Keith was confused. Lance had spent the last few weeks sticking close to him whenever the Galra would give Voltron a break and the paladins would have free time, casually joking around. The now black paladin had had a hard time focusing on missions after Shiro's disappearance and Lance had helped him a lot to get over his distress and his sorrow.

But again, Lance had been spending a huge amount of time with Keith, and if it didn't bother the black paladin – actually he was pretty pleased by the situation -, something seemed off about his friend. Lance's jokes sounded forced most of the time, as if he was trying to clear his mind from unpleasant ideas that kept coming back to him.

Thus, Keith had asked the new red paladin – it was still so weird to think of someone else as the red paladin – to join him after the mission. On hindsight, maybe throwing a "We have to talk" before stepping out had been a bad idea, but it was now too late to change it anyway.

When Lance arrived in front of Keith's door, he was almost shaking and his face was paler than usual. It took a lot to make him stress, but Keith had succeeded with only four words, a record.

Lance adjusted his jacket one more time before knocking on the door – knock, knock, knock. He waited ten ticks, which turned into thirty, and then into two doboshes. What was Keith doing?! The blue – red, now he was the red one, which still felt strange… almost wrong – paladin swallowed and wiped his hands on his thighs. He knocked again on the door, his nervousness slowly turning into irritation.

"Keith? Keiiith? What are you doing in there? Are you even in your room? Keith, I swear that if you've called me here for nothing, I'm gonna—"

"What are you gonna do?" Keith laughed, standing right behind Lance in the corridor.

His sudden appearance made Lance jump, and he turned around quickly, taking a ridiculous ninja pose that made Keith laugh even louder.

"I take it you're gonna try to ninja-fight me, then," the leader joked, unfolding his arms to rest one of his hands on his hips.

"Don't underestimate my ninja skills!" the other screamed, his voice a little too high to sound normal.

Lance cleared his throat and crossed his arms on his chest, standing in front of Keith, which made the black-haired one panic a bit. It wasn't like Lance to seem so poorly confident and so closed off, and Keith felt a little taken aback.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Lance asked in a tone that he wanted to sound nonchalant.

He stepped back to lean against the door and Keith subconsciously stepped forward.

The discrete noise of footsteps could be heard, coming closer to them in the corridor, and Pidge appeared in the awkward, silent atmosphere, a glowing metal box engraved with Altean symbols in her hands. She barely raised her head to look at the two paladins, but when she walked behind Keith, she gave him a brief pat on the back. When she walked away, Pidge's lips were curved into a bright, sneaky grin.

Keith waited a few more ticks to be sure that the girl was gone, and then he moved closer to Lance. He couldn't help the smile that drew on his lips when he saw Lance's body stiffen due to the change of proximity between them. Keith enjoyed the feeling a bit longer, watching Lance's breathing becoming more irregular, and when he could see the red paladin's heartbeat pulsing under the thin skin of his neck, Keith finally put his hand on the scanner beside the door.

The door opened up and Lance almost fell on his back. His eyes were locked on Keith and he looked like someone who had forgotten how to breathe. When he finally gathered his thoughts, Lance defensively walked to a corner of the room and looked around.

To say the least, Keith's room was sparse. There was barely anything other than his bed, save for the coat-hooks on which Keith usually hung his jacket. The walls were plain white, without a single photo or poster pinned to them, and there was absolutely nothing left forgotten on the floor. Being able to focus on the room enabled the tension in Lance's shoulders to relax, and the feeling of relief which started filling the boy was agreeable.

"Um… So… I have the feeling that you're hiding something," Keith declared.

Lance froze, and the tension came back tenfold in his shoulders and his back. Keith's voice was a minutely distant, and to Lance it sounded like Keith was trying to act like Shiro would have, which was very disturbing. The red paladin shot his leader a defiant glare and Keith repressed the need to run his hand on his face. He hadn't wanted to sound so aloof, but he just didn't know how to deal with people, even when that's what he wanted more than anything else.

And now, Lance was surely going to tell him to fuck off and leave the room.

