Thank you all so much for the support!
Lance found himself on the bridge of the castle, staring out at the stars. Not remembering how he got there, he stumbles back to return to his room. He was tired, wasn't he? Wasn't he supposed to be in bed?
Recalling that he would be returning to an empty room with no Keith, he is surprised when slender arms wrap around his torso.
"Hey," Keith is there, smiling at him. In less than a second, Lance's worries melt away. He smiles, so damn happy that he doesn't know what to do with himself.
"Hey, sweetheart," he returns the greeting, content to lean against Keith for the rest of his life.
"Where do you think you're going?" His equivalent muses, tugging Lance back into the room with him. Never able to go against that alluring smile, Lance follows, feeling as if he was floating on air.
"I'm going to bed…?" it felt more like a question than a response.
Keith chuckles, lifting Lance's arms to settling himself between them. Lance feels a bubble of affection when Keith nuzzles closer. He would never have expected Keith to be so affectionate, but ever since becoming Equivalents, he had been very snuggly.
"Stay with me," he rises on his toes, pecking Lance's face with kisses,
"Keith, shouldn't we be going to bed?" Lance asks, blessed in the way his equivalent brushes their noses together in an Eskimo kiss.
"On such a beautiful night?" The red paladin gestures to the stars "Come on, Lance. The others are waiting,"
"Others?" they move down the steps, and he is surprised to see the entire team seated on them, waiting for their arrival. They wave, calling their names.
"There you are!" they smile. Lance feels puzzled and looks down to his hand, which was intertwined with Keith's. He knew this wasn't okay with them, but it felt right. This situation felt right.
Keith squeezed his hand, grinning like nothing was wrong.
"Aren't you two cute?" Allura was nothing but smiles, unlike before.
It was dizzying, and his vision felt fuzzy.
"Equivalents," she looks at Coran, "Quite an honorable thing to be within the Coeihn people, yes?"
"Indeed, Princess. Isn't it such a thrill~?" he says, almost shining in Lance's eyes. Perhaps he was? It was odd.
Shiro was getting to his feet, approaching Keith with wobbly knees, Taking his hand and lifting it to his face. Shiro examined the ring, the confirmation of their Equivalency, blushing a little, "I can't believe it…. married."
Keith scratches the back of his head, nodding shyly. "Yup"
Lance looks between the two, "...Yeah," he agrees,
"You're uh- okay with that?"
"Okay?" Shiro laughs, bubbling tears in his eyes. Lance had never seen him so emotional, "My brother is married. I'm so happy,"
"Happy…?" Lance wanted to smile because that was all he ever wanted to hear from Shiro, but as much as he tried, it wouldn't come. "We are happy," he means that with every fiber of his being.
Keith tilts his head to smile, looking so beautiful that it was hard for Lance to breath, "What's happening right now?" He asked, wondering if perhaps last night had been a dream. He had only imagined that the others were against this and turned against him.
"What do you mean?" Keith inquired.
"So was the ceremony lovely?" Shiro interrupted them.
"Lovely?" Lance repeats the word, "We uh- we didn't have one," he answers, his eyes never leaving Keith's puzzled face. "I don't- I'm not even sure if Coeihns have stuff like that."
"They probably celebrate it their own way," Keith cups his face, checking on him. It felt so warm. This had to be real, right? Please… Please tell him his mind wasn't playing a trick on him.
"No ceremony?!" Shiro shrieks, startling him, "No way!" Lance slowly turns to stare at their leader in disbelief. Was he okay with it? In his mind, he knew it was obvious Shiro would because it was Shiro. Shiro always supported them.… but something felt off.
Like a surreal dream, the team gasped and leaped to their feet.
"That can't do!" Coran lifted a finger high into the air, practically flying. Flying? "You must have a ceremony if you are to be properly wed!"
"Indeed Coran." Allura was suddenly on the controls, dramatically declaring, "We shall fix this by having the greatest ceremony this side of the galaxy!"
Hunk and Pidge were hollering in agreement, congratulating Keith and Lance.
