Klyzap had come to see Lance off before they left. He stood, tears in his narrowed eyes, his sword raised high, "It was an honor to meet you, m-my friend."
Keeling to him, Lance smiled, "You too, Klyzap." they high-fived, and he couldn't help but notice Munto was standing a short distance away, "You came here with Munto?"
Klyzap looks at his feet, smiling, "Yes, she is- she says she has feelings for me."
Lance feels like his smile is a little too forced, "That is great, Buddy!" he cheers for him, "Make sure to treat her right."
"I will. She will be treated and honored like the sun itself!"
"Good…" Lance cleared his throat a little, "I'm not the best at goodbyes so- I'll see you later?"
"See you on a later day- yes." Klyzap gave him a small hug and stepped back, waving to Lance all the way till he got into the castle and the doors closed. Taking a few deep breaths, Lance moved onto the deck to join the others. Moving to the seat he assumed to be his own, he sat down and braced himself on the arms of it.
His gaze was looking towards Keith before he could stop himself. He seemed to be acting normal, nothing out of order in the slightest with him. If Lance could manage to copy that poker face then there would be nothing to worry about- but he couldn't. He was shifting in his seat, adjusting then readjusting, fumbling with anything he could get his hands on.
He wanted to talk with Keith.
That thought alone was making him want to pull out all of his hair and leap off the ship. He could always just go live with the Arusians.
He wasn't even sure what he would say if given the chance but talking was how Lance tended to cope with things. When he talked he could make sense of the world around him and maybe end up finding an answer or two in the process.
Yet he sat there in silence, too afraid to speak a word.
"We are ready to leave Planet Arus on your command, Princess," Coran calls. Lance shifted again, watching quietly as the boosters of the ship came to life. It was amazing watching the Castle take off like it was doing- But Lance couldn't focus on that for too long.
He looked at Keith again- he needed to stop doing this! Just look away Lance! It isn't that hard. You went all yesterday with distracting yourself with the Arusians and the giant robot thing- then the party, so why is it so hard to simply enjoy taking off in a really old high tech alien space ship!?
Oh, right- He knows why; a little under two hours ago a certain Red paladin had got in his space and confessed to him only to say they should avoid each other as much as possible. A very, "I wanna kiss you but I don't want to feel this way so I'm going to ignore you" kind of conversation.
Keith didn't even give him time to say anything.
Catching himself on that last thought, Lance covered his mouth. What… What would he have even said in that moment?
"Leaving Arus' atmosphere now," Coran announced.
"Cool," Hunk says to his right.
When they left the planet, Allura explained how they could get up and walk around now if they pleased. Everyone rushed to the windows, peeking out excitedly. Every other time they had been up in space was kind of a live or die situation and they hadn't had the chance to just enjoy the great unknown for what it was.
"Incredible." Pidge smiles, "So where is this Balmera anyway?"
"Not too far," Coran explains, "We won't need a wormhole to get there, but it will take a few hours."
Lance shivered when the Red paladin spoke with a deep voice, "I'm going to go train while we wait."
Quick to rub his arms to get rid of the Goosebumps, he had to force himself not to punch his own face. WHY. THE. HELL. DID. HE. JUST. GET. FLUSTERED. FROM. KEITH. TALKING?! All he did was say eight little words that meant literally nothing other than to say he was leaving! Nothing about that was cool, or sexy, or sweet- it was just Keith being Keith and stating an obvious thing like nothing at all.
"Train?" Hunk is still talking through Lance's panic, "You want to tire yourself out before we even get there?"
"I won't get tired," Keith says with a frown, "I can handle it." When he turned, his gaze seemed to run straight over Lance, as if he didn't even see him at all. It felt cold.
"Might as well make sure we are ready to go before we get there," Shiro agrees.
They all kind of did their own thing for a while- Lance even returned to his room to brush his teeth, feeling horrible morning breath from being stuck in that Cryo pod for so long. Spitting into the sink, he looked at himself.
"Lance,"
Lifting a hand up to his face, he touched his cheek. The warmth from Keith's fingers still lingered.
"I'll do whatever it takes,"
Sucking in a breath, he leaned forward, bracing himself against the counter. What was he going to do? What was it that he wanted exactly?
The small touches, drawn out stares, little smiles- all these things we unforgettable, haunting Lance day and night with little whispers from the back of his head.
It was torture to his heart- a feeling he never wanted to feel again.
He was falling apart. Which was up and which way was down?
Slumping down to sit on the cold bathroom floor, he thought about his next couple of choices.
Go and find Keith right now and demanded they talk about this. No, definitely not.
Ignore Keith just as much and hope this just passes eventually? He tried that- it didn't seem to work for him.
Go ask Hunk and Pidge for advice? Oh jeez, what was he suppose to say there? Hey guys, so Keith just confessed that he still has feelings for me and I'm in a panic about it. What do you guys think I should do?
…They would probably vote to throw him into an airlock. And if they didn't, would they yell at Lance for even thinking so deeply about this? How often do people struggle to move on from their ex's after bad breakups and go back to them just for the same thing to happen to them?
Would Hunk be pissed and call him an idiot? No- Hunk would never just do something like that. He would be nice about it- but Lance still didn't want to disappoint him.
Perhaps he should get advice from someone else? He has always turned to Pidge and Hunk for everything, often burdening them with his own issues. If he couldn't get through this without advice, he didn't want to bring them back down on a topic he's already struggled with.
Perhaps… Allura or Coran? They would be fresh advice on the situation. How would he even approach them? Would Allura say to drop it so not to cause infighting amongst them?
Ugh- this was so hard! He almost even considered going to Shiro- but he was like a brother to Keith. If he went to him he couldn't guarantee that Shiro wouldn't bring it up to Keith later.
Rising to his feet, Lance sighed. So he was on his own with this one.
Washing his face by splashing cold water on it, he dried off and returned to the others. He forced on a small smile and joined them quietly. He thought he had gotten away with it, but his Leader seemed to catch onto him more than he realized.