"Why would I hide something?" the red paladin said on the defensive.

Keith raised one brow, his surprise showing on his face. If Lance hadn't already gone away, it could only mean that he actually wanted to talk, which was a good thing.

"I don't know, you tell me?" Keith replied, sitting down on the edge of his bed in an attempt to make Lance feel more at ease. This time, Keith was really trying his hardest to be useful, and he was carefully watching every single one of his moves and every one of Lance's reactions.

Lance stared at his friend for a moment that seemed to last an eternity, then he let out a long sigh of resignation.

"I'm just lost," the boy admitted, unfolding his arms to put his hands into his pockets and staring at the floor. "Let's say that I… used to believe something and it turns out that I'm not sure anymore of what's true or not… I just… don't even know who I am anymore."

He looked exhausted and so about to give up on everything, that Keith jumped to his feet without even realising, ready to… ready to what? He didn't even know himself, but Lance had noticed his behaviour, so Keith had to find an excuse really quick. He cleared his throat and pretended to search something under his bed. He found the fabric that he used to wrap around the blade of his knife and took it into his hands.

"I think I can understand the feeling," the black-haired one said after a while, remembering his trial with the Blade of Marmora.

Lance was gazing at him, waiting for Keith to go on, but if the latter felt that he needed to add something, he was not able to express his feelings. Eventually, Lance looked away, his thin eyebrows digging a hurtful gap on his forehead.

"I should go," the sharpshooter declared when he was bored of waiting. "Thanks for the talk."

He forced a smile and immediately turned around, heading for the exit. The door had begun to open when Keith's voice broke the silence, urging.

"Lance, don't go through that door!"

Lance froze again, the tiniest hint of a smile on the corner of his lips. Keith was stealing his line. Regardless, Lance wasn't in the mood anymore.

"Is it an order from my leader?" he asked, still staring at the floor, his voice low and heavy with sorrow.

"No. It's a request from your friend. Please, Lance, that's enough secrets, you're not fooling me." Keith closed his eyes and clenched his fists, already regretting the consequences that the phrase he was going to pronounce could have. "I can't let you go."

The doors closed slowly and Keith held his breath until he opened his eyelids again. Lance was still there, his back to him, his hand pressed on the door, and Keith guessed that he was about to cry.

"Lance?"

His voice was soft, full of worry.

Dammit.

"Man, you're not making things easy for me," the sharpshooter whispered, still avoiding any eye contact.

Keith swallowed, staring at his friend without being able to do or to say anything. He wanted to help him so badly, but he couldn't come up with anything to say. So Keith did what he did best: he followed his instinct.

He joined the former blue paladin in a few steps and he brushed his fears off to help his friend. Keith put his hand on the other boy's shoulder to get his attention, squeezing it lightly to remind him that he was right there with him, and when he felt Lance's last barriers breaking down, Keith positioned himself between the door and Lance's body.

The two paladins locked eyes and Lance lost his train of thought.

"Trust me."

Keith hesitantly put his arms around Lance, hugging him tight. It was awkward, but it felt like home, and they both gradually warmed up to the touch. Finally, Lance hugged the other back, clenching his fists onto Keith's shirt and hiding his face in his shoulder.

"I do," the sharpshooter whispered, shaking.

They stayed in the same position a few doboshes before Keith led the other to his bed, dragging him by the arm. He sat Lance on one side and sat down on the other side, facing him.

"You know," Keith began, trying to sound casual and light-hearted. "I've been through that phase twice, actually." He felt that opening up to Lance was the best way to get him to do the same, and it seemed to work, as Lance raised his head to look at him. "The first time was after the Blade of Marmora… You know, being part alien and all… And the second time, well…"

Keith was not smiling anymore, he was playing with the handle of his knife, unsure of how to express his thoughts, struggling against the voice in his head which was screaming to shut up because Lance was going to reject him. But why would he? He had almost been the only one who didn't care at all about him being part Galra, and it was a bigger deal than anything else Keith could think of in the 'being different' category.

"I can't say that it made me question my identity, but it still made me worry about the way people see me," the black-haired one eluded with a shrug.