A moment later, Hunk was declaring embarrassing date ideas to Keith, who was nodding, writing them down. On the other hand, Pidge was trying to describe good locations to go to, showing a list- she even had pictures? Allura was already on it, trying to wormhole to some resort getaway.
Shiro was a bubbling mess, crying his eyes out over Keith, telling him how proud he was.
The next thing Lance knew he was in the backyard of his Abuela's house, which had been decorated with lights, many chairs, and the plato filled to the brim with flowers.
He was standing before the team and his family, happy and loved.
This is what he wanted. This is what he wanted Keith to have.
Then it hit him.
Ah, this was a dream. None of this was real.
The realization of this made this paradise bittersweet.
Regardless of how silly they seemed to act, perhaps it was just how he preferred the team to have reacted to the news.
When he woke up, he felt cold and restless.
Sitting up, he pulled his knees to his chest, feeling a sense of emptiness. At this point, if Keith weren't already up, he would get him out of bed by peppering his face with kisses and soft whispers. In return, Keith would smile and try to pull Lance back under the covers for just a few more minutes of snuggling.
It would have been great.
Would have.
Feeling like going back to sleep would just make him more depressed, he rolled out of bed and went to get dressed. Opening his closet, he hesitated.
His fingers reached out, trailing along the green jacket he had obsessed with before getting tossed onto Iespion with Keith. He wore this for a year straight, matching it with gray shirts and jeans.
He had completely forgotten about it during the last few months, loving the clothes Tellru made too much to miss it. It made him feel torn in his choice for things to wear.
One one side, it hurt to wear the Iespion clothes because it reminded him of Keith, and right now, he couldn't be with Keith. At the same time, he wanted to wear them, because they were filled with so many precious moments to him and…
He leaned forward, lifting a shirt and pressing it to his nose. Inhaling, he could smell the Iespion world. He could smell Ruru, her parents, and he could smell Keith. He could smell everything that had grown to be important to him, and he wanted that to stay with him.
With that thought, he took a pair of pants and a shirt, leaving his old jacket inside the closet once more. He wore that jacket at a point in his life where he was lost, confused- and hated Keith. It didn't feel right to wear it anymore.
He didn't want to wear something he wore when he was an entirely different person.
Tossing on his clothes, he sauntered down to the kitchen. Within, Pidge and Hunk were already seated and lifted their heads when he entered.
He narrowed his eyes, turning away from them without a word to grab a plate.
Forgetting how they tended to mostly eat goo when Hunk wasn't able to make something he stuck his tongue out at it. Shuffling back to the table, seating himself on the complete opposite side of the others, he ate in silence.
This stuff used to taste so good to him before, but that was probably because he had nothing else to eat out here in the voice of space.
Shuffling it down the best he could, he heard the door open. He didn't look up, only able to hear the silent padding of feet. He recognized the sound like he recognized his own heart beat and peaked at Keith.
His hair was disheveled, messy from a restless sleep that showed in the bags under his eyes.
Lance's heart reached out to him, miserable to see Keith so exhausted.
He stumbled around like a zombie, somehow managing to grab a plate of goo and make his way to the table.
Lance hadn't expected to see Keith sitting across from him, eyeing his plate with a dull look. Slowly lifting his gaze to Lance, he smiled a little, brightening.
Lance can't help but smile back but can feel how Pidge and Hunk were looking at them.
He wanted to say something, but honestly, what could he say? The only person he wanted to talk to right now was Keith and Lance had honestly forgotten how to be "just friends" with him.
How could he talk to him without meaning something deeper in his words?
Putting his best effort into the task, he leans into the table.
"Sure is weird to eat goo again," He mutters, unable to bare the silence. Keith nods a little in agreement.
"It's not as good as I remember,"
"Yeah. Tellru's food was so good. I dare say, it is almost as good as Hunk's," Lance doesn't look at Hunk as he says this, very content to ignore the yellow paladin completely. To him, the only person in the room right now was Keith.
