Keith was surprised to hear the knock at his door, and was even more surprised to hear Lance calling from the other side.

"Keith? Are you here?"

He leapt from his bed, hurrying to tidy up, throwing clothing under his bed and into his cupboard. When he was satisfied that his room was clean enough for guests, he opened the door.

"Lance, what a surprise! To what do I owe this pleasure?" His voice was layered with disinterest in order to mask the fact that Keith was actually happy to have Lance there.

Instead of replying with his own snarky comment, Lance simply nodded, shifting from foot to foot. Keith had the sudden uneasy feeling that something was awfully wrong. He gestured for Lance to come inside. He silently shuffled past Keith, the door closing behind him.

"Are you ok?" Keith winced at the emotion that escaped on his voice, but he was too worried to care.

In response, Lance just nodded again, his movements small and awkward, a stark contrast to his usual loud and vibrant self. This action only served to fuel Keith's concern.

"Lance, what's wrong?" Keith took a step towards him, and Lance shook his head. Keith could have sworn he saw tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, this was a stupid idea." He moved to leave, but Keith blocked his exit. Lance wanted to feel angry, wanted to say something clever and insulting, like he usually would, but he simply couldn't. Instead, he slumped his shoulders, his eyes focused on the ground. "Lance, talk to me."

Something about the concern in Keith's voice made Lance want to tell him everything, every dark and awful thought in his head, but he refrained.

Lance's voice was incredibly quiet when he spoke.

"Sometimes…sometimes I feel like…"

Keith nodded encouragingly, gesturing for him to go on. Lance shook his head, and tried a different approach.

"Did you…did you really not know who I was?" Lance's voice wavered as he spoke, his head still bowed, eyes trained on his feet.

Keith focused his gaze intently on Lance, his eyes asking questioning.

"What?"
Lance shifted uncomfortably, refusing to meet Keith's eyes.

"When we met again, saving Shiro…when this whole mess started…did you really only remember me as "a cargo pilot"?"

Keith suddenly realised what Lance was referring to, and internally cursed himself. The truth, the one Keith had been trying to ignore for what felt like eternity, was that he had remembered Lance from the Garrison, had remembered every single fine detail. He had remembered what he looked like, the colour of his eyes, the way his hair fell- all the small, simple things that he had noted while he was there; because he had had a maddening crush on him- and it hadn't seemed to go away, no matter how hard he had tried. He chuckled darkly as he thought this, knowing how completely ridiculous such a thing was. Lance's reaction when he had seen him again- talking of their rivalry, calling Keith his enemy- had only confirmed that something so foolish was not a possibility. Even so, Keith continued to watch Lance a little too closely, to smile a little to widely, even now.

When he heard Keith's laughter, Lance looked up, a hurt expression plastered on his face. "Do you find this funny?" His voice was rough and razor sharp, his gaze piercing. The anger only lasted moments, however, and quickly dissolved into silent tears that cascaded down Lance's cheeks and gathered at his chin.

Keith realised his mistake, shaking his head furiously as he took a step towards the other boy. He rested a hand on Lance's shoulder, his eyes boring into his. Lance diverted his gaze, Keith's intense stare becoming too much for him to hold.

"Lance." Keith's voice was barely even a whisper, impossibly soft, as if anything louder might shatter Lance where he stood. "Lance, look at me."

When Lance refused to turn his head, Keith grasped his chin, his fingers incredibly gentle, and forced his eyes to meet his.

Keith swallowed nervously, all thought lost in the impossibly deep ocean of Lance's eyes. He stood there for what felt like an eternity, simply trying to find his way out of the blue. Their bodies were close, almost touching, Keith's fingers still softly gripping Lance's chin.

"Keith?" Lance's voice dragged Keith back into reality, finally able to find his way out.

The expression of worry that Lance wore on his face made Keith smile- a weak, sorrowful smile, but a smile all the same. It returned the strength he needed to go through with this. He feels that worry for you. He cares about you.

He took a steady step back from Lance. Now it was his time to intently study to floor.

Lance held his hand out to Keith, his gaze heavy with questions. "Keith…?"

The smile never left Keith's lips as he spoke. "Of course I remembered you, Lance," He laughed weakly. "How could anyone forget you?"

Lance's expression shifted from questioning to pure confusion, not yet understanding what he was being told. "Then why did you-"

"-because you hated me, Lance. You told me I was your enemy…"

Lance's face flooded with colour as he recalled the memory. He had never really felt that way about Keith, but jealousy can sometimes make you do and say things you later regret.

"I didn't mean-"

"No, Lance. You told me that, and I knew you meant it. After that…how was I supposed to tell you…" Keith fell silent, his mouth sealing shut and his eyes squeezing closed.

"Tell me what?" Lance's voice was thick with concern and urgency. "Keith, tell me what?"

Keith shook his head, his movements stiff, almost robotic. Lance's worried expression melted away, leaving him vulnerable and exposed.

"Thanks for trying to help, Keith." A fresh wave of tears slipped down Lance's cheeks as he shoved past Keith and made for the door. He wiped furiously at the drops on his face, cursing himself for allowing anyone to see him in this state.

Keith drew in a shuddering breath, steadying himself. He understood the weight of the words he was about to say, and it scared him- really, truly scared him. But he cared about Lance, and he knew that he needed to hear this.

"How was I supposed to tell you…"

Lance stopped when he heard Keith speak, turning to face him, his gaze expectant. Keith heaved another breath.

"…that I liked you."

