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They should see it coming, honestly. Things are going way too smoothly on this new high-techy-nature-planet. Lance has learned by now that it’s only a matter of time before the proverbial shit hits the fan, which is why he’s already on his guard as they stand around on the paved forest floor, minding their own business before Shiro and Keith have to go talk to some Big Important Person who’s already occupied behind the glass partition a little bit away.
Hunk and Pidge are in their own little world, fawning over some sort of nature/tech hookup sprouting out of the ground at their feet. But nothing’s more intense than the pacing Shiro’s got going for him closer to the glass. It’s a pace that isn’t helping that uneasy feeling in the pit of Lance’s gut in the slightest. Because something’s gonna happen. It’s gotta. The hair on the back of his neck doesn’t stand up like this for just any-
Smack!
Lance flinches at the sudden clap of Keith’s hand coming down over the side of his own neck a few feet away, the red paladin’s wince turning into more of an inconvenienced scowl than anything as he brings his hand in front of him to inspect the remains of whatever he’s just smashed into oblivion.
It’s not all that interesting - Lance isn’t sure if he’s so focused on this because he’s waiting for the bomb to drop, or because they’ve been standing here for a trillion ticks now and he’s bored as hell. Either way, it’s got his attention. And it’s gonna keep his attention. Even as Keith squints at the squished remains in his palm, and then slowly - ever so slowly - lets his vision fan out over the spaces of his fingers to lock onto his single audience member between them.
It all happens in this kind of surreal slow motion - something weirdly out of time - and Lance wants to look away and leave Keith to whatever weird shit is going on in his head right now, but there’s something about the way his gaze softens instantly when he sees him - when their eyes lock - when the eye contact just fucking keeps up and keeps up and keeps up and-
“Keith?”
It’s Shiro.
But Keith’s not mentally present… Not responding… Just totally and completely focused on Lance, to the point that Lance’s fingers are starting to itch a bit because what-....what the hell?
He chances a glance over to Hunk and Pidge, but they’re too engrossed in their discussion to even notice the weird shit that’s unfolding right in front of them-
“Keith.”
His blink is slow. Eyelids heavier than they should be. And it’s not every day that he ignores Shiro. Especially in foreign territory. Especially when it’s obvious that they’ve got a job to do. But the only thing that seems to be registering in Keith’s head right now for some godforsaken reason is...well…
Lance fidgets. Is about to force something out of his mouth to snap this shit out when Keith takes a step forward - a very determined step forward - a step forward that has Lance’s pulse quickening uncharacteristically until-
“Keith.” - Shiro - “Jesus, let’s go.” - a hand grabbing at Keith’s wrist and a helpful tug that has Keith stumbling back stubbornly, definitely not of his own volition, and then turning when he has no choice but to follow Shiro into the meeting space behind the glass.
Lance takes a breath.
Shakes his head a little bit now that he's got the space to.
What in the fuck was that.
“Are you guys serious?” he wastes no time in getting in his friends’ faces, “You didn’t see any of that just go down?”
Hunk’s response time is annoyingly slacking. “See what, dude?” Because apparently a flower sending out light signals is more important than Lance getting stared down within an inch of his freakin’ life.
“Keith!” he explains, arms thrown up in the air because hooooooow? How was he the only one who saw what just happened?
Pidge is next to speak up, typing something into her handheld before slipping it into her pocket. “You plan on giving any detail at all or are we supposed to be guessing?”
“Honestly I’d love to, Pidge! I’d love to give detail but I-” he-...what even-...
Lance’s frustration leads his eyes back to the source, back to the meeting area but ultimately back to Keith. Or more importantly, back to where Keith is standing with Shiro, the Big Important Person chattering away in front of them, but Keith’s head is turned, eyes locked heavily onto Lance through the glass.
Again!
“Look,” Lance whispers it, standing stock still like he's been spotted by a bear, or a t-rex, or something else. But Keith’s just staring away, brows furrowing in what looks like curious concentration as his eyes trail down Lance’s front and then back up again as conversation continues on next to him.
Hunk huffs a chuckle, obviously not convinced of his friend's claims until he turns to look up to the meeting space as well. “Wh- oh…” Because he must see it then.
And so must Pidge, because she’s tilting her head just the slightest. “That’s...weird.”
“Yeah no shit - that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
Hunk makes a hum of thought, then spreads his arms wide and waves them over his head as a visual distraction - a disturbance.
Lance is the only one who’s unsurprised Keith’s eyes don’t leave him even once.
“Wow, what the hell?”
“Why’re you laughing?” Lance’s outrage is justified, he thinks, his squawk enough to draw attention from some winged children heading toward a tree-structure down the road.
It’s also almost enough to distract from what’s happening in the meeting space, if it wasn’t for Pidge’s helpful, “Hey hey hey,” as well as the smack to the shoulder that has everyone tuning in at the same time. It’s right as Shiro’s finally getting Keith’s attention again, his mouth moving but the words muted by the partition. Probably something along the lines of politely making sure Keith’s ready to add to the discussion while simultaneously trying to figure out why he keeps staring longingly out the window.
Keith’s not really interested in what he has to say, eyes to the floor as some sort of answer leaves his lips. And Lance is just close enough to notice the way his gaze slips slowly in his direction, as if making sure he's still there out the corner of his eye.
It’s when the Big Important Person smiles, tilting their head and then reaching over to examine the side of Keith’s neck without touching it - a gesture that has Shiro squaring his shoulders just a bit until whatever they’re saying seems to register in his head. Because then he’s turning a pale white, glancing down at Keith and then, worryingly so, straight over his head to where Lance is watching.
“Uh oh,” says Pidge.
“Well that doesn’t look good.”
Lance’s mouth has gone dry at this point - far too dry to offer any sort of verbal reaction to how fucked he feels right about now. Because honestly, he knew something was gonna happen. He knew it. You fucking heard him say it at the start of this, right?
The sun’s reflection gleaming off turning glass has him snapping back to it, pulse bulldozing into overtime as his brain realigns back on track to the terrifying sight of Keith sprinting - spriiiintiiiing down the path towards him, feet barely skimming over the ground and holy shit wHAT THE FU-
The impact is as hard as it is all-enveloping, Keith’s arms closing tightly around him and his body pressing against him so abruptly that it sends Lance down to his ass with a grunt, the ground painful as he catches himself with his hands and-
And-
“Uhhh…”
Hunk’s uneasy shock is nothing compared to what’s currently going on in Lance’s head. Fucking nothing. Because Keith. He’s… They’re...
He’s hugging him.
“Shit,” Shiro mumbles it under his breath as he comes to a stop in front of the scene, clearly too late to stop the embrace.
And Lance…
Is…
“Uhh…” the crack in his voice betrays him, but how can he swallow it down when he’s got Keith Kogane in his lap, arms wrapped snugly around his chest and head buried in the crook of his neck like...like he…
“Alright good, you got your hug Keith,” Shiro says carefully, taking it upon himself to try to rescue Lance from the smothering hold. And Lance says ‘try’ because he’s got both hands under Keith’s arms and is pulling - with a good amount of Shiro-sized strength too. But like a knot in a chain, the more he pulls, the tighter Keith wraps himself around. “Oh lord…”
“Care to explain?”
