OKAY so this is my first Voltron fanfic - it might be a little rough around the edges and most of this was done at like 3am so bear with me here! This is part 1/2 and for now it's very PG but expect things to get a little heated in the next part.

Naturally, all characters belong to their respective creators. Oh, and spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't seen Season 2.

Anyhow, I shall stop disclaiming myself - enjoy!

Paladins plus near death experiences had become such a routine occurrence that by now, it took a lot to truly shake one up in their boots. The last mission, by an outsider's perspective or, really, anyone who wasn't Lance, had been exactly the same. As Pidge had kindly pointed out to an ashen faced Lance the day of the event itself, there was an unwritten formula to how these things usually went: Paladin does something stupid. Paladin gets in trouble. Paladin is almost killed. Other Paladins come to save them. Insert hostile species here is thwarted by other Paladins. Hoorah! Victory for Voltron. So what's the problem, Lance? And that was the question that had sent him to the brink of insanity. After days of nail-biting, hair pulling and nervously pacing the castle's corridors, all in an attempt to distract himself from what had happened –or to be more accurate –why it had happened, Lance could now admit to himself that he was well and truly screwed. Just not in the way that he wanted to be. So what mystical happening of immeasurable bounds could have shaken up Voltron's seemingly least shakeable Paladin? There is a simple, one word answer.

Keith. Keith happened. Only not in his usual kamikaze Keith way (that was Lance's new nickname for him – that and "mullet-head", the classic). This time, Keith happened in a way that Lance had no protocol for. His shields-up had been completely defenceless against this kind of Keith, because it was a kind of Keith that Lance had never seen before.

Okay, enough brooding, Lance – here's how it went:

"At ease, Paladins! We're on course for a new planet!" Coran bounced into the dining room where the only Paladin not lying half-dead from exhaustion on the table was Shiro who had jumped to attention at Coran's entrance.

Lance peeled his face off the table. "Another distress signal? Gimme a break, it's been – what – 10 SECONDS since the last time a Galra fleet came to bite our asses?"

Pidge leaned back in her chair, cross eyed. "I'm seeing double. Anyone else seeing double?"

"Relax, team – no distress signal. Just a surprise." Coran winked.

Keith frowned from the far end of the table, his chin resting on the top. "A surprise? Why do I have a bad feeling?"

Allura followed suit in Coran's wake, something sheepish about her smile. "Paladins, I understand that – well – you've all worked very hard lately" -

"Aaaaaaand the understatement of the year award goes tooo…" Lance jibed.

Allura cleared her throat and ignored him. "SO, I think you all deserve some rest. Recreation, if you like."

The Paladins exchanged a glance around the table.

"Thank you, princess." Said Shiro stoically, "that is very considerate of you, but our objective as the pilots of Voltron is to ensure the safety of the universe at all times. Surely" –

"Shiro, if you say one more word, I will throw this food goo so fast at your face that you'll need a bionic head to match your arm." Hunk threatened, low and serious from the food machine.

Allura laughed. "Yes, Shiro, you are right and we shall move at the slightest sign of danger, but coincidentally we've drifted into the Perusa Quadrant" –

Coran squealed. "My favourite!"

Allura threw him a hard look. "Which incidentally is home to" –

"Wait, Princess!" Coran gasped. "Don't tell them. It's supposed to be a surprise!"

Pidge narrowed her eyes. "Why so mysterious, Coran?"

"That's what they used to call me. Coran, Coran, the mystery man. It was a popular jingle back in the day."

A telepathic face-palm passed between each of the Paladins. Lance rose from the table.

"Well, if anyone needs me" –

"I'd suggest changing into your swimwear." Said Allura.

A collective gasp sounded from around the table. Shiro's expression broke into one of utter, child-like excitement. "Are we going to an ocean?"

"OhmygodOhmygodOhmygod we're going on an intergalactic vacation!" Hunk exclaimed.

"Swimwear?" Pidge repeated, thoroughly displeased.

"I'm saying nothing," Said Coran with obviously feigned innocence, "Only this: expect hot weather and some high waves. Time to get the old board out, I think!"