Even without looking at him, he could feel that Lance's full attention was on him.

"What do you mean, the way people see you? As far as I know, you've always been worshipped back then at Galaxy Garrison. Even now, you're the best pilot and the best fighter of us all," the red paladin rambled, a huge frown on his face. "I'll fight anyone who judges you because of your heritage."

His words left Keith speechless for a short time. Suddenly, he shook his head, breaking the spell, and he felt the need to tell the truth. THe black paladin sucked in a breath and closed his eyes.

"Lance, I'm gay," Keith blurted, gritting his teeth immediately after the words had left his lips. "You're like the only one not to have figured out. Pidge guessed on day one, Hunk just doesn't care and I think Alteans are used to it."

Lance remained silent and Keith hated it, why did he have to say it out loud?! He would never be able to face his friend again if he rejected him.

"Lance, please, say someth—"

"Why haven't you told me before?!" the sharpshooter said calmly, almost a whisper, his furrowed eyebrows marking tiny wrinkles into his skin.

He stared at Keith for several ticks before he burst out laughing. It was a nervous, loud, uncontrollable laugh which left tears in the corner of the paladin's eyes, and the confused look in Keith's eyes was definitely not helping.

"I'm not making fun of you", Lance assured, wiping the tears off his face with the sleeve of his jacket. "It's just that…" He paused and his face dropped to get back to the gloomy air he had when he had entered the room. "I'm not sure of anything anymore," the red paladin concluded, looking back to the blanket he was sitting on.

He shot a fleeting glance at Keith, stirring nervously, then he took in a deep breath, staring resolutely at a spot on the wall, right beside Keith's head.

"I mean… I've always been so sure that I was attracted to girls... I mean, just girls. And now…"

He slowly raised his gaze to meet Keith's eyes, ready to face judgment or reproach in his eyes - after all, Lance had always acted as a self-confident huge flirt. Instead, all that the red paladin saw was a crooked smile that Keith couldn't manage to hide.

"Have you got a crush on some alien guy?" the new leader questioned playfully, successfully hiding the acid burn which was consuming his stomach from the inside. But he was not jealous. That was Lance, he knew that he had always been like that, falling for any creature -now Keith knew it wasn't only for female ones- he met.

"Um, kinda," Lance admitted with a shrug, looking away, a slight blush colouring his cheeks before his serious, tortured air painted his face again. "But I don't know, and…" he took a deep breath "what if… I mean, I don't know if he likes me back, but what if he does and I think that I love him except I'm just fooling myself and I end up finding out that it was just an idea and I'm straight and I end up hurting him?"

Regardless of how sad Lance looked, Keith was amazed by his ability to say so many things in a time so short, without even having to stop to breathe.

"You seem to really care about that guy," the black paladin finally stated with a discreet smile. He caught the glimpse of a joyless smile on Lance's lips and felt the need to comfort him despite his mixed feelings. Nevertheless, once again, Keith couldn't think of anything to say.

He stared at his friend in the awkward ambient silence, and they both seemed to be lost in their thoughts. The Castle of Lions was quiet, or maybe Keith's room was really well insulated, because no noise could be heard, save for the two men's calm breathing. To Keith's surprise, having Lance with him wasn't as weird as it could have been. It was actually pretty nice, even if the sharpshooter was having a serious brainstorming at that moment.

Keith was getting used to the situation when Lance's voice suddenly broke the silence.

"Keith. Kiss me."

The swordfighter startled and his eyes went round. His eyes locked on Lance. Keith's mind must have been tricking him, Lance couldn't have said those exact words. "Um, what?!"

"I mean," Lance continued, moving his hands excessively while talking. "If I want to know whether I'm attracted to guys, it's the best way to do so. I could have asked Hunk, but he's like my brother, I've known him since forever, and it would just be weird. And I'm definitely not asking Coran!" he added with a serious scowl.

Keith couldn't help but laugh slightly at all the drama Lance was making, he gazed at him until the sharpshooter had finished his speech, but the latter seemed like he still had more to explain.

