TW/CW: at a point in the story Lance is touched in a way he's not comfortable with (a hand to high up on his thigh) and he puts the alien in his place but nothing beyond that. (if you wanna skip it then stop reading at "...complaining. Except for when..." and start back up at "The larger Robaccan to Lance's right...") just wanted to warn y'all.
also a character is drinking in this but only towards the end so its not throughout it all + also ment of selling people and torture but no details just mentioned + missing people as well
that's all i can think of right now but if something else is triggering then i'll add it
hope yall enjoy
Keith huffed loudly as he worked his way through the crowded room. Too many sweaty bodies rubbed up against him and he was way past annoyed at this mission, at Lance, at everyone. He and Lance had been sent to a planet where many of its inhabitants had gone missing. There was no rhyme or reason to who went missing, it was seemingly random. But enough of them had gone missing for questions to be raised and enough concerned and anguished families reached out for help. Allura had taken pity on them and sent them in to help.
It was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission yet Lance had gone missing as well within the first five minutes. And Keith was starting to grow a little concerned. He knew Lance could take care of himself, although that was the same thing many of the concerned families had said.
And his head was pounding which wasn't helping.
He grimaced as he pushed through another cluster of sweaty aliens (Robaccans he remembered) and found himself next to a basic brown door. He entered swiftly and stopped in his tracks at the scene he found.
Lance was lounging on a couch with a few Robaccans surrounding him and staring at him like he was a god. Though, Keith could understand that belief. Lance did look...godly. He had on a short black dress that fell to the middle of his thighs. The sleeves were loose and see-through so you could see his arms as well as his shoulders as it was strapless. He had on light makeup, just enough to accentuate his features. He was also adorned with gold jewelry that jingled with every move he made. He was leaning back on the couch with his legs crossed and his head tilted. He was giving almost complete attention to the Robaccan that was speaking. Keith could tell that Lance was only paying attention to the Robaccan that was speaking but that his attention could be easily lost if they didn't keep him entertained.
Which it was as Keith all but ran into the room like he was running for his life. Lance searched his eyes for a moment before relaxing so minutely that only Keith noticed.
"Ah, Keith. I was wondering where you wandered off to." He said with a smile.
Keith let out a sigh of relief and took a few steps into the room, "I looked away for a few seconds, and you were gone. More like I was wondering where you wandered off to."
Lance's smile widened slightly but he didn't look away, "I made friends." He glanced at the Robaccan to his right, "Didn't I?" The Robaccan nodded their head vigorously and opened their mouth to say something but Lance continued speaking to Keith, "I guess I should've told you where I was. Sorry." Lance shrugged one shoulder and Keith could tell that all the Robaccans in the room traced that movement. The Robaccan to Lance's right had their mouth still hung open.
Keith contained an eye roll, "A warning next time would be appreciated."
Lance let out a silent chuckle, "Noted." Lance held Keith's eye for a moment longer then turned to one of the bigger Robaccans to his left. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind my friend joining me, no?" He titled his head slightly and smiled.
The bigger Robaccan shook his head and spoke in a deep voice, "Of course not. Anyone who is a friend of yours is welcome here." To Keith, this Robaccan seemed less enthused to keep Lance's attention but he could tell that they were just as enamored by him as the rest of them.
Keith leaned back onto the wall near the door and watched silently as Robaccan after Robaccan stared, complemented, swooned, or touched Lance. He couldn't tell if Lance was comfortable or not with the touching but seeing as he didn't swat away their hands or look to Keith for help, he assumed he was fine. He knew not to interfere. After years of knowing Lance and how brilliant he could be (occasionally), he knew not to interfere if he had a plan. Though he would very much like to. With every touch, he felt his skin crawl or burn in the same spot.
Yet he couldn't look away. And not because there was nothing else to look at, but because he didn't want to look at anything else. Or he couldn't look at anything else. He wanted to be annoyed at how easily he fell into the same trap as the Robaccans, but his eyes wouldn't move away from Lance. He was all he could see. He was all Keith wanted to see.
Keith had had years to come to terms with his feelings. He fought side by side with him for a couple of months then spent more than a few months with the Blade and felt the pain of being away from him. Which, of course, he got pissed about and caused a deeper rift between the two of them which caused more pain and- yeah you get the point. Then he spent a couple of years with his mother and memories of the past and a few visions of the future to think about lots of things. Including his feelings. He learned to accept them and with that acceptance brought peace. He grew to accept that he may be a little (okay...maybe a bit more than a little) in love with his best friend but that it most likely won't turn into anything real. And he's fine with that. As long as he can still have Lance in his life he's not complaining.