And, as they loaded off the ship, donned in their best swimwear and inflatable rubber floats, the planet of Akwa Major was presented to them in all of its… glory.

"Here it is, folks! Akwa Major!" Coran announced, arms flung wide.

"Uhm… this is kind of…" Lance started, glancing around their surroundings with a grimace.

The light, dusty pink sand that they had all envisaged was more like dark grey sludge, peppered with jagged black rocks and razor sharp shells. The supposed 'crystalline turquoise' ocean was a roiling, dark green lagoon of depths which no one would want to explore.

"Coran was right about one thing." Pidge started, "It's hot, alright."

"It's gross." Said Hunk, "Like the air is sticking to my skin."

"Anyone for a swim?" Shiro asked.

"Over my dead body." Said Keith, the tone of his voice already dead.

"Stay here any longer and that might just happen." Said Lance.

Coran strode ahead, his surf board clamped under his arm. "Come on now, Paladins, it's not that bad! I reckon this place is still fit for a picnic."

Allura sighed, the disappointment evident on her face as she gazed around. "Akwa Major used to be an Alteian resort." She explained as Coran stuck his surf board in grey sludge, examining the effect inquisitively. "We used to come here every year. It was truly beautiful – incredible blue skies, beaches as far as the eye could see, the water so clear that every fish and reef could be seen in immaculate detail." She sighed again. "Now look at it."

"Do you think there are Galra here?" Shiro asked.

"Nah." Said Lance. "It wouldn't be in such a state if there was anything here. The only Galra on this planet is Keith, ha ha ha!"

That did not have the reaction that Lance had hoped for. No one laughed. Certainly not Keith. But he'd expected that. However, rather than coming back at him with an equally insulting wise-crack, Keith looked at him, hurt, before directing his gaze at the ground. "Thanks, Lance." He said quietly, before marching onto the planet, and to the edge of the dark water.

"Way to go, Lance." Said Pidge, rolling her eyes.

"What?! I didn't mean anything by it, it was just a joke!" Lance defended, knowing full well that what he had said had crossed a line. He scratched his head and glared at the back of Keith's closed, stocky frame. "Ah, quiznak. Why does he have to be such an emo?"

Paladins and princesses alike ventured onto the weird, sludgy beach.

"My feet are stinging. I don't think that's supposed to happen." Said Hunk, hopping from foot to foot.

"Don't worry about that, it's just the Microactapods. They eat dead skin. Handy for a nice pedicure." Said Coran, stroking his moustache.

"Are you sure it's just dead skin they're eating?"

Turns out that a dying beach planet isn't so bad. Or at least, it wasn't for Hunk, Pidge, Shiro and Coran who were having a marvellous time examining the tiny specimens in the sand and the molecular structure of the sea shells and making sludge castles that only stayed upright for a grand total of five ticks before sliding back into an icky pile. In her begrudging disappointment, Allura stayed near the castle's entrance, content to watch the others have fun rather than indulge in the sticky pleasures of the sludge beach. Lance, however, was very uncomfortable. And little did he know that by the end of the day 'very uncomfortable' would become 'very, very, VERY uncomfortable' at best. He knew that he should apologise. He knew that he was wrong for what he'd said to Keith but then there was the voice telling him 'it's just a joke' and 'since when has Keith ever apologised for anything, anyway?' the devil on his shoulder usually won him over, but despite that, Lance resolved to talk to Keith, anyway. Even if it was only to justify his stupid remark. As he approached the water's edge, Lance kept his eye on Keith's back. It was curious, he thought. Keith's skin wasn't the least bit purple. More than once Lance had found himself eyeing Keith's exposed skin for signs of discoloration or an abundance of hair. But Keith had none of that. Lance doubted that he could even grow a beard. Instead, there was just smooth, white skin. But it wasn't white, Lance thought as he advanced carefully, it had an olive tinge to it, growing ever so slightly darker near the base of his spine and the lean, curved muscles of his back – wait what? No – Lance shook his head. Now was not the time to think about Keith's astoundingly well put together anatomy.