Sensing where Lance was going with this, Keith's attitude perked up, "You got pretty decent yourself when she started to teach you,"
"I could fry me one mean looking egg," Lance snickers,
"Yeah, you literally drew an angry face on it with that ketchup stuff," Keith snorts
"Was that even actually ketchup? I mean like- it tasted like ketchup, but it was yellow like mustard." Lance says, puzzled
Keith shrugs, "And the red stuff tasted like mustard,"
"Exactly my point! It was weird!" he barked up a storm at breakfast, sharing conversation topics with Keith and having a jolly good time.
Perhaps he was looking at this the wrong way. He could obviously still talk to Keith. It wasn't like they were going to be completely isolated.
He couldn't kiss him, but he could talk, right? Friends talked and joked to each other, so he technically wasn't going against their agreement.
Well- maybe he went against it a little with how he brushed his foot against Keith's under the table. With a little red in his cheeks, Keith bumped his leg back, smiling. With a wiggle to his eye brows, he used his toes to lift the bottom of Keith's pants a little, sliding the heel of his foot along his legs.
The red paladin blushed, struggling to eat his food without seeming suspicious to the others.
When Shiro walked in Keith tugged his feet away, but that didn't appear to go unnoticed, "Keith. Lance," he narrows his eyes.
Lance glances at him, the picture of innocence, "Yes?"
There is a long pause, Shiro's narrowed eyes boring into his soul, "It's time for training,"
"Shiro is right," Allura announced her presence the moment she entered the room, eyes set.
She threw them into training before they could even finish eating, insisting that since it's been months, they would have to grow to be a team again.
Lance understood and ultimately agreed- but he could see the look in her eyes. This was a test. As if his new relationship with Keith would somehow affect how they fought and made them vulnerable.
He could also feel Shiro's eyes on him, so he was positive their leader considered the same thing to be a problem. He didn't say anything of course, but Lance knew he was thinking it.
Perhaps they all were.
Or maybe they were all just nervous since it's been so long since they fought together. Seven months was a long time, and people could easily change- Lance knows Keith and him did. That includes the way you fight.
He could see it in the way Hunk fought. He was stronger, able to maneuver his weapon around with more skill and precision than he had seen last. Pidge seemed to have grown as a fighter too, taking more strategic plans to attack to compensate for her lack of strength.
In Lance's case, there hadn't been a need to fight that much on Iespion, so his skills had fallen behind a bit. His aim was still great, but taking on actual enemies was a bit of a challenge.
He kept putting a finger to his nose when he didn't realize too. Because of the Cryo pod, he didn't need to wear glasses anymore, but he still felt this habit to push them up, even though they weren't really there.
So he was just touching air, brushing his finger to his nose like an idiot.
Needless to say, training was basically a bust.
"I think that is enough for today," Shiro brushes some sweat from his brow, looking the team over. "How we feeling?"
Were they supposed to answer that honestly, because Lance had some words he wished to vocalize. If he meant teamwork wise, then they were trash. If he meant emotionally, Lance was also trash. But if he meant on how Lance felt about all them, then they were already on their way to the dump while he was taking Keith out for a nice dinner.
"Fine," Pidge and Hunk muttered when it seemed that both Lance and Keith were not in the mood for talking.
If they thought Lance was going to take any of this separation stuff well, then they had another thing coming. They couldn't completely turn on him and just expect him to be buddy buddy with them the next day.
He was willing to train and put his feelings aside in those moments or when they had a mission, but like hell, he was going to share pleasantries other than that.
Though, he did wish it could be better.
As much as he missed the team, being here, forced to go through this- it was hell, and a day hadn't even passed by yet. Already today there had been five instances where he had wanted to kiss Keith.
Keith being cool in training, being sweet during breakfast, being cute in the hall, being cute just standing there- okay, Lance should face the facts, he always wanted to kiss Keith. He was just standing there, blinking into the distance thinking about who knows what and Lance swears he's never seen anything cuter.
Then if he wasn't adorable enough, Keith realized Lance was staring at him and just froze up, probably thinking he had something on his face and was just trying to wash it away subtly. And it. Was. So. Cute.