Lance hears Pidge ask it - hears the slight lilt of amusement in her question - but he’s finding it more and more difficult to pass air in and out of his lungs with the tightening around him and- “Shiro-” he wheezes, “Shiro for fuck’s sake stop pulling.”
It’s a cry for help but it works, Shiro doing as asked and backing up to give them space. It has Keith’s arms easing into something more breathable. And if all else fails, at least Lance can blame the redness of his face on the lack of air in his lungs. Because that’s what it is, you know. He just couldn’t breathe is all.
“Shiro. Explanation please.”
Pidge’s second prompting gets things back online. For them, at least. Lance is still struggling with the fact that Keith’s hugging him. Keith. Keith is hugging him. Why the fuck is Keith hugging him?
“There’s this beetle that’s native to the planet. Apparently Keith’s been bitten and is having…” Shiro glances over to their spot on the ground, “...side effects.”
Hunk joins the conversation right about the same time the topic of said conversation wraps his legs around Lance’s back to complete the full-body embrace. “A bug? What, like, a love bug?”
It’s a joke.
Lance recognizes Hunk’s joke-delivery voice.
He also recognizes Shiro’s it’s-not-a-joke face.
And also the sinking feeling in his stomach that plummets a little too deeply for his liking.
“The councilwoman said it affects the host immediately. Like...as in the first person the host sees…”
Keith nuzzles against Lance’s neck, the intimacy sending shivers up his spine like none fucking other because- “Whoa whoa whoa. You’re telling me Keith thinks he’s in love with me?”
There’s no way. Not Keith. Not-
“Just for a few days,” Shiro says like it’s supposed to help even a little bit. Which is doesn’t, thank you very much. Because he’s still got Keith clinging onto him like a baby koala and if he doesn’t get some space really soon his heart is going to burst into a huge gooey mess.
“I suggest we go back to the ship for a bit to sort some things out.” Allura’s voice joins them so seamlessly that Lance doesn’t even realize he didn’t realize she was here too. “We’ve already caused quite the scene here.”
“We?” Lance is insulted. “I didn’t even do anything! I haven’t even touched him!”
“Maybe you should.” Hunk’s suggestion is...poorly received. “I’m just sayin’, maybe that’s what he’s waiting for.”
And whoa, why are they suddenly talking about Keith like he’s not here?
Lance frowns, grumbling to himself as he picks his hands up from the ground, briefly dusting them off on an area of his pants that he can actually reach. Then slowly, ever so slowly, he brings them up to rest awkwardly on Keith’s back.
One…
Two...
And then…
...silence.
“Wow.”
“Shut up, Pidge, I swear to g-”
“Mm…”
The light little hum of satisfaction against his neck strikes an alarming warmth in Lance’s chest. Because whoa. Whoa um… That was…
Okay focus.
“Can you let me up, dude?” He tries it. “Can we like...walk? Like normal people?”
“But this is nice…”
It’s the first thing Keith’s said. For a while now. And it’s so quiet that the others must not hear him, because they don’t seem to respond to the look Lance is flashing them.
Okay, on his own then.
“Um…” he fakes a chuckle. “Yeah, for sure but like...we gotta go back to the castle so-”
“I love you so much.”
Oh boy. Oh boy oh boy oh boy there goes Lance’s nerves again. “Uh...nice! That’s awesome- yeah! Let’s go back to the castle and you can tell me all about it.”
That has Keith’s head lifting from Lance’s shoulder and coming waaaaay way way too close to his own, Lance’s eyes widening from the close quarters as he says: “Really?”
Swallow it down. Ignore everyone staring. See this through. “Y-yeah dude! Let’s go, okay?”
He’s subconsciously leaning his head away. He knows he is. So maybe it’s not subconscious, but whatever it is he’s doing it and he does it until the sweet relief of Keith’s body peeling away from his brings his nerves back down a few thousand clicks.
Because Jesus. Jesus, holy shit.
And oh wow so this is what breathing is like again.
“C’mon, Keith. Give him some room.” Shiro says it, nicely-toned and everything. Even reaches out to help guide him away and all that.
And as they finally walk, Lance isn’t sure if he appreciates the very obvious way everyone positions themselves between the two of them or not. Because it might stop the touching, but nothing can get Keith to look anywhere except Lance, a small, shy smile dancing over his face.
------------------------------
So. List of things that are not good:
- this
They don’t make it five minutes behind the privacy of the castle doors before Lance feels the startlingly needy hands slide around him from behind, his back arching in surprise with an uneasy: “Wwww-fuck, Keith-Keith-Keith!”
It sends Pidge into a snort, her handheld up and at the ready for a picture until Shiro cuts it off with a tired: “No.”
And it’s obvious why Lance’s reaction is so...well much. He just simply doesn’t get touched like this anymore. It’s just not a thing. And it’s suddenly going from not-a-thing to an all-the-time-thing, and more specifically an all-the-time-with-Keith-freakin-Kogane-thing. And that’s just a whole lot to deal with for one poor boy in such short notice.
So he has the reaction. And he tenses up when Keith drapes himself over him from behind. And he fights down the uncomfortable blush, because Pidge is snickering and Shiro is shaking his head and Hunk is giving him this look. This pity look. Because he knows. And it’s all a lot and Lance is just one poor boy and he pats Keith’s arm with a shaky hand and then excuses himself into a different room for as long as humanly possible.
And he knows. He’s fucking himself up because he knows it’d be easier to just get used to it instead of hiding for days on end. If he could just reach a comfortable medium where Keith could cling and he didn’t feel like there were thirty thousand boy scouts making bonfires in his chest, that’d be ideal.
But.
Lance is just one poor boy.
And these boy scouts are like...god-tier at making bonfires.
----------------------
Night comes.
Like it does on lots of the planets they visit.
Like it does on Earth.
Or did.
Does.
Anyway, night comes, and the walk to the kitchen is kind of a journey, but Lance isn’t sleeping too well regardless. The water helps a little. So does one of the snack bars Hunk made in mass quantities. It helps enough that the silent walk back is more pleasant than the walk in, his footsteps masked by the constant, quiet hum of the castle’s power.
He’s reached a certain level of ease when there’s a shift in the air behind him, fingers smoothly threading with his in the dark and sending his pulse to the fucking ceiling in a minor freakout-
“Oh m-... Keith, jesus christ…” He sighs it, his free hand coming up to settle over the thumping under his ribcage. “What’re you-”
“You keep avoiding me…”
Lance is about to deny it hard when his words get stuck in his throat, the clear disappointment in Keith’s voice something he’s never heard in his life. It matches the telltale bags under his eyes and it’s actually…wow, why is that so sad?
“What?” he goes for a disarming half-smile. “I’m not avoiding you.”
“You don’t like when I touch you.” His gaze is to the floor, the fire that normally lurks beneath it gone completely cold.
Lance frowns. His palm’s already gone sweaty in their hold. “I do.”
It’s got Keith looking up, a little spark of hope returning. “You do?”
Which is what makes Lance feel like such an asshat. It’s not that he doesn't like Keith touching him...fuck, that’s a whole other story. It’s just… “I uh…” he swallows - clears his throat, “Yeah, I like it...when you touch me...”
