WARNING: The beginning part of this chapter has some smut like quiatlities to it. By this I mean a wet dream so... yeah... XD You've been warned. If you wish to skip go straight the next line cut.
A light was filtering in through long drapes, illuminating the vast space. Keith wasn't sure how he had found himself there, lost within this sea of white.
When he called out, no one answered immediately. By his fourth try his calls were finally answered by two hands, soft and gentle, wrapping around his waist.
"Keith,"
Startled, he shot into action gripping the stranger's wrists. Lifting them high above their heads, he turned them both and slammed the other into the wall behind them.
Pinned, this other being could only chuckle, their voice a soft a silk. Catching Keith's gaze with clear blue eyes, they say, "Playing rough?"
Recognizing sound and finally able to focus on the face in front of him, his grip faltered, "Lance?" letting his wrists fall back to hs side, Keith stepped back. "What are you doing here? Where are we?"
Lance was in front him, his smile warm and alluring. He was casually leaning against the wall and motioning for Keith to come closer with a long and slender finger. By his will or something else, Keith stepped forward.
Coming into arm's reach Lance wasted no time in reaching out, ghosting his hands along Keith's tanned skin. The red paladin froze, eyes growing wide as his chin was tilted upward until their lips were pressed together.
With a resounding giggle, Lance pulled back to embrace Keith. Pressing forward until their chests bumped together, heat emanating between the two of them. Lance hummed affectionately. "Hello," he cooed. Keith could only focus on the widespread of caramel skin presented before him.
Lance was… shirtless?
Broad muscles, clear of bruises and injuries- just as Lance should be, were glistening. Perky nipples pressed and brushing against Keith's own slowly hardening ones- oh god he was shirtless too.
When had that happened?
Too overwhelming to really question the how's and why's of how this was happening, he swallowed.
"L-Lance?" he gasped, arching his back when the sly blue paladin ground into him. "W-Wait-" he had to pull himself together, "What's happening?" he whispered frantically.
Lance lifted his hand and kissed it, holding it there to the point where Keith felt that he was worshipping it. "Keith~" a toothy grin from Lance was followed by his tongue sticking out and swiping over his bottom lip- hungry.
Keith couldn't move. Couldn't think. Everything felt too… surreal.
"I know how you feel about me," Lance tilts his head to kiss him. Without much of a fight, Keith allows this. He allows Lance to lead him, turn him, then press him into the wall and pin him there- kissing and touching every inch of him. "Oh, Keith. Keith~" he groaned, beautiful and heavy. Arching until he dropped to his knees he peeked up at him, eyes half-lidded but clear. These were scarless eyes that could see him.
"You're eyes…" he says.
Lance cuts him off, "Please, Keith~"
After a heavy gulp, his tongue thick, he asked, "W-what?"
Lance was kissing his knees, running teasing fingers up his thighs. He was reaching for the buckle to Keith's pants. "I need you,"
With a sharp inhale, Keith's knees almost buckled, "Y-You- what?"
Thumbing at the buckle, it popped open. Keith cried out when a pleasure shot up his spine.
Suddenly feeling like he was falling, his body moved in the opposite direction and he shot up.
With a startled yell, Keith sat up in his bed. His chest was heaving, his skin sticky with sweat.
He was in the apartment, seated on the bed with light barely filtering through the window with the rising sun.
A dream.
A very, very strange dream.
He lifted the covers to look down at his legs, eyeing a very… compromising sight between them. A sight that had been caused through some sick wet dream of Lance!?
"Keith?" The very boy that caused this was half awake and rolling over to tilt his head in his direction. "What…?" he yawned, sounding too exhausted to say much, "You okay?"
"F-Fine," Keith stammered. There were always cons and pros to everything that happened, but this was definitely the one and only Pro's to Lance being blind- he could play this off without him ever realizing.
"Just- had a weird dream," Keith says cautiously.
'Oh…" Lance nods hazily, "Bad one? Good one?" with a gentle caress, one too caring for Keith not to adore it, he reached out and brushed the side of Keith's face to check on him.
Leaning into the touch, he sighs, "W-Weird one,"
Lance nods knowingly, sleep already beginning to take hold of him again. Curling his fingers between a strand of Keith's hair and curling it he retracted his arm, "Alrighty… well, nighty night," his head hit the pillow and he was out.
Taking a few cautious seconds to assure that Lance was back asleep, Keith slowly slipped from the covers.
