As mentioned in the summary, this is my piece for a fic exchange I did with IcyPanther, who is an amazing write and a good friend of mine. The prompt was "shopping trip went wrong" with characters of our choice. Please make sure you check her story as well! It's called "All That Glitter Isn't Gold" and you can check it out on Icy's profile!
This was supposed to be a one-shot, but after finishing the first draft I realized it'd work a whole lot better as a two-shot. So here is the first part, and the second part will be up in 2-3 days!
"Are you done?" Keith grumbled when Lance finally emerged from the cosmetics shop. The red paladin was leaning against the wall, surrounded by multiple shopping bags and looking rather weary.
"Yes, Mullet, I'm done, you can stop whining now," Lance said and placed his two bags – did he just fill two bags with beauty products? Keith thought in disgust – on the floor with all the others. "Sorry to keep you waiting and all, but it's not like we could head back to the castle without Allura's favorite shampoo. She is a princess, you know; it is rude to ignore her request."
"You're just scared she'll kick your ass if you don't buy her what she asked for," Keith deadpanned.
"Well, that too." Lance straightened up and stretched his long arms over his head, cracking his neck several times. "I still think you would've enjoyed much more if you just joined me in the store. We could've found something for your awful hair!" he flashed a devious grin at Keith.
Keith rolled his eyes and started to pick their bags off the floor. "My hair is fine as it is, thanks." He pointed one finger at the general direction of the exit. "Can we go now?"
Lance sighed while helping him with the rest of the bags. "Yeah, sure. Party pooper," he muttered, not really trying to lower his voice. "I can't believe that of all people, you're the one I had to go to the space mall with."
"Hey, I didn't even want to go!" Keith snapped. They usually went all together to the mall, since those visits were not only necessary to get supplies but were also an opportunity to take a break from their ongoing duties and freshen up. However, the castleship had taken quite a hit after their last battle against the Galra, so pretty much everyone found themselves swamped with work: Coran, Hunk and Pidge were busy with technical repairs while Allura and Shiro insisted on going through some new defense plans; they could never know when the Galra would strike again.
That left Lance and Keith with today's shopping duty, and, to put it gently, it was a horrible combination. Lance was like a kid in a candy store when it came to a trip to the mall - only this place had more than a hundred candy stores. Keith didn't bother to hide his irritation whenever Lance got excited about a new place and ran to check it out (which happened about every three minutes), while Lance kept complaining that Keith was ruining all the fun. Nope, not a good combination at all.
Yet they managed somehow to buy everything on their list. They were on their way back to their pod when a metal gleam from a nearby corridor caught Keith's eye all of a sudden. He came to a halt and snapped his head at its direction, causing the other boy to bump into his back.
Lance stumbled backwards with a yelp, shopping bags rustling loudly as he tried to regain his footing. "Dude, what the hell?" he grunted, but Keith ignored him and started walking at the direction of the source of light, leading them into a narrow, somewhat gloomy corridor, which seemed abandoned save for one shop that was located at the very edge of it, next to what looked like a storeroom door.
"Jeez, Keith, this place looks like a crack den," Lance said, voice quivering despite the joking tone. But Keith wasn't really listening to him. He stood in front of the display window of the shop, eyes wide and mouth open in awe.
The window was filled with every type of cold weapon one could possibly imagine. Swords, spheres, axes, knives and daggers in various shapes and sizes stood there for display, their metal shimmer a stark contrast to the dusty, stained window. Keith's eyes slowly trailed across the display until they lay on one particular sword that was hung at the back, nearly hidden from view. The blade was long and slender and had a slight, elegant curve to it. It almost looked like -
"A katana," Keith whispered, fists tightening around the handles of the bags he was holding in what was probably the universal gesture of must have.
"Say what now?" Lance asked in confusion.
Keith's eye twitched. He nearly forgot Lance was there. "A samurai sword," he explained impatiently. "You know, one of the finest cutting weapons in world military history?"
"Riiiight." Lance's shoulders dropped. "Well, it does look cool and all, but we can't really afford it since we have zero money left, so how about we leave this creepy place and head back to the nice, safe pod and then – "
"Hey!" Keith barked, already making his way into the dark shop. "How much for that long sword over there?"
"What the – Keith!" Lance bristled, trying and failing to grab the red paladin's jacket. "Did you not hear what I just said? We are out of money! Do you need that in Spanish? Estamos sin dinero!"