Except for when a Robaccan gets a little more ballsy and touches a bit higher on Lance's leg than they should have.
Keith pushed himself off the wall but didn't get in the middle of it. He watched as Lance looked down at the alien's hand, which was still on his thigh, then at the alien. He reached out a finger and placed it under their chin and pulled their face up to look him in the eye.
"You can look, but you cannot touch. Not anymore." Lance spoke softly but firmly. There was an underlying threat in his voice which Keith was sure the entire room heard. The room was quiet for a tense moment until Lance spoke again, "Understand?" He raised an eyebrow yet there was still a smile on his face. Though it wasn't as kind and easygoing as it was a moment ago. The Robaccan swallowed and didn't look happy to be touched by Lance as they normally would've been. They managed a small nod with wide fearful eyes.
The larger Robaccan to Lance's right cleared their throat, "You are excused, Matthias." The small Robaccan looked towards the larger Robaccan and opened their mouth, "I said, you're excused. Please, leave the room." Lance pulled his finger back and sank back into the couch.
"He didn't mean any harm by it, King Dagot." Lance looked over at the King, "Besides, I said he could still look. Although to be safe, I wouldn't mind someone else taking his place. He could move a bit to the back of the group." Instantly, the Robaccans around Matthias and in the back clamored to be put in his place. Lance laughed gently, "Okay, okay. Just to be fair, I'm gonna say that the one closest to Matthais can take his place." A bigger than Matthais, but still small, Robaccan took his place swiftly.
King Dagot sighed, "I really am sorry, Lance. Usually, my people are much more well-mannered than this. I don't know what overcame him." The King shook his head and Lance placed a kind hand on his shoulder. The King looked up with wide eyes. Keith could almost swear there were hearts in them.
"It's quite alright, King Dagot. It wasn't your fault. I'm not angry at all." Lance smiled at King Dagot and rubbed his shoulder a little. The King nodded slowly and his mouth hung open slightly. Lance pulled his hand back and glanced back at Keith. He nodded minutely and turned his attention back to the group of Robaccans crowding around him.
Keith returned to his place on the wall but kept a closer eye on the Robaccans surrounding Lance. Those of which included King Dagot who had pulled out a notepad of sorts and wrote something in it. He put it back into his coat almost immediately and continued as if nothing had happened.
Keith was beginning to have a headache. Again. The loud music had quieted in the room but he could still hear it by being so close to the door. A few of the Robaccans had high-pitched voices as well which were grating on his ears. Not to mention the flicker of anger that would spark in him when a Robaccan got brave enough to reach out to Lance. Keith wanted to get back to the Lions. He wanted a warm meal and some rest.
Suddenly a Robaccan burst into the room, similar to how Keith had. When they spoke Keith winced at their high-pitched voice.
"King Dagot. You have a call. It's urgent." King Dagot and the Robaccan stared at each other before he stood and dusted himself off.
"Of course, I'll be right there. Thank you, Hufan." King Dagot turned to Lance, "I hope you don't mind?"
Lance waved a hand and smiled, "Of course not, King Dagot. Take your time." Lance paused and blinked at him, "We will miss you though." Keith didn't want to think about the fact that there was some truth in that statement. That Lance somewhat meant it. Keith guessed that maybe the other Robaccans behaved themselves better in front of the King or something similar.
The King blushed but managed, "I'll make it quick." The King quickly left the room with Hufan and closed the door loudly on their way out. Keith huffed and dropped his head into his hands to try and alleviate his headache but that seemed to make it worse. He wanted to leave but he had to stick it out. They needed information but nothing seemed to be happening.
"Lance, can I talk to you?" Keith looked up and made eye contact with Lance immediately. Apparently, he had interrupted whatever Lance was saying based on the fact that his mouth was open as if in the middle of a sentence and that the others were watching with fascination. Although they were already doing that. But Keith didn't care, he was too tired to.
"Uh, sure?" Lance seemed concerned and stood, some of the Robaccans backed away from him in respect and others came closer to watch. Keith gently grabbed Lance's arm and led him out the same door as the King and down a maze of hallways. The music was getting quieter and they were away from the touchy Robaccans so his headache lessened. He reached another door and went to open it before he heard someone else inside talking.
He froze as he recognized the deep voice of King Dagot. He seemed panicked from how his usually deep voice was a bit higher pitched. Keith pulled his hand away from the doorknob and put his ear closer to the door.
"Wha-" Lance began but Keith shot a hand out and covered his mouth. Keith tuned back into the conversation happening behind the door.
"-wouldn't!" King Dagot exclaimed.