Feeling humiliated as he slipped out of the bed he made his way across the room and into the bathroom. Stepping in he closed the door and locked it. Coeihns didn't have things like bathtubs or showers so this bathroom only had a toilet and sink- no cold showers for him.
Not sure what he was going to do about this, Keith thought it best to just wait it out.
He had been in there for a whole hour, his body shivering against the cold of the marble room.
It wasn't going away….
He wasn't going to- he couldn't relieve himself from it.
That would just say that he… that a dream from Lance caused him to get hard and then- ejaculate…
He couldn't even think it.
He shouldn't think about it.
Oh but he was. The thoughts wouldn't end- tormenting him with each seductive smile and beautiful bat of full eyelashes.
"Keith~"
He could still hear the echoes of the dream in his ears.
Sliding to the floor, Keith covered his mouth with his hand, biting into this thumb a little to prevent a noise from escaping out of his lips. What was he doing?
How could he be thinking about this?
With a torn approach on what to do next, Keith's hand slowly sunk downward. Moving hesitantly between his legs, he rubbed at his crotch delicately. He inwardly groaned, incapable of stopping himself from imagining that it was Lance's hand. Lance's fingers.
How would it feel if it was him instead?
Surely it couldn't be that big of a difference… or maybe it was.
"...Ah…L-Lance..." Keith let out a long breath his was holding, pressing a little more force into the motion of his hand. It felt good...
It felt-
A knock came from the door.
"Hey, Keith?" It was Lance.
The world froze, every ounce of blood in Keith's body turning cold. Oh god did he… had he heard-?
"W…. What?" his voice barely reached above a whisper.
Lance was yawning, "Oh, I thought I heard you call my name. I was just getting some breakfast. Want some?"
"S-Sure. Yeah, that sounds great," he stammered quickly, desperate to get Lance away from the door and out of hearing distance.
"Coolio~" there was a receding shuffle of feet and then silence. Faintly he could hear the sound of Lance blindly maneuvering his way through the kitchen, humming to himself.
Well…
That terror of a moment sure did the trick of getting him to calm down. So there was a plus in that, he supposed.
Pretending to finish up going to the bathroom, he flushed the toilet and washed his hands.
When he stepped out, Lance was up and moving around the room. "Morning," he says to Keith.
Keith swallows thickly, his voice quiet, "Morning," he rasps.
"I'm making breakfast, "Lance told him, pulling out some containers. Keith nodded, despite knowing Lance couldn't see him and moved to sit at the table.
Steadying himself with the chair, he took a few second to evaluate the situation.
He had a wet dream about Lance.
Lance was oblivious to this fact, thank the stars.
Lance was here and they had shared a bed last night. They would continue to most likely be sharing a bed, as it was a comfort to both of them and reassurance that they could sleep in peace.
But… say this was to happen again? What if Lance noticed then?
What in the world would Keith possibly say then?
All in all, the day was starting out pretty weird.
And he had even managed to learn something about himself in the process.
It was hard to accept at first and he refused to believe it for a while, but at some point, he finally had to take a breath and admit it: Keith was very, very attracted to Lance. The front of Lance, the back of Lance- everything that made Lance who he was.
Keith had never been sexually attracted to anything before. Those kinds of things just hadn't interested him. So what was so different about Lance other than him being, well, Lance?
At first glance this loud-mouthed pilot often seemed a little lanky- not much muscle to be seen. Take off that jacket he always wore though and you would see a more well-defined body than most expected. Keith used to that.
He didn't often get to see Lance's back without that jacket, however. It was strong, lined with tight muscles that coiled and uncoiled with each movement, swinging elegantly all the way down to smooth hips.
Keith wanted to tear his hair out from the site, finding he's been biting his nails the more and more he stared. His heart pounded heavily in his chest every time the other simply moved.
He was grateful Lance wasn't able to see him in the multiple moments he suddenly turned around to ask Keith a question- if he wasn't, he would have been caught long ago.
"Hey, want some juice?" Lance was muddling around shirtless in the kitchen area.
Keith was gawking at him from the table, "...Sure,"
Lance went to the small fridge like container they'd had and bent over it. His back curved and his ass lifted- sweet Kerberos.
Keith covered his mouth and bit his thumb to stop the longing sigh that managed its way to his throat. What was happening right now?
Ever since their little confession or whatever it was two nights ago Keith was just- he was drawn to Lance's form. Both awake and asleep, apparently.
