#vldsecretvalentine2017

[shirogane-atlas]

Another Chance

Happy Valentine’s Day @cami-nts I hope you enjoy! - your VSV

Stark white numbers and formulas and words floated about against a blackboard background in Lance’s head, colliding like gas molecules. A cloud of chalk dust flew into his line of sight like a disturbance. Lance thought the dust had a weird voice. He almost felt his brow furrow.

“I said the library’s closing, sir!”

Lance jolted awake, his head flying off the open book where it had landed when he fell asleep. His joints ached and his whole body was stiff. He looked up to see a guard standing over him, glaring somewhat judgmentally.

“Right, sorry. I don’t even know when I dozed off.” He started gathering his books and dropping them in his bag. He shut his laptop and stuffed that in haphazardly; a corner of it was sticking out, but he didn’t have time to neatly pack everything.

God, what time was it? If the library was closing, it must be… nearly 2am? Damn. He looked at the empty coffee cup set off to the side on the desk. All the good that did him. Maybe, just maybe, he had too much on his plate -- more than he was good enough to handle. Grumbling, he slung his bag over his shoulder and grabbed the cup. This was no time to dwell on his insecurities. He felt the strain in his eyelids as he made his way to the exit. The moment he stepped out the doors, he was assaulted by a blast of cold, early-February air. Cursing silently, he took a couple of steps in the direction of the campus shuttle bus stop, before he froze and groaned. He checked his phone to confirm, and yes, it was 2:05 am, which meant he’d missed the last bus half an hour ago. Why does the universe do this to me? Indulging in a healthy dose of self-pity, Lance began the half-mile trek to his dorm in the next-to-pitch black. He didn’t need to pay much attention to where he was going; he could find his way half-asleep, which was lucky, given his current situation. His thoughts were preoccupied with far more pleasant things than navigation, like how soft his bed would feel once he got to his room, and how many chapters he’d actually gotten done before managing to doze off despite probably having 75% caffeine in his blood right then. He shuffled, beyond tired, one foot in front of the other, and failed to spot three shadows that stepped out of deeper shadows. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late -- he was surrounded.

“Hand over your bag, punk.” One of the guys menacingly waved a knife in front of Lance. They were burly and mean-looking, and one of them actually had a goatee.

All the sleep was suddenly gone from his eyes, replaced by adrenaline-fueled fear. He tightened his arm around the messenger bag, drawing it closer to his side. He was not about to part with his laptop this close to finals...At least not without a fight.

One of the thieves sneered in irritation, and took a step closer. Lance took a step back despite himself, but he felt another guy close in behind him. They were boxing him in. He thought back to where he’d put his phone, and remembered stashing it in his bag after leaving the library. No way he could get it out now.

Lance tried to steel his features and mask his fear. He sized up his opponents. They were formidable; but Lance was tall and agile. He could totally take them...on a good day--or at least at a good hour. Not at this godforsaken time of night, when he was an inch from death-by-exhaustion. He took a deep breath and braced himself anyway. This was so inconvenient.

Just as Lance watched the guy facing him start to raise an arm to throw a punch, a voice startled the otherwise deserted street.

“How ‘bout you back off and let him go.” It was phrased like a question, but there was nothing uncertain about it.

“Oh, and who’re you? His dad?” the guy to Lance’s right said, and the others snickered.

Standing there, rooted to the spot, surrounded by a threatening trio of knife-wielders, Lance had eyes only for the stranger.

Except he wasn’t a stranger. Lance would recognize his freshman-year crush anywhere. Clad in a red-and-white crop-top jacket -- utterly ridiculous in this freezing weather -- over a black shirt and black jeans, he made his presence felt, just silently standing there, staring down the thugs who were all taller than him. His eyes were black in the lack of light, and Lance racked his brain for the memory of their actual color. His signature bangs and mullet were fluffing in the wind. Keith.