"Are you alright, Lance?" Shiro inquired.
"Fine," he says without missing a beat, smile ready for action. Startled at the enthusiasm, Shiro nods.
"Oh uh- good," he says. Giving him a thumbs up, Lance moved to stand next to Hunk, who was pacing slightly, nervous for their next trip to the Balmera.
"So what do you guys thinks- do we roll up and just start blasting? Or do we land and have some kind of public address system like; Attention Galra, this is Voltron, turn yourself in!" he declared. When no one said anything, he slouched, "No, blasting right?"
"Hunk, calm down." Keith tells him in a gentle tone that Lance thinks is kind of sweet, "And yes, blasting."
"It's our first big rescue, he's excited." Shiro chuckled.
"Excited to see his new girlfriend~" Pidge cooed teasingly, payback for the multiple times Hunk would tease her.
Hunk gasped, offended, "She's not my girlfriend! She's just a rock that I met and I admire very much-" he cut himself off when an alarm began to sound throughout the castle.
"What is it?" Shiro demanded, "Are we being attacked?"
Coran glanced down at the screen, "No, it seems to be a distress beckon."
"It is coming from a nearby moon," Allura confirmed, "Apparently, a ship has lost power."
"I wonder who it is?" Pidge inquires.
Oddly impatient, Hunk steps forward, "Whoever it is will have to wait. Shay has top priority and we can check back on them when we are done."
Lance couldn't believe his ears. This Shay girl and her people must have really made an impact with Hunk to leave such a heavy mindset on the guy. He was never this eager to go on a mission- or this determined to make sure it was a success. It was actually very touching. Lance felt a swell of pride at his friend.
Allura cleared her throat however, "I know you are worried Hunk, but as a Paladin of Voltron you all must follow the code that all living creatures are top priority. We are here now and must help as much as we can."
"Like cops," Pidge says.
Lance couldn't help but think of that old show he used to watch with his Abuela, "Then we are space cops on space patrol?"
Allura wasn't sure what they were talking about, "I suppose? What is a cop?"
"An enforcer of the Law." Hunk grumbles, not too pleased that Shay would be put on hold. "They got cool vehicles, a code they follow, awesome uniforms- Oh my god, we are space cops." He turns to Lance in realization.
Lance was thrilled to find something to distract himself, "All we need is a Siren! Coran, do we have one of those?"
"A siren?" he ponders that for a moment, "No, but we could record you making a siren noise and broadcast that to them."
Hunk and him were on that in a flash, cupping their hands around their mouths and yelling into the air. Pidge, who was an expert at this, soon joined. Lance thought it sounded awesome, but Shiro put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head, "Nope- not doing that."
"Aww, space dad." They whined. Shiro made a tight face, pointing a warning finger at them.
With that, they called down to the stranded folk and made a quick landing on the Moon. For being a moon, it seemed to match Earth in its abundance of air and gravity- they didn't need their helmets at all to step outside.
Of course that didn't mean that they took them off- but you know.
Peek out of the small pod that carried them down to the moon's surface, Lance moved to step out. Jumping when Keith did the same, the two froze. With a wide look, Keith blinked, shot in the other direction and scrambled out of the pod, straightening to look casual again.
Lance could only stare.
Losing whatever sense of confidence he had just gotten back, he inched out of the pod and laid back as they approached the people they were there to help. Two very different looking aliens stood before them. While they fairly resembled humans, their skin took on colors Lance hadn't expected- purple and Yellow. It was kind of cool.
The purple one stood their approach, "It's nice to see some friendly faces." the man said with a friendly grin, "Most folk don't want to get tangled up with those running from the Galra."
Keith found that comment interesting, "So you guys are fighting the Galra?"
The guy sighed, "Well, I wouldn't say Zarkon is exactly quaking in his boots at the three of us, but we do what we can. I'm Rolo. This is Nyma and our cyber unit, Beezer."
"Hi." Nyma smiled. When Lance lifted his head to greet her, he realized she was staring right at him with wide, crystal clear purple eyes.
She was beautiful- the kind of beautiful Lance had never seen. Of course, that was a given since she was an alien, but beauty was beauty, and Lance appreciated all forms.
He wanted to talk to her- to everyone in this small crew honestly. When Nyma approached him, he felt as though he should put on his Lance charm… something he hadn't tried to do to anyone since meeting Keith. Not that his charm really worked on anyone but him anyway.
...That was kind of a depressing thought to his pride.
All this thinking made him hesitant, and instead of putting on a charming smile and shaking her hand, he simply nodded back, "Oh uh, h-hi."
Next to him, Pidge was fawning over the robot companion of this small crew, sparkles shooting out from her, "Cool robot!" she gushed.
"I like your armor," Nyma says to him sweetly.
He fumbled, unable to think of anything to say back. In the end he said the oh so brilliant words- "… Me too."
Lance wanted to slap himself. Give him a break. He hasn't done this in over a year and he was kind of rusty! Plus, and this is the big one, Keith was standing right over there and Lance just wanted to go talk to him and just- you know- be normal. What was even normal between them anymore? Nothing! Nothing was normal!
Realizing he was making angry or pouting faces during his thoughts, he blushed when he realized Nyma was giving him a wide look. How humiliating. His anxiety was shooting through the roof today.
Turning away, he covered his face a bit. She chuckled.
To save himself some peace of mind, he focused on the others. Shiro was asking Rolo if his ship had been damaged in a fight or something.
Rolo sighed and nodded, "Yeah, we've really been through it with the Galra. Parts are hard to come by- but luckily we were able to get to this moon before the engines gave out about a week ago. If you hadn't picked up our distress signal I don't know what we would have done."
"We are happy to help." Allura tells him, "I am Princess Allura of Altea, and from now on you won't be alone in fighting the Galra. You will have the Paladins of Voltron by your side."
