Chapter 11

They had about two days of travel to get to where they needed to go. The first day they didn't talk much, since they were riding their lions at a fast speed across the landscape, most attention went to staying on. Which the saddle made a lot easier. Lance really hoped Keith appreciated it.

They found a place to set up camp for the night - another abandoned building. Lance wondered if Keith realized that they had a good chunk of buildings mapped out within a 30 mile radius to use as basecamps when they got so far from home. If he did — he didn't ask. The Mullet seemed extra quiet compared to their chat this morning.

The night was spent much the same way as the day. In silence.

The next morning they woke up to rain.

Fuck.

He wasn't sure how much Red could handle rain. He knew that it seemed to vary from lion to lion. Blue? Loved it. Green? She could deal with stretches of time. Gold? Wasn't a fan of it but would deal for short intervals.

He glanced at Keith, a deep scowl on his partner's face. Lance knew the answer before he even asked, "how's Red feel about rain?"

"Hates it. Absolutely refuses to travel in it."

Figures. Of course a rare day of rain would happen when they needed to be traveling.

He sighed. Nothing they could do about it. He sulked back over to where his bed from the previous night had been. Blue looking excitedly out at the water.

"Go for it." He told her with a wave of his hand. "I'm going to sleep as long as we're stuck here."

Blue dashed for the open garage door, rolling around in a puddle. Lance smiled as he eyed her from where he laid on the ground. She really did love water. So did he. Maybe he'd join her for a bit.

"Wow." Keith's stunned voice reached his ears and paused his feet. "She… really likes the rain, huh?"

"Sure does." Lance smiled as he directed his attention back to his lion. "Seems like her element almost."

"Element?"

"Yeah know." Lance gestured. "Water, Earth, Fire, Wind? I mean there are others but those are the major ones."

Keith studied him. "Are you talking like…" he shifted before sighing and saying what was on his mind, "Avatar, the Last Airbender?"

His jaw dropped. "Oh my god! Yes! A million times yes! Of course that's what I'm talking about!" He practically vibrated with excitement. "I mean of course there are other instances and shit but that is always the one that pops into my head."

Keith looked relieved that Lance wasn't making fun of him for knowing about the show.

Which, excuse him. Avatar was a classic. How could anyone make fun of it?

"And here I thought we'd be struggling for topics to talk about," Lance teased as he settled near Keith on the ground. God he was so relieved to have something to talk about. Yesterday had almost been torture with the silence. "Who's your favorite?"

He opened his mouth but Lance cut him off.

"Bet it's Zuko, isn't it? You totally seem like a fire type." He offered his own thoughts. "Now that I think about it, Red could totally be fire too."

"It's Sokka, actually." Keith pursed his lips.

"No shit?"

He shrugged. "Guessing your favorite is Katara?"

"I mean she is a total badass. And like Aang is, of course, the shit. And Toph is great and I'm a sucker for Sokka's wit but uh…" He laughed sheepishly. "Zuko's actually my favorite."

"You're kidding."

"No! Hear me out!" He rushed to defend his choice. "He came so far with his character development and I'm a huge slut for that. Plus he's totally hot! And don't get me started on the sarcasm level."

"So you basically have a thing for fire?" He quirked a brow.

"I'll always be a water man at heart but can you blame me for wanting to warm up with a bit of heat?" Lance wiggled his eyes shamelessly.

"Guess not." Keith shrugged, completely ignoring Lance's insinuation.

Which was fine. He'd rather talk character anyway right now. Though if Keith really wanted too — "So," he cut his own thought off, "I mean I love Sokka, but what is it about him that makes you all weak in the knees?" Lance questioned earnestly.

Because he totally related to Sokka and if he had to pick a character he was like — it would be the southern water tribe boy.

And if Keith liked Sokka then maybe…

"He's funny." Keith replied easily. "And smart. But not in the obvious ways like…" He fished for an example.

"Pidge?" He offered.

"Exactly." The red lion rider nodded. "He's always the one coming up with strategies and the group totally underestimates him."

Lance studied him, silently loving the way Keith gushed about his favorite character.

Keith turned away from his gaze and huffed out a, "and I never said he made me weak in the knees."

"Didn't have to."

Amethyst eyes narrowed at him.

And the way they were looking at him… Well, that seemed like a good place to stop the conversation. "Well," Lance stood up, "better go check on Blue."

