Chapter 2 - The Lance and Keith Playlist (Keith's POV)

"This is new," Keith remarked quietly to Shiro, who sat next to him on one of the couches in the Paladin lounge. His comment drew Shiro's attention away from Princess Allura, seated on his other side. Keith had been trying to decipher a document written in the Altean language, which he was trying to learn. As usual during their rare leisure times, Lance, Hunk and Pidge sat on the couch opposite him engaged in something that resulted in a lot of laughing. These leisure times were a way for all of them to relax with each other, and they all found their own ways to unwind, whether it was after a battle or after a long day of training.

"Huh?" Shiro grunted, turning his head to Keith.

Keith nodded his head toward the trio opposite them. Lance had his phone out, a phone that did nothing by way of communication, but which contained Lance's music – a collection of his favorite Earth music. He, Pidge and Hunk all had their phones on them when they left Earth. Shiro had been gone from Earth for a long time, and Keith didn't take his when he went to hide out in the desert, so they didn't have their own. Pidge and Hunk found some way to power them in order for the three to access their own music playlists and the pictures they had saved on the phone. Shiro and Keith envied them for having that connection to Earth.

Lance was the one that made the most use of his phone, for the music. He did take a few pictures with it, but was worried about it running out of storage, so he was sparing with taking them. He did have a selfie with every Voltron member, as well as Allura and Coran, but few other new ones. Keith knew, having seen Lance once swiping through his phone when he thought he was alone, how important the pictures already saved on the phone were. As tears were trickling down Lance's cheeks, Keith knew they were pictures of his family.

Lance loved music, and Keith was impressed at his range of taste. He thought Lance would be a boring pop music fan, but he had music on his phone from all genres and all different time periods – mostly rock, but he even had some classic and, not surprisingly, Cuban music. While Lance was usually courteous when playing his music - nothing too loud when around the other Paladins - Keith knew when Lance was alone, he would play it at top volume, then sing and dance to whatever caught his fancy. Keith had often watched Lance without him knowing.

Lance was playing a song and singing along to it, which Keith knew he liked to do, he just usually didn't do it when they were all together in the lounge. Lance had a pleasant enough voice, not the best voice in the galaxy. Keith wasn't infatuated enough to make that claim, but pleasant enough to the ears with a decent vocal range. Lance could pull off a falsetto when he wanted, but his normal singing voice was a mid-tenor.

Keith thought he recognized the song. Almost. It had been out for a while before they left Earth and he racked his brain, listening intently. Jason Mraz. He thought that was the name of the singer.

He heard Shiro chuckle a little, then turn his attention back to Allura without comment. Keith watched the trio, wondering why Pidge had a hand over her mouth stifling a laugh and why Hunk's big grin was present. Keith's eyes caught Lance's just as he was singing:

I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm yours
Well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn you're free
Look into your heart and you'll find love love love love

Even as he sang, Lance wore the smug little smirk that drove Keith crazy, both in a good and bad way. His eyes held Keith's until Keith uneasily looked back down at the papers in his hand. He couldn't shut out his ears, however, and Lance continued to sing.

But do you want to come on
Scooch on over closer dear
And I will nibble your ear.

Keith stared hard at the papers in his hands, willing the blush he could feel trying to creep up his neck to stop. The thought of Lance nibbling on his ear, or anywhere else for that matter... Nope, nope, nope.

He did look back up as Lance's singing got louder with the last verse and Keith saw Lance was looking at him again with that same damn smirk.

Open up your plans and damn you're free
Look into your heart and you'll find the sky is yours
So please don't please don't please don't
There's no need to complicate
Cause our time is short
This, oh this, oh this is our fate, I'm yours

Lance sang the last two words with his hands over his heart, which got Pidge and Hunk laughing. Even Allura, Shiro, and Coran laughed at Lance's antics, cheering when he finished up and turned off the music. Lance stood and took a bow, blowing kisses to his audience. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

Keith was the only one not laughing. Not even smiling. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy it, he just was concentrating so hard on not blushing and not letting even an inkling of what he was feeling to show.

Three quintants later, in another part of the universe, the team was once again relaxing in the lounge, almost in the same seating arrangement as the other night when Lance sang. The only real difference was Keith was polishing his Galran knife and Pidge was seated between Lance and Hunk showing them something on her Altean computer screen.

The opening notes to another song began playing and Keith looked up to see Lance with his phone out once again. Keith was surprised to hear what sounded like an older song. He knew he'd heard it on TV before when he was younger. He heard Pidge laugh as Lance caught his eye and, wearing the same smirk as the previous performance, started singing.

I want you to want me
I need you to need me
I'd love you to love me
I'm begging you to beg me

Keith blinked a few times, then looked back down at his knife, again willing the blush that threatened to stain his pale face to stay away. He could tell it wasn't working as his cheeks felt warm. He was grateful for the longish hair he wore as he hoped that it covered up his face.

