Sleep well

Okay so I figure that there is a span of a few months, maybe even several months that pass between the end of season 2 and the beginning of season 3, so maybe the team has some time to bond better while they search for Shiro and liberate planets.

They seem closer; at least Keith and Lance aren't constantly at each other's necks like before. Plus I figure Keith hasn't been doing himself any favors by keeping up with his rest and would likely be pushing himself too hard.

Meanwhile Lance being Lance feels like he doesn't really have a place when not on missions so he has a lot of time to wander aimlessly around the castle while everyone else does their own thing. Being Keith's "Rival" he tends to keep tabs on him more than the others so he finds himself seeking him out and checking in on him. (I just really wanted an excuse to have Lance giving Keith his jacket or covering him up with it.)

Keith spends much of his time these days back at the Castle of Lions on the training deck trying to get stronger and distract himself from the pain of losing Shiro after taking down Zarkon.

Today he spent so much time training that by the time he calls it quits he's so tired he can't even make it back to his bedroom so he opts to crash on the couch in the common room instead.

No one else is around right now so there's no one there to disturb him.

Keith takes off his belt and places it on the ledge behind the couch while folding up his jacket and using it as a makeshift pillow. By the time he curls up and lays his head down he's out instantly.

…

Lance was taking a walk around the castle seeing what everyone was up to.

Pidge was doing research as usual so he figured it was best not to disturb her.

Hunk was in the kitchen trying out new recipes with some fresh ingredients that they picked up on the last few planets they had stopped on, and while he did talk with Lance while he was in there, he seemed to get caught up in his work just as easily as Pidge so after about half an hour Lance decided to leave the big guy to it.

Next he went to the bridge to see how Coran and Allura were doing but he didn't really get all of the technical jibber jabber flying around so he left them to their work as well.

It occurred to him while wandering around that he hadn't seen Keith for most of the day, since breakfast actually and if he was correct it was nearly supper time.

He wondered what the mullet head was up to and decided to go to the training deck since that was the most likely place to find that hothead.

When he got there though the only ones there were a few Blade of Marmora members that remained on the ship, they seemed to be doing some kind of mediation so he left as quietly as he could.

Everyone seemed to be doing their own thing and trying to find a way to go about their daily lives as best they could and he kind of envied them that. What could he do to take his mind off of things? Sure he could go practice his shooting, possibly go try to figure out how that dang Altean pool worked or maybe go back to his room and do some Pilates but he was still curious as to where Keith was.

Finally he came to the common room and thought it was worth a shot to take a look inside and sure enough when he walked in, there was Keith curled up on the couch with his jacket under his head. He looked completely exhausted and Lance wondered just how much he had been pushing himself lately.

Everyone knew how devastated Keith had been when they had discovered that Shiro had vanished and how he had spent as much time as humanly possible, maybe even more, practicing and training whenever he wasn't out on missions or searching for Shiro.

Lance let out a sigh as he walked over to the couch. He looked down at Keith's sleeping form and noticed how all of the tension had seemed to leave him as he finally managed to rest. Lance couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his lips. Keith needed this and he hoped it helped him recover some of the energy he's been using as he pushed himself basically to the breaking point.

Honestly if he hadn't taken a break soon, Lance was going to drag him to his room himself and stand guard outside the door to make sure he took some time to relax and rest. They couldn't do anything to help anyone if he continued to run himself ragged like he's been doing.

Lance stepped over to stand next to where Keith was sleeping and slipped his own jacket off and laid it over Keith to cover him up while he slept since there were no blankets around. He smiled more softly as Keith did that subconscious move where you wrap the covers around yourself in your sleep to be more comfortable. Finally Lance felt like he was able to contribute to something today.

He sat down on the opposite side of the couch after turning down the lights in the common room and sprawled out on the couch himself so that he could be comfortable too but could still motion to anyone that may come in to keep quiet and let Keith rest.

Well that was his plan, but as he brought his arms up behind his head and looked over at Keith once more and felt his own eyes drooping. He hadn't noticed just how tired he himself was since he had spent so much time trying to find a way to be of some use to someone.

"Sleep well buddy, you've earned it." Lance said quietly to Keith before settling back and closing his eyes for a while to let his mind wander to a time when they could all be together again as a team and hopefully get back home to Earth.

…

Later on Hunk walked into the common room to find the two fast asleep on the couch and very quietly crept further into the room to leave plates with their dinner for them to eat when they woke up, then just as quietly he crept back out of the room.

…

When Keith finally woke up he sat up and found that something had been covering him. He was momentarily confused since he hadn't had anything like that when he had fallen asleep (passed out) earlier. When he saw that it was Lance's jacket he looked over in the dimly lit room and saw the blue paladin asleep on the other half of the couch.

He smiled to himself as he looked back at the jacket.

He sat up and saw the plates of food sitting on a hover tray and figured that Hunk must have come by. As he reached forward for the plate nearest him Lance let out a yawn as he sat up and stretched. He looked over and saw that Keith was awake now and a faint smile played at the edge of his lips.

"Hey man, did you sleep well?"

Keith held the jacket up and passed it over to him while giving him a short nod.

"Yeah actually, thanks by the way."

Lance shrugged nonchalantly but the smile was still there.

"Hey no problem, I thought you might be cold or something." he looked down at the tray and his stomach let out a growl. "Oh good, looks like Hunk brought dinner." he said to change the subject and Keith let it slide.

"Yeah, must have."

After turning the lights back up they sat there and ate their meal in a comfortable silence. Keith didn't say anything but it had actually been the best sleep he'd gotten in a long while.

Hey guys, this is my first VLD fan fic so I hope you like it. If you haven't seen season 3 yet all I have to say is SOFT.

You'll know what I mean when you watch it. Any way, this may be my first posted VLD fic but I do have others that I'm working on so hopefully I can get those for you guys soon.

Please let me know what you think!