The urges to touch him, to stare at him, these feelings were just growing. It was driving him insane and warming his belly in this odd way.
"Sleep well?" Lance inquired when he stepped back to the table, pausing to place a quiet kiss on the top of Keith's head. "What was that weird dream you mentioned?"
Keith lowered his gaze when the blood pooled to his ears, enjoying Lance's gentle and subtle touches in all their forms "Um… I can't really remember," he lies, "It was just strange,"
"I once dreamed I was a squirrel,' Lance tells him.
'..." Keith smirks a little, "And how did that work?"
"I was their King," he grins.
"Must have been a poorly structured society,"
Lance gasps dramatically, "You wound me. I was a great ruler! Lead us to the great acorn salvation."
"Sounds very impressive,"
"To them, it was," Lance munches down on his food without another word. After a few seconds, he asks, "What was your weirdest dream?"
Keith takes a second to think about that, "I once dreamed of a big jellyfish taking over the world,"
"Did you rise to stop it?" Lance guessed, smiling
"No- the Jellyfish and I were allies or something. I don't remember it fully- I think we were childhood friends or something."
"Keith Kogane besties an evil jellyfish. Sounds legit,"
"Shut up," Keith nudges his foot under the table.
30 minutes later, like usual, Tellru arrived. She was accompanied by Dravla however, both dressed in matching outfits.
"Hello~!" Dravla grins, pleased with something, "Are you two ready to go out?"
"Uh- yeah. Didn't think you would both come see us this morning," Lance puts on his jacket.
"Of course we would both come get you- now come on, hurry up! We have so much to do today!" Dravla is shuffling them out the door, down the hall, and down the steps, before they could say anything else.
"What about Ruru?"
"She is at her swimming lesson," Tellru explains as they move out into the buzzling streets.
"There a lot more people out today," Lance can hear them crowding around them, "What is going on?"
"It is a festival for Equivalents," Tellru frowns and reaches for Lance, smoothing out his crazy hair to make him look nice.
"Festival?"
"It is a yearly holiday to celebrate the special person in your life. It allows you to spend the day with them and show just how much you care for them,"
"Is that why you two are wearing matching outfits?" Keith motions to them. They grin and link arms.
"So like… today is one big date night?" Lance smiles
"A date?" Dravla asked
"Going out with your-uh, equivalent and spending the day with them. Just the two of you," Lance explains
"Ooh! Then yes!"
"That sounds cool. What kind of things do you have at this festival?" Lance asked, curious
"Large feasts, festive games, some enjoy dancing and singing," Dravla listed
"I often enjoy spending the day going up to the flower gardens with Dravla." Tellru tells them, "Or going to listen to the public singers near our house."
"Wait…" Keith stops, "Why are we going with you?"
"...It's the Equivalent festival," Dravla tells him.
"We have to go too?"
Tellru nods, "Well, as citizens it would be best for you to attend. Good for your public image,"
"Why would we care about our public image?" Keith frowns and folds his arm
The face Tellru gave them was blank, her eyebrow twitching with slight annoyance, "Why do I bother to explain- you never seem to understand," she sighed, "You are still in the red Keith. Many still look to you and wish to throw you in some cell- others want Lance dead. The better reputation you have, the less likely that will happen,"
Lance nods a little, "She has a point…." he cleared his throat, "I mean, we spend every second together anyway."
"None of those were dates," Keith says slowly, cautiously. Scanning Lance's face for his next expression he was surprised to see his lips form a thin line and his cheeks turn red
"Well, I guess there is a first time for everything… wanna go on a date?"
Speechless, Keith fumbled. Stammering with his words he closed his mouth. With sweaty palms, he rubbed them against his pants and nodded.
"..." He then slapped himself, when Lance asked with squinty eyes, "Did… did you just nod? Cause I can't really fully tell yet."
"S-Sorry. Yeah, I did...let's go on a date,"
Lance smiles, relieved. Reaching out he took Keith's hand and squeezed it, "Awesome,"
"Was that so hard?" Tellru sighs at them, "Honestly, the stuff I do to help you two. The stress of it all."
Lance flinched a little, "Oh. S-sorry Tellru. We do appreciate your help, really. I would never have gotten through that arena without you. You didn't have to help us but you did,"
There was a pause from Keith, "Why did you help us?" He inquired, "Originally you didn't need to bother with us- you could have just played us off as spies like everyone else did,"
Tellru was hesitant.