Lance couldn’t help the little beat his heart skipped at the sight of Keith, or the pleasant pang he felt below his chest at the sound of Keith’s voice. He tried for eye contact, trying to communicate that if they fought together, the two of them could take these guys on. But Keith -- too busy in his defiant staring contest with the goons -- wasn’t looking at Lance. Classic.

Lance signed. The sound broke everyone out of stillness. The three guys and Keith moved at once. Two of them advanced on Keith, throwing punches that he easily blocked or dodged. The third guy went for Lance’s bag. Lance sidestepped and tripped him. Lance was initially proud of his victory...until Goatee picked himself up, face threatening murder.

Uh oh. But before Lance could react beyond that, Goatee was being jerked back. Lance looked past his assailant’s shoulder to see Keith -- having beaten Goatee’s comrades unconscious -- had grabbed him by the back of his collar. Keith yanked him and shoved him to the ground. With a well-aimed jab and kick, Goatee crumpled into the heap at Keith’s feet.

“Show off,” Lance muttered, because it was easier than acknowledging how hot Keith’s fight skills were.

Keith walked over to Lance, looking him over to make sure he wasn’t hurt. “What are you doing out here?” He was still breathing hard from the fight, so it sounded like an accusation. Lance still chose to hear the concern behind it.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Keith merely huffed in response, crossing his arms and looking down the deserted street. So Lance cleared his throat, and relented. “I was just walking to my dorm.”

Keith nodded. “I’ll walk you there.”

“Oh, I-- You don’t-- That’s--,” Lance stuttered, thoroughly flustered. He thanked the Lord it was too dark for his rising blush to show. He looked up shyly, and realized Keith had already started walking, without waiting for Lance’s affirmation. Lance stared after him, fondly exasperated.

It took a second for Keith to realize Lance wasn’t keeping up. He turned to look back at Lance questioningly. “You coming?”

For the first time that night, Lance sensed hesitation from Keith. It endeared him to Lance even more. “Uh, yeah. Sure,” because what else was he supposed to do? He fell into step beside Keith, and tried not to think too hard. Because if he did, he would think about how pretty Keith’s awful haircut looked when blowing in the wind, or how he’d basically lived through one of his fairy tale fantasy scenarios, starring him as the damsel-in-distress/princess and Keith as the knight-in-shining-armor/dashing prince. The realization almost made Lance stumble, and he flushed even deeper. He needed to break this silence before he got too far ahead of himself and started planning their first date.

“So are you some kind of vigilante street hero or something?” he asked, as casually as possible.

“I was just...taking a walk.”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “At two in the morning?”

Keith kept his eyes on the street. “Just needed to clear my head.”

Lance decided not to push it. He smiled wistfully, thinking about how he’d convinced himself he’d gotten over the crush. All it took was one glance at this mullethead, and Lance was even further gone than before. He hadn’t thought that could be possible. “Hey,” he said, with a shy smile. “Thanks.”

Keith looked over at him without saying anything, and it was too dark to properly read his face, so Lance went on. “You know, for helping me out back there.”

Keith smirked. “Helping you out? I saved your life.”

“Excuse me?” Lance glared at Keith. “I could have handled those dudes myself.”

Keith merely scoffed. But he was barely hiding his grin.

“Um, yes,” Lance insisted, “and I was totally going to, before you showed up to one up me. I had it under control, man.”

Keith shook his head, and the two continued their playful bickering until they reached Lance’s dorm building. Welp, what was he supposed to do now? Invite Keith up? As much as he wanted to, he didn’t know if the offer would be welcome, or just plain weird. “Well,” he said awkwardly. “This is me.”

Keith nodded, sliding one foot back, about to turn and walk away once Lance went inside. Needing desperately to prolong the moment, Lance rushed out, “Which way are you headed?”

“Back toward the main campus.”

Lance must have misheard. “Wait, what?”

Keith cocked his head to one side, Lance’s confusion throwing him off. “I live in the dorm across from the library.”

So Keith was going to walk half a mile back now? Lance noticed for the first time that Keith was shivering.

