Storming into the blue lion, Lance plopped down in the pilot seat, shoved his helmet on and kicked it into ignition. He could hear the soft rumbling from his lion, and it sounded concerned for his wellbeing. Not wanting to say much he just leaned back and said, "Take me anywhere, so long as it's away from here." The lion didn't seem very keen to this idea, for it stayed idle for longer than Lance liked, "We'll be back, don't worry. I just need to get away from this place for awhile."
The Lion still didn't jump into the sky.
"Awhile meaning, like, a few hours at most."
That was all he needed to say. The lion leapt into overdrive and zoomed away from the castle, away from the alien planet that Team Voltron had been staying on for the past week. Lance relaxed when he knew they were a good distance away from the castle. Then, he stiffened again.
He started shaking, frustration, sorrow, worst of loneliness took over him. His lion sensed his sudden change and decided to land on the moon of the planet they had just flown from. Lance didn't care, it was far enough away for him. Far enough that he could break and shatter without anyone catching him.
Making sure the mask on his helmet was down all the way and secured, Lance shot outside faster than a bullet. Taking out his bayard he tapped it so it would shift into the weapon and started shooting at the targets he had set up since his last visit. Which had been yesterday.
His aim was horrible due to how much he was trembling by now, but he didn't care. He had to vent somehow, and this was his only way. Target practice, even if it couldn't even be qualified as such, judging how much he was missing. He was aiming too high, too low, too far to the right, too far to the left. If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't even aiming. He was wildly shooting.
It was if he was trying to shoot away these negative emotions, in some shape or form. It was the only way for him to vent without hurting anyone. He had nearly exploded at Hunk the other day, the yellow paladin hadn't even done anything. All he had mentioned was baking some cookies and Lance nearly broke.
Truth be told, Lance was homesick.
So, very, very homesick.
Panting, Lance let his gun slip back into its bayard form, and then slowly, he turned around and boarded the Blue Lion again. Stepping into the main hull, he leaned against the nearest wall, let his bayard fall to the ground and the slid to the floor himself. Taking off his helmet, he grimaced at the tight knot forming in his throat.
"I can't do this anymore," he whispered. That was all it took, for tears were rushing down his face within seconds. Sobs racked his body, echoing off the walls in the lion to come back and ring in his ears.
Hugging his knees to his chest he quietly wept into his legs, letting everything inside him unravel.
He missed Earth, he missed his home country, hometown, his family. Gritting his teeth, Lance shook his head. If he thought of them, he would just cry even harder.
He tried not to think about his home, where the front door was super loud whenever someone opened it, and how his mom always yelled that it annoyed her but refused to get it fixed. She always kept it like that, so she could know if one of her kids got the wise idea to sneak out or sneak in when coming home late. Lance had come home late once. Key word: once. He got such a hiding he couldn't sit for a full week! He always managed to get home on time after that, but now…
He leaned his head against the wall, resting his forearm against his eyes. "Sorry, Mom. I'm out saving the universe. I don't think I'm gonna make it home before curfew." A few laughs fell from his lips, but they weren't full of humor and wit. Taking a deep breath he stood up, getting ready to sit back down in the pilot seat when he noticed something land across from him.
The red lion.
"Shit." Lance groaned, running his hands down his face. This was the last thing he needed.
If Keith found out about Lance's emotional breakdown he would never let it go. The red paladin had to be the most broody, angsty, teen that Lance had ever met. If Keith discovered that Lance had his fair share of teen angst, he was afraid Keith would either try to relate to him in some horrible, embarrassing way, or tell everyone about it.
So, he locked the entrance to his Lion as soon as Keith stepped out of his.
However, that didn't stop him from using the com in their helmets.
"Lance, why did you leave so suddenly? Everyone's worried." Keith's voice echoed from Lance's helmet which still lay on the floor, nearly forgotten. "Hunk, especially." He sounded annoyed, just like usual. It seemed like every tiny detail set this guy into an irritable mood. Nothing could cheer him up, nothing could make him feel anything else.
"Then why didn't Hunk come up here?" Lance grumbled into the com once he'd put his helmet back on.