"Well, we're unsatisfied. You know very well how angry we can get." An unknown voice growled. It must've been whoever called King Dagot as Hufan had interrupted earlier with an "urgent call."
"Yes, I know but-"
"No but's. We've been far too kind for far too long. Dagot this is the end of our agreement."
"Please, just listen-" A loud beeping cut the King off and Keith realized that the call had ended. Which meant that King Dagot would be leaving the room soon. Keith pulled away from the door and tugged Lance back through the maze of hallways.
"Are you gonna fill me in on what just happened?" Lance asked from right next to him. Keith couldn't help but be a little impressed at the fact that he was keeping up in heels.
"Later." Keith pulled him to the left and back to the room where they came from. He turned to look at Lance, "I don't like it here. We need to leave."
Lance sighed, "I don't either but I have the King's ear, I'm this close to information." He held up his fingers and held them close together, "I know it."
Keith looked back down the hallway where they came from, "Well, do something quickly because I'm serious. We need to leave."
"Why are you so insistent on leaving? What happened in the room?" Lance stepped closer, grilling him and he almost caved but caught King Dagot from the corner of his eye.
He pulled Lance slightly closer and pretended to be fixing his makeup. Which he might as well do. Lance had spent who knows how much time in that room talking and smiling and entertaining (sort of) so the makeup is a little messed up at this point. Plus he needed to distract his brain from the fact that he and Lance were only a few inches apart. He could tilt his head and move just a little closer and-
"What are you doing?" Keith looked up into Lance's eyes and tried to push along the message of "play along." He seemed to as he stopped talking. Keith went back to fixing whatever he could. He didn't really have makeup to reapply so he had to make do. Wiping away any lip gloss that may have wandered off his lips, mixing the highlight with his fingers back to where it needed to be, and fixing up the eyeshadow that Lance may have unconsciously rubbed away from his eyelid.
King Dagot walked up to the scene and Keith looked over at him. "King Dagot." He nodded then returned to his task. The King looked over at Lance who didn't bother to even acknowledge his presence and was focused solely on the boy in front of him. The King looked between the two of them before walking back into the room of waiting aliens. Keith relaxed when he heard the door close and pulled away from Lance. Which also helped to calm his heart. Neither of them said a word and entered the room silently.
"Sorry for taking so long. My makeup had gotten messed up and I hadn't noticed." Lance laughed lightly and the group of Robaccans, which hadn't moved, all sighed lovingly.
Keith returned to his spot on the wall and resumed watching the room. He and King Dagot seemed to be on the same page. Stood, or sat, silently although the King seemed to be one step ahead of him as he had a drink in hand. Keith thought about it for a moment before deciding against it. He was on a mission and sensed danger. No way was he drinking while worried that they could be attacked at any moment.
He isn't sure what that phone call was about but he definitely doesn't want to meet whoever was talking to the King. Or their group. But he is curious what their "agreement" was. He looked back up at King Dagot who stared right back at him. They had a staring contest and the King cleared his throat.
"Clear the room." He said without looking away from Keith. Lance looked over at King Dagot then followed his eyes to Keith. The group of Robaccans looked at each other, hesitant to leave the room or, more importantly, Lance. The king glared at the aliens, "Now."
The Robaccans all stood and rushed out the door. Apparently, their King had never spoken to them like that before. Or they were cowards. Keith didn't care. He held the King's stare for a moment longer. The door shut and the King sighed and downed the last of his drink.
He stood and began to make himself another one from the table in the back of the room. He slowly sat down on the couch and took a long drink before speaking. "I assume you heard it then." He looked up at Keith, he wasn't asking but Keith nodded regardless. The King took another drink, "How much?"
Keith hesitated, "Not much. Just the end." The King nodded and took another drink.
"You should leave." The King turned to Lance. "I tried to-" he cut himself off and took another long drink, "I really think you should leave."
Lance shook his head looking regretful, "If it's because we eavesdropped the-"
"No, no," The King closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the couch, "Not because of that, but for your safety. Leave. Now. While you still have the chance." He tilted his head up for another swig of his drink. "I promise you, Lance, you don't want to be around for what comes next."
"Who was on the phone?" Keith asked. He pushed himself off the wall and stood next to Lance and stared down at the King.
The King sighed and took another drink. He grimaced but continued, "An old friend, I suppose." The King looked up and saw that neither of them was satisfied and continued, "We had an arrangement. I gave them what they needed and we were guaranteed safety. I guess what I was giving them wasn't enough. But I couldn't do more. I just couldn't. What I was giving was already a lot but they wanted more. They'll never be satisfied." The King shed a few tears and sniffled. He shook his head, "It'll never be enough." he whispered to himself.