"I- well, I wasn't quite sure of that either at first. It has always been my job to speak to the prisoners- but you were different from all the other ones I had seen. You didn't belong in a cell like the lowlifes that have attacked our city. And Lance was-" she cut herself off.
"What about me?" he inquires.
There is a pain in Tellru's voice, "You reminded me of someone. My best friend… he passed away a few years ago. I suppose I just did not wish to see the same happen to you."
"Tellru…"
"That is my initial reason for helping you. Now I have truly grown to care for the both of you. I feel as protective of you as I do with Ruru,"
"So we are like your own kids?" Lance was touched
She laughs, sweet and loving, "Yes,"
Lance flung himself at her, hugging her, "Aww! Space Mom!"
"Does that make me space dad?" Dravla asks.
"Hell yeah it does," Lance gives him a thumbs up.
Dravla gasps and looked at Keith, who flinched at his locking gaze, "Space son!" he grips Keith below the armpits and lifts him up, throwing him into the air. Keith yells and kicks his legs out in surprise, landing back into Dravla's arms.
Swinging Keith around, cradling him like an infant, Dravla perks up, "Ooh! I know what we can do! You and I shall fetch the traditional ties, Keith!"
"What?" He questioned, "Put me down," he smacks at Dravla's face a little. Placing him back on the floor, Dravla ruffles his hair.
"The Traditional ties. All equivalents get them during the festival,"
"Splendid idea, Dravla. I shall get Lance ready and you get Keith. Be sure to pick out something nice," she kisses his cheek, "We shall wait for you by the square's fountain,"
"Come along Keith!" Dravla grinned. Grabbing his arm he begins to drag away the red paladin. Looking back over his shoulder Keith tries to argue but they are lost in the crowd before he can.
"...Okay, wait, what's happening?' Lance asked her. She chuckles and hooks her arm with his.
"This way Lance, we are going to go get you a nice new outfit,"
"I love new outfits," he smiles, following her with a little skip to his step. "So… what are we doing today?"
"I know what Dravla and I are doing today, but we both assumed you had no idea what to do today so we were planning on showing you around first then letting you both go off on your own for a while. Let you have some privacy," she says with a subtle smirk.
"Ah… well- that would be nice," Lance says slowly.
"Really? Are you actually open with this? How surprising," she mused.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you always seemed to insist there was nothing between Keith and you before- I'm just surprised at your sudden change of heart,"
Lance lowered his gaze and shrugs a bit when they enter a store, "It's different now…"
"Different?"
When she leans into him playfully he nudges her away, "It's just different. We still aren't equivalents but maybe… m-maybe we're slowly getting there?" he sounds a little unsure. "Things like this takes time in my world,"
"I see," Tellru sounds pleased regardless, "Well, I will never rush you. I actually enjoy watching the two of you. You are both sweet to each other,"
"Are we?"
"Very."
"Oh," he smiles into his hand, "Well, Dravla and you are like- the best couple I've seen too."
"Couple?"
"Uh- we call people couples in our world. They are like equivalents?" he shrugs.
"I see, thank you, then." moving through the stores, they shopped for who knows how long before they stepped out, Lance dressed in a very soft and dazzling new set of clothes.
Feeling like he had just gone shopping with his Mom back at Earth, Lance laughed, "So um- Tellru?"
"Hmm?"
"So how did you and Dravla get together?" Lance was trying to be understanding of the culture here, "Did he uh- win you as a pure or something?"
"No," she says, "I won him." from her tone he knew she was grinning from ear to ear. "While no one knew it since his armor often hides his smell, he was one of the only champions who was still pure. I had found out this information through my time as a translator." she was recalling the time fondly, "I had known him for a while, at least five years due to both of us aiding the King. We talked quite often and I couldn't help but fall for him. Being a champion, however, he wasn't allowed to participate in the matches to win himself a pure."
'Then how do champions find equivalents?"
"They have to be chosen and won- of course, most champions, if they do not want to be won, will make sure to fight to the death before they let that person win them."
Lance made a noise of disgust with Tellru agreed with, "Yes, not the most romantic way to find your equivalent…"
"Dravla- so he made sure to never lose if someone challenged to win him as a pure," Lance concludes.
"Yes. He had never expected me to step forward and challenge him, and I never imagined myself to actually go into the arena to get myself an Equivalent. I had honestly never wanted one before then but… Oh well, Dravla was different," she says that in a tone that has Lance blushing, especially since it was the same words he had used earlier.