Lance never expected to be more entranced by him because he wasn't able to act on his impulses.
It made it sting that much more that the team wasn't accepting of it.
He had hoped that everyone would be in higher spirits at their return. But things were so… awkward. Yesterday they were great, till they revealed their secret- and now things have flushed right down the drain. He had forgotten how to talk to all of them. He wasn't sure if it was from the absence either, or just because he was so pissed at them that it felt like grinding his teeth to get out a few words.
Probably both.
At least he was trying, right?
The weeks would go by eventually and if they got into some missions, the time would go even faster. So when Allura called them for a meeting, he bounded into the room, ready to get some stuff done.
Since they had been gone for so long, Allura pulled up a map to discuss everything that had done since their absence, showing the planets they had freed and areas they had won over from Galra control. Despite not being able to use Voltron, the team had gotten a good amount of work in.
Focused on the screen, hoping to put his time into defeating Zarkon to fill the void he felt in his chest, he listened to Allura carefully. He was focused. He was determined. He was- feeling a strange weight on his hand?
Glancing down, he was surprised to see fingers trailing along his palm. Looking up to the eyes those fingers belonged to, he wasn't that surprised to find Keith staring at him with a quiet plea.
Gulping when Keith stepped a little closer, Lance slipped his finger forward, wrapping it around his Equivalents.
His Equivalent.
That is what Keith was, and that is what he always would be… If he wanted to, that is.
Keith intertwined their hands in secret, relying on the fact that everyone was focused on Allura to get away with it. It was like a game as Allura pointed to the screen, her back turned to them. A little touch here, a graze of a finger to the other's wrist- secrets smiles and winks. Lance was mouthing "I love you" when the entire team looked away, and Keith's face blossomed with love.
In return his grasped the Equivalent bond ring placed on Lance's finger, lifting it a little to secure it.
They must have been caught eventually because when Allura turns back, eyeing them both suspiciously, she asked them to separate.
"Is there a problem?" Lance inquired, "I'm only standing here,"
"Just go over there," Allura points to the other side of the room.
Keith's hand tightened on the back of his shirt, holding it tight.
Lance almost couldn't pull away, hurt in the way Keith's eyes wavered. When Allura's eyes narrowed, he stepped away, sighing when Keith's hand slipped loose. Feeling tired suddenly, Lance shuffled around the others to stand on the other side of the room.
Folding his arms, he leaned against the wall and looked out to space, a bubble of frustration spiraling around in his chest.
"We are stopping here to get supplies," Allura announced, continuing to point at the map. Lance didn't care anymore.
Glancing in Keith's direction, he could see him staring at his feet. The Red Paladin's eyes were glazed over; his hands rolled into tight fists at his side.
He was pouting, and Lance wanted nothing more than to take him into his arms, tickle his sides, and get that pretty little smile back.
"With our fight against Zarkon, we must be prepared." Allura clears her throat, noting how not everyone seemed to be paying attention. With a pointed look, she adds, "We have no idea when Lotor shall show his face again,"
"Lotor?" Lance was confused. He didn't recognize that name.
Allura turned to him, her eyes widening, "Oh yes, that's right. You and Keith were both absent for this."
"I hate that guy," Hunk sniffles, sounding exhausted just at the mention of this mysterious Lotor, "He's always causing trouble,"
"A Galra?" Keith raised his eyebrow
"More than just that. Apparently, he is Zarkon's son," Shiro grimaces, like the concept of that is hard to swallow
"Zarkon has a son!?" Lance yelled, "Since when was that a thing?" That was all sorts of wrong that he didn't realize was going to come into his nightmares.
Allura opened her mouth to answer but shrugged, not even sure how such a horrible thing came to be. "I try not to think about it,"
"Point is, he's been causing trouble everywhere we go. It's like he knows our plans before we do," Pidge sighs, getting agitated just at the thought of having to confront him.
