New chapterrrrrr! (WARNING! slight injury, mentioned blood etc. I really am not into gore at all so it's rly rly light mention, I just know it can be triggering for people so be careful beautiful readers, i don't wanna hurt u guys by not saying anything really was so fun to write, it's like therapy for me, being able to heal over Voltron's bullshit by letting these two be happy together as dumb teenagers out in space. Nuff bout that tho, enjoy the angst muahahaha!
"Food goo…" Lance frowned into the bowl of green gunk. "What I wouldn't give for a bowl of cereal, or pancakes, or something solid." But he'd gotten himself a bowl nonetheless.
Keith considered his words for a moment. "Hold up." He checked the limited supply of miscellaneous food ingredients, seeing what he could find. He pulled out what seemed like the right ingredients, especially since Hunk had taken the liberty of labeling everything with what earth foods they most closely resembled.
Keith dumped Lance's untouched bowl of goo back into the large container vat and got to work, mixing ingredients and cooking in a flurry of natural movements. Lance looked at him all startled the entire time.
It was only when Keith placed a big blue pancake before him that Lance managed to ask: "You can cook?!"
Keith shrugged. "I know how to cook basic foods. Shiro… Shiro does not." His face went flat and bitter. "He lit my cereal on fire the first week we lived together."
Lance burst out laughing at that. Keith thought about it and, yeah, it was pretty funny. "Stoic Team Leader Shiro can't cook for crap but is expected to save the galaxy? Right. Save your dinner first, old man." Keith snarked. Lance laughed harder and Keith joined in.
"H-how?" Lance wheezed. "Cereal!" He guffawed.
Keith laughed harder. "You should have seen his face! He tried to pick it up and put it in the sink and it just made everything worse." Keith shook his head. "We'd luckily only lost one curtain by the time I found the fire extinguisher."
Lance let his laughter die out slowly, little hiccups escaping him as he calmed. "God that's hilarious." He watched Lance's attention drift back down to his pancake. It was blue. And not because the ingredients made it blue- Keith had made it blue. He thought Lance might appreciate it. Keith leaned against the counter, crossing his arms nervously as Lance considered his food.
Lifting his fork, Lance took a bite.
His eyes went wide. He let out a moan. "Holy shit! Thisissogood!" Lance took another bite before finishing the first. "How do you even know how to make something this good? This is the best pancake I've ever had! Better than Hunks! Better than my Mama's!" Lance exclaimed around his bite.
Keith smiled. "Glad you like it." He secretly let out a breath of relief. He thought Lance was going to hate it. Apparently Lance didn't hate quite as many of the things Keith thought he did.
Keith got to work making the rest of the team pancakes, but he didn't bother coloring them. That had been for Lance.
Hunk and Pidge stumbled into the kitchen- it seemed that everyone had slept in this morning- with bleary eyes and wide yawns.
"Morning lovebirds." Even a sleepy Pidge is a snarky Pidge. Keith rolled his eyes and handed her a pancake. She looked at him in surprise, eyes wide beneath her large glasses. "Did- did you make this?" She asked, giving the plate a suspicious look.
"Yep! They're the best pancakes ever! Sorry Hunk, but these even beat my Mama's!" Lance said around a bite. Keith blushed.
Hunk gave him a wide-eyed look. "That's the highest praise possible!" He gasped excitedly. "Can I have one?" Keith laughed a bit.
"Yours is almost done." He pointed his spatula to the pan. He flipped it like an expert and it landed perfectly on the plate he'd set aside. He handed it to a startled Hunk, who took it silently and stared at it all the way to his stool at the counter. They didn't usually bother with the dining room table in the mornings because they all tended to eat at different times. This was rare.
Keith made two more pancakes for Shiro and Allura and then another blue one for Lance, who was begging for another. Keith sat down with a plate next to Lance and hooked his ankle around Lance's under the table. Lance paused his chewing in surprise for a moment, but went back to munching happily without a comment.
"Keith, I don't think I've had your cooking in a couple years." Shiro hummed. "I missed your pancakes. They're magical." He smiled while chewing, exposing his half-chewed food. Keith laughed.
"Shiro, gross." He felt like he was fourteen again, making breakfast for Shiro and Adam and joking around the breakfast table on earth. It was the first time Keith felt homesick for something.
"This really is delicious, Keith." Allura said earnestly.
Hunk nodded eagerly, his mouth full. "We have got to talk recipes!" He exclaimed.
Pidge sat back and rubbed her full stomach. "I want more, but if I have more I'll explode." They all laughed.
Lance caught Keith's eye and smiled with a subtle nod. Keith was doing really well with the team right now. This had been a good thing to do. Lance looked… proud of him. He smiled back.
"You're making these for me forever." Lance pointed his fork at him threateningly. Keith laughed and nodded. That didn't sound so bad. Spending mornings with Lance forever…
Suddenly the castle alarm blared to life.
