’s voice calling him and he turns around to find the group of Alteans and Thayserians catching up to them. The Alteans look at the tall ceiling and the splendidly illuminated corridor with curiosity, but the warden, followed closely by Allura, stomps his way like a pissed off yalmor.

“What was that, Sir Lance?! Do you intend to shame us in front of our hosts since day one?!” he nags in muffled but furious whispers.

“I-I’m sorry. I honestly thought— I mean, did you see him? You said— Uh...” stutters Lance, ashamed.

“Don’t be so hard on Sir Lance, Coran. Besides, you saw how the guards reacted, didn’t you?” says Allura, amused. It’s the first time Lance sees her smile sincerely in weeks. Coran sighs, shaking his head.

“What did they do?” Lance asks eyeing his men, uneasy. The least he needs right now is sabotaging his own leadership among them in alien territory, yet there he goes, blowing everything for hurrying too much like he promised he would never do again.

However, at that moment he catches sight of Hunk, just when Coran grumbles:

“They also kneeled down. So you looked less foolish, and we looked way more well behaved than we really are. Truly, nothing short of a miracle.”

But the miracle has a name for sure, and when Hunk gives Lance two thumbs up, the knight seriously considers running his way and asking for his hand in marriage right there. He has done enough damage to their first impression as it is, though, so he has to be content with putting his hands together and murmuring a teary ‘thank you’ while making a mental note to get his friend the finest ale or similar treat these lands can offer. The rest of the men don’t look too worried about it, luckily. Maybe they think that was the right protocol. Maybe they just want to save face.

Or maybe the Thayserians maids are also very pretty and very distracting, which explains their dumbfounded looks, though Lance has trouble worrying about that with Lord Keith’s hateful smirk imprinted in his memory, filling his stomach with nothing but pure liquid rage and uneasy, unwelcome tension.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt.56

Lance had cleaned through his house twice, slightly panicked after Keith had called to say Coran was coming to speak to him in person. As far as he knew, he hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d kept his scheduled checkin calls with Coran, even secretly keeping a journal of his moods as Coran had asked. Sure, Coran sometimes came out for no reason other to than “to take a break from Platt”, he wasn’t stupid enough to believe that it wasn’t Coran checking in on him. So now that Coran was coming for some other reason, he’d cleaned every surface he could think of, changed the cat litter, cleaned up Kosmo’s morning puddle, baked a fresh tray of chocolate chip cookies, and had a small breakdown, all before 9am. Keith had said it was related to the feeling he had in the tunnels and that Coran would explain it all. His boyfriend doing a bang up job of making him worry instead of relieved to hear Keith’s voice. Curtis hadn’t been much company on the drive back, Lance suspected it was because he’d arranged to meet at Shiro at VOLTRON, only for his plans to fall through. It was kind of Hunk and Shay all over again, except Curtis was kind of half cursed and Shiro was... Shiro. The man had more moods than his phone had settings. If Shiro felt it was finally time to move on from Adam, then Lance would do everything he could to help the pair of them. He liked Curtis. He liked having someone else to talk to, even if all their conversations were slightly weird. Not that he’d ever replace Hunk or Pidge. Hunk just had other priorities now he and Shay were figuring things out, and Pidge was worried about him too much as it was. She didn’t always let it show, awkward about those kind of things. But she was more family than Luis and Veronica at this point.

Thinking of his siblings only added to his stress. Veronica and Luis had gotten into a small fight over him, with Veronica actually taking his side. If he’d wanted to hurt their Mami, he easily could have a hundred times over by now and she was sick of Luis being a busy body. It’d been years since he’d seen his sister and her two girls. But age had been kind to Veronica, barely a free hair visible. For a second Lance had wondered if she’d been turned, she was exactly how he last remembered her. Upset of his impromptu cleaning, Kosmo pawed at his leg. With no idea when to stop filling his face, his food now lived up on the bench with Blue’s. His precious daughter didn’t love having a brother, but he’d caught them snuggled together. Sure, Blue’s tail had been wagging and her expression one of “what the fuck is this thing?”, but gradually Kosmo was worming his way into her heart.

Picking up Kosmo, the puppy wagged his tail happily. He really didn’t like being alone. The first night Lance had tried to have him in his own doggy bed since Keith left, Kosmo had cried for hours, so Lance had moved him up to his bed. Waking to find a very large wet spot thanks to puppy pee. Thankfully he already had a waterproof mattress protector on his bed, thanks to his heats it was kind of necessity. Kissing Kosmo on the head, the puppy tried licking at his face, Lance tucking him up against him as he went about making tea to go with the cookies. He didn’t know why Coran couldn’t just call him. This waiting thing sucked. He wasn’t good at it. Not when it came to people he cared about.

Matt and Rieva were sent to clean up when they finally crawled out of bed. Matt grumbling over Lance disturbing their sleep. Flashing his teeth, his housemate backed off, Lance throwing his dramatic arse into the closet seat. He shouldn’t be freaking out. Coran had known him for years. He liked to think they’d long passed awkward house visits, but he was on edge as it was. He wanted to hurry up and be done with the tunnels, so Pidge could be excited about something else.

It was 10 o’clock when Shiro’s white sedan finally pulled up in front of his house. Rushing to the front door, he found Coran enthusiastically praising Shiro’s driving. Bounding past his feet, Kosmo klutzed up and fell down the front veranda steps with excitement, picking himself back up, his whole body was wagging as his little body bounded towards Shiro. Scooping up the excitable pup, Shiro was lucky he held Kosmo away from him as the puppy peed in excitement. Shiro grimacing, waiting until Kosmo was done before handing him off to Keith. Keith didn’t care about the pee as he cradled his fur son, smiling as Kosmo licked at every part of him that he could

“Hello, baby. I missed up”

Resisting the urge to gush over his boyfriend was easy when he felt sick to stomach over Coran. Coran’s enthusiasm turning to gushing over the puppy. If Coran was this cheerful then Lance was overreacting

“Hey, guys. Come on in”

Causal. He hoped he sounded casual. Shiro started towards the house, Coran and Keith much slower as they fussed over Kosmo

“Hey, Lance. How’s things?”

“Good. I’ve got fresh cookies and tea waiting”

Coran shot him a smile, yet Lance knew his attention was still focused on Kosmo

“Excellent, my boy. Sorry for the unplanned visit”

“It’s fine. Keith called ahead”

Keith paused on the front steps to kiss his cheek. Lance kind of disappointed it wasn’t a proper kiss, but happy he was there for whatever reason. Heading indoors, Lance led the group through the kitchen. Matt and Rieva had already started on the cookies, but seeing he’d made four dozen, there were still plenty left to go around. Sitting in his usual seat, he left his lap open for Keith, Keith instead sitting next to him. Coran being Coran went straight to pouring tea for everyone, as Shiro sat himself down at the opposite end of the table and next to Curtis.

When the tea was ready, Coran started passing out the cups

“I expect you’re somewhat confused what I’m doing here”

“A bit. I mean, it hasn’t been that long since I saw you”

“I know. I wouldn’t have come, but Keith mentioned you were heading back into the tunnels beneath Garrison and you had a negative reaction the first time”

Lance squirmed. Negative was putting it nicely. And Coran coming out over the tunnels seemed overly weird

“I told you about them before”

He had. He didn’t get why Coran was making a fuss now. Maybe he’d found something?

“That you did, but I’m afraid I have a bit of bad news. I thought perhaps offering assistance on this would help ease what I have to say”

“You know I hate it when you word it like that”

Coran set a cup of tea before him. Lance taking the cup in his hands to give himself something to focus on

“I do. There’s... a bit of an issue at headquarters. You know we service all vampires in the area. We have a new vampire in Platt. I don’t believe he’d be interested in you, yet it has been many years since I last saw him”

Lance couldn’t help the laughter that came from relief. The rest of the table staring at him like he was crazy

“You had me worried! If you want me to keep my distance you could have told me on the phone”

It wasn’t that funny. His laughter dying away within a few moments. He felt so much lighter for knowing, even if it did compound the fact he’d stupidly overreacted

“I know. I wanted to tell you seeing how things have been lately. It seems he may have picked up your scent. I’m quite confident he has no idea who you are, only that you’re quite unusual”

Lance sobered. That was one way of putting it. The other was saying he was basically catnip to vampires, which he was

“I get it. You told me I was going to have to live more carefully than ever before”

“I’m so glad you understand. I must admit I didn’t sleep well last night. I care quite a lot for you, my boy”

Lance nodded

“I know. You’re not being mean, you’re trying to protect me. It’s fine. Now, why are you asking about the tunnels”

Coran sat himself down beside Keith, nursing his cup of tea near his chest

“I’m concerned you may be more in-tune with death than ever. Can you describe what you felt?”

Lance sighed. He didn’t need to see ghosts any clearer than he already did... or didn’t

“Revolting. Like someone had filled the whole place with residue of death, and like... like I had confess all my sins. I wasn’t feeling that great before we headed in, but I definitely started feeling better again above ground”

Coran hummed, Matt stopping munching long enough to ask

“Should we be worried? I know Lance was in the mine shaft tunnels, but if he’s feeling ill from the town ones, does that mean something’s down there that could hurt Pidge?”

“I’m not sure. A creature down there for that long would have long gone mad. I felt it best I give it a quick check, before you and your friends make the trip down”

Coran must have really been on edge thanks to this new vampire. He didn’t need to come make the precheck on Lance’s activities, still, he had. Lance wondered if Coran was feeling overly cautious and fearful for his safety because he knew this new vampire was bad news, or if it was related to him being a breeder and the vampire being new to town

“It didn’t feel like something living. There was much pain and regret. It was like... I don’t know. I wanted to go church the moment I came back up again”

Lance closed his eyes, trying to block the feelings of the tunnels rising inside him

“That concerns me. Let’s enjoy our spot of tea and be in our way over”

*

Lance drove Keith, Matt, and Rieva to the pub. Matt was excited over seeing the tunnels ahead of the weekend, Rieva annoyed their morning had been interrupted by something so trivial, and Keith kept casting him sideways glances because Lance has suggested maybe he and Shiro stay home at the last moment. Lance unable to share any enthusiasm Matt had. He’d been left cold and clammy at the mere thought. Pulling into the first parking back closest to the pub, he most definitely didn’t want to go in there.

Keith and Lance hung back as the group, now led by Coran, headed into the pub. Brushing shoulders was the most intimate they could be, but Lance was struggling not to hold Keith’s hand

“Babe?”

Of course Keith wanted to talk

“I’m fine... I’m a bit edgy”

“I can see that. If you don’t want to go down there, Coran will understand”

To have the luxury not to go would be nice

“No. I have to. Coran could be in danger, plus he probably wants to observe the effects of the tunnel”

“If everything goes smoothly, why don’t we have lunch here? We can send the others back ahead to your place”

“That’d be nice, but I don’t think I’ll be much company”

“I don’t mind. Or we could leave them here and head back to yours”

“Mmm. That sounds better. No offence”

“None taken. I’m sorry I freaked you out”

“Some warning would have been nice, but it is what it is. I really don’t want to do this. I was still psyching myself up for the weekend”

“I would have come, if I could have”

Lance felt a tiny bit better about that. He wanted to head home and cuddle with Keith, not be forced to adult

“I know. Can you answer something for me. Is Coran worried because I’m a breeder or is this new vampire dangerous. I totally get if you can’t and all...”

“He’s up to something. He used to be friends with Allura”

“The fact he used to be friends isn’t making me feel better. Allura is practically one of the nicest people I know”

“I can’t say much... but I don’t like him”

That was so Keith. His boyfriend had walls a mile thick. Not quick to trust but when he did, he was the kind of man who’d do anything for the people he cared about

“Okay. I’m sorry for asking about work”

“It’s fine if it’s you. We better join the others”

Coran was already talking to the publican. The poor man opened at 10:30 and now they were ruining his day already. He didn’t seem happy to see Keith and Lance, not that Lance could blame him. Pidge could be a tyrant at negotiating for what she wanted, and he had a business to run. The man didn’t have time to deal with paranormal investigators.

Coran pulled some kind of Jedi mind trick, getting them access without fighting or yelling. As they headed downstairs, Lance’s hand slipped into Keith’s, Keith squeezing firmly

“It’s okay, babe. I’m right here. A quick in and out and then we’ll be headed home”

Leaning into his boyfriend, Keith nuzzled into him, kissing the spot on his hairline . Lance wishing the kiss was enough to force the sick feeling from his body. It was already taking everything he had no to throw up on his feet. Talk about psychosomatic symptoms right there

“Yeah. I know... I hope Coran lets you stay the afternoon”

Keith probably had to go straight back to work. Lance didn’t want to interrupt him working, but he was pathetically addicted to Keith’s cuddles

“So do I... but we probably have to go back to work. We’re in the middle of investigating this shitty club”

“Let me guess, it’s shitty because you can’t drink?”

“That’s part of it. There were pets”

Lance wrinkled his nose. Keith was probably more used to seeing pets than he was, but that didn’t make it any more tasteful. The thought of collaring Keith stroked his ego, as much as it hurt his heart to think of a caged Keith. Keith with his freedom and sense of self worth was the Keith he wanted. Obedient Keith would be too freaking weird... Nope. He wanted his anger loaf as his partner not his pet

“If I ever make you feel like I pet, I hope you punch me in the dick for it”

“I will. You ready?”

“As ready as I’ll never be”

Letting them through to tunnels, Lance felt ill immediately, covering his mouth with his hand as Coran examined ahead. Shiro was using the light of his phone to guide him, Curtis and Keith. Following Coran for a good 5 minutes of torturous silence, Coran finally came to a stop

“How do you feel?”

Like there was an itch under his skin and he really shouldn’t be there. Like whatever lingered wanted him gone

“Not great”

“I’m going to try something. Let me know if you can see it”

Coran placed his hand on the wall, blue lines radiated outwards like spiderwebs. Lance reasoned in awe that this had to be what magic looked like. Coran trigging it with his own. The feeling of death now so heavily pushing against him that his shoulders hunched. His head felt ready to split in two, as his fangs lengthened. Behind him, Shiro started to call out as a savage snarl filled the space, half turning, he found himself eyeing Matt, who Rieva was trying to hold back both her boyfriend and her own transformation, her eyes already yellowing as wrapped her arms around Matt in a losing battle

“Keith, look out!”

Acting on instinct, Lance shoved Keith aside, his body acting as shield for Coran. Sharps claws tore through his jacket and shirt like a knife through warm butter. Screaming in pain, Matt’s teeth sank deeply into his shoulder, his weight driving Lance to his knees as something snapped. Blood filled the air, Lance fighting to stay conscious

“Get out of here! Move, now!”

Grabbing Keith by the arm, Coran pulled him to stand behind him. Shiro already helping Curtis towards the way out. Falling under Matt, Lance twisted, driving his hand up to smack under the wolf’s jaw. His right arm looked nasty, the blow only stopping Matt for a moment before his claws were tearing into Lance’s chest. Coran was saying something, saying something then grabbing Matt around the neck. When Matt went to snap at Coran, Lance’s left arm round its way into Matt’s mouth by accident as he was trying to grab the wolf by his bottom jaw. For a moment, Matt’s eyes glowed yellow, before his wolf form was slumping over Lance. Everything was happening too fast. Lance couldn’t keep up. Dimly he heard Keith calling his name, followed by a voice he definitely didn’t want to hear... then there was nothing.

[writingfordayz]

See You There, -K

Ever since Lance almost died on a mission, Keith's been on edge and more rash in his decision making. When he doesn't know who to turn to to help sort out his feelings, he starts sending messages to a dead Shiro in hopes of finding peace; however, Lotor attempts to turn the team against him by manipulating the messages into a sign of betrayal.

“That’s it. I’ve let this go on long enough. You cannot continue making reckless, unauthorized decisions,” Allura scolded Keith as he peeled off his helmet. He was barely even listening while the team gathered around him, his mind constantly replaying the explosion he’d just nearly escaped.

“Keith?! Do you have anything to say for yourself?”She pushed as Lotor took a fortifying place by her side.

“I did what I had to do.”

“What you had to do? You broke formation to fly headfirst into their battleship! The plan was to board and secure, not destroy!” Although Allura was the only one yelling, it was evident by the team’s worn out faces that they were tired of his bullshit.

It’s hard to notice little things in the heat of battle when your heart is beating in time with the blasts and your brain is on autopilot, merely trying to finish the job alive and with little recollection of the destruction, you leave behind. Keith’s usually good at tuning everything out, but this time, the formula was off.

Keith’s heart had completely stopped and he became agonizingly aware of the fact that Lance was stuck in a tractor beam with a canon about to sign his life away. Lance never radioed for help, never informed the team of the cannon for fear that he’d ruin the whole plan, and he must have struggled in the beam’s grasp for a good two minutes before the weapon was fully charged, but it only took Keith a second register what he was about to lose and decide to plow his lion into the metal mid-blast. Screw the plan. If Lance wasn’t here, then what’s the point of anything?

Even now, Keith could read the guilty expression on Lance’s face as he tried to sink to the back of the crowd and go unnoticed. Just three weeks ago, he’d confided about his uselessness to Keith, in his ability to fuck up missions. Through tears and bloodied fists beaten desperately against the wall, he begged to be worth anything, even if it were just for a moment. Keith felt helpless then, not good with words and definitely not good with knowing how to handle someone crying, so he settled on a hug that lasted several hours and a humming that brought sleep. They hadn’t talked about that night since, but Keith vowed to never let Lance blame himself for anything again.

Looking Allura straight in the eyes, Keith confidently explained, “I thought the cannon was going to destroy the castle. I had to stop it. As for unauthorized decisions, last time I checked, I was the black paladin. I’m the leader here, so I call the shots.”

Lotor sighed loudly, feigning regret. “I really didn’t want to disrupt your family, but I think it’s best you know the so-called ‘black paladin’ has been lying to you all for months now.”

That comment struck a new fear in Keith, one he never imagined he’d have to face with his closest friends in earshot. He’s lied to all of them at some point, but always because it was better than the alternative. On top of that, he knew how easily Lotor could poison them with doubt; he chose his words carefully and only attempted it if he had evidence. It had worked on Keith before, but he felt the deception internally was worth the alliances they gained throughout the galaxy. A war can be fought with six soldiers, but it can’t be won.

Allura’s loyalty to Lotor was unwavering as she gripped his arm and picked up the accusation where he’d left off: “It’s true, he’s a danger to Voltron… a danger to the whole universe. We can’t let this go unnoticed.”

Keith was beyond irritated and beginning to panic now that Allura had verified his words, but he also knew that Shiro would tell him to be patient and focus. Taking a deep breath, he asked, “What exactly are you implying?”

“We’ve seen the messages. Every few nights you fly off to do ‘perimeter checks’, but really you’re sending encrypted updates on our progress to the Galra.”

The room was now a rainbow of statues, and Keith realized for the first time that black is unnatural in a rainbow; he sticks out in a way that diminishes the liveliness of the rest. He knew exactly what they were talking about, the alleged messages, but if they really saw all of the messages… His eyes met Lance’s for the first time tonight, but oddly enough they didn’t seem confused or upset. Those blue eyes had been stuck at high tide for weeks now, threatening to spill over, but now they were a raging storm.