"He's busy with the Wisonan people, they took a liking to him when he saved the prince. I thought that much was obvious, but apparently you're just that stupid." Keith scoffed, but took notice of how horrible Lance's voice sounded.
Lance narrowed his eyes and stayed silent. He watched as Keith walked over to his lion, tried to open the door and failed due to it being locked. Part of him found just a little joy by the fact he had succeeded in annoying him, but the rest of him was still in a horrible broken state.
"Lance, are you going to let me in?"
"Why would I do that, I'm enjoying my time up here." Lance rose a brow, even though he knew Keith couldn't see it.
"I'm only here because everyone wanted me to check on you, okay? I want to get back and enjoy the celebration, so c'mon."
"No."
"What? Why?"
"It's really nice up here, just look at the view."
"Lance-
"Makes me wonder how far away Earth is..."
Keith's eyes widened. He looked up at the blue lion, realizing why Lance had left the group behind. Closing his eyes, he gave an answer to Lance. "It's too far away for the human mind to comprehend. I've tried to do the math, but I got a headache."
He waited for Lance to snort out a snarky insult, or some kind of sarcastic wit, but nothing. Just silence on the other end. He would have thought that Lance took his helmet off or turned the coms off had he not heard the sharp intake of breath.
Had he said the wrong thing?
Something churned in his stomach and he cleared his throat. "I miss Earth, too, Lance. So does Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge. I-
"It's not just Earth that I miss."
He had barely heard it, Lance's words hadn't been more than a whisper. If Keith didn't have good hearing, he wouldn't have taken notice that Lance had said something. Registering the multiple meanings behind Lance's words, Keith's stomach did a flip.
Lance missed his family.
Instantly, he wanted to spew some harsh words out, storm away and fly back down to join the rest of the group, but he held his tongue. It wasn't Lance's fault that Keith didn't have anyone back on Earth to miss. It wasn't anybody's fault. It was just how things were.
Sighing, he rubbed the back of his helmet, not sure how to go about his next words. It was like he was walking through a minefield. One wrong step and kaboom. Everything would go horribly wrong. He didn't want to mess this up.
Though he would never admit to it, Keith was concerned for Lance. More so than Hunk. The reason being, Keith had feelings for Lance. He hated to see Lance hurt, upset, or angry. He didn't mind seeing him angry or irritated if he was the reason for it, though. No, that often made his day. He liked that arguments they constantly had. He enjoyed their fights. But this wasn't one of their arguments or fights.
No, this was something on a bigger level. This was something Keith wasn't sure he could handle.
He was about to try and ask Lance what he meant by "not missing only Earth" even he knew the answer, but Lance started talking.
"I miss my family, my friends- not that you guys aren't my friends, but I mean my friends from my hometown. I miss Ma's cooking, Gram's baking, Pa's stupid jokes. Little things, y'know?" Lance huffed. He sniffled, and with wide eyes, Keith realized the blue paladin was beginning to cry. "I miss my younger siblings and my older siblings, even if they are assholes." Lance laughed, "In my hometown, there used to be this empty piece of land across from our property. My siblings and I would go out there and play all kinds of games. Soccer, baseball, chase, we would even play along with the younger kids' imaginations. Pretending we were pirates looking for treasure, or astronauts exploring space." His voice cracked in the last sentence and that's when Lance broke.
Keith heard the sound of a whimper or a catch of breath just as the com link was turned off.
Keith was tempted to break down the door, but he didn't have to, it opened all on its own. He sent a quiet thanks to the blue lion, knowing fully well it hadn't been Lance who had opened it.
Running inside, he nearly slid into the wall. He caught himself before he did, though, and hustled towards the cockpit. He saw Lance sitting on the floor by the door. The paladin sat there, hugging his knees to his chest while his shoulders shook. He seemed unaware of Keith, despite how loud he had been.
Not sure what to do, Keith sat down beside Lance. Their shoulders pressed against each other and Lance froze, but didn't move otherwise. He continued to shiver and shake as soft sobs racked his body.
