It was cold. Too cold. So friggen cold in fact, that Lance was positive his feet were frozen in a block of ice.

The alien planet was brutal for temperature, reaching well below zero, not counting the wind chill. The others didn't seem to mind as much, but Lance, being from warmer climates originally, was having the worst time of his life. Which was saying something, considering they were in the middle of an all-out war against the Glara.

So yeah. It was cold.

A frigid breeze played with the hair that snuck out of the bottom of Lance's hat, making him shiver.

Stupid planet. Stupid cold. Stupid ship.

Lance recalled how Allura had told them about the ship running low on supplies, and they had made a detour to this rotten planet in order to continue their journey. He had been ecstatic at first! A new planet he could explore without having to save anyone, it was like vacation!

Allura had even said this planet had tons of precipitation, and Lance had thought she meant rain at first. But then they had landed, and he had realized his mistake. Stupid Allura for getting my hopes up!

His brooding thoughts were interrupted by the sound of laughter. Lance turned and saw Keith talking to a stranger, who looked to be a little taller than Shiro. The aliens on this planet weren't all that different in appearance than Lance was expecting. They had humanoid features and wore thick clothing just like Lance and the rest of the crew. The only difference was that they stood at around 7ft tall, so by all standards the one talking to Keith was actually short. Another thing Lance had noticed about them was that their eyes gave off a soft blue glow at all times, and they had excessively long, thick hair that covered their ears and necks. He considered them to be attractive, in their own way, but was in no mood to be flirting, which also said something about how bloody cold this place was.

Lance leaned against the building he was standing near in order to get a better look at the two, and so as not to get caught staring.

Keith and the alien (which Lance judged to be male) seemed to be having a deep conversation about something, judging by how expressive Keith was being. His hands were moving around as he spoke, meaning he was engaged in the discussion. The alien was leaning against a fence with his arms crossed casually, smiling as he watched Keith talk. What a creep Lance thought as adjusted his hat against another onslaught of wind. He watched as the alien chuckled at something Keith said, then double over in laughter as the story progressed.

What are they talking about?

Keith smiled and his face was red as he watched the alien laugh. Um, excuse me, is he blushing!?

Lance watched furiously as the alien wiped tears (how have those not frozen already?) from his eyes and leaned in, so that he was almost eye level with Keith. Woah now buddy, Keith doesn't let people get that close. Lance smirked slightly as he imagined what Keith would do to let the alien know about his thoughts with personal space, but was taken aback when he saw Keith shift forward, almost subconsciously, toward the alien.

WHAT THE F- Lance didn't get to finish his thought as he hear a little "ahem" from behind him. He whirled and saw Pidge standing behind him with an armful of random parts.

"What'cha doing?" She asked in a sing song voice that signaled she knew exactly what he had been doing. She peaked behind Lance and saw Keith and his friend, then smirked and narrowed her eyes at Lance.

"Spying are we? Lance, I didn't know you had it in you." Lance shifted so he was blocking her view.

"Not spying. Just trying not to freeze to death on this stupid planet. Are we almost ready to leave?"

"Changing the subject eh? Subtle." Lance frowned down at her but didn't respond. Pidge adjusted the load in her arms. "Allura said just a few more tics, but that could mean anything. She doesn't exactly speak the same dialect." She noticed Lance shiver. "You know, you can go back on the ship now. Hunk went back on as soon as they were finished re-stocking the pantry. I'm going back on now. They have such cool tools here! I want to try and adjust some of them and-" Lance cut her off, "Yeah, you should go do that."

Pidge gave him a questioning look. "You aren't coming?"

Lance shook his head slightly. "I'll wait for Keith. I don't trust the guy he's with. Looks dangerous." Pidge narrowed her eyes again. "Does he look dangerous? Or do he look like competition?" She turned and left before Lance could think of a snappy reply.

What's that supposed to mean?

Lance didn't ponder for long. As soon as Pidge turned the corner he resumed his position against the wall, looking back to where Keith and the alien were. The two were now closer than before, and the alien was talking this time.

Okay, so maybe he was spying. So what? For all he knew these aliens had mind controlling powers that seduce strangers into-into…Into what? Staying on this god-awful planet? Lance shivered again. Yeah, that would be torture. But as he watched the two talk, he began to think that maybe Keith wouldn't think so. He was still blushing, which made Lance's gut twist with anger and something else. Something he couldn't identify. Why did it bother him that Keith seemed to be enjoying himself? He was allowed happiness. In fact Lance often tried his hardest to make Keith feel like part of the team whenever the two of them weren't competing. So what's my problem?

And then it hit him. Hit him like a punch to the stomach.

Keith is happy, and it's not because of me.

He wasn't the one making Keith laugh. He wasn't the one making Keith blush, making him tuck his hair behind his rosy ears. He wasn't the one making Keith happy.