"And, well, you said that you're gay, so maybe it'll help me to find out better than with a straight guy, I don't know! I don't know how it works!"

"Lance, calm down," the black paladin advised with a smirk which quickly got a shy, almost anxious. "It's okay. If you think that it can help you, I'll do it."

"Wait, really?" Lance exclaimed, surprised. Even he wasn't convinced by his own arguments.

Keith nodded slowly, staring at his friend to judge his reaction. To be fair, he would never have accepted if anyone other than Lance had asked him. Keith had been aware of his feelings towards the sharpshooter for quite a long time -a few months after the beginning of their intergalactic journey-, but he would never have thought he'd have the opportunity to actually act on it.

Keith moved cautiously closer to Lance, carefully watching his moves and still discreetly gauging Lance's reactions. The black paladin was trying to focus on every detail in order to avoid panicking, and he knew that the only solution was to keep his mind busy analysing everything.

He placed his hand flat on the bed, exactly six centimeters away from Lance's leg, and used it to keep his balance. It was far from being the most comfortable position ever, but Keith was too nervous to think straight.

"Are you really sure?" Keith asked Lance in a tone so serious that he could have asked him if he was intending to leave Voltron in the same voice.

He saw Lance swallow, and the latter slowly nodded, not able to speak anymore. Without even thinking about it, Keith put his free hand on Lance's shoulder and pulled him closer. He studied the red paladin's face: his -flawless- caramel skin, the subtle shadow that his eyelashes drew on his eyelids, the warm color that spread on his cheeks, and then Keith's eyes were drawn by the other's lips.

Lance could barely hear anything over the sound of his blood pulsing through his veins. He felt the warmth of Keith's hand on his shoulder, near -too close to- his collarbone, and when Keith's fingers pressed his skin, Lance could have sworn that his heart missed a beat. He felt Keith's breath on his skin one tick before their lips met, and the golden-skinned boy was surprised by how warm the other boy's lips were. He held his hand to grab Keith's back, but his fingers closed into the void in surprise when Keith pulled back.

Keith opened his eyes to peer at Lance's reaction, and a weird knot formed in his stomach. Lance's eyelids remained closed and a line appeared between his eyebrows. Keith was sure that he had screwed up again, he was sure that Lance was just going to nod and leave without a word. The black paladin felt his heart break just at the thought.

Lance clenched his teeth and suddenly he let out a short laugh. Keith started when his eyes met two ocean blue orbs. Lance was gazing at him, his eyes half-lidded, a slight smirk twisting the corner of his lips, and it was Keith's heart's turn to stop. How could someone take one's breath away so easily?

"Keith," the sharpshooter began. His voice sounded a bit teasing to the other's ears, almost seductive. "I said 'kiss me', not 'give me a peck'."

At these words, Keith's brain stopped working for a solid dobosh. When he was finally able to think again, the black paladin decided not to speak, well aware of the fact that he couldn't trust his voice anymore. A thin grin spread on his mouth, and Keith brushed off all the mental limits he had always imposed himself. He positioned himself better on the bed, facing Lance, and sat closer, taking the time to enjoy the view.

Again, Keith hushed the voice that kept screaming in the back of his mind, and focused on Lance. He observed the body language of his mate -Lance was observing him with a challenging half-smile, one of his hands placed behind him, the other resting on his lap. The only details that betrayed Lance's slight nervousness were the tension the other could see in his muscles, and the way his fingers were bent into his palm.

Their eyes met for a brief tick and Keith's gaze slid down Lance's face.

Keith leant in, looking alternately at the other's eyes and lips, and Lance didn't avert his gaze. Keith moved closer to the other boy, his chest only a few centimeters away from the Lance's, and he heard Lance's breathing accelerating. He could feel the heat radiating from his body and the air becoming hotter in the small space between the two of them.

Only a few centimeters away from Lance's lips, Keith flashed a smile and put a tender kiss on Lance's cheek. He stayed like that, his hand in Lance's neck, stroking lightly his soft skin and his thin hair and enjoying the sensation of the red paladin relaxing into his touch.