Apparently Keith has decided it was an ignoring-everything-Lance-says-day, because he was already standing in front of the counter, turning his head here and there in search of the shop's owner. "Is anybody here?" he called.
More silence followed his question. Lance shuffled a bit closer to him, unable to surpass a shiver. "Keith, I really don't like this place," he whispered.
"Will you shut up already?" Keith hissed. "There's nothing to be afraid of – "
A loud gurgling noise was suddenly heard and both paladins jumped in place, dropping their bags to the floor.
"Pardon my manners," said a soft, sweet voice as an alien about the height of Lance's waist emerged from behind the counter (or more like materialized behind it, judging by the sickening noise). He kind of looked like the love child of a ferret and a snake, with narrow, yellow eyes that glowed in the dim light and a thick, brown fur that covered every inch of its lithe body. "I was enjoying a most delightful nap and was not expecting any customers at such a peculiar hour."
Keith frowned. "It's barely noon."
The alien's mouth twisted into a wide grin, exposing a set of pointy teeth that made the hairs on Lance's back prickle. "Well, you are quite an observant one, aren't you."
Keith huffed out a breath, never the one to spend time on small talks. "That long, curved sword in the display window," he said bluntly and pointed at the window. "How much do you want for it?"
"Hold on, Keith," Lance murmured, looking at the shop owner uncomfortably. "We don't even know this guy's name."
The alien's grin widened. "I thought you'd never ask. I am Gediok, and to whom do I owe this pleasure, please?"
"I'm Keith," Keith said, "And this is Lance."
"Very well, Keith and Lance. I must say, you have an impeccable taste in blades. This sword is truly a beauty, isn't it? No wonder it had caught your attention. Do you happen to know what the blade is made of?"
Keith bit his lower lip, trying not to look too eager to know the answer. The struggle must have been evident on his face as Gediok released a short, grating laughter. "Orlean steel, mined straight from the core of planet Orlea," he said in an even sweeter voice; it was starting to make Lance a bit nauseous. "Makes up the sharpest type of blades known to this universe, so sharp it can cut right through bone in just a single thrust. Trust me, young lad, you are not the first nor the last one to lay eyes on this extraordinarily deadly weapon."
"I don't like this guy at all," Lance murmured in Keith's ear. The Cuban boy seemed to become at least five shades paler throughout Gediok's description; but Keith only looked more pumped up, flexing and unflexing his fingers nervously at his sides.
"I want it," he blurted out. "How much do I need to pay?"
Gediok quirked one furry eyebrow. "Oh, this item has no price tag," he purred, yellow eyes glistening greedily. "No amount of Gacs can possibly buy an original Orlean steel sword. One has to prove he is worthy of owning it."
"You mean by combat?" Keith asked, body already tensing as his right palm hovered above the blade at the back of his belt.
Gediok gave another toothy grin. "Smart lad. Yes, this is exactly what I mean. But please bear in mind that no one has ever beaten the Orlean blade to this very day."
"Then I guess I'll be the first one," Keith said through gritted teeth.
Gediok chuckled. "Feisty one, as all youngsters are. Well, if you truly wish to proceed, you may pick any weapon in this shop to go against the Orlean blade, which will be handled by me, of course. The rules are simple: the one to draw the first blood wins."
"And the loser?" Keith asked, ignoring Lance's gasp at the words "first blood."
"If I lose, well, I will hand you the Orlean blade as we agreed upon; if you lose, you must admit your defeat and leave my shop immediately, without arguing or demanding a rematch."
"That's it?" Keith asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
Gediok snored. "What do you think? I have no interest in capturing nor enslaving you; as for killing you, well, there is a good chance the blade will do the work for me, so why bother any further."
"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" Lance finally interrupted the conversation. He tugged at Keith's sleeve and yanked him backwards forcefully. "Are you out of your mind?" he hissed. "You already have your bayard and your knife, and the castle's kitchen has like a dozen more knives, why the hell do you need another blade?"
Keith shook off Lance's grip. "Oh, so you're allowed to stop at every shop in this goddamn mall and buy twenty different masks for your stupid face, but I can't have one thing that I actually want?" he snarled.