The song was upbeat, even though it was what Keith would deem a sort of love song. A catchy love song. Even Allura voiced her love of the song. Lance's voice matched the tone of the music; Keith could tell he was smiling as he sang.

Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I
See you crying
Feeling all alone without a friend
You know you feel like dying

At some point, he heard everyone laughing as Lance sang and he risked looking up again. Lance had jumped to his feet and was bouncing around the center of the lounge and then up on the couch. There were guitar riffs in the song and Lance playfully air guitared during them in between the chorus and verses. Keith bit his lower lip to prevent the smile that wanted to leap out. Lance just looked so goofy and cute as he balanced on the couch between Pidge and Hunk, who were leaning away from him, hugging themselves in their laughter. Allura was cheering him on and Shiro and Coran were laughing too.

At the end of the song, Lance leapt off the couch to the floor and then sank to his knees, singing into an imaginary mic the last chorus, almost in front of Keith.

I want you to want me
I need you to need me
I'd love you to love me
I'm begging you to beg me
I want you to want me
I want you to want me
I want you to want me
I want you to want me

He finished the short burst of guitar riff on his imaginary guitar and the song ended. Pidge, laughing, helpfully shut off his phone as everyone burst into applause. Keith looked confusedly between all his friends, then back down at Lance, who looked like he was out of breath. He did, however, smirk once again at Keith.

Keith felt his heart speed up, but didn't know what to do. His heart wanted to believe that Lance had sung that for him, but his brain rejected that thought. Lance had never shown any sort of interest in him and Keith harshly reminded himself of that fact. It hurt, but it was the truth. So Keith sort of shook his head and returned to running a cloth over the shiny steel of the knife blade to hide the hurt and disappointment he was afraid was on his face. Though he did wonder why he heard Pidge snort and say something that sounded like, "Clueless."

Over the next couple of movements, this same phenomenon happened a few more times, whenever the group was gathered together in the lounge to relax. Lance didn't do it at other times, just at those times. Lance, Pidge and Hunk did rotate playing their music during training, something Shiro was happy to oblige them with, and Keith knew the three would play their music during their own chores or alone in their rooms. And again, Lance never intruded his music on anyone normally. Just that one song during leisure time. Some sappy love song that left Keith fighting back a blush or fighting against showing any indication that he wished the song was aimed at him.

It almost made him want to not sit in the lounge at all. If he didn't enjoy listening to Lance so much, he would have avoided it altogether. There was just something about Lance's voice when he sang. It had a joy in it, and Keith's life was short of joy enough that he felt attracted to it wherever it was. That it came from Lance made it all the more precious to him. How many times had Lance been working at something – chores or knitting or working out (where he thought he was alone) – and singing along to his music while Keith watched from some unseen spot, sometimes closing his eyes and wishing he had the nerve to go to Lance and dance with him or just hold him? Keith blanched at the thought. Lance was not interested in him. Lance flirted with everything that moved, except Keith. Lance clearly felt nothing for him.

The third song was a country song by Garth Brooks that Keith knew. His father had been a fan and Keith had heard Garth's songs plenty as a kid. He even vaguely remembered being taken to a concert when he was very young and meeting the singer backstage. As Lance sang the song, one called "Shameless", Keith thought about that memory and wondered how it was his father got them backstage. He was vaguely aware of the lyrics as Lance sang, so much was his distraction at the mystery of this memory, but he did catch Lance singing near the end.

You know it should be easy for a man who's strong
To say he's sorry or admit when he's wrong
I've never lost anything I've ever missed
But I've never been in love like this

Keith had been staring at the floor, lost in the thoughts the song brought about, but something about this verse caught his attention and he focused on Lance for a brief moment. Lance was staring at him again as he sang, somehow morphing his voice to have a perfect country twang that exactly matched Garth's voice coming from the phone speaker.

I'm shameless, shameless as a man can be
You make a total fool of me
I just wanted you to know

When the song faded, Keith was back to staring at the floor with a blank look on his face, as he was still puzzling over the concert he had remembered. His memories of his father were vague enough now and he was emotionally overwhelmed at the memories stirred by Lance's performance.

The fourth time Lance sang, he sang a song that had a bad association for Keith. One of the foster mothers he had lived with had loved the song and played it a lot. It wasn't a particularly happy home for him – his foster siblings resented Keith living there with them and the foster mother treated him dismissively. He wasn't exactly mistreated there, but they weren't friendly or welcoming to the ten-year-old suddenly thrust into their home. The song, "In Your Eyes" by Peter Cetera had apparently been the wedding song of the foster mother, whose husband had died, and she played it whenever she was depressed, which was often.