Rolo quietly glanced back at the fawning Green Paladin behind him, then to the self-loathing blue one to his right, "….Okay." he nodded slowly, trying his best to look happy or relieved at this information.
Shiro cringed a bit at the sight himself, "I don't think he's heard of us."
"It has been 10,00-" Lance was looking Keith's way the second he spoke up and Keith had to turn his head to avoid eye contact, "Years. It has been 10,000 years." He says, a little strained, his gaze awkwardly to the side, not really looking at anyone in particular, making his sentence seem strange.
"Uh… yeah. Don't even know what a Voltron is- but I'm sure it is cool." Rolo tries to smile, trying to be polite.
"Voltron?" Lance pulls his eyes away from Keith to look at Rolo, then looks back at Keith… then slowly, like a snail, looking back at Rolo, "You know, five robot lions that combine into this big robot… guy?"
Rolo is giving odd looks at the rapid change of focus this Blue Paladin seems to have,
"Sounds impressive." He says, "I would love to see it- or him… them?" he questioned.
Hunk, who had been tapping his foot impatiently, couldn't seem to wait any longer and says, "How about we just get working on your ship? I'm sure we all have places to be."
"Sure." Rolo nods. Opening their vehicle for everyone to see, Rolo began to explain the damage. Lance wasn't quite sure what he was talking about, but Allura did.
"I'm sure we can get you back up and running. Give Hunk a list of what you need. Coran can show you where to find it." She tells him.
Not too comfortable with any of this, Hunk nods slowly, "Okay…"
"We'll go with you." Rolo offers, "We don't want you to carry that by yourself."
Hunk reaches out with his arm to stop Rolo, a set look on his face, "Uh- I don't think so." He snips, "You can just wait out here."
"Hunk, don't be rude." Allura scolded him.
"Yeah Hunk, it should be fine." Lance tells him, eyes straight on the back of Keith's head, "They seem nice." he forced himself to remember that he was talking to Hunk and should probably be looking at Hunk as he said this and not at Keith- because he wasn't talking to Keith. And since he wasn't talking to him, looking at him is probably weird. "...And stuff." he probably looked at Hunk for two seconds before looking back at Keith.
Dang it Lance!
It was just- He wanted Keith to look at him! The more he looked at the back of his head the more he liked it and that wasn't good! It was very bad!
Hunk seemed to scoff a little at Lance, "Oh I'm sorry, but I don't want to hear anything from you, Lance. You haven't even been really paying attention all day." Hunk pointed to him. That startled Lance enough to look at his feet for once and blush at being caught, "AND! I hate to be the one to always point these things out, which it seems my destiny to do so, but does anyone remember the last time we let our defenses down? Someone kind of set off a bomb- remember Lance? You were almost killed."
Shocked at the cold tone, Lance lowered his shoulders, "Oh yeah…" he nods, feeling guilty. He knew Hunk was just being cautious for their sake- it just stinks that he had to make his best friend feel this kind of distrust because he couldn't take care of himself. Not like he could have controlled the explosion, but still…
Feeling Shiro's hand on his shoulder, Lance looked up at him.
"Hunk is right. I'm sorry, but we have to be cautious. We can't afford another one of our crew getting hurt."
"Hey, I don't take it personal," Rolo insisted. Allowing a small list to be printed from Beezer's memory core, he handed it to Hunk. "That is how it is out here, you have to look out for your own. You are doing a good job, big man."
Taking it, Hunk frowned a bit, "Thanks…" he turned and returned to the ship. Feeling a little awkward after he left, Allura clapped her hands together to strike up a new conversation.
"So, Rolo… Tell us about yourself."
Smiling at her, he motioned for them to join him at the camp they made.
Watching the other move around the fire, Lance didn't feel too up to joining them- not with one of the people going out of his way to ignore him.
Seating himself upon one of the cargo boxes in the distance, he kicked his legs. With this alone time he was starting to recall all his problems again.
Like his new obsession with the curls on the bottom of Keith's head. They seemed to have gotten longer since they first left Earth.
He would need a haircut soon enough. It always did grow fast. He was probably on of those babies had a whole head of hair by the time he was 3 months old! The idea of it sounded cute in his mind.
…Cute.
"Ugh!" he buried his face into his hands, frustrated and bothered and just- done with this! His heart had to pick one way or the other! None of this in the middle bull crap of "Oh, maybe this is okay- or maybe it isn't. I don't know- boo hoo for little Lance. Let him suffer~"
God, how pathetic was this? How often has he caught himself staring at the Red paladin just within the last hour alone? It wasn't like he hadn't memorized Keith's entire form by now anyway- he could close his eyes and picture him perfectly…
So what was he looking at him for? What did he want to see every time he would turn his head in Keith's general direction?
An answer? A sign? Any sort of response or acceptance that Keith was looking back at him too?
"Hey, Lance."
He jumped when Nyma appeared next to him, smiling brightly, "Mind if I join you?"
"Oh uh- No no. Go ahead." he insists, "I'm just sitting here looking at Ke- stars. Looking at stars cause they sure are pretty. Super pretty…" he trailed off awkwardly.
"I see." she hugged her knees close to her chest, "What is it like? This- Voltron?"
"A big robot," he says blandly, hands tapping nervously to the crate he was sitting on. "Like, a big big robot."
"That sounds very broad honestly."
"Does it?" Lance chuckled just a little too long and made it weird, "I guess. Well- the five lions form it. Two make the feet, the other two the arms, and the final one is the head/chest area."
"So then all control goes to the head of the machine," Nyma guessed.
"Not exactly. As the Paladins, we share the power equally. I don't think Voltron would be the same without all its pieces. I form one of the legs with my Lion. Hunk is another leg, Pidge is the arm, Shiro is the head, and Keith is the other arm," he trailed off, "With him we can form a sword. I think Keith takes most control in those moments, and the robot just kind of mimics the way Keith would fight."