“I’m not sure what it is you think you read, but Keith would never betray us,” Lance declared.

Lotor shrugged and said, “Well, fortunately, we have all of them, including the ones detailing your shortcomings.”

Lance shifted in place and crossed his arms to keep himself from looking anxious. The one thing that would completely break him would be Keith admitting what Lance had feared all along.

“As I said, Keith would never betray us,” Lance repeated.

“Then you wouldn’t mind if I read a few of these out loud,” Lotor said while pulling up a holograph of the messages:

Today we liberated some hostages and were able to provide them medical treatment. In doing so, we also gained a cargo ship full of weapons to arm the resistance. Be careful approaching the castle. Next, we’ll be heading to Arus. See you there. -K

“That’s enough,” Keith insisted.

“Why stop there when there’s so many more that detail your grim outlook of the team?” Lotor questioned.

Another political alliance was made, bringing the total number of planets supporting Voltron to 13. They are all significantly smaller than the Galra Empire, and even together they probably won’t be strong enough to win the war. Making a pit stop at Balmara to rest. See you there. -K

The team has been arguing nonstop and this makes us vulnerable. We’ve lost four battles in a row, and the yellow lion is out of commission. Stuck in the Javeeno Star System. See you there. -K

“I said that’s enough! These are personal.” Keith practically begged, activating his sword.

“If you’re as loyal as you claim, then you wouldn’t have anything to hide!” Lotor declared.

Lance was assigned a search and rescue mission, but in the process, both the hostage and his partner from the Blade died. He can’t perform basic tasks and is starting to drag the team down. Not sure if I’ll be able to find someone else to pilot red before the assassination attempt on the witch. We wouldn’t make it with him. Stopping for supplies on Pollux. See you there. -K

If Keith had known that’s what was going to be read to Lance, he would’ve stabbed Lotor the moment he landed in the castle, but he didn’t and now Lance looked like a mirror shattered in its frame, trying desperately to keep himself together. All the injuries Keith had gotten in space don’t compare to the pain he feels seeing Lance become void of all life, in fact, this moment ranks in the top three worst moments of his life including when his dad died and when Shiro died.

“Lance, I swear to you that I didn’t write that.”

For a moment it seemed like he couldn’t speak, eyes trained on the ground, until Lance quietly asked, “So you didn’t write any of those messages?”

“No- well yes. The first two, yes I did. But that last one I didn’t. I would never.”

“Whether you claim to have written them or not, you are sending messages to a hidden address. You’re explaining our weaknesses...disclosing our location!” Allura yelled.

“To Shiro!” Keith couldn’t take the accusations, the prying eyes, Lance's mindset.

“I write messages to Shiro hoping one day he’ll respond! That he’ll tell me what to do because I keep failing you, and I don’t know how to be a leader! That he’ll tell me not to worry. That he’ll tell me we’ll survive this. That he’ll show up while we’re collecting supplies and everything can just go back to normal!”

For the first time since he lost Shiro, tears poured out of Keith’s eyes as he tried desperately to hold back a sob to not look as weak as he felt, but it was that vulnerability that proved he was telling the truth. Just as quick as Keith had attempted to sacrifice himself for Lance, everyone surrounded Lotor with their bayards drawn. Even Allura, as conflicted as she was, joined them as Lance took the lead.

“Hunk, Pidge, take Lotor to the holding cell,” Lance commanded while his gun burned an invisible line through Lotor’s head. Lotor narrowed his eyes at Lance, challenging him.

“You will be the one to die before the war ends. I’ll see to it,” Lotor threatened.

Fuck patience.

“Over my dead body!” Keith yelled and threw his sword directly through the center of Lotor’s back. It clanged against the ground, dust particles dissipating and floating towards the ceiling.

“Where’d he go-”

That’s what Keith last asked. That’s all he keeps muttering as the ringing in his ears intensifies, and the smoke from the explosion clouds his vision. There’s someone yelling, but it seems distant and indecipherable. His eyes focus on a drop of blood that runs down his nose and falls to the ground, joining the small pool of red that had already formed. A lot of red is usually an indication of an injury or anticipated death, but it’s also a representation of Lance: passionate, fierce, and inspiring. Lance who stood up for him when no one else did. Lance who never questions his decisions. Lance who loves his family with every ounce of his being. Lance who can see the hope in all of the despair. Lance who has the most uplifting smile. Lance who currently doesn’t have a smile.

Keith was pulled back to reality as pain split through his head. Hands gripped him roughly in an attempt to stop the bleeding, and his eyes had shifted from the pool of blood to the red of Lance’s suit to the black behind his eyelids.

Several hours later after the fires were put out and the castle had been put on lockdown, Keith sat on his bed going through the messages he had actually sent to Shiro. Lance sat across from him quietly; he hadn’t talked since the explosion, but he wasn’t about to let Mr. I’mFineIDon’tNeedAHealingPod with a slight case of traumatic brain injury go unmonitored. Keith peered at Lance over his screen and finally spoke, “You know, you can probably put your bayard away now.”

Lance didn’t look up, tightening his grip on the gun; “I thought you were gonna die. Not gonna let that happen again.”

Keith frowned, knowing the feeling all too well. “I thought you were gonna die when boarding that ship earlier.”

“So you did crash into that cannon because of me!” Lance snapped, finally glaring at him, “And what was that ‘over my dead body’ bullshit? You can’t just die for me!”

“I can, and I will if I have to.”

“Why?! I get hostages killed. I get partners killed. I can’t perform basic tasks-” Lance was getting so worked up, his knuckles were turning white around his bayard.

“I told you I didn’t write that.”

“Then what did you write?” Keith could see how desperate Lance was to know for certain it wasn’t true, and he knew right then that whatever happens after he reads it is worth it if Lance can believe in himself. He slowly reached across the bed and slid his hand on to Lance’s. Rubbing his thumb lightly over his knuckles, he whispered, “Please put the gun down first.”

Lance stared at their hands for a moment, and considered not listening to him; it would mean this could continue, and oh boy did he want Keith to hold his hand forever. Reluctantly, he leaned the gun against the wall, but as he brought his hands back to his lap, Keith reclaimed one and held it tightly in an attempt to steady his voice before he spoke:

“Lance was assigned a search and rescue mission, but in the process, both the hostage and his partner from the Blade died. I assigned him this mission because I believed he was the only one who could successfully complete it, but after those losses, I never want to assign him a rescue mission again. I never want to assign him any mission. I’m so terrified of losing him. He’s my right-hand man, and I wouldn’t even be able to attempt to lead this team without him. He’s the only person who’s made me smile in years... I know this job is dangerous, and we all run the risk of getting hurt or killed, but I’ve already lost two of the three people I love, and I don’t think I could handle losing him too. That’s so selfish of me. I know it is, and that’s why I need your help. He’s hurting Shiro, and I don’t know how to fix it. You know I’ve never been good at this. Please help me...We’re still near Olkarion. See you there. -K”

Keith let out a nervous breath and looked back to their hands locked between them, trying to decide if he was unnaturally cold due to nerves or if Lance was always this warm.

“There’s more, a lot more, about you. I promise they’re all good, and you’re more than welcome to read them,” Keith said through a slight smile as he held the screen up for Lance to take, but as soon as it was in reach, Lance shoved it away. He leaned up to rest on his knees in front of Keith and carefully wound his arms around his neck.”I don’t want to hurt you more than have been...but I also never want to let go again,” Lance whispered.

[makorragal-312]

Void (Part Nine)

Okay, 12 days of writing hell, I finally completed the chapter! I hope you guys had an awesome Thanksgiving and were being responsible!

Once again, thank you for the support and thank you for so much for reading!

Onto the chapter!

Lance's eyes burned as he ran through the smoke, taking in the intense heat. He scanned the area frantically, trying to find any semblance of his leader, but to no avail. He halted his running as he felt another round of coughs emerging from his throat, bringing his hand up to his mouth while doing so. After a minute, he finally released his hand from his mouth, his eyes recognizing the small red puddle that formed within his palm. Within seconds, his head began to pound as he began to walk on shaking legs. As soon as he took the first few steps, he heard a pained yell shout through the smoke.

"Keith..." Lance rasped out, trying to slowly speed up his pace. He felt tears fall from his eyes as his vision slowly began to blur. However, he noticed a tall figure in the distance coming towards him. He could make out the outline of their broad shoulders and protruding ears. The figure began to chuckle as they started to come closer.

"Where's your black paladin now?" the figure chuckled menacingly. Lance's remaining breath caught in his throat. Zethrid. The red paladin wretched forward as he let out another violent cough, not surprised at the copper taste filling his mouth. He tried to regain his breath as he began to take long strides backwards in an attempt to distance himself from Zethrid, but that didn't stop him from hearing her laugh in wicked satisfaction. Using all the strength he could muster, he summoned his bayard into its rifle form, using all the energy he could muster to make sure his the aching muscles in his arms didn't cause him to drop it. He held his breath and made himself still as Zethrid's figure suddenly stopped.

"It doesn't matter what you have against me...YOU'RE NEXT!" she shouted as she lunged at the red paladin. Lance clenched his eyes shut as he instinctively set his finger on the trigger and fired. He felt the vibrations from the gun spread through his bones as he fell to his knees, exhausted and worn. He slowly opened one of his eyes to see that Zethrid's figure had completely vanished, almost as if she was never there. The red paladin struggled once more to catch his breath, a plethora of tears streaming down his face. He was in so much pain he didn't recognize the sound of footsteps coming from behind him.

_______________________________________________________________________

"Lance."

Lance turned his head quickly toward the sound of the voice, his one eye widening slightly as the smoke around the red paladin began to clear away and exposed the holder of the voice that spoke his name. It was Keith, and aside from the few scratches that plagued his face he was okay. For the first time in what felt like hours, Lance took in a deep breath, not paying attention to how quickly he rose to his feet to look at him or how the searing flames that were consuming his lungs earlier seemed to evaporate into nothing. His face was truly that of a fish out of water as he gazed upon his leader.

"You came back." Lance exhaled in relief, his voice clear. He felt that familiar heat flow through his body as Keith smiled.

"Of course I did."

Lance sighed as he began to stir in his bed, still feeling the remnants of the heat that continued to flow through his very being. He smiled to himself, allowing himself to relish in the heat that remained before he felt the blare of the ceiling lights on his eyelids. He opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the brightness slowly. As he dragged his hand down his face, he was slightly surprised to make contact with plastic covering the better part of his nose and mouth before remembering what it was. Relax, it's just the oxygen mask. He slowly started to sit up in his bed and laid back against it, relishing in the calm the silence brought him after such a comforting dream. It would soon be short-lived, however, when the door to his hospital room opened.

"Oh good! You're awake!" Allura said in surprise. Lance's eyes widened in shock as he quickly sat himself up in his bed and in turn making himself slightly dizzy.

"Allura? What are you doing here?" Lance asked somewhat cooly, trying to play off his earlier reaction.

"I was just peeping in to check on you before meeting with Coran, but since you're awake I want to talk to you." Allura stated simply, closing the door behind her and walking around Lance's hospital bed before sitting herself down in the chair next to him. Lance could only look at the princess in confusion as any sign of peace quickly began to flush out of the room.

"So, what's up?" Lance asked cautiously. Allura clasped her hands together firmly as her expression changed into a serious one.

"Why did you do that?" Allura asked. The recovering paladin raised an eyebrow in confusion, clearly not understanding the question, "Why did you separate yourself from the team like that?" she asked. Lance kept his look of confusion as he began to speak.

"What are you talking about? I didn't separate myself from the team." Lance responded.

"You were supposed to go with me, Pidge, and Hunk. By leaving, you exposed yourself to danger!" Allura replied, slightly raising her voice. Lance stayed calm as he continued to talk calmly to the princess.

"We were already in danger the moment we landed. And besides, it's not like I went out on my own. I was with Keith the entire time."

"And look how that turned out." Lance recoiled from Allura, looking at her incredulously.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lance asked, agitation slowly building. Allura sighed, covering her eyes with her hand

"Never mind. It doesn't matter anymore." Allura said. Annoyance slowly started to bubble in Lance's chest, a far cry from the peace and serenity he had felt when he first woke up. He would probably come to regret asking further than this, but at this moment he could ho early care less.

"Yes it does. You clearly have something you want to say so just say it." Lance pushed. Allura turned back to look at him, a look of slight anger reaching her eyes.

"If Keith had just convinced you to stay with us, the only thing you would have to worry about is exhaustion and slight oxygen loss. Instead, not only were you almost depleted of oxygen, but the smoke from the volcano caused you to cough up blood and pass out! We were worried that your lungs had collapsed!" Lance closed his eyes and removed his mask from his face, breathing deeply in annoyance before opening his eyes to stare at the covers on top of him.

"So you're saying this is Keith's fault?" the red paladin asked with gritted teeth.

"I'm not saying that. I'm trying to say that even though he was there, he wasn't able to protect you." Allura responded after a moment. That was the last straw for the red paladin. He could take her being mad at him for leaving. He could take her being mad at him for almost getting himself killed. But there was no way in hell he was going to take her implying Keith was at fault for him being in his hospital bed. He scoffed as a result.

"But he did protect me! He looked out for me the entire time we were going up the volcano! He looked after me when I first started feeling the effects of the smoke! He even led me away from the oncoming rebels!" Lance raised his voice. Allura looked at him in shock, not expecting him to respond like this. But she still wanted to get her point across as she leaned in to him.

"And he's fine, Lance! He came out fine!"

"Fine? He was almost beaten to a pulp by Zethrid and was put into a chokehold! Sure, I was in a bad spot but so was he! Hell, none of us came out fine!" Allura stood up from her seat, her anger and concern obvious.

"I know that! But you got the worse of it! All because-"

"ALLURA!" Lance shouted desperately, but not before releasing a hard couple of coughs. Allura held her tongue as she looked at him in concern and regret. The Altean went to reach out for him but Lance held out his hand, signaling for her not to as he quickly put his mask back on as he tried to regain control of his breathing. She looked down at the floor in shame as she slowly sat back down into her chair. She was embarrassed at the way she reacted. She knew it wasn't Keith's fault for Lance getting hurt, but she couldn't help but to think about what could've happened if Lance didn't make it. If the Atlas didn't get to them in time. She was so lost in thought that she hadn't realized that Lance had ceased coughing.

"Allura, listen. I get that you were probably scared for me going off on my own away from the group like that. But I'm telling you this now, choosing to go with Keith was MY decision, no one else's. I went with Keith because I'm his right-hand and I wanted to make sure that he was okay. And yeah, he could probably take care of himself, but I knew he had my back." Allura sighed once more as she finally raised her head, looking into Lance's eyes.

"I know he did. I'm sorry, Lance. I just really didn't want you to get hurt. When I saw Shiro carry you onto the Atlas like, I-I was horrified." she said grimly. Lance looked at her sadly.

"So was he." he whispered, remembering the way Keith had screamed his name after he shot Zethrid.

"You're right. You're absolutely right. I know you were doing the right thing when you chose to leave the armor and go with Keith. With everything going on with the Alteans, Honerva, and everything in between, I've been acting in ways that I shouldn't be. I'm truly sorry." Allura apologized, regretting almost everything she had said to him. Lance gave her a small smile in response.

"Thanks." Allura smiled back as she reached forward and grabbed his hand. Lance blushed at the unexpected action as he looked down at their connected hands before looking back up at the princess, whom was also looking at their hands.

"It's just, you've been so distant lately. I was getting worried." Allura said quietly before looking back up at Lance with a pitiful expression. Lance gulped, anxiety slowly overcoming him as she kept a firm grasp of his hand.

"S-Sorry. I-I didn't mean to scare you." Lance stammered. "I've j-just had a lot on my mind so I've just been a bit out of it." Allura hummed in response. The red paladin shifted awkwardly. Any other time, he would be ecstatic at the thought of Allura holding his hand and worrying about him. But right now, he couldn't help but to feel the opposite. Allura was the one taking action while he was the one who was keeping his distance.

"I understand. But please know you can talk to me about anything I care about you, Lance. And...I need you." Allura replied, staring at Lance longingly as she leaned in more. Lance could only stare at her in awe of her boldness, but he was secretly hoping she wouldn't go any further than this. Luckily, she wouldn't be able to thanks to a couple of knocks on the door before it was opened.

"Lance? You up?" Lance turned his head quickly to the source of the voice, releasing his hand from Allura's grip to straighten himself up as best he could in his bed.

"Keith! What's up, man?" Lance asked quickly, his voice carrying a slight tone of elation. Allura was blindsided at Lance's change in demeanor. Not too long ago, he was still somewhat distant and had just come down from their argument. And now, it was almost as if he had been revived with a newfound energy vigor. She was relieved to see him this way, but that didn't stop her from thinking how she wished it had been because of her.

"I just wanted to check in on you." Keith responded, taking a couple of steps in to the room before stopping, his expression holding nervousness but still trying to appear calm. Allura looked between the two of them before getting up from her seat, making her way towards the door.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it." Allura said quickly, looking back at Lance briefly before turning back. Keith moved to the side to allow her to fit through the door frame, resulting in her whispering a quick 'thank you' to the Black Paladin before closing the door. She leaned her back on it for a brief moment, allowing the events of what just happened to sink in. She took a deep breath before getting off the door and walking away to meet with Coran.

_______________________________________________________________________

Keith looked at the door briefly before turning to Lance.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything. It seemed like you two were talking about something important." Keith inquired, hoping he hadn't made things awkward with his newfound presence. Lance shook his head quickly, waving his hand in a nonchalant motion.

"Oh, no! Not at all! It was kind of finishing up, anyway." Lance replied reassuringly. "It's good to see you." Keith felt heat flow through the back of his neck as he sent the Cuban boy a small smile.

"It's good to see you, too." Lance sent him a smile of his own as he made a motion with his hand towards the chair next to him. Keith hesitated for a moment before walking around the bed. Lance allowed himself to lean back comfortably in his bed as Keith took his seat, placing his arms on top of his knees as he leaned towards him. Lance couldn't help but to focus on Keith as he looked at the floor awkwardly, almost as if he was nervous to be there. It was kind of endearing, to be honest. It was a nice change of pace to be a part of a somewhat comfortable silence rather than be in a suffocating vex of arguing. After a few moments, Keith finally looked up at the red paladin.

"So, did you sleep okay?" Keith asked hesitatingly. Lance looked down for a moment before looking back at Keith's vibrant purple eyes, eyes that were relaxed and yet held small amounts of concern.

"Yeah, though I did have a dream about everything that happened." Lance shrugged nervously. Keith felt his chest tighten at the statement. He knew it would be virtually impossible for anyone to not think or dream about something as traumatic as that, but he at least wanted to be hopeful for him having some sort of peace while he was recovering. Keith sighed before putting his hand on Lance's shoulder, holding it firmly.

"Hey, it's over now." Keith reassured, his voice a good octave lower than usual. "You're gonna be okay." Lance couldn't help but to blush. He didn't realize the breath he had been holding until he exhaled at his words, the heat from when he woke up slowly returning. That sense of calm and security. The comfortability in his bones. The peace in the atmosphere. The peace and security that only Keith could give him. Lance smiled at him.