Lance stumbled backwards at the realization, and slipped on a patch of ice. His limbs swung wildly trying to grasp at something, anything, to keep him upright, but gravity won.

He crashed down onto the hard packed snow and cursed loudly. He saw the two look over, shock on Keith's face, an amused smile on the aliens.

"Are you okay?" How did he get here so fast? Keith reached out a hand to help Lance up, but Lance swatted it away.

"I'm fine!" He got up and turned toward the ship, not looking back as he jammed his hands deep into his pockets. He could feel Keith watching him as he left, and as soon as he rounded the corner he heard the alien's laughter. Loud, obnoxious and echoing off the snow, the noise followed Lance all the way back to the ship. Tears burned his eyes but he refused to let them fall until he was safely in his room, where they cascaded down his cheeks in hot globs. He wasn't sure why he was crying. It's not like he was embarrassed at falling, or even at being laughed at. People laughed at him all the time.

No, he was crying over something else….or rather, over someone else.

It had been a few hours since they had left the ice planet. The ship was now fully restocked and ready to continue saving the world, or rather, worlds. At least, that was the plan.

Keith had had a great time on the surface of the new planet, despite the biting cold. The people were friendly and inviting, and not to mention attractive.

He usually wasn't one for flirting, but the alien who had approached him was charismatic, good looking, and actually paid attention to Keith.

Unlike some people.

Why had Lance snapped at him?

Keith had gone up to Lance's room as soon as he returned to the ship, but Lance wouldn't open the door to see him.

What is wrong with him?

He recalled the commotion as Lance slipped on the ice near a building Keith had been close to, and how he had rushed over to make sure Lance was okay and not, you know, bleeding all over the place from a major head wound. The fall had looked painful.

He thought he was being friendly! Being a nice person! But no, Lance had declined (rather rudely) his offer for help and had stormed off in a huff.

Maybe he was embarrassed? But that didn't make sense either, because Keith had seen Lance do some pretty embarrassing things and not falter once. No. Something else was wrong.

Keith had asked Hunk to check on Lance after being ignored the first time, just to make sure he was still alive and not concussed on the floor or something, but Hunk had come back just as perplexed.

"Did something happen to him?" Keith retailed the events of the day, leaving out the flirty bits with the attractive alien. Those were his own personal business.

Hunk mumbled something about Lance being frozen in the head before heading to the kitchen to make him some tea, or at least the space equivalent to tea. Was it just the cold that was making Lance act this way?

Keith knew Lance was Cuban, and that cold wasn't really a part of his vocab, but Allura had provided them with sufficient clothing to keep out the chill. And Hunk had said he had been allowed back on the ship fairly quickly, so why had Lance not gone back on?

Something wasn't adding up, but Keith was determined to solve it. Besides, he had nothing better to do.

He decided to start with another visit to Lance's room, hoping that the few hours of quiet Lance had had would make him more compliant in the question department. Keith was rounding the corner when he nearly ran into Pidge. Her head was down, looking at a strange gadget in her hands and mumbling to herself.

"Woah hey watch it!" She glared up at him, which made Keith shudder internally. How is she so intimidating for someone so small!

"Sorry! I didn't hear you coming. I was thinking about something else."

Pidge looked up at him and narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. "Not like you to be so distracted you nearly run over a harmless bystander."

"I wouldn't exactly call you harmless."

"True, but the point remains. What were you thinking about?" Keith told her about the Lance incident.

"So I'm just going to try and see what he was doing, you know? Get some answers. Also he's acting really weird and it's freaking me out a bit." Pidge's expression had remained the same throughout the retelling of the story, but at the mention of getting answers, a small sparkle lit up her eyes. The corner or her mouth twitched up in a sly smile.

"Be careful with answers. You might not like the ones you get." She shrugged. "Or maybe you will, who knows." And with that she was off, gadget in hand and skip in her step.

What's that supposed to mean?

Keith shook his head, feeling the hair tickle the back of his neck.

Why is everyone acting strangely today?

When he finally made it to Lance's room he hesitated. The lights were off and the room was quiet, and Keith thought that maybe Lance wasn't there. But then he heard the slight creek of the bed as someone adjusted their position on it.

So you haven't left your room. What's going on?

He knocked.

And was met with silence.

So he knocked again, this time with more force. "Lance I know you're in there I can hear you moving around."

Silence again, but it only lasted a few seconds. Keith heard a small sigh and the bed creak again as Lance got up and made his way across the room. The door opened just a crack, but it was too dark to see much of anything inside the room. Why won't he come out?

"What do you want?" Lance's voice was hoarse and soft, almost a whisper, and Keith was briefly taken aback.

"I want to know why you're in your room pouting."