Fuck…
Oh lord…
Keith’s smile is small. Honest. Another thing Lance hasn’t really had the opportunity to see too much before. And now that he has… “Can I sleep with you?”
Lance blinks. Glances up and down the hallway. Doesn’t realize he’s been slowly backing up step by step until he’s feeling the wall against his shoulder blades. “Um...I dunno if that’s a good idea.” And now he’s trapped.
Keith joins their other hands together. A full circle. “Why not?”
And ohh, those boy scouts are really doin’ their thing aren’t they? “Well uh,” it’s fine, Lance has always been a fast thinker, “my bed sheets are really dirty. Haven’t gotten around to washing them in a while.” Keith watches him speak. Lets his eyes trail down to his mouth. Then back up. It keeps the nervous-talk spewing at top speed. “Keep meaning to. Always something getting in the way, though. Space stuff - you know how it is.”
What...is he even talking about.
Keith blinks, letting the excuse sink in. Then: “...oh.”
“Yeah. Sorry, man. Maybe tomorrow night.” Fuck? Literally-... Lance wants to punch himself in the face. There’s literally no reason to tack that last part on there.
But he did. And it’s keeping the hope alive. He can see it. Especially when Keith smiles just a little - just a tiny grace of a smile under the otherwise disappointed fall in his demeanor. “...okay.”
“Yeah it’s uh-...” Lance slips one hand out of the hold to mimic looking at a wristwatch for some reason. “It’s almost morning anyway. It’d be kind of a waste now, right?”
He just needs to shut up.
He just needs to shut the fuck up.
Keith stares at Lance’s gesture with confusion. But there’s none of his usual responses. No eyebrow raise. No “The fuck are you doing, idiot? You’re not even wearing a watch.” It’s just...confusion and confusion only. Because you don’t do those things to the person you think you love. And that’s what freaks Lance out the most, he's pretty sure.
“Alright well...see you in the morning, dude.” He overcompensates with a massive clap to the shoulder. One that has Keith buckling a little bit under the weight. But it frees his other hand and it opens things up and gives him just the right amount of time to slip down the hallway and into his door before feeling like a complete and utter douche-canoe.
Because that’s what he is.
A double-wide douche-canoe, zipping down the Douche-Canoe River.
It’s like the hallway event never even happened the next morning, everyone at their place for breakfast when Lance appears. His arrival sets Keith into motion, his spoon clattering onto his plate and his chair legs screeching as he stands immediately. The only thing that holds him back is the lightning quick reach from Shiro, his hand shooting out to grab Keith’s wrist without even looking as he continues to eat.
“Morning, buddy,” Hunk says in between it all. “Made your plate with what was left.”
Lance eyes his spot, ‘what was left’ actually turning out to be more than what everyone else seems to have gotten in the first place. “Oh. Thanks, Hunk.”
“No prob.”
It’s about enough time for Keith to give one good twist of his wrist, spinning out of Shiro’s grip without so much as a wince and making his way calmly over to Lance for a hug.
“Morning.” He’s gentle today. Sleepy, maybe.
Lance returns it with more confidence than their last embrace. “Mornin’.”
He pats his back and Keith leans away, arms still wrapped around him. “You smell good.”
“Oh.” So apparently there’s no hard feelings from last night? “Thanks, man. Just my normal stuff.”
“I like it.”
There’s a little lock of Keith’s hair that’s fallen from behind his ear. It’s only polite to fix it, quickly making sure to tuck it back without getting distracted. “Uhh thanks, me too.”
Lance chances a look over Keith’s shoulder, not exactly sure when this particular endearment will run its course, and getting stuck on the interested blink from Hunk, who has halted his full spoon halfway to his mouth in order to watch this all unfold.
Lance throws him a narrow-eyed look. Not nearly long enough before Keith’s back at it.
“When you’re done eating will you train with me?”
Train? Like one-on-one? Because that’s never gone too well. “Uh…”
“Actually, we need to establish more of a presence with the people today,” Shiro interjects helpfully. “Not sure if there’ll be much time to train.”
Lance nods, bringing his attention back to the boy in his arms. “Ah, okay then I guess we’ll have to see, right?”
“Okay.”
“Cool.”
There’s a long pause. Some clattering of silverware against plates. Then:
“Hey Keith, mind letting me eat please?”
“Oh. Yeah, sorry.”
It pulls a genuine laugh out of Lance, the little tinge of red in the tips of Keith’s ears actually kind of cute as he reluctantly lets go, all save for one hand as he leads them back to the table.
Lance has never eaten a meal with only one hand before - and his non-dominant hand too.
He thinks he should get some sort of intergalactic medal of accomplishment for it.
Shiro says no.
--------------------------------
So ‘establishing more of a presence with the people’ is so obviously ‘keep Keith away from Lance’ that it’s painful. Not that Lance is complaining, per se. Exploring a cool-ass planet with his best bud in the universe is not exactly a chore. It’s just...really obvious. And Lance feels coddled, is all. Which is not something he likes.
“So how is it having a second shadow?”
They’ve reached a lake of clear water, the surface shimmering prettily under the light of several floating orbs above it.
Lance throws him a look, twirling the blade of vegetation that he’s plucked from the ground between his fingers. “You really gonna ask me that?”
“Wouldn’t be doin’ my job as BFF if I didn’t.”
A group of small white creatures swim by the shallow bank, keeping Lance’s attention, but not as much as he’d like them to. “I mean...it could be worse.”
“Could it?”
They move in sync, little legs propelling them forward. “It’s like...just really…” He doesn’t even know. He doesn’t know what he wants to say. How much he wants to give away. How much he himself is willing to acknowledge. “I dunno.”
The familiar hum of Hunk chuckling at him is usually enough to make him feel better. Even now it’s working wonders, regardless of the fact that it’s being completely directed at him.
“What! It’s not like you’d be any better if you were in my place!”
Hunk’s eyebrows raise, his smile absolutely knowing. “I mean, yeah I totally would because unlike you, I don’t have a balmera-sized crush on Keith.”
Lance throws the plant stalk at him, cheeks heating. “I- shut up!”
“It’s why I ask!” Hunk’s laughing still, his voice ringing out over the sparkly lake and the little white creatures swimming inside. “You’ve got the dude you’re hot for lovin’ all over you and I just wanna make sure you’re not freaking out too much.”
Lance’s brows are etched together. “I’m not.” (Freaking out too much, that is. Hot for Keith? There’s-...well that’s-...) “The bite is gonna wear off in a few days anyway and then he’ll be back to being a complete asshole so it’s fine.”
Hunk hums. “Mm. Because it’s easier to deny your feelings when he’s being an asshole, right?”
Lance digs the toes of his boot into the soft, sandy ground beneath them. Whatever. It’s whatever, honestly. As he said, it’ll be done in a few days so why even worry. “I’m not worried.” He’s not.
“Okay, we’ll just let him loose with you unsupervised then.”
Lance huffs a nonplussed laugh.
He…
Okay maybe a little. Maybe he’s a little worried.
“Anyway, we haven’t actually talked to any people and it’s almost time to go. Is this gonna be one of those white-lie things or are you gonna feel guilty?”
Hunk finally flicks the piece of vegetation that was chucked at him off his shoulder, watching it fall to the sand with a shake of his head. “Nice subject-change, and yes this can be a white-lie thing. I’m totally fine with that.”