"Noooo." Pidge whined. "I was so happyyyy."
Shiro shot her a sad look. Then he set his face with determination. "Okay, team. Welcome back to real life."
They hopped off their stools, and Lance immediately reached his hand out for Keith's. He smiled and took it, and he could've sworn that Lance blushed. He shook himself, berating his stupid heart for thundering in his chest. This was so they didn't freaking die and Keith couldn't stop his rampant hormones for five minutes. They followed the team as they headed to the holodeck to see what the threat was.
"We've got a Galra fleet inbound. They'll be on us any second! Paladins, get to your lions quickly." Allura commanded as she typed on the holo screen in front of her.
Lance and Keith exchanged worried glances.
"Princess, what about…" Lance asked, holding up his hand, which held Keith's.
Allura stared in shock. "Quiznack I'd forgotten about that." She breathed.
"Just get to your lions and do your best. Don't stay out there for too long. Don't hurt yourselves." She seemed unsure about what she was saying, but there was no other way.
Keith met Lance's eyes and gave him a reassuring look. They'd be okay.
They dropped hands and ran to their lions as quickly as possible. They shot out into space just as the particle barrier went up, the pain already setting deep into both of their chests. Keith hoped they'd be ok, but the only way to make it easier was to take out the fleet faster.
He immediately went into action, feeling the pain in his chest with every thrust and pull on his lion controls. It grew worse with the passing seconds, searing out from his chest in long tendrils of fiery pain. Hunk squealed as he cartwheeled past Keith before righting himself and shooting after the ship that had blasted Yellow. Shiro shouted an order at Pidge, who took out another dozen fighters with three shots. Keith blinked back tears of pain and took out a wave of fighters with one heat blast and a terrific roar. Lance swooped in with Blue and turned the next wave into popsicles.
Keith chuckled a bit at the sight and Lance glanced up at him on his small screen to the side. Lance shot him a smirk and moved even faster, practically tailing Red- not an easy feat, since Red was the fastest of the lions. Keith took that as a challenge and called his Jaw Blade up. While the others handled the ion cannon and smaller fighters, Lance and Keith circled the main Galra ship with their Jaw Blades, setting off huge explosions as they went.
The Galra ship was incapacitated within record time.
But Keith was seriously about to stop breathing.
He panted heavily as the rest of the team finished off the straggling fighter jets. "Lance…" He croaked, coughing into his hand. He was shocked to see a bright bloom of red there when he pulled his hand back away. Nobody seemed to notice.
"I know…" Lance's breathing sounded labored. Keith could see his eyelids drooping with exhaustion. "We gotta… let's get back…" he panted heavily.
"That's it guys! We did it. Everyone return to the castle." Shiro announced as he exploded the last ship. Keith didn't waste any time scooting over to Blue and matching Lance's pace on the way back to the castle.
He docked Red and stumbled out of his seat, every breath feeling like his lungs were full of jagged, broken glass. The shards grew larger with each breath as he made his way down the ramp, having to set a hand to the inside wall so he didn't fall over. He felt blinded by pain and barely registered Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk hurrying over to see what was wrong.
He coughed heavily out of nowhere, unable to bring his hand up to block the spurt of blood from his throat.
Pidge jumped back with a shriek at the sight. Hunk started yelling something Keith couldn't make out, Shiro started cursing and patting him down in search of a wound as he walked toward the Blue lion.
Shiro was asking where he got hit over and over, having to walk alongside Keith as he stumbled towards Lance, who was in no better shape. Hunk noticed Lance struggling and hurried over to help him.
When they were ten feet apart Keith's knees gave out. He crashed heavily to the floor, barely registering the pain. All he heard was white noise, all he saw was the blurry floor beneath him and he struggled to pull his body up. He forced himself to crawl to Lance, who was laying deathly still on the ground as Hunk and Pidge fretted over him.
"Lance," Keith ground out, his voice hoarse. He saw red dribble from his lips when he opened his mouth, but he couldn't taste the coppery sin on the back of his tongue. It was like the world had turned flavorless, black and white, and painful without Lance.
The others seemed to finally understand what was going on and helped Keith get closer to Lance. Shiro hauled him up to his useless legs and they stumbled the final few feet to Lance.
Keith collapsed next to him and used the last of his strength to wrap Lance up in his arms, letting himself fall to the floor with him in a heap of tangled limbs.
Slowly, slowly, Keith started to feel the pain again. It ebbed at his soul like molten lava, searing away at his insides even as the heat was extinguished. He gasped as the stabbing pain in his lungs cleared, and he felt Lance move to hold him back. They lay there, withering on the floor, but their strength was returning.
Once Keith's breathing had calmed a bit he pulled his head back to look at Lance. "Are- are you ok?" He panted.
Lance's blue eyes were hooded and exhausted, his lips were purple, but he nodded jaggedly. Lance shivered and Keith held him tighter, nuzzling into his neck as best he could with their bulky armor in the way.
