#now i’m shoveling food in my mouth as fast as possible at midnight like hurry up and process this stop hurting

[goldensunset]

i feel like i am about to become a villain

[loving-lovely-lance]

Galaxies Collide Under the Changing Year

@wicca-kitty requested for me to make a new year’s eve spinoff of my christmas oneshot, so this is a short continuation of that. it’s only 2.8k words, but i literally just wrote this in two hours so i hope that it’s okay. happy new year pals! —————————————————————— Holidays have always been an important part of Lance’s life. He enjoyed the atmosphere differences and the decorations, the traditions and the change in mood. He enjoyed cooking with his mama, decorating every square inch of his room until his limbs ached and his legs threatened to give out. He would sing holiday music until his lungs couldn’t receive more oxygen, and laugh until his belly ached when he realized just how much of a mess his family was. Taking his family out of the picture, however, proved to take away some of the joy that Lance was usually filled with during the month of December. Now that Christmas with his new, smaller family was over, it creeped closer to the end of the calendar. A calendar that was most likely entirely inaccurate and fictional, he should add. What he wasn’t expecting was to wake on December 31st and, well, wish he could go back to bed. Turning in the grip around his midriff, he met eyes with Keith, who was unsurprisingly already awake. Keith’s eyes fluttered open at Lance’s stirring, smiling slightly. “Morning, Lance,” he hummed tiredly, waiting patiently for Lance to respond. Unable to find enough security to speak, Lance simply smiled a smile that hardly reached his cheeks. Keith’s smiled weakened, and at his worried, pinched eyebrows, Lance cast his eyes downwards. While body language wasn’t Keith’s strong suit, he was surprisingly good at reading Lance. Despite only officially being together for just over two weeks, Keith was quite impressive with reading Lance’s emotions as if they were written out in ink, which they usually were. However, Lance always tried to hide his negative emotions, only allowing himself to be seen as the flirty goofball that his friends were familiar with. Well, except for Keith. Keith always had a way of getting Lance to let his guard down, assuring him that talking out his emotions were better than bottling them up, despite never allowing himself that same comfort. He always could tell when Lance was ‘off’. Lance should have known better than to not speak. Being quiet was a sure-tell way of knowing that something was off with him. Keith frowned. “Is everything okay? You seem upset about something,” he noted out loud, running a gentle thumb over Lance’s cheekbone. Lance sucked in a small breath, pulling his lips into a more convincing smile with a little effort. He shut his eyes softly, leaning into Keith’s touch. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he spoke, pecking Keith on the lips. He snuck closer to him, pulling an arm around his waist so that their faces were only centimeters apart. “We don’t have any missions today. We can just have a quiet day today, if you’d like,” Keith said softly. Another thing that Keith had learned about Lance was as much he enjoyed being with his friends and hated being alone, he also valued his quiet time. Having Keith in the picture combined those two perfectly. Lance hummed in thought. A quiet day would be nice, but it was easier to draw him out of his negative thoughts when he was surrounded by people. On the other hand, spending time alone with Keith would be just as nice, if not nicer. “Maybe we should just play it by ear,” Lance said, keeping a steady gaze on Keith’s eyes. “Either way, we should go get breakfast.” Keith nodded in agreement, sitting up fully and softly gazing at Lance until he did the same. Lance felt guilt faintly pricking at him as the concerned stare never broke on Keith’s face. Leaning forward, Lance connected his lips with Keith’s again, a silent urge of ‘I’m okay’. Waiting for Keith to break apart, the moment became long and drawn out, and frankly, Lance didn’t care. Allowing himself to get lost in Keith’s lips, his taste, his being as a whole, the tension left his muscles, and he hummed in approval. Keith let his hands fall over curved muscles, dropping them lower until he had a strong yet gentle hold on Lance’s lower back. They agreed not to go further than their hips until they were comfortable enough with each other. He tugged gently, pulling Lance closer to him until he was practically in his lap, with long legs stretching until they nearly met with the wall. Burying his fingers in Keith’s hair, he started to open his mouth to finally close the gap when- A louder-than-necessary knock at the door broke the two apart in a haze of want and panic. Lance wiped at his mouth, grimacing at the string of drool that followed while Keith desperately prodded at his hair. “What is it?” Keith shouted, irritation evident in his tone. Way to be obvious, mullet. “Are you two...decent?” Pidge mumbled outside of the door. Lance could practically hear her grimace. “We’re fine, Pidge!” Lance yelled loud enough for her to hear, and the door slid open without second notice. She took a brief glance at the two with a grimace before sighing in relief at the two still-fully-dressed paladins. “Oh thank god. Breakfast’s ready. Hunk said he thinks you’ll really like this