Nyma looks to the others to figure out which one Lance was talking about, "Is Keith a good swordsman?" she points to Shiro to make a guess. Lance corrects her and motions as subtly as he can to Keith.
"One of the best…" Within his pointing, he found himself gawking at the temperamental paladin, but once again he was faced away from him. He was really trying his best to keep little to no contact between each other, huh? "He's like a knight."
"I don't really- I still do not understand." she admits, "The lions are machines. Are they like flying statues that you ride on?"
"No, no. They're magic, but also super scientific and advanced." He felt more open to say this than he originally thought, "And they fly crazy fast and have all these incredible weapons. Really the entire castle is just insane!"
"I wish I could see the inside of it," she sighed sadly, looking to the castle with a dreamy look. "I would love a tour from one of you Knights. But I guess the big one is in charge, huh?" she looked towards Hunk. "You have to listen to him."
Shocked she would even suggest something like that, Lance shook his head. "Hunk? No way! I mean- if anyone was leader I would say it is Shiro. He is the oldest- not that age should define a leader, but he does have the most experience and manages to keep this crazy crew together. He can even keep Keith under control, which is really hard since is super temperamental…"
"I see. Well, I guess we will be leaving soon then once our ship is fixed. It would have been nice to see at least your lion, Lance." She leaned towards him, her shoulder brushing against his. Not expecting the contact, he almost fell back.
"O-Oh uh… yeah? Well, maybe you can someday… or something? Shiro was pretty insistent on none of your guys going in and Keith would probably throw a gasket if I tried."
"...Would he?"
"Oh yeah, a big fit for sure. He does that. He is a real rage monster that guy. I mean, he is cool but quick to follow his emotions- which is usually anger. Or whatever…" he stops talking. He feels as if Nyma shifts a little, a sudden smile pulling at her lips.
There is something in his eyes that he can't explain, but he feels a little on guard suddenly.
"Keith… you said he was the Red paladin, yes?"
Lance nodded numbly.
"You often stare at him." Nyma points out the detail with an abruptness that Lance almost gasps at, "Is he precious to you?"
'H-Huh?!" he definitely wasn't expecting that question, "W-What, that guy? Keith?! No way!"
"Are you two not mates then?"
Lance felt the blood rushing to his face, "M-M-Ma-" he couldn't repeat the word. "No. No no no no."
"Then you were once mates?"
He opened and closed his mouth, Nyma hitting the bull right in the eye. Though Mates sounded a little more embarrassing than Boyfriends, "How did you-"
"I sensed a broken heart from you," she explained sadly. "Your smile felt… fake. I know what it feels like to try and smile through a tough time…." She turns away as if she wasn't expecting herself to become so sentimental and clears her throat. "It hurts. It hurts more than anything."
Feeling a sense of connection grow from that, Lance nods numbly, "Yeah."
"The Galra have taken many things from me… my family, my home..." she looked up at him with wide eyes, "Though I do not seem to understand; if you cherish the Red Paladin so, then why do you hesitate?"
"…I don't." Lance said quickly, refusing to believe that for a second he actually hesitated in his answer, "I don't feel that way anymore."
"You are quick to toss your feelings aside," she pointed to him.
"I'm not doing that-"
"You sure?"
Caught dead in his tracks, Lance felt his arms lowering, his heart feeling heavy at her words. How did everyone manage to see straight through him like this? He's known Nyma what, an hour? The same thing happened with Coran. Were his insecurities so obvious to the world around him? "It's… complicated," he croaks
"They say love usually is." She chuckles. Staring at him for a few seconds, her smile falters and she tilts her head to the side, "Did he hurt you?"
"..."
She seemed shocked she got it right, "I see. He hurt you but you cannot help but still care for him. Emotions truly are our one true enemy at times-"
"Can you-" Lance held up a hand to stop her, his heart hating this conversation topic too much, "Do you wanna go for a ride?" he asked her with an almost desperate plea.
"On your lion?" she gasped. What was he doing? Why was he asking this? He just made it clear that it was a bad idea that would probably anger Shiro and Hunk- especially Hunk.
But he was desperate.
A frenzied feeling in his gut was screaming to forget everything they were talking about.
He ends up nodding, "Nyma, follow me." Grabbing her arm they ran into the castle before anyone could notice.
Once inside, Nyma had her breath taken away, "This place is beautiful! And so large! However do you manage to get to your lions in such short time?!"
"Easy," he smirked. Actually looking forward to showing her this since he found it so entertaining himself, he brought her to the tube- sneaking around Coran before he could even notice they were there.
Stepping in, she grabbed onto him when they fell downward. "Here we go!" he pointed forward and grabbed the bar dangling above their heads. Holding onto his waist, she screamed when they shot down the tube.
Sharing a laugh Lance was grateful for the small seconds of relief.
But it got awkward when they fell into the Lion, Lance landing in her lap. She didn't seem to even care and stared around in awe.
"Incredible!" she grinned, "Could you take me for a flight around the moon?" she inquired, leaning towards him for just a little second too long for comfort.
"UH…" he can't help but feel flustered simply by their proximity alone. This had to be the only girl in the entire universe who actually seemed to enjoy his presence. Well, Allura was like that, but she kind of seemed like an older sister or Mother figure.
….Like a- Holy crow like a Space mom! Space Sis?
Realizing Nyma was still there and waiting for an answer he stammered, "I-I don't know-" he glanced away, "We should probably get back to the others…"
"You are right." she nodded after a small sigh, "...Maybe Keith will give me a ride?"
Lance panicked at the thought of the two of them being alone- and not for the reason he original thought he would panic. He knew Keith would never try to play it smooth with Nyma; he wasn't that kind of guy, but what about her? What if she tried to come onto him?
N-Not that the idea of that bothered him it just- it didn't bother him!
"It would give me a chance to… get to know him." Nyma says with too sweet of a smile.
….It bothered him. Holy hell it bothered him!