There was more life in Lance's voice this time. "I'm not pouting!"

"Yeah, you are. I could hear you sighing and sniffling."

"Quit spying on me! It's none of your business!" That ticked Keith off. They were paladins. Teammates. Of course it was his business! Especially if it affected the way the team worked. They had to be able to form Voltron whenever necessary, and that meant not having secrets. But Keith was never good at comforting people. And there was something about the way Lance was acting that made him lose his limited patience.

"Spying on you!? How is asking if you're okay spying on you?!"

"You didn't ask if I was ok! You said I was pouting!" Lance was growing irritated, Keith could tell by the way his voice was rising, all hoarseness gone.

"You ARE pouting! You've been hiding in your room for the past three hours with the lights off and not talking to anyone! Not even Hunk!"

"Maybe I don't feel like talking!"

"You always feel like talking! It's getting you to shut up that's the hard part!" Keith regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. Lance was quiet on the other side of the door. Several long, uncomfortable moments passed between them before Lance replied.

"Then leave." Keith wanted to leave. He wanted to storm off and let Lance be sad and pitiful and alone. But he couldn't. There was so much hurt in those two words that Keith wasn't even sure Lance had been the one to say them. So he stayed put.

"No. Not until you tell me what's going on."

"I'm fine." Lance's voice was barely a whisper.

"That's what you said before, but I don't believe you. What happened? Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"

"No."

"Do you have hypothermia or something?"

"No! So stop bothering me and go back to you boyfriend!"

My boyfriend? Lance had obviously seen Keith talking to the alien when he slipped, but he hadn't thought until now that maybe he had been spying on him. Is that what this was about?

"What are you talking about? Were you spying on me?"

Lance didn't reply.

"You were! What the hell man! Why were you spying on me?!"

"I wasn't spying! I was just making sure you weren't getting kidnapped or brain washed or-" Keith felt violated. He had thought he was alone when he was flirting with the stranger. And Lance had seen him? This is so embarrassing!

"Not cool Lance! I don't spy on you when you flirt with girls, which is all the time, or when you get rejected! And what does it matter if I was talking to some guy! I'm allowed to flirt as well!" There. He had said it. That he was flirting. Lance is never going to let me live that down.

"You two were getting awfully close." There was cutting edge to Lance's words. Keith snapped.

"So what!? I'm not allowed to make friends? Only you can? How is that fair! How is it that you get to flirt with whoever you want but as soon as I do it you throw a hissy fit?"

"What the f-" Lance started but was quickly interrupted by Keith.

"Did you get rejected by some girl like always? Did you see me enjoying myself for once and think 'hey Keith isn't allowed to be happy let's ruin it for him by being a jerk' because you have to be the center of attention at all times?!" Keith hated how terrible he was with words. He could tell how much the question, no matter rage fueled it was, had hurt Lance. The door swung open and Lance stared him down, red rimming his eyes and his hair and clothes a rumpled mess. Has he been crying?

"Is that what you think of me?" Keith was taken aback by the accusational tone.

"That's what everyone thinks-"

Lance interrupted. "But is that what you think!"

Keith stared at Lance, whose bottom lip was beginning to tremble.

"Do you think that I just flirt with girls and get rejected, and then cry about it?"

"No, I-"

"Do you think that I don't know that people laugh at me behind my back, or that they call me stupid or a failure or an attention seeking brat-" Lance was becoming hysterical, tears beginning to form in his eyes as his voice rose higher.

Where was all this coming from?

"Lance what-"

"Do you think I don't know that I don't make you happy?!" Lance shouted, and his voiced echoed down the halls. Keith's eyes opened in shock. Lance was full on sobbing now, fat tears rolling down his red cheeks. He didn't even bother to wipe them away. When Keith didn't say anything he continued.

"B-because I do. I know." He took a shaky breath. "So please, just leave me be." Lance made to close the door but Keith stuck his boot in the crack, forcing it to remain open.

"Lance." Keith shoved the door open and forced his way into the room, then proceeded to close the door after him so the two were standing in utter darkness. Keith could feel his eyes adjusting to the dark, but he didn't need to see Lance to know where he was. He reached out and grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing him into an awkward hug. Lance went stiff in his arms, shocked by the tender gesture. Keith could feel him relax into the embrace after a few moments, and a new onslaught of tears began.

Keith let Lance cry; let whatever pent up feelings the boy had been withholding make their escape. He felt his shirt become damp as salty water poured from Lance's cheeks. But Keith didn't mind. The initial awkwardness he had felt when hugging Lance had been replaced by something else. He felt his own cheeks redden as Lance reached up and wrapped his arms Keith's back, closing any space that might have been between them. They stood like that for what felt like hours, but was merely minutes. Finally, regretfully, Keith broke apart, ready to ruin the moment they had just shared. But it was Keith's turn to speak, and Lance needed to hear what he had to say.

