He Tried
Lance tried to hold back his sigh until Keith's door had shut completely behind him. It was only after it closed that he released his breath and his smile and scratched the back of his head.
Okay, admittedly, that was not the response he'd been hoping for.
After all, Lance couldn't have been the only one to notice, right? But Keith had seemed pretty blind-sided by him pointing out that they had one paladin too many. And surprised when Lance had offered to step down.
But it all made sense.
Or at least to Lance it did.
Sure, he wasn't the worse pilot on the team, but both Shiro and Keith were definitely better than him. Shiro had been chosen for the Kerberos mission for a reason, and Keith was a genius when it came to flying. Though he was currently down right now, Shiro was still the leader that all of them respected without question.
Keith was their current leader and though Lance could admit that he wasn't the best leader in existence, at least he was trying his best. Plus, he was willing to listen to the rest of them when he faltered. Or he did now after that first fiasco with Lotor.
Pidge and Hunk may not have been the best pilots, but they both had their purpose on the team. Pidge could get them pretty much any info they might need when on mission and her other tech skills were invaluable. Hunk's engineering skills were amazing when the chips were down and his strength was an asset on the battlefield.
And Allura…
Well, Allura had always been amazing, but it was becoming clearer and clearer that being a Paladin was her calling. Sure, she and Blue had had some problems at first but she had unlocked in a mere day or so what had taken Lance and the others months. This was her fight, her war, and she deserved to be on the front lines if she so chose.
Lance was the odd one out.
He knew that he wasn't the absolute worse, but pretty much anything he did could be covered by someone else. If anyone should give up a Lion, it should be him.
Yet Keith had seemed so shocked at the notion.
Lance sighed again, realizing he was still standing outside Keith's door. He knew Keith was more of a "live in the moment" type of guy rather than a planner, but he really would've liked a straight answer. Just saying things would work out was kinda…
And then those last words…
"What the quiznak!"
Lance startled at the shout behind him. Blinking, he glanced over his shoulder with wide eyes. Was something –
"'Leave the math to Pidge'?!" Keith seemed to growl at himself. "What is even up with that? Why did I say that! That wasn't even – Lance wasn't – " Keith groaned in frustration.
Lance briefly wondered why such a high-tech castle would have doors so easy to hear through, but that wasn't important at the moment.
Did – did what just happen bother Keith?
"He comes to you to talk and you insult his math skills?" Keith continued berating himself. "Are you freaking kidding me?"
Finally, a real smile tugged at Lance's lips.
Keith was not the best when it came to social interaction. He tried his best, but he didn't always hit the mark. It seemed like those last words really were meant to make him feel better, in a way. It hadn't quite worked, but this…
Knowing that Keith cared enough about him that he was apparently in agony over realizing a verbal misstep?
Lance chuckled as he began to walk away, knowing that Keith wouldn't hear him through the door due to his own groans.
It seemed Lance was feeling a bit more cheered up than when he had talked to Keith.
After all, at least Keith had tried.
AN: So I remember a post pointing out that Lance just, like, stops once he's out of Keith's room as the door's closing behind him. There was also a rumor for a while that there was actually an extended version of the bedroom scene where afterward Keith realized that what he said was not exactly the best thing to say. So this was born. Just imagine Keith saying all this in the same voice from "We had a bonding moment! I cradled you in my arms!" with that indignant yet cute voice crack when he gets worked up.
This is still platonic FYI or you can see it as pre-Klance if you want. Everything in this series is staying platonic until canon actually gives us something official.