Even though the song had a bad memory associated with it, Keith's heart clenched as he heard it sung in Lance's sweet voice. He glanced up at Lance and caught his eye and wished beyond everything that Lance was singing this to him; that Lance was thinking that he saw all of that in Keith's own eyes.

In your eyes
The light the heat
In your eyes
I am complete
In your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
In your eyes
The resolution of all the fruitless searches
In your eyes
I see the light and the heat
In your eyes
Oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
The heat I see in your eyes

Keith looked back down at his book, tears blurring the words that he couldn't bring himself to read. He blinked fast, hoping that no tears would slip down his cheeks and he was so thankful that he was able to hold them back. The applause for Lance this fourth time was less enthusiastic and when Keith looked up again, he thought he caught most of the team looking at himself a little funny. He felt uneasy as he looked around at everyone – all his friends who avoided his eyes and looked away. When he looked at Lance, the Blue Paladin was looking at his tablet now, presumably playing a game on it.

Keith sat there the rest of the night thoroughly confused and upset. He kept looking up from his book at Lance, who pointedly ignored him. Always before Lance would be acting goofy with Pidge and Hunk or would at least give sly little grins to Keith, or tease Keith in some way. Not tonight. Pidge was the one trying to make the others laugh, though it wasn't having much effect on lifting the mood that had settled into the lounge once the song was finished.

One by one, the team members retired to bed, including Lance. Keith found himself alone with Shiro, which surprised him. Shiro was an early-to-bed, early-to-rise type, so he rarely stayed up past the others.

"You should go to bed, Keith," Shiro said in his quiet way.

"This book is good. I can't believe we found it in that flea market," Keith replied, lifting the book a little.

"You haven't turned a page all evening," Shiro said.

Keith looked down at the book and realized Shiro was right. It was on the same page it had been when he first opened it. "Um."

"Is there anything bothering you?" Shiro asked, his voice concerned.

"No," Keith answered a little too quickly. Shiro just hummed to himself, then fell quiet. Keith knew what Shiro was doing; it was a technique that he often applied not only to Keith, but the other Paladins and the Alteans. Shiro never pushed anyone to confide in him or talk to him about their problems, but everyone knew he was there to listen. Keith knew that Shiro knew that the uncomfortable silence would get into Keith's head and make him talk. It worked especially well on Keith, who generally yearned to have someone listen to him, even though he hated talking about anything emotional with anyone. It helped that Shiro was the one person he knew without a doubt he could trust.

"I don't know what's going on!" he finally exclaimed.

The amused look that Shiro shot him irritated him more than it should have. Keith squirmed in his seat under Shiro's gaze. "What do you mean, Keith?"

"I don't know. Things feel so tense right now. Especially tonight. I don't know what happened," Keith's voice was low and he looked back down at his book with a scowl. "I don't know what I did."

"Why do you think you did something?"

"Everyone keeps looking at me strange. They have been for a while. Ever since Lance started singing those stupid songs."

"I quite enjoy those songs. They're sweet," Shiro said. "And Lance has a nice voice."

"Well yeah, he does," Keith agreed. "And I guess they are sweet, but I don't know. I feel like I've done something wrong, but I don't know what it is."

Shiro crossed his arms on his chest and frowned, looking thoughtful. He then opened his mouth a few times as if to say something, but would close it and stay silent.

"Shiro?"

"I'm trying to say what I want to say, without telling you too much, Keith," Shiro explained, getting an even more confused stare from the young man. "It's not my place to interfere."

"Interfere with what?"

"Just interfere. Look, you aren't really doing anything wrong. Not exactly, anyway. You're just not doing what some people hoped you would do is all."

"What does that mean?"

"That's all I can say. Keith, I love you like you were my little brother, but I can't tell you what to do or how to feel. Certain people here had a hope that your reaction would be different. It's ok that it's not what they hoped for."

"I don't want to let my friends down!" Keith said, frowning even more now. That was one of his biggest fears and his heart did sort of freeze thinking he had disappointed anyone.

"It's not exactly that you let anyone down," Shiro said, frustrated. Shiro himself wished he could just come out and say it, but it wasn't his place.

"Did I let you down?"

"In a way," Shiro said, then hurried to explain because of Keith's hurt expression. "Keith, I can't say more than I already have. I hoped for something. I thought I saw something, but I must have been wrong. We were all wrong. And it's alright," he assured Keith, putting a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "You are not in the wrong here."

Shiro fell silent, letting Keith go so the Red Paladin could stew over what was said. He was more confused than ever. What were people thinking they saw? Why were they wrong? He still had a feeling of uneasiness, but he didn't know what it stemmed from.

"You going to be ok, Keith?" Shiro asked after a few minutes. "I need to get some sleep and I think you should too."

"Uh, yeah, I'll be fine. I'll go in a little bit."

Shiro shifted to the edge of the couch to stand, but hesitated. "Have you listened to what Lance has been singing?" he asked suddenly. The question startled Keith.