"I know, man. But don't worry. It wasn't as bad as you think it was. It was less of a nightmare and more of a memory, if that makes sense." Lance explained. Keith nodded, showing he understood.

"So, you're good in the mental sense?"

"Yeah, I think so." Lance replied, nodding his head firmly. Keith smiled in relief, removing his hand from Lance's shoulder. Lance couldn't help but to miss his grip.

"Well, that's good. And physically?"

"I'm okay. My lungs are no longer deep fried in smoke so I guess that's a good thing." Lance joked, causing Keith to release a small chuckle at the quip. "Although, I did give myself a coughing fit earlier when I took off my mask."

Keith raised his brow in confusion.

"Why the hell did you take off your mask?" Lance released a deep sigh as he placed his head on his hand, thinking back to the argument from earlier.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Lance replied, sounding exhausted. Keith slowly leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms and swinging his leg on top of the other.

"Allura?" Keith asked, already knowing the answer. Lance raised his head quickly and looked at Keith, who was showing signs of a smirk. How the hell? Knowing he couldn't sugarcoat it, he simply nodded.

"We kinda...got into a fight." Lance said somberly. Keith's eyes widened in shock. Lance? Arguing with Allura? The girl he was in love with? That statement alone didn't even sound right. Was it really that bad that Lance felt the need to take off his breathing mask?

"What happened?" Lance let out a chuckle deprived of humor.

"You wouldn't like what I have to say."

"Try me." The red paladin glanced at the black paladin, taking in the way he was sitting and looking at him. He was probably the only person who could pull off a serious look while looking relaxed as hell. Focus, Lance! Focus! Lance let out a fake cough as he started to explain.

"Well, she was kind of mad at me for choosing to go with you over her, Hunk, and Pidge. She thought I was putting myself into more danger than we were already in, but I already knew that going in. To summarize, I risked my life and she didn't like that, so we argued." Lance explained, gripping the covers firmly. A part of him wanted to tell Keith how Allura went on to blame him for him getting hurt, but the last thing he wanted was for Keith to feel bad that. It wasn't as if he wanted him to die, he had his hands tied. Needless to say, Lance was hoping Keith didn't push the topic and just leave it be. But alas, life is fair.

"And that alone was enough to make you take off your mask?" Keith inquired skeptically. Fuck my life. Lance took a peek out the corner of his eye to glance at Keith, who was still keeping his collected expression and relaxed posture. Lance groaned before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Lance, I can tell there's something more to this. But if you don't feel like telling me, you don't have to." Keith relented, not wanting to stress Lance out further. Lance laid his hand back in his lap.

"Thanks. And I want to tell you, but it's just a lot." Lance replied tiredly. "But what about you? How have you been?" Lance redirected. As much as he appreciated Keith making sure he was okay, Lance knew that he didn't come off the volcano planet unsaved either. He may have had black lungs and bloody coughs, but at least he didn't get beaten to a pulp by one of Lotor's former generals.

Keith's eyes widened from being put on the spot, but he could only chuckle as he knew sooner or later Lance was going to ask him how he was doing.

"I'm okay. Just got banged up a bit, but nothing I can't handle. Though I should be thanking you for that." the black paladin confessed, giving Lance a grateful expression. The red paladin let out a blush, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. In a way he still couldn't believe it.

He saved him.

He actually saved him.

"It was nothing really." Lance said, attempting to sound nonchalant. Keith shook his head in disagreement, leaning in as he did so.

"No, it isn't. Not to me. Despite everything that happened to you, you were able to summon your bayard and save me. I'm sorry, Lance, but I just can't call that nothing." Keith replied wholeheartedly.

"How did you do it?" he asked.

Lance turned his head and looked at Keith.

"I just didn't want to lose you."

Keith's breath caught in his throat at the confession. He felt the rapid beats within his chest as he tried to remain calm. A part of him felt as though he only meant it in a platonic effect, something he didn't take issue in considering how he still might be working through his feelings with Allura. But that didn't mean there was another part of him that wasn't hopeful that he meant something more behind it. Regardless, hearing those words made Keith's insides swell, and luckily it wasn't from smoke or punches to the gut.

Keith placed his gloved hand on Lance's knee, squeezing it gently. Lance blushed even further at the motion as he held his breath, waiting for what Keith had to say.

"That's not going to happen." Keith whispered, smiling gently. Lance felt himself start to heat up even further as he caught Keith get up from his seat, leaning his face towards him as he gazed his glowing purple orbs into his gleaming blue ones. Close. He's so close. Fuck.

"So I'd appreciate it if you had more faith in me."

Huh?

Lance was frozen in place as he watched Keith slowly lean away from him, a smirk filling his entire face as he struggled to contain his laughter. Lance, whose face has now turned into that of a tomato, shoved (quite pathetically) the half Galran away from him.

"S-Shut up, mullet!" Lance stuttered. Unfortunately, he didn't get a proper response considering Keith was currently leaned back into the chair, struggling to contain his laughter as he held his hand over his mouth.

"I'm not sorry!" Keith giggled, before tilting his head backwards in full laughter. He was so busy laughing that he didn't notice the wide-eyed look the red paladin was giving him as he observed him.

The way his smile seemed to gleam brighter than the ceiling lights.

The way he had one of his legs in front of him on the ground to keep him from slipping off the chair.

The way his eyes were squeezed tight in glee as tears threatened to fall.

It didn't take long before Lance allowed himself to laugh alongside him, his blush still remaining on his face. He'd laugh harder, but he still cherished his lungs and didn't want them to bruise.

Finally, he was able to release a laugh. Not a laugh of convince. Not a pained laugh. Not an awkward laugh.

But a real, genuine laugh filled with enjoyment and freedom. And it was all because of Keith.

Keith was the one who gave him this. And as the laughter grew, so did his guilt.

_______________________________________________________________________

Knock, knock, knock.

"Hi. I hope you don't mind a visit." Lance smiled gratefully at his new visitor.

"Not at all. I'm actually glad you're here."

Shiro closed the door behind him gently before taking a couple of steps towards Lance's bed. He had meant to come and check up on Lance sooner, but he got caught up with filling out incident reports and checking up on the status of the Atlas. Luckily, he was able to finish everything up quickly so he could check on Lance's condition. The last time he saw the red paladin was when he first woke up after being rushed to the Garrison ICU, so he at least wanted to see if he was feeling any better compared to before.

"I meant to come and check up on you sooner, but I've been a little bit swamped." Shiro confessed, crossing his arms over the footboard of Lance's bed as he bent. Lance shrugged, a half smile on his face.

"That's okay. I hope visiting me isn't too much trouble." Shiro quickly shook his head in disagreement, a smile of reassurance making an appearance.

"Never. So, how are you?"

"Physically, I'm getting better. The doctor said that I might be able to get that thing that they put in people's noses to breathe instead of this!" Lance said semi-enthusiastically, pointing to his mask.

"You mean a nasal cannula?" Shiro asked while chuckling.

"Yeah that! As for everything else..." Lance let out a heavy sigh before blowing an unenthusiastic raspberry, emphasizing how bad his "everything else" really was. The former black paladin frowned at the response.

"Why? What happened?" he asked in concern.

"Well, it kinda has something to do with Allura...and Keith." Lance confessed. Shiro's eyes widened slightly. He knew Keith was struggling with his feelings for Lance due to the former being in love with Allura, but he knew Keith was keeping that pain to himself as to not blindside or upset Lance. So hearing that Lance was having an issue concerning both Keith AND Allura was alarming. However, it could be something completely different, so Shiro asked anyway.

"Did Keith say something bad about you or Allura?" Shiro asked cautiously. Lance shook his head quickly.

"No, no. It's nothing like that. It's a bit more complicated than that. I don't even know where to begin." Lance replied, lowering his head. Shiro lifted himself up from the footboard and walked closer to Lance, plopping himself on his hospital bed as he rested his knee on the mattress and leaned in attentively.

"That's okay, you can just start from the beginning. Did it start on your date with Allura?" Shiro asked. Lance shrugged slowly.

"Technically?" Lance replied in the form of a question, elongating the "y." Shiro raised one of his eyebrows in confusion. Lance waved his hands in front of him.

"Okay, okay, okay! Let me explain." Lance took a deep breath before slowly taking off his mask. Shiro preferred for him to keep it on, but he decided to leave it alone until he felt that he needed to put it back on.

"It happened during the date, but it was because of what happened before the date, if that makes sense." Lance clarified. Shiro let out a hum, showing his understanding.

"Okay, so, remember when I bumped into you and I asked where Keith was? Well, I went to go see him and we talked for a bit, but, then I had to go and get ready. But I'll get back to that later." Lance recounted. The Atlas captain nodded his head.

"Okay. So what happened with Allura?" Shiro inquired. Lance sighed heavily.

"Well, we went out and it was going great. We had dinner with my family, they loved her, we had a nice meal, all that good stuff. After that, we went to a nearby park and talked some more and one thing led to another and then...we were about to kiss. She initiated it but, I couldn't do it." Lance ran a shaky hand through his hair repeatedly as he looked down.

"Why didn't you?" Shiro asked the red paladin. Lance's hand ceased its movement.

"Because what Allura wanted me to do was what I almost did to Keith." Shiro's eyes grew for a bit before going back to their original size. To say that he didn't expect that revelation was quite the understatement.

"You almost kissed Keith?" Shiro asked. Lance nodded.

"I can't explain it. We were just talking and joking. Next thing I know, our faces were almost touching and...he was just sitting there and the sunlight was on him and he just looked so, so good a-and his voice was just- I don't k-know what came over me and I just f-felt like-" the red paladin wasn't able to finish his sentence as he let out a few coughs, his throat getting dry. Shiro lunged forward and grabbed his mask, gently placing it over his nose and mouth again as Lance took deep breaths. Shiro waited until he stopped a couple of minutes later to talk to him again.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks." Lance said weakly. The room grew silent for a moment as Lance thought about what to say next. Shiro looked at his hands as he gave him a chance to think, not wanting him to feel pressured to explain anything further.

"I'm horrible, aren't I?" Shiro raised his head quickly, looking at Lance in disbelief.

"What do you mean?" he inquired once more. Lance sat back against his pillows, looking at his tightly clasped hands.

"I've been in love with her for so long and I couldn't even kiss her. All because I was thinking about someone else. Some guy I am, huh?" he chuckled sadly.

"Lance, there is absolutely nothing wrong with what you did. You didn't kiss her because you felt bad for thinking about someone else. It can happen, but that doesn't make you a bad guy in any way." Shiro stated firmly. Lance shook and lowered his head in response.

"But that's what it feels like. I was with Allura. I was on a date with Allura. I was going to kiss Allura, but I thought about Keith!" he whined, his hands slowly going up to grip his brown locks.

"And that's okay! You were in a similar position with him the way you were with Allura. Lots of people think of different things when they're having a moment with another person." Shiro said reassuringly.

"But I shouldn't be thinking about Keith like that!" Lance yelled, tears forming in the corners of his ocean eyes. Shiro's brow flicked upwards at the response.

"What do you mean by 'like that?'" the captain questioned. Lance took another deep breath before exhaling, his mask fogging up.

"I mean, Keith. He's...a guy. I shouldn't be feeling this way, right? I'm supposed to like girls like Allura. I mean, she's amazing and strong and beautiful and confident! But, so is Keith. Strong. Incredible. Brave. And I'll would be lying if I said that he wasn't attractive. He can do amazing things, too. I l-care for Allura so much, but I have these feelings for this guy that's been my teammate and friend."

Tears spilled down Lance's cheeks as he revealed everything to his hero.

"I mean, he used to be my rival. Lance and Keith, neck and neck. But somewhere down the line, I-I didn't want to be rivals anymore. And, after we lost you, he was there for me while he was trying to be a leader. B-but then your clone came and he just up and left. So I was all alone. I d-didn't have anyone. And the more alone I felt, t-the more I missed him. And ached for him. And then Lotor came and Allura was with him. And I just-"

"Lance?"

Lance finally raised his head to look up at Shiro. He was met with the most pained expression he ever saw, dark gray eyes brimming with tears of their own.

"How long have you felt like this?" Shiro rasped. Lance's shoulders began to shake.

"Too long." he whimpered, before sobs of pain and anguish forced themselves out of his throat. Shiro scooted closer to the young man, wrapping his arms around him as pulled him in, resting his face against his shoulder as he felt him grasp at his uniform. The former paladin stroked his back gently.

"Lance, I need you to listen to me very carefully. There is NOTHING wrong with having feelings for another guy. Absolutely nothing. Don't let anyone or anything tell you how you're supposed to love. Also, it's totally fine to have feelings for guys and girls." Shiro swallowed the lump that tried to form in his throat as he tried to keep his voice steady.

"And I am so, so sorry that I wasn't there for you when you needed someone to lean on. I know I'm not Keith, but I would've been there to listen and make you feel less alone. I don't remember everything that my clone did in my place, but I know he wasn't the support you deserved and I can't apologize enough." Lance shook his head against Shiro's shoulder as he sniffled, his sobs still coming and going.

"P-please Shiro. Don't say you're sorry. I know you would've given anything to be there. You d-didn't ask to leave." Lance replied, his voice muffled against the fabric of Shiro's uniform. He slowly raised his head from his shoulder, wiping his eyes with one of his hands while the other continued to grasp Shiro's uniform tightly.

"I've just been so confused. That whole time Allura was getting close to Lotor and I thought that I never had a chance. Next thing I know she actually starts to see me and at first I thought it was weird as she just started to like me but I just ignored it. And now I have all these feelings towards Keith. Some I can describe and some I can't. It's just too much." Lance sighed heavily. Shiro gripped his shoulder firmly as he looked at the young man.

"I can tell. No one expects you to figure this out overnight. This is something you need to work through for yourself. You know yourself best." Shiro spoke gently.

"Do I?' Lance asked skeptically.

"Yes, you do. You know how you feel about Allura and I think you have some grasp on how you feel for Keith. You already took the first step in acknowledging them, so that's at least a start." Shiro affirmed, giving Lance a small, reassuring smile. The red paladin still looked conflicted as he rubbed his neck awkwardly.

"Um, are you sure that it's okay for me to like guys and girls?" Lance asked nervously. Shiro nodded immediately.

"Yes, I promise you it is. Everyone loves differently.. Yes, most people like the opposite gender. But there are people who like the same gender and there are people who like more than one gender. There are even some people who don't prefer a gender at all, among others. Believe me, Lance, I understand how hard it can be feeling like something's wrong because of who I love. But learning and understanding it can help you figure out who you are."

Lance was gobsmacked at Shiro's words. He didn't expect him to have such a firm grasp and understanding on his feelings. It definitely made him feel less scared of everything.

"Wow. You really know what it's like, huh?" Lance chuckled. Shiro tilted his head to the side, letting out a chuckle of his own.

"Well, I would hope so. Considering the person I've been for 26 years wouldn't be me if I never went through what you did." Shiro quipped. Lance perked his eyebrow at Shiro's statement, tilting his head in confusion. Shiro couldn't help but to laugh at his reaction.

"Lance, I'm gay." The red paladin's eyes grew into saucers at the revelation.

Shiro.

Takashi Shirogane.

Former paladin of the Black Lion.

His hero.

His friend.

He understood him.

Because he was gay.

"Wait? Really?!" Lance gasped in shock. Shiro nodded, smiling. "That's crazy! I had no idea!"

"Well, with the exception of Keith, no one really does. I'm not ashamed of who I am or who I love. It's just something I choose to confide with the people close to me and the people I trust." Shiro spoke honestly. Warmth filled Lance's chest as new tears approached the surface of his eyes. No words could describe how honored he was to know that his hero trusted him with something so personal. Just Shiro casually coming out to him made him more of a hero in Lance's eyes. He couldn't imagine how much hardship he must've went through after discovering he was gay and telling people. He couldn't help but to smile graciously.

"So, how did Keith feel?" Lance inquired, a newfound curiosity overtaking him.

"He was pretty nonchalant about it. Even though he was a kid when I first met him, he understood the concept and didn't ask any questions. Though he came to ask me questions a few years down the line."

"Really? Why?"

"Well, that's something you need to hear from Keith. But he was nothing but supportive. My sexuality didn't lessen his view of me or who I was with." Shiro finished. Lance was relieved. He might have considered Keith to be a loner and a jerk at one point, but he was sure as hell glad that he wasn't close-minded.

"Were you with anyone?" Lance asked eagerly.

"Yeah. When I had met Keith, I was already in a committed relationship with a man named Adam." Shiro's face grew a bittersweet smile as he remembered his lover. "That man was the love of my life. We were actually engaged before the Kerberos mission." Lance's smile began to falter slightly. He had a feeling there was going to be a less than happy ending to this story.

"What happened?" Shiro's smile dropped.

"Due to medical reasons, he didn't like the fact that I was going ahead on the mission. I admit, this wasn't the first time I had wanted to do something risky with him disapproving. I was always one for wanting to break records and chase thrills. But this time, he couldn't sit by and watch me do it, so he broke off the engagement."

"And then you went on the mission and got captured." Lance added. Shiro sighed deeply.

"That's right. And when we got back to Earth, that's when I found out that he had been killed during the siege on Earth." Lance's heart dropped. This man has definitely been to hell and back. He gets kidnapped by the Galra, forced to fight for entertainment, ends up dying and trapped inside the Black Lion and gets replaced by a clone, and now he had to come home and find out that the man he loved was murdered in cold blood by the same Galra that took him in the first place. The universe truly does have a sick fascination with making the innocent go through the most hell. Lance leaned forward and placed his hand on Shiro's knee in comfort.

"I'm so sorry, Shiro. This might mean nothing but, I'm sure that he still loved you." Lance said reassuringly, a stray tear escaping his eye. The former paladin smiled at Lance's comforting words.

"Thanks. I hope so." Shiro let out a sigh before brushing off the tears that tried to come up. "But back to you, take as much time to figure out who you are. Once you do, you'll have a good grasp on what you want to do moving forward." Lance nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay. But what do I do about Allura and Keith?"

"Just do what you feel makes you comfortable. You may want to interact with them. You may want to avoid them. You might even want to interact with one but avoid the other. And that's okay. However, I will say that should they ask why, it's best to be honest. You can either tell them everything you've been feeling or just say that you're figuring stuff out and just need space for the time being." Shiro suggested.

"Well, I've already kinda been keeping Allura at arm's length and talking to Keith so I guess I'm taking your advice." Lance shrugged. "But should she ask, I'll try to be honest."

"That's good. And if you have any questions or if you just need to vent, NEVER hesitate to come and find me. I'll even find time to talk while I'm working out." Shiro joked, gaining a laugh from the red paladin.

Shiro smiled proudly at the young man sitting in front of him. He knew that Lance was struggling and there were some things he would need to take care of his own, but seeing him choosing to take these next steps into figuring out who he is made the Atlas captain swell with pride. He might not have been there when these issues first arose, but he was willing to do anything and everything in his power to be there for him and do whatever he could to be a source of comfort, compassion, and understanding. No matter how big or small.