"So I entered the arena. He was so surprised to see that it was me he was fighting at the end of it all. He almost refused to fight me, saying he didn't want to hurt me. I socked him one right in the jaw for not taking it seriously and told him I wanted to win him fair and square. The battle lasted for two hours."
"I thought he said the longer he fights with someone the more chance he has of winning since he can usually begin to predict their movements?"
"That is true… but I've always been the better fighter." she says slyly. "I beat him fair and square and he became mine. And he- well he laughed at the end of it. Told me he thought he'd never get the chance to be with me. I carried him out of the ring with my head held high!" she pumped her fist in victory.
Lance had to cover his mouth and snort at the idea of Tellru carrying a flustered Dravla out bridal style. "I'm glad you two got to be with each other in the end,"
"Yes… though Rashra was definitely a sore loser about it," she grumbled.
"Rashra?"
"He tried before me. He wished to win Dravla as his equivalent too. He could never beat Dravla, who refused to lose against him." Tellru says with a dark tone "It always angered me whenever he tried- perhaps that is why he is so grumpy lately? He was once again denied an equivalent because of Dravla losing the final challenge. He shouldn't really blame you or him since no one wants to be his equivalent. He doesn't respect others in any way- which is one of the largest parts of being an equivalent. If you cannot respect someone then you don't truly love them. Keith and you respect each other- yes?"
"Well- we didn't always,"
"You do now, though, I can see that. You trust Keith and Keith trusts you- anyone can see that by the way you two look at each other."
Twiddling his thumbs, Lance wasn't sure he was ready to ask what was on his mind, "Keith uh- he stares at me?"
"All the time,"
Lance laughed till he realized Tellru was being serious and cut himself off, "...Really?"
"He is often entranced by your presence," she nods, "Never takes his eyes off of you for too long. Smiles at you a lot when you don't realize he is looking- I am positive he adores you,"
Wanting to cover his reddening ears, Lance forces a laugh, "Okayyy. Okay that's enough,"
"He gets pouty when you don't hold his hand. He looks so proud when he is wearing matching outfits with you. When you laugh he just lights up!"
"..."
"And your back," she chuckles.
"My back?
"It only started recently, but I think he finds your back attractive,"
Lance wasn't sure he understood that, "Why my back?"
"I'm not Keith, I don't know the answer to that," she says, "But I'm positive it is a fact,"
Lance covered his ears this time, "Tellru," he pleads with her in a quiet voice.
"It is a good thing," she laughs, patting his shoulders, "Do not feel embarrassed by it,"
"T-Too late for that. You don't understand before we came here Keith and I didn't get along. We hated each other!"
"I'm sure that isn't true,"
"I- maybe? We were rivals. At least, I thought we were. We never said anything nice to each other except when we just barely avoided the brink of death."
"What difference does that make now?" she inquires, "At one point you disliked him, and obviously right now you don't feel the same. People grow and feelings change. Don't feel that you have to explain yourself for that or question why it happened. It just happens. If you feel happy that Keith and you care for each other now, then be happy, Lance." When she rose from her feet, Lance could suddenly hear Dravla in the distance, "They have returned,"
Feeling self-conscious, Lance jumped to his feet and dusted off his knees and shoulders. "Do I look okay?" he whispered to Tellru
"You look fantastic," she assured then gushed and ran forward, "You look wonderful, treasure!" she embraced Dravla, admiring his elegant clothes. With how important this day was, many Coeihns tended to dress to impress.
"I hoped you would like this. I apologize for taking so long- Keith was difficult,"
"All the clothes you choose were weird!" Keith barked. Lance could hardly see him, only knowing for sure that he was wearing red. No surprise there.
Lance squints through the blurry form in front of him. "I can't really-"
"You don't need to see," Keith says curtly. The embarrassment in his tone is something Lance cannot just ignore
"Well now I want to see," he takes a step, then another, moving into Keith's personal bubble. Keith holds up his hands to hold him back, "No it's- I look ridiculous." he mutters.
"You do not," Dravla huffs, "It took forever to pick out that outfit. Doesn't he look nice, Tellru?" he asked her.
"Of course he does," she praises, "I don't see why you are upset about this Keith."
"This was the least revealing one he picked!" Keith snapped.
Revealing, was a very interesting word choice to Lance's ears. "I want to see this outfit please," he grabs Keith's wrists, trying to move his hand out of the way.