"We've done our best to get the upper hand, but so far, that hasn't worked out," Shiro says, "I'm hoping now that we have you two back, we'll be able to put a stop to his plans for good,"
"Course," Lance nods, "But uh- what exactly is he like?"
"Cunning," Allura says, "He's different from Zarkon in many ways. He is manipulative, using hostages to lure us to him,"
"He's already attempted using two different planets we've already freed from Zarkon against us," Pidge adds, "But when we got there, he had only captured them. No one had been killed,"
"He doesn't kill?" Keith blinked.
"It's strange," Allura agrees, "We don't know what his objective is. He comes and goes at random, sometimes only appearing to take supplies before running off again. We have no idea what he is after,"
"Sounds like a weird dude,' Lance folds his arms. "What about Zarkon?"
"Inactive as far as we can tell. He's been on the search for us, but we've been able to avoid his detection. This is our best chance to gather some supplies and devices our next plan of action,"
Lance folds his arms. So much for getting into a mission to keep his mind off things.
"We have an extensive list of supplies we'll need so we'll split up. Lance, you go with Coran." Allura hands them a list, "Hunk and Pidge. Shiro and Keith," she gives the others their lists and Lance can't help but assume that this was just a means to get him away Keith...
Of course, that might not have been true, but it felt like a thing.
Thankful to at least be paired up with the loving Altean Lance follows him, looking at Keith as he passed. He could see the unwillingness to be partnered up with Shiro, especially after the day before.
Honestly, despite their conversation, Keith hadn't talked to any of them, especially not Shiro. He wouldn't even look at anyone, his eyes either at his feet or looking for Lance.
It made Lance's heart ache, and he hoped his Equivalent would be okay down there.
Taking a pod to the small planet below the Castle, the team split up, hoping to be in and out without wasting too much time.
"Alright lad," Coran hands him a basket to carry the food they would be gathering. He rattled off what they needed to buy, but Lance didn't recognize a single word, so he just nodded.
Following Coran through the crowd, hoisting the basket up, he looked over the stalls with little interest. It felt strange being here.
Months before, he was used to going from world to world, seeing so many different types of alien species that he could hardly keep track of them all. Now though, he was so used to being on one planet. He was used to the Coeihn culture, the Coeihn shops- having Ruru with him… It felt unfamiliar and uncomfortable.
It had been so much of a change trying to get used to leaving earth. Now he felt homesickness for Keith and his little apartment back in Iespion.
"Come along, Lance," Coran's hand tugs on his sleeve, "I wouldn't want to lose you in this crowd," he pauses, his gaze softening "We've done quite enough of losing and misplacing lately, after all,"
"Oh," Lance steps closer, "Sorry. I'm not going anywhere, Coran,"
"I hope so," Patting his shoulder, Coran motions to a few other stands. Looking them over, buying a few supplies from time to time, Lance noticed how a lot of these stands seemed to be places that sold gifts.
Toys, little trinkets….
He wanted to give Keith something. He had been so quiet all day- returning to that loner he once was. Lance didn't want that, and the idea of not being able to stop that from happening terrified him.
Looking over the gifts, Lance calls for Coran.
"Yes?" he asks, his mustache perking up at the call.
"Coran, can I ask you something?"
"Of course my boy!' he beams, walking over. "What is it?"
"I know we agreed to kind of- put a hold on relationship stuff but… Could I get Keith a gift?" he asks. There is no way he would request this of Allura or the others, but Coran had been super understanding of this whole thing, so he hoped maybe he could allow this.
Staring him over, Coran's eyes soften, and he glances around, "Why a gift? Are you celebrating something?"
"No… he's just been down lately,"
Coran nodded, "Well, I believe by the Princess' orders I am supposed to say no,"
Lance deflated, "Oh…"
"So don't even think of buying anything while I'm looking away," Coran winks, "Cause I'm about to go over there and be distracted for at least 10 minutes," he motions to a fruit stand and Lance is grinning.
"Thank you, Coran,"
"I don't know why you are thanking me," he says dramatically, "I told you no, after all. Oh, look. Fruit~" he slides away as Lance chuckles.