"Um, I guess? Just a bunch of sappy love songs, aren't they?"

"Yeah," Shiro replied slowly. "Love songs." He got to his feet and started toward the door, saying over his shoulder, "Sometimes we miss that the very thing we need is right in front of us, waiting patiently. Good night Keith."

Keith couldn't even respond in his confusion.

The next two days were quiet around the castle. Allura and Coran had directed the Castleship toward a system containing two habitable planets. One of the planets was a resource-rich one while the other was a combative planet. The two worked in a symbiosis, Thrakor providing protection for the more peaceful Illuma, while Illuma provided supplies, food and material for the more war-like Thrakor. Allura wanted to secure both planets to the Voltron Alliance for not only the supplies, but also the help from the Thrakorians in the fight against the Galra.

Keith spent his time training and not thinking about what Shiro said, as impossible as that was. He noticed that at all the mealtimes Lance wasn't there. He didn't even see Lance more than a couple of times in those two days. Once was during the briefing about Thrakor and Illuma, where the Paladins received their mission assignments for once they were in range of the planets. Normally Keith sat next to Lance at briefings – it was just their thing, something neither of them planned. At this meeting, Lance showed up late and went to sit as far from Keith as possible. The Blue Paladin listened quietly to Allura and Coran, asked a couple of thoughtful questions, then simply rose and exited the room once the meeting was over.

This wasn't normal Lance behavior. Lance could always be counted on for a lame joke, or some sort of teasing aimed at Keith, but there was none of that. Lance said barely anything and didn't once make eye contact with Keith, though Keith stared at Lance the entire time. Once again, the other Paladins and the Alteans all glanced strangely at him before also standing up and dispersing.

The other encounter he had with Lance was a brief one in the hallway. Keith was on his way from the dining room to the common room after lunch. He had lingered at the table, hoping Lance would show up, but the other boy didn't. Keith gave up and went to head down to the lounge, which he was assigned to clean that day. When he turned the corner leading to the lounge, he ran into Lance just leaving his room.

Keith stopped in the middle of the corridor, semi-blocking Lance, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere else at this moment. "Excuse me," Lance said in a flat voice.

"Where are you going?" Keith asked.

"Not that it's your business, but I'm going to the kitchen for something to eat," Lance snapped, not meeting his eyes.

"Well, why weren't you at lunch? If you're hungry, you should have come down for that!" Keith regretted how harsh his tone sounded. He was just stressed about this Lance situation.

Lance didn't respond, just pushed rudely past Keith, brushing his shoulder against the Red Paladin.

"Hey!"

"What do you care?" Lance hissed at him and turned the corner.

"Lance!" Keith yelled, but Lance either didn't hear him or didn't want to respond. Keith rubbed his shoulder absently, not because it hurt, but because of the heat generated at contact with Lance. 'He really does hate me,' Keith thought, leaning against the wall. 'I thought we were becoming friends, but I guess not.' He felt the sting of tears and was grateful for the emptiness of the corridor. He brushed a hand over his eyes, skimming the tears off his cheeks before continuing on to the lounge and his chores.

After dinner that evening, Keith grabbed his sketchbook and pencils from his room and took them to the lounge, happy that it was empty. He both hoped for and dreaded everyone else's arrival. He made himself comfortable in his usual spot and flipped lazily through the sketchbook, wincing at the numerous pictures of Lance. He'd have to be careful and not let this fall into anyone else's hands. Lance was just good-looking and drawing him gave Keith a pleasure that both comforted and soothed him. Keith had studied the Blue Paladin enough to know where to place every single freckle, where the cute little laugh wrinkles around his eyes went, the slight scar under his lip that was very faint but there, the one curl in his hair that wouldn't stay in place no matter what Lance did. Keith had drawn him in many poses, his favorite being one of Lance, Pidge and Hunk sitting on the same couch that was opposite him right now. Keith modestly thought that he had caught all of them perfectly in his drawing – the way Hunk closed his eyes when belting out his loud laugh, the way Pidge sort of curled in on herself and held her hand up over her mouth as she laughed, and the way the skin around Lance's eyes creased when he laughed hard. It was a drawing of pure joy.

He had finished it a few weeks ago, before this stuff with the songs started. He had hoped to share it with the other three Paladins, but the tension from whatever it was that was going on made him hesitate. Keith lingered over the sketch, running a finger over Lance's face as he stared thoughtfully at it.

Coran was the first to enter and Keith quickly flipped the page to the sketch he was currently working on, one of Red. Shiro and Allura came in not long after. It was another half a varga before Pidge and Hunk came in and found their seats, where Pidge immediately flipped open the laptop she brought and Hunk leaned over to look at the screen.