The other man didn't reply.

-.-.-.-.-

It was a few hours later when, to Lance's surprise, Keith started up a topic.

"So what's your relationship with Adam like?" Keith asked the open air.

Lance frowned, refusing to look at him. He knew that Keith must be close with Adam too given the few interactions he'd seen between the pair. Plus, Shiro was basically Keith's older brother in every way but blood. It'd make sense that he'd know Adam from that relationship. Basically an in-law though Adam and Shiro weren't married. And ya know, no blood relation but that's besides the point.

"Bit personal dontcha think?"

Keith didn't verbally respond so Lance got the sense he was shrugging his shoulders or something.

He sighed. Not like there was much else to do.

"He's… like my version of Shiro I guess."

"Annoying older brother figure who won't leave you alone?" Keith responded with amusement in his tone.

And… Lance really liked that sound. He smiled.

"Pretty much." He laughed lightly. "I mean I'm the youngest of five. And have two older brothers and two older sisters but… well he's about the same age as my brothers and…" he swallowed, emotion gripping him suddenly. "Well I guess that when I first met Adam I was kind of looking for that bond again. I'm really close with my family and it's been… four years now since I've seen them."

"Four?"

"Things get busy at the Garrison." He shrugged and tried to play it off. "Haven't been able to make it back there since the summer before senior year. Plus there's the distance thing."

"They're… in Cuba?"

Lance was a little caught off guard that Keith knew that little bit of information about himself. "I mean, we grew up there until I was 10 yeah. Then we moved stateside but…"

"...but…?"

"They're on the coast. It's a bit of a hike to see them and…" His fingers curled in his green jacket. His oldest brother, Luis', old jacket. "We didn't have much money. Couldn't really afford plane tickets around the holidays for me to go home and see them."

"That's… rough buddy."

"..."

"..."

"Did you… did you just quote Zuko at me to try and cheer me up?" Lance finally looked over to his companion.

"Depends." Keith bit his lip and searched his eyes. "Did it work?"

Lance started at him and couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of his lips. Or the grin that came across his face as he saw Keith let himself smile a little.

"Dude," he said after his chuckles died down. "You can't just throw Zuko at me like that."

"Why not?" Keith quirked a brow. "Did it get you all weak in the knees?" A smirk tugged at his lips and —

Okay… yep. Spot on deduction Keith.

But it had little to do with his favorite Zuko line and more to do with the way Keith was smirking at him. Like he had just won something and… why would he look like that?

"Uh…" Lance said simply to fill up the silence until his brain decided to start working again. "... maybe?"

Keith snorted, shaking his head. "You're ridiculous."

And hell if that wasn't true.

Lance felt kind of ridiculous.

Because his heart wouldn't calm down. And that was dangerous. And slightly confusing because, well, Keith wasn't doing anything. Why couldn't he clam the fuck down?

He forced out an anxious laugh and said, "heard that before."

The other man pursed his lips as he studied him quietly for a few moments. "It's not… bad. Let's me know you're being honest. Being yourself. Not a lot of people are like that."

Lance's eyes widened and he felt his jaw slacken a little.

Keith's cheeks flushed and he stood up abruptly. "Bathroom." He mumbled as he rushed past him.

"Uh, sure." Lance replied even though he was pretty sure Keith wasn't listening.

His eyes found Blue and Red staring at him.

"What?" He asked the pair, paranoid.

Neither replied.

So Lance frowned and walked to the nearest window. The rain had stopped sometime during his and Keith's discussion. He wondered if it was done. And if it was, if they should try to find a hideout closer to their destination.

He pulled out the map that Pidge had made for the trip.

It looked like there would be one more town they could pass through before getting to the base. They could check for supplies and then look for shelter. Something close to town but not in it in case they needed to make a quick getaway. It was always pretty hit or miss on when a patrol would show. And with the town being only a few hours from the base, better not to be in town just to be safe.

"It stopped raining." Keith said as he stepped back into the room.

Lance nodded and pointed to the small town. "I think we should hit this up before finding a new place to set up for the night."

"We aren't staying in town, are we?" Keith leaned over his shoulder.

"No." He ignored the heat from the man behind him. But he couldn't resist looking over his shoulder and into those amethyst eyes. "Figured we could do a quick supply check. Probably won't be able to on the way back."