"What was that for?" Lance choked out, but Keith could sense that he was smiling as he spoke the words. Keith took a deep breath before beginning.

"You piss me off Lance." And with that the smile was gone, but Keith wasn't finished. "You piss me off so much. Do you know how many times I've watched you flirt with other people? Do you know how much I've wanted to do what you're doing right now? To lock myself in my room and cry?" Lance started to formulate a reply but Keith cut him off.

"No. You don't. Because I'm able to contain my feelings. I'm able to channel that energy into something else, like training. And it's worked for me. Every time you've cocked your eyebrows at a girl. Every time you've uttered a cheesy pick up line to a passerby. Every time I've looked at you looking at someone else, I was able to make it through. No matter how jealous I was. But you? No. As soon as you see me talking to someone, actually having a conversation I was enjoying with someone, and you break down. As soon as someone shows the slightest interest in me you throw a tantrum. But when it's just us you don't seem to care. Does that seem fair to you?" That's it. He was done. Keith took a deep breath as the silence between them stretched on. Finally Lance spoke.

"Keith-I…I didn't know." Keith was mildly upset at that response. He had just poured his heart out and that's all Lance could give him? An 'I didn't know'?

"Well, now you do. So just think about that for future reference." Keith made to leave but Lance grabbed his coat sleeve.

"No, wait." Keith turned back slightly and watched as Lance took another deep breath. "I didn't know that you felt that way. About me…about all of it. I didn't know that you had feelings for me in that way."

Keith felt his face heating as Lance repeated his own words back to him. Oh crap. Did I really just admit to liking Lance?!

"So I just wanted to apologize." Lance looked at him then, and Keith felt his heart drop. He was apologizing, meaning he didn't feel the same way. And why should he?

Keith tried to leave again. He didn't want to be near Lance right now. He wanted to move. To run. To train. But what Lance said next made him stop in his tracks.

"I'm sorry that I'm a giant idiot for not realizing how you felt. I honestly thought you didn't like me very much, or that I annoyed you. I guess I got so upset when I saw you with someone else because I figured that I would never be able to make you feel that way…happy, that is." The two stared at each other briefly before blushing and looking away.

"Wow. So I guess we both suck at this." Keith watched as Lance smiled at his statement. Lance chuckled. "Yeah, I guess we do."

"And I guess we feel the same way…" Keith was thankful for the darkness the room provided as it hid the deepening blush that was spreading to his ears. Lance moved to grab Keith's hands.

"I guess we do. So…" He interlaced his fingers with Keith's and took a small step forward. "What should we do about that?" Keith had never been on the receiving end of Lance's flirts, and was not prepared, neither mentally or physically, for the reaction he had to them. His heart fluttered in his chest, his palms grew sweaty and his knees wobbled slightly, and in his mind the thoughts "Lance likes me!" and "is this actually happening?!" chased each other in relentless circles. Somehow the words "I don't know, you tell me," managed to escape his throat. Lance grinned and pulled Keith in close, the two just inches from each other. Lance tilted his head slightly as his eyes closed, and Keith felt his own face tilting upwards to close the space between them. He judged he had time for one last quick breath before their lips met, and opened his mouth to take it, when the door flew open.

"Lance I have your tea-WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE!?" Hunk nearly dropped the platter he was carrying but managed to stay on his feet. Lance and Keith lurched apart, chests heaving in panic at the sudden intrusion. The light from the hallway was blinding and Keith shielded his eyes. He heard Lance hiss. "HUNK WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING LEARN TO KNOCK!"

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE IN BED SLEEPING I DIDN'T WANT TO WAKE YOU UP!"

"SO YOU FIGURED YOU WOULD BARGE IN YELLING 'LANCE I HAVE YOUR TEA'?!"

"WELL I WASN'T EXPECTING TO WALK IN ON YOU TWO MAKING OUT!"

"WE WEREN'T MAKING OUT! YOU MADE SURE OF THAT!"

The bickering continued and Keith began to laugh. He felt Hunk and Lance stare at him in shock but that didn't stop him. In fact, he laughed harder. Hunk looked concerned, if a little disturbed, but Lance was grinning, and Keith felt his heart flutter again.

"What have you done to Keith?!" Hunk asked, and Lance might have responded, but Keith didn't hear it over the sound of his own happiness.

And yeah, it felt good to laugh. He hadn't done it in a while. But it felt better knowing that Lance was the cause of his euphoria. And it felt even better knowing that he was the cause of Lance's. So he laughed, and he didn't care that Hunk was looking at him like he was crazy, because he knew that Lance was looking at him with something else.

And it wasn't jealousy. It was happiness.