Chapter 6

Well, this was just lovely.

Not only had Lance been forced into a less than stellar reunion (if it could even be called that when Keith -the asshole- didn't even remember him). Now a small army of droids and one smug looking Galra commander surrounded them.

Wonderful. Lance thought snarkily. Just wonderful.

His blue eyes shifted to Keith. A small frown pulled at the other man's features. Amethyst gaze shifted over the scenario they found themselves in. Likely working on some way out of the situation.

Lance should probably be doing the same.

But...

It's all his fault. Lance blamed the other man. If Kogane hadn't distracted me on the roof those assholes never would have found me.

He finally dragged his eyes away to do his own assessing of the situation. Feeling especially piety, he called, "what's the plan, chief," with much more bite than was probably necessary given the slightly dire circumstances.

Keith leveled him with a stare. Very unimpressed. "Don't die."

And then the fucker launched himself off his lion's back and at the nearest droid.

Lance gawked for all of half a second before following suit and rolling off Blue. He pulled out his handgun and fired shot after shot into droids heads. Blue offered him cover through the bulk of it. When the numbers had dwindled off enough, she leapt into the masses along with Red and Keith.

Those two were already tearing shit up.

Watching them move through the crowd was… entrancing. Keith's body moved effortlessly as he took out enemy after enemy. A grace about him Lance never would have believed if he wasn't seeing it for himself.

No one he knew fought like that. So far into the fray that throwing out their weapon anyway would result in a hit on the enemy. Him and Hunk were distance fighters. Pidge too, most of the time. Not to say Lance wasn't capable of throwing down when the need arises but he avoided close quarter combat like the plague.

Kind of scary how recklessly they throw themselves into a fight. Lance shook his head of the thought.

If Keith told him not to die, he could assume Mullet would follow the same advice. The guy had always been brass at the Garrison. Why would an alien invasion change that?

Lance shouted out a swift, "Kogane! Duck!"

Keith immediately dropped to the ground. A bullet whizzed over his head, taking out a droid behind him.

"Watch where you're shooting!" Keith grunted as he swiped at another droid from his position on the ground. "You almost hit me!"

Lance snorted. "My bad for trusting your fat ass to be able to follow simple instructions!" He glared at him.

Keith's eyes widened and Lance didn't even have a chance to do more then turn as Keith launched a knife seemingly at his face. It sailed right by him and into a droid that had almost gotten the drop on him. He turned back around, jaw still slacked and found Keith smirking haughtily. Keith strolled up to him quickly. The battle waged on between the droids and their lions.

Keith leaned into Lance's space as he tugged the blade out of the droid. "Maybe you should stop watching my ass and worry about your own." Keith told him breathlessly.

Lance sputtered, face turning red.

Whether it was rage or embarrassment he didn't really have time to process. Keith grinned smugly at him and spun back around to jump back into the fight.

The alien commander appeared to be retreating.

Oh hell no. Lance thought angrily.

He be damned if he let that happen. No, the alien would just call for reinforcements. Or worse.

"Alright, girl. You know what to do. Watch my six." Lance instructed as he mapped out his best path to get off a good quick shot.

Blue purred in response.

He holstered his gun and sprinted towards a parked van. The vehicle should offer just enough of a vantage point for him to pick off the commander. He ducked under a droids blow. Pulling out a simple hunting knife and cutting behind its knees, rendering it unable to move.

The Cuban lifted himself swiftly up the hood and to the roof of the beaten up Volkswagen. He spun his sniper off his back. A second passed as he lined up the shot.

A quick breathe in.

A slow exhale out as he squeezed the trigger.

The general fell to the ground.

"Whoa."

Lance whipped around, gun now aimed at a surprised Keith. The man's arms went into the air slowly as well as an eyebrow.

"Uh… nice shot."

He blinked. "Oh." Lance lowered his sniper rifle. Heat gathered in his cheeks at the unexpected compliment. From Keith Kogane of all people. Or he was just warm from the battle. Yeah. Probably that. "Thanks?"

Keith nodded. His hands dropped along with Lance's gun.

Lance looked at the clearing. A few droids twitched on the ground but otherwise it seemed they were able to completely neutralize the enemy. Surprising giving the sheer amount of numbers they'd been up against.

"You kill him?"

The question forced Lance's eyes back to Keith's.

"Not yet." He answered flatly. He hated this. Hated this part of being off base. "Information check first, ya know?" He shrugged and reached for detachment.

Like he wasn't talking about murdering a living being to someone he went to school with. If he pretended it was something lighter, he could pretend that this would end some other way. His stomach churned with how much things had changed since the last time he and Keith saw each other. Back when Lance's worse fear was not being able to graduate. Or losing to his self proclaimed rival (Keith) in one way or another.