"Makes sense." The other man agreed. "As long as we don't stay in town, I don't really care what we do."

"Bad experience?" He asked curiously.

"Just the one." Keith offered. "Never did it again after that."

"Same." Lance snorted. "Got caught up in a patrol and we'd be goners if it wasn't for the lions."

"Yeah." The other man reached for his lion and scratched his ear. "Saved us from a lot of shitty situations too."

"Such good kitties." Lance cooed.

Blue perched up and pounced over to him. His girl used to random bouts of praise.

Red glared.

"Well, at least you're a good kitty. Aren'tcha girl?" He continued to praise his lion.

She preened at his attention as he lavished her in affection.

He smiled at her. He may feel slightly awkward yet with Keith, but having Blue here with him helped ease some of his nerves. "Well, ready to go?" He asked without looking at his human companion.

"Just got the saddle back on Red." Keith answered, already in motion.

Lance moved and did the same. Within ten minutes they were all packed up and ready to go. He could feel Blue practically humming in excitement. Her favorite travel time was after the rain. When she could hop in the puddles and feel the wet earth beneath her feet.

But with Red hating the rain so much...

He pursed his lips as he strolled up to Keith and Red. He waited for the male lion to make eye contact with him and then held out his hand. Red eyed him for a moment before dropping his head. Lance smiled, glad to see that the temperamental lion still was willing to let him touch him.

"So, you going to be okay with a little puddle jumping, Big Red?" He asked as he stroked the lion's mane.

Keith on the opposite side frowned. "Don't call him that."

"Why not?" Lance's smile grew. Oh if he could both check and make sure Red was alright and tease Keith? He was all for it. "Red seems to like it."

Which... He thought it was right? Again, he can't actually hear any lion other than his own so he was going completely off body language. Which wasn't as easy as he made it sound. But Red hadn't done anything to the name. If anything he leaned into Lance's hand even more.

"He doesn't… hate it." Keith relented.

Lance figured that was as close as he was going to get that it was okay. "So… are you going to melt if we touch water?"

"He'll be fine."

"Maybe I was asking you." Lance brought his eyes up from the lion to Keith.

The man snorted and moved up into the saddle. "Think I'll live."

"Alright," he shrugged, "don't say I didn't warn you."

He strolled back to Blue, the energy around her slightly down.

"What's the matter girl?" He instantly tried to soothe her, petting the spot between her ears that always made her pure.

She shook her head at him.

He frowned. "Is this cause I called him Big Red?"

Blue turned up her nose and started trotting away.

Lance scrambled to follow her. "Ah come on, Blue! You're my number one! Always will be." He stepped in a puddle and cursed.

'Promise?' She paused to look back at him.

"Of course! You're my lion and I'm your person." Lance smiled brightly at her. "No one can replace my Baby Blue!"

His lion dipped her head sheepishly at the old nickname. He didn't use it often since she obviously wasn't a cub anymore.

"Baby Blue?" Keith spoke up.

Plus the nickname was embarrassing to use in front of others. He'd let it slip once in front of Hunk and Pidge and the woman had teased him mercilessly for weeks. So he stuck to using it mostly when they were alone. When he'd brush her fur before bed and sing a lullaby.

Lance ignored the flush threatening to take over him. "So what?" He snapped.

Keith blinked in surprise and he felt a little bad about snapping.

"I… I wasn't saying it was bad or anything…" Keith broached cautiously. "It's… cute."

Well Lance couldn't stop the flush to his skin then. Before he even got the chance to form a response, Blue pushed past him and pressed her head against Keith's hand.

The two men stared at the lion in surprise.

"Uhh…." Keith looked to Lance for help. Like he didn't know what to do.

He snorted. "Just pet her dude. She's happy you like the name."

He nodded. And did as told.

Blue purred happily. Her head moved to rub up against Reds. The male lion stood still as stone. Surprised by the touch.

Keith broke out in a grin. "Relax, boy." He patted his mane with his other hand. "She's not going to bite. Uh…" he glanced down unsure, "right?"

Blue's amusement rattled around in Lance's head as she pulled away from the pair. Seemed she didn't want to give them an answer one way or another.

He chuckled lightly as she finally let him hop into her saddle. "That's my girl." He stroked her neck lovingly. "Always keep those boys guessing."