one,” Pidge explained, directing her words towards Lance at the end. Lance’s eyes brightened, Keith chuckling beside him at his change in demeanor. Leave it to Hunk to completely turn around Lance’s mood at the mention of food. “We’ll be right out,” Lance spoke without even trying to hide his glee, Keith’s cheeks warming at Lance’s use of ‘we’. He won’t ever get used to being considered a ‘we’ for anyone, most of all Lance. Pidge left without hesitation, desperate to escape the room with the two. Lance turned to Keith with a real smile this time, if a smirk could be considered that. “I’m not done with you. I know what I want to do today,” he stood, reaching into the closet to grab a clean shirt and his jacket. Keith snorted. “Don’t get too burned out on me. We still have to kiss at midnight tonight.” Lance paused to turn over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. “So you know about New Year kisses but you didn’t know about mistletoe kisses?” Lance teased, pulling his jacket on and returning to Keith before he had a chance to answer. Placing a hand under Keith’s chin, he guided his lips to his own in a sweet kiss. “Also, I could never get burned out on you, sweetheart.” - “Morning, lovebirds!” Hunk called teasingly over his shoulder, grinning widely as Lance took in the sight before him. Lance’s eyes became saucers, Keith biting his lip next to him to prevent from smiling. Lance tugged on Keith’s hand, pulling him towards the buffet, no, the feast that was laid out on the table. Hunk handed him a plate, smiling at Lance’s joyous glee. Lance scanned his eyes across the rows of plates before him, Keith following not far behind. There were plates of pancakes, waffles, chorizo and eggs, bacon, sausages, and french toast. Lance grabbed a plateful of just about everything, leaving Keith behind him snickering. “Jeez, Lance, leave some for us,” Keith teased, earning him Lance’s tongue stuck out at him. Lance dropped a single piece of bacon on his plate. “Wow. How thoughtful of you.” By the time the two had filled their plates, everyone else was already seated at the table. “Why the big sha-bang, Hunk? Not that I’m complaining, I’m sure that all of this food is delicious,” Lance said with a happy grin, blindly reaching for Keith’s hands as the two sat down together. Hunk smiled softly as he glanced down at the two’s intertwined fingers before speaking. “It’s New Years Eve. I didn’t do anything special for Christmas, so I thought that I would make the best of our resources to make a nice breakfast for us.” Keith smiled softly as Lance shoveled pieces of fresh toast in his mouth, as if it were some wonderful sight to behold. Reaching over, he wiped a crumb from the corner of Lance’s mouth. Hunk suddenly felt very out of place, and he was sure the others did too, watching the two Paladins act so sweet and...in love with each other. It was sickeningly sweet, as Pidge would put it. “So,” Hunk cast his eyes back to his plate, picking around some chorizo and eggs. “Are you guys excited for the New Year?” He asked with a forced smile, completely unsure if it was directed at Lance and Keith or the rest of his friends. “With these two making out at midnight? No way,” Pidge groaned, causing Lance to splutter his french toast and for Keith to hide his blush in his hands. “Pidge!” Lance spluttered, shooting a glare at his smaller friend. “I bet all of the money that I don’t have that that’s exactly what will happen,” Matt snorted around his waffle. “Oh, at least I’m getting a kiss this year. Allura won’t even as much as glance your way,” Lance mumbled pointedly, immediately regretting his words as Matt scowled deeply into his plate. Allura frowned, avoiding eye contact with both of the boys, and Lance briefly wondered if he just screwed everything up for the two of them. He might be a jerk, but the last thing he would want to do would be to screw up someone else’s possible relationship. Still, he swallowed down any guilt that he felt, forcing down an apology like the awful person he was. The table was quiet after that. - After he finished breakfast, Lance stood from the table, washed his plate, thanked Hunk for the meal, and left without another word. Though his steps were fast and long, it hardly surprised him when Keith ran into step beside him. “What was that?” Keith asked, and his voice was both concerned and slightly peeved. Lance already felt bad, but Keith reprimanding him definitely wasn’t going to help. Lance kept his eyes trained on the floor, hurrying to his room. Well, Keith’s room. He really couldn’t avoid him, now that he thought about it. “Hey!” Keith grabbed Lance’s shoulders, turning him around to face him. Lance didn’t know what he was expecting to see, but Keith’s firey-stare completed with pinched brows certainly contributed to his gut dropping. “What’s wrong? Why did you blow up on Matt out there?” It wasn’t a question, it was a demand. Lance’s face finally cracked, and his eyes started twitching as he tried to hold back tears. He let out a shaky breath, his head dropping. “I’m sorry. I felt like I was being cornered and I felt really, really vulnerable. I hate being vulnerable in front of people and I just snapped. I love you, Keith, and he was making fun of you too. He didn’t deserve that and I know it, but I just got overprotective of you and cowardly and snapped at him.” Keith studied him for a moment before sighing. “I get it, Lance. But I’m really not the one you should