Taking his helmet off, Keith shook his hair out of his eyes. He leaned his back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. "I miss Earth, too, but not for the same reasons you do. I don't have anyone to miss. I just have that little shack in the middle of the desert, that's all. I don't understand how you feel, missing your family so much, but I do know how it feels to be homesick." He glanced over to look at Lance who was still hunched over, softly sobbing. Casting his gaze out the windshield, Keith continued his thoughts, "I may not have a family back home to miss, but I do have Team Voltron. I consider you guys my family. You, Hunk, Pidge, Allura, Coran, and Shiro."
Lance had quieted down, but he still shook in a way that Keith knew he was still crying. At least he had calmed down, though. He always thought that he was horrible at comforting people when they were upset, but maybe he wasn't as bad as he thought. He was able to make Lance stop sobbing at the very least.
How could he stop making him cry altogether was the real question, though.
Shifting slightly closer to Lance, Keith tried not to think of how their shoulders brushed against each other, or how his leg was leaning against Lance's. "What I'm trying to say, I guess, is we can be your family, too." Realizing that might have a double meaning, Keith quickly tried to explain himself. "I mean, like, family away from family? I'm not saying we're replacing your family back on Earth, hell no, I just mean, you don't have to feel so lonely?" Dammit, he was not good at this comforting thing at all! "Sorry..."
Why didn't Hunk come do this himself? Hunk was Lance's best friend, why was Keith, the guy Lance hates the most, being forced to do this.
Slowly, Lance sat up straight. He stared straight ahead, sniffled and wiped his tears away. Still, some continued to roll freely. "Thanks," he muttered, turning to look at Keith.
Keith froze, taking in the sight of Lance's tear stained face. How was it fair that Lance looked cute after crying!? His dark eyes glistened with tears that still had yet to fall, they were a little puffy and red, but other than that he still looked perfect. The expression on his face was tired and sad, but Keith couldn't dare call it ugly. To him, Lance was beautiful in everyway.
Casting his gaze somewhere else, Keith mentally scolded himself. Now was not the time to be getting caught up in his unrequited feelings! He had to focus on the matter at hand.
Keith shrugged, "uh, no problem. I'm sure if the others made you, you would do the same."
"I wouldn't have to be forced," Lance admitted. It sounded like he wanted to add something else to that statement, but he didn't. He sat there, staring at nothing in the distance in complete silence. You would have thought he was a statue, if it weren't for the fact that he still shook from the aftermath of crying so hard, or the fact that he was beginning to lean over. He leaned over until his head rested on Keith's shoulder.
Keith's eyes widened again, and he glanced down at Lance's face. The paladin had closed his eyes and he seemed very comfortable. Not wanting to focus on the move for fear it would turn him away, Keith asked, "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Came the gentle reassurance.
"Then I guess I should admit that I didn't really come here heels digging in the ground," Keith muttered quietly, though he knew Lance had heard him. Slowly, he leaned his head against Lance's and closed his eyes, too. He felt Lance tense up a bit and he grew a little alarmed but he was relieved when Lance relaxed.
They weren't sure how long they sat there; eyes closed, leaning into one another. The only way they knew they had been like that for a long time was when they received a call from the castle. The beeping alerted them and instantly the two were a mile apart.
Lance jumped up so quickly he couldn't find his balance and ended up falling flat on his face. Keith was the one who answered the call.
The faces of the rest of the team popped up on the dashboard, they all looked worried.
"Keith, Lance, why haven't you two returned?" Allura asked, raising a brow when Lance stood up.
Hunk looked at Lance worried, "You okay, buddy?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry," Lance smiled and gave them all a thumbs up. They all seemed to relax at his comment.
Beside Hunk, Pidge smirked at them, wiggling their eyebrows suggestively.
Keith glared at Pidge, but then looked at Allura, "Yeah, we were just having target practice. Lance set some targets up here on Wisonan's moon! You guys should come check it out."
"We would, but we've just received a distress call from another planet." Shiro informed them. Lance and Keith glanced at each other, "Come back to the castle and we'll fill you in on the specifics."
Keith and Lance nodded and with that the call ended. It was just them two again, and Keith was aware of the awkward aura filling the room. So, clearing his throat he grabbed his helmet and started walking out of the cockpit. He glanced over his shoulder, once, reveling at the sight of Lance preparing to go back to the planet below.
Before he left the room, he heard Lance say, "Thanks... for staying with me."