He couldn't help the way his eyes found Keith's immediately after. The other man studied him with that intense amethyst gaze and he wasn't sure how to feel about it.

So he turned towards the direction they needed to go and said, "well, shall we?"

He didn't wait for the answer as he began their journey once more.

Keith should have listened more to Lance's concern for Red.

When the sharpshooter mentioned puddle jumping, he hadn't thought anything special of the wording.

He should have known better.

Lance may not be the most articulate person but he hardly just threw words around. Even if he rambled, everything had a place.

And puddle jumping had meant literal fucking jumping in puddles.

"Sorry!" Lance called once more as Blue purposely splashed him and Red.

The man sounded less and less sorry the more it happened.

"You're doing this on purpose!" Keith shouted at the pair as they sprinted ahead.

Lance's laughter filled the air behind him. "Not really!" He promised as he threw a sincere grin over his shoulder. "Blue can't help herself when it rains!"

Keith huffed, but didn't say anything more. He patted the side of Red's neck, just urging his lion to give the rambunctious blue felion a wider berth so they stayed out of firing range.

A few hours later they found themselves in town.

They slowed their pace and cautiously entered.

Keith pulled out a smaller knife. Lance pulled out a small handgun, better for close quarters then his long range sniper.

When the coast seemed clear, they relaxed.

Which really just meant following Lance's whims.

"Oh perfect!" The other man veered off to the left harshly.

"What are you doing?" Keith pursed his lip. "We really don't have time for this, McClain."

"Chill, Kogane. We need to give the lions a little rest anyways." He hopped off Blue and headed to the door of a small shop. The sign faded away too much to read.

"What could you possibly need in there?" He asked as he tried to decipher it. A drug store maybe? That actually would be a good place to stop.

Lance grinned cheekily over his shoulder. "Why don't you follow me and find out."

Keith watched as Red and Blue exchanged some kind of look before Red's voice poked his kind. 'May as well.'

He groaned but followed after Lance.

It took him awhile to find him. He refused to go right after him, instead checking to see if there was any food. Nothing. With that loss under his belt, he searched for Lance. He found him in the beauty aisle of all places.

"Here, Mullet." He tossed something at him. "If you're going to insist on that shitty haircut, you may as well make it acceptable."

Keith glances down at the small ziplock bag of, "Ponytails?"

"You got it." Lance hummed without looking at him. He grabbed brushes, a few jars of face cream and what looked like hair product and shoved them in his bag.

"You're really grabbing that now?"

"Do you really want to stop back here again on the way home?" Lance challenged finally looking at him.

Something about the word home curled anxiously in Keith's gut. He pressed it down.

"Whatever." He glanced down at the ponytails.

His lips quirked lightly as he studied at the plain black loops. Extra thick for his unruly hair. He wanted to believe that Lance had grabbed the specific style for him. But it was probably just an accident. He unzipped the bag, taking three on each wrist. He was pleased that they seemed larger then regular hair ties and thus left extra room on his wrist, not cutting off his circulation.

He set the rest on the shelf and pulled his hair into a low pony.

He reluctantly admitted to himself that it felt a lot better to have his hair out of the way and off his neck.

He slipped the ponys into his back pocket, vowing to stick them into one of Red's bags so he wouldn't lose them.

His eyes met Lance's and he paused.

Those baby blues were watching him with an unreadable expression. Something that Keith thought looked familiar. As soon as that thought sprang he shoved it down.

"What?" His hand went up self consciously to his hair. Maybe he looked stupid. He hadn't worn his hair up in years. And it wasn't like he had a mirror to make sure it looked alright.

Lance swallowed audibly and forced out, "nothing." He finished shoving stuff into his bag and then held out his hand.

Keith looked at him questionally.

"The bag of ponys."

A scowl tugged at his lips as he handed it over.

Lance took a few out and then handed them right back. He slipped the ones he grabbed over his left wrist.

Now it was Keith's turn to stare at him curiously.

"In case you ever need one." Lance smiled and patted Keith's shoulder before spinning on his heel and leaving.

The door of the shop opened, signalling Lance stepping onto the street.

Keith stared at the place the Cuban had been.

What had that been about?