Lance and Keith locked eyes. Lance turned back to the King, "Who's 'they'?" He asked softly, placing a hand on the King's back. The King cried harder and took another drink between his sobs.
"The Galra." He sniffled, "They'll be here soon. As I said, you should leave."
Lance took a breath, "What were you giving them? Why wasn't it enough for them?"
The King shook his head, "I followed our agreement perfectly. They kept pushing for more and more from me, but I couldn't give them what they asked for."
Lance glanced up at Keith then back at the King, "What did they ask for, King Dagot?"
The King looked regretfully at Lance, "My people." The King took another drink and stared at the floor in front of him, "They wanted my people to become...I don't even know. I never asked. Probably experiments or servants or something similar." Lance pulled his hand away in disgust or anger which Keith had to agree with.
King Dagot looked at Lance desperately, "You must understand, I did it for the rest of my people! I sacrificed a few of my people for the safety and protection of the rest. I didn't know what else to do!" King Dagot shook his head, "You've met many Robaccans while you've been here. You see how easily we would be defeated in a fight. We are small and many of us are cowards that would run at the sight of the Galra. This was my only option!" Lance stood from the couch and made his way behind Keith to get some space and to breathe.
"Your only option was to sell your kind to be tortured and killed?" Keith crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow down at the King.
King Dagot downed the last of his drink, "I had no other choice. I hated what I had done, but we survived! We're still here!" He let out a hysterical laugh, "Though not for long. They'll be here any second to wipe us out completely. Unless by some cruel yet justified twist of fate I will experience the same as those I sold to them. Maybe then I'll know what happened to them. It could be revenge for the lost." King Dagot dropped his cup and sobbed into his hands.
Keith turned to Lance who was facing the door, back turned to Keith and King Dagot. He walked up and placed his hand on Lance's shoulder, "We have to go." Keith whispered to him. Lance nodded silently and walked out the door without looking back at him.
Keith glanced back at the King who was now sobbing on the floor muttering, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Over and over to himself. Keith clenched his teeth and walked out, not bothering to shut the door.
Keith was then pushed back into the loud and crowded room full of Robaccans. He shoved his way through groups of them until he saw Lance at the exit. Keith caught up to him but didn't say anything. He knew it was best to let Lance be for the moment.
They ran in silence to their lions and made contact with the rest of the team that was staying on another planet in the solar system. Once a connection was made and they were caught up to speed, they were all in their lions and ready for a fight.
The five Lions flew around the planet, searching for any Galran ships that were coming their way. They paused a few times to investigate asteroids but after almost an hour there was still no sign of a threat.
Pidge was tempted to just call it quits and resume their road trip back home but she held herself back. It's better to be safe than sorry.
Just then a ship had warped in at light speed on the opposite side of the planet.
Instantly, droids flew out from the sides of the ships and began to shoot at the lions.
They flew apart and took out as many droids as they could on their way towards the larger ships.
Hunk had jumped in front of Allura's Lion and took a few hits for her and she flew around to take out the droids that were shooting at them.
Lance and Keith were flying through the droves of droids and blowing up one after the other.
Pidge had activated her camouflage on her Lion and flew towards the bigger ships to slice them the ribbons and destroy what she could.
Lance looked over as many explosions lit up from the ships. He heard multiple cheers in his ears from the team and couldn't help the wide smile from settling on his face. "This is easy, we don't even need Voltron. These guys suck."
Hunk chuckled, "You know that means you're about to get your shit rocked, right?"
Lance scoffed, "Please, they can't even touch me."
At that moment the smaller of the two Galran ships exploded, thanks to Pidge. However, they didn't see the pod that flew out at the last second. It decided to take the long way around the planets, sneaking into the ranks and laying fire onto the smallest and least defended of the Lions. Which, of course, happened to be Red.
Lance immediately dived from the fire and flew around planets to avoid it which worked as the pod was now aiming at Blue. Allura tried the same method as Lance and dived, but the pod's fire seemed to follow her. Hunk then bounded in with Yellow and crashed into the pod, sending it hurtling away from the Lions.
Allura chased after the pod and shot the pod down into one of the empty planets in the solar system.
Hunk cleared his throat over the comms, "I would just like to say. I told you so."
Lance made an indignant sound, "That wasn't getting my shit rocked! That was getting shot at! I didn't die or get hurt, it was like getting flicked. So, you were wrong."
Hunk hummed, "Sure." he dragged out the word and Lance made sure his eye roll was audible.