After a few minutes, Shiro spoke up in his quiet way and directed a question at the Green and Yellow Paladins. "Where is Lance?"

The looks Shiro received from Pidge and Hunk appeared to be almost guilty to Keith. He saw Pidge flick her eyes at him with a frown before answering Shiro, "He didn't want to come here tonight."

Shiro frowned. "This is leisure time, of course, but it's also a way for us to bond as a team."

"We tried to get him to come Shiro," Hunk answered in a voice that didn't sound like his usual cheerful self. "He refused."

Shiro sighed, "And we all know why." Keith stared at Shiro because he had no idea why. Shiro shoved himself out of his seat and said as he left the room, "I'll go fetch him."

The room was dead silent until Shiro returned with Lance in tow, slinking after Shiro with a rebellious look on his face. Keith was surprised, because Lance usually showed nothing but respect for the Black Paladin. Shiro wore a resigned sort of expression as he returned to his place between Allura and Keith, while Lance slumped into the spot next to Pidge, ignoring everyone and staring at his personal tablet with a scowl and Keith assumed he was playing a game.

Instead of sketching, Keith kept his head down, though he watched Lance. He had seen Lance down before, vulnerable and upset over missing his family. He'd even seen Lance angry at him, but he had never seen this Lance before. His expression was almost mutinous and quite sullen and Keith wished more than anything that he could help, but he had no idea what had made Lance so upset.

Lance kept his focus on his tablet, while Keith pretended to sketch. He could feel the tension in the air once again. There was little chatter; it seemed that everyone was involved in their own personal things. The only sounds were Shiro and Allura's murmured conversation, Pidge and Hunk's discussion in low tones about the best way to upgrade the Yellow Lion to have cloaking ability, and Coran turning pages of his book next to him.

Keith saw Pidge lean over to Lance and whisper something and he was surprised to hear Lance's hissed response accompanied by a glare at the younger girl. Lance never got angry at Pidge. Exasperated, yes, but angry? No. She whispered to him again and that mutinous look on his face intensified. He hissed something else at her, then reached into his pocket and withdrew his phone. He angrily swiped through it and Keith watched, frozen. He had felt the tension increase and heard Pidge say in a low tone, but was just loud enough for him to make it out, "Don't do this angry, you're not thinking clearly."

"You wanted it," Lance snapped, then poked his finger at his phone screen. Immediately the opening notes of a song started playing. Everyone looked up expectantly, Keith could see in his peripheral vision, but he kept his eyes on his sketchbook. He didn't recognize the song, but he could see that Lance was staring right at him. The music sounded nice at first, until Lance started singing.

Say something, I'm giving up on you

And Keith heard Pidge gasp.

Lance's eyes didn't stay on him the entire song. They darted to Keith's left and right; Lance even turned his head enough to send that stare to Hunk and Pidge. And while Lance usually sung anything he did with a certain amount of joy and passion, all Keith could detect was pain and hurt. The lyrics were heart breaking.

And I will swallow my pride
You're the one that I love
And I'm saying goodbye

Keith darted his eyes around to his friends. He could see that Allura had covered her mouth with both hands. Shiro and Coran looked upset. Hunk – normally cheerful and happy Hunk – was staring at his knees with a frown, and Pidge had curled her hand into a fist and had it pressed against her mouth. Keith didn't dare look straight at Lance because he could tell that Lance was now staring directly at him, singing in a way Keith had never heard him sing before.

Oh, oh, oh, oh say something, I'm giving up on you
Say something, I'm giving up on you
Say something…

And the song trailed off and Keith found his mouth dry, and his eyes strangely blurred and stung as if…tears? No, it couldn't be. It was. He felt so sad. He blinked quickly to make sure no tears fell. No one cheered, as before. Lance didn't stand up for a bow, making a show of himself. They all just sat, quietly, and Keith looked up to see Lance staring at him with an unreadable expression.

"That was quite sad, Lance, but you sang it so lovely," Allura said, breaking the silence with her sweet and lilting voice.

Lance seemed to shake himself, his little smirk returning as he turned to the Princess. "I'm glad YOU approve, my dearest Princess."

Keith felt, at the time, that he was again missing something, but he couldn't figure out what. He sat in his room, days later, racking his brain to figure out what it was that was eluding him. He sighed, sitting up straight, then remembered the looks he had received from Hunk and Pidge after Lance had left the lounge that night, earlier than he usually did. When Lance left, Hunk and Pidge slid closer together on the couch to look at something on Pidge's computer, but Keith caught both of them giving him funny looks over the top of the screen. They knew something. Hopefully they knew what Keith was not getting.

Keith jumped up, stomped his feet into his boots, and strode out of his room. Pidge or Hunk? Would they already be in the lounge? Probably, but he thought he would try anyway. He stepped down the hall, pausing first at Hunk's door and knocking. No luck and he sighed, moving instead to Pidge's door, which slid open just as he raised a fist to knock. They both jumped back, startled.