“You are not walking back like that. You’ll freeze your ass off.” Keith started to insist, but Lance wasn’t having it. “Dude, you’ve got a T-shirt on. In the dead of winter.”

“It’s not the dead of winter; and I’ve got a jacket.”

Lance grimaced. “I don’t know what that abomination is, but a jacket it is not.”

“It’s literally a jacket!”

Oh god. Keith’s voice got all high when he was exasperated, and it was more cute than Lance could handle right then. But he had to handle it; he was a gentleman after all. He gulped. “You want to come upstairs? You can leave when it gets warmer in the morning.”

Keith’s eyes widened a bit; then his whole face softened. Violet, Lance noted in the light streaming out from the lobby; Keith's eyes were violet. “Thanks, Lance. Truly. But I really need to be by myself right now.”

At first, the only thing Lance got out of that entire response was, Holy shit, he knows my name? Then he registered that Keith had declined. But it wasn’t a dismissal. Lance could see that. Keith was still standing there, looking hesitant, nervous even. Lance didn’t want to guess what inner demons Keith was fighting, but he hoped Keith would explain at some point. He hoped they would see each other often enough for that to eventually be a possibility. And because he was a gentleman -- but mostly because he didn’t believe in fate and needed an excuse to see Keith again -- Lance took off his own jacket. Handing it to Keith, smirked. “At least wear a proper jacket. Look, this one will actually cover your entire torso. And it’s even got a hood!”

The teasing tone was not lost on Keith, who shot back. “Um, the 80’s called. They want their fashion back.”

“Rude.” Though he was secretly pleased that Keith actually took the jacket from him, even if he didn’t put it on yet. “Besides, the 80’s had a great aesthetic. I could totally rock an 80’s look.”

Keith laughed. It was more like small huffs, but his eyes crinkled and his shoulders shook. Lance stared, deciding he wanted to see more of that. He wanted to see a lot more of that. Keith seemed to grow awkward in the silence, and he took a step back. “Thanks,” he gestured to the jacket. And with one last smile and an awkward wave, he turned and started walking back the way they came. Lance watched him go. When he got to the end of the block, Keith slipped his own ridiculous jacket off and put on Lance’s. Even from that distance, Lance could see the sleeves were a bit too long, and it fell a bit loose on Keith’s shoulders. With no one near him to listen, Lance whined audibly. There was an image he wasn’t getting out of his head anytime soon. He had to find more excuses to get Keith to wear his clothes. Because that was an opportunity too sweet to pass up. And if what he had just seen was any indication, Keith’s cuteness knew no bounds. Keith finally rounded the corner, and Lance had no more reason to stand in the doorway. He went in, and climbed up the staircase to his floor. The sleep he’d scared off earlier was starting to pull at his eyelids again, but this time, there was a small happy smile to go along with it.

So you asked for college/uni AU and fluff, and this was what I put together. :3c I basically put in a bunch of tropes I’m trash for, like damsel-in-distress!Lance, knight-in-shining-armor!Keith, and Keith in Lance’s jacket. In case it’s not fluffy enough, I might do a sequel where the dorks actually go on their first date.

By the way, if you’ve got an AO3 account, lmk so I can officially gift the fic to  you there <3</p>

[teddy529]

Hello, as promised I finally have this ready for you @hollowskulled7

Hopefully you like it, I was excited to be your back up gifter. My scanner almost decided to quit on me and so glad it finally worked, lol.

This is done as part of the secret valentine event held by @voltronsecretvalentine

[silvipeppers]

“your fringe... doesn’t it get in the way?”

“are you really asking me that?”

@quiddity25 ‘twas I! your secret valentine!!

I know it’s not overly “valentiny” but I hope you like it! and that you forgive me for being late i’m so so sorry _(:3/L)_ pls enjoy

[teddy529]

Sorry I am late but here is your Valentines gift, @machonachos

I realized I didn’t have a black marker or any grey markers for that matter, so I did a mix with watercolors too. Anyways, I hope you like it!

This was done as part of a secret valentine event held by @voltronsecretvalentine