In his absorbed state, Lance had missed all of the crucial signs that could have stopped the day's terrible events from unfolding. He hadn't noticed Keith lean towards the water and brace himself. He hadn't noticed, until a split second too late, Keith's legs bunching as his arms pointed above his head and met at the fingertips. It was only when Keith's feet had left the ground and he was poised, mid-air, into an athlete style dive above the churning, soupy waters that Lance realised what Keith was doing.

"KEITH, NO!" Lance shouted, his arm outstretched. His fingers gripped empty air where Keith had been less than a second before. He deftly entered the water with barely a splash, his feet the last thing to disappear beneath the disturbed surface.

And he didn't reappear.

Panic. Dread. Cold, clammy terror and worry plagued Lance over the next few minutes.

"How are you all so calm?!" He shouted, back inside the ship, "We need to get down there, right now! Keith could be dead already! What if he drowned? What if he" - ?

"Lance, stop." Said Hunk, laying a hand on Lance's shoulder. "Calm down. We need to think."

"We need to act." Said Lance, shrugging him off, "Like. NOW."

"Lance is right." Said Shiro. "The longer we wait, the more danger Keith might be in. One of us needs to go down there."

"The scanners aren't showing any currents." Said Coran. "Did Keith say anything before he jumped? What did he see?"

"Why did he suddenly dive in like that? It doesn't make any sense." Said Pidge.

"Why does Keith do anything?! It's just Keith! Kamikaze Keith!" Lance screeched, losing his mind.

Allura stepped between them all. "Okay, all of you – stop. The logical thing to do is to send Lance down to rescue Keith."

The other Paladins raised their eyebrows, even Lance stopped waving his arms in the air. "Me? Just me?"

"Think about it." Said Allura, "Your lion is equipped to deal with the water better than any of the others."

"I second that." Said Hunk. "He destroyed that Baku monster on the mermaid planet."

"If you need backup, Pidge will be on hand in the green lion as a last resort." Said Allura, "But for now, Lance, calm down and get to your lion."

In any other situation, Lance would have been more than reluctant to enter the depths of Akwa Major, even in his lion – but the thought of what was at stake was much more terrifying than whatever was in the water. Besides, he didn't want the last thing that he'd say to Keith to be an insult. Not that they ever talked about anything meaningful…

Lance gulped as his lion dived into the water headfirst, its beaming yellow eyes the only source of light in the depths.

"Okay guys," He said into the helmet, "I'm in."

"Any sign of Keith yet?" Allura's voice echoed around the headpiece.

Lance squinted. "Not yet. It's just black. This could take forever." He tapped his fingers against the controls, "Come on, blue…"

Like a dream, the master control panel where Lance could slot his Bayard glowed a brilliant blue. His lion was guiding him, and if she was guiding him, that meant that Keith couldn't be dead. "Agh, baby, I love you!" Lance cried, jabbing his Bayard into the panel.

"…thanks. Love you too, man." Came Hunk's sarcastic reply into his helmet, "But more importantly, what's going on?"

"I think – I think my lion is telling me how to find Keith."

The sonic weapon that had blasted the Baku on the mermaid planet emerged once again, only this time it wasn't primed to destroy. A high pitched series of beeps travelled through the water faster than his lion ever could and reverberated back seconds later. Through his lion's eyes, Lance saw what those beeps translated to. Images. Flashing, fading images of rocks, tails of seaweed, long dead reefs and – a structure far into the depths – Lance saw it all.

"Sonar!" Lance exclaimed. "She's using sonar to show me what's down there! I – I can see stuff! Cool!"

The images continued to be transmitted to Lance in waves, allowing him to manoeuvre through the impossible depths to the strange structures he kept seeing. The closer he got, they bigger they seemed, until they loomed around he and his lion, and he could make them out without the sonar.

"There's something living down here." Said Lance, circling the structures. Like pillars, they towered, complex and strange and white. "It's almost like… a city."

Surrounded by the structures, Lance suddenly felt very small. "He's got to be in here."

Each structure was dotted with circular holes, indented in uniform lines. There was no way these things were natural.

"Lance, find Keith as quickly as you can and get out of there." Coran's voice sounded, fierce and urgent.

