Keith was no stranger to wounds, but he had never hurt the way he hurt now. There was an ache in his chest; a hole so large that he felt like he could fit the entire universe inside of it. It didn't hurt like a flesh wound, it hurt in a way that made him feel like his bones were slowly splintering under the weight of it and soon–well, soon he wouldn't be able to withstand it anymore.

Since he had come back, he had done his best to take back his place as the head of Voltron. The team accepted him back with unwavering loyalty and it meant a lot to him. Slowly he sought out each person on the team to set things right with them and to make amends for the way he had left. Well, every person except one.

He hadn't yet been able to bring himself to face Lance. In fact, he had been going out of his way to avoid seeing Lance; going so far as to eat on his own, hours after dinner, so he wouldn't have to sit next to him at the table.

When it came to Lance, the hole in his chest yawned open, swallowing him whole. He couldn't even look at Lance without feeling like he had lost the ability to breathe. It hurt in a way he never could have imagined, watching Lance just exist and having to keep his distance.

Lance would do the tiniest of things–make a silly offhand comment or smile at literally anything–and Keith would be overwhelmed with love for the boy. Anything and everything Lance did filled Keith with the urge to scream out just how much he loved the boy. But he couldn't. So instead, he avoided Lance.

Everyone except Lance had tried to talk to him about it; Pidge the most. She was insistent that they just needed to talk and things would be better, but Keith was adamant that he could not do that. Because he couldn't talk to Lance, not without spilling his secret and ruining things between them for good. He just needed time.

Time to figure out how to live with his feelings. That's it.

And yet, he had his doubts. He had nothing but time–two years of it!–while traveling with his mom and Cosmo and that had done nothing to dull his love for Lance. In fact, that was when the ache in his chest had really begun. The distance between them got under his skin, making him feel like he was being pulled in a million directions, reaching, always reaching for wherever Lance was. There are few things he wouldn't have given in those two years to have Lance back, making snide remarks at him.

"Hey man," Lance's voice was soft in the evening air. Keith swallowed, steeling himself against the emotions filling his chest. "Can we talk?"

"Sure, what's up?" He knew he couldn't turn Lance away, and he didn't want to. His heart had been yearning for Lance for so long, he'd forgotten what it's like to want anything else. Every time he saw Lance laughing, he wished he were the cause. When he saw Lance's eyes light up, he wished more than anything else that it were directed at him.

But for Lance's own good, he had to get these feelings under control. He was doing well for a long time–he had figured out how to be friends with Lance and be okay with that. But then, when things got real and they faced death on the regular and Keith had to accept the possibility that he might lose Lance, well, that's when he stopped having any control.

"I just…" Lance stopped next to him but didn't look at him. Instead he rubbed the back of his head, "Listen man, I just wanted you to know that–that I really missed you while you were gone. And I'm really glad you're back."

For a moment, Keith was sure his heart had split open. He reached a hand up to touch his chest just to be sure. The emotions flowing through him were so strong he felt like they were a tidal wave that was going to pull him out to sea. If he didn't get it under control soon, there would be no way for him to control what he said next. His throat felt raw as he responded, the tiniest glimpse of the truth. "I missed you too, Lance."

He expected Lance to retort with something like 'could've fooled me', but he didn't. Instead he turned to meet Keith's gaze directly, his expression vulnerable. "Don't leave again, okay? I can't–I can't take being away from you like that. I was worried sick. Every day, wondering–"

The tidal wave of emotions knocked Keith off his feet and took control. He didn't even register what he was doing as he grabbed Lance's face and pulled him into a fierce kiss.

He couldn't explain how he felt as their lips met. Like he was living his wildest daydream? But when Lance responded by snaking a hand into his hair and pulling his face even closer, he was absolutely certain he had died and gone to heaven.

"Keith," They broke apart for air and Lance was looking at him with this stupid, dopey grin on his face. The overwhelming feeling of love filled Keith again. He didn't have anything left in him but love, he couldn't even fear what Lance's response was going to be. "Is that what all this has been about?"

"I–" Keith wanted to say no. That he, the leader of Voltron, savior of the universe, was more in control and hadn't been held hostage to his feelings for years. But he couldn't lie. "Yeah."

"Why didn't you just tell me?"

"What was I supposed to say, Lance?"

"Oh, I don't know," Lance broke out in his infamous smile, lowering his voice to mimic Keith, "you could've said something like: 'Oh Lance, you're so handsome, and such a skilled sharpshooter! I'm so lucky to be by your side!'"

"I do not sound like that," Keith retorted, but he, too, was smiling.

"Oh, what about: 'Lance, when I look in your gorgeous eyes, I just get completely lost.'?"

