Lance was not in love with Keith. Coran was way off when he used the word 'love' to describe their relationship. So why was he thinking about Keith's lips right now?

Voltron: Legendary Defender belongs to Dreamworks Studios and I am in no way associated with the show.

Lance was totally not falling in love with Keith, the mullet-headed dropout.

Coran was way off when he'd started talking about love. After they'd bonded before he nearly died, Lance thought he could bring up anything with the red-headed Altean. Apparently, one thing he couldn't bring up was the weird feelings he'd been having around Keith lately.

There was no way it was love, the guy had been so frustrating since they'd first met. From the first garrison class they'd had, he was almost immediately named the best pilot of their year. Lance knew that he was, even admired him at first, but the guy had never given anyone the time of day. No matter if he'd told Keith how amazing he was or got competitive, he never acknowledged Lance when they were in the class together. Even when he tried to get under his skin, the guy would only get mad if Lance yelled first.

Sure, he sort of understood more since finding out about his family. He'd probably only come there looking for his parents after getting separated from his dad during a Galra attack and his mom was most likely one of them. Who better to have information on aliens and any attacks than a militia space travel garrison? He probably distanced himself from the other students in case he found whatever he was looking for and left. It made sense, since besides his attitude problem, he was kicked out for sneaking out after curfew and getting into places deemed off-limits.

In his opinion, that still didn't excuse Keith's behavior towards him. Keith didn't even remember him when they met again while saving Shiro in the desert. He didn't even know his name, despite the fact that he'd definitely introduced himself. The fact that he acted like that was the only reason Lance hated the guy in the first place. Didn't he understand that he just wanted to get the attention of the guy he looked up to? Keith didn't even know him after trying to get any form of attention from the mullet-headed jerk in class.

That's why Lance decided he hated Keith. If he couldn't even be bothered to remember Lance, why should he bother liking the guy? That's what he'd told himself until the castle-ship got taken by Sendak. Though he'd never admit it, he remembered every moment he was awake for, including the feeling of Keith's arms wrapped around him. At the time, he was delirious with pain, so he just gave a quick one-liner and passed out again, but thinking back on it brought up a new feeling. Whenever he thought about Keith holding him like that, his stomach knotted up and he couldn't form words.

So he decided not to acknowledge it, if it never happened he wouldn't have to think about it. That got a rise out of Keith he'd never gotten before. He felt satisfied, finally making Keith feel as forgotten as Lance did all those times that Keith just ignored him. Even though Keith finally admitted that Lance was there, it felt good to get back at Keith for acting like he didn't exist for so long.

Still, the memory was there and it made Keith start acting more like a friend towards Lance. Keith didn't ignore him anymore, even when Lance was just trying to annoy him. They actually talked, unlike when they had their class together. That was when another feeling sprung up. No matter how Keith talked to him, the acknowledgement itself gave him butterflies. He was sure it was just because he wasn't used to Keith actually speaking to him, but even after all this time, just the two of them talking caused that nervous flutter to start up.

One particular incident was by far the worst. After several attacks from the Galra, they'd barely gotten some time to relax, so he'd decided to take a dip in the pool. Lucky for him, Keith had the same idea, catching the elevator just before the doors closed. Lance had been half asleep, so he hadn't had the energy to argue or even look at him. However, when the elevator got stuck, they had to work their way up the shaft back to back.

It was at that moment he became very aware of the bare skin of Keith's back pressed against his own. His heart was beating a mile a minute and his face was definitely turning red, but he'd just told himself that it was because he was overexerting himself and tried to hide it behind his usual smug remarks, which didn't help much when those stupid butterflies started acting up again.

Since that day, so much as looking at Keith had started that fluttering up, he even had to look away sometimes when he felt his face turning red. During a fight was the only time he could really interact with Keith without that nervous feeling. He was sure Keith had noticed by now, but since he never confronted Lance about it, he didn't bother trying to stop it. He would get used to being friendlier with Keith and it would stop on its own eventually, right?

He learned how wrong he was when Keith disappeared trying to figure out why Zarkon was tracking them. Why he'd thought that Zarkon was tracking him had been a mystery to Lance, but when he was gone, a feeling of dread had taken hold. Keith was far away, where none of them could reach him, alone besides Allura. He'd told himself that he wasn't worried about that jerk, but that didn't stop relief from washing over him when Red joined the fight, Keith's voice back over the radio.

Lance convinced himself that he was just worried about Allura, that he couldn't care less what happened to Keith. He'd almost forgotten about it when they went to the Blade of Marmora headquarters. He'd tried to volunteer himself to go inside in Keith's place, but when Shiro insisted that it had to be Keith, that same feeling came back. He couldn't blame it on Allura, she wasn't going to leave the castle this time. When Keith came back with Shiro, he felt so relieved that he didn't even care when they'd told the others about the fact that Keith was part Galra. Not that it mattered to him, he was still the same mullet-headed jerk whether alien or not.

Still, after he'd felt that same harrowing feeling a second time, it confused him and he started to have doubts about the rest of these new feelings too. He decided he needed to figure this out and Coran seemed like the best option after he'd bonded with him over feeling homesick. After relaying everything, he was not expecting the answer he got.