"So, is there anything else I can do? I still have time on my hands." Shiro asked, ready to be of service. Lance thought for a moment before he looked up at him, a huge smile filling his face.

"Can you tell me some funny stories of Keith as a kid?" Lance asked gleefully.

Shiro's eyes widened at the request, but he couldn't help but laugh, even though there was a chance Keith would murder him if he found out about this. He couldn't help but to smile at Lance's hopeful expression as he got up and walked around the bed, sat in the chair, and patted Lance's back.

"Absolutely."

[thespacenico]

·:*:·ﾟ★ winner takes all ★ﾟ·:*:·

- 2k word oneshot - romellura - getting together - commission for @/lunarriee on twitter!

The entire school is buzzing with excitement when Allura arrives the morning of the big game. 

Okay, so it’s not that big. Sure, they’re playing against their rivals, Galra High, but technically speaking it’s just like any other district game. Except for the fact that both teams have the same record with ten wins and one loss, and whoever secures victory tonight gets to go to the playoffs and try for the championship next month.

So yeah, no big deal. Only it is a big deal, and Allura’s got a lot riding on this—not only the potential championship, but also some things… unrelated to said potential championship.

Lance is already waiting at her locker as Allura makes her way down the hall, bouncing up and down on his heels with a grin, both hands tugging at the straps of his backpack. “Hey!” he greets her once she’s close enough, his smile widening mischievously. “Big day, huh?” 

Allura pointedly avoids his gaze as she twists the knob and opens her locker to exchange a few books, but she can’t quite hide the heat rising to her cheeks. “I suppose you could say that.”

“How do you feel?” 

“I feel fine.” 

“Are you nervous?”

Allura shoots a half-hearted glare in Lance’s direction. “Do you have to be quite so obvious about it?” 

Lance snorts and he shrugs, clearly amused. “What? Double meaning, ‘Lura. Anyone else would think we’re talking about the game.” 

“So, let’s keep it that way,” Allura whispers harshly, shoving another book into the depths of her locker. 

“C’mon, you can’t blame me for wondering. I just wanna make sure you haven’t chickened out, that’s all.” 

“I haven’t,” Allura says firmly, at the same time she pulls the last book she needs out of her locker, and a small pink slip of paper that had been on top of it falls to the floor between them.

They stare at it. Allura recognizes the lopsided heart drawn with a sparkly silver pen at the top right corner, right next to a doodle of a volleyball and a smiley face. Lance must recognize it too, because he looks up with yet another smile that’s much too smug for Allura’s liking and hums. “Looks like you’ve got fan mail.”

“Shut up,” Allura mutters, bending down to pick it up and leaning away when Lance tries to get a better peek. She holds her breath as she carefully unfolds the paper, eyes quickly scanning the writing scribbled across the page in a neat cursive.

Hi Allura!! Just wanted to say good luck in the big game today!!! You’re going to do great!!! I’ll be right there in the front row tonight cheering you on!!!!!! I believe in you!!! You got this!!!! Spike it in their faces!!!!! >:) I’ll see you in class!!!!!!!!

— R

“Wooow,” Lance whistles, effectively snapping Allura back to the present and subsequently allowing her to realize how miserably she has failed to hold back a goofy smile, hopelessly endeared by the excessive use of exclamation points. “You’ve got it bad.” 

“Would you stop it,” Allura huffs, and Lance bursts into laughter as she shoves at his shoulder, at which point Allura can’t help but keep on smiling. “Let’s go, we’re going to be late for class.” 

They part ways halfway down the hall like they usually do, Lance disappearing into his classroom with a teasing smile and a wave that Allura obligingly returns before continuing on her way. She regrets not checking her reflection in the mirror hanging in her locker now—she doesn’t do much with her hair on game days when she knows she’ll be putting it into a bun later, but she hopes it looks presentable at least. It’s a bit ridiculous, but her heart rate picks up as she nears her own classroom, excitement and anticipation stirring in her stomach and making her palms sweat. 

God, Lance is right. She has it so bad. 

Someone’s calling her name the moment she enters the room, and Allura is utterly helpless to the smile that crosses her face at the sight of Romelle, eyes bright as she waves excitedly and gestures for Allura to come sit by her, as if she ever sits anywhere else. Her hair is pulled back into two braids today, complete with a pink ribbon tied around the end of each. It’s as endearing as her love of exclamation points, as endearing as everything else about Romelle that Allura takes note of every single day. 

Which is why she’s made up her mind to ask her out after the game, if and only if they win. 

And she really, really, really wants to win.

。·:*:·ﾟ★。·:*:·ﾟ☆

It’s close—but they win.

Allura serves the ball into the deep left corner to score the point they need to pull ahead by two and win the third match. The crowded gymnasium erupts with cheering, and even as the rest of the team surrounds Allura and squishes together with shouts and whoops of celebration, the only person she can seem to see is Romelle, standing on the front row and yelling and jumping and smiling, just like she said she would be. 

She can’t stop smiling all the way back to the locker room.

Usually the team goes out to celebrate together after a big win like this, but since this means they’ll be going to the championship, they’re back to practice first thing in the morning. Their coach congratulates them, updates them on their new practice schedule, and sends them on their way. 

Allura snatches her things and practically trips out the door in her haste to leave the locker room, only to find that Romelle is already waiting for her in the hallway outside. Well, more like Romelle finds her, because the only reason Allura doesn’t fall face first to the floor is because of Romelle’s hands grabbing her shoulders and keeping her upright. 

“Sorry,” Allura blurts, although the rest of her apology dies on her tongue the moment she looks up to see Romelle grinning down at her, eyes bright and sparkling.

“You did amazing!” Romelle cheers, jumping up and down a few times in excitement before throwing her arms around Allura’s shoulders. Allura can only be thankful that her back is to the locker room, so the rest of her teammates coming out can’t see just how much her cheeks have darkened. “That was the best game ever, you actually spiked that girl in the face!”

That pulls a shaky laugh out of Allura, and subsequently gives her the confidence she needs to mimic Romelle and wrap her arms around her, leaning into the embrace more than she should probably let herself. She did, in fact, spike someone on the other team in the face for a point. The girl was fine, no broken nose or anything, but she does feel rather badly about it. “Uh, yes. I didn’t quite mean to, but since I did, we can just say I did it for you.” 

Romelle pulls back but doesn’t let go, hands remaining on Allura’s shoulders and Allura’s just above Romelle’s waist. “So? Are you going out to celebrate with the team?” 

“Oh. Um…” Allura glances over her shoulder as her last few teammates trickle out of the locker room, chatting excitedly to one another about the game as they walk down the hallway. “No, we have practice in the morning. Never too early to start preparing for the championship.” 

Romelle almost looks disappointed for her, a slight pout to her lips as her shoulders slump. “Aw, that’s too bad. Wins like this always deserve a special something of some sort.” 

Allura bites her lip, heart rate picking up as the voices of her teammates fade and disappear altogether. It’s just the two of them now, alone in a relatively secluded hallway after a big game, and Romelle is talking about special celebrations. Now is her opening, she just has to take it. 

She swallows, averting her gaze and nudging at the gym bag slung over her shoulder with her knee, suddenly hyper aware of their proximity. “Actually, um… Romelle, I was sort of hoping—er, I thought maybe, we could go somewhere.” 

Romelle’s eyes light up. “Oh! I think Lance and Keith are still here, do you want to go with them, too? I can go get them—” 

“No, I—” Allura struggles not to stumble over her words, clearing her throat and shifting uncomfortably under the weight of Romelle’s confused gaze. “I mean, usually I would, but I was thinking. That this time, it could just be you. And… and me.” 

She can envision the gears turning in Romelle’s head during the silence that follows, and even then she still can’t make herself look up. It’s sort of mortifying how quickly her heart is beating, both horrified and excited at the prospect of what exactly this would mean depending on how Romelle reacts. There’s not exactly any coming back from this. 

“Oh,” is what Romelle eventually answers. She says it softly, more softly than Allura has ever heard her say anything, with an air of realization. There’s another short moment of quiet, and then: “You mean like… a date?”

Allura finally manages to tear her gaze away from the floor, and her heart skips a beat at the expression on Romelle’s face. Because if she didn’t know any better, she’d say Romelle almost looks… hopeful? She swallows again. “I would like it to be,” she admits quietly. “If—if that’s okay with you.” 

Romelle stares at her, eyes wide and mouth slightly open as if she can’t quite believe what’s happening, and Allura isn’t sure exactly how to interpret that. All she can do is stand there and wait, and think about how Romelle’s hands are still on her shoulders and if she hasn’t moved away then that must be a good sign, but then again she’s never been shy about physical contact and being close to people has never bothered her, in fact she forgets about personal space sometimes, but that’s just a Romelle thing and everyone knows that about her and loves it about her and—

Allura’s ridiculous spiraling inner monologue is interrupted by Romelle’s mouth on hers, and after that her brain pretty much stops working completely. Her eyes fall shut on instinct, arms tightening around Romelle’s waist now that the space has been closed between them, and before she knows it she’s kissing back. Romelle’s fingers are slipping through the hair at the nape of her neck, and her nose brushes Allura’s cheek and Allura literally can’t comprehend that this is happening right now. 

They break apart too soon, but it may be for the best, because Allura’s heart is beating so fast now she’s pretty sure she’s at risk of passing out. Her eyes flutter open as she catches her breath, but it only catches in her throat when she sees just how brightly Romelle is smiling at her, dimples and all, hands moving to cradle Allura’s cheeks. They simply stare at each other for a few moments, and then Allura clears her throat again. 

“So… that’s a yes?”

Romelle’s smile grows and she giggles, and before Allura can even recover, Romelle is taking her hand and tugging her down the hallway, bouncing up and down with each step and giggling some more the whole way. 

“I know the perfect place, this diner has all-you-can-eat pancakes and they’re the best pancakes in town, plus they have raspberry syrup! And you can get hot chocolate and if you ask for extra whipped cream they put a mountain of it on top and by the time you get to the actual hot chocolate it’s not hot anymore so it’s more like chocolate milk, but it’s so good, you have to try it…”  

She rambles on and on and on about the aforementioned diner all the way down the hallway, all the way into the parking lot, and all the way to Allura’s car, and Allura smiles the whole way.

If she didn’t feel like a winner before, she certainly does now. 

[i-write-shakespeare-not-disney]

Directory’s Commentary- Love for You, Keith and Lance talk in the car

You know the drill :)

A while later, Keith came back and shut the console off mid-game. Keep in mind that by now, Keith has been sitting with the information that Lance had a panic attack AND never told him for a while. After everything else and trying to do better, he’s annoyed as hell now and hence... no patience. “What the hell?” Lance snapped. He wasn’t so much angry that he’d been playing, but the fact that Keith had hardly talked to him since he got back and simply decided to disconnect the game instead of asking Lance to pause it. “What was that for?” 

“We need to talk.” Lance stared at him, and Keith gestured to the door. “Outside. The last thing I need is for the kids to wake up.” And also, he wants to stop fighting in front of them, because the last time they argued inside, Violet got really upset if I recall correctly. It’s an attempt to shield them from arguments. 

Lance scoffed and got up to follow him outside. They got into Keith’s car and stared at the front of their house for a while. “What the hell happened?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you’ve been getting panic attacks in the middle of the day?” Keith asked in a flat voice. Y’all ever realize how when someone is pissed, it’s scarier for their voice to be all calm and quiet as opposed to loud and angry? Yeah. Keith is now at quiet voice anger. Lance frowned, unsure of what he meant. “Why didn’t you tell me… you can’t handle watching the boys?” He only got Violet’s understanding of it, so to Keith, it’s like Lance couldn’t handle the boys on his own because of the trauma, which he feels Lance should’ve told him. Lance meanwhile takes this as a jab at his parenting. Keith finally turned to look at him, his face bathed in moonlight. “Why do I have to hear it from my concerned, eleven-year-old daughter?” Then what upsets Keith is that Violet got subjected to seeing it and dealing with the worry on her own for Keith’s sake. There’s things younger children should have to do or feel obligated to do, and Keith- having never gotten a decent childhood- doesn’t want his daughter sacrificing any bit of childhood for them. Plus what he says later-

Lance clenched his jaw and ran a hand through his hair. “I can handle taking care of my sons,” he muttered. “And she’s my daughter too. The whole “My eleven year old.... etc” felt like another jab. Like he wasn’t part of it or something. And granted, because Keith had them, he has this extra sense of protectiveness, which isn’t to say he loves them more than Lance or anything, but y’know for Lance it’s like... what I didn’t have them so I’m not part of this conversation? It feels territorial which isn’t fair because they’re his kids too. What did she tell you?” Lance just wants to know what he needs to clear up, but of course to Keith it’s like wjhkadsjfakfj WHAT DO YOU MEAN just tell me what the fuck happened like you should’ve WHEN it happened!!!

“Why don’t you tell me?” Keith snapped.

Lance looked over at him and glared. “I freaked out for a second, okay? It happened once; it doesn’t mean I can’t handle my kids. Violet freaked a little, but I was fine-”

“You told her not to tell me!” Keith yelled. THIS is a big yikes. From personal experience, there is ALWAYS a sense of guilt and confusion and fear when a parent tells you to keep something secret from the other. Lance had NO malicious intentions, but it’s still heavy for a kid, and once Keith found out it just felt.... well like being lied to and roping their kid into it. 

“Because you don’t listen!” Lance yelled back. Lance does feel justified because he DID want to tell Keith himself, but Keith never opened a space for him to talk. So now they’re both just pointing fingers at each other. “Because no matter how many times I tell you I can’t sleep or I don’t want to, it just seems so easy to you. Just send me to sleep every time I get a little frustrated, because you’re not the one with the fucking nightmares!”

“They would go away if you-”

“No they won’t!” Lance shouted, hitting the dashboard. “Fuck. Keith, come on. I don’t want a fucking psychologist because I know what’s wrong with me. I know I’m traumatized, I know that…. Talking about this shit with someone isn’t going to make the nightmares stop. I don’t want to be given medication meant to numb my brain until I sleep. These aren’t stopping until I make it past the fucking cycle. What I want is to be comforted by my husband, to be with my family, not have my brain picked at by a stranger telling me I’ll be okay!”Per usual, I really want both sides to make sense and be justified. I need Keith’s side of “you should have told me, why did you hide this AND tell Violet not to tell me” to be valid and I need Lance’s pain and anger of everything he just said to make sense too. And what makes them clash is the lack of communication and the different stages they’re in. Keith is expecting Lance to be able to just act on the problems and work for a solution and tell him things, but Lance needs him there giving him a space to safely tell him what he’s going through and give him the comfort he needs at a pace. Keith isn’t giving Lance a chance to say what he needs, but Lance also isn’t bringing it to Keith’s attention and he’s putting on a face so Keith doesn’t realize what he needs. As you can see it starts to go in circles. And right now that he IS telling Keith, it’s like.... Keith is in a very angry and frustrated state now and he’s taking Lance’s tone and words as an accusation. Like he’s not a good enough partner or parent rather than a cry for help.

“What happens if the next time you panic, you hurt Charlie or Oliver?” Keith said in a quiet voice. “What, I’m supposed to come home and shrug and say it’s fine because you’re having a hard time?” Another fair point. Things could have gotten really bad if Violet hadn’t arrived, and it’s a valid concern. Keith as a parent definitely prioritizes the kids over anything, so while he’s now aware of what Lance says, he’s also pointing out that by not telling him before, the kids could’ve been in danger in some way because of a PTSD episode. 

“I’m not going to hurt them.”

“You don’t know that.” Keith sniffed and ran his hands through his hair. “God, Lance. You think you’re the only one traumatized? I was in the war with you. I jump when I hear certain ringtones and alarms because they sound like the sirens in the Castle. I have to stop and breathe when the construction workers next door are a little too loud demolishing shit because it sounds like the blasters. I’m there with you. Keith’s trying to say “we’re in this together” but with how upset he is, it’s not coming across. But he’s also trying to remind Lance that he’s not weak or dumb for struggling, that he is too. Because Keith thinks that shame is part of why he won’t say anything. I get nightmares too. But you’re…. You’re losing sleep. You’re having these panic attacks and flashbacks in the middle of the day when you’re alone with the kids-” The argument was STARTING to de-escalate here, or at least Keith was trying to reel it back and take on a more comforting approach, but again, to Lance it just sounded like Keith was blaming him. For not handling it, for struggling too much with PTSD in comparison, for bad parenting, etc. 

“Maybe if you stayed home I wouldn’t be alone.” Then this happened.

The change in Keith’s face was immediate, and it made Lance’s stomach churn. He knows Keith’s expressions by now. He knows that this means anger there’s no coming back from tonight. “Goddammit. This again?” he hissed.

“I-I know you want to provide for us, Keith, but…. God, I don’t care about how much money we have or how many luxuries we can afford. I just want you here with us like you’ve been this week-”

“You’re the one always talking about giving the kids more than what we had!” Keith exclaimed. “For fuck’s sake make up your mind! It is a lot of back and forth with of them, isn’t it? I don’t like being home all day, Lance, I need to be doing something. So.... The “I don’t like being home” came across in the worst way for Lance. To Lance, this was “I don’t like being home with you. I don’t like our home. I need to be away from the house, from you.” But Keith meant it in the sense that... he can’t be still. He can’t be stagnant. He has to be doing something besides trying to figure out how to pass the days, especially when Violet’s at school. While Lance enjoys being home with the kids and figuring out games and knows how to pass the hours, Keith just can’t. Sit still. Working gives me a routine, and it gives me the chance to give the kids things they need and things they want. And even then we’re still barely making it because we spend on so many pointless things-” I just hear this from so many adults in my life. They’re always working for more money, and when they have it they get so excited they spend it all, and then it’s a struggle with no money again and over and over. 

“Alright! Whatever. You’ll go right back to work Monday and it’ll be the same as ever,” Lance muttered. In my head, the underlying message in that sentence was “Shut up, soon you’ll go back to work and none of this will matter because you won’t have to deal with it.” “The nightmares will stop soon. We’ll just go right back to normal.” Normal for Lance is... well, the routine. But as mentioned before during the sleepover, normal isn’t okay for Keith anymore. It’s scaring him. So he stays quiet.

Keith didn’t say anything to that. Lance wasn’t sure if he expected him to. But he knew what he didn’t expect was for Keith to get out of the car and leave him alone. The silence says a lot. But leaving I think says more. I can’t even put into words the emotion or the intent or the unspoken words I wanted here. I think that sense of someone just walking out on you says a lot and I hope that it causes the emotion I wanted. I just know my heart falls to my stomach at the concept of Keith leaving Lance alone, and Idk. It’s something I can’t fully express in words, so I left it as an action. Lance stared at the dash for a moment, feeling sick to his stomach. Then he got out of the car, manually locking it before he went back into the house.

[arinaco]

The Heroine’s Journey of Lance or The child who drowned in pursuit of a dream.

Warning: Plance

Edited by https://twitter.com/Nadezhda932

Yes, you heard right. The topic sounds the way it sounds, and if you’re confused by the fact that Lance was called the "heroine", I hasten to reassure you. The Heroine’s Journey is in no way connected with the gender of the protagonist, "she" can be both a man and a woman. This expression was accepted, because in the stories of the old times mostly women were sent to such journeys, since men suffering from mental anguish considered not manly enough. Men were usually sent to Hero's Journey, and for a better understanding of the situation I'll spend a little of your time to explain the difference.