“Not changing the subject, and sounds good because I don’t wanna talk to anyone today.”
“Yes you were, you’re totally in love with Keith, and sweet neither do I.”
Lance piledrives into Hunk’s side with an enthusiastic shout.
----------------------------
Lance does not have a balmera-sized crush on Keith, alright?
He doesn’t know if he’s made that clear to you or not but.
He doesn’t.
-----------------------------
The two of them meet back up with the others just as the moons are starting to come out nice and bright. Lance expects the little jog up from Keith. Expects the sweet little hug. Doesn’t expect the press of his cheek warmly against his and the little, “Hey, I missed you,” that sounds so sincere that Lance almost feels guilty hearing it. Like it’s something Keith would never verbalize without the love bug stuff in him. To anyone, that is. Not that that person would be Lance specifically. Because Keith doesn’t like Lance very much. It’s just… Where was he going with this?
“Pidge wants to watch a scary movie tonight.”
The offer of nonchalant conversation is still new to Lance. Still a little surprising. Which it shouldn’t be, because Keith is here literally in his arms so why should a simple sentence be so unexpected, but… “Oh. Does she...have one? I didn’t think she did.”
“She traded for one while we were out.” Keith’s eyes are a weird color in this light. Not exactly purple. Not exactly navy. “Can you watch it with us?”
Focus, Lance. “Yeah.” Scary movies aren’t really his thing but, he does like chill time with the squad. “Yeah, sounds fun.”
Keith smiles. A real one. A warm one that has no business being this up close and personal and directed at Lance. “Oh good, I didn’t think you’d want to.”
Lance scoffs. “Of course. Why do you say that?”
“You don’t like scary movies,” he casually explains without missing a beat. “You told me once that they’re your least favorite kind, and action-adventure is your first. Especially Marvel movies. But not the first couple Hulks.”
Lance blinks, his hands still hanging at his sides even as Keith hangs onto him because… “Wait...you remember that? I didn’t even think you were listening to me.”
Keith nods, brows furrowing at what seems like the thought of him ignoring Lance when he speaks. “I always listen to what you say.”
Another blink. And forgive him, he just… That was so long ago. Months before the love bug stuff was in Keith’s system and he had an inclination to pay attention. Not to be dramatic but it’s kinda blowing Lance’s mind right now. “Do you know my favorite superhero?”
“Spiderman,” Keith answers without needing to think.
And it’s gotta be a fluke. Some sort of enhanced memory thing from the bug stuff. “Least favorite food?”
“Tomatoes.”
“Best beach?”
“Varadero.”
“Number of cats?”
That one has Keith pausing. Not because he doesn’t know, but because it’s obvious he needs time to think, his eyes wandering as he seems to count in his head until reaching the grand total of, “Four.”
Lance stares, mouth hanging open like an idiot because: “Keith, what the fuck?”
“We good over there?” Hunk asks it as an afterthought, clearly tuning into the disbelief in Lance’s tone and the hands that have come to rest on the small of Keith’s back.
And, “Yeah,” he answers, right about the same time that Keith’s eyebrows furrow in concern as he says:
“Wait, are you mad at me?”
And it’s so completely stupid that Lance has to laugh because: “No, I’m not mad at you. You’re just kinda blowin’ my mind right now.”
Keith’s relief is visible. As is the way he leans into the touch that Lance still doesn’t remember returning. “Ask me another one.”
“Alright, let’s head back,” Shiro chimes in before Lance can conjure one up, Pidge zooming past so fast that it knocks Lance back into reality a bit. A little. A lot actually - why is he so hung up on this memory thing?
He drops his hold, ready to have to pry Keith off of him, but the need never arises, the baby koala in question instead unwrapping himself on his own and simply satisfied with a hand.
And that’s how they walk. Through the streets of a gorgeous, glowing planet. Hand in hand.
Lance drops a few more trivia questions on the fly.
Keith, curiously, nails them all.
----------------------------
So remember when Lance said scary movies weren’t his thing? Yeah, he still stands by that, stretched out in the corner of the adjoined couches, an elbow propped to surreptitiously cover his eyes with one or two fingers.
It’s not that the movie is scary plot-wise. Actually, he has absolutely no fucking clue what’s going on plot-wise, given that it’s in an alien language and there’s a lot of cultural barriers that his brain is slamming straight into while attempting to read four-armed body language. It could be very scary plot-wise for all he knows. It’s just...it’s the jump-scares that are getting him. The jump-scares that he doesn’t know how to see coming because he can’t read fucking four-armed body language, holy shit.
So, true to their name, he jumps. And is scared. And he’s glad he’s hidden away in the corner of the couch because the only one picking up on his bullshittery is Keith, which, in itself is its own brand of bullshit. Because normal Keith would be on the opposite end of the couch from him. Fuck, normal Keith probably would’ve bailed out on this movie a long time ago.
But this is not normal Keith. This is love bug Keith. And love bug Keith is very touchy feely. Which means love bug Keith is plastered against Lance’s side, head pillowed on Lance’s chest and an arm around Lance’s waist. And Lance isn’t really one for dead-arming it through an entire movie, which means he has no choice but to pull his arm out from underneath Keith’s back and fit it around his shoulder, his hand coming down just about at his hip.
So now that you know the setup - now that you’ve got this great fucking picture painted for you - you can understand that every time Lance succumbs to a jump-scare from this absolutely stupid-ass movie, Keith 100% feels it. He knows about it. Every god. damn. time. And to be honest, Lance is actually grateful that this is love bug Keith and not normal Keith. Because normal Keith would’ve dragged his ass up and down for how many times he’s jumped so far. But love bug Keith? This Keith’s actually got his back, giving him a little squeeze every time there’s a pop-up on the screen and Lance’s soul is momentarily ripped from his body.
It’s actually kind of...okay.
Kind of nice.
Fuck, okay yes it’s very nice to have someone calming him down in between each scare. He likes the security of a body over him. And the squeeze of reassurance. And the constant, soothing stroke of Keith’s thumb over his side as they watch. And it’s so dark in here, the screen only blessing them with a significant amount of light every once in awhile, that if you would plop Lance down into this moment with no prior knowledge of the past day’s events, the last fucking person he’d guess this to be would be Keith.
And yet, here we are.
Here they are.
Here’s Lance, tensing as a scream and a flash rip across the screen and pluck his heart up into his throat. Keith’s hand smoothes over his side...makes its way up his chest...rubs calming circles over fabric and stalls just over the pulse of his heart.
It’s gotta be embarrassing up there - gotta just be dubsteppin’ away like a fool because Keith looks up at him, chin resting gently on the other side of his chest.
Lance lets his breath out through his nose, steeling his expression before glancing down at him. “What.”
And there’s something about it. Something about the screen lighting up Keith’s face like this - so soft and so close - the warmth of his body against him. It doesn’t help Lance’s heartbeat at all.
“Do you wanna go do something else?”
It’s such a considerate question. Really sweet, if he’s gonna be honest. But Lance dismisses it instantly. “Nah it’s fine. You wanna see the end.”