"Why? What's down here?"

A hesitant pause followed. "We called them the Sirens." Said Coran, "Back when Akwa Major was still a resort, there was only a small colony of these creatures, strictly limited to one island. It looks like they've taken over."

"What do they do? What are they?" Lance demanded, adrenaline pounding through his veins. Danger loomed, rising with the height of the quiet structures, as though a thousand eyes were watching him.

"They don't drown people, if that's what you're thinking." Said Coran. "It's much worse. They bleed a person dry of all their emotions, sucking out their innermost thoughts and exposing their fears, their loves… they feed off life energy, sucking the soul out of their victims."

"Great." Said Lance. "Well, thankfully they won't get much out of Keith."

A resounding silence followed that statement. Lance interpreted it as a silent agreement. And then – Keith!

Keith's face was looking at him from one of the windows in the structure directly ahead of him. Lance blinked. The mullet, the dark, hostile eyes – yes – it was him, no question.

"I found him!"

Lance thrust his lion into gear and sped through the water towards the window. It was big enough for his lion to enter, and by the time he had, Keith had moved. A tunnel-like corridor wound into the structure, and Keith was at the end of it. Keith's bare skin shone a ghostly white in the glow of the lion's eyes. It was mesmerising. Lance shook his head, confused, when he realised that Keith was moving.

"Where the heck are you going?" Lance raged, following him. Keith beckoned, an odd expression on his face, and darted around a corner.

"Lance, have you got him?" Shiro demanded through the receiver.

"I – Yeah, but he wants me to follow him – I think he found something."

"Get him inside your lion, you need to get out of there."

"I'm trying!"

By the time Lance had rounded the same corner, Keith was at the other end of another long, winding tunnel.

"Cut the crap, Keith! We need to leave!" Lance yelled, losing his patience.

Keith grinned and began to walk backwards slowly. His legs started to disappear into the floor. Lance shook his head – no – his legs weren't disappearing, he was descending down some steps, and the tunnel was becoming too narrow for his lion to manoeuvre through.

"Ugh, that's it." Lance grumbled, setting his visor to full coverage. Ejected from his lion, Lance swam to the steps. It was now that he realised they were getting dangerously deep into the structure, and all the while the tunnels had been leading downwards into its core. Keith was at the bottom of the steps by the time Lance had reached the top. How did he get there so fast?
"Keith! Dude, come on!" It struck him, then, that Keith wasn't wearing a visor. How was he breathing?

"They protected me." Said Keith suddenly, as though he'd read his mind. His voice resounded through the corridor, loud and clear. It was strange, he hardly seemed to move his lips.

"They?"

Keith nodded. He beckoned again, "Come on, Lance." He said. Somehow, the way Keith used his name urged him not to argue back, and he swam after Keith who was now running.

"Guys, I think Keith is trying to show me something. It might be important."

"Lance – Just get him to your lion. We don't have time to mess around." Said Pidge. "I don't want to be the one rescuing your sorry ass again."

Lance snorted, "Pidge, please. I think you'll find I'm perfectly capable of rescuing my own sorry – huh?"

Keith had disappeared. His ghostly light faded as though it had never existed. A long, wide tunnel lay ahead of Lance, and at the end of it, an opening that led to a navy blue light. Against his better instinct, Lance chose to follow it, every nerve screaming at him to swim back to his lion.

"I don't get it, he ran this way, right?" He muttered to himself.

"Lance, did you just say 'ran'?" Came Shiro's voice.

"Yeah, he did and I swear he" – then Lance realised. "We can't run under water."

"I don't think that's Keith you were following." Said Shiro. "You need to get out of there."

Lance grit his teeth and stopped at the entrance to the strange, blue light. "But what about the real Keith? He's gotta be here somewhere." Activating his Bayard, Lance advanced through the entrance.

The structure's core was a huge, domed room whose walls glowed dark blue, and in the middle of the room, lay Keith. The real Keith. Bundled into the foetal position, Keith lay on the ground, his back curved towards Lance – the very same back that he had found himself lost in admiring less than an hour ago. Admiring? No. Just looking at.