The Hero's Journey is a literal journey where the hero is forced to leave his home - a comfort zone - so that he grows up and matures under the influence of literal trials. He must also perform a feat and receive a reward for this feat. Kill the dragon and get the princess (a sword / horse / medicine for a sick mother etc.), as a symbol of the fact that the hero won and received what he set off for.

The Heroine's Journey is a story of spiritual experiences when, under the influence of external factors, a person loses an important part of his personality, and he needs to find himself again - to restore his spiritual balance. Growing up is achieved through rethinking oneself, through finding one's place in this world and through casting away false beliefs that prevent the hero from becoming happy. Moreover, the Heroine's Journey may not have a feat, but the reward is and is always deceiving - having received the reward for his struggle, the hero suddenly realizes that this is not what he wanted. He's disappointed - he put so much effort into achieving the goal, and now realizes that all this time he was wasting himself in vain.

And I can’t help but recall the indignation of some of Lance’s fans that they didn’t let him complete the feat. He learned to wield a sword, and he wasn;t even allowed to demonstrate his skills, for example, in a duel with Lotor, like an Easter egg on an old series (those who watched the old series laughed at this statement, but this is not about that). And some of the men experienced cognitive dissonance - if the hero received the princess, then where is the dead dragon? Zarkon was killed by Lotor. Sendak was defeated by Keith and Shiro. Honevra, in fact, left undefeated. Lance... turned out to be the thief from the game in S6. A cool girl needs a cool guy, not a simple farmer. Guys, really. I understand that Lance is wonderful, but his image in the series is just that. A simple farmer who, for all his good qualities, is not at all the one who is destined to take out the Sword from the Stone.

Because the fact is that in the history of Lance there should not be a “dead dragon” - a feat. Because the feat is accomplished on the Hero's Journey, while Lance has the Heroine's Journey. And yes, the reward he received was false and only led to disappointment.

Lance's story should look something like this:

Starting point:Lance is an altruistic but insecure guy who feels like a "third wheel" in life. But he wants to change this, to become something more than a “simple guy from Cuba”, he wants to be useful and meaningful.

Journey: Lance believes that he'll gain self-confidence and usefulness in the eyes of others if he becomes a hero and becomes famous. He wants to be the knight saving princesses, Hercules of his own story. But at the same time, in the struggle for the title of a hero, he becomes more and more selfish and loses an important part of himself - his compassion and selflessness towards others.

A reward and disappointment in it: Lance receives what, in his opinion, should bring him the title of a hero and self-confidence, but at the same time he doesn't receive self-confidence. The candy, which was so attractive with its wrapper, turned out to be tasteless. In addition, his desire to have this award comes into direct conflict with his desire to help others, and this puts pressure on him.

End:Lance refuses the reward, lets his thirst for fame go and comes to terms with his conscience. Having stopped chasing after fame, like a donkey for a carrot, he finally notices that his friends love him without any fame and appreciate his efforts. Realizing that he doesn't need to become Hercules in order to be respected and loved, Lance finally accepts himself, which allows him to find his place in the world and feel happy.

This is how it should have looked in a normal scenario. But since Mr. B. changed it (I won't swear in the article, though I really want to), the end of the journey was simply deleted from Lance’s story, leaving him in a state of disappointment with the award, which in the description of the Heroine’s Journey is directly called “spiritual aridity, death".

Really. They even showed it in the end, although they finished the ending according to the changed script (you won’t erase words from the song). Lance literally buries himself at 19, disappointed in life. More absurd is only Shiro who was sent to retire at the age of 30. I'm now 30 years old, and it’s just ridiculous for me to say that life ends at 19 (30) years, now it’s only a monastery and a pension. Unhappy love is sad, but life is such a thing that someone constantly dies, and it’s not normal to bury yourself alive. Especially in the series for children. Pathological grief after the loss of a loved one is actually a disorder of adaptation and in psychiatry is considered a disease that must be treated. A person left in a state of psychiatric illness is a so-so happy ending. However, if you consider that the universe after S8 remained in complete disarray, then Lance fits into such a happy ending. By the way, the Heroine's Journeys of Lance and Allura are very similar in the sense that self-doubt becomes their main enemy. They are like brother and sister in this, go hand in hand, and that is why their journeys intersect. But if in the changed S8 Allura still got an invisible “kick in the ass, which allowed her to take a decisive step forward,” Lance remained stagnant in his uncertainty. If Allura commited suicide by her own decision, Lance just got stuck in a quagmire and choked. But let's look at the situation in more detail. And let's start with the Lance's family.  

Stage 1 - Separation from the feminine.

Lance is a kind but insecure guy. He sees that his Nice Guy status gives nothing and has no weight in society, and therefore dreams of fame.

Lance grew up in faraway Cuba, in a large provincial family of farmers. Well-off enough to feed a bunch of people without problems during S8 - when the whole Earth was in crisis - but not the great rich. The boss in the house was an active mom, and dad, judging by his behavior and the attitude of others, was a standard quiet henpecked man. You know, a handsome guy, unsure of himself, who in his youth fell into the hands of an energetic girl and spent his whole life in invisible labor on a farm for the benefit of the family. Judging by the words of Lance’s mother, it was from his father that Lance inherited stupid lines and the desire to flirt with girls, which in reality was only a pretense of bravado for both. However, you can understand Lance's father. When you're a provincial farmer, besides socializing there's little entertainment. And the presence of a beautiful girlfriend was probably the only way for a young farmer to raise his authority and gain the respect of his peers. Moreover, Lance wasn't the only beloved child, but rather one of a bunch of children, each of whom probably wanted to win a little attention from their parents. He's the youngest, and the youngest is the one for whom everyone else always decides, the one whom everyone pushes, whose opinion is never asked. And of course, the shadow from more successful older relatives constantly dominated him - the older sister made a career in science, and the older brother, unlike Lance, who resembled his quiet father, clearly inherited mother's self-confidence and constantly teased his younger sibling. And naturally, he wanted to stand out. He wanted his parents to notice him among a bunch of other, older and “more useful” children, to be appreciated and respected - but, alas, it's difficult to gain respect from others by how cool you milk cows. Here, everyone around milks the cows, it's a farm. And a simple Cuban boy, who probably watched cartoons about super-heroes, began to dream. He milked cows and dreamed of how he would break out of this gray life and become cool and famous. Dad will be proud, elder siblings will stop laughing at him. And all the girls will be his. Lance, like his father in his youth, probably sought to establish himself surrounded by other young farm guys as a "Loverboy" - but he was just a quiet, handsome guy with stupid lines, not a brutal cowboy on a powerful stallion. And such guys are loved, I would even say that girls often marry this type of guys, but don't chase them in a crowd. You need to understand that Lance wanted to break out of this life. He dreamed of something completely different. And the fact that he was forced to return to the farm... sorry, but this is a mockery. It would be better if he opened a space tourism company and named his ship "Allura". And, like captain Kirk, remained faithful to his ship, shrugging off the fatal beauties. In general, if not for Veronica, who had shown by her example that there is a way out, then most likely Lance would have finished as his dad. He would fall into the hands of a brisk girl and spent his whole life on a farm under the heel. He would drag a completely prosperous dull existence, like hundreds of other farmers before him. But looking at his sister, Lance got the idea to enter the Garrison and was able to do it. It's a pity that the provincial farmers didn't really appreciate this feat. Alas, in the Cuban hinterland there were no experts who could understand the extent of such an achievement. Only a sister supported Lance.

And in the Garrison it wasn't easy either. He entered the Garrison, but only as a pilot of cargo vehicles, and when he was transferred to combat pilots the teacher, clearly upset by the loss of a more talented student, couldn't help but recall that Lance was here only because Keith was expelled. The gifted one, but unfortunately for teachers completely undisciplined.

However, with the girls he was a little luckier. Judging by the conversation with Hunk in the first episode, Lance didn't wait for "the only one", but rather actively ran on dates. Apparently, sometimes his "wonderful" lines really worked. Another thing is that the significance of dating girls in the eyes of the population of the Garrison was extremely small - they are not bored farmers, so it remained exclusively a personal affair of Lance, and he didn't gain much respect because of it.

But Lance wanted something completely different. He wanted respect, fame, being accepted. And if Keith went to save Shiro because he was the only close person for him, Lance got in because he was sickened that everyone compared him to Keith. It's he who must save Shiro and become famous, even if it ends badly for him (do you really think that under other circumstances they wouldn't be punished?). The position of the second violin in relation to Keith enraged Lance, especially considering the fact that Keith didn't care about Lance. He couldn't understand why Lance was angry with him, they almost didn't know each other. Keith had his own personal problems, unrelated to Lance. It didn’t even occur to him that he, as it turns out, was competing with Lance for the title of the coolest, since Keith wasn't interested in such competitions.

Such rivals that he didn’t even recognize you...

Looking ahead, I just notice that as soon as Lance stopped seeing an opponent in Keith, all their contradictions vanished. Keith wasn't Lance's adversary, enemy, rival or any kind of aggressor. Keith became one because Lance elevated him to that position. Lance imagined a dragon which must be defeated, but as soon as he stopped demonizing Keith it immediately turned out that there was no dragon at all. There are no external demons in Lance's life, but internal ones. And Keith is a good example. So they find the Blue Lion. Blue sees Lance - a good guy who is ready to support others and who is most in need of support - realizes that "this is my boy" and sends the whole company to the Castle of Lions.

Where Lance meets Allura - the embodiment of his dream of glory. Not just a beautiful girl, but a real princess. Like from a fairy tale where the coolest man - Hercules - gets the princess, becomes her faithful knight, protects her and accomplishes feats in her honor. And she admires him.

Of course, from the first minutes Allura makes it clear that she'll break the neck of any dragon and give the knight a kick, but the dream didn' fade from this - quite the opposite, it became more inaccessible and therefore more desirable.

Then we see the events of the first two seasons. S1 spans several days, S2 - several weeks, or how much it took them to dock with the BoM and complete a plan to get Zarkon out of the game. Lance learns to work together and even begins to gradually feel his usefulness to the team. When Shiro tells him that they need him, because he's their sharpshooter, Lance glows with happiness. Because this is his place - the place of a support fighter - and he's comfortable in it. It's comfortable to be a blue paladin - a "leg" that supports everyone else, who will cover melee fighters.

And here an extremely important event happens. Shiro disappears. Shiro was the only self-confident mature man in the company of literal and mental youngsters (with the exception of Coran, but he preferred to remain in the shadows). Responsible commander, authority, leader who knew exactly what and how to do Under his wing, the kids were like in a kindergarten. And now bang - the kids lost him and left without a kindergartener.

Space Dad is gone, do it yourself. Nobody will insure you anymore, you have no one else to hope for. Everyone feels bewildered, it’s hard for everyone. And it's especially hard for Keith - after all, Shiro was his only close friend, his brother. The rest knew Shiro for about a couple of weeks and treated him like a counselor in a scout camp, and therefore experienced Shiro's loss more easily. But the loss of Shiro himself, not his leadership.

And after the loss of Shiro comes "The Great Transferring"

Stage 2 - Identification with the masculine and gathering of allies

Lance refuses the image of a Nice Guy in favor of the pursuit of status.

You know, I've often met conversations on the topic that everything is not clear with these Lions, what the heck is with replacing paladins, and why they don't change armors.

In the old series, Lions were simply meek machines - anyone could pilot them. But now the Lions are living creatures that even help their paladins (otherwise Hank and Pidge wouldn't be able to learn how to control them so quickly). Each Lion has a specific character and is looking for a “soul mate” in the paladin, which would dock well with it. The black paladin is a cool, stubborn leader. The yellow paladin is a confident strong helping hand foot, Green is a purposeful lover of knowledge. We'll deal with Red and Blue a bit later.

The easiest way is with Hunk and Pidge. The fact is that their characters almost didn't change during the series. Pidge grew up, but nothing more. Hunk was generally quite a mature person and had no moral problems, except for a heightened sense of self-preservation. He was even the first to get the girl without any problems (which is extremely funny comparing to Lance, for whom getting a girlfriend became an obsession).

Shiro, after his resurrection, became the white paladin - but, alas, there is so little evidence on this subject (thanks for the cut S7-8) that I just can’t back up my position with facts, and therefore I won’t force you to listen to my demagoguery.

I’ll give a couple of lines to Allura. Yes, she's pink. More precisely, blue-red. Allura has her father's temper. To act first and then think is her favorite method. In her decisive moments, Allura becomes "red" more than Keith himself. But brought up as the future queen, Allura suffers from hyperresponsibility and constantly thinks whether she did the right thing. She constantly doubts herself, constantly fusses around, asks others, although she must make decisions herself... except for those moments where Alfor's character shows up. One thing that Red doesn't tolerate is uncertainty. Therefore, Red didn't accept Allura. And he didn't care that Allura wanted to be like her father and really wanted to become a red paladin. She even started crying, phew. Keith is quite another case and therefore he's worth of respect.

Perhaps if Blue hadn't intervened, Allura would never have become a paladin. But picking up abandoned kittens is a Blue Lion's favorite pastime. Besides, Allura selflessly sought to help others, she had recently lost her people, her family, and her father even twice. Therefore, Blue took Allura. Don't offend little ones, Red, bad kitty. A little offtopic: the path of Allura - the normal path, not a bit thrown to us - showed the transition of Allura to a full-fledged red paladin. Because the princess, who constantly doubts herself, will never become a queen. She will always depend on the opinions of others and will forever remain a child. Let's move on to Keith. His path is very simple and straightforward, like the very Hero's Journey, which is his story. There is point A - Red Lion, as the embodiment of Kit's self-centered unstable teenage character, there is point B - becoming a black paladin, a mature responsible leader. The reward for the feat is finding a family. Why did Keith stay in a red suit? Because the suit shows that Keith is actually still too “red.” Until the very end of S8 there are too many hasty decisions, too much hope for luck. This is not the behavior of the black paladin; a good leader never relies on chance. I have serious suspicions that Black chose Keith because Shiro’s soul was inside. Black trusted Shiro, trusted his choice and accepted Keith (who made a lot of mess in his new position, to be honest ...). In addition, Black didn’t have much to choose from, but it was necessary to go on the mission. So he chose from what he had. But the most interesting thing is with Lance, the main character of our meta. Because he has a Heroine's Journey (!). Not a Hero's one. And while in Hero's Journey, the path of Keith from Red to Black is the path to maturity and the desired reward, then for Lance the path from Blue to Red leads to a false reward. To the blende. He doesn't gain new, he loses old. Lance's blue suit screams about who he really should be. Just remember. It's not Red who chose Lance. It's Blue who kicked him out(!).

Who told you that becoming Red from Blue is an upgrade? Allura? Allura dreamed all her childhood that she would become a red paladin. This is the dream of her whole life. And Lance always wanted to be needed, but what's easier for you - to live without a hand or without a leg? With one hand, of course, it's hard, but try to walk on one leg. A body without a head will run further. Allura said Red accepted Lance when he accepted Keith's leadership. A really strong step is to step on the throat of your pride. Red appreciated it, because he's a very selfish proud man lion, and for him it's really a feat. The same as Alfor had once done when he lost his leadership to Zarkon. Well done, he's impressed. But... Lance did it like a true blue paladin, not a red one. Everyone was feeling bad, and Keith especially, and Lance did this to support Keith because he saw his worries. He abandoned his ambitions in order to help his neighbor, like a true Blue would do.

The Red Lion, on the contrary, is the team’s main egoist. He listens only to Black, because he respects his authority, and even then not always. First he does, then he thinks, and he makes a decision instantly. Proud, emotional, self-centered in his desires. Just remember Alfor. Remember how he ran into the fight ahead of the team, so Zarkon had to save his butt. How he began to study the unknown crap on Daibazaal, ignoring the danger to his friend’s planet at first. How he succumbed to fear and decided to hide the Lions and not use it. How he "turned off" Allura when she began to argue with him and sent it to the cryocapsule. Only so that later his holographic ghost spread his arms and said: "I'm sorry, daughter, you were right." And that is the Red Lion. Determined, emotional, egocentric. The man of the moment. And yes, Red saw it in Lance. After all, the point is not only that Lance gained respect from Red by his “feat”. There was something in Lance that suited Red. For all his altruism, Lance is a child who craves the attention of his environment. And in this he's very selfish. In addition, despite doubts about his status, his usefulness, when it comes to making decisions, Lance doesn't stomp on the spot but acts. In the series, we often see how Lance doubts his importance, but we have never seen him doubt his actions. When it's time to act, Lance acts resolutely and without hesitation. And the problem here is not only that Red accepted Lance only when Blue drove him away. The problem is how the others reacted to this. It must be remembered that Allura really wanted Red. A lot. And also Allura felt that she must behave like a good boss, that means to praise subordinates for achievements, for hard work for the benefit of all. And of course, she began to praise Lance for becoming a red paladin - he made a real achievement in the eyes of Allura.

For Allura, this sword was the memory of her father. And she really dreamed of getting it.

And this was the first time that Allura personally praised Lance. Repeatedly. Allura in the eyes of Lance embodied all his dreams of status. And he really dreamed about her favor, about becoming her Hercules, her knight. And when she praised him, he felt that having risen in status to the right hand of the black paladin (and, according to Allura, that was exactly so), he became closer to his goal. That is, he saw a direct connection: the higher the status, the closer the dream. Despite the fact that being a red paladin wasn't as comfortable as being a blue one. Because along with having a certain status - so desirable for Lance - came the fear of losing that status. Remember how Lance was upset that he didn't know how to use the main form of red bayard - the traditional Altean sword. Have you ever seen Keith worry about not being able to use the Galra flail, which only Lotor and Zarkon used in the series? The red bayard transformed into the sword simply because Alfor created the bayard to suit the first paladins. However, that doesn't change the fact that, by default, the red paladin is the second melee fighter, while Lance has always positioned himself as a sharpshooter - a support fighter.

Stage 3 - Road of trials, meeting ogres and dragons

Lance asserts his status as a red paladin.

Now, after Zarkon's knockout, the paladins and BoM begin vigorous activity. Lance is increasingly asserting his status as a red paladin - he bathes in the completely legitimate attention and admiration of the rescued civilians. In addition, Allura became very close to him, and he could constantly communicate with her. He also felt important, helping her master the Blue Lion and covering in battles. The defender of the beautiful princess.

Note: guys, I understand that you really want to present the attitude of the paladins to each other in battle as exceptional. But helping a comrade on the battlefield is the thing expected of a soldier. On the contrary, if he doesn't help, he'll be called a traitor. BoM's operations don't count, as they have partisan and espionage activities, where there are other priorities. Mutual assistance on the battlefield isn't an act of goodwill, but an obligation.

Yes, after becoming a red paladin, Lance stopped hitting on Allura. Because now Allura wasn't separate from the others, the abstract mistress of the Castle, she became part of the team. That is, not a princess - a potential damsel in distress - but a comrade with whom they share bread and shelter. And of course, Lance began to treat her in a different way. But he didn' stop wanting her. As soon as Matt (young, attractive rebel) appeared on the horizon, Lance set up an absolutely ugly jealousy scene.