-.-.-.-.-

They found a place less then a day away from where they needed to be. There they made camp once more and decided to leave behind the things they had collected along with any other unnecessary items. They didn't want to be weighed down for the mission. They left the items in organized heeps. So that if they had to make a quick stop they could throw them in their bags and go.

They didn't talk as much that night.

Keith generally wasn't for small talk and Lance seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

More than once Keith's eyes would catch the pony tails on the other man's wrist. An accessory Lance had zero need for. But if Keith believed what he had said earlier… He'd keep them on soley for Keith's sake.

The possible implications of what that meant followed him to sleep.

-.-.-.-.-

The next day they finally reached their destination.

The base, of course, was camouflaged. Lance glanced at his map and seemed to exchange silent words with Blue before folding the item and putting it away.

"This should be the one." Lance explained quietly.

He pursed his lips at the word choice. "Should be? Do you often find more than one Galra base in the same vicinity?"

"I mean, sometimes they separate the research and prison." Lance shrugged as he urged Blue forward.

Keith stared after him. Apparently Lance and his crew had been far more through in their search and rescues then he and Shiro had. They'd only ever looked for people. Didn't even notice the research side of things.

Or maybe they just hadn't dealt with the same operations that Lance and them had.

He didn't think much more of it. There would be time later to dwell on the words the other man said — if there was anything to them.

The four of them stopped seemingly by nothing. A large rock formation set up just in front of them. Keith reached out and his hand met the hard metal he'd come to associate with a Galra compound. Both riders slid off their lions and crouched near the structure.

Lance reached in one of Blue's pockets.

Meanwhile, Keith pressed his hand against the still invisible panel and a door slid open. Just like always.

"Whoa," Lance stared in awe at him, hands holding a leather pouch.

Keith felt the heat building in his cheeks at the look. Red went inside and Blue followed.

"How'd you do that?" The blue eyed man asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Just always been able to I guess. No idea why it works."

Plum lips pursed in thought. "You don't think that's… weird?"

"Of course I think it's weird." He scowled and forced himself to look away from Lance's lips and up to those blue eyes. Not much better but at least he couldn't be distracted with thoughts of kissing Lance's eyes. "But I'm not about to question it when it gets us to where we need to go."

Lance didn't look convinced. Another question seemed to be on the tip of his tongue. Keith stood up, pulling Lance along with him.

"We don't have time to think about shit we can't answer." He dragged him into the compound. "Red and Blue need us." He added as he heard the sounds of shots being fired.

Determination crossed his features. "Right."

Lance pocketed the leather pouch and pulled out what appeared to be an alien version of a handgun. Keith pulled out his larger dagger. They rushed toward the sound of Red's roar.

"Think you can keep up, Kogane?" Lance quirked a brow as he checked over his gun. His eyes met Keith's in a challenge.

One that Keith quickly seized. "Bring it, McClain." He smirked.

Lance returned it and the two threw themself into the fight.

They battled their way to the main terminal. Thankfully not nearly as busy as it should have been. Lance installed the device. He mumbled to Pidge or Hunk in the long range communicator. Keith had completely forgotten they were a thing. Lance must have been doing check ins though like he'd promised.

"There's prisoners!?" Lance shouted.

Keith snapped his head back to attention at that. "Where?" He walked up next to Lance. The two looking at the screen that almost took up the whole wall.

They couldn't just very well leave their fellow man behind. Whether they let them come back with them or not would be a topic for later. They deserved to be freed regardless.

Lance studied the large map that popped up on the screen.

"Sector 6." Pidge's voice instructed from the small device. A room on the map started blinking. The younger woman must have gained access to the system already. "Looks like it's on the opposite end of where you are now."

"Great." Lance responded sarcastically.

Keith studied the map more closely. "Is that an exit near there?"

He could practically hear the gears turning in Pidge's head. "Yeah… yeah it actually is." She made an odd noise and said, "why would they set prisoners that near to an exit?"

"Don't care!" Lance smiled. "Means an easy way out for us. Over and out Pidgeon!"

"Keep an eye on him, Keith!" She shouted before Lance cut the connection.

The Cuban scowled. "I don't need you to keep an eye on me!" He poked Keith in the chest. "I'm perfectly capable of watching my own back!"

Keith already knew that having fought alongside the other man twice now. But he wasn't going to feed Lance's ego any.

"Sure." Keith held his hands up to pacify him. "Let's get out of here already."