"That's different!" Lance shrieked silently. "I pay for my stuff with money, not with some weird fighting-to-the-death pact! Besides, how can you be so sure he'll actually give you the sword, even if you win? I mean, I know you're bad at reading people and all, but this guy pretty much has the word 'fraud' written in glitter all over his face! What if you win and instead of letting you walk away he calls the mall's security? Who are Galra, in case you forgot?"
"Then I'll take them out too," Keith said dryly and pushed Lance to the side as he stepped forward and offered his hand to the shop owner. "Deal. Let's fight."
Gediok hummed in content and enveloped Keith's hand in his small paw. "Very well," he said. "Now, would you like to take a dobash to decide what would be your weapon of choice? We have a rather impressive selection here at the store; I'm sure you will find something to your liking."
"No need, I've already got my weapon of choice," Keith said and finally drew his knife, holding it in front of Gediok's face. The latter startled backwards, looking surprised for the first time since they got here, but composed himself in an instant and examined the blade curiously. "Luxite, huh? Impressive. Not as sharp as Orlean steel, but does a fine job nonetheless." His eyes met Keith's again. "Where did you get this, if I may ask?"
"None of your business," Keith said without thinking. He flinched, expecting to be reprimanded for his rudeness, but Gediok only threw his head back and croaked another snort of laughter. "Alright, alright. After all, I am in no position to pry. However…" he stroked one of his whiskers thoughtfully. "I'm feeling rather generous today, so how about we spice things up a bit? If you lose the match, you may pick any weapon in the store as a consolation prize – apart from the Orlean blade, of course – but you must give up your blade and leave it here. It will surely be a nice addition to the display."
"Not in a million years," Keith said sharply, tightening his grip around the knife. It was his only connection to his past, to his absent mother; he wouldn't give it up for all the swords in the universe. "We either do this match as we agreed before, or we don't do it at all."
Gediok sighed, although he did not look particularly disappointed. "Very well. Can't say I didn't try." He gestured towards a black curtain that covered the far wall of the room. "Now please, follow me here. I have a back room which is much more adequate for this type of activity than this tiny shop of mine."
"Keith, wait," Lance pleaded. He caught Keith's shoulder and forced him to turn back and look at him. "Please don't do this. This isn't like one of the simulations in the castle; you can get hurt for real."
"I'll be fine," Keith said in exasperation. "This guy is like half my size, Lance, I can take him out before you blink."
"But he said no one has ever beaten the what-its-name blade to this very day! He must be pretty damn good with that sword!"
"He's just trying to scare us, come on, it's probably all just big talk."
"I don't know… I have a really bad feeling about it," Lance shifted from leg to leg. "Can't we just go back to the castle? We're already late, the others will start to get worried and – "
"We are late because of you!" Keith burst out, wrenching his shoulder free from Lance's grip. "You're the one who spent the entire morning buying all kinds of junk that wasn't even on the list, and I was the one who had to wait for you like an idiot every single time! But no, you just can't wait another five minutes for me, because this match doesn't have anything to do with something you like! Damn it, Lance, sometimes you only think about yourself, you know that?!"
Lance opened his mouth but no words came out, apparently too shocked by Keith's reaction. Keith felt his stomach clench, already regretting his harsh words, but it couldn't be helped right now. He had a fight to win and he couldn't let Lance distract him. The blue paladin was probably just whining because weapons and combats bored him to death; still, it didn't mean Keith would let him ruin his chance to win the sharpest sword in the universe.
He was an excellent swordsman, who had already proved he was strong enough to become part of the Blade of Marmora. He could do this.
Lance stood in the middle of the shop and stared at Keith as the red paladin disappeared behind the curtain, following Gediok. He knew Keith had always been a hothead, but this… this was a whole new level of hotheadness. Storming into an abandoned and probably-not-entirely-legal arms shop and throwing every bit of common sense out of the window over a single, dumb sword, like some kid fussing about a new toy… Lance's fists clenched at his sides. He was the only who was only thinking about himself? Keith had just left him alone with all of their bags!
Well, if Mullet wanted to do this by himself so badly, that was fine with Lance. He should just head back to the castle and deny he had anything to do with it. For all he cared Keith could lose an eye in this stupid match. Or at least get a decent haircut.