“You’re scared, though…”
“It doesn’t matter, you said you-”
The shift of weight rolling off of him is almost as alarming as one of the jump-scares, but not as much as the hand that reaches down for him as Keith stands, and the absolute absence of hesitation in Lance’s mind before taking it.
He lets himself be pulled from the couch, passing the others as Keith leads him by the hand. It gets every single one of them to perk up on alert, the very obvious connotations of leaving a dark room to go to another dark room hand-in-hand with someone else prompting Hunk to mumble an unsure, “Uhhhh…”
But Lance waves it off. Because that’s not what this is. And he gives Hunk a confident pat on the shoulder as he passes the end of the couch. “It’s good.”
That’s all that they seem to need, because no one follows them out. No one watches them as Keith gently leads him toward the door and then they disappear behind it without another word.
The hallway is dark too. A little darker, even, and Lance isn’t too sure he’s into that. Because his anxiety is still wracked up, body still on high alert for an incoming scare. And it could possibly come from one of the blackened corners on either side of them, right?
“Hey…” Keith’s voice is so calm. So collected. So close as Lance lets himself be backed against the wall. “You okay?”
“Yeah, for sure.” He shakes his head, trying to laugh it off, but it’s too keyed up and-
“You’re really bad at lying.” Keith’s eyeing him up and down, slowly fixing whatever needs to be fixed...hands moving calmly but with purpose. He brushes a thumb over Lance’s cheekbone...tucks some hair behind his ear...straightens the way his shirt collar falls over his shoulder.
It feels nice. Feels comfortable. Too comfortable, actually. But he’s gonna be a bad person and ride this comfort train for a little bit. At least until his anxiety lets up a little more. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
Keith’s hands continue to soothe. “I know, but I love you.”
It’s so clear that he isn’t aware how detrimental that phrase is to Lance’s already keyed up nerves. So so clear. “I-...” Lance lets his eyes close. “You don’t, though.”
“Yeah I do-”
“No, I mean… You only think you do. You were bitten by a weird alien bug and it’s making you feel things.”
“Why don’t you just focus on calming down…” It’s more of a statement than a question. More of an order than a suggestion. More Keith than anything he’s done or said in the past couple days. The real Keith. “Are you hungry?”
“No?”
“Thirsty?”
Lance frowns. “What? No, why’re you asking?”
“Are you tired?”
“N-...I guess.”
“You guess?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m tired, Keith. So what?”
“So I’m trying to figure out how to make you feel better.” He answers Lance's snappy question with a stern face, eye contact never failing as he presses forward a little closer. “I don’t like when you aren’t yourself and it’s-...I never know how to help you so just-... Fuck, let me help you, Lance!” The glossiness that the light catches in Keith’s eyes is sudden. Troubling. Has him blinking it away, gaze dropping down to search empty space before he’s taking a step back, voice gone soft again. “Sorry. I don’t, uh…”
Lance watches it all happen in front of him - sees the switch and the switch back - sees how Keith reaches up to rub at his own chest in discomfort for a moment before letting it drop again.
“I’m really tired…” he says then, almost like he’s not sure who he’s saying it to. Not sure where he is exactly.
And there’s something about it that has Lance’s brows coming together in concern. “Okay…” he tries, “Let’s go to sleep then.”
It seems to take a moment, but then it reaches the boy in front of him, his hand dropping from his chest again as he nods, and then looks back up. “Yeah. Okay.” He reaches out for the hem of Lance’s shirt. “We can sleep together, right?”
And at this point, Lance is so fucking drained from all this shit that he’s positive he’ll be out like a light as soon as his head hits the pillow, so. “Sure. Yeah, we can sleep together.”
It’s what Keith wants to hear. So he isn’t sure why he looks like he’s struggling with something in his mind the entire walk to his room.
-----------------------
Lance was incorrect.
About the whole ‘being so drained it doesn’t matter’ thing.
Because as soon as Keith shuffles into his room ready for bed - soft t-shirt, loose shorts, hair mussed - it’s got Lance’s nerves working overtime again.
Because this Keith is really...soft, he guesses is the word. And cozy? Maybe? But still Keith and still looking at him with those big emotional eyes of his and it makes Lance draw his legs up on the bed a bit, wondering just how completely he’s fucked himself over by agreeing to this.
He doesn’t get a lot of time to debate it in his head, because in contrast, Keith has absolutely zero issues with this, and makes it very well known with the way he approaches the bed like he’s done it a thousand times, the mattress dipping under his weight as he crawls on his knees closer and closer up to where-
Well where Lance is trying really hard to be cool, honestly. But wow, Keith’s moving fast. And wow he’s ready to get what he wants. And Lance kinda makes this noise from the back of his throat as he tenses while Keith knees himself between his parted legs, clearly impatient with Lance’s position because he plants both hands on his shoulders and he - oh god - he just pushes Lance straight backwards onto the bed and wow this was not a good idea at all.
“W-...Keith, hang on dude,” he tries to laugh but it’s so pitifully on edge that it physically hurts to hear. And he’s got his hands wrapped around Keith’s wrists, eyes wider than they should be as he comes to grips with the fact that he’s in bed with him. Keith’s towering over him. Has him pressed against the mattress and okay, maybe Hunk is a little bit right about a couple things. “Didn’t you say you were tired?”
Keith blinks down slowly at him in the dark, like he’s trying to comprehend why the question is being asked. “I am.”
Good. Good good good. “Okay cool - you just kinda seemed like you’re, uh…”
Uh.
Keith’s eyes narrow. “Like I’m what.”
And Lance can’t help the little shake of his head, mouth open but nothing really coming out because dunno, maybe like he’s about to fuck him within an inch of his life? But he can’t say that. Right? He can’t put that idea in his head if it isn’t already there. Even if it’s already in Lance’s. Like really, really in Lance’s. As weird as it is. Because it’s Keith. And this is just-
The feeling of Keith’s hands leaving his shoulders is quickly replaced by the much heavier weight of his entire top half coming to settle down on top of him, his head resting once again on Lance’s chest. It’s a lying down version of their position on the couch, and all Lance knows is his chest is doing some particularly weird shit right about now. His chest and his lungs. And his...uh...other...more lower...parts…
“Wow. You’re a-...a super clingy sleeper, aren’t you…?” He goes for an attempted shuffle. Doesn’t really get anywhere. Stares at the ceiling instead until he feels Keith pick his head up, because then he has to focus on the deep burn washing over his cheeks as meets the up-close gaze. “What.”
Keith shakes his head, hair fallen in his eyes so bad that Lance has to fix some of it. But he doesn’t say anything. He just watches, slowly taking in every single inch of Lance’s face as he lays there between his legs.
And it’s a lot. It really is. It’s so much that Lance lets out a weird little groan and uses his hair tucking hand to cover over Keith’s eyes, finally getting some relief. It has the corners of Keith’s mouth curling a bit - the softest smile he’s ever been forced to see - but then he catches the hint and lies his head back down.
And that’s how he falls asleep. Keith, that is.
Lance, on the other hand, is up for several more hours, hands fisted in the sheets at his sides as he wills his heartbeat to ease the fuck down for once please.
The weight is off him when he does finally fall asleep and wake back up again, the planet’s suns casting their rays through the window flanking his bed. It’s nice to be able to breathe. Nice to be able to just calmly open his eyes and take in the-
Lance inhales sharply through his nose, eyes wide and blinking quickly as he shoots up from the pillow at the absolutely terrifying sight of Keith just- fuck, he was just...fucking-...