"Ah, young love!" The statement cause Lance to go bug-eyed. Did Coran really just use the word 'love' to describe him and Keith? The Altean didn't notice as he started a story," I remember the first time I met the love of my life. I felt much the same as you do now. She was…"

Lance had gotten out of there before the story even finished. There was no way that he loved that jerk. He was going to prove Coram wrong by going to Keith's room and giving that mullet-head a piece of his mind for getting in his head. That didn't stop him from hesitating in front of the door. 'Come on, you already decided to do it, so do it,' he thought as he stood there. He was going to prove Coran wrong. He took in a deep breath, straightening up and putting on his best angry face, and placed his hand to the panel.

The door slid up and Lance got his second shock of the day. There stood Keith, shirt half off, a thin layer of sweat covering his chest from his early morning training. Lance could feel his face heat up, probably to the point where he matched the color of Keith's jacket. His brain was in overdrive, yet still wasn't working hard even to form a coherent thought or word. He would've left, but his legs felt like they were glued to the floor. Instead, he just stood there staring before finally formed some kind of response," Oh."

Finally, his legs seemed to switch back on, because he left the moment he could move them again. Footsteps followed after him, but he tried to ignore them. That was harder than expected when an arm yanked him back around. It was Keith, the black shirt he usually wore under his jacket now fully on, thankfully. He gave a confused look to Lance before asking," Hey, what was that back there? Did you break or something?"

Lance's face was still red and that godforsaken fluttering came back again. It didn't help that his brain still hadn't seemed to form any more usable thoughts. So his answer was just a bunch of stutters," I… ah… um…"

This seemed to set Keith off, an angry look replacing the confusion. "Look, you came to my room, so if you've got something to say, then say it. I'm listening."

As if to back it up, Keith leaned in closer, which just seemed to make everything worse. "Well, I just… I…," his brain couldn't even form a good comeback. Instead it just drew his attention down to Keith's lips. Why was he thinking about Keith's lips right now?

"What, you don't like it when I'm the one confronting you?"

Keith could be so infuriating. Lance wanted to shout something back, but his brain still couldn't form any words as his anger seemed to focus him more on Keith's lips. They were so close, he could almost…

Before he even knew what he was doing, his lips met with those of his self-proclaimed rival. It was like a lightning strike. All those feelings crashed down on him at the contact, then dissolved into the kiss. He let out a small sigh, a different kind of satisfaction now taking over. Suddenly, everything made sense when he kissed Keith.

He kissed Keith. His brain seemed to snap out of whatever had possessed him. What seemed like minutes to him was only seconds when he broke off. They both looked at each other in shock. It was Keith's turn for his brain to stop working as he stood there flabbergasted before giving a response much like the one from Lance earlier," Uh…"

Lance didn't give him a chance to go any further, bolting down the hall as fast as he could. He only stopped when he got to his room, locking it with the panel so that no one could just walk in, then pressed his back against the wall, sliding to the floor. He wished Keith had the thought to lock his door after his morning training, then maybe none of that would've happened.

But that wasn't what was at the forefront of his mind, the lingering feeling of the kiss still being the biggest thing on his mind. There was still a slight tingling on his lips, one of his hands moving to cover his mouth. He let out another sigh, his head lulling back until it rested again the metal behind him. Well, at least Coran had helped him figure something out after all.

He was in love with Keith, of all people. The guy who acted like he didn't exist during the time he was in school. The one who didn't even remember him when they met again outside of school. The person who could frustrate him so much at times with his attitude. His teammate that he was just starting to form some kind of friendship with, even if they still argued.

Now, he might have just ruined that entirely and there was probably no way Keith would feel the same, let alone talk to him ever again. Lance let out an exasperated huff, covering his face with his hands. He'd just made the biggest mistake of his life.

This will be a multi-chapter, but I only hope to have three to four chapters. I might go a little further depending on how I stretch, but that is where I wish to finish it.

I would also like to state that this story idea came partially from my sister. She was having trouble figuring out why people ship Keith and Lance, but that got me thinking about it. As I did, I thought they might have a similar relationship status as one from another show.

The show Your Lie in April has a particular relationship between the main protagonist and a girl who considers herself his rival. She had followed him into piano competitions because she looked up to him, though she quickly found out that this wasn't the way to get close to him. After competitions, he would never pay attention to rankings or even talk to the other contestants. He would simply leave, never giving them the time of day, whether she payed him a complement or boasted that she intended to beat him next time, though eventually there was no next time. She'd simply wanted his attention, which as she got older turned into something more, a kind of love that had her frustrated, but simply wanting acknowledgement from him. Finally, when he got back into competitions, he didn't even know who she was. He'd never even met her before really. But she finally got the attention she'd always craved from him as he spoke to them and even told her that her skills on the piano were good, which only caused her to fall in love with him more.

I believe that this is the sort of dynamic that Keith and Lance's relationship shares. Lance might have looked up to Keith at one point, but when he didn't get the attention he wanted, he turned to frustration and created a rivalry instead. This still didn't get any acknowledgement and led to Keith not even knowing Lance when they met again. But as they worked together on the team, that acknowledgement that Lance had craved turned into something more. Though the one in Your Lie in April is one-sided, I don't intend this one to be.

I have some plans for this story, but it's not going to be some big thing hopefully. This chapter established their relationship status from my point of view, the next one will be their feelings coming to light. Stay updated.