"Keith!" Lance called, swimming towards him. "Keith, is that you?"

Keith responded to the sound of Lance's voice, unfolding and lifting his head which, Lance was half-relieved to see, had been protected by a bubble of oxygen that only the creatures could have created.

And this is where Lance's torment began.

When Keith's eyes found Lance, his expression expanded into a beaming smile, one of pure happiness and relief and everything in between. Lance stopped.

"Guys, there's something wrong with Keith."

"Lance!" Keith cried. "Lance, it's really you! I was just dreaming about you."

Lance stared down at Keith. "Uhm, what? Okay, buddy – whatever – let's just get out of here, okay?"

"What's going on? Are you sure that's Keith?" Allura spoke this time.

"I mean… he's not –ahem- himself, but yeah… pretty sure it's him."

"Don't waste a second – get him out."

Lance hovered above Keith, "Come on, man! Let's go. My lion isn't far away."

Keith blinked up at him. His pupils were dilated, like huge black discs, and he gazed at Lance like there was no one in the world he would rather see.

"But, Lance…" Said Keith languidly, rubbing his eyes, "Why don't we stay a while? Just you, me… this creepy room… I'm so warm right now. It'll be even warmer with you here."

"No." Said Lance instinctively, "no, no, no, no, no – we need to LEAVE. NOW. Evil, emotion-sucking creatures are on the loose. Does that mean anything to you?"

Keith lifted his arms toward Lance. "Carry me?" He asked, his voice filled with a bizarre, soppy tone that Lance had never heard, nor once imagined in his wildest thoughts, coming from Keith. "I'm tired, Lance. Hold me."

HOLD ME?! Lance gaped. "K-Keith?"

"Lance? What's wrong?" Allura persisted.

Battling with his conscience, Lance was stuck. Carry Keith, and indulge his weird, horribly romantic sounding request? Or stay and be potentially killed by monsters of the deep? He was half-tempted to go with the latter. But with a growl of frustration, Lance unceremoniously bent and bundled Keith into his arms. Keith laid his head against Lance's chest and closed his eyes, sighing deeply.

"Thank you, Lance. You're so kind, you know that? So, so kind… and warm."

Lance shivered and stared straight ahead as he swam with Keith in his arms. "This is not real. This is just some – weird drug or something. Yeah."

"Weird drug?" Said Hunk in his ear. "What weird drug?"

And then, "Lance, what's Keith doing?" Said Coran.

"I don't know." Said Lance, not willing to admit anything Keith had said, "Babbling."

"Good, so he's talking." Said Coran. "That means the Sirens haven't started to feed on his soul yet. They just got to the exposing part. Expect him to be brutally honest for a while. Everything that Keith is saying is unfiltered; a true replay of his thoughts. That might result in some rather nasty insults to you, Lance."

Insults. Right.

"So… everything he's saying is what he's actually thinking? That's what you're saying?" Said Lance, a new kind of dread building in his abdomen.

"Yep! You've got it."

"I can't do this." He whispered.

"Am I heavy, Lance?" Keith pandered. "I'm sorry… you should just leave me here. Save yourself."

"No way! Shut up."

Keith sighed again, low and far too long. "This is what's so amazing about you, Lance. You care so much about everyone. Even me."

"Keith, I will knock you out. Stop talking." Lance should be laughing. Why wasn't he laughing? This was golden. He could use this as joke material for years. But instead, he had to keep reminding himself that the only barrier between Keith's bare skin and his own was his Paladin armour. What worried him most was that he'd started to wonder what it would feel like if that barrier were to disappear, especially after Keith had so tenderly uttered the words, "Hold me."

Finally, the blue lion was in sight. That was the good news. The bad news; she was surrounded by a line of squid like entities. Their tentacles oozing a strange, dark substance and their fangs bared at Lance.

"It was a trap." He said. "They're here."

But then – they weren't – it was the other Paladins, Princess Allura and Coran. Shiro stepped forward, his hand outstretched.

"Come with us, Lance. You're the leader of Voltron now – you've proven yourself to be more than worthy."

"Shiro?" He uttered, his grip on Keith loosening.