Lance straightened and Keith, feeling the boy's attention on him, couldn't hold back a laugh. He kissed him again on the cheek, suddenly very aware of the sharpshooter's hand on his hips, and he cracked another smile -woah, was Lance the reason of his numerous smiles?! Well, to be honest, he had always been. With the slowest pace, the swordfighter tilted his head and kissed Lance on the corner of his lips, grinning again when Lance let out an annoyed growl. Finally, Keith glanced one last time at his mate, barely catching a glimpse of his blue eyes overwhelmed by the wide black of his pupils, then his lips joined their match.

What remained of Keith's hesitation at that moment shattered when Lance grabbed firmly the edge of the black paladin's jacket in such a way as to tell him not to leave -never to leave.

Their thoughts melted to the heat until all that their brains could do was focusing on the moment and on the other, tiny details of the scene engraving themselves on the two boys' souls. Lance's fingers twirling Keith's hair and him enjoying its soft, silky touch ; Keith smiling like a fool ; both of them forgetting how to breathe.

The kiss itself didn't last long and ended on their teeth badly clacking together. Lance pulled back with a whimper, covering his mouth with his hand, and Keith stared at him for a few ticks before he burst out laughing uncontrollably. Lance managed to keep the hurt look for a bit longer and then he gave up and laugh too. When he opened his eyelids again, Keith was gazing at him and Lance couldn't repress the grin that grew on his lips. Keith had this fond smile again, the one that could make the sharpshooter's heart melt at any time, even in the middle of a fight.

"So, what's your verdict?" Keith asked, his smile dropping a little as he became more nervous.

Lance let out a short laugh.

"I can't even think straight anymore," he admitted playfully.

Keith's lips curved into a crooked smile which suited him and an amused light lit up in his eyes. "Well, I never have."

"Wait, did you make a joke?! Okay, what's happening today? Am I dead?" Lance asked theatrically, putting his hands on Keith's shoulders and shooting him a frightened look.

"I don't know, can angels die?"

Lance stared at him in silence, astonished. "Did Keith Kogane just flirt with me?" he said slowly, insisting on each word. "Okay, now I'm sure that I've dreamt it all. I'm gonna wake up in my bed and- OW, THAT HURTS!"

He rubbed his hand with a childish look, staring at Keith who had just pinched his skin. "Anyway, your pick up line was lame!" Lance added in a tone which made him sound like a kid.

"It's the one you've used on me three days ago! Hunk has made fun of you the whole day!"

"There's no way I've said something that lame," the sharpshooter argued obnoxiously, raising his chin with a pouty mouth.

Keith didn't reply, instead he moved to rest his back against the wall beside Lance - when did they go from the edge of the bed to the wall, he didn't know. He adjusted his position so that his shoulder was still in contact with Lance's, and stared at the ceiling, his head turned to Lance to show him that he was still listening.

"It's already late," Lance stated after what seemed to be an eternity during which they both remained silent, lost in their thoughts. He got up and Keith followed suit without a word.

"How will I know that I didn't make all of this up?" Lance asked without looking at Keith, already standing in front of the door. He knew that Keith was still near the bed.

He heard him smile.

"You don't have enough imagination for that," the black paladin teased him. "And I will definitely not let you forget this day," he added more softly. "Don't worry."

Lance woke up with a start when his head hit the floor twice - the first time when he fell from his bed during his sleep, the second when he tried to get up, only to find that he was tied up by his sheets. It took him a long time to emerge from the mist which was confusing his mind, and he stumbled around to find his phone. It read 10:21, assuming that Earth time had a meaning in space. It also meant that the Galra hadn't attacked them yet, which was a good thing, considering that he had needed a good night's rest.

The white background of his phone blinded him - he kept telling himself that he should change it, but never actually did - and he saw a notification on the screen. Thankfully, Pidge had managed to jiggle their phones so that they could communicate and enter notes, and all the team, including Allura and Coran, could exchange texts, which had sometimes led to weird conversations.