"No! No! He is fine where he is, I'll take you! I mean, what is the point of having a lion if you can't enjoy it. Giddy up, buddy!" They shot out of the Castle a second later.
Too late to turn back.
Below the Castle, watching with a frustrated sigh, Hunk shook his head, "Lance." He groaned. Blue- the most trusting lion. A little too trusting if you asked him...
Turning, he could see Keith rising to his feet as the Blue lion shot out of sight.
"Lance just left." He informed the group.
"Ooh?" Allura lifted her gaze to watch, "Nyma seems to be gone too. Perhaps he wished to show her how the lion worked since she had so many questions on it?"
"Nyma was always one for any high-quality machines," Rolo chuckled, "I'm sure she is fawning over the thing like mad."
"Sounds like someone else we know," Shiro chuckled when he looked at Pidge. Looking at Keith, he watched as the younger paladin continued to stare at the sky before slowly lowering himself back to his seat- his foot tapping against the ground rapidly, as if he was frustrated about something.
Sighing, he patted Keith's back.
-0000-
It wasn't a bad view going around this moon. Honestly, compared to his moon this thing was out of this world! It had trees, lakes and streams- no wonder they didn't have to worry about keeping their helmets on.
"Look," Nyma pointed out the window, "A kinetic spring! Let's land over there." Following her request, Lance turned down towards the spring. As Blue shot across the water's surface, Lance was amazed when a rainbow began to form around them. Nyma smiled at him and said, "The minerals reflect off the water making a rainbow."
"Whoa…" Lance bit his lip at the sight. One might not think it when you first met him, but rainbows were actually one of Keith's favorite things. Lance's too.
It was just nice to sit outside, smelling the fresh air after a recent rain- or even a continuous rainfall, and just look up and see one spread across the sky.
Keith was always into that kind of the stuff- the quiet peace of nature. Silence with a beautiful view was something he could thrive off of.
He could still recall when fall first hit Garrison. The tree they grew at the front of the school had just started to change colors and they were assigned to clean up the leaves. Keith had looked like a wonderful dream within those falling colors. Sometimes Lance fears that it really was just that- a dream. None of what they had back then was real and it was just a way for Keith to pass time.
But the way he looked at him back at the castle. He was just as afraid and lost as Lance felt- but he knew how he felt. He was positive of what he wanted and was taking steps. Lance wasn't.
He was standing still, too caught up in all this noise to figure out what was the best choice to make. Reason or emotion?
"Lance?"
"…Yeah?"
"You are sad." She was staring at him in shock
"No… no, I'm just remembering some things." He says quietly, his voice sounding foreign to his own ears.
"Lance." her fingers brushed his shoulder. "Is this about Keith again?"
"No."
"I believe it is."
Lance lands the lion without another word and gets out. "This sure is a nice spring," he says.
"It is…"
He whistles to himself, hoping Nyma would get the point and drop the subject. She didn't. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Talk about how beautiful these Springs are?"
"No."
"…How beautiful this Moon is?"
"No."
"How-"
"Keith."
He shook his head and laughed. It was so forced that it actually hurt and he cut it off, letting it die like how the rest of his feelings felt like they did a year ago. "We should go back."
Nyma didn't move. There was a look in her eyes that made him wonder if she was going to cry. When she didn't and instead looked at her feet, she said, "You are curious."
"Am I?"
"It is strange. For some reason, I want to understand you, Lance. I want to know what pushes you- what makes you fake that smile you carry around."
He steps back a little, "I'm not faking."
"Every single smile has been fake since I met you." The frown on her face is so deep that her brow wrinkles, "It doesn't sit right with me and I honestly can't tell you why. You do not know me yet you force a smile for me. It is strange…"
Wondering if he upset her by doing this he scratched the back of his head, "…I'm sorry."
She shook her head, "Can I ask you something?" when he nods she says, "How did Keith hurt you?"
"That is a pretty personal question." He frowns.
"It is. I am just curious. I see the way he glances at you when he thinks you aren't looking- which has been hard for him to do since you are always staring at him. He seems to still care for you and in some way you do too. So what could he have possibly done to push you this far from him?"
"Nyma." He warns, "That is really out of line."
"To me it just seems like you are afraid to answer." She speaks as if she is simply teasing, but the undertone sounds like she is trying to get under his skin.
"That is none of your business."
"Did he cheat on you?"
"What- no. This conversation is over-" he turns to leave. She steps in front of him and Blue.
"Did he not fall for you until after you two separated? Was it just a one-sided love during the relationship?"
'Nyma." He growls.
"Did he get scared and run away?"
Something snapped and he is yelling, "Shut up! Yes, okay?! I told him I loved him and he dumped me! He threw me to the curb and I didn't see him for an entire year! He didn't feel the same! Are you happy now?! Did I satisfy your curiosity?" when she straightened, lips thin and eyes wide, Lance stepped back. Surprised in himself for blowing up on her he covered his mouth, "I… I'm sorry…"
"No… It is okay."
"I barely know you." he insists in a panic, "I shouldn't be saying this."
"Lance, this Galaxy is huge. Honestly, I doubt we will ever see much of each other, if at all, once we leave. Honestly, if there was ever a person to tell it you, I might just be your best bet. I have nothing to gain from telling anyone this secret- nor can I bring it up to you later on." she chuckled.
He found some sense of peace with that. It was overwhelming- the idea of an outlet to all this frustration. Blinking only a few times at her, he nodded, "…We dated a year ago."
She perked up a little, motioning for him to carry on.
"We got along great- perfect. I never once regretted it or doubted it when we were together. He was just awesome." He couldn't bare to go into every little detail but found himself speaking of a few little moments Keith and him had shared together. "I loved him… He was upset at one point- really upset, and I told him that I was there for him and that I cared. He pushed me away. He left."
"He broke your heart," she concluded.
"I thought I wanted it to be over with him but the more I'm around him the more I don't know what to do." he gripped at the side of his heads. "I don't want to fall for him again but-"
"You can't help it."