A sudden realisation dawned on Lance, yet he still refused to believe the truth he was being told.

"…what?"

Keith's head snapped up, his piercing gaze fixed on Lance.

"What? What do you mean "what"? I cared about you, Lance. I do care about you, goddammit. No matter how many times I tell myself that I'm supposed to be your rival, that I'm supposed to hate you, I just…can't. And on that first day, when you asked if I remembered you…I couldn't say yes. I thought I could forget what I felt but it's so hard. And I still feel it. I can't stop feeling it. Do you understand how painful-"

Keith fell silent as Lance flung himself at him, his arms coiling around his neck, their lips colliding. Keith staggered backwards, his mind unable to comprehend what was happening. All too slowly, he reacted, his arms snaking around Lance's back, pulling him closer, as if he might slip away if he didn't hold him close enough.

They stood there, bodies and lips pressed together, for an eternity. Keith savoured the feel of Lance's arms around his neck, the warmth of his body, the taste of his lips, and when they pulled apart, he missed it immediately.

A comically brilliant grin split Lance's face, his breaths quick and shallow. A smile also played on Keith's lips as he lent over, hands on knees, running his fingers through his hair.

"I didn't know you were…?" Keith let the question hang in the air, his voice rough and breathless, and also immensely happy. He attempted to mask the extreme, dumb joy he was feeling, to no avail.

Lance shrugged, the usual smirk that he wore daily returning to his lips. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

Keith raised his eyebrows, Lance's grin widening, making Keith flush a deep scarlet. He cleared his throat, attempting to regain control of his own thoughts, but they were too consumed by finally kissing Lance. He hadn't realised how furiously he had wanted it before it happened.

"Well, one thing I do know about you is that you're a great kisser." Keith's voice wavered violently as he spoke, but even so, Lance's face flooded with red, feeling incredibly flustered. He coughed awkwardly.

"You too."

And just like that, Keith's lips were back on Lance's, this kiss hungrier and more passionate than the previous one. Slipping his fingers into Lance's hair, Keith dipped him back, and Lance coiled his arms around Keith's neck.

They remained like this as long as they could- Keith's fingers entwined in Lance's hair, Lance's back arched and his arms around Keith's neck- before they needed to part for air. Lance's hair was a mess, and Keith's jacket had slipped from his shoulders, and they were both panting heavily, but both wore brilliant smiles.

Keith took a seat on his bed, gesturing for Lance to sit beside him. Lance nodded, perching beside him. Neither spoke, either because they wished not to spoil the moment, or because neither had enough breath to say anything. They simply sat in silence, still wearing the same animated smiles, inhaling deeply.

Keith finally spoke, shattering the blissful silence.

"How are you feeling?"

Lance chuckled lightly, turning to face Keith, his smile unfaltering.

"I'm feeling better. Thank you." His voiced was laced with happiness, a golden thread running through his words.

Keith lent forwards, catching Lance's lips with his, quickly pulling away. A deep red blossomed on Lance's cheeks.

"Lance, talk to me."

So, he did. Lance told Keith all that he was thinking, all his secrets and insecurities, and in turn, Keith told Lance his. They spoke throughout the entire night, sometimes pausing to bring their lips together, only to break apart and keep talking.

Eventually, they grew tired. Keith insisted that Lance stay there with him, and the result was them laying together, Keith on his back and Lance on his side with his arm draped across Keith's chest. They slept in this position, and it was the best sleep either had had in a very long time.

Pidge returned to her room after a late-night trip to the castle's kitchen, her stomach content and her eyes heavy. She slumped into her chair and pulled up her tablet. Unbeknownst to the other paladins, she had installed tiny video cameras into their clothing, and she often enjoyed checking in on them. It was always good entertainment, and was sometimes a way to find out those things that she wasn't supposed to know. Pidge found that it was always useful to know things about people.

First, she checked the camera she had placed in Lance's set of pyjamas. He could usually be found doing something unusual and just straight hilarious- there had been many occasions that she had watched him dancing around his room singing karaoke, or pretending he was a beauty guru and narrating his skincare routine.

Tonight however, all she saw in the feed was a dark and empty room, and she realised that Lance hadn't even changed into his pyjamas yet, which was extremely unusual, considering how much the boy loved his beauty sleep. She flicked through the other channels- Hunk, Allura and Coran were sound asleep, as they usually were at this hour. Shiro was still up, and training. Pidge shook her head and sighed- it was as if the man never slept, and simply worked out whenever he wasn't fighting. Perhaps that metal arm of his simply didn't let him sleep.

Finally, she flicked to Keith, whose camera was located on the collar of his jacket. At this time of night, Keith was usually asleep, or otherwise polishing his various knives, with his jacket hung by his bed. Tonight, however, the image was very different- Keith's jacket had obviously been discarded and was on the floor, the camera pointing up at a slight angle. Pidge leaned forwards on her chair, trying to make sense of what she was seeing on her screen. She could see Keith, standing in the middle of his room, his arms wrapped around someone. Pidge's eyebrows escaped up beneath her fringe, a low whistle emanating from her lips.

"Woww. Keith's been busy. I didn't even know he had a girlfr-"

Pidge's tablet fell from her hands, colliding roughly with the floor as she leapt back, tipping her chair and almost falling herself. She retrieved her tablet, studying the image on the screen to ensure she hadn't been mistaken. She hadn't. She recognised the person in Keith's room, the one he had been kissing, and her mouth fell open.

"Keith…and Lance?"