"I just rolled my eyes at you." Lance said proudly.
"Thanks." Hunk seemed genuinely cheerful which just made Lance even more indignant but Keith intercepted.
"We have another ship to take down guys." His voice was firm and commanded their attention immediately.
"Sir, yes, sir." Lance chanted and charged at the bigger ship, Allura and Hunk in tow.
Lance heard a deep inhale over the comms and some muttering that got cut off from the mic. He turned Red around and saw Keith still in the same place. "Keith! You coming or not?" Lance turned Red around and went right back into battle.
Keith huffed in his Lion and rolled his eyes, "Let's make this quick."
Keith led Lance into his room and sat him down on the floor in front of his bed. Keith searched the bathroom for makeup remover and found a bag of wipes next to the sink. He brought it back into Lance's room and sat across from him. They both stayed silent as Keith began to wipe away the makeup from the mission.
He started with his cheeks then his lips. During which, Lance had been staring at the same spot on the wall. Keith had finally had enough of it.
Without looking away from what he was doing, he said, "You're too kind for your own good."
Lance looked over at him in confusion, "What? What's that mean?"
"You're too kind." He repeated himself.
Lance squinted at Keith's arm, "That doesn't really clarify anything."
Keith hesitated for a moment before speaking, "You're thinking about King Dagot, right? And what he did?"
Lance looked away, back to the spot on the wall, "...Is it wrong to sympathize with him, just a little?" Lance sounded so fragile at that moment that Keith felt his own heart constrict, "I mean, he believed he was doing the right thing but it was still really messed up…" Lance trailed off and groaned, "I'm so confused."
Keith put down the makeup wipe and looked at Lance who was now staring at his own hands in his lap, "Like I said, you're too kind...Not everything is black and white. It depends on what you believe and think." Keith paused, "In my opinion, should he have done it? No. Did it help a lot of people? Yes, but it still sentenced who knows how many to death or worse. Everything is a little complicated." Lance still sat staring at his hands in his lap, "And it doesn't help when you're too kind."
Lance finally looked up at Keith and raised an eyebrow, "Elaborate?"
Keith shifted, "You're dwelling on another man's actions and the consequences he'll face for said actions." Keith leaned forward slightly, "You're too kind and compassionate and sweet and-"
"Okay, stop, you're gonna give me a heart attack." Lance cut Keith off with a shaky breath.
Keith smiled, "What? You don't believe me?" Lance squinted at him and wrapped his arms around himself.
"Shut up. God, you're so annoying" Lance rolled his eyes as Keith laughed.
"And you're so thoughtful and warm and soft and-" Lance cut him off with a groan and a tanned hand flying to his mouth. Lance had shifted forward to place his hand over Keith's mouth. Keith could feel Lance's left arm brushing against his right thigh and Lance's legs pressed up against his own.
"Shut up." Lance grumbled. He and Lance held each other's gaze. Keith was daring Lance to pull away his hand, to hear what he had to say. Lance gave in and slowly pulled his hand away.
"Never." Keith smiled at him, "I'll tell you it until you believe me and then a few more times. Lance, you're amazing, you're so kindhearted and you have so much love in you. It sometimes blows my mind that someone like you exists. You're so loving and gentle." Keith heard Lance's breath leave him in a stutter. His eyes were wide and a strong blush adorned his cheeks.
Lance's eyes drifted down Keith's face and landed on his lips. Keith felt his heart stutter. "You're crazy." Lance said softly. Keith could feel the tension press against his skin. He felt as if he could hear Lance's thundering heart, or maybe it was his own.
He looked down at Lance's lips. "Maybe." Keith tilted his head slightly and brought them closer. He softly knocked his nose against Lance's and felt his eyes close. He was tempted to close the gap and feel Lance against him, to feel his heartbeat against his chest. To tease out all different sounds from him. But he held back. He sat there in that moment and breathed him in.
He heard a very quiet, almost silent, whimper fall from Lance's lips and he snapped like a rubber band pulled to it's limit. He pressed his lips against Lance's and felt dizzy with euphoria. He brought his hands up and cupped Lance's cheek and neck. He felt two hands fall onto his chest and he wondered if Lance could feel what effect he had on him. He wondered if he had the same effect on Lance.
Was his heart racing?
Was his blood on fire?
Did he feel the same dizzy euphoria?
Lance suddenly pushed against Keith's chest and as he leaned back he straddled his lap. Every coherent thought Keith had immediately left and all he could feel was Lance. All he could hear was Lance. All he could taste was Lance.
He was drowning in him and he couldn't fight it.
He didn't want to fight it.