However… Lance turned his head to the door, then back to the black curtain. A lump formed in his throat and he tried to push it down without success. He did not trust Gediok at all; he was like the most stereotypic Disney villain ever (no wonder Keith didn't see right through his mask – Lance doubted the guy had ever seen a Disney movie in his life). And although he knew Keith was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, even if he had to fight his way out, something in Lance's gut told him he should not leave him alone with this alien.
Lance sighed. Why did he always have to be such a good friend?
Leaving the shopping bags in a neat pile under the counter he made his way to the curtained wall, shoulders hunched. If he had any luck the fight would be short and they would be back in time for lunch. His stomach was already rumbling, though not entirely from hunger.
He passed through the curtain and found himself in a surprisingly large room - about half the size of a school gym. It was empty save for a few dusty crates, on which Lance gingerly took a sit, eyes scanning the space around him. The room was dimly lit by a single lightbulb and had no windows nor vents. It kind of looked like an underground arena, where illegal wrestling matches or dog fights were held. Lance lowered his eyes to the floor and his breath hitched at the sight of large, dark, long-drained stains that could only imply how the previous fights Gediok held here have ended. Did the mall's management even know about this place? Lance seriously considered reporting to them later about the whole thing. Assuming they'd get out of there alive, of course.
Both fighters already stood in their positions, each at an opposite corner of the room. Keith was holding his knife in both hands, body hunched forward and ready to pounce, while Gediok idly moved a claw across the Orlean blade, looking almost bored.
"I see your friend has decided to join us," he said without sparing Lance a look.
Keith glanced at Lance for a brief second before returning his gaze to the opponent in front of him, his face blank. Geez, Mullet, you're welcome, Lance thought in exasperation.
"Shall I review the rules of the match once more before we begin?" Gediok asked.
"There's only one rule," Keith grumbled. "The one who draws the first blood wins."
Gediok bared his teeth, not looking so bored anymore. "Well, let us begin then."
And so, the fight was on.
And it was intense. Lance already knew Keith was an amazing swordsman (even if he'd never told him so, because there was absolutely no need for that ridiculous mullet of his to get any bigger than it already was), so he wasn't surprised at the skill and grace with which the red paladin moved around. But the other guy wasn't an amateur either; in fact, he was a pretty strong fighter, despite being half the size of Keith. He was lithe and quick and handled the Orlean sword with ease, even though the blade was almost the length of his body. No wonder he was so confident about having this match, Lance thought as his stomach knotted in anxiety.
This dance went on like this for several minutes as no one seemed to be getting the upper hand. Every time Keith thrusted his knife he was blocked by Gediok, not even close to brushing his fur, only to block him himself when the alien went for a counter-attack. None of them left his opponent even the tiniest opening. Frankly, if this was a training match and not an actual fight to the death, Lance would have probably lost interest by this point.
A sickening cracking noise, like bones breaking, suddenly caught Lance's attention. Gediok was standing with his back to him, sword held in both paws as he pinned down Keith's blade. But the vertebras on the alien's back were now twisting back and forth, like a cat getting ready to hack up a hairball, and something thin and covered with brown fur suddenly sprouted right from the middle of his back…
Lance gasped in both disgust and shock as he realized what it was. An arm. That slimy bastard was growing up another arm!
He felt his entire body light up with rage. Gediok was cheating! Damnit, he knew it was all a scheme!
But then his wrath was replaced with horror as realization dawned upon him. If Gediok used that extra arm to release the sword from where it was locked with Keith's blade and attack anew, Keith would have no chance of blocking the attack. Gediok would probably aim to stab him from the side and it would be way too quick for Keith to respond. He was completely cornered.
He would be dead in a second.
It all happened so fast. One moment Lance was sitting on the crate, watching helplessly at Gediok's third arm sweep forward and grab the hilt of the Orlean sword, then raised up again to deliver the final blow. He saw Keith's eyes widen in terror, looking for a way out but knowing there was none.
The next moment he found himself standing right behind Gediok – he had absolutely no recollection of getting there – with his right palm wrapped in an iron grip around the Orlean blade, stopping it mid-air.
He had exactly half a second to catch both Keith and Gediok's stunned expressions before pain like he never knew before erupted in his palm, sending waves of fire up through his arm and to his entire body.
"That was a very bad idea," he managed to croak before his vision turned white and he collapsed to the floor.
Did you enjoy this? Please take a minute to leave a comment! Who knows, maybe it'll encourage me to upload the second part faster ;)