The black haired youth nodded once.

Lance searched Keith's face for the disgust he felt. It remained impassive. It eased his nerves about the whole thing. At least a little. Maybe Keith hated this as much as he did. Because there wasn't a doubt in Lance's mind that his old classmate was familiar with what they were about to do. Show him a survivor who wasn't and Lance would show you a liar.

He hopped off the van. Their little group of four surrounded the whimpering Galra. Lance readied himself to speak. To put on the mask of a ruthlessness to get answers.

"I'm assuming we don't need to dance around the point here." Keith surprised him by taking charge. "What do you know?"

Except it wasn't a question.

It was a demand.

A chill went up Lance's spine. Yeah. Keith definitely had experience and was waaay better at this. The itches of the old rivalry stirred, but Lance, for once, didn't mind being inferior. It was actually nice to not have to be the one questioning.

Not that he'd admit that to anyone. Especially Keith.

When the Galra soldier didn't answer, Keith pulled out a strange looking knife. "Look, we both know you aren't making it out of here. How long it takes is completely dependent upon you." He threatened.

Keith appeared downright murderous as he kneeled on the ground and pressed a hand to the Galra's chest. The blade stayed losely in his other hand but Lance now knew the skill behind them. The damage even that pretty dagger could do to the thick skin extraterrestrial in the hands of Keith. A simple movement from the dark haired man was all it would take for him to end the alien's life. Lance was scared on their enemy's behave.

The tanned youth stared down his nose at the wounded Galra for a few moments before hunching down near the pair.

"Tell us what you know and I'll give you a quick out. Otherwise…" He gestured at Keith and his blade.

"Victory or death!" The Galra shouted as he tried to dislodge the hand on his chest.

Keith responded with a swift flick of his wrist, slicing the alien's neck. Blood sprayed across Keith's chest. Specs littered his pale skin. He stood up and Lance followed him - better to observe him then the now twitching body on the ground. It still pained Lance how accustomed he'd become to blood over the years.

Keith pulled out a cloth from a pocket inside his jacket. He made quick work of wiping his face and his blade before replacing it in its sheath. "Here." He offered it to Lance.

"Huh?"

"You got some on your face."

Oh.

"And… all over your clothes." Keith's eyes trailed down his torso.

Lance groaned. "Dammit." He held his shirt out by the bottom to inspect the damage. "I knew I should have just worn the black shit. But noooo. I just had to leave it behind." He grumbled as he snatched the cloth.

He rubbed harshly at his face and did what he could to save the shirt. No luck.

"Ugh, another shirt ruined." Lance all but whined as he scrubbed uselessly at the white of his baseball tee. "And this was my favorite too…"

"Black would have been a better choice." Keith agreed. "Or red."

Lance glared at him. "Sorry I don't particularly like the emo look."

Keith furrowed his brows.

"Ya know, the whole brooding thing you got going on." Lance waved at his wardrobe.

"I'm not… brooding." Keith's scowled and added, "or emo."

"Uh huh. Sorry I'm not as prepared as you are."

Amethyst eyed him critically. "You're just not use to close quarters fighting. It's fine. Most aren't."

"I do just fine with-"

'We should get going.' Blue's thought invaded his mind.

"We should just take the van." He spoke eyeing the large vehicle the Galra had showed up in.

"You really think both of our lions will fit in there?" Keith asked, voice thoughtful.

Lance scowled as his plan was so easily derailed. "Maybe I wasn't talking to you."

"Fine." Keith narrowed his eyes. "You're slowing us down anyway. I have other places to be."

He snorted. "Oh yeah? Got a hot date you're gunna be late for? Must be nice to have it so easy even in the apocalypse."

"You-" the other man inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. "You just got done saying you didn't want us along."

"I didn't say that." Lance defended quickly. "You called my plan stupid."

"No I didn't!" Keith gritted his teeth. "All I said was that the four of us might not fit."

'He's right.' Blue interrupted Lance's impending tirade. 'I'm not even sure if I could fit in there. And even though the red one is tiny, he'd still need almost as much room as me.'

Red snarled.

Blue met his gaze with an innocent tilt of her head.

"What'd she say?"

"That she agrees with you." Lance pouted openly, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Keith may have been talking to his lion, he realized belated. "Basically she's not even sure if she'd fit in there alone. Two wouldn't work."

"So we're sticking together?" Keith quirked a brow. His gaze remained guarded as he stared at him. Like he was ready for Lance to jump at his throat.

He felt a little guilty at that.

He sighed heavily, dropping one arm only to run a hand through his hair. "It's probably our best bet at this point. I mean… safety in numbers right?"

"You think there will be more?"

Lance shrugged. "Well, considering I've been here since yesterday and we just caught more action in five minutes then I have in 24 hours, probably."