"I can't…"
Eyes wide at the complete trust in his voice, she looked away, "You really did just trust me with everything… didn't you?" she sighs.
"I guess I did…" he agrees, "Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable."
"It doesn't." she says, "I just- love is hard. Wars make it hard to follow your heart and you find yourself turning into something you never thought you would be…" her voice cuts off into a tight strain. Clearing her throat, she is quick to say, "B-But I know one thing. If you let that boy move on, you might not ever get him back. So you need to be sure that letting him go is what you want, and decide that fast."
"...You think?"
"Can I offer you some advice?" she asked.
He wasn't sure he wanted to hear this, but nodded slowly.
"If you really want to know what your feeling are- spend some alone time with the Red knight. Just the two of you. Don't run away from it. That will be the deciding factor to your heart." She winked, "Tell him that you need time to decide but aren't completely against giving him a chance. If he really cares, he'll agree in a heartbeat."
Taking that advice to heart, Lance took a deep breath. In the exhale, he felt something heavy leaving his chest, "Thanks, Nyma." When he smiled, he meant it.
She stepped back at the sight of it, eyes wide and mouth open wide from shock. "O-Of course." She paused to glance at the small device on her hand. It was blinking. Frowning, she closed her eyes and sighed heavily, "The ship is fixed."
"Oh. I guess we should head back then." Lance motioned to the Lion.
"…Yeah…" she bit her lip. When Lance turned to walk back, she called to him, "L-Lance?"
"Hmm?"
"Give me your hand." She held out her own to him, a sad smile on her face.
"Why?"
"A good luck charm. I am giving it to you."
Blinking a few times, Lance hesitantly reached out his palm. "Okay-?" The second his fingers touched her she reached forward to snatch his wrist into her grip. Startled, he shrieked when she yanked him forward, slamming something against his wrist.
Not sure what was happening, Nyma shoved him forward, reaching around a tree to grab his other wrist and attach something to that too.
"Nyma?!" Lance gasped as his face smacked against the tree. Struggling to keep his feet, he tugged back to find he had been handcuffed and trapped. "Wha-?" he looked to her for an explanation. She looked away, coughing into her hand a little.
"Sorry, Lance."
He watched in horror as Nyma's ship appeared from the distance, moving past them to above his lion. Using a tractor beam, it began to lift it up, "What is going on!?"
"Nothing personal," she said honestly as a wire came down and she stepped onto it, "I truly hope things works out between you are your Red knight. I meant everything I said earlier. Really- I did." Shooting up towards the ship, Lance could only watch as they flew away.
…This wasn't happening.
He did not just open his heart up to a girl that betrayed him... Oh god he just did, didn't he?
Yelling in frustration, feeling used once again, Lance dropped to his knees. H-He had to do something. He needed help.
Looking around for anything to get himself free from these binds, he scanned the area. Noticing his helmet not too far away from where he dropped it, he reached his toes out desperately to grab it. "Come on… just a little bit more-" he flipped the helmet towards his face, "Got it!" he cheered, yelling into the mic, "Guys! Hello?! Keith! A little help!"
"Lance?' Shiro was quick to respond, "What happened, are you alright?"
"No, I'm not alright!' Lance yelled, "I got played! I got played again because- GOD!" he screamed and kicked at the air, so pissed and hurt and just sick of all of this, "I am such an idiot!" he yelled.
"Lance… Lance calm down, you aren't making sense. Where is Nyma, is she with you?" Allura inquired.
"No, she isn't with me! She ran off and she took my lion and I'm handcuffed to a tree!"
"I knew it!" Hunk roared.
"Where are they?" Pidge asked.
"... Space." Lance said quietly, barely above a whisper. Turning, he put his head to the dirt, letting the cool comfort him.
"I knew it!" Hunk yelled again.
"Then where are you?!" Keith demanded.
"...Other side of the moon, as I mentioned before, tied to a tree."
"Oo-ho-ho." Hunk said in pure rage, "I never trusted those guys from the very beginning!" He could hear the others moving from the communication devices. Hunk was talking the whole time, going on and on about how he knew Rolo couldn't have been telling the truth and how the whole group just felt odd to him. They all told him repeatedly that they got it and that yes he was right, but he continued to go on and on.
"We get it!" they yelled at him.
"Lance, don't worry, we'll get your lion back and come back for you. Just sit tight." Shiro assured him.
"...Okay." he says, his voice muffled by the dirt.
"You okay?" Pidge asked.
"No."
"Lance?" He cut off after that. Worried, but unable to focus on that for now, they shot into space as fast as their lions would carry them.
0000-0000
"You've been awfully quiet, Nyma." Rolo says over the controls. She glanced at him then looked away.
"It's nothing."
"Good- cause we gotta put on our best smiles." Turning on the communications, one of the Galra Empire's generals appeared on screen, "Commander Prorok, my name is Rolo. I heard you were offering a reward to anyone who helps captures the Voltron lions?"
The Galra narrowed his eyes at Rolo, "That is correct. Do you know where they are?"
"Only one- the blue on. It is in my ship." Rolo smirked.
"Excellent. Bring it to me and you shall have your reward immediately."
"Just a tick." Rolo says, "You see my friends and I have a bit of a checkered past. Some stolen Galra tech may have fallen into our possession without us knowing about it."
"…Well, I am sure a full pardon can be arranged for the brave souls who bring Emperor Zarkon a Voltron Lion. Is that all?"
"We'll take the reward too." Nyma pointed to him.
"Of course."
Rolo smirked, "Alright, we're on our way." Ending the transmission, he stretched. "What a day. You really pulled out a top notch performance by friend," He says to Nyma, who turns away and heads back to her seat, "Had that Blue Paladin stumbling in your hands."
"…Yeah." She says weakly.
Leaning in his seat, her friend turned, "I almost feel sorry for those Voltron folks." He admits, "Seemed like a nice bunch." When Nyma said nothing, he sat up to stare at her. "Why so quiet?"