Not sure how to reply to that, Keith grunted, "Don't mention it," and went to go board his Lion.
Fast forward to a few hours later. Lance lay in his room, staring at the ceiling, reminiscing about good times with his family. Also about what Keith had said earlier. About Team Voltron being his second family. He smiled, he had already considered them family, but the fact that Keith had included him in there made his stomach disperse into little butterflies.
Rolling onto his side, Lance traced invisible shapes in the blankets on his bed. He couldn't stop thinking of how long they had been up on Wisonan's moon just leaning against each other. He had felt so at peace with his head resting against Keith's shoulder, he wished they could have stayed like that forever. A light blush settled on his cheeks and he had to fight hard in order to keep his smile from showing.
He wasn't oblivious to his feelings for Keith, honestly he had been crushing hard ever since he first saw him at the Garrison. Not that he was going to admit that to anyone but himself, though. Nope, not ever. He was fine with keeping that a permanent secret. If ever did confess to Keith, he wouldn't ever say "I've liked you since I first saw you, honestly." because that's just embarrassing.
He wished there was a way he could show his gratitude to Keith for him being there when he needed it, without being too obvious with his feelings, of course. He had already put himself out there by leaning into Keith and resting his head on his shoulder. He wasn't going to do that again for a long time, if ever.
Standing up, he stretched his arms, humming happily when his back popped. He left his room, heading for the training arena. Keith could usually be found in there, if not, then in his room. He doubted Keith would be in his room, though. It was almost dinner time and Keith usually beat up a few of the practice-bots before a meal.
However, when he got to the training arena, he couldn't spot Keith's mullet anywhere. The red paladin wasn't in his room when Lance went to go check, either.
Stumped, Lance decided to wait for him to show up to dinner. He could talk to him afterwards or during, if he felt particularly daring.
Except, Keith didn't even show up for dinner! Everyone else was confused about where he might be, only Lance was the one to suggest seeking him out.
"No, he'll show eventually," Shiro shook his head, "you're welcome to search yourself, though."
Lance narrowed his eyes, that sounded like a trap that he didn't want to fall victim to. Instead, he scoffed, "that emo mullet head can take his time brooding!"
If Keith was still nowhere to be found by the time everyone else was asleep, Lance would go searching then. Besides, he would have missed seeing Hunk spew water everywhere after Coran told a hilarious joke!
Adding a few one liners himself, he smirked and joined in with the laughing, too.
Meanwhile, Keith was sitting in the pilot seat of his lion feeling miserable. He usually went there when he didn't want to be bothered, nobody knew that he went to hang out in his lion. He wanted to keep it that way, too. If everyone knew, then he would never be able to come up here to sit in silence.
Why was he sitting in silence and feeling miserable? One word: family.
He shuddered: family. He didn't have one, never had one for as far back as he can remember. He grew up in an orphanage where he basically had to learn to fend for himself. He didn't have any friends or anybody he could classify as something close. He grew up alone.
Yes, he had Team Voltron, but just as he had told Lance they wouldn't replace his actual family, they wouldn't be able to fill the void in Keith's heart. He longed for the home cooked meal Lance talked about, the amazing baking, hell, he wouldn't even mind a terrible Dad joke.
He laughed at how pitiful he felt, but it soon fell into a whimper. Tilting his head back he stared at the ceiling, if had gotten adopted or had grown up with his biological parents, what would they have been like?
Would they have been caring parents, always there whenever he needed them? No matter how big or small the problem was? Would his parents have been over protective to the point of embarrassing him in front of his friends? He wondered if they would have been cool parents, ones that watched awesome movies and TV shows with him, or shared interest in the same books or something.
Closing his eyes, Keith let his imagination run wild. He had already pictured countless and countless scenarios ever since he was little. Ever since he could imagine, really.
He would do all the cliche things that Sons and Dads do in the movies he watched. Going to the park to play some baseball, toss the basketball around and shoot some hoops, watch football together, cheer, jeer, and rant at the players as they did something bad or did something great. He would hug his dad everyday, every single damn day, and as a child, ask him to tell him a bedtime story every night.