Shuffling back to the stands, knowing he had to be quick before they had to return to the castle, he hummed in thought. What would Keith like? What would cheer him up?
What was even half of these things?
Looking over the objects, Lance knew he had to choose something that wouldn't seem too obvious to the others.
Surprised when he located a stand of watches, of all things, he looks down at them. No, they weren't watches exactly, but kind of like a compass? Not even sure if that was correct either, Lance stepped towards the stand to look them over.
The woman who owned it instantly leaped up to smile at him, "See something you like, sir?"
"I was just wondering what these are?" he tells her.
"Oh, why those are Star guiders,"
"Star guiders?" he inquired, tilting his head.
She smiles, pulling one up for him to look at, "It's the latest craze," she insists, "A lot of travelers going out to explore the universe are taking these. It's super simple too. What you do is- you put it on, and as you travel around the cosmos it counts the stars you pass." she clicks it on to show the star that was closest to him. "Whatever star you are closest to, it highlights and tells you everything you need to know about it. How old it is, the planets surrounding it, any folk tales about the system- you name it. Those adventurer types go nuts over it. Plus, it keeps track of where you've been, including the planets. So you can look back on it later. Show your grandkids or something,"
Lance loved it. Keith would love it.
"I'll take one please," he grins. "Oh wait…" he rummages through his pocket, "Does this kind of money work here?" he holds out the money he had received while on the Coeihn planet.
"Oh, Iespion dollars," she muses, "Sure does honey,"
"Oh sweet," he hands it to her.
"For yourself or as a gift?" she inquires, motioning to the rest for him to pick which one he liked back. Instantly going with the red, he picks it up.
"A gift," he tells her.
She smiles, tilting her head, "For someone special?" she teases.
"Oh uh…" blushing a little, he shrugs, "Yeah."
"Want me to engrave it for you then?"
"Engrave it?"
"Of course. If it's a gift, I engrave the watch for free. You can say whatever you want. Their name, your name, a little note, etc." she rattles off. Considering that, Lance racks his mind for something good to say.
He could go for something simple like "from Lance," but he wanted it to be special. Since he wasn't able to be with Keith for a little while, he wanted to fill the time as much as he could through any means.
Thinking of something perfect, he leans towards her and whispers it.
She doesn't quite understand the meaning, but finds it cute all the same and quickly placed the message on the back of the watch. Packing it in a small box, she thanks him, insisting he could come back anytime. Waving goodbye, he stuffed the box into the very bottom of the basket and rejoined Coran.
Noting his return, Coran twirls a finger through his mustache, "Ah, come to look at the fruit? Hope you didn't go against what I said and bought something for Keith,"
"Never~" Lance whistles.
"Good, cause if you did, I would be distraught, young man," he grins, "But out of curiosity, if you were to get something for Keith, what would it be?"
"That would be a secret that would need to be revealed later," Lance grins back.
"Ooh, sly," Coran wiggles his finger at him. Gathering the rest of the supplies, they return to the pod to meet up with the others.
Hunk and Pidge had their baskets filled and ready, trying their best to smile at Lance. He didn't return the gesture, feeling like they didn't deserve it.
Instead, he focused on Keith and Shiro coming up from the crowd, carrying more of the heavier supplies. Shiro's face was tight, looking uncomfortable and ready to keel over.
Curious to what might have happened on their little adventure, Lance lifts his hand, "Welcome back."
Shiro quickly shuffles past him, blushing of all things.
Lance was horrified, "What did you tell him?" He demanded to Keith.
Keith, the smug sass bucket he was, smirked, "He was asking about what else happened on Iespion, that's all," he strolled past Lance to head onto the pod.
Lance followed, almost tripping over his own feet, "You didn't tell him anything weird did you?"
"Other than the fact that you and I made sweet sweet, love to each other? No," he says innocently.
The boxes in Hunk's hand clatter to the floor, the blood draining from his face. Pidge lurched forward with shock, making a gagging noise.
"Gross!"
"KEITH!" Lance tried to hit him, "You didn't give him details, did you?"