She shook her head and sighed, "I just- you should have heard him, Rolo."
"Him? You mean the Blue paladin?"
"Lance." She says, "His name was Lance."
"Oh no-" he cringes, "Don't tell me you actually fell for the guy."
"It wasn't like that!" She turns so fast in her chair that it startles him, "He was just- he- I dunno. He was different from everyone I've met, that is all."
"Having second thoughts?" he meant to tease, but Nyma seemed to actually be considering it. "We already told the Galra we were on our way and that we had a lion." He reminded her.
"I know." She snapped irritably, "Just- let's stop talking about this, okay?" They barely pushed through a tight 3 minutes of silence before their alarms began to go off. The other four lions had tracked them down.
"Welp, seems there are here for their buddy Blue." Rolo flinched, sweating a little.
"…Seems so." She stared at the screen intently, watching all of the Lion's closely. When the Red Lion seemed to pick up speed a little, she tightened her grip on the arm of her chair. In continued to pull out of the tight formation the Lions had, pushing closer and closer. It must have been faster than the other three.
"Hold on-" Rolo smirked at the sight of the asteroid field ahead, "We'll lose them in this."
Shooting through, it didn't take long to realize the lions weren't able to follow them through. Well, all of them accept one. Of course, it had to be the red lion that came charging after them.
"We're doomed." Nyma sighed and leans back, feeling oddly accepting of this fact.
"What?" Rolo demanded, "He won't catch us."
"He will. We messed with his mate."
Rolo didn't understand what she was talking about and screamed when she suddenly clicked a few buttons and cut off the engine. "What are you doing?!"
Closing her eyes, Nyma shrugged, "I don't really know anymore…"
The Red lion slammed into them a second later, sending the whole ship spiraling out of control for a few seconds. Struggling to put them straight, he paled when the other three lions approached. All in all, they hadn't taken any real damage to their ship since they stopped- but Rolo got a quick punch in the face when they returned to the moon.
The other Paladins had to hold the Red one back from inflicting more damage.
"Keith!" Shiro was yelling a warning, "Take a walk!" he motioned to Keith's lion, "Go get, Lance."
Huffing heavily, Keith turned and left without much more of a fight, his lion pushing off with so much force that the ground came up from the pressure.
"Jeez…" Pidge pushed up their glasses, "I'm almost afraid to think of what would have happened if you guys hadn't pulled over like you did." She says to them. Rolo can't help but dread the same.
"Why did you pull over?" Allura inquired, arms crossed. "If you were going to give up so easily, why even both stealing the lion in the first place?"
"Wasn't my idea," Rolo grumbled, glaring at his supposed shipmate. Nyma hadn't said a word since they arrived, content with simply sitting there and letting them yell at her. "Got something you wanna say?"
"I'm sorry."
He wasn't expecting that, and it sucked more that she didn't even direct it towards him. It was towards the Voltron folks.
"I had full intentions of stealing from you when you arrived. I do that with everyone I meet. It is always the same too… except for this one." She twiddled her thumbs together, "I wasn't expecting Lance to…" she cut herself off and shook her head.
"No." Hunk stepped forward, "What were you going to say?"
Turning her head to him, she hesitantly says, "He trusted me. He told me things and just- believed in me. Without anything in return he smiled. No one, has ever trusted me as quickly and earnestly as he did. It- I didn't think anything like that was possible with how I've lived." She turned her head down, closing her eyes. The pain that shot through them was unmistakable though, "I couldn't steal from you. From him. I just couldn't…"
"Nyma…" Rolo lifted a hand out to pat her back.
Glancing at each other, the Paladins nodded their heads, "Well- your ship isn't that damaged. You should still be able to leave without any problems," Pidge explains to them.
"Yeah…" he nods, "Thanks for sparing our lives." When they turned to leave, he called out, "Hey. You may not believe me, but I really do hope you defeat Zarkon…" with gentle eyes he sighs, "It's a lifetime of fighting the Galra that lead me- that leads all of us, to where we are today."
"Good bye… Knights of Voltron." Nyma called to them one last time, "I truly hope we meet again under better circumstances."
0000-0000
It had been a long time before Lance had heard anything from the others. When he was starting to fear the worse, his comms turned on, "Hey… Lance." It was Keith.
Spit catching in his throat, he coughed heavily, "K-Keith?"
"I got your lion back."
"You did?" he whispered, "You did!? Oh jeez, thank you Keith! Thank you!" Keith was talking to him. He was talking to him! J-Just chill out about that, Lance. Act cool… "Thank you, Keith." He says again.
"Yeah. I'm coming down to get you."
"Huh?" above him, the Red lion appeared from the skies.
Lance felt nervous when he realized it was Keith coming to pick him up. Shifting, quick to change from lying down to sitting up while handcuffed to a tree, he held his breath as Keith got out.
He strolled towards him, stoic as he pulled out his weapon. "The stuff you get into."
"Yeah yeah…" Lance looked away, humiliated enough as it was, "Just get this over with so I can go back to the castle and check on Blue…" When Keith didn't move Lance was forced to look at him. "What?"
Keith moved to one knee in front of him. At the change in position, Lance pressed himself deeper to the tree, blushing when Keith asked, "Are you hurt?"
W-What was he getting so flustered for? "N-No. She just handcuffed me."
"Is that all she did?" Keith's eyes were burning. "Did she say anything to you? You sounded upset on the comm."
"Well- wouldn't you be if you were in my position?" Lance inquired with a scowl. "I'm handcuffed to a moon tree and my lion got stolen…"
"Yeah, I can see that. So what is this?" he motioned to the side of Lance's head where a bruise was starting to take form. "If she didn't do this, then what did? Did you get frustrated and hit your head against the floor?" When Lance didn't answer, Keith sighed when he realized that was what happened. "You idiot." he lifted his blade, "Hold on, I'll cut the ropes." He inched reached out, stretching over Lance.