They stepped out of the room and Red and Blue immediately flanked them. The group didn't meet any other droids or Galra.

"Strange." Keith scrunched his face up. "Where are the rest of the guards?"

Lance shrugged. "Maybe we took them out already in that first wave."

He didn't respond. He was getting a bad feeling.

They found the room and Keith placed his hand on the panel to open it. Their lions stood on either end of the hall, guarding their backs.

What they saw inside caught both of them by surprise.

Aliens.

As prisoners.

Non Galra aliens.

What in the hell were they doing here?

"Uh, what." Lance blinked at them. He walked closer. "I thought the only aliens here were the Galra."

"Obviously not, dude." The male alien replied. He appeared almost human looking. Except that he had purple skin and larger forearms and hands then would be considered normal.

"We were captured as we were flying by." The woman cried as she hopped off the bench in the cell. "We were just minding our own business but they snatched us right up!"

She too had larger forearms and hands. But her skin was a mixture of gold and white. Her hair back in pigtails that split into four chunks. Her ears were also pointed. A feature the male either didn't have or were just hidden by the red hat he wore.

"That sucks!" Lance took another step closer. "Maybe we can find keys or something to get you two out of here."

"Lance." Keith gritted his teeth and yanked on his arm. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

He didn't wait for his companions reply as he yanked him back out of the room. Keith slammed his hand on the panel to shut the door.

"Are you a complete moron?" He seethed. "We can't just let them go!"

"Why not?" Lance scowled.

"Just because their enemies of the Galra does not mean that they are our friends, Lance." He tried to drive the point home.

"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean they deserve to be locked up!" Lance argued back. "It sounds like they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Fine, whatever, we don't have time to argue about this." The nagging feeling of something bad kept eating at him. He wanted to get out of here.

Lance beamed at him as he punched his shoulder. "Knew you'd see things my way, Mullet."

Keith frowned down at the ground as he opened the door. He stayed behind Lance as he found a set of keys hanging on the wall for the cell.

"Alright, let's get you two out of here." His companion gave the pair a dashing smile.

Keith gagged at the fakeness of it. And also hated that it kind of made his heart rate pick up. Screw Lance for being so damn attractive.

"Thank you," the woman took Lance's offered hand as she stepped out of the cage. "I'm Nyma."

"Rolo." The other alien held his hand out for Keith to shake.

Keith glanced down at it before tilting his head towards the door. "Let's go. We've already taken too much time here."

"Don't mind Kogane there, he's just a little prickly with new people." Lance apologized for him. "I'm Lance."

They left the room and the other two stopped. Eyes wide as they caught sight of the lions taking up a good portion of the hall.

"What in the hell…" Rolo blinked.

"Oh don't worry!" Lance told them quickly. "They're with us!"

"If you say so." Nyma took a step closer to Lance. Like she needed protecting just in case one of the lions snapped.

Keith rolled his eyes as Lance puffed up his chest. What an idiot.

It didn't take them long to find the exit. It was even closer then Keith had thought. He placed his hand on the panel and they all stepped outside.

"Thanks so much!" Nyma smiled wide.

"Yeah. We appreciate you doing us a solid." Rolo added with a nod.

"Hey!" Nyma shook Rolo's shoulder. "We should totally have them come back with us!"

"Back with you?" Lance asked curiously. "Back to where?"

"To our ship!" She smiled. Her eyes darted to their lions for a second. "We can give you a ride to wherever you need to go!"

This time Keith didn't even bother to preface dragging Lance away with him. He needed to calm him down. Make him see the bigger picture.

"Holy shit dude!" Lance whispered excitedly before he could say anything. Like he was just realizing, "aliens!"

Keith rolled his eyes at the man's excitement. "We've been fighting aliens. Have been for three years."

"Yeah, but that's the Galra. And they've been trying to kill us!" Lance glared at him. "These guys are different."

"So you want to bang one of them." Keith stated flatly.

A shamed flush took over his skin. "Maybe."

"You're ridiculous." He sighed, fighting the smile on his face. He schooled it quickly. "We can't just hang out with them without knowing anything about them."

"Well there's a guy and a gir.l" Lance argued, ignoring his other point. "You can have Rolo and I'll take Nyma."

"We don't even know anything about their anatomy. Maybe they're parts are opposite ours." He shot back.

"No problem. I dig both."