With his mother, well, he would have helped her around the house. Helped her cook, bake, etc. He would even learn piano if his mother wanted him to, hell, it could be any instrument, not just piano. He would do just about anything to make his nonexistent mother smile. To make her proud of her boy. He would give her a hug everyday, too.
Tears welled up in his eyes and he tried to swallow the lump in his throat.
He wondered if he would have been an older brother. God, he would have loved to be an older brother. He would have taught his younger sibling anything and everything there is to know about the world. He would carry them around on his shoulders, play pretend with them, beat up their bullies, fix their owies. He would let them crawl into his bed if they ever got too worried about any monsters being in their room or if the thunder was too loud for them on stormy nights. Even if they did get on his nerves a lot, Keith would be sure to love his sibling unconditionally.
Grimacing, Keith scrunched his shoulders up, arms crossed protectively over his chest.
What about his grandparents?
No, no, he couldn't. He couldn't do it anymore. It was too much.
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Letting the sobs that had been building up escape him, Keith was unaware of the entrance to his lion opening up. Tears fell like a waterfall, his choking sobs sounded almost like coughs.
"Why," he whispered to himself, looking at the blurry world through his tears. He hunched over, putting his face between his knees and stared at the ground. "Why, why, goddammit WHY?!" He yelled, "I just want a family!"
He shook with every sob, "A mom, a dad, hell even an annoying sibling would do." He bit his lips, venting to nobody in the cockpit of the red lion. "I'm tired of being alone. I don't want to go back to my shack in the middle of the desert, living in silence every second of every minute and every hour!"
The thought of going back to the shack in the middle of the desert sent horror shooting through his veins. His eyes widened as he stared at his shoes, watching his own tears splatter on the floor. Biting his lip, he was about to start rambling again when he felt arms wrap around him.
Gasping, he jumped up to his feet and stumbled back, slamming into the dashboard. He stared at the person crouched down beside the pilot seat and instantly fixed him with a icy, cold glare.
"Get. Out." Keith hissed, scowling at Lance.
"I just thought-
"GET OUT!" Keith yelled this time, tears springing away from his cheeks as he stomped forward. "How did you even know I was in here?"
"Well, you weren't in your room or the training arena, and you didn't show for you dinner, so I just assumed?" Lance shrugged. The way he was looking Keith seemed like he was trying to approach a scared kitten. "A-are you okay…?"
"Fucking peachy," Keith grinned cruelly, "now leave me alone."
"I can't do that, not when you're like this," Lance shook his head, "it wouldn't feel right."
"Please, get out," Keith tried a different approach, dropping his cruel grin and letting it fall to a heavy frown.
Again, Lance shook his head. Keith wanted to tear his hair out.
Knowing he wasn't going to shake Lance easily, Keith dropped down to floor right where he was standing. He noticed the alarmed look in the boy squatted across from him, but didn't care. Bringing his legs up to his chest, Keith rested his forehead on his kneecaps and brought his hands up to hold the back of his head. He tried his best to stop the shaking, unravel the knot in his throat, dry the tears in his eyes, but to no avail.
He flinched when he noticed Lance sit beside him and froze when he draped an arm around his shoulders. What was he doing!? Keith tried to shake him off, and when that didn't work he moved to shove him away. Again, Lance didn't budge.
"I'm not leaving you," Lance stated in a firm voice.
That sentence echoed in Keith's mind over and over again. A feeling of peace spread throughout his body, the knot in his throat went away. Tears still fell, but not nearly as big or fast as they had been. There was also a horrible tightness in his chest still.
But he felt peaceful, for the first time in a long, long time.
Sighing, he sat up a little.
"Better now?" Lance whispered, turning to look at Keith with such an overwhelming tenderness that made his heart do cartwheels.
He shrugged. Decided he didn't want to talk. His throat hurt, his mouth was dry, and he was exhausted. He just wanted to drink some water and then go to bed, and maybe sleep for a thousand years.
"Hey, we're even now."
He rose a brow at Lance.
"You saw me at my worst, I'm seeing you at yours." Lance explained, laughing dryly.
Silence fell, but Lance wouldn't accept it.