Keith's frown deepened at that.

"I got a place we can go. Stayed there last night." Lance offered up. "It's easy enough to secure. Has a few hidden exit paths too."

He waited silently for Keith to make up his mind. Meanwhile, Blue circled Red. Lance recognized the easy sway of her shoulders. She had it many times with Green and Gold. But Red didn't know Blue like them. He likely wouldn't appreciate her attempts.

"Come on, Blue." Lance shot his lion an unamused glare. "He doesn't want to play, okay?"

Keith quirked a brow, distracted from his thoughts. "How do you know that?"

'He isn't wrong.'

Blue bopped Red on the nose in retaliation for his remark. Red growled lowly.

Lance glanced back with a lazy look. "Body language, dude. Obviously." He waved at Red's stiff posture.

"He's a lion."

"It still applies!" He huffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Sheesh. Have you never seen two lions interact before?"

Blue continued to circle Red. His lion refused to move even an inch as she tried to goad him into playing with her. Keith would have thought she would have been more docile after such a battle. His and Shiro's lions liked to take it easy after a fight. Conserving energy in case something unexpected took place.

"Not like this. Red and Black are different." His lips formed the words as soon as he thought them.

"Black?" Lance tilted his head curiously.

Damnit. Keith mentally cursed. Why did he keep talking to this guy?

"So… there was two more?" The tan youth spoke again, but this time his question didn't seemed to be directed at Keith. More at Blue.

"Where'd you find her?" Keith repeated his earlier question, determined not to let Lance get the better of him.

Those sharp blue eyes studied him for a few moments before he shrugged. "Same place as you, I'm guessing. The Garrison." His inquisitive gaze didn't waver, waiting for Keith to give away… something. "Just before the missiles landed. I found her in one of the research rooms."

"Me… too." Keith furrowed his brow.

Lance pursed his lips. "Must not have been the same room, then. We checked before we left for the bunkers."

"The bunkers? Shouldn't you have had enough time to get to the buses?"

"Not after that detour. Actually didn't even make it to the bunkers. Ended up taking shelter in a closet." He leveled Keith with a suspicious glare. "Where did you guys go?"

"Why should I tell you that when you won't answer my question?"

"I did answer your question!" Lance threw his hands up. "Now you should answer mine!"

"Half assed answers don't count."

Lance opened his mouth ready to respond. He stopped, instead his eyes widened and he pulled his handgun back out. He side stepped Keith and fired off a shot.

"Again?" Keith grunted as he pulled out his knife, diving at the next droid. Blue and Red taking out others.

"Maybe if you woulda shut your trap, we coulda found a way out of here before this!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Keith whirled, ready to throw a punch at him.

Lance shot just over his shoulder. "Watch your back, Kogane."

He didn't reply. This man was going to drive him to murder. Keith knocked down the next droid and then another. He slammed his blade into the tough exterior. Red protected his back.

"Any bright ideas?" He called to Lance after a few minutes of fighting. He was getting tired.

"Uh… just one." He shot and a loud screeching noise echoed through the alley.

An even louder bang as something metal landed on the ground.

"Come on!" Lance shouted as he scrambled onto Blue's back. "You go up first. I'll cover you."

Keith started at the metal fire escape. A ladder that went straight up the building. "Are you kidding? That's a fucking ladder! How are the lions suppose to get up it?"

Lance's brows furrowed as he continued firing off shots. "Blue does it all the time…?" He sounded unsure.

"Does she or doesn't she?!" Keith needed an answer.

"She does!"

Keith gave Red a worried glance. He had a bad feeling about this.

'I can do it.' Red assured him, nudging his side. 'Hurry. While the loud one can hold them off.'

Climbing the ladder was… terrifying. Something about heading straight up with nothing to catch him set him on edge. It was a completely different experience then when they jumped around. Then he had Red to protect him from the ground, here… well he'd actually feel more comfortable climbing the ladder himself then clinging to his lion.

"Doing alright, Mullet?" Lance sounded almost concerned. "Don't worry. If you fall, I'll catch you." He could hear the cheeky grin in his voice.

Nevermind. Guy was an asshole.

They reached the top and Keith twisted on top of Red to yell, "Just shut up and lead the way out of here!"

Lance blinked in surprise.

"You said you had a place, didn't you?"

"Uh, yeah." The tan man nodded. "Yeah I did."

"Then hurry the up and get us out of here. I don't want to face another army right now."

"So the great Kogane does run out of steam." Lance sneered.

He scowled. "I said I didn't want to. Nothing about how I couldn't. I was thinking more about you and your lion."

Both shot him sharp glares.

Keith hadn't meant it as an insult. More that he wasn't familiar with their battle expertise. They seemed to handle themselves fine so far, but that didn't mean they had the same stamina as him and Shiro developed over the past three years.