"Details?" he mused"Depends on what you mean by details,"
"What did you tell him exactly?"
Keith smirks, "How sometimes we would do it all night~ Or that one time on the counter~ or-"
"Stop!" Hunk covered his ears, "No more!"
"You nasties!" Pidge agreed
"Keith!" Lance is shrieking, "You can't just tell others that kind of stuff! How far did you go with the details?!"
"Not that far. That kind of stuff is something only I can know," his eyes sparkle with mischief, looking Lance up and down, like he was undressing him there and then with his eyes.
Lance wanted to cover himself, blushing furiously. For Pete's sake, Coran was right there!
And here he was buying a gift for this guy thinking he was so sad that he could hardly talk- but he was just being a troll when Lance wasn't looking!
But, if Lance had to be honest, it was kind of funny. Not that he would have done the same thing- but it sounded like something Keith would do.
"I'll never be able to look Shiro in the eyes ever again,' Lance concludes to himself, gathering the supplies and sitting down without another word. The embarrassed stares from the others were not unexpected.
When they arrived back at the castle, Allura blinked at them, watching how they stumbled out, looking either pale or red in the face, "What happened to all of you?"
Keith opened his mouth to answer, and Lance leaped at him, covering his mouth, "Nothing!"
Keith struggled, looking determined to reveal this little secret to Allura - her especially, more than anyone.
Shiro was on board with this, trying to lead Allura in the opposite direction, telling her there was something essential he had to show her. Confused, she was tugged out of the room without another word, leaving the rest of them to unpack the boxes.
Slowly lowering his hands when he was positive Keith wouldn't blurt out anything else that was embarrassing, Lance gave him a warning look, "Sweetheart," he pinches his cheek.
Keith grins. It's goofy, lovely, and Lance's can't help but forgive him.
"I was just telling Shiro the truth,"
"Did you really need to mention that though?" Lance sighs.
"He asked,"
"He definitely did not ask about that in particular, you just choose to bring that up," Lance accused him. He shrugged in return.
Huffing, recalling how he had left his gift into one of the baskets, he left Keith to finish unpacking to retrieve it, hiding it in his jacket pocket.
Carrying the boxes where they needed to go, Lance contemplated the right moment to give Keith the gift. It was almost impossible to give it to him without the others noticing, so he needed to be smart about it.
He took his chance when the hours started to draw late, and they had all begun to go their separate ways, either to go to bed or work on their own stuff.
"Hey, Shiro," he calls to him, catching him on the deck before he could leave.
Their leader turned abruptly, shocked that Lance was initiating conversation, "Yeah?" he can't seem to look him in the eye without getting embarrassed, and Lance blames Keith for that.
"I was wondering if I could get some training in with you?" Lance tells him, "It's been so long since we fought together that I feel a little off balance with the team and how we fight. I thought maybe some solo training with each of along with the full team training would get me back to the feel of things."
Shiro looks proud at Lance for suggesting such a thing, "Of course, Lance," he pats his shoulder. "Wanna join us, Keith?"
Keith blinked a couple of times, avoiding meeting Shiro's gaze, and shakes his head, "No," he grumbled, "I"m good. I'm heading to bed,"
"Alright, you rest up," Lance waved.
Passing by Keith, making sure to stay a step behind Shiro, he tossed the box over his shoulder. Catching it, puzzled, the red paladin looked to Lance for some sort of explanation.
Lance only winked over his shoulder, signaling to Keith to be quiet about the matter.
He was confused, to say the least, but kept his mouth shut. Waiting till the two left, he returned to his room to discover the secret of the little box.
Moving inside, Keith kicked off his shoes and sat down on the edge of his bed, looking over the box in confusion. Opening it, he was surprised to find some watch looking device inside.
Realizing it was a gift, he smiled and took it out, flipping it over in his fingers to examine each detail. Of course, Lance chooses red for him, but he wasn't usually one for something that told time.
Not even sure how to properly work a watch, he leaned back to mess with it, pressing buttons to try and figure out how it functioned.