"You scared me!" Pidge gasped, glaring up at him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to!"

"Oh hey you guys," they heard Hunk say as he came down the hall, arms full of snacks for the evening for everyone. "Heading to the lounge?"

"I was just going that way," Pidge said. "But Keith scared me!"

"Not on purpose," Keith said, holding up his hands. "Actually, I just wanted to talk to you a minute, Pidge, if you don't mind."

"That's my cue to leave," Hunk said.

"No, actually," Keith said, frowning slightly. "I could use your help too."

Pidge and Hunk looked at each other, eyebrows raised. "Sure Keith, come on into my inner sanctum," Pidge said in a flat voice, stepping back and gesturing grandly for him and Hunk to enter.

Pidge's room looked like a typical teenager's room. It was a mess and things were tossed all over, though Keith could see there was an organized system to the chaos and he knew that Pidge knew exactly where everything in that mess was. He leaned against her desk, his arms automatically crossing over his chest in his usual pose. Hunk and Pidge perched on the edge of her bed, looking at him expectantly.

Keith didn't say anything at first. Now that he was here, he wasn't exactly sure how to ask what he wanted. He wasn't even sure what it was he wanted to ask.

Pidge and Hunk waited patiently at first, but Pidge wasn't one to let silence go on for very long. "You wanted to talk to me, Keith? So talk."

Keith's mouth dropped open for a moment at her somewhat acid tone, then he admitted with difficulty, "I'm trying to figure out what to ask you. It's…strange. And I'm not good at discussing things like this."

"What does it involve?"

"I want to know what I'm missing," Keith blurted out.

"You're missing something?" Pidge asked blankly.

"We can help you find it," Hunk said helpfully.

"No. It's nothing physical. It's just," he paused, then groaned, rubbing at the back of his neck for a moment before returning to his closed off posture.

Pidge thought for a moment then looked at Hunk. They seemed to have a whole conversation without saying one word. "Would this have anything to do with Lance's performances?" Pidge finally asked.

"YES!" Keith nearly yelled, relieved that he didn't have to say it.

"What about them?" Hunk asked.

"Like I said, I feel like I'm missing something. Especially after the last one."

"What was it about the last one?" Pidge asked.

"I don't know. It just seemed, I don't know. Like serious, or something. Usually you guys are laughing through it. Usually the other three are amused. None of you were the other night. And that song. I don't know. It…it just…I don't know," he finished lamely, fully aware that he wasn't expressing things correctly. After a moment, he added. "Lance sounded, I don't know. Sad? And you guys weren't laughing," he said again. "No one was. I felt like I was missing something. I've felt like that ever since he started this."

Hunk just shook his head and the look he gave Keith was a mixture of amusement and…pity? "You are missing something, buddy. You've missed it every night that Lance sings one of those songs." Hunk ignored the small glare Pidge sent him.

"But what am I missing?" Keith asked, his tone sounding desperate.

"We can't tell you that," Pidge snapped before Hunk could respond. "None of us will tell you that. Me, Hunk, Shiro, Allura, Coran. None of us will. You have to figure it out yourself."

"You all know?"

"Everyone knows. We all know how dense you are to everything right in front of you," Pidge retorted, sounding upset. "Come on Hunk, let's get to the lounge." She stood up and stomped out of the room, leaving a mystified Keith still leaning against the desk.

Hunk stood up rather slowly, gathering the snacks he had tossed onto the bed behind him into his arms. When he turned, he quirked a little smile at Keith, who still looked put out at Pidge's rudeness. "Keith, my friend, I'm not as harsh as Pidge is when she's annoyed. I'm annoyed too, but I'll be much nicer about it. And while I won't tell you straight out what it is you're missing, I can tell you this. We all KNOW how you feel about a certain someone. We were amused at first, but it stopped being funny. We aren't sure if we were all wrong, or you really are this dense. Think about what Lance has been singing, ok? Think about the lyrics. And then think about why he looks at you while he sings. You're both halfway there, you just need to meet in the middle."

With that, Hunk left the room too. Keith stared after him, even after the door slid shut, leaving the room in silence. Silent except for the now loud beating of his heart. Hunk knew how he felt about Lance? Everyone did? Is that what Hunk meant? It had to be. And what did he mean about Lance's singing performances. Think about the lyrics. They were all love songs. He kept singing about being in love with someone. The beating of his heart got louder and felt almost painful against his chest. Was Lance singing those to him? As he had hoped? Keith was embarrassed because he knew they all thought him oblivious. He was, but it was because he never would have thought that Lance could ever feel anything like that for him. Lance, who was always picking on him, teasing him, flirting with everything in the universe except him. Lance loved him?