"I didn't mean-" he tried to rectify, fumbling with words. "I just-"

"Save it pretty boy." Lance said as Blue trotted past them. "Just try to keep up."

The two then shot to the next rooftop.

'Why are they angry?'

"I think they felt insulted?"

'Seemed fair to me to assume they can't keep up with us.' Red pushed his thought to him as he sped across the roof after the others.

Keith smiled and patted Red's mane in appreciation. At least his lion was always on the same page.

It took them until nightfall to reach the place Lance had mentioned. They could have gotten there sooner but they spent a lot of time sticking to the shadows of buildings. Only when the coast was clear would they venture to the next spot. Moving like that took time.

Time Keith wasn't sure was worth spending as he stared at the old building tucked into the side of a hill. It would be easy to guard. It's position also made it likely that there were multiple escape routes like Lance had mentioned.

But still. Place was a sketchy, even by his standards. And Keith had some pretty low standards.

"You're kidding." Keith stared after Lance as he strolled up to the deathtrap. He resisted the urge to walk the opposite direction.

"Nope." Lance hummed absently as he slowly began opening the door. "Blue, you know what to do." His lion nodded and then they were both gone.

Keith gritted his teeth. "He can't be serious."

Waves of amusement drifted off Red.

"This isn't a good idea." He insisted quietly. "We should really find Shiro."

'He'll be fine.' His lion nudged against him gently.

Keith knew that. Both of them had their fair share of alone 'missions' over the year. It wasn't unusual for them to separate in the morning and not see each other again for a day or two. But…

"The town was way more active than we thought it would be. What if-" Keith stopped mid sentence as Lance poked his head out the door.

"All clear. Come on in." He pushed the door open further and waved for them to follow.

Red stared at him calmly for a few moments. When Keith finally sighed, his lion pushed him towards the door.

"Fine," Keith relented with a huff. "We'll stay. But just until dawn."

Red merely laid down an already burning fire. Lance and Blue were curled up on the other side. Blue appeared to be sleeping. Lance stared at him with barely masked annoyance.

"I'll try not to be offended." Blue eyes rolled with the sarcastic remark.

"Believe it or not, spending the night with you in an old and cold abandon building was not how I wanted to be spending my night." Keith told him hotly. He was already short fused with his worry about Shiro. This guy wasn't helping.

"Well… I mean… we could cuddle?" Lance quirked a brow, a slow smirk spreading across his lips. "That'll take care of the cold issue."

"Fuck you." He spat.

His smile grew even wider. "Whoa dude. I just offered to cuddle."

Keith flipped him off, not trusting himself to remain calm as he forced himself to sit down at Red's side.

Lance chortled like a mad man. Until Blue nudged his side affectionately. Then the sharpshooter began to sputter. "N-no! That's not-! I mean I wouldn't-!" His eyes flickered to Keith before dropping his voice. "That was one time. I said I was sorry!"

Red snickered, apparently finding some amusement in what Blue teased Lance about.

Keith quirked a curious brow. Seeing Lance flustered was… extremely entertaining. The tension began to ease from his shoulders. "Do I even ask?"

"No!" Lance shouted loudly. He immediately threw a hand over his mouth and winced.

Blue turned to Red, something close to a smile on her muzzle.

Red glanced at Keith. 'According to Blue, cuddling to fucking has happened before and she wasn't happy about it.'

"Oh?" Keith smirked at Lance.

The other man fidgeted with his hands in his lap, gaze downcast in embarrassment. "Blue," Lance groaned lamely. "How could you?!"

"So," Keith drawled unable to let it go. His useless worry for Shiro pushed farther and farther to the back of his mind the more Lance talked. "Was that your attempt to flirt with me then? Assumed it would work like before?" He dropped his chin into an open palm, waiting patiently for Lance's response. "And here I thought I was special."

Lance snorted. His blue eyes locked on Keith's. Something in them swirled dangerously. "Keep telling yourself that, Kogane." He snipped. He then cuddled into Blue, back to him, seemingly determined to end the conversation.

"Ah, I thought we were going to cuddle?" Keith prodded further.

"Fuck off!" Lance growled, unable to avoid the bait.

Keith chuckled to himself. Deciding he'd had enough excitement for one day, he leaned back against Red's stomach and got comfortable. Silence overtook the room and he was just about asleep when a soft voice whispered-

"Night, Kogane."

He shook his head at the ridiculous man. "Night, McClain."

A/N: And there's chapter 6! I apologize for any errors! I'll admit that I probably didn't read through this as much as I should have, but I really wanted to get it out! Hopefully you guys enjoyed Lance and Keith's first full chapter together! There's plenty more to come ;)