Mullet: Not a dream

Lance's eyes widened and he threw the bed sheets away to a corner of the room. He dropped his pajamas in a move and put on the first clothes he found - an ice blue shirt with an alien head on it and grey jeans that he had bought in the last space mall they had stopped by. Aliens seemed to like the irony of selling alien-related human things.

Two doboshes later, Lance was fully awake and already running in the corridors. He stopped in front of the first open door, which led to the common room, and found Pidge furiously typing on her laptop.

"Pidge, have you seen Keith?" he asked her in a hurry.

"Nope. Why? Are you going to ask him out on a date?" she mocked, imitating Lance's flirting voice.

"Yeah."

The girl nearly spilled her glass of the alien equivalent of soda on her keyboard and stared at the door. had stopped working.

The next room was the kitchen, where Lance knew he would find Hunk - or Coran. He stormed into the room, yelling the same question to the poor Hunk who barely understood what was happening.

"Keith? I think he's already gone, I found dishes on the table. Have you checked the training deck?"

"Thanks buddy!"

"Why are you so pressed? Are you going to tell him that you love him?" Hunk joked with a huge smirk.

"Yeah, wish me luck!"

Lance stormed out of the room with a huge grin and Hunk almost dropped his spoon.

The red paladin ran through the long corridors and burst into the training deck like a wrecking ball. "KEITH, I NEED TO ASK YOU-" but once again, Keith was nowhere to be found.

Lance angrily took his phone out of his pocket and typed a pretty aggressive where the quiznaking fuck are you? which was sent in less than a tick.

Without even thinking, Lance raced to the hangar where the Lions were resting. He swore when he found Black all alone. There were only a few places left where Keith could have been.

Lance was starting to go back to Keith's room when his instinct told him to check Red's hangar first, and he headed back to his new Lion. He stopped on the threshold to think about what he was going to do. He hadn't planned anything, and now that he was about to face Keith, his legs were beginning to feel weak. Anyway, he needed to be sure.

"Are you telling her to be mean to me?" Lance teased, his only way to hide his nervousness.

"No, she's telling me all the awful things you've done to her, so that I can avenge her," Keith replied back with a smirk. He glanced at Lance and the latter's heart missed a beat again.

"I miss Blue too," Lance finally admitted while looking at Red, so close to Keith that he could almost feel the heat radiating from his body.

The silence that followed was awkward, and it took Lance all his will to speak again.

"A-About yesterday," the boy began, feeling Keith's full attention on him at the mention of that day.

"Did the alien guy reject you?" the black paladin asked with another smirk, which wasn't helping Lance at all.

"Shut up and let me talk. I need to know, because otherwise it'll be killing me. Would you, by any chance, have some feelings for me?"

Lance's heart was beating hard in his ribcage and for a few ticks he wondered if Keith could see it.

"Lance, I kissed you," Keith pointed out with a frown, not joking anymore.

"Only because I asked you to."

"I could have refused," Keith told him again. He was going to joke about the alien again but he changed his mind when he started worrying about Lance's state of mind. Keith reached for the other's hand and brushed Lance's fingers lightly.

"I've been hitting on you for weeks, Keith! God damn weeks!" the sharpshooter continued without even noticing Keith's hand in his.

"I've been in love with you for months, Lance," Keith admitted with a slight grin. "Besides, you weren't even sure that you were attracted to guys too."

Lance's brain seemed to stop working for a moment and when he looked back at Keith, his cheeks had a nice shade of red.

"Does that mean… that we're dating or something, now?" Lance faltered, unsure.

"Sounds good to me," Keith agreed, squeezing Lance's hand and making his blush deeper. He would never have thought that Lance could be so shy. "And the best part is that we won't even have to tell the others," he continued with a grin, peeking at the door behind them where a pile of four heads could be seen.

Allura lost her balance and fell on the floor, then Pidge, Hunk and Coran fell onto her and they all looked at the two paladins in front of them, either embarrassed or proud.

Allura stood up, her face pink and a radiant smile on her lips. "We… we wanted to make sure that we had heard it right."