What should he do with this new information? He felt frightened and nervous and a cold sweat broke out. Oh great. Sweat. Just what he needed. Keith had never even felt this frightened when facing enemy soldiers. Facing a man you love when you suspect he loves you back? He'd rather face the Galra army single handed.

Because Keith had never been in any sort of relationship and didn't know what he should do, or what he should say. Should he just go up and hug Lance? Kiss him? What if he misinterpreted what Hunk meant? That would be a disaster of the nth magnitude. What was he supposed to do now?

Go to the lounge. See what song Lance had picked out tonight. Acknowledge it, at the very least. Smile at Lance while he sang? Yeah, that would be safe enough. A little encouragement to the Blue Paladin, maybe? Then it would be up to Lance to make a move. Ok. Plan set. He felt slightly better with that fixed in his mind, but he still had to walk into that room with the (hopefully true) knowledge of Lance's feelings.

Every step toward the lounge felt like his last. His nervous system was on overload and he felt numb from head to toe. 'Why does love leave you feeling like this?' he wondered. 'I'm surprised people fall in love when it leaves you a nervous wreck and about to have a panic attack.'

The doors to the lounge slid open at his touch and he went in, taking note that everyone else was already there. He was greeted as he stumbled to his normal seat, though he was never sure if he even responded to anyone. He knew Lance looked up at him with a brief, though somewhat sad, smile before returning his attention to his own personal tablet.

Keith looked down at his hands and realized he didn't bring anything to occupy himself with in the lounge. Everyone else had, it seemed. Coran was sitting on his left, reading something on his tablet in Altean and Keith looked over at it trying to decipher it.

"It's a very boring report from a very long time ago," Coran murmured quietly. "I'm trying to find something about the castle power sources – a way I can boost them. There's a lot of stuff to sift through."

"I wish I could real Altean better so I could help you," Keith replied.

"That's kind of you, Red Paladin," Coran said, looking at him with a smile.

"Do you mind if I read as well? It helps me with learning the language."

"Not at all," Coran said cheerfully, shifting the tablet a little better so Keith could see.

A varga passed, as Keith concentrated on the Altean language, mostly so he wouldn't fly apart with anticipation. He couldn't wait for Lance to start singing, even though he had no idea what would happen past the smile he planned. He kept rubbing his palms on his thighs, afraid they were sweating too much. If Lance understood what Keith's smile meant, that might lead him to, what? Try and hold his sweaty hand? Ugh. No.

However, Lance sat calmly on the opposite couch, directly across from Keith, apparently oblivious to Keith's existence. Pidge and Hunk sat on each side of Lance, busy with their own things, and Lance concentrated on whatever game he was playing.

Shiro retired first, followed soon by Allura and Coran. They were planning on taking a trip to the surface of the planet they were orbiting in the morning, and wanted to rest themselves for it. Keith was left alone on his couch, with not even a tablet to look at. He crossed his arms and looked down, frowning. Where was Lance's song? The last five team-bonding nights had a Lance song and now, all of a sudden, none? Because Keith was dense? Because it got pathetic? Keith frowned even deeper. That was it. That's what he was missing.

Lance must have suspected that Keith liked him, so he was singing these songs to let Keith know the feeling was mutual. Lance must have been hoping Keith would act on it, and Lance was probably a little humiliated because everyone knew what he was up to. That would explain the laughs and amused looks the first few times. They were cheering Lance on, not only because he was a good singer, but because they wanted something to happen between the two Paladins. They all, including Lance, must have thought that they had all been mistaken and that Keith actually didn't care about Lance in that way. Everything finally made sense.

He must have groaned out loud when he realized this, because the three other Paladins all glanced up and stared at him. Keith felt the blush come and couldn't control it or hide it. He must look stupid to them.

"You ok, Keith?" Lance asked.

"Why aren't you singing a song tonight?" Keith blurted, then immediately regretted it and wanted to crawl back to his room and never leave.

Lance didn't answer right away, just looked thoughtfully at Keith. "I didn't think there was a point to it anymore," he answered in a tone of voice that Keith had never heard from him before.

Keith was flustered. He had not planned anything except 'smile'. This called for more than that, but he just wasn't good at expressing himself.

"I think you've got one more in you, buddy," Hunk said suddenly.

Lance turned his head slowly to look at his best friend. "You do, huh?"

"Sure why not?"

"Yeah, sing another Lance," Pidge encouraged him.

Lance returned his gaze to Keith, one eyebrow raised as if questioning. Keith knew what he could do here. He smiled.

It took a few moments, but Lance finally pulled his phone from his pocket, keyed his code in and pressed the screen looking for a song. He paused, looking at the screen for a moment in thought, then pressed play.

Keith didn't know the song at all, but the lyrics and the chorus were unmistakable. And Lance's sweet voice made his insides go weak, his heart to speed up, and that cold sweat to break out all over again.

