can't blame gravity for falling
Chapter 1
"I like you!"
Keith stared. Lance was blushing so hard that his ears had turned red.
"You..." Keith pointed a finger from Lance to himself. "Like-like me?"
Lance looked away with a blush and small nod.
Keith was flabbergasted.
"...Why?"
Lance glanced up quickly before fidgeting with his fingers. "B-because."
"Because...?"
"...because."
Keith crossed his arms with a huff. "That explains nothing."
"Explains-!" Lance gaped, then turned away with a huff. "That's not the point here, Mullet! What's your answer?"
"My answer?" Keith asked with a perplexed expression. "What answer? What was the question?"
Lance slapped a hand against his forehead.
"Keith, I just told you I liked you." Lance slowly enunciated, as if to a kid.
"...Yeah?" Keith carefully answered, not knowing where this was going.
"You're supposed to answer with a 'I like you too' or 'I don't like you'!" Lance huffed, crossing his arms and muttering. "Stupid Mullet."
"...Oh."
For a few seconds, Lance remained quiet, looking at Keith expectantly, until Keith realized that he was waiting for an answer.
"Oh! Um. Lance -" Keith began, not knowing how to put this. "I like you -"
Lance's eyes began to light up, a smile beginning to form -
"- but not the way you want."
Lance's face froze in a pained grimace. Keith paused, never seeing an expression like that before on Lance.
When Keith remained quiet, guiltily checking his face, Lance motioned for Keith to continue.
"Go on," Lance quietly murmured, "You should finish."
"...Okay. Well. Uh," Keith looked around, looking for anything other than Lance's face as he tried to figure out what he was feeling. "I've never thought of you other than a good friend?"
Keith peered at Lance, who was still frozen in place. Lance nodded with a smile, but Keith couldn't help but wince at the fakeness of it.
"I mean, once you stop trying to make everything a competition, you're a really cool guy that I like to hang out with. And like, I'll admit that I have a lot of fun when I'm with you. But," Keith looked away to the floor, kicking a non-existent scruff on the floor, glancing up periodically at Lance. "We're paladins of Voltron. We have a universe to save, so..."
Keith looked up into Lance's eyes, serious. "I'm not interested right now. Missions come first."
Lance looked shattered, and Keith couldn't help feeling guilty.
"I'm sorry, Lance," Keith muttered with a hesitant pat to Lance's shoulders. "I'll - I'll let you... be alone for a bit."
A few hours later, Keith was leaving the training room when he heard running feet coming towards him. He turned and saw Lance, with slightly puffy eyes, and immediately turned the other direction.
"Keith, wait!" Lance called, and Keith slowed to a stop and turned, feeling guilty and awkward to see the person he rejected again.
"Yes?" He said curtly.
Lance stopped and leaned on his knees, panting.
"You... said..." He panted, pointing a finger at Keith. "You... like to... hang out with me."
Lance caught his breath and straightened. "You think I'm cool."
"...I did say that." Keith agreed, still feeling awkward.
"You said," Lance paused to take another calming breath. "That you're not interested yet, and that the mission comes first."
Keith nodded, wondering where he was going.
"Word for word, 'not interested yet'." Lance emphasized with finger quotation marks.
Keith blinked. "Yes...?"
Lance smirked.
"So I still have a chance, Mulllet!" He pointed a finger in Keith's face confidently. "Until the day you say you don't like me, or tell me you don't feel anything back, I'm going to woo you!"
Keith stared in surprise, mouth opening of its own volition.
"I'll show you Mullet!" Lance paused, just a hint of his vulnerability showing, but shook it off. "I'll show you why you should fall in love with me, mission or no mission!"
From that day on, at times when Keith would least expect it, Lance would suddenly pop in a pickup line or a request for a date in everyday conversation.
"Please pass the salt." Keith said to no one in particular, not looking up from his plate.
"I'll pass the salt if I can get a date." Lance said in the same tone.
There were several clatters of sporks hitting the table as Keith jerked up to see the salt shaker in Lance's hand.
"...Nevermind." Keith muttered, going back to his plate.
Lance wordlessly passed Keith the salt, ignoring the gaping mouths of their team.
"See my shirt? It's made of boyfriend material!"
"...It's the same shirt as always?"
"...We'll work on it."
"Lance, the rent for the property on the Balmera is seventy five GAC."
"I should charge you rent, you spend so much time in my mind."
"Aww, that's a good one, Lance."
"SHIRO! Lance flirted with Keith again, tell him no flirting on game nights!"
"Lance, please don't flirt during game nights."
"But Space-Dad!"
"It's your turn to roll, Lance."
"Oh yeah. Thanks Hunk."
"Keith, we need your firepower!"
"Coming Shiro!"
"Nice work melting the ice and my heart, muffin!"
""Lance!""
"Just you wait, Keith! I'm going to sweep the bot - and you, of course - right off its feet!"
The bot came into existence with a bright flash, positioning itself for a microsecond before running towards Lance. Startled, Lance immediately started backing up for distance, swerving away from each punch from the bot.
Keith watched with crossed arms, noting that Lance's footwork had become much better over the past week.
Lance suddenly ducked down under another punch, seeing an opening for the leg sweeping maneuver he had practiced - he placed his hands on the ground to swing his legs -
Ow.
"Stop training sequence!" Keith's voice echoed in the training room.
Lance moaned in pain. Keith ran to Lance, leaning in to see the swelling bump on his head. Carefully, he probed the area for more bumps, ignoring the blue eyes staring into his face.
"You wanted to cradle me in your arms again?" Lance ground out, forcing a pained smile as he peered up through a grimace. "Could have asked. I would have totally - ow!"
"That doesn't look too good," Keith muttered to himself.
"Aww, you do care!"
"...Lance," Keith sighed exasperatedly, ignoring the pout on Lance's face. "How many fingers am I holding?"
"Can I just stare into your starry eyes and - okay, okay!" Lance squinted at the wavering fingers. "... three?"
"Coran! I think Lance has a concussion!"
"Can you pass the salt, honey buns?" Lance cooed at the dining table.
Keith sighed and handed Lance the salt shaker without another word.
"Thank you honey buns~" Lance said with a wink.
The two ignored the now familiar money changing hands that went on around the table and continued to eat.
After several weeks of Lance constantly dropping date requests and pick up lines, everyone began to take it as something part of the normal routine.
Keith didn't really know what to feel about it, to be perfectly honest.
He was flattered that Lance liked him, but... he still thought being in a relationship was going to be in the way of being a paladin.
Although, the impromptu hugs and pats on the shoulders were pretty nice...
Keith rolled over in bed, trying to erase the blue eyes that twinkled in his dreams.
A/N - hmu on tumblr at newandold :)
