So trying to bring the other paladins into the Alpha/Alpha verse more. Figured I'd start with Lance, cest people have been wondering about him and he's already made an appearance once.

Heats and ruts came about three times a year. Exactly when depended on the individual, who they spent time around, stress, and other environmental factors. Considering that they were a tightly knit group fighting a war on a alien spaceship, Lance's heat starting at the wrong time was really to be expected.

Still was annoying when Lance had started giving off the beginnings of heat scent in the middle of negotiations with alien royalty. Keith had called for a break and hauled Lance back to their guest quarters. They'd become something close to friends in the time they fought together, and friends didn't allow friends to put off "I'm interested" hormones around strangers they weren't actually interested in.

His original plan had been to leave Lance there to stew in his own misery and continue negotiations on his own. They were the only two on the planet, and the Castle wasn't scheduled to pick them up for two more days. No point in just twiddling his thumbs or calling for an early pick up just because Lance was out. He was second in command of Voltron, more than capable of doing the job on his own.

He'd reevaluated, when he'd stepped out of Lance's assigned rooms to find one of the alpha princesses had followed them. She hadn't said anything particularly red flaggish, only inquired after the Blue Paladin's health, but something had felt off. He been forced to consider how few omegas he'd seen since arriving as anything but so-and-so's mate. He'd seen none in positions of power in their own right. Maybe he was being paranoid, few in the galaxy would be foolish enough to attack a Paladin of Voltron no matter their sex, but he'd made an executive decision.

Keith had apologized to the princess, saying Lance was sicker than he'd first thought, and walked back in to grab the omega. The Blue Paladin could nest in his lion, in space, with Red and him as guards, until the Castle came to pick them up. Someone else could finish off the negotiations.

"Dude, I'm bored. Distract me." Lance's voice crackles over Red's intercoms. Keith is starting to wonder if he could have just put a pad lock on the guest quarters and called it secure enough.

"Distract yourself." Keith says. He doesn't do small talk. He especially doesn't do small talk with people too drugged up on their own hormones to reliably hold up their half of the conversation, "Turn off the coms and jack off or something." He suggests.

"What!" Lance sounds scandalized at the mere thought, "Gross, no, other people use these things."

"And? Shiro and I do it." Shiro and he had been putting the cock in cockpit since back in the Garrison days. He wonders how Lance would react to knowing what they used to do in the sims he practiced in, "There's no big manual saying sex shall not happen in the Lions. Just wipe things down afterward."

"Are you kidding, Blue would kill me if I did something like that." Blue was by far the sweetest of all the lions, he highly doubted she'd kill Lance for any infraction, up to and including going full Zarkon.

"I really doubt she'll care. Red and Black don't." Well at least Red didn't. Shiro didn't really share what Black thought during their encounters, "The worst you'll probably get is some criticism on your technique."

"Red has opinions on your sex life?" Lance asks, shock evident. Keith didn't know why. Red was sentient and had opinions on everything he did.

"Well yeah, she's got some thing going, where she's trying to get one up on Black. She gets really really happy when I get Shiro on his knees." He also got really really happy when Shiro is on his knees, so it's a win-win situation in his book.

Keith can hear Lance choking through the coms, "Dude! T.M.I. I am not going to be able to get those images out of my head for the rest of my heat." Lance complains.

"You asked!" Keith says defensively, "Besides, you're the one being weird and thinking about teammates during heats." It isn't like Keith is unaware that he and his mate sometimes star in other people's fantasies. It's just not something he wants to be reminded of.

"I'm going crazy with horniness, what did you expect when you over-shared?" Lance, as loathe as he was to admit it, has a point. You can only barely hold folks responsible for what they do during their heats/ruts, much less what they think about, "You don't even have any room to talk, you'd be doing the same if someone started talking about Hunk and I going at it while you were in rut."

"I wouldn't really think about it. You two aren't exactly my type." It isn't like he doesn't notice omega pheromones. They just don't do anything for him. Not like when Shiro gets aroused and most of Keith's higher brain functions come to a screeching halt.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lance says, offense obvious in his tone, "I'll have you know I was quite the catch back in the Garrison."

"I'm not saying anything." Keith tries to reason, "You two just aren't my type. I don't really go for omegas."

There was a long moment of silence, "Wait are you gay?" Lance asked quietly.

"Yes?" Keith answers. He thought his alpha exclusive orientation had been pretty obvious.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner!" Lance shouts, Keith has to turn down the volume to protect his ears, "You just let me run around flirting with you like an idiot."

"You've been flirting with me?" Before Shiro had talked with him, Lance's interest in his mate had been pretty obvious, but he'd never seen the omega making those sorts of eyes at him.

"Well not anymore, but back at Garrison." Lance explains, "God, I thought something was wrong with me, the way you always just ignored my attempts."

"You flirted with me back at the Garrison?" How had he missed this. Lance flirting was about as subtle as a wrecking ball. He has to think he would have noticed someone with pick up lines that lame back then.

"Well yeah, you had the cool mysterious loner vibe going." Lance says like it's obvious, but it's news to Keith, "Would it have really killed you to tell a guy you don't swing that way?"

"I didn't realize people didn't know?" Keith says uncertain. What's he supposed to do walk around with a badge saying 'I'm gay' on it?

"Wait, until Hunk gets here. He's going to be just as surprised as I am." Lance says with confidence. Keith somehow has his doubts.

Note:

Everybody else already knew. Lance was the last to figure out once again.