I feel it in my fingers
I feel it in my toes
The love that's all around me
And so the feeling grows

It's written on the wind
It's everywhere I go
So if you really love me
Come on and let it show

You know I love you, I always will
My mind's made up by the way that I feel
There's no beginning, there'll be no end
Cause on my love you can depend

Keith kept his eyes locked on Lance, struggling not to look away. If Lance liked him and was doing this to let him know, Keith couldn't be a coward and ignore it. Keith now recognized how passionately Lance sang – had been singing every time – and it thrilled Keith in a way he'd never felt before. Then to his surprise, Lance stood up, clenched his hands into fists, and glared angrily down at Keith making his heart race.

It's written in the wind
Oh everywhere I go
So if you really love me, love me, love me
Come on and let it show
Come on and let it show
Come on and let it show, baby

Those last lines kept repeating, probably a dozen times. Lance had watched Keith the whole time he sang and Keith knew, just knew, that Lance was in love with him. He was telling him through music. Lance sang that last chorus intently, glaring at Keith as if in challenge, ignoring the fact that Hunk and Pidge had huddled together on the couch behind him, hugging each other.

Keith stared up at Lance, intimidated by the way he sang this song. 'Come on and let it show baby,' Lance kept singing. A challenge. Keith was always up for a challenge. Keith never backed down from one. Especially not one from Lance. He would show the Blue Paladin.

Come on and let it show.

Keith jumped up, slightly annoyed that Lance was the taller of the two of them. He returned Lance's glare.

Come on and let it show baby.

Alright, he would. He reached up his hands to the sides of Lance's head, unaware of what he was actually doing. Uncaring that this was completely out of character for him, ignoring the "Oh!" from Pidge and the "Yes!" from Hunk.

Come on and let it show, Lance whispered this time.

Oh he would. Keith would show Lance that he loved him. He pulled slightly with his hands, even as his head tilted up to give the Blue Paladin probably the worst kiss he'd ever received. Keith didn't know what he was doing – he'd never kissed anyone before. He just closed his eyes and pressed his lips against Lance's, surprised at how soft they were. He could feel those lips lift up in a smile, even as he felt two hands grip him at his waist. Keith might not have known what to do, but apparently Lance did. He patiently kissed Keith back, taking control of it, making it sweet and sensuous and mind-blowing all at once. Keith's mind was spinning into a black vortex, it seemed, from years of pining away after Lance, the very man whose lips were hungrily latched onto his own, returning that feeling that had sprung up in Keith's heart the very first time he met Lance.

Neither of them noticed that Pidge and Hunk quietly made their escape. They were wrapped up in this discovery. When they pulled apart, for breath, for a break, for a much-needed clearing of the mind, they were surprised to find themselves alone.

"Looks like we chased them off," Lance commented.

Keith was coming to realize what he had done. His arms were loosely draped over Lance's shoulders, while Lance held him firmly about the waist. There wasn't even a sliver of space between them, Keith was painfully aware their chests were pressed up against each other – he swore he could feel Lance's fast heartbeat, or was that his own? He'd never been in such an intimate position with anyone.

"You're cute when you blush," Lance teased.

That made the blush he didn't even realize he had worsen.

"What took you so long, mi amor?" Lance asked in a whisper, pressing his forehead against Keith's.

Keith knew what he meant. "I didn't think someone like you would ever like someone like me."

"But why?"

"You're…you're always so happy, so outgoing, so friendly. I'm not any of those things. Why would you even like me?"

"Because I see who you are, Keith," Lance said, his tone serious, though his smile was loving. "I see all the good and the bad in you. I see all of the wonderful things and your faults. I see how much you care…about the team, about the people we're saving. I see you try to hide the good person you are, but it shines through whether you like it or not. I love how smart and brave you are. Doesn't hurt that you're the most gorgeous person I've ever set my eyes on." Keith couldn't help but smile at that, even as Lance smirked at him. "I love you for every little thing about you."

"You love me?"

"Te amo, cariño. I love you very much."

Keith let out a little sigh, closing his eyes. He'd never heard that before. At least not in this context. "I love you, Lance," he managed to say, his voice soft, but strained at the emotion that was racing through his heart and his body. Keith had never imagined that he would ever find someone that would see through his walls and love him. He knew Shiro had, but it wasn't the same. As much of a loner as Keith was, he still craved normalcy and a happy relationship with someone. That his heart had chosen Lance had caused him stress for years as he thought the other teen would never even look at him, let alone fall in love back.

Keith's eyes opened, in awe at the smile shining down at him. "Just, next time," Lance said, his tone teasing. "If I sing a love song, know that it's for you."

Keith laughed, tightening his hold on his new boyfriend, burying his face in Lance's shoulder in slight embarrassment. "Next time, just tell me."

"Count on it, cariño!"