Despite the fact that Allura didn't give any promises to Lance, didn't encourage his actions, wasn't either his bride or a wife, Lance decided that he had exclusive rights to Allura and began to guard her like a dog. Most likely, this attitude appeared as a result of the act of “giving” the Blue Lion. Because Lance continued to consider Blue his property, and at the same time began to consider the pilot of Blue his property too. And if so, then Allura belongs to him, and lines are no longer needed. And then Lotor appeared. I must say that it's unlikely that at the first personal meeting Lotor had matrimonial or at least some personal plans for Allura. When Lotor appeared near the Haggar's ship, he wasn't there because of the paladins. If you remember, Lotor caught the transmission that the sector would be blown up, not a word about the presence of Voltron. Lotor didn't save the paladins; he saved civilians from his mad relatives. And when Lotor talks with Allura, he offers exclusively business relations. Abstract union in the name of universal good.

But as soon as Lotor said the word “union”, Lance not only triggered, he almost exploded. From the mere hint that this obviously successful man is offering his(!) princess some sort of union, Lance sharply felt a surge of jealousy and saw Lotor as his rival. While Lotor completely ignored Lance - he addressed to Allura as the head of this madhouse, and he wasn't interested in the opinion of the “retinue” of the princess. In general, Lothor was always interested only in the opinion of Allura, convinced only her and appealed only to her. As a political leader to a political leader. The remaining paladins were reckoned by Lotor to the retinue of Allura and didn't cause much interest. Doesn’t resemble anything? Remember how Lance reacted towards Keith, although he hardly remembered him? How Lance considered Keith his rival? There's only a small but very important difference: Keith reacted to aggression with his own aggression. That is, Lance received a reaction to his actions. But Lotor didn’t do anything at Lance’s aggression. What difference does it make to an elephant what kind of a dog is barking at it down there? At the first outbreak of jealousy, Lance tried to get Lotor out of the way, like he did with Matt, but he couldn't do anything with such a mastodon. And Allura... Allura has work for the benefit of the universe, and Pidge's father must be saved. And here is the legendary Oriande. She didn’t know that Lance had any rights to her. Lotor shines in front of her eyes like a supernova, so Lance's jealousy was left without any attention.

Confused by the fact that he lost his place near the princess, Lance begins to do what he never did before becoming a red paladin. He begins to feel sorry for himself. Allura lost interest in him, she separated from the other paladins and flew away right in front of his eyes to a brilliant rival. Who is, in fact, like a hero from the legends. The real emperor, handsome, great warrior, leader, diplomat, Allura looks at him with admiration. And any attempt to ridicule him is smashed against the armor of equanimity and true self-confidence. Lotor was someone that Lance had always dreamed of becoming. Lance didn’t think about how hard it was for Lotor to become like this, Lance thought it was cool to be a brilliant space prince, not just a Cuban guy.

Lance envied Lotor, like he once envied Keith. And Lance again felt not needed and began to cling with all his might to the title of savior of the universe, as well as to rush to prove his worth. When Pidge and Hunk distract him from his worries, he's very happy to have fun with them - because he really doesn’t have problems, but in moments of idleness he begins to feel sorry for himself and think about how lonely he is and no one likes him. He even complained to the mice. After all, he likes Allura so much, he dreamed of becoming her knight, but she didn't appreciate it.

If Lance was so easily distracted from his longing for Allura, so maybe this longing wasn't so terrible?

Lotor became a dragon which Lance couldn't defeat in an honest battle and was fully aware of it. In addition, it's difficult to save the princess from the clutches of the dragon, when she's already choosing curtains for the cave. Such a princess would kill anyone who dares to hurt her dragon. However, fortunately for Lance, Keith brings Romelle and the paladins defeat Lotor. The path is clear, the dragon was killed. True, not by Lance personally, but it doesn’t matter. In addition, Allura is broken and unhappy, and in need of support. But although Lotor died, his ghost remained. After all, Lotor wasn't a real dragon of Lance, he became one in his mind. And he stayed there even after his physical death. Now Lance will always compare himself with Lotor, because he's only the second, not the first. And when Veronica asks Lance if he's going to date Allura, he begins to torment himself by the fact that he's not worthy of the Altean princess. He's a war veteran, he's the defender of the Earth, he's a red paladin, but this fades in his eyes comparing with Lotor. And this is so unsettling that even the Red Lion doesn't immediately come to the call.

Twinkle, twinkle little star...

Ultimately, instead of supporting Allura in a difficult period, he sits, suffers, and pities himself. But friends will always help, right? Hunk forces Lance to invite Allura on a date, and Rommelle persuades her to agree. And Lance gets what he dreamed of.

Stage 4 - Finding the boon of success

Lance becomes Allura's boyfriend. He was aimed to this from the S1.

Which almost instantly proceeds to the next stage:

Stage 5 - Awakening to feelings of spiritual aridity; death

Lance became Allura's boyfriend, but didn't feel significant.

Because everything went wrong from the very beginning.

You know, during the entire episode Lance looked happy once. When Keith told him how much he appreciated him. For me, the date could be over right here. It’s a very positive note - two comrades are sitting, saying warm words to each other and looking at a beautiful sunset. They would have wine, snacks, and don't leave.

Because the very presence of depression of your girlfriend doesn't tune into a romantic note. Plus Coran with his hysteria about the fact that Lance is a plebeian, not an Altean aristocrat.

In any case, the family dinner wasn't as joyful as Lance had hoped. Allura was far from in a romantic mood and sought to discuss the matters whoch worried her. And the siblings began to please the guest with stories about Lance's childhood. Lance wanted to be cool in the eyes of Allura. And here he's exposed as a fool and a clown. And as a result, Lance felt ashamed. He felt uncomfortable in the walls of his own home, because his beloved relatives didn't want to maintain his authority at all. The status of the red paladin and the presence of a beautiful girl didn't help to shut up the older brother, who continued to mock him as before. The war veteran remained thechild in the eyes of relatives, because there was no one who would tell them in person that they're wrong. Finally, they run away from home and go for a walk. Allura is not in the mood, she is ready to talk about anything except what is usually discussed on dates. Allura says that she feels completely alone looking at friends who have returned to their families.

And Lance, in his aspiration to become significant in the eyes of the princess, is ready to promise her a moon from the sky and follow her even to the edge of the universe. Despite the fact that most of all he always wanted to return home. Lance tells Allura that he loves her, and she sadly nods in response. All his words didn’t really inspire her, because she didn't need anything proposed. And Lance himself feels miserable, because he understands that he can’t help Allura in any way.

Lance isn’t a fool. He realized that Allura didn't reciprocate his feelings. But he walked too long towards his goal and selfishly clutched his reward. And thereby only worsened the situation. He grabs the opportunity to be a knight of Allura, because she's a princess after all. He again turns her in his eyes from a comrade into a virgin in trouble, but as a result only failed. Remember the pirate attack. Lance forgot that Allura was stronger than all of them combined, he forgot that they should meet the enemies shoulder to shoulder, and then he watched with genuine amazement how “the princess saves the knight” - Allura beat the pirates without any problems, having saved both Lance and herself.

Lance, these are pirates who must run away from Allura...  

The second attempt to protect Allura also failed. The resurrected "dragon" simply didn't shoot at Allura, and Lance himself fell under the attack of the Alteans. Not to mention the fact that they failed to win the “dragon” - he beat them with his fists. Mad Lotor is a terrible thing by his own, and here he's combined with Sincline... Instead of gaining self-confidence, Lance felt more worthless than ever. Besides Allura, he felt useless. Allura says to him that he doesn't understand her suffering, and all he can do is agree with this and utter banal words of sympathy. Which can't help Allura in her grief. When Allura praised him in the forest just for being able to find the way, Lance beamed as if he had received the Nobel Prize. Allura simply didn't have anything else to praise him for - he did nothing significant in her eyes, and now the red paladin - the right hand of the leader of Voltron - felt joy as if he had accomplished a feat.

You fought with Zarkon, man, and now you consider this an achievement?

No, he pretends that everything is fine, trying to continue to play the role of a knight, which turns out to be frankly bad. At the first opportunity, Allura chases him away, asking to bring "something sparkly", and all he can do is to say a pretentious statement that winning the prizes is his speciality. Although he was only asked to bring a souvenir from the fair.

Such a happy couple...

And then... In the season we got, nothing happens further. Lance remains in this relationship, where he feels completely useless to Allura. Even more: having received a dark entity, Allura wakes up and begins to simply dismiss Lance. And Lance remains a passive observer. He watches her act, he watches her commit suicide. Could he feel guilty after that? After all, he couldn't help her. And he breaks down, leaves everything that he loved, and goes to live on Altea, which Allura missed so much but will never see again. Lance became the mouse that cried, pricked, but continued to eat the cactus. Just because it's a very expensive cactus, and greed didn't allow it to be left. But what was originally planned? If we take as a basis the material that TPL were able to restore, then we can approximately complete the remaining stages of the Heroine’s Journey. 

 Stage 6 - Initiation and Descent to the Goddess

Lance meets his Anima, and she reminds him of the importance of taking into account the interests of his loved ones, that you cannot build your happiness at someone else's expense. Lance looks at his relationship from a new angle.

And yes, as I spoiled at the beginning of the meta, Pidge became Lance's Anima.

Anima and Animus in the Heroine's Journey always represent opposites, which at the same time have much in common (and this is not always a romantic interest, it just traditionally becomes one). Moreover, even the opposites aren't taken from nowhere - they complement each other. Just compare.

Lance is an ordinary, unremarkable guy from a family of ordinary, unremarkable farmers, who was always burdened by his dullness comparing with more successful older relatives.

Pidge was always special from the family of specials, she stood out among other children, for which she became a white crow in her class. But the family constantly convinced her that this was an advantage, not a disadvantage.

Lance is a selfless, altruistic guy who is worried about someone else’s grief.

Pidge is rather egocentric, has little interest in the good of those who go beyond the circle of her loved ones. It's possible that this is a consequence of her young age - all children are self-centered - but fact is a fact.

Lance is a child who constantly tried to win back at least a little attention of his relatives and suffered the ridicule of his older siblings.

Pidge was always surrounded by attention. Parents adored her, the elder brother adored her and supported in everything. Pidge never doubted the love of her family; for her it was as natural as breathing.

Lance feels important to have attention to his person from relatives. And constantly selfishly demanded this attention as much as possible, because he felt underestimated.

Pidge is ready for anything for those whom she loves, and she's ready to beat anyone who harm her loved ones. She's ready to make any sacrifices for those whom she loves.

Pidge and Lance have always had fun together. Yes, Pidge was teasing him, but only when she felt that Lance's problems were not serious. When Lance really needed support, Pige always flew to the rescue. And Lance was just as ready to stand between Pidge and danger at any moment. For little Pidge, he really was a defender. And with all the differences, they had so many things and activities that they loved equally. At that time, there was nothing for Allura and Lance to talk about, except war and losses.

When Pdige and Lance were asked what they're dreaming of, they said they're dreaming of returning to Earth, weeting with their relatives and having fun together. In addition, Lance didn't perceive Pidge as a girl to drag around. Pidge was a true friend for him, not an object for self-affirmation.

And the situation with the date of Allura. Pidge was very upset when she found out that Lance and Allura were going on a date, but she also knew how Lance wanted it, and therefore even helped Allura to get her dress. And gave the game that she and Lance loved so much. For the sake of which they together completed a quest to collect money at the space mall.

You know, if Pige came to this date, not Allura, it would have gone completely different. Lance wouldn't be ashamed of the childhood stories, because he knew that Pidge had no illusions about him anyway. And Pidge would certainly say that Lance is a real hero with the same fury with which she defended her father and brother. The date didn't happen. But then there was a fair where Lance and Pidge united in an effort to get a gift for Allura. Pidge also sees that Allura is depressed, she wants to please her and is actively helping Lance to get "something sparkly".

Lance very quickly forgets what Allura requested. He decides to give her a blue lion with his autograph as a souvenir. Well, at least he didn’t decide to give his belt statue, otherwise Allura, in his absence, would forget about him for at least five minutes. And how displeased he is when he sees a purple lion. We all know who this color symbolizes. The ghost of a personal dragon doesn't let Lance go even at the fair.  

And, in the end, since it was the gift for Allura that was the purpose of their competition, they couldn't help but talk about Allura herself. And you need to understand that Lance feels very bad now. The descent to the Goddess occurs at the time of the most difficult spiritual state of the hero. Literal descent into darkness in order to meet with the Shadow. And although Lance was used to keep his feelings, then he would have shared with Pidge, he'd tell about his sadness, about how useless he feels. And Pidge in response reveals to Lance her view of the relationship between people. She explains to him that in relations with loved ones you need to think not only about yourself, you need to care about those you love. Because if you're truly in love, you're ready to give the last for the sake of the happiness of your beloved. And probably in their conversation the game was mentioned, that Pidge had given so that the date would go smoothly. Pige doesn’t just say beautiful words, she shows that she's ready to take care of Lance even if he - busy with self-pity - doesn't notice it.

"We"? What, or rather who do you mean, Pidge? All the others had time for entertainment...

And here Lance finds out that Pidge really cares about him, and this knowledge encourages him. And he's filled with the desire to take care of Allura in order to prove his love. 

Alas, he's not yet ready to let her go. 

Stage 7 - Urgent yearning to reconnect with the feminine

Inspired by the words of Pidge, Lance feels the need to take care of Allura, to show his clogged altruistic side. But Allura was also inspired by someone. Having descended into the darkness to her Shadow, Allura cleared her mind and returned to the world of the living to show who's the Space Mom here. She perked up, ready for vigorous activity and Lance's care was met only with irritation. Lance, feeling that his care isn't appreciated, gets angry in response.

Sorry, Lance, but if Red made a decision, then only Black can prevent it...

Moreover, Lance realizes that Allura is starting to move away from him. Upset, sad Allura needed his support, and for an active and self-confident one he became only an obstacle on the way to her goal. And it turned out that the desire to keep Allura close to him came into direct conflict with the desire to make Allura happy. Lance hastily tries to dissuade Allura from active actions, but she doesn't listen to him. 

Stage 8 - Healing the mother/daughter split

Lance looks at his relationship with Allura in a new light. He understands that they won't be happy as a couple.

Lance is in ambivalence. Allura’s fighting spirit rose, she ceased to be sad, but Lance doesn't feel happy. And he understands that he really needs to make a choice between what's good for him and what's good for Allura. Because he can't be with happy Allura - he'll always stay behind her.

Stage 9 - Healing the wounded masculine within

Lance refuses the reward for the sake of Allura's happiness and gets rid of the burden of envy and futility.

And now, moment X comes — an honest, open conversation between Allura and Lance. Allura confesses to him that she doesn't love him and wants to save Lotor from Honerva's grasp.

And then Lance finally clears his conscience. He refuses the reward which he desired so much. And at the same time, he's finally freed from the ghost of the dragon, tormenting him all this time. He ceases to demonize Lotor, to consider him his rival, which must be surpassed. And he agrees to help Allura save her significant other.

And he really feels that he has freed himself. He's no longer the second one, who will always lose to the first one. He's a good friend, and Allura needs him to get the other paladins to help save Lotor.

Stage 10 - Integration of masculine and feminine/Union

Lance gains spiritual balance and maturity.

Having lost his spiritual burden, Lance feels that he's important and he remembers that his friends love him. He ceases to feel envy and guilt. He's free from the burden of the red paladin, now for him it's not a yoke, but simply a title. He's again a Nice Guy Lance, who takes care of loved ones. And who feels that loved ones also care about him. He finally felt happy. What does he do after Allura and Lotor set off to restore the universes? He returnes home. He communicates closely with Pidge and comes to see how she makes robots. He probably continues his career in the Garrison. Now he's a famous pilot, he's a veteran. New horizons and respect of colleagues are waiting for him. His dream of stars came true, his desire to be at home also came true. He's where he's needed, and he's where he's loved. And once a year they all come together on Altea to take a photo. Allura will surely be interested in looking at these photos when she returns. In the universe, of course, not everything goes smoothly after the war. But now they have two gods who diligently rake up problems. The gods will cope with them. So, everyone will have that very “happily ever after.”

[gotmeringinghellsbells]

Is Jeith open for a asks? I just want s8 James and Keith interacting. Griffin went to apologize and try to open a friendship with Keith but the other one is been stubborn so James decides to loosen him up with a good tickle until Keith is begging for mercy and definitely has changed his mind to try and be friendly with James.

Fandom: Voltron Legendary Defender

Characters: Keith Kogane, James Griffin

A/N: I don’t really ship Jeith but I thought this was such a cute idea! Sorry about the wait and I hope you enjoy!

Description: After Keith returns to the Garrison, James finds himself swimming more often than not in guilt. Finally, when he gets a moment alone with his former victim, he decides to try and make amends. 

_

When professor Wright heard a shriek from the gymnasium, the last thing he thought he’d see was a tickle fight between two rivals. While walking to the Atlas to run through a list of supplies with Sam Holt, he’d heard a shriek that caused him to jump. It wasn’t one of fear, nor one of pain. He couldn’t put his finger one it.

Peering through the small crack of the doors, he was taken back. James Griffin, someone who had bullied Keith to the point the kid ended up getting kicked out of the Garrison, now had his former victim on the floor, fingers traveling about his stomach.

His brown and scarred eye they were still going at it when he passed by again, then he may intervene. Until then, let them work out.... whatever that was. He never hated James, but he had little tolerance for bullying, not to mention the fact he’d throw Keith’s parents in his face almost every time. But... Griffin had matured over the last few years.... or maybe not.

Eh, whatever this was, might as well let them be dorks before the upcoming mission.

Since laying eyes on Keith, James had felt guilt slowly building within him. He new Keith was still around after leaving as he’d heard Adam talk about him with other teachers, but when he went missing... the male felt terrible. He wanted to apologize for being such a jerk to him, but never got the chance too.

Even when he saw Keith again, they didn’t get off on the best foot as James was trying to take control of a situation he had no say in, irritating his superiors to the point he was warned about being on thin ice. He may have crossed the line when it came to what he’d said to the yellow paladin, but they were all under some serious pressure and stress!

Nevertheless, during one of his morning workouts, he was a bit surprised to see the once “emo” teen he went to school with sparring alongside his wolf. They had some impressive moves. He watched for a while before approaching during their water break.

“Not bad Kogane.” Keith chocked a bit on his water before turning his head, wiping water off his chine. His eyes were wide, narrowing once seeing who was approaching him. “What do you want?” So cold! James sighed, he kind of deserved that.

“Well, I did come in here to train but, I see you and this little cutie beat me to it.” He squatted down, offering a hand to the thirsty wolf. Kosmo lifted his wet snoot out of the water before testing this new human. He sniffed his hand warily before booping into it with a tail wag.  

Keith was going to sass him like he would Lance, but stopped when seeing Kosmo take to the former bully. “Well you could join... I guess.” Keith didn’t see why him being there was a problem, completely missing that James was just trying to joke around and make small talk.