"Definitely not."

"Or–"

"How about this?" Keith cut him off and Lance sobered up for a moment, meeting his gaze. "Lance, I love you. And I should've said it ages ago because it's been true for a long, long time."

"Y-yeah," Lance was clearly getting choked up at the words and it was probably the cutest thing Keith has ever seen in his life. "That works too."

"I'm sorry I left the way I did. The truth," the whole truth. The one he hadn't said to anyone and wasn't planning on ever saying to anyone, "is that I couldn't handle being around you. There were so many things I wanted and didn't think I could have. If I didn't get my feelings under control, we were going to lose the ability to form Voltron and I couldn't risk that. So I left to try and get a grip."

"And did you?"

A wry smile, "Obviously not."

"Why couldn't you just tell me? Like, I get it man, you're not much of a feelings guy and you're definitely not much of a talker, but even you have to appreciate that sometimes a conversation just has to be had."

"I mean, sure," Keith turned to look at the sky again, "But I could already see how it was going to play out. I confess, you say you love Allura and I leave anyways to try and get those emotions under control. Either way I left."

"Or," Lance placed a hand on his shoulder. Keith flashed back to all the times Lance had done this. All the times Lance had pulled him out of his crazy ideas or reckless paths. If there was one person he could always count on to fix things–to make him feel better, it was Lance. "You would confess to me and I would throw myself at you, saying that I've waited ages to hear you say that and we would, you know, ride off into the sunset or whatever."

"Funny," Keith says, "Because I'm pretty sure I already confessed and none of that happened."

"Well, I guess you'll just have to say it again!"

Keith choked, turning to look incredulously at Lance beside him. "What? No way!"

"Keith, come on! We have to do this right!"

"It's your fault that it wasn't done right the first time! I did my part!"

It took a moment for Keith to realize that the hole in his chest was gone. Their bickering, their proximity, his truth, all of it had done the impossible–it had made him complete again. He no longer ached with an unreciprocated love (even if Lance hadn't said it back yet). Instead, he felt–finally–like he fit in his own skin. For the first time in years he felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be, doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing.

Lance had turned away in an overdramatic pout, his lower lip jutting out as he crossed his arms over his chest. Keith sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Fine," he mumbled. Lance spun around, the award winning smile back on his face and Keith took a deep breath, steeling himself to confess his love for a second time. Honestly, only Lance could make him do something like this. "Lance, I love you."

"Oh, Keith," Lance leant back dramatically, an arm delicately covering his eyes. Keith had a split second where he considered strapping Lance to the nearest ship and shooting him out into space. Instead, Lance laughed and straightened up. He placed a hand on Keith's cheek, his thumb tracing the scar he had gotten from clone Shiro's sword. Their eyes locked. "I love you, too." Lance said seriously, his voice a soft whisper, "And I also should have told you ages ago."

The gentle hand on his cheek pulled him forward until their lips met again. Keith took a moment to thank whatever higher power there was in the universe for this moment. He never, ever would have thought he would be here, now, with his feelings not only out in the open, but returned.

"And I have been waiting forever to hear that, you know." Lance whispered into the space between them. "I mean, you've had plenty of chances to confess before now."

"Oh, well excuse me for missing them." Keith shoved Lance and they both laughed. "At least I confessed first. That means I win."

Keith tucked his hands into the pockets of his jacket and started to walk inside, a smug smile on his face.

"Hey, no fair!" Lance ran after him, catching up to him in a few strides. They bumped shoulders as they fell in step with each other.

For the first night in what had to be years, Keith felt like he was ready to go to sleep. There were no more hidden feelings eating away at him. No more analyzing every situation, convincing himself to give up hope on Lance. Nothing to keep him awake until the early hours of the morning.

"So," Lance broke him out of his thought, "We're really doing this then? The whole thing?"

"Yeah," Keith said, and his heart swelled, "We really are."

"Great!" They stopped where the hallway split. Lance's room was to the left, Keith's to the right. "I'll just go change and meet you in your room. Or would you prefer my room?" Keith raised an eyebrow at him. "What? You've made me wait this long, I'm not waiting any longer. I demand cuddles."

"My room," Keith said, and he could feel the stupid grin on his face as he replied.

Lance leaned in and planted a quick kiss on his lips before taking off down the hallway, "See you in a few!"

Keith took a deep breath as he walked back to his room, the smile still on his lips. For the first time, the future felt possible. It felt like something he could and should look forward to. For the first time, he wouldn't be going back to a room filled with his daydreams. Instead he would be sharing it with the love of his life and he absolutely couldn't wait.