It took several minutes for them to rouse, for Keith to realize that the team was still standing around them worriedly. He pulled away a bit, despite how his heart screamed at him to just stay with Lance, and helped him sit up, practically on top of Keith.
"Are you guys ok?!" Hunk burst out like he'd been waiting a lifetime to ask.
"Yeah." Keith croaked. His throat felt sore, but each passing moment with Lance healed it a bit more. The coppery taste of blood vanished.
"I'm ok now…" Lance murmured, tucking himself into Keith's side. Keith tried to control his racing pulse. He wished Lance would stay at his side willingly instead of just to keep screaming pain at bay.
Lance looked up at him and his eyes widened. "Keith, you're bleeding!" He started looking around him for wounds. "Where are you hurt?" He demanded, hands roaming his torso.
Keith sucked in a breath and grabbed Lance's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He honestly wanted Lance's hands all over him like that, but there's a firm time and place. "Hey I'm good now." He promised with a soft smile. "It's not hurting anymore." Keith closed his eyes and pressed Lance's gloved hand to his cheek.
He felt Lance let out a shaky breath and move closer, pulling with the hand on his cheek to bring their foreheads together. They both sighed in relief that the contact brought. Not from the physical pain, but the emotional toll their worry for the other had taken on them.
There was a cough from above them. They jumped, but barely pulled away, looking up at the mischievous smiles of their friends. Keith glowered and Lance huffed in annoyance.
"What I don't get…" Pidge said, adjusting her glasses. "Is that that battle lasted thirty minutes. You guys looked like death coming out of your lions."
Keith glanced at Lance. His lips were a rosy pink, no longer purple. Like he'd been in the freezing cold for too long. "Ok and…?" Keith watched Lance's lips move as he asked. He dragged his eyes back up to Pidge.
"Well, how did you guys get through the last week? You had to sleep, a whole- what- eight hours every night without dying?" She asked, her scientific voice showing through, but it held a tinge of worry. She'd been really scared.
Keith glanced over at Lance, met his eyes. He was given a goofy little smile and chuckled back. "Um, let's just say Lance's bed is comfy…" Keith avoided looking up at the stunned, wide eyes of their group.
"What the fu-" Shiro slapped his human hand over Pidge's mouth.
"Pidge!" He cried.
She yanked his hand away. "Well what do you want me to say when we find out these two have been canoodling in each other's quarters!" She yelled.
Keith choked on air. "Canoodling?!" He exclaimed.
"We didn't-!" Lance yelled.
"That's not what it was!" Keith nodded along spastically, trying to convince them that they had it all wrong.
"Ohh, ho, ho, like I'm gonna believe that when you two are still in each other's laps!" Pidge pointed accusingly and- sure enough, Lance had somehow made it completely into Keith's lap, his legs wrapped around Keith's torso and locked behind his back.
They both flushed but made no move to change their position. "Pidge, if we're not touching it hurts! It feels like we're dying!" Lance tried to explain.
"Oh I could imagine." She nodded along with mock sympathy, a teasing grin on her lips. "Playing hide the sausage would make you two want to be extra clos-"
"Pidge!" Shiro's hand was back over her mouth. His face was red and he was avoiding looking at Keith and Lance.
Keith groaned and shut his eyes.
Shiro choked. "Oh my god, please don't make that noise when you two are… like that!"
Keith gave him the evil eye, but blushed nonetheless. This should have made them want to get away from each other, but Keith's arms and Lance's legs tightened around each other at the same time. They both pouted up at the team.
"Come on Hunk, you believe us?" Lance asked hopefully.
Hunk blushed and tapped his pointer fingers together nervously. "Don't drag me into this!" He whimpered. Lance stared in shock.
"Hunk!"
"Well look at you! You two barely get along one day, and the next you're," he waved a hand at them. "Like this! What changed?"
Keith blushed profusely. "There's a magic spell on us you dinks!"
They all stared at him. That was the first time Keith had burst at them since this whole ordeal started.
Lance giggled a bit. "Dinks..." he giggled some more, and Keith felt his anger simmer into an odd sort of exasperated giddiness. He joined in, laughing and tucking his face into Lance's shoulder, mostly to escape the situation with the team. Partly because he always wanted to be so close to Lance, and now he could. The others let their laughter slip out, officially dispersing the tension from the air.
Keith let his laughter die out with his forehead still on Lance's shoulder. He felt the other boy's sigh on his neck.
Shiro turned to Pidge and Hunk. "Ok, you two are going to go get cleaned up and I'm going to go make myself a nice glass of something alcoholic." Shiro rubbed his forehead. "You two." He turned to Keith and Lance. "Are going to go sit down somewhere and talk. About…" he gestured vaguely. "This. I'll ask Coran to get some chest scans ready for you both. You're gonna kill me one of these days, my hair used to be completely black!"