Fist klance fanfiction I post on ! shoutout to stealing-klances on tumblr for being my beta for this fic 3
I got the pick-up lines from here. I put a Doctor Who reference in this, let's see who finds it ;)
1.
The time they meet Nyma and Rolo again Keith can hear Hunk give an indignant snort as they spot the two aliens waving enthusiastically in their direction.
"Not those two again." He mutters under his breath. The red paladin approaches him, patting his friend on the back with a soft chuckle. "We won't let them fool us again Hunk. This time around we know what they're capable of."
Hunk opens his mouth to give a retort but is quickly cut off by a squealing sound coming from behind. Lance is already making his way towards Nyma to greet her, wobbling around in a goofy way.
"Nyma! What a pleasure to see you again!" He exclaims, ignoring Rolo completely. Keith looks on, arms folded across his chest and a twisting feeling in his gut. He knows where this is going and he doesn't like it. At all.
"Lance. The pleasure is all mine. You're prettier than I remembered." Nyma replies sweetly. Keith rolls his eyes. A smirk spreads across Lance's face and Keith can already feel his cheeks heating up. He'd love to wipe that grin off of his mouth. By kissing it.
"You flatter me, but let's be honest: you're the most beautiful girl in the universe... I ain't lion'!"
Nyma giggles and playfully shoves Lance's away. Lance is beaming.
Had he seriously... made a pun on a pick-up line?
Keith is pretty sure his face is as red as his suit. He wants to be the one giggling at that. He wants to be the recipient of his cheesy flirting. No matter how forced that pun was, it was adorable. He wants to hear Lance saying it on repeat. He wants Lance to look at him with that brilliant smile of his, batting his eyelashes and telling him he's pretty. Keith is so focused in his own thoughts, he doesn't even hear Rolo trying to get his attention.
"Keith...? Are you okay?" Shiro asks, visibly concerned. "Rolo was asking you something."
Keith recovers from his trance slightly, looking up to meet Shiro in the eyes. "Uh? Yeah, yeah. I'm... fine."
"Are you sure?" Allura interjects. "You look very red in the face. Is it normal?"
Shiro chuckles. "Oh yes, Princess. It's pretty normal when you're as sick as Keith."
"Sick?" She inquires.
"Oh yes. Lovesick." He explains with a taunting smile.
Keith snorts, giving Shiro a look that says "You really wanna go there? I have dirt on you too." with a side glance at Allura. The black paladin immediately backs down with a nervous smile.
Rolo is still trying to get Keith's attention, complimenting him about the last time they met, and how good of a pilot he is. Keith blurts out a quiet 'thank you' but never meets his gaze. His eyes are wandering over to where Lance is, still flirting with Nyma.
"So why are you here?" Hunk interrupts, arms crossed, visibly annoyed with the unfortunate encounter.
"Hey man, I get it. You're angry at me. I can't deny you have all the right. But... We've changed. I swear. I really am sorry for what we caused you." Rolo says, pressing one hand on his chest.
"Angry is an understatement. You fooled my best friend, gained our trust. We helped you fix your ship, and you-"
Hunk is interrupted once again by Pidge who has only one wish on her mind. "Before we say goodbye, can I see Beezer again?"
2.
It's a bad day for the mice. The planet the paladins are on is full of space cats. But what's more frustrating for Keith is how they all seem to love Lance. A blue cat, similar to the color of his lion, approaches him and Lance picks it up. The feline-like-creature gently licks his face and then starts purring softly.
Keith feels a knot down his throat. He doesn't think he's gonna make it at this rate. Lance is too adorable for his own good. He starts wondering if Lance is doing all of this on purpose, to ruin his life. He wants to get off of that planet immediately, crawl in his bed and listen to sad songs for the rest of the eternity.
"I hope Blue doesn't get jealous." He chuckles, cuddling the cat into his arms. "I have to say it, you're really purrr-fect."
Keith feels like swooning right then and there. The nerve of this boy, playing with his emotions like this. His life was unpredictable for sure, but he didn't really expect one day to be jealous of a cat.