“How long were you watching me?” His voice is scratchy - hair probably a mess with how quickly he’s sat up.
But Keith is calm as ever, propping himself up as well and mouth opening for a response when Lance’s hand flies over it, stopping any and all information because:
“Wait. Actually, don’t answer.” He doesn’t know what he’d do if the answer’s anything longer than ‘just a few seconds’.
----------------------------
One thing about the people on this high-techy-nature-planet? They sympathize when there’s been a love bug attack - Lance’ll give them that.
The fact that he’s been walking around for a few days now with Keith either on or around him 24/7 is completely accepted as normal and no one gives it a second thought. It’s kinda awesome, especially since Lance has now reached the point where the constant clinging attempts are getting kind of annoying, so he just ends up carrying Keith around on his back like a little Yoda or something.
It’s surprisingly doable. And also surprisingly successful, because it means Lance can move around wherever he needs to go, and Keith doesn’t trail after him trying to get body contact. It also means he can use both of his hands, which is...really not something he thinks he’ll ever take for granted again.
Oh, and another thing? Keith’s actually like, super insightful about a lot of stuff when he isn’t busy being a complete asshole or only deciding Shiro needs to hear his ideas. Lance knows, because he’s got the commentary coming in first hand, Keith assessing situations and making observations in Lance’s ear whenever the need arises. Half the time, they’re surprisingly on the same page. The other half, it’s stuff Lance never would’ve even thought of. But it’s good. It’s smart, Keith reaching out over his shoulder to point at something in front of them that will help. And it’s giving Lance impending FOMO for when things go back to normal and Keith isn’t casual about his ideas with him anymore.
But that’s something to angst about another time.
Because right now, they’re on the forest floor, the celebration for some sort of bi-annual moon thing going strong for what feels like its fifth hour now. But Lance isn’t complaining, because it’s super chill but super fun and the atmosphere is just so freakin cool - lots of warm floating orbs of light and the stars twinkling prettily in the sky and the trees, the trees tower over them and cast interesting shadows and Lance is in his element. Feels really fucking good. Sips honeyed liquid from the blossoms of offered flowers and can’t help but notice the sweet smile on Keith’s face as he watches him from across the floor.
Because there’s space between them now, where there wasn’t for the whole day. And Keith’s expression is so serene but warm, eyes locked calmly on him and lit from the lightning bugs glowing in the leaf crown someone placed on him several hours ago.
It’s like a scene out of a movie. Like that ending Star Wars scene on Endor where everyone’s happy and smiling at each other and Lance is-... Keith looks really-...
Hunk might be even more right about things that he originally thought. And if that isn’t a thought that deserves a moment to step away and breathe, he isn’t sure what is.
The lake with the little white creatures is so clear that it looks like glass in the moonlight, its water undisturbed at the late hour. Lance contemplates skipping a rock through it. Just to fuck with it. Wonders what kind of person that makes him, tossing the rock back down onto the ground because he doesn’t wanna be that - constantly stirring the pot for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
It takes way less time for the arms to wrap around him from behind than he was expecting. Which means Keith followed him out immediately. No hesitation. Why would he when they’d been so caught up in watching each other from across the gathering?
“I’m okay,” Lance answers before it can be asked, because he knows it’s coming, and he’d rather just head it off at the pass than deal with it.
Except… “No you’re not.”
It’s knowing. Insightful like the commentary he’s heard in his ear all day. Lance turns in the hold, not surprised when it doesn’t let up in the slightest, just shifts so it’s a front embrace instead.
And Keith…with his hair and the leaf headband and the way the floating orbs pick up the glints of violet in his irises...
Jesus...how in the hell can one person look so…
“What’s wrong?”
Lance sighs, “Nothing,” reaching out to readjust a leaf in the crown, “You just…” don’t say it… “You just look really nice...”
It’s defeated in tone - in Lance’s chest. Because he really shouldn’t have said it, but...the way it lights up Keith’s eyes more than the orbs ever could…
Fuck. He’s getting sappy.
“We can go back now. Just needed a little breather.”
Keith’s boots kick up a small cloud of dirt as he shifts closer, chests pressing firmly. “It’s okay, we can stay. I can tell you want to.”
And isn’t that nice, but: “You were having a good time back there.”
The hug tightens a little. “Yeah, but I like this better.” And there’s not enough time to answer before he tacks on, sincerely: “I’ve always liked being alone with you, Lance.”
It pulls Lance’s heart up into his throat with a tiny tug. Because it’s these sweeping declarations that get him confused. That hit him heavy and fast. And it’s a lot to-
Keith’s moving forward so confidently that Lance almost doesn’t react in time - almost doesn’t get his hand up quickly enough, eyes widened and pulse taking off as he intercepts and Keith’s lips press against his palm just at the last second instead because-
What-...
He was just about to…
Keith’s eyes open, brows furrowing in what’s either hurt or frustration - Lance doesn’t know - because he’s still trying to grasp the fact that he was just two inches away from being kissed.
And he’s gotta explain himself. He’s gotta explain that this just isn’t something that-...that he-... “You don’t-...sorry. I’m sorry, it’s just you don’t normally...do...that…”
Keith’s frowning when Lance feels it’s safe to finally drop his hand, the barrier between them disappearing for now. “I want to.”
Fuck. “Yeah you want to now but-...” Fuck, can Lance’s pulse please just stop going ham for one second. “Keith, you can’t do this shit. Normal-you would beat the crap outta me if he knew I let you-”
“Lance.” There’s definitely frustration there now. It’s plain in the way Keith’s arms have dropped to his sides. The very obvious furrow of his brows. “Do you wanna kiss me or not? Because I wanna kiss you so bad that my chest hurts. Like...all the fucking time. I just want you to-...ah…” The quick head shake he does is one of recalibration - paired with the hand grabbing at the same spot on his shirt as last night after the movie.
Lance sighs. Wants to help, but... “Keith, listen. You’re not gonna be in love with me really soon. You’re not gonna want anything to do with me, actually. And I don’t-...I don’t want you to look back and be mad that we-...did anything.” Mad at Lance for letting it happen, either. He doesn’t want any of it. Even if he really...really wants to kiss him right now, he’s secretly decided.
Keith’s hand drops, eyes closing for a moment before finally looking back up at him again. The heavy gaze has returned. Pink cheeks. “I’m not gonna be mad.”
And as much as Lance wants to believe that, he’s been with normal Keith infinitely longer than love bug Keith. And he knows for a fact that: “Yes, you are.”
But Keith’s pressing back against him again, hands snaking up to spread on either side of Lance’s neck, a thumb running over his jawline. Lance has to swallow down the pulse in his throat. Has to keep his hands at his sides because he didn’t realize how into this he’d be until right this second.
And Keith’s the impulsive one. Always has been. Stays true to character as he tilts his head just a bit to brush his lips over Lance’s bottom one - feather light and barely there but tempting enough for Lance to swallow, inhaling unsteadily through his nose because: “Keith-”
But by then it’s too late.