The other was a bit shocked at the sudden invite. He looked up with a genuine smile that slowly turned into a smirk. “Alright then. Let’s see what your made of then Kogane.” Keith smirked back before offering a hand to help the other to his feet.

James took the offer and stood, Kosmo watching them in confusion. “So, what do you have in mind,” the brunette asked as their hands fell back. “Basic sparring?” James nodded, ready to take the other on. Keith looked to his baby and gave him a few head scratches and a kiss. “Sit tight and relax boy.” He headed further into the gym with his former classmate, stance ready.

James imitated him before both took off towards the other. Limbs clashed and flew about as they tried to take the other down. That was.... before Griffin decided to play dirty. Keith’s eyes widened when the brunette slid behind him, arms wrapping around his torso and a leg knocking him off his feet.

He fell to the ground, James practically spooning him from behind before swinging up onto his hips. There was a snort as Keith’s struggle stopped, his hands pined to the cool floor. The dark haired male panted softly, a look of shock on his face. “Heh, thought they trained you paladins.”

And there came the growl.... that wasn’t from Kosmo. Purple eyes narrowed as frustration started to come up. “Oh? Hit a bit of a nerve did I?” His smirk fell when he noticed Keith not taking to well to the teasing. “Alright, alright. Round two?”

He was quick to get off Keith, offering a hand. He expected the other to knock it aside and storm off like the old Keith would.... but he didn’t. He took the hand with a sigh and... a pout?! “Yeah, let’s go.” James was shocked. His facial expression quickly changed to a smirk as he pulled Keith into him, arms wrapped around him.

The black paladin was taken off guard, face turning a bit pink. “Wh-What are you doing?” He felt hands moving down to his lower sides and waist. “Giving you a deserved training exercise.” What was that supposed to- oh no. No, no, no, no, no! Keith covered his mouth, his weight shifting from one leg to another. “W-Whahait!” Kosmo’s head popped up in interest as he watched his dad squirm around.

“What? Something wrong?” Keith could hear the smirk in the other’s voice. “Sthahahaop thahaht!” The taller tried to push down on the other’s wrists but to no avail. “Nice to see you can smile oh fearless leader of Voltron.” Why was he being so playful?! Keith snorted, falling into James a bit. “Thahhat tickles! Jhahaames!”

The shorter laughed a bit before slowly slinking down with his captive. “Something the matter Kogane?” Keith nodded, his voice cracking slightly. “Yehahaha yhahahhaour thahahaickling me!” New tactic time. Keith leaned back as much as he could, slowly being laid down.

Kosmo got up after this, nails clicking onto the floor. His nose forced a break between the two, hovering over his dad and licking at his eyes as they tried to water over. Keith snorted, hands gently trying to push him away. “Nahaho, d-down boy.” He was panting softly before slowly hugging his baby.

James’s felt his face heat up slightly from the sight. Adorable! “What, that too much for you?” Kosmo and Keith both looked up at this. Keith looked tried from the little bit of attacking, and Kosmo stuck out his tongue a bit. God, Griffin was in love with puppy! “Don’t even think abou- EEK!” Keith covered his mouth and pulled Kosmo into him as his soles were poked. “Nahahao, dhahaon’t yahahou dahahahre!”

He tried to kick at the other, giggling and squealing with anticipation as he tried to escape. “Nhohoho! No, no, no, nahhaahHAHA!” He covered his mouth as he leaned forward, screaming softly as fingers would randomly scratch as his feet. He started to bounce in his seat, legs pulling for freedom. “Man, no wonder I could hear you when Shirogane or professor Wright pinned you down.” What?!

The hell?! Keith’s face turned bright, bright as butterflies filled his stomach from embarrassment. “Shahahut uahahahaip! Nohohohot thehehere, not there!” James eased up, slowly moving to sit further up the body. Ending back on Keith’s hips, he slowly moved the thin gray shirt up. He waited with a childish smirk for Keith to calm down.

However, Kosmo decided Keith didn’t need a break. His tail wagged with excitement as he leaned forward, nose hovering over the tum before touching down and earning a small squeal from his dad. “Ah! Kohoahosmo!” Keith started to scratch his babe’s ears, trying to bribe him away. But Kosmo wasn’t having it. He started to sniff over the navel, nuzzling lovingly into him.

That’s when a certain shriek let out, earning professor’s Wright’s attention. “Khahahaosmo!” James smirked a bit, his finger moving into where the wolf couldn’t reach. Keith screamed at the top of his lungs, jerking about. He was unaware of his father’s presence, not to mention his leave.

“Jahahahames!” Keith was squealing adorably and laughing so freely that the other almost didn’t want to stop. But he did out of mercy. He gave a small smile to the other before leaning his head down as Keith tiredly hid his panting, red face. Feeling lips on his stomach, his purple eyes widened. His face turned more red, if that was even possible.

“Dude, your so ticklish.” James laughed when he heard a whine escape from Keith’s mouth. He started to twist about, not wanting to be at the other’s mercy at the moment. “James, I swear,” the other screamed out before screaming at the top of his lunch when a vibration spread across his tummy from the navel.

Slowly, the brunette let go of the other, rubbing his stomach as he laughed. “Seriously, are you just a ball of nerves?” Griffin gasped as he was taken off guard, back hitting the floor as a panting, red faced Keith hovered above him. Keith cracked an evil smirk, watery eyes filled with delight. “Let’s see how ticklish you are, huh?”

Oh boy. James screamed out as fingers scratched under his arms. “Stahhahhahop it!” He started to kick out as a cool snoot snuck up his shirt. His face started to heat up as Keith’s started to cool. “Hhahahahahahaha! K-Kheheheith sthahahop thahaht!” He smacked at the human arms, gently trying to move away from the wolf who was sniffing and nuzzling up his ribs.

Keith was having fun, feeling a bit better about being stuck with the other. He let out a small snort. “I’m sorry, who’s the ball of nerves?” He received no answer before his own scream rang out once more, fingers scratching up his foot. “Alright you too, your needed on the Atlas” Adam smiled lovingly at the dorks before ruffling Keith’s hair.

“Adam,” Keith panted questioningly. He landed on James, panting softly. He froze as arms wrapped around him. James was... hugging him. Adam wore the same shocked expression as Keith before snorting when he realized it was just a reflex. Griffin laid his head back, eyes closed as he panted. “Yeah... we’ll be there soon.”

Kosmo jumped on them both as he tried to keep up with his grandfather, urging the two to get up quicker. As they did, James felt a bit... better about what he wanted to say. Taking the offered hand, he stood with a sigh. His smile dropped as he refused to look Keith in the eye. Taking his hand back, he watched as the other packed up his and his wolf’s belongings. “I.... hey, Kogane, I... I’m sorry.” Keith looked up in confusion.

“What are you talking about?” James was kicking himself for opening his mouth. “I’m sorry for being such a dick to you... since we were little. I’m sorry I ended our friendship and I’m sorry... I always.... bullied you.” Keith frowned a bit, his happy high looking down before sighing. “Hey, it’s in the past.”

It still hurt though but... today proved James had changed. The two offered awkward smiled before awkwardly starting for the Atlas. “So, busy later?” Keith smirked a bit. “Rematch?” It was on.

[luna-is-a-main-now]

Roses chapter 1

At first, Lance wanted to hate the red flowers on his skin. He knew what they meant but he didn’t want to accept it. He felt as if the roses were going to curl around his neck and choke him anyday, and the thought scared him, especially when every day he saw those roses continue to creep out across his skin more and more. 

Every time he saw Keith now, he couldn’t help the way his heart would damn near leap out of his chest. Keith, of course, only scowled in return when he caught Lance staring, even though they shared almost every class and they had known each other for years, even if they weren’t exactly friends. It was almost like Keith was purposefully trying to hate Lance just to piss him off. It might’ve worked too, had Keith not been so goddamn hot even when he was angry. However, Lance personally thought he looked so much better when he was happy.

He’d only seen Keith smile a handful of times, but each time it felt as though Lance would fucking melt on the spot from how beautiful it was. Usually he only smiled when Shiro, his older brother and a teacher in the university, was around. Once, Lance had seen him smile in class when he was zoned out, lost in his own thoughts with a light pink dusting to his cheeks. Lance had just about died on the spot, and that’s when the roses really started to become a problem, and about when he realized that he actually loved them. 

They had started off as tiny, innocent little red buds on his upper arms. He had been confused at first, but once he realized who these flowers were for, he knew that he was absolutely fucked. From that moment on, Lance couldn’t keep his eyes off Keith, and every little thing made his heart stop and new rose to etch itself into Lance’s skin and into his heart. The roses now covered the entirety of his upper arms and were now crawling halfway down his lower arms, determined to claim the whole of both appendages for themselves. A few had even started to creep up to his shoulders and across his chest, and Lance knew that soon enough, they would peek out from under his shirts and someone would figure it out. He couldn’t bring himself to mind all that much, though. 

Even now, in the middle of class, Lance couldn’t keep his eyes off the mop of dark hair a few rows ahead of him. He was so lost in his thoughts about him, that Lance never heard the teacher tell the class to pair up with a partner for a project. The thing that finally snapped him out of it was when searching violet eyes landed on him, and Lance could only watch as Keith strode over and placed himself directly in front of Lance with a disgruntled frown and pinched eyebrows.

“You’re the only person left. So you’re doing the project with me. I’ll meet you in the commons after classes today.” Keith declared gruffly, then walked out of the class as the bell rang. Lance hastily grabbed his things as he tried oh so very hard not to think of just how lovely Keith’s voice sounded, even as gruff and annoyed as it was, and how it made his heart flutter like he was a lovestruck fool. Although, Lance conceded in his thoughts, he was indeed a lovestruck fool, and he was okay with that. Lance mentally shushed himself as he hurried out of the room and to his next class, his last one of the day and the only one Keith wasn’t in as well. 

Lance felt like this class always dragged on for far too long. The professor’s voice grated on his nerves like nails on a chalkboard, and she never shut up. Lance realized that was her job and he should be a little nicer, but he just couldn’t make himself do so, especially when it honestly sounded like she gargled rocks for breakfast each morning and seemed to have a personal vendetta against Lance that he had never understood. When the bell finally rang signalling the end of the class, Lance felt as if he absolutely could not get out of there fast enough. He felt as if he needed to sleep ten years just to gain back the energy he had lost in that class alone. 

When he finally got back to his dorm, Lance let out a long breath of relief as he deposited his stuff on a random desk and flopped onto his bed with a quiet groan of exhaustion. That last professor really knew exactly how to just completely and utterly drain Lance. With a heavy sigh Lance rolled onto his back and pulled his phone out just as he received a call. Without really looking at who it was, Lance hit answer and brought it up to his ear with a tired sigh. 

“Where are you? We agreed to meet after classes. I know you’re not in class right now, Lance.” An annoyed Keith spoke, making Lance sit up quickly enough to make him go lightheaded. 

“Shit, sorry, I forgot! I’ll be right out.” Lance assured Keith, who didn’t even reply before hanging up. Lance groaned and rubbed his face with annoyance. How could he forget about meeting up with Keith after class? Was he actually an idiot? What’s worse is that Keith seemed like he was now very annoyed with Lance and that really was not going to help his case. 

Quickly grabbing his things, Lance rushed out to the commons area, instantly spotting a scowling Keith in the corner and headed over to him with a sheepish smile. Keith regarded him silently for a moment as Lance sat down with a tired sigh, and Lance noticed that his expression was slowly morphing from anger to something closer to… concern? Lance tilted his head and stared at Keith quizzically. 

“Lance, are you alright? You’re not… yourself. You’re, you look, how do I say it?” He mumbled, and appeared to be wrestling with what he was trying to say in his head. “I guess you just don’t seem like your normal bubbly self?” He tried, but frowned as if he didn’t like how it sounded. Lance smiled softly, and he swore he could feel another damn rose appear on his arm and bloom as he listened to Keith. He did care, or at least seemed to, and Lance’s tired brain latched onto that like a lifeline. 

“Yeah, my last teacher kinda drains me, and it’s just a long class with her. I’m fine, though. Just a bit tired, but that’s hardly news when you’re a college student.” Lance offered a small smile to Keith, who seemed to be mulling over Lance’s words carefully before slowly nodding. 

“If you say so, I believe you. Let’s get to work on this project then.” Keith replied nonchalantly, already shifting gears back into serious mode. Lance smiled softly, he loved that Keith knew when to drop something and focus on the task that was more important. Lance struggled with that himself, he’d admit that easily enough, but he always admired people who did it seemingly effortlessly. Keith just had the added bonus of being really attractive when he frowned, which he did often when he was focused, and Lance was loving it. 

After many hours of working on the project, Keith eventually let out a long tired sigh and dragged a hand across his face. Lance dimly noted in the back of his tired brain that Keith was staring at him for a long moment, but for the most part he was staring blankly at the screen in front of him that had information he needed somewhere in a big block of confusing text. He kept trying to refocus and keep reading it, but he just kept zoning out and forgetting everything he just read. Eventually, he looked up and caught Keith’s eyes, and gave him another quizzical look at the contemplative expression he found resting on his face. 

“I think we’ve both done as much as we can today. Let’s pack up and regroup tomorrow with fresh eyes. After all, we have all week to finish this.” Keith suggested. Lance bit his lip slightly as he slowly contemplated his offer. 

“Yeah, that’s true. I don’t know if I could have done much more today, if I’m being honest. I just couldn’t focus on the words anymore.” Lance sighed tiredly. “But uh, if you don’t have anything else going on, do you maybe wanna go get ice cream or a smoothie with me?” Lance started packing up, refusing to look at Keith’s face while he waited anxiously for his reply. 

“Uh, sorry, I gotta get over to my brother’s house. He likes to cook dinner for me and his boyfriend a few times a week, and he decided that tonight was one of them. I’m probably gonna be late as it is…” Keith trailed off and bit his lip as he glanced at Lance. A hint of a smile pulled on his lips but it disappeared rather quickly. “How about a rain check? Tomorrow, maybe?” Lance beamed at that, and Keith shifted uncomfortably.

“Yeah, sure, we’ll see about tomorrow, then!” Lance slung his bag with all his stuff over one shoulder with a grin. “Bye, Keith. Have a nice night!” Lance called cheerily as he left. He ignored the stares of the other students scattered around the room, and this time he knew for sure that he’d gained more flowers somewhere on his body. He couldn’t wait to see how far they reached now. 

Upon entering his dorm again, Lance couldn’t help but bounce up and down in excitement and allowing a giddy smile to claim his face. Hunk was back from his classes now and was at his desk, working on homework probably, but turned when he heard Lance enter. As soon as he saw how excited and happy Lance was, a big smile graced his own features. 

“I’ll take a wild guess and say this has something to do with this secret rose boy you have a crush on?” Hunk raised an eyebrow. He knew fully well the boy in question was Keith, Lance was pretty awful at being subtle, but he wouldn’t mention he knew until Lance wanted to tell him himself. Lance nodded vigorously at Hunk’s question and flopped on his bed with a dramatic sigh. 

“We got put on a project together for Astrophysics. Gosh, Hunk he noticed as soon as I got there how tired I was, because we all know my calculus teacher drains me, and he actually asked if I was okay! I wasn’t expecting that because he always scowls at me for whatever reason, but that’s proof he does care and that he’s considerate about me, right? He even ended up agreeing to go get ice cream or a smoothie or something with me tomorrow before we left! That’s good, that’s progress isn’t it?” Lance babbled on, hoping he wasn’t wrong about what he was attempting to infer from Keith’s actions. The boy could just be so damn hard to read sometimes, but Lance found that he actually quite enjoyed trying to figure him out. With Hunk’s help of course; he always talked to Hunk about these things. 

“Yeah, that all sounds like a positive, Lance. You know, other than the whole bit about how he’s always scowling at you. You should probably ask him about that, see if he will stop glaring at you all the time. Oh, maybe over that ice cream? Just a suggestion though.” Hunk smirked knowingly. Keith probably hadn’t even realized he was scowling at Lance, he just had a closed off demeanor and that showed through his angry looking resting face. 

“Oh I don’t know. I don’t want to annoy him or anything by asking. I’ll try to slowly be his friend first, and maybe ask later on down the line when we’re both more comfortable with each other. That’s why I’m so excited about him accepting to go with me tomorrow! It’s a chance to know him better and since he didn’t outright reject the offer, that means he must want to hang around me a little bit too, right?” Lance flipped over on his belly to stare at Hunk meaningfully; he knew Hunk was more level headed about all this than he was and could give him sound advice. Hunk was smiling lightly at his friend, but shook his head endearingly before turning back to his work.

“Yeah, probably. He would not have accepted if he hated you and didn’t want to be around you at all. You have a solid plan, Lance. Attempting friendship is probably your best bet, especially if you ever want to date this person.” Hunk grinned as he heard Lance splutter and scramble out of his bed and rush up next to his desk. Hunk looked up at him innocently as Lance scrambled for something to say. 

“Well yes, I guess that is the goal but Hunk! I’m nowhere near there yet! I don’t even know if he likes guys, much less if he likes me!” Lance groaned loudly, dramatically sinking to his knees and leaning over Hunk’s desk so he couldn’t focus on his work, but rather Lance only. Hunk chuckled at his best friend’s antics whilst playfully and futilely trying to push him off. 

“So ask him over ice cream tomorrow. Bring it up somehow. Come on, Lance. You’ve never been afraid to flirt with anyone else before, why change that now?” He questioned, and Lance seemed to ponder this for a bit before he stood back up and freed Hunk’s homework. 

“I mean, you’re right, but this is different. You know what the roses mean, but that doesn’t guarantee that he has soulmarks too. There have been plenty of cases of one-sided romantic feelings between soulmates. I’m kinda scared of being one of them and I really don’t want to be too forward for fear of scaring him away or something. He’s special, he’s more important than anyone else I’ve ever been interested in before.” Lance explained as he sat back on his own bed with a heavy sigh. 

“Lance, you know those cases are rare. If you’re too busy worrying about something that might not ever even happen, you’ll miss the chances you have. You have to relax man. Trust that if you just be yourself, everything will be fine. That’s never failed you before. You remember high school, don’t you?” Hunk smirked and Lance couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. I know that, I really do, but I’m still scared, you know?” Lance glanced over at Hunk. 

“Being scared is normal, Lance. That doesn’t mean you should let it stop you. Get out there and romance the hell out of this boy!” Hunk cried in exasperation.

“Fiineeee,” Lance groaned dramatically, but smiled at Hunk. “You’re right. As always. Thank you, Hunk.” 

“Well I’m glad you liked my advice. Now I have to finish this homework or else my professor is gonna eat me alive.” Hunk joked with a grimace, knowing that he wasn’t actually too far off. 

“Alright, buddy. I’ll let you get some work done. I’ll head out and get some food for us. What do you want?” Lance questioned as he stood back up and stretched. 

“Uhhh, calzones? Yeah, it feels like a calzone night.” Hunk smiled at Lance gratefully. 