"Yeah, well I don't."

Lance grinned. "So you do wanna bang Rolo!"

Keith smacked his forehead. "That is not what I said."

"You didn't have to say it, dude. I hear ya loud and clear." Lance winked.

He gritted his teeth. "Lance, don't you dare say a damn thing. I'm not out here to fuck anyone."

"Ah," he pouted teasingly. "Not even me."

"Especially not you." Keith growled.

Because it was fucking true, alright? He was doing everthing in his power to not fuck Lance. It took a lot more willpower than he wanted to admit.

"Ouch." Lance's expression dropped. "Am I that repulsive?"

He sputtered. "No - that's not what I-"

"Yo!" Rolo shouted from where they stood. "You guys coming or what?"

Keith ignored the hurt on Lance's features and answered before the sulking man could. "We'll have to pass."

"Bummer." Rolo sighed as he eyed the two of them.

"Are you sure?" Nyma stepped closer to Lance.

Keith didn't like the way she fluttered her eyelashes at Lance. The blue lion rider's lips quirked at her attention. "We're sure." Keith restated as he grabbed Lance by the elbow. "We accomplished what we came here for. We're heading home."

Lance's eyes snapped to Keith's. The blue searching his amethyst for something. The corner of his eyes crinkled.

"Home?" Nyma tilted her head, trying to capture Lance's attention once more. Keith would be lying if he said he didn't want to shoot the woman a smug smirk when he didn't give it to her. She glanced at Rolo. "May we see? We've been-"

"Sorry, Nyma," Lance finally looked away from Keith. "It's a strictly human environment for, well, obvious reasons." He shrugged as he gave her a charming smile. "You understand."

Her thin lips pursed as she nodded. Because if she said anything contradicting Lance's statement, she'd completely out there intentions.

Keith smirked. Smart play, Lance. Smart play.

Perhaps Lance wasn't as susceptible to a woman's way as he used to be. Maybe Keith should take the time to get to know him better. He'd obviously grown since the Garrison days. He'd matured. Which was… going to be dangerous for Keith in more ways than one.

"Well, we'll be going." Lance spoke when no one else did. He looked at Keith and then down to his elbow.

Where Keith was still holding him. He quickly pulled his hand back. "Uh, yeah, right."

"You guys sure you don't want to see our ship?" Rolo asked once more.

"Yeah we're-"

"Wait." Lance interrupted him with a hand on his arm.

Keith frowned at him. What the heck was he doing?

"Your… ship?" His partner slowly said the words.

"Yep!" Nyma chirped excitedly. "It's really something. You should come see! It's not far from here."

"You guys said you were flying by when the Galra captured you?" Lance asked again.

Keith furrowed his brow. Why was he relaying this story? "Yeah, that's what they said." He answered irritability. "Why are you —"

He stopped mid sentence as it hit him.

There wasn't a ship to go to. Not if the Galra had actually captured them like the strangers claimed. If their ship wasn't destroyed, it would at the very least be back in side the base.

So where were they trying to take them?

Lance scanned his face and Keith dipped his chin slightly. He tried to tell the taller man he understood. That he'd follow Lance's lead to get them out of here.

"It's been nice meeting you guys." Lance used his hold on Keith's bicep to lead him away. Not that he had to try very hard — but the reassuring grip was a nice contrast to the sudden pounding of his heart.

Nyma sighed as she fiddled with a pocket at her waist. "You just couldn't make this easy on us, could you?"

Warning bells sounded loudly in Keith's head.

Nyma pulled out a small gun and swiftly shot two shots at each lion.

Neither dodged. Their shields shimmered but never formed. The darts pierced through and landed in their skin.

"Red!" Keith shouted out as Lance screamed, "Blue!"

"Rolo." Nyma replied calmly.

He already had a remote in hand. He pressed a button and a small little robot flew out from behind the building. It circled them as they tried to go to their lions.

"Hey!" Lance shouted just as the robot shot string at them and continued circling. "Ofph," he fell to the ground. "What's the big idea here!"

Rolo smirked down at them and Keith wanted to take that smirk off with his knife. The alien chuckled.

"You two aren't going anywhere."

A/N: Dun dun dun! XD Sorry for the long wait people! and any errors. I only edited this a few times :| Hopefully it's still good and was worth the wait!

Thanks for reading! :)