By then he’s already lost and he should stop it - he should stop it - he should stop it but Keith’s lips are really soft...feel really nice pressing against his own...have his hands lifting to either reciprocate or stop it because he should stop it but they get lost halfway...just sort of hang there, fingers trembling as their mouths slowly start to move even though-
He should stop it.
Lance’s eyes flutter closed.
He should stop it but he’s too lost in it to find his way. Too eager to keep up with the unsurprisingly addicting slip of Keith’s tongue - the concept of Keith being into him - just Keith, in general. And he should stop it - he really should - but the atmosphere is pressing them together and he finally gets his hands on him - finally clamps down onto the sides of his shoulders. And he should stop it but he uses the hold to push instead. To walk him backward. To keep their mouths moving and his breath heavy and he walks him backwards until Keith’s colliding with the glass partition, a breathy grunt escaping between them like it’s a secret because it is a secret because they shouldn’t be-
Lance wrenches himself away - has to physically tear himself off and run a hand through his hair, gaze everywhere but where Keith’s watching him against the glass.
And…
And fuck. “I shouldn’t’ve done that.” He says it and feels it but his voice is weak. “I shouldn’t’ve-... That didn’t happen, okay?”
His hands are shaking.
Breath is labored.
Heavier than Keith’s as he stares at him pace from his spot, but doesn’t say anything.
And Lance just needs to get a hold of himself for a second because: “Okay, I’m sorry. I’m sorry Keith I just-...kinda got caught up but please remember that it was an accident.” He doesn’t even know what he’s saying. Who he’s trying to convince. Where he’s going with this whole thing. All he knows is he’s got this huge pit in his stomach and, “We can’t do that again, okay?”
Keith’s trying to follow it. Trying to understand what Lance doesn’t even understand. But the last part is self explanatory. And even if there’s a significant drop in his expression, he nods.
And it’s gotta be enough.
Gotta be enough for now.
Gotta be enough to move on and hope for the best and they just need to- “Let’s go back.”
Because he can’t stand here one more second. Can’t look at Keith like this in this light with the stars and the fucking leaf crown without wanting to go right back against his own word.
Thankfully, Keith nods again. “Okay,” and then, very quietly, “Can I still hold your hand?” like he needs to check if it’s alright or not.
And it’s enough to make Lance’s heart twinge a bit in his chest, the tiny white creatures fast asleep as he walks by, his hand unfurling in Keith’s direction.
Okay, so whoops.
That was a big ol’ whoopsie daisy and Lance knows it.
BUT.
It’s cool now.
And he’s cool.
And Keith’s cool.
And everything’s really really cool and nothing bad will ever happen again :)
“Keith, I literally can’t feel my ass.”
It’s going on Hour 2 on the couch and the resident baby koala is having a particularly clingy day, straddled comfortably over Lance’s lap and nuzzled against his neck like the time he full on sprinted toward him and knocked him on his ass. Which. Speaking of.
“Keith...my butt.”
He’s like 73% sure he’s not even awake, the sassy remarks revolving around the shaman they met with today dropping off into nothing at least half an hour ago. But Lance has got to move around a little. For the sake of blood circulation.
“Okay buddy, hang on.” He heaves a breath, patting Keith on the back and then supporting him under his bottom as he lugs them both up to stand.
For someone two and a half inches shorter than himself, Keith sure weighs a lot when his weight isn’t being distributed on Lance’s back properly. Lance grabs blindly at the backs of Keith’s thighs, pulling them up until Keith sleepily gets with the program and wraps his legs around Lance’s middle for support.
After that, shit, they’re good to go. Lance can carry him around like it’s no big deal, sauntering into the kitchen for a snack with absolutely zero care and even less interest in the stares being directed toward him as he reaches up for a snack bar, the other hand holding Keith’s back in support like a mother with her toddler.
The staring is not stopping. Especially when Keith seems to rouse a bit from the smell of food, eyes still closed and mumbling sleepily into Lance’s neck until a piece of the snack bar is broken off for him and passed over his shoulder.
After a long stretch of silence, Pidge is the first to speak up.
“What am I seeing.”
But Lance just continues on his way, his ass now properly thawed and back to functioning and his cargo in tow.
------------------------------
It’s the third night Keith’s managed to get them to sleep together, and as trying as it is, Lance has gotta say he’s getting pretty good at not losing his fucking mind when he feels their legs tangle together, or a hand on his hip, or Keith’s hair soft against his chin.
He’s getting pretty good, but he’s still got a long way to go. Especially when all three of those things are mixed in with “you always smell so good”, or “can you rub my back for a minute”, or Lance’s least favorite: “you’re shaking a lot...are you okay?”
Tonight’s position is more doable than the first night’s, because Lance had just frankly told Keith that he couldn’t fall asleep when his body was draped directly on top of him like that. What they’ve got going now is a lot chiller - Lance on his back, an arm around Keith’s shoulders as Keith wraps himself against Lance’s side. It puts his head right back onto Lance’s chest - a favorite of his, it seems - and it’s just comfy enough that the fuzzy tendrils of sleep are ebbing their way across Lance’s mind when he hears it, mumbled against him.
“Night, asshole. I love you.”
It registers at the surface level and then a little deeper, Lance’s eyes opening toward the ceiling. But then it’s gone. Lost in the hazy inbetween. And he slips under, his mouth pressing a kiss to the top of Keith’s head.
----------------------
He’s the first to wake.
The suns are still obnoxiously bright and he’s still not used to them yet.
A little shift shows that they haven’t moved much in their sleep, Keith still curled around his side, but his legs no longer tangled with Lance’s. It’s starting to get oddly comfortable, sleeping like this. Like a life-sized stuffed animal or a body pillow or something. Which doesn’t make sense, because technically Lance would be the body pillow in question… Either way, his mouth is dry as fuck from sleeping on his back all night, the tiny clear of his throat coming out way louder than he meant it.
He knows because it has Keith stirring next to him, his small hum of coming-to actually kinda cute as he drags his fingers over Lance’s stomach to clench his fist, then pick his head up, then stall for just a split second before meeting Lance’s gaze with a look of confusion, which quickly spirals into wide eyes and a furrowed brow and-
“Shhhit- what the fuck Lance!” The shout and the scramble up that he immediately launches into puts a pit in Lance’s stomach, unable to question him before- “Why the hell are you-”
Keith’s voice drops off, his eyes scanning desperately around the room as he must realize that he’s in fact not where he thinks he is. And that he’s very much here. Very much in Lance’s room. With Lance still very much here as well.
Which means…
“Okay,” wow, this came sooner than Lance thought it would, “Okay, before you freak out - you got bit by a bug-”
“Oh god…” Keith’s not screaming anymore, overtaken instead by a tone of dread as he seems to scan memories in his head at the polar opposite end of the mattress, a hand clenched over his chest with a little hitch of pain in his throat and-
“Keith, I can explain it to you, will you just listen to m-”
“We didn’t do anything, did we?”
“What-”
“We didn’t-”
“-no,” Lance shakes his head with a frown, finally understanding what he means and running a hand through his hair to calm himself down because- “No. You were just really-”
“Fuck.” He’s already halfway to the door, jamming his finger at the keypad and refusing to look at-
“Jesus, Keith you’re freaking out over nothing-” door slide open “-you might as well-” door slide shut.