"Lance?" Shiro's voice echoed around his helmet, but the Shiro ahead of him hadn't spoken. Lance shook his head, and the squid creatures were back.

"But – that was you!" He cried.

"The Sirens are toying with your mind, Lance." Said the real Coran. "It's how they trapped you both – don't let them!"

Gritting his teeth, Lance swung Keith over his left shoulder and one-handedly attempted to operate his Bayard, blasting at the Sirens. They scattered, a shrill screech sounding through the water, but under here, the blast was little more than a wave of heated pressure. It wasn't enough to kill them. He had to get to his lion.

Using the blasts as a distraction, Lance swam as hard as he could, pedalling his legs to his lion. But it wasn't fast enough, not with the added bulk of Keith and his Bayard. Just before he could get inside, he was surrounded on all sides. Using his Bayard, he was able to scatter the sirens to his right, but the ones on his left were closing in fast. Suddenly, Keith jerked into action from Lance's shoulder and kicked hard at the closest Siren which was sent reeling backwards, before flopping, spent, against Lance again.

"Nice!" Lance laughed, jumping into his lion with the second of time Keith had gained him.

As he anticipated, the hoard of Sirens now flooding the tunnel cowered under the blue lions' glare. "That's right, squids. Now who's running?"

"Don't try and fight them, Lance, just get out of there." Allura commanded through the receiver.

"Kill em, Lance! Destroy them!" Keith shouted in a slur from behind the pilot chair. "Knock them on the head and… and yeah!" He sounded drunk.

"… Is that Keith?"

"You tell me." Lance breathed.

Getting past the Sirens and out of the structure was easy once Lance was in full control of his Lion. What was difficult was the thought of getting to the surface. What if Keith was still acting like this when he got to the others?

As if on cue, there was a sharp tug on his sleeve.

"Lance, the floor is cold. I wanna be warm again."

Lance huffed. "Too bad. Stop acting weird and sleep it off or something."

"I just want to be close to you, Lance."

Before Lance could stop him, Keith was piling onto his lap. The lion jeered to the right as Lance lost control of the gears.

"Hey, hey, hey what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Keith wound his arms around Lance's neck like a small child and snuggled closer, his legs thrown over Lance's.

Lance felt every muscle in his body stiffen at this contact. This wasn't Keith. This wasn't Keith at all.

"D-dude." Was all he could say. And it was pathetic, really. All Keith wanted to do after his ordeal with the squid aliens was sleep in Lance's lap. Was that so weird? Yes, was the short answer. But then Lance told himself: he'd be willing to bet that it would be exactly the same if Pidge or Shiro or Hunk or anyone else had come to rescue him. When Keith said that he wanted to be close to Lance, he didn't mean Lance exclusively. He just meant close to someone. Lance gulped and repeated this logic in his head over and over as he raced to the surface. It made sense, really. Keith pretended to be so cold, so distant to others, so lacking in a need for human contact, when all the while that was what he wanted most in the world. Lance wasn't special, he was just… there.

"I'm nearly at the beach." Said Lance, controlling the shake in his voice.

"Good. I'm waiting." Said Pidge, "You sure took your time."

"You try fighting off mind controlling squid people, Pidge." Lance snapped. "Not to mention Keith…"

"Is he okay?"

Lance forced himself to glance down to where Keith was pressed against his chest again. Keith's eyelids fluttered, jittering between closed and half open. His dark eyelashes were so long that they brushed against his cheekbones. Like a girl. Lance gulped – that wasn't true. He'd never seen a girl with lashes like those; not real ones, anyway. He tried to be indifferent to the strong arms tightening around his neck. "Yeah, he's just… resting."

When they reached the castle, Lance realised with horror that he wasn't strong enough to prise Keith out of his arms. No matter how much he begged, Keith wouldn't move, his vice-like grip on Lance becoming tighter the more he protested.

"Fine." Said Lance roughly, "Have it your way."