Lance turned to put his face to the tree, knowing that if he looked the other way he would come face to face with Keith's chest.
"…" Keith didn't move.
"…Something wrong?" Lance whispered.
Instead of simply cutting the rope, Keith moved his hand down, gripping Lance's wrist with one hand while the other cut the rope. Startled by the action and glad he was turned away from Keith's gaze, Lance's felt his face burning to the point his cheeks felt painful.
Lance felt his arms relax when the tug on them was released and the cuffs fell. Expecting Keith to step away since the job was done, he instead got pulled back to rest against the Red Paladin's chest.
Both of his wrists were grabbed tightly by Keith and tucked up to his chest, Keith's head buried in the mess of Lance's hair.
"Glad nothing serious happened this time." Keith murmurs into his ear. Lance wondered how he managed to hear that through the beating of his own chest… It was intense- the beating of his own heart was so fast, he wondered if one heart was going to be enough to keep him living through this.
"Y-Yeah…" he licked his lips.
With that, Keith pulled away and turned to get to his feet. "Let's get back to the castle."
Lance couldn't move from his spot at first, his body shaking too much to command his legs to move. Realizing Keith might glance back at him soon if he didn't act, he forced himself to his feet, grabbed his helmet, and scrambled onto the red lion.
Stumbling in, using the falls to keep him upright, he muttered, "Hey, Red." he realized this was probably the first time he had ever even seen the inside of the Red lion before.
The ride back was long, and painfully quiet.
He… He should say something. This was his chance. They were alone and Keith seemed to be taking his time back on purpose.
"Um…"
"Yeah?" Keith snapped his head in Lance's direction. Both were a little alarmed at how quick his reply was, they straightened and turned away. "…What did you need?" Keith asks through slightly gritted teeth a few seconds later.
"I uh…" Lance rubbed at his arms, feeling sweat pooling on his brow, "I want to talk."
"We are."
"About this morning." He notices how Red seems to falter a little in the straight line they've been flying, but he doesn't say anything. "You- I wasn't expecting you to say all of that."
Keith lowers his head a little, "I… surprised myself too."
That almost makes things seem a little better, but Lance can't help but pace a little when he says, "You caught me off guard and I didn't know what to say then- But I just wanted to tell you now that I…" he trailed off, his thoughts disappearing into the voice, his confidence dwindling into the pits of his stomach to rot.
"That you?" Keith drawls out.
"I don't- You-" his head is spinning. Can someone tell him why he is trying to take the advice of an Alien chick that just betrayed him?! This was a horrible idea! "What I mean to say is that I-" he made a weird noise. Keith turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow.
"What?"
"You. And It. And me." He struggled.
"…" Keith glances around a little, "Maybe you hit your head a little too hard…"
"I didn't." he pauses, "I might have. But I didn't cause I need to say this to you and you are just making this- with the thing that is hard that is me struggling to speak and- AH!" He throws his head back, "Why is this so hard?!"
"I don't know."
"Yes you do! So just- just- Don't do that anymore…" Lance covered his face.
Keith was puzzled, "What?"
"Ignore me. Don't ignore me. I don't want you to do that…" When he looked at Keith again, all he could see were wide Purple iris', staring at him such shock that the red paladin wasn't even looking at where he was going anymore.
It was a kind of shock Lance hadn't seen since that first night they kissed an entire year ago.
"I want you to talk to me, Keith."
"...I warned you." And then Keith was moving, getting up from his chair and towards him with a glazed over look that took Lance's breath away.
"Wait-" he couldn't tear his gaze away. Slim fingers slipped against his chin, sliding back to his ears and cupping his entire face. "K-Kei- stop." he stammered frantically, tensing when his back hit the wall of Red.
'I warned you about what would happen." Keith cornered him, "This is all on you..." perhaps it was the warmth of his hands, or the unwavering promise of his eyes, but Lance didn't pull away. Whatever spell or witchcraft Keith possessed, it was working.
"Close your eyes..." at Keith's request, he did.
Keith Kogane was going to kiss him.
"Lance…"
The faint feeling of Keith's breath on his lips was the last thing he could feel before Red slammed into something big. They screamed, and Lance was seeing stars with a heavy thud.
When he opened his eyes again, he was in a cryo pod- the others staring at him with blank faces.
"Morning, Sunshine~" Pidge frowned.
"…" Lance looked around wildly, "What? Where am I?" Ohmygod, was that all just a dream?!
"Can I just ask… how?" Allura demanded, "How do you two even manage to- I just- do you have goo for brains?"
Looking to his right at the sound of a pod opening, he watched Keith stumble out. Were they both in pods?
"Uh…" he groaned and put a hand to his temple. "What happened?"
"You crashed your lion into the Castle and knocked yourselves out." Hunk explains, "You both head-butted something and were outcold…"
Lance reached up to graze his forehead, glancing at Keith. If Keith was thinking the same thing than it was pretty obvious what they head-butted as the both of them reached up to rub their foreheads.
"Oh…" Lance glanced away, recalling the close uh… encounter the two had almost shared. Centimeters. Literally, centimeters and they would have kissed. That's the kind of shit you read from romance novels but it was happening to him.
….Thank god that happened to him because he would not be able to look anyone in the eye right now if he had actually kissed Keith in that moment.
"Way to crash the Lion, Keith." He was quick to avoid any sort of awkwardness and turned to the only thing he could- being smug. Be as smug as smug can be! Smug it up! Bury your embarrassment beneath layers of smug sass!
Keith was mortified and turned so fast he had himself stumbling, "Excuse me?!"
"You heard me, Mr. Top fighter pilot." He sneered.
"Why you- You ruined our bonding moment!" Keith was ready to lunge at him. Lance scrambled away, hiding behind Hunk. Perhaps this could be considered the norm for them?
...Would they be okay after all that?
Oh jeez... this just got 10 times worse, didn't it?