...
Lance sighs.
Well, so much for that.
Great to see that Keith’s right back to normal.
He lets out another breath, crashing back against his pillow and staring at the ceiling.
It’s the perfect time for his morning wood to remind him that it’s been present this entire time under the bed sheets.
“Really?” Lance asks, sitting up just to gesture in frustration at it now that he’s alone. “Still?”
-----------------------
The castle is unsurprisingly vacant of Keith’s presence when Lance finally musters up enough willpower to set off and find him. Shiro’s not there either. Which means Keith probably went running to him for the rundown of all the shit that happened instead of just staying put and hearing it directly from the source.
Lance doesn’t wanna say he’s jealous (because he’s not), it’s just that it’d be nice to be included in the rundown since he was the one who had to suffer through the attention this whole time. That’s it.
He ends up finding Keith in a little shop close to where they need to meet the councilwoman from their first day to tie up loose ends, the familiar presence turning from a display of questionable-looking weapons when he must notice Lance’s as well.
“Hey man. Can we talk for a sec?”
Keith’s entire demeanor has changed, no longer light and open, but he nods anyway, and then follows Lance to a clearing of trees out back.
“I just wanted to make sure we were okay.” Well, that’s not all. Lance wants a lot of stuff. But most of it just simply isn’t in the cards. So he settles for this. And hopes that he can get at least a sliver of it. “So uh...are we okay?”
He braces for an answer that would reside in Keith’s norm. Something short. Maybe even cold. What he gets instead, is Keith’s gaze falling elsewhere, his tone burdened down by something Lance can’t place.
“Listen Lance…” he cracks a knuckle… “Sorry. ...for being all over you. For a lot of stuff, actually…” It’s pieced together kind of sloppily. Almost...shy?
Lance can’t help but smile. “Oh my god, dude. It’s fine, okay? It’s not like you had any control over it.”
“Yeah, it’s just…” He’s looking for a word. Can’t seem to figure it out. Lance wants to help him but he honestly doesn’t know where he’s going with this. “Thanks for not being a huge dick about it, I guess.”
“Hey, no problem.” He slings an arm over Keith’s shoulder as they start to walk back toward the front, something that feels right at home for him, but has Keith visibly tensing under his touch. “Just don’t think you’re getting free rides around the castle anymore.”
He laughs at his own joke. Even gets a little huff of a chuckle from Keith. And damn, maybe this actually did work out in his favor. Maybe this was just the bonding experience they needed in order to reach a mutual appreciation of one another.
Lance hopes so, at least. Because as much as he hates to admit it, he already misses Keith clinging all over him. He misses the touching. Misses the sweetness. Misses Keith telling him he loves him every hour on the hour. But he knew that was never going to last - knew that right from the beginning - which is why he’s trying not to be too disappointed that he’s going right back to square one with his super secret pining. Maybe now they can be friends, at least. Cool with each other.
“Ah, I see the toxin has run its course,” the councilwoman greets them once they make their way back to everybody.
It must be obvious with the very distinct lack of physical contact between the two of them. No hand holding. No piggy back rides. Just their normal, everyday walking with zero amounts of love bug stuff.
“I think we’re all relieved it’s out of his system,” Hunk says, clapping Keith on the shoulder and subtly winking at Lance as the councilwoman carries on.
“Yes, the first bite is always the worst. But we cannot complain too much. Many of our strongest marriages were borne from the toxin’s influence.”
“Hm,” Lance nods in interest. Because that’s pretty cool, he guesses. Having something good come out of- ...wait. “Hang on...you said people have gotten married because of it?”
“Yes.”
“But…” that doesn’t seem right, does it? “They really got married because they were the first person someone saw after getting bit?” That seems kinda…
The councilwoman frowns, her head tilting to the side right about the same time that Shiro steps in. “Well, I think it’s time to-”
“My dear paladin, there’s nothing random about it,” she smiles with almost pity.
To which Lance-...wait… “What? I’m so confused. Shiro said-”
“The matter of seeing someone first or not has nothing to do with it,” she explains, speaking over Shiro’s last attempt to interject. “The toxin simply increases the chemical levels that are already present in the host’s body.”
Shiro sighs, swearing quietly under his breath like he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t be.
And Lance...is still… “Already present…”
“Yes, my dear. Many of the bonds are formed after the toxin's effects have pushed the host to act on their already present attraction. Much like with this boy right here.”
Lance follows the councilwoman’s gesture toward where Keith has gone positively crimson, his eyes trained desperately to the forest floor because…
Because...he…
Lance’s stomach sinks low, then his heart, then pretty much everything else because holy-...holy shit? Holy shit- wait. Keith really does actually love him? “Oh...my god…?”
Why would Shiro tell them that-...
Oh. He was covering for him. He’s been covering for Keith from the very beginning.
And holy shit Keith’s in love with him.
“It seems I’ve said something wrong…”
Hunk’s chuckle is just as astounded as Lance feels. “Uh...no I think you said exactly the right thing, actually.”
“I honestly can’t believe this is happening,” Pidge chimes in. “Shiro, is this actually happening?”
“Oh,” Shiro sighs in defeat, “it’s happening alright.”
“Keith loves me.” Lance can’t help but say it out loud. Can’t help but let the giddy smile dance over his face as he turns to the boy in question and says it again. “Keith, you love me.”
“Fuck, can you please shut u-”
“No, I love you too.”
“You-” what starts out as a grimace quickly morphs into disbelief as the realization drops in Keith’s head. “You what?”
“Wait hang on,” Pidge is chiming in again. “This is a mutual thing?”
“Why don’t we actually give you guys some space.” Shiro’s the only voice of reason, although Lance can barely hear it because there’s about three trillion things buzzing around in his brain right now.
Like ‘holy shit!’ and ‘he loves me too!’ and ‘fuck is this a dream? Am I still sleeping?’
In fact he doesn’t really tune all the way back in until they are literally left alone, Keith’s face the same shade as Red and a hand slung over his eyes and Lance feels like he’s about to explode with happiness because: “Is it true? Do you actually feel the same way?”
And it takes a good fifteen seconds - a solid moment - but then Keith is grumbling it, still hiding behind his hand. “...yeah.”
And fuck! Holy hell, Lance can’t contain the burst of excitement that has him lurching forward, his arms flying around Keith’s middle and lifting him up a bit too high and Keith’s gone livid, feet kicking as he screams at Lance to put him down but they both can’t deny the warmth swirling around in their chests, those boy scouts going for the Largest Bonfire Ever badge.
“I’m literally so happy right now,” Lance grins, setting him down but not letting go. Nope, it’s gonna be a loooong time before he does that. “This is the best day of my life.”
Keith mumbles something under his breath, but then his arms come up to settle around Lance too. “I’m...I guess I’m pretty happy too.”
And it’s way more than Lance expected, honestly. This whole thing is. Just literally everything about what’s happened has been such a rush and a weird journey and he squeezes Keith maybe a little too tightly. But there’ll be time for better hugs later. It’s Lance’s turn to be baby koala.
“I love you,” he smiles.
And Keith simply lets out a long breath, one that seems to steady him rather nicely, and then he buries his face right back into Lance’s neck where it belongs.
“I love you too, asshole.”
The End