Seeing something engraved on the bottom of the watched he leaned closer to look at it.
"My feelings haven't changed. Love, Lance."
Keith fell against his bed, placing the gift to his hammering heart, grinning like an idiot. He quietly cursed Lance for how sweet he could be and was angry with himself for not thinking of getting him a gift while he was down on that planet too.
Of course, being with Shiro, it might have been impossible to do so.
Placing the watch on, he lifted the card in the box for the instructions. It turned out to not just be any regular watch that kept time- no, it was something amazing.
Keith spent a good hour going through the information of the sector they were in before Lance called him on their secret communication device.
"Hey," Lance hummed, "You still awake?"
Lifting it to his ear, he says, "I love it,"
Lance is already giggling, knowing he means the gift, "I'm happy to hear that,"
Keith starts to rant on him about the watch, discussing how old the nearest star was, how old the surrounding planets were and what species tended to be found there. He nerded out, and Lance loved every moment, happy to hear Keith's mood brightened by so much.
He listened for hours, yawning from time to time and not even realizing when he fell asleep till he awoke to the sound of the alarm.
"Paladins!" Allura's voice echoed, "We've located Lotor!"
Reviews:
DeathLord-92: Oh my gosh, while I totally agree with you that it would definitely be a big plot twist and would be amazing, I don't know if my heart could handle breaking them apart now. And like- yeah, there is totally going to be some hard ship for a while, even after everything starts to settle. But, I think similar to how Allura was with Keith when she found out he was Galra, Keith and Lance will forgive her with time. She does have a reason for doing this, and to her, it is a very serious one that she just hasn't been able to explain yet. Because to her, everyone should know and already understand it- so it is hard for her to realize not everyone thinks the way she day/ was raised. OH my gosh though 0.0 I love Shiro and matt together- don't tempt me with ideas like that or I just might do it!
Adrainna Agray: I'm positive even with Coran there my mind has long since been lost to the gutter XD Oh yeah. Depression is totally going to be a think in this story ;-;
XSingfulDragonSlayer: Coran coran the beautiful man. He shall be the love of us all ;-;
: They shall be henced forth none as the king/queens of jerks!
Voldemort-Terra: Allura can be very hard headed sometimes in my mind- but she doesn have a reason for doing this, and it runs a little deeper then just the paladin code. I'm sure she'll come around eventually ;-;
Guest: # let keith and lance be happy! XD And everyone makes mistakes- even the best of people ;-;
Diety of Death: Thank you so much! That means so much to me and you are so sweet!
AirenLag: It is quite a tale! A reall sad one too. Hopefully Allura will be able to explain herself and Lance and Keith can forgive her/ convince her not judge them for her past experiences ;-;
Guest: Oh my goodness, sweet baby, you are so brave and you are amazing! I'm sorry you have to go through with that, but the fact that you are able to push through it is so incredibly brave and outstanding! You know how Keiht and Lance feel so much and I hope things work out well for you, my friend.
Pindoughtnuts: Allura can be a very hardheaded person- but I'm sure she will get over and a happy ending will find us all.. probably XD Thank you so much for reading the story despite not getting the happy ending you wanted. i swear this one will end happily! I assure you of this!
Thecolorfulmonster; Thank you so much! you are so sweet! I'm so happy you enjoyed the story and you bless my life by reading it and reviewing! Thank you!
: THANK YOU! And thank you for coming up to review! That means so much to me!
Kikiw: It's alright. You can scream. I shall accept such an act XD Thank you so much
Ewink18: Bruh... thank you. Friend, you can always message me here or on tumblr if you wanna talk! We can totally nerd out about Voltron anytime anywhere my friend!
Elements1999: How do I even describe your review? XD The only thing I can say is thanks, and you are awesome.
Booknerd637: THANK YOU! I'm ready to chuck this junk as hard as I can!
MickeyTRN: *winging up to pitch some angst as hell baseball at you* You asked for it! (TOO LATE!) XD
KnightOwl247: Because I'm a horrible person ;-; I'm sorry. I love you