And with all the lofty pride he could muster, Lance bundled a half-naked Keith out of the lion in a full blown, unmistakeable Princess-carry to the awaiting Paladins and Alteians. Pidge's jaw dropped. Hunk made an overstated effort to look anywhere except at Lance and Keith. Shiro fought back a grin and Allura's eyes widened and she gasped a little: "Oh, my." Coran didn't seem to notice anything wrong with the picture.

"Shall we – ahem – get him to a healing pod?" Shiro suggested, covering his mouth in a failed attempt to hide his amusement.

"Nah, he doesn't need a healing pod." Said Coran, "Just some rest will do it. The effects will wear off in a few hours. He wasn't there nearly long enough for any permanent damage to be done."

Lance glowered straight into the faces of each of the Paladins.

"Anyone gonna take him off me?"

"I'd say Keith's pretty comfortable with you." Said Hunk, almost as giggly as Shiro.

Lance could feel his eye twitching involuntarily.

Coran continued to be completely oblivious. "Seeing as you're already carrying him, why don't you take him to his room?"

"Yeah." Said Lance dryly. "Sure. Great idea. Pidge, come with me."

"But – I"-

"PIDGE."

Once in Keith's room, after a very silent and awkward walk through the castle, Keith relented his anaconda grip on Lance's neck and flopped onto his bed.

"Finally." Said Lance, thoroughly irritated and absolutely refusing to show any wavering signs of weakness to Pidge.

"You should stay with him." Said Pidge.

"Not you too." Lance protested, running his hands through his hair. "I went through all that and – and" –

"No, I'm not kidding." Said Pidge seriously. "He doesn't look well. I don't think he should be left alone."

"You stay with him then." Said Lance, pouting.

Keith groaned from the bed. "Lance." He grumbled, that dreaded soppy tone seeping into his voice again. Lance's heart dropped to his stomach. Don't say anything weird, don't say anything weird, he begged, sending the mental message to Keith's brain with all of his will.

Pidge shrugged. "He seems to want you with him, so…"

Lance scowled. "It's not – I mean – it's not like that."

Pidge stared at him levelly. "Like what? Jeez, Lance, chill out. There isn't a problem here. Just do the man a favour, will ya? Heck knows, you owe him one after earlier."

And that was it, the stab of guilt that Lance needed to keep him glued to the floor of Keith's room while Pidge left. And she was right. If it hadn't been for him, they might not have got into this mess in the first place. Keith might not have had his brains fiddled with by squid aliens and ended up in such a state. Lance sighed and made himself face the heap of Keith on the bed.

Keith's eyes were open. Watching him. That got to Lance. He felt his stomach flip.

"Hey, err" – He started, unsure where he was going. "Wassup, buddy?"

"I was thinking." Said Keith, his voice low. He almost sounded like himself again. There was no hint of a smile in his eyes now. His gaze was intense and bore through Lance like a steel drill.

"Y-you were? About what?" Asked Lance, unsure how recovered Keith was by now. Was he back to normal?

"If we had a kid," Said Keith, "it would be a purple Paladin."

Lance stared at him. "What."

Keith straightened up on his bed, his dilated eyes twinkling. "Think about it, though. You're the red lion – I mean – I'm the red lion – you're the blue lion… mix em together aaaand… PURPLE LION!"

Lance pinched the bridge of his nose. Part of him wanted to laugh, pretend like this was just some weird thing that Keith had said. But this was beyond weird. He decided to use logic instead.

"No, Keith. For that to happen, the red lion and the blue lion would have to mate. If they can even… I mean, they're robots for a start. And we're not lions. We're pilots. Besides, who says that just because they're red and blue it would make purple? What if it made – I dunno – orange or something?"

Keith pouted, apparently displeased by this answer. "I tried to do your thing and it didn't work."

Lance held his arms by his sides. He just blinked at Keith. He couldn't believe he was having this conversation.

"My thing? What do you mean, 'my thing'?"

Keith shrugged. "It doesn't matter." He sighed. "I'm cold."

"If you're cold, then get under the blanket or something. Go to sleep. You need to sleep this off."

"I don't want a blanket." Keith protested, glaring at his crossed arms. He was sulking, like a little kid.

"Then don't complain about being cold!"

"But, Lance, you're warm. Come here."