"I was worried. I couldn't find you, so I waited until dinner, but you didn't show up. So, I decided to wait until everyone went to bed. Maybe I'd find you in your room or in the training arena or just milling about somewhere. Then I found you here…"
He didn't need to go on, Keith knew the rest. Lance had found him as a broken, sobbing mess. He was going to go down a miserable road of self-deprecation, but then he froze.
"You were worried?" He whispered, glancing at Lance from the corner of his eyes. He sniffled and rubbed any leftover tears out of his eyes.
"Well, yeah, you were gone for six hours."
Keith stared at his kneecaps, remembering how he'd felt when Lance had suddenly disappeared earlier. "You were, too."
"Huh?"
"Well, not six hours, just two, actually. You were gone for two hours."
"Oh."
Silence fell again.
All Keith could think about was Lance's arm draped over his shoulders.
"Can I say something?"
"Really, you have to ask? You would say it no matter if I said yes or no."
"You do have a family."
Instantly Keith's world capsized. He wanted to shove Lance away, run off and forget that any of this was happening. Instead, he stopped himself from jumping to his feet and listened.
"You have me, Shiro, Hunk, Pidge, Allura, and Coran. Team Voltron. Just like you mentioned before. It's not that same as a real family, but it's something, right?" Lance asked, hope very obvious in his voice.
Keith was about to say something, but Lance wasn't done.
"And… if you want… you can visit me and my family anytime. If we ever get a chance to visit, that is. They would treat you like another family member in a heartbeat."
He froze and sat up straight, whirling his head around to look at Lance with wide eyes. "You mean that?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Yeah... I wouldn't joke about thi-
Keith launched himself at Lance, tackling him to the ground and slamming his lips against Lance's. Fresh tears rolled down his cheeks, but they were falling for a different reason. His hands shot out to hold Lance's cheeks, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss. When he pulled away, breathless, he leaned his forehead against Lance's, slowly opening his eyes to hold the other's gaze.
His lower lip quivering and voice trembling Keith whispered, "I love you."
Lance's eyes sparkled, and he hugged Keith tight to his chest. He nestled his face against Lance's neck, bringing his arms down to wrap around his shoulders.
They lied there like that for a long time, neither wanting to be the first to let go. Eventually, though, the floor started to get uncomfortable and Lance mumbled something about his legs feeling numb.
Keith got up, but before he could get too far, Lance grabbed hold of his hand. He didn't mind that one bit. In fact, he gripped Lance's hand like a lifeline.
They didn't say much to one another, they simply started walking. They stopped at Lance's room, which happened to be the closest. Keith shed his jacket, kicked his shoes off and then plopped down on Lance's bed without feeling the need to say anything. Lance soon followed his example.
When Lance lied down beside him, Keith rolled onto his side so that they were both facing each other. He draped an arm around Lance's waist and with the other, held one of his hands.
That night, Keith got the most wonderful sleep he'd had in years.
The next morning, they woke to sound of Pidge yelling when they found them spooning of all things. Lance was a little embarrassed about it, but couldn't hold back the proud smile when he realized he was the big spoon. Keith covered his face with his hands, looking as though he wanted to melt into the bed and cease to exist.
"Okay, Pidge, we get it," Lance groaned when Pidge's exclamations started to get more than annoying, "you called it, but at least let us tell the others, okay?"
"Pfft, they've been calling it, too, but whatever." was Pidge's answer.
Keith shot up at that, face blooming a wonderful shade of red, "what!?"
"Oh, yeah, definitely. Hunk and I knew from the beginning, though. When Lance first mentioned his 'rivalry' with you and whatnot."
Now it was Lance's turn to blush, he wasn't sure why this flustered Keith even more, though. He was the one who should've been dissolving from sheer embarrassment, he didn't want anyone to know about that!
When Pidge ran off to wait for breakfast in the dining room, Lance turned to Keith.
"You okay?"
Keith nodded his head, "You?"
"Yeah," Lance beamed, "Let's go have breakfast with our family."
"Our family." Keith said, lips twitching into a small smile. Reaching down to take hold of Lance's hand, he pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. "Let's go tell our family about us."
: ) I can't believe I wrote this. This is my first Klance fic so please excuse anything that's OOC!
If you liked this, please leave a review! I might write more oneshots if you guys like this one enough :D