He hears the mice squeaking loudly, looking terrified at the scene. "Me too." Keith grunts under his breath.
3.
The third time Keith hears Lance using a pick-up line is during an official celebration with a royal family. Prince Dalek had insisted the paladins had to attend the traditional feast, as a thank you to Voltron for having saved their planet.
He's a very attractive alien, Keith isn't gonna lie. His rounded lilac face sparkles in the room, golden locks framing it, eyes as blue as the sky above. He's cute, Keith thinks. But the thought doesn't even have the time to form properly in his mind, he's already distracted by another pair of blue eyes piercing through his soul.
Lance is staring directly at him, curiosity on his smooth features.
"If you're not going to make a move first, I am." He says smugly.
Keith can already feel his cheeks reddening at the sound of his voice, and the implication. "W-What?" He stutters.
"Oh come on! I saw you staring at him! I want to talk to him but I thought you were going to first… so I waited."
Keith bites his tongue accidentally. He hates him. He hates his altruistic personality. He hates his voice. He hates that goddamn smirk on his face. He hates everything that makes Lance Lance. Except it's the the total opposite. He wants to be the one who talks to him, who laughs at his silly pick-up lines, who holds his hands to dance, like the others.
He does none of these things. Instead he sighs, resolved in keeping how he really feels a secret. "You can talk to him Lance, it's fine. I wasn't planning on doing anything. I was just... thinking."
Lance chuckles under his breath and Keith feels his chest tighten, and his grave getting deeper and deeper.
Lance pats the red paladin's shoulder and walks towards the prince. "You don't know what you're missing!" He yells, before disappearing in the crowd.
An opportunity to talk to you, Keith thinks.
When one of the guests asks Keith for a dance, he takes it as an opportunity to eavesdrop on Lance and the prince.
He notices Dalek's hand squeezing Lance's waist tightly, pulling him in closer. Keith instinctively grits his teeth, gripping his dance partner's shoulders a little too tightly. His partner whimpers under Keith's touch, and the red pilot immediately releases the man from his grip, apologizing profusely. They restart dancing over the notes of a slow song, played by instruments that vaguely resemble earth flutes.
"You're truly out of this world, Prince Dalek. And I would know." He hears Lance saying. The prince laughs pulling Lance even closer, too close for Keith's liking. He can't take it anymore. He has to do something. Would it be rude to steal Lance for a dance? How would the prince take it? Keith is known for being impulsive, but something stops him. He asks himself if it is fair to Lance. He doesn't have any right to ruin his night.
After finishing the dance with the alien, Keith walks away, realizing too late that he didn't even catch his name. He feels too numb to even care. A bad feeling is creeping into his chest as he watches Lance and the prince from the corner of the room.
He sees the prince leaning in, kissing Lance softly on the cheek. He looks away quickly, fists clenching and leaving crescent indentions from his fingernails. He just wishes for the event to be over as soon as possible. He doubts they'll ever meet him again anyway.
4.
Keith starts considering he might be cursed. They meet Prince Dalek again, how fortunate for Lance, this time on another planet. Apparently he's there for 'secret negotiations' that he can't talk about quite yet and dodges every question about it. The only thing he seems to be interested in, Keith notices, and of course he does, is Lance.
"Ah, Lance." He breathes in a soothing voice. His black boots click-clack on the ground as he moves closer. Keith lets out a low growl and suddenly feels a grip on his arm.
"This is not how you deal with things Keith." Shiro mutters in a scolding tone.
The red paladin closes his eyes, counts to ten and lets out a big sigh. He can do this. He can do this. He can do this. Shiro releases him and he relaxes trying to concentrate on something else, anything else.
"Lance really has a big catch this time!" Hunk remarks.
"Our boy is growing up." Pidge gushes, pretending to wipe a tear off her eye.
Keith closes his eyes again. Maybe if he doesn't look he won't care. Yeah. He'll be fine.
Except for the fact that he can still hear what they're saying.
"So... Did you miss me? 'Cause I couldn't quite forget about our dance..."