Lance's heart sank, Oh boy. He was doing that again. "Keith, I" –

"Please." Keith looked at him, an exaggerated pout wobbling his lower lip. Lance couldn't help but be reminded of his three year old niece, and he was weak to her tears. He only hoped to god Keith didn't cry – that would add to the list of 'weird things that Keith has done today' that Lance was steadily racking up in his head. Lance sighed; perhaps if he resolved himself to view Keith as a little kid that needed comforting, he could stay objective about this. All part of another mission… nothing… weird.

But scooching onto the small bed in full Paladin armour and linking his arm around Keith was weird. And Keith fitting his frame to curl in around Lance's chest was weird. So was the long, heartfelt sigh as Keith melted against him. Everything about this was weird, and Lance felt his heart rate accelerate to three times its normal pace the more weird it got.

And then, "Lance, why do you hate me?"

Lance froze. "H-hate you? I don't hate you, Keith."

Keith was silent. Lance didn't like that. "Hey, say something." He pestered, shaking Keith a little with his arm.

"You're doing all this for me, but – just out of duty, right? It's another part of a mission. I'm a chore to you." Keith said quietly. It was the same tone of voice he'd used when Lance had made that joke on Akwa Major – and Keith had been himself then.

"N-no that's not true." And Lance didn't want to admit why it wasn't true. He was trying to see Keith as another part of a mission, but he just couldn't. "I really panicked when you jumped into the water like that." He said. That was okay to admit, right? It was kind of an understatement – he'd flailed more than anyone else. "What'd you do that for, anyway?"

Before he'd rescued Keith, Lance had imagined shouting that at him later – "Why the hell did you jump, Keith? You're such an idiot, why do you always put us in danger?" He hadn't envisaged doing it with Keith curled in his arms.

"Marmora." Said Keith.

"Huh?"

"It was the blade of Marmora. I – I saw one under the surface of the water. You know, I thought – one of them must have come to find us… what if he's drowning? I thought. I wanted to save him."

So that was why. "It was the Sirens, Keith. You must know that now." Said Lance carefully.

"I know – but – all I could think about was Thace before we went to fight Zarkon, remember? You didn't see him, Lance. I did. He sacrificed himself for us. It should have been me."

Lance pulled away from Keith and took him by the shoulders, making him face him. "What are you talking about? If we'd lost you we wouldn't have been able to form Voltron! We would have all been killed. It wasn't your fault, Keith."

Keith dropped his eyes away from Lance. "There it is again. Voltron. Like that's all that matters. Is that all we are? Pieces of a weapon?"

Lance grit his teeth. "No. It's not that…" Say it, said his brain, say it, "We would have lost you, Keith. I would have lost you and – and that's worse than losing Voltron."

Lance hated that this was the most honest thing he'd said all day. But Keith's reaction was worth it. His eyes met Lance's, their pupils still wider than they should be, and his lips parted.

"Do you… do you mean that?" He breathed. The pallor on Keith's cheeks transformed from grey to a deep, dark blush.

Lance's insides squirmed. It would be easier if Keith had just punched him in the face or something and given him a cold, lock-down stare. Or even if he'd rolled his eyes and given Lance his finest jab – he would have been able to deal with that, but this Keith pulled all of Lance's guards down. One by one. Piece by piece.

"Yeah, man. 'Course I do." Said Lance as nonchalantly as he could, aware that his fingers were still digging into Keith's shoulders. He loosened his grip. He was surprised when Keith leaned away from him and nestled into the blankets instead. Perhaps it was for the best. He wasn't sure how safe cuddling was after that undoubtedly maybe slightly romantic confession on Lance's part. Besides, Keith was still unabashedly embarrassed – his face was glowing and he was biting his lip, his gaze averted from Lance.

Lance felt a jolt of despair as the word 'sexy' jumped to mind. No, no, no, no – his automatic denial reflex kicked in. Keith was not sexy. There was nothing sexy about Keith. Not his outrageously long eyelashes or his thick, black hair or his exposed shoulders peeking out from under the blankets. Not the shadow of his defined collar-bones flexing under the quickening pulse on his neck… aaaagh, quiznak.