be apologizing to right now.” Lance smiled sadly. “I know that. But can I have a few hours with you first? I promise I’ll apologize to him tonight.” Keith pushed open the door, allowing Lance to follow him inside. Pressing their lips together, Lance allowed his eyelids to flutter shut, and to forget about his guilt for the time being. Keith just knew how to make him feel better. - Adjusting his bow-tie, Keith frowned up at Lance. “Why do we have to wear these suits anyways? It’s literally only us eight, it’s not like we’re going to some diplomatic meeting,” he mumbled out loud, allowing Lance to pull his hair back into a tiny ponytail. Lance pulled away from his hair to make gestures with his hands. “It’s more fun this way. Don’t you feel more official?” He chuckled, twisting around his boyfriend to kiss his cheek. Keith rolled his eyes. “I guess. It’s just so itchy,” he mumbled. Lance nodded in understanding. “It’s only for a few hours though.” The two walked hand in hand down to the bridge where the others were waiting. Keith didn’t miss the way that Lance’s hand tightened around his own. He squeezed his hand back reassuringly, risking a side glance at him. “It’ll be alright, Lance. If Matt’s anything like Pidge, he won’t be able to hold a grudge if you let him blackmail you.” Lance snickered at that, smiling to himself while keeping his eyes glued to the ground. Upon their arrival, Hunk turned with a wide, welcoming grin to the two, waving them in. Lance’s smile weakened as he realized that Matt, Allura, and Pidge were all avoiding his eyes. “Come join the party you two!” Coran exclaimed excitedly, and the paladin’s eyes were all drawn to the large, holographic timer ticking above the room. “Pretty impressive, huh?” Coran acknowledged their awe, smiling proudly. “I thought it would make tonight seem more fun and official. It does bring excitement, wouldn’t you say?” Lance swallowed his guilt down again. “It looks really cool, Coran.” Trying to pull Keith in the direction of the snack table, Keith stopped in his tracks, preventing Lance from escaping. Lance pouted knowingly at Keith. “You should apologize to him before it gets too late. I don’t want you moping around the party all night because you’re too afraid to apologize to him.” Lance frowned. “It’s not just him, though. I pissed him off. And Allura. And Pidge. I don’t know why Pidge is pissed, but I have a funny feeling that it’s because I upset her brother. Deep down, she cares about him, I know it.” Keith rolled his eyes. “You’re getting off topic.” Lance tried to pull away from Keith’s grip, but he was relentless. “Keeeiiith,” he pouted. “Come on, Lance.” “Fine,” Lance frowned, hoping his defeated face would bring Keith some kind of remorse. It didn’t. His purposeful marches became slow, resentful steps, and he could almost feel Keith’s encouraging gaze behind him, even though he wasn’t physically behind him. “Hey, Matt?” Matt turned around, forcing a weak smile onto his face. So maybe he didn’t despise him after all. “Yeah?” Lance sucked in a small breath, ignoring the way his bones twitched underneath as if urging him not to apologize. “I’m sorry. About earlier, I mean. That was a really cruel thing to say and I didn’t mean it,” he twitched under Matt’s gaze. Matt’s eyebrow rose, before a warm smile took over his entire face. It was a start. “It’s okay, Lance. I’m sorry I teased you. I went too far as well and I probably deserved that,” he chuckled, and Lance felt a weight lifted from his shoulders. That was...easier than he expected. “I hope things work out with you and Allura tonight,” Lance said in a small voice, winking at Matt with a grin. Matt snorted, smiling right back at him. “Oh, I’m going to try.” Pidge’s scowl disappeared, and she actually smiled at Lance. Maybe this was a start. - Lance was mid conversation with Pidge when Keith found his hand with a blush and a shy pout. At the touch, Lance glanced over with worry at him. “Is something wrong, babe?” Keith simply tugged on his hand, gesturing to the timer ticking above their heads. At the revelation, as if on cue, Coran’s loud, demanding voice broke all conversation. “One minute!” The words reminded him of the usual booming voice over his family television, his whole family gathered in the living room filled with excitement and a dog barking at the commotion. But he wasn’t in Cuba anymore. He wasn’t on Earth anymore. Lance glanced at Keith, trying to hold back the tears that started to poke through his eyes. Keith reached a hand up, wiping away the tear that strayed from his eye. As if reading his thoughts, he spoke softly. “We’re your family now, Lance. You’re stuck with us now, and whether you like it or not, we love you. I love you. “We’ll be with you every step of the way into the new year. Please don’t be sad or afraid. We’re family now.” Lance smiled softly, his grin stretching into something so raw and beautiful that he couldn’t help but laugh. “I love you so much.” “Three, two, one—“ Keith initiated the kiss, and both didn’t know how to end it. It was like the stars were colliding between them, sparks of love and so much more connecting every piece of them together with delicious sparks of electricity. Maybe Matt and Allura had their own galaxies colliding somewhere else in the room, but neither boy noticed. Because their galaxies were each other, and Keith was right. They’re stuck together permanently now, and Lance didn’t mind it in the slightest.