Lance's laugh is soft and melodic and Keith has to reach out and steady himself against the wall to keep his weak knees from giving out.
"How could I forget, dear prince?" Keith hears a soft smacking sound and he's pretty sure Lance has bent over to kiss the prince's hand like a gentleman would do. He hums quietly, screwing his eyes shut tightly.
"Oh, good. I thought you were already sick of me." The prince hums pleasantly.
"I may by homesick but I am also lovesick." Lance indulges.
"How many of those does he have!?" Keith spats angrily, opening his eyes. Everybody turns to look at him, including Lance.
Shiro's hand comes up to cover his face, clearly miffed. He knows things are not gonna go well for his brother.
"What do you mean?" Hunk blinks.
"T-The pick-up lines! Whatever! Does he ever stop?"
"Well... I think he used to have a journal once about th-" Hunk begins but gets interrupted by a clapping sound.
"Ah! I was right! Ehh... I've even said it once... Jealousy, thy name is Keith." Lance mocks. Keith frowns at the blue paladin, cheeks flushing.
"Excuse him prince, I know what this might be about. You see... I think my fellow paladin wanted to ask you out as well and he's now a liiiittle bit upset." Lance continues, his attention back on the prince.
"No, nO It's not that! I was just... Oh never mind." Keith puts his hands in his hair. If he could disappear he would. He made a fool out of himself in front of Lance. Scoffing loudly, he stomps into the ship, ignoring the rest of his team calling him out loud.
5.
Whenever Keith feels frustrated, he hits the training deck. He doesn't know how many hours have passed since what had happened, he just wants to forget ever raging at Lance, or at his teammates. So he fights the droid as hard as he can. Everybody knows that he's an adrenaline junkie, so it doesn't surprise him when he sees Lance standing at the door.
"I knew I would find you here." He says entering the room.
"End training sequence." Keith pants, wiping some sweat off his forehead. Lance smiles sweetly at him, and Keith feels his heart soar. He can't wrap his head around the effect this boy has on him.
"Let's talk a little shall we?" Lance asks, sitting on the floor. Keith copies his movement, sitting next to him, so close their knees are almost touching.
"I think I know what you want to talk about." Keith says quietly.
Lance furrows his brows. "Do you?"
"Yeah. About before. With the prince. I was so... I was out of line. And I'm deeply sorry. I hope my little screw up didn't ruin your date." Keith is fully aware of how bitterly that last word rolls off his tongue, as if he was drinking raw lemon juice.
"Uh? No, no you didn't. But he was... concerned about you. And so is everybody else. Shiro sent me here to talk to you. He said I was 'the best person' to talk to you right now." He quoted with his fingers.
"Of course he did." Keith mutters through his teeth.
"What's wrong, man? Do you not want to talk to m-"
"No! I mean- No. It's not that. I'm actually... really happy to talk to you." He chided, brushing some hairlocks out of his face.
"What's the matter then? You've been acting really weird lately."
Yeah because I'm in love with you and I don't know what do with myself, he wants to say.
"Are you and the prince officially an item?" Keith asks, before he can bite his tongue to stop himself.
"No...? Keith you do realize keeping a relationship with him would have been impossible right? How could we contact each other? It could take months, years! What if he ages differently than we do? We agreed to stay friends and hang out if we happen to see each other again."
Keith lets out a sigh of relief and turns himself to look Lance right in the eyes. Lance flashes him another smile and he's positively glowing. He's a magnet, and he wants to be pulled in, he's an ocean, and he wants to drown in him. He could just stay there staring at that face forever without even blinking. Lance on the other hand, has different plans.
"You okay there?" Lance questions, waving his hand in front of Keith's face.
"Yeah, yeah. I- I am! What makes you think I'm not?" Keith blurts out, immediately swallowing the lump in his throat.
"Well, first, you look like you've seen a ghost, second you still haven't told me the reason you were so upset."
Oh, dang. Keith thinks. The red paladin has no idea how to cover himself. He can't tell Lance the truth that's for sure. He gotta think of something, and fast.