“You got it buddy. I’ll be back soon with the normal order.” Lance gave Hunk a small two finger salute and walked out the door. He walked quickly to the nearest pizza place and got them both their normal calzone order, before heading back to the dorm as quick as he could. By the time he got back, Hunk had already finished his homework and was now laying in bed reading a book like he normally did to start relaxing from the day. His eyes lit up excitedly when he saw Lance, and Lance quickly handed him his food. 

Hunk turned on the t.v. they had both chipped in to buy for their dorm, and they watched Netflix while they ate. Finally able to have the time to relax, Lance realized he was much more exhausted than he had thought he was. He found himself stifling yawn after yawn, until he just couldn’t hold them back anymore. Hunk soon followed suit and he chuckled. 

“Your yawns are contagious, Lance.” He joked and threw a pillow at him. Lance barely managed to block the pillow before it hit his face. He gasped in mock offense, and hurled the pillow back at Hunk with all his might, but Hunk just lazily caught it with a shit-eating grin. 

“Oh shut up,” Lance huffed with a grin. He flopped backwards on his bed with a playful pout, which only earned him a sharp bark of laughter from his best friend. Lance honestly didn’t know what he would do without Hunk there to give him pep talks and give him a level head. He could also always count on Hunk to be honest with him about anything, even when he did try to sugarcoat it because he hated being mean to anyone, but Lance knew he could count on Hunk to set him straight when he needed it. 

“What are you thinking about over there? You’re quiet, so I’m scared.” Lance could hear the smirk in Hunk’s voice at that last comment. 

“My soulmate. You already know who he is, don’t you? You’re just good at picking things like that up. You know, I really admire that about you and I’m also a bit jealous. I wish I could just know things like you do.” Lance sat back up to look at him.

“Well, I mean, to be honest Lance? You weren’t really all that subtle. Anyone can tell just by the way you look at him. Also, roses as a soulmark? Kind of a dead giveaway. Keith’s favorite color is red, I’ll admit he is quite attractive from purely an objective stance, and he has a prickly and defensive personality. Who else could match all those criteria that you know of?” Hunk raised his eyebrow. 

“Yeah, I guess that’s fair. However, soulmarks don’t always match the person they’re for like that. They often do, yes, but sometimes it’s something as simple as the other’s favorite flower and the personality implications are wrong and meaningless.” Lance pointed out.

“Well, yeah that’s fair, but it’s almost always a flower that will match the person in color and personality implications. Besides, you told me about Keith before telling me your soulmark was a rose. The roses just kind of confirmed my suspicions, honestly.” Hunk admitted softly. 

“You just know me too well, huh?” Lance grinned at him. “I’m glad you do though. I couldn’t ask for a better best friend.” 

“Right back at ya, buddy.” Hunk smiled at Lance happily before yawning again. “That’s probably my cue to get some sleep. Yours too, Lance. You have an early class tomorrow don’t you?” Lance groaned and flopped back down again. 

“Don’t remind me. I hate morning classes. I’m gonna die, Hunk. I’m not made to wake up that early. I am not a morning person and I never will be.” He huffed and rolled further onto his bed, dragging his thick soft blanket over him.

“Sorry, Lance but you know I’m right. Time for both of us to get some much-needed sleep. You’ll be okay, I promise. Just get some sleep okay? Besides, you wanna be well rested for your date tomorrow.” Hunk smirked at Lance as he got up and threw the empty calzone boxes away and turned off the lights before returning to his own bed and ignoring Lance’s indignant sputtering resulting from his last comment. “Goodnight, Lance,” he called in a sing song voice, before rolling over and facing his back towards Lance. 

“Goodnight, Hunk.” Lance grumbled in a disgruntled manner before sighing softly as he allowed himself to slowly relax into his pillows. It didn’t take very long at all before he was out like a light, whilst simultaneously dreading tomorrow and hoping it would come sooner for two very different reasons.

[lygerastia]

360 (Keith)

Summary: You alongside the paladins get a taste of a weird alien drink. Seeing how Keith is so quiet, you decide to take advantage of his vulnerable state and get to know him better. However, he has other plans...

Warnings: none

Chapters: 1 [completed] 

Words: 3,180

READ IT ON AO3. 

Keith was awfully quiet tonight.

It was…unsettling, to say the least. But no one really noticed, all paladins being in their own state of euphoria. It was all the fault of some elixir you guys received as a reward for saving a random exotic planet from the control of the Galra. The natives there wouldn’t take ‘no’ as an answer, so in the end, you accepted it. Neither of you had any idea of the magic properties or of the taste the drink had; so you all went head on and celebrated with toasting over another victory.

You all earned it.

At first, no one felt a thing: the liquor tasted great, a bit sweet, but nothing too suspicious. Like juice—and definitely better than whatever Coran had you drink a while ago. You all wanted to relax so you drank and drank, succumbing to the ecstasy that the drink had to offer.

It took a while for all to kick in…And it surely kicked in hard, with a spell of dizziness and a bubbly feeling inside your stomach. Heightened your senses and gave you weird thoughts. Luckily, you haven’t drank much, not a fan of parties…

But the others…

Pidge was babbling nonsense, in a heated conversation with Shirogane “Space Dad”, sitting cross-legged on the floor and nodding from time to time as if he understood her words. He probably didn’t, but he was playing nice, watching the girl with a fond smile. Lance was being louder than usual, running around and putting himself in danger by climbing the castle’s walls while poor Hunk ran after him. Making sure Lance wasn’t going to fucking die because of a stupid stunt. It’s safe to say that Lance drank the most out of all while Hunk barely touched the drink, being the only one suspicious of that turquoise substance. It messed with Lance's head--but in a fun way. Coran with Allura simply sat in a corner, story-telling about old days. Only the black haired paladin sat alone on the couch, holding a cup in his hands and staring intensely at it with furrowed eyebrows. He looked so adorable, sporting that sweet pout, clearly troubled by something but no one there to tell that to. He didn’t bother to interact with others, although at first he laughed—he actually laughed with a big grin on his face—with Hunk, amused by his jokes. But the more he drank, the more he became quieter.

And ended up there.

You sighed. From time to time, he glanced around, clearly searching for company. Whenever he made eye contact with you on the far end of the room (you were laughing at Lance’s antics), he glanced to the side, sheepish and looking flustered. He was begging you with his big blue puppy-eyes: a sight to behold on Keith Kogane’s face. A very rare one. He wanted to talk to you. So that’s what you did; finishing your drink (feeling that that little amount won’t hurt you since you were already slightly tipsy) and started walking towards him.

Keith’s reaction was immediate, taken by surprise by your sudden apparition. He tried to play it cool, though, acting as if he wasn’t paying attention to you all this time—but he was fidgeting happily. You sat down on the couch next to him, exasperated: you didn’t want to imagine what was Keith really like under the drink’s influence but it couldn’t be worse than Lance. At least, for once, Keith seemed calm. You half-expected him to lash out at Lance for his stupid behavior or be his meaner self; or at least be immune to alcohol (if you could call that concoction ‘alcohol’). But he was oddly tame. And it scared you. But it couldn’t be that bad. Maybe he actually won't be so defensive.

“What’s up, Keith?” you ask, smiling at him.

The black haired boy turns to you, frowning and looking menacing. What the hell did you do to piss him off?! He wanted this! “I’m bored. This sucks.”

You sighed; this was going to be entertaining. He was slurring. And you had to appeal to a sulky Keith now. “I’m sorry you think so. How come you didn’t bail out yet?”

To your shock, a light blush dusted his cheeks. You could only wonder what the hell was going on inside his head right now since you were so confused. “I want to see Lance f-falling on his face.”

“Ah…” you sighed. “That’s more like you, Keith. But still, no one is really keeping you here against your will. If you feel like taking some fresh air—“

“You want to get rid of me or sumfin?” he says, obviously displeased with how you treat him. You raised your hands in defense, not exactly having planned on pissing him off. You just didn’t want him to feel out of place or feel as if he’s forced to be here. Keith was a loner and everyone respected his privacy: the lone wolf that craved for affection and attention unbeknown to all. Yet, before you could say something, another disturbance interrupted your conversation.

You were suddenly assaulted by no other than the Blue Paladin. He shouted your name and jumped on you, wrapping his arms around you in a hug. You were confronted with Lance’s broad chest as he started rubbing his cheek against the top of your head, as if he was a cat. An endearing act that you would’ve enjoyed fully were it not for the fact that Lance was so forceful with his love, strangling you. You didn’t even manage to hug him back because you were so taken aback by his sudden affection; you probably hugged Lance more often than the others, but never without mutual agreement. He simply just...attacked you. Not as if you entirely minded.

“Lance!” you gasped, feeling like you were quickly remaining out of air. You tried to push him away, but he was stronger. “L-Lance, let—let go, you’re—“

“Mmmm, but I looove you~” he chanted; a thing you wouldn’t take serious because he was under the influence. He was probably just spouting that kind of shit to everyone: you heard him even attempting to say that to Keith before he got punched in the guts for trying to hug the older boy. Not a fun time: Lance sulked for a few minutes before recovering and resuming to have fun. “Do you love me, [name]?”

“I—“ you couldn’t possibly answer that because he was strangling the words out of your throat. Before he could make you pass out with his intense love, he was pulled off of you by the collar by none other than Hunk.

“Lance…” he reprimanded the boy with a serious voice, obviously frustrated and tired of acting like a babysitter. Lance was struggling in his grip, lifted in the air, still wanting a piece of you. “Come on, Lance, leave [name] alone…”

“But—But I wannaaa…” the tanned boy whined, pouting in disappointment.

“No, Lance. Time up. We’re going to bed. You’re wasted.”

“Nooooo, I still want to stay—“

“Nope, not gonna listen.” As Hunk was saying that, he started dragging Lance with him, being stronger than the Blue paladin. “You caused too much trouble and you’re gonna regret it in the morning.” Hunk smiled sympathetically at you and whispered a ‘sorry’ in Lance’s stead.

Lance could only shout and trash around as he was thrown out of the room. When he was gone, you let out a deep breath, rubbing your neck—he really had a strong grip, huh. “What the quiznak was that…?” you mumbled to yourself—but then suddenly you felt a shiver run down your spine. A threatening aura reached you and put you on edge: where did that come from? You quickly turned your body towards the Red Paladin and discovered the source of that menacing aura. It was coming from Keith, who was glaring at the cup in his hands, on the verge of breaking it barehanded. ‘Huh?! Why is he so pissed?!’ you thought, panicking. Was he really that angry that Lance came around him? Did he hate him so much? ‘Aaaaa, what can I do to calm him down?!’

“K-Keith—“ He reacted by dropping the empty cup on the ground and jumping on you. “Huh?!” you made an ugly sound as the dark haired boy straddled your waist, sitting on top of you and successfully trapping you from going away. His arms were on the either side of your head, palms resting on the couch backrest, and his legs on either side of you. He hovered above you, his expression darkened and hungry, his blue eyes hypnotizing and sucking you in. You couldn’t help but blush, afraid of the sudden closeness between the two of you. Keith was reserved with everyone and kept his touches scarce, probably because he was afraid of getting attached and he didn’t know how to interact with another human being. He was cute as that.

But this was…not something that Keith would do willingly. Or maybe it was just a side of him that you didn't realize he had. Keith was a mystery--and a huge dork.

Seeing that he won’t say anything and just prefers to stare into your soul as if you could guess his intentions (which was probably what Keith hoped for), you had to fill in the gaps: “Uhh, Keith? What are you doing?” You couldn’t just push him off: he was probably stronger than Lance. You had no idea what he was thinking in this position. Assuming dominance over you?

???

He clicked his tongue in annoyance, probably displeased with the fact that you didn’t connect with him. It only made you even more confused. “Lance.” He simply said.

“…Uh…L-Lance? Wh-What’s up with him? Did uh his presence bothered you?”

“Are you close to him?” Keith cut you off, low in tone and threatening. “Huh? Are you close to Lance? Do you—“ he gulped, nervous all of a sudden. “—like him?”

“Eh? Y-Yeah, I do like Lance.” When he narrowed his eyes dangerously, you knew it was the wrong answer. But it was the truth: you didn’t dislike Lance… “Y-You mean like friends or more than that?”

“More than that—ugh, never-never mind!” he let out a sigh, displeased yet determined. You couldn’t quite follow what the hell was going on. “I don’t like him touching you. Don’t let him do that again! I hate when he does that…” He seemed very vehement about it and it made you wonder what was he trying to imply.

“Wait—are you jealous, Keith?” When he heard the ‘sinful’ word, Keith paled, shocked, then his whole face turned incredibly red.

“N-N-NO-No! Why would you think that?!” he stuttered slightly and turned his head, pouting. But that blush was a dead giveaway. “There’s no way I’m jealous cause you’re on such good terms with that idiot or that you talk more with him than me or that he makes you laugh with his silly jokes and oh Quiznak, you spend too much time with him!” He ended his rant, drifting off because he realized he said too much. He simply stared at you, embarrassed.

You blinked—then broke into a sweet smile. Damn, Keith was so cute when he was drunk. It was obvious he was, otherwise he wouldn’t have ‘confessed’ like this. And his speech had a slight jovial lilt that was uncharacteristic to him. Even if he tried to keep steady, he still swayed to the side, eyes a bit unfocused. And he was simply wearing his heart and feelings on his sleeve, too in the open. Vulnerable. Saying things he'd normally be too afraid to share. So there was clearly something else that was making him so talkative. Or this was a side was of Keith that he kept hidden until now. Who knows?

“I don’t like Lance…in that way. You can rest assured about that.”

Keith’s face broke in large grin, his whole complexion lighting up. You think that was the cutest think you’ve ever seen on him and you ‘awwed’, much to Keith’s confusion. But he ignored that and gave course to his inner feelings and instincts. He suddenly leaned towards you, resting his forehead against your shoulder, in the crook of your neck. Your body froze, not knowing how to react to that one. You brokenly stuttered his name, face hot. His breath fanned against your skin and made your mind go nuts. He even started to laugh and the vibrations only tickled you, creating butterflies in your stomach.

When he suddenly stopped, you got worried. “K-Keith? Everything ok?”

“Dunno, I just like you so much, [name]…” he mumbled, broken pieces of sentences. "Just afraid that you'll reject me..."

But you couldn’t just believe him so easily. He was only talking bullshit. Maybe the drink had the effect to make anyone affectionate. Lance easily declared his love, so why wouldn’t Keith also be a bit more lovable than usual? You put a hand around him and patted him on the back. “Mmm, I-I like you too, Keith.”

“You don’t believe me…” A dangerous tone, low in volume. He wasn’t amused. “You’re only saying that.”

“No, I—“

“But you’ll see the truth.” As he was speaking, his lips caressed your neck softly. “You’ll see that I’m way better than Lance and you’ll like me how I like you.” This time, he started pressing kisses to your neck, making your whole body jolt with energy. They felt so good…Made you lift up your chin, giving him more access to your neck, which he gladly took. His hands from the couch switched to your shoulders, holding you tight, as if he didn’t want to let go. Your fingers dug into his black shirt, his jacket discarded somewhere he only knew. He nipped at your skin with his teeth, trying to clumsily find your sweet spot. He had a bit of trouble with that; even if he tried to be an alpha male, he was clearly overwhelmed with this task and he had no idea what he was doing. He probably asked Lance for advice or watched an inappropriate movie. Or he was simply a natural. But, either way, you like what he was doing to you, testing and biting, desiring for your flesh. He obviously wanted to be more ferocious but didn’t have the guts to.

“Keith…” you moaned lowly, catching his attention in the process.

The cute and adorable boy stopped what he was doing for a few seconds, chuckling darkly. “I like the sound of that…” he sighed dreamily. “That’s why I’m going to make you mine for all to see.”

“What do you—Eeek!” you yelped when you fell his mouth take a bite out of you—playfully, of course. “Keith!” but he wouldn’t go away. He nipped at your skin, making you squirm and turn in his hold, until he was satisfied with his work. “S-Stop…” To your luck, he actually did. “Keith?” you asked, as he was unmoving. He simply stood there, with his head in your shoulder—so you shook him a bit, calling his name more vehemently this time.

And then you heard his snores…

“Ah….” you sighed disappointed. “I see…”  

The next morning, things were a disaster. Allura and Coran were pretty normal, being their ordinary happy self, Shiro looked tired and Pidge stared at the notes she took yesterday and couldn’t understand shit from them. Hunk, aside from having huge black circles under his eyes (‘It took me a while before I could put Lance to sleep. He kept pestering me to tell him a bedtime story while clinging onto me. It was horrible.’), was pretty cheery. Lance, on the other hand...He looked like shit and he kept on moaning in distress while sitting down on the couch. He was sick—hangover. You were tasked with taking care of him, his head on your lap and continually pressing a wet rag on his forehead. He seemed to enjoy your presence, keeping on flirting with you despite being in this state. But your thoughts were elsewhere, focused on Keith. You didn’t see him since yesterday, when you had to ask Space Dad to help you with the sleeping boy. With a heavy sigh, Shiro picked up Keith like he was a pillow and you thanked him as he carried Keith away.

Since then, though…You dreaded his appearance, but at the same time, awaited it.

“You know, how about we go on a date later, [name]? Since you so carefully take care of me, I have to repay you somehow…” Lance wiggled his eyebrows at you and you just laughed at his attempt.

“Better focus on getting better first, Lancey Lance.”

“Morning!” a voice you knew so well said, slightly cheery—but making you jump out of your skin. You didn’t even dare to look in Keith’s direction, blushing brightly. “What’s going on here?” he asked as he most certainly approached you after seeing the compromising position you and Lance were. “Hey, you two.” This time, you couldn’t avoid meeting Keith’s burning gaze: he was smiling, but it looked forced. He was jealous.

“H-Hi, Keith…” ‘Gah, he surely doesn’t remember anything! This is so embarrassing!’

Keith’s eyes wandered over your form and stopped on your neck, where the hickey was. You made sure to leave it uncovered so he could see what he has done. Everyone already knew what happened, so you weren’t hiding anything. The black haired boy then amusedly pointed at the purple hickey on your neck, acting like an arrogant prick as he tried to tease you. “Who did that to you? Seems like you had fun yesterday, huh?” He didn’t seem entirely pleased, a hint of jealousy in the tone of his voice and probably thinking that Lance or someone else did that to you. Does he not remember anything? Since he was wiggling his eyebrows while looking between you and the Blue paladin.

You gave him a blank look, knowing that the news will shock him (and you tried not to laugh at imagining his reaction). Taking a deep breath, you told him “You did it, Keith.”

For a few seconds, he didn’t react. He simply blinked. Then he burst “WHAT?!”

Lance chuckled in the background while you tried to contain your laughter. Keith’s face was priceless. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s true.”

“…” his mouth was wide opened, shocked. His cheeks were deep red—even his ears were blushing. “I—I did…not?”

“You don’t seem convinced, Keith.” Lance added.

“Sh-Shut up!” Keith blurted out, ashamed.

You only sighed. “You better take responsibility for your words, Keith.” You were only teasing him, but still hoping that things would get serious with Keith. The boy gasped and then hid his face behind his hands, so adorably. You giggled. “Umm, I’ll explain it all to you later, Keith..”

He only nodded. That was going to be interesting.

–

[masterlist]