"I... I was upset because...becauseIwanttolearnsomepickuplin-"
"Woah, woah buddy slow down! Slower... say it.. slower."
"I- I really like your pick-up lines." Well that wasn't a lie. He did like his pick-up lines. If used on himself. "And I wanted to... uh..." USE THEM ON ME YOU LOOK ADORABLE WHILE YOU SAY THEM, his brain screams. "... learn a few as well."
Lance's eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas. "You want me... to teach you some pick-up lines? Is that it?"
"Yeah...?" No.
"You could have just said so! It's not a big deal! Of course I'll help you!" He exclaims. He takes Keith's hands in his, looking directly into his eyes. Keith feels like he's about to faint. This is a dream, he thinks. I must be dreaming.
"Do you have any preference?"
Keith is too focused on the warmth of Lance's hands to function. He manages to choke out an answer but regrets it instantly.
"Which pick-up lines would you use on me?" He babbles. He's pretty sure he's lost the ability to breathe.
Lance knit his brows together, slightly opening his mouth. "On you?"
"Yeah. On me." How did I end up in this?
"I have the perfect one!" Lance proclaims, snapping his fingers. He clears his throat, as if he's preparing himself to deliver a big speech. "I better use my ice blast... because my heart's on fire."
Keith freezes. For a few seconds he forgets how to speak. The only thing in his mind is Lance's words and the feeling of his skin on his. He feels the warmth in his cheeks and he knows he's as red as his lion. How can Lance be so adorable?
"Get it? Because I have the ice power and you have the fire power!" Lance giggles, and Keith could die happily, right there right now, from sound of his voice.
"You... made a pick-up line for me?" Keith's voice trembles, as he realizes he has never let go of Lance's hands.
It's the blue paladin's turn to blush slightly, as he slowly lets go of Keith's grasp. "No! It just happens to fit you." He coughs, and suddenly the air in the rooms feels heavy.
Lance stands up immediately, rushing towards the door, leaving Keith laying on the ground breathless.
+1.
"You can do this. You can do this." Keith tells himself. He has spent several days practising pick-up lines, gently suggested by Hunk, who knows by heart some of Lance's favorites.
So when he finds Lance alone in the hall of the ship, he knows that is the right moment. He feels as if he's gonna explode if he doesn't do so.
"Hey Lance." Keith approaches him with a small wave. He barely raises his gaze towards his teammate, afraid the brightness of his eyes will blind him.
"Oh, hey Keith! 'Sup?"
"Do you... Do you..." He swallows. Every nerve in his body is tense and he doesn't know if he'll make it through. He fidgets, shifting his weight and ringing his hands together.
"Yes?"
Keith bites his bottom lip. This is really going nowhere. He decides to rely on the thing he has going for him. His instincts.
"You know what? Forget it. I have a crush on you. You're the one who sets my heart on fire!" he blurts out. Lance freezes on the spot. "I have no idea how to use your pick-up lines alright! I tried, I practised! I'll never be as good as you, or good enough to impress you like you do with the other people. So here's a piece of my mind. My inebriated-by-thoughts-of-you mind. You're just so lovely and genuine and... What am I even saying?" Keith rambles. He doesn't know how he has managed to let all of that out, but it does feel good.
Lance gapes at him, arms dropping to the sides of his torso. He chuckles softly and steps closer to the red paladin. "You say you're bad with pick-up lines and yet you managed to one-up me. A full love confession. From Keith Kogane, the guy who could reach the stars."
Keith huffs, thinking Lance is just teasing him. "I knew this was a bad idea." He wants to scream. Had he just ruined all of his opportunities with Lance?
"Oh no!" Lance affirms. "It was... purrfect."
Keith sighs, but the smile creeping across his face betrays him. "Stop being so adorable I don't think my heart can take it."
Lance lets out a gentle laugh and leans in closer, speaking to him in a low, husky voice. "Now that I know how you really feel about my pick-up lines I'm never stop using them. I think I'm gonna make up more. Just for you."
"I'm fine with that." Keith whispers.