"No, Lance," he huffs.
"What's the problem? You showing your stomach off or something? Are your pants a little too short- oh my gosh are you wearing booty shorts?"
"No," he growls, "I- this outfit isn't that bad. The back is just stupid- why are you so insistent on seeing?!" he smacked Lance's hand away for the 5th time that day.
"I want to see you," Lance really had no other reason other than that. He urge to just see what Keith was wearing was too big.
"Come on Keith, show him," Tellru and Dravla call out teasingly. He glares at them, reluctantly lowering his hands.
"Fine…"
Lance doesn't hesitant to reach out and touch the shirt with his hands. Admiring the soft material he leaned a little closer when his fingers grazed something sticking to the v-line of the shirt, "Is this a bow?" He asks
"It's part of the shirt," Keith whispered heatedly.
He grips the bottom of the bow, running his palm over it, "Like my own little gift…" Lance mumbles under his breath
"W-what?" Keith stammered
"Nothing," he retracts his hand and clears his throat, "It's nice. You look nice,"
Keith nods solemnly, "You too."
"Thanks,"
The rest of the day they spent traveling around town. Tellru and Dravla gave them a map and marked where most activities were, but it didn't take long for them to head off and do their own thing.
"So um- what would you like to do?" Lance inquired. Keith was still staring at the map, his gaze glancing at Lance from time to time. What were they suppose to say right now?
This was a date of sorts, right? So what did people normally do on dates?
Keith had never been on a date before.
Not sure if he could mess this day up or not, he awkwardly pointed out the entertainers down south of where they were. Lance had enjoyed the dancing and singing in the square a few days ago, so he might enjoy that too.
Lance thankfully did, even if he couldn't see most of it. Keith tried his best to explain, taking his time to try and explain the area in detail. He had never been good at details when discussing things, but hopefully, Lance would be able to get enough from him.
All in all, they really didn't do much other than walk around and just visit everything Tellru and Dravla had marked. Neither were hungry- but they did stop to enjoy the view when they got to the upper levels of the kingdom.
"You enjoying the date?" Lance asked quietly.
"Course I am…. Did you really have to ask?"
"I can't really tell if you are-"
"I'm enjoying it,"
"Oh… good," Lance swings their hands a little, "Good,"
Curious, Keith asks, "Why wouldn't I enjoy it?"
"I dunno… It is just really crowded today so I wasn't sure,"
"A crowd doesn't decide if I enjoy something or not,"
"A crowd tends to stare- and while I can't see them, you can." Lance says. Keith supposed he had a point, but he hadn't really been paying attention to them all day.
"I haven't noticed them."
"Really?…" he smirks a little, "Anyone staring at you?" The promise Lance had made- the shared vow to kiss Keith whenever he spoke those words, echoed in the back of their minds.
Keith couldn't believe the shivers that sentence sent down his spine. Daring a look up at Lance, he swallows thickly, "Probably,"
Sharing a side kiss, they sigh sweetly. "I really do like the bow," Lance whispers against his lips.
Keith swallows, "I'll… keep that in mind,"
Taking a second to breath, he stopped to step into Lance's arms. Lance welcomed him without hesitation, his arms slinking around Keith's hips and giving them a tug. Pressed together, they tilted their heads and kissed once more.
Lance chuckled to himself half way through, nipping at Keith's bottom lip. Humming a bit, Keith peeked at him.
"What?" he inquires.
"I just- you gotta be honest with me, Keith." keeping his eyes closed, he asks, "Have you even been on a date before?"
Keith was puzzled, "I thought we were on a date,"
"W-Well yeah, but have you ever been on one before this?" he hooks his arms together to hold Keith in place.
Not planning on stepping away anytime soon, Keith lowered head, burying it into Lance's shoulder, "I… no. I've never dated anyone before, Lance," he announces cautiously,
"I'm your first kiss and your first date?" he gasps in awe, "I'm hitting the jackpot here,"
Keith snaps his head up to attention, smacking Lance in the shoulder, "What do you mean jackpot?" he yelled, red in the face.
Lance laughs, "Obviously I mean you're the jackpot- I get all your firsts." opening his eyes, he smiles coyly at the red paladin in his arm,
Keith scowled heavily, pissed off. He wasn't sure why either. "You've already gone on dates and kissed others," he tells him, "There are no firsts, for you in this. That isn't fair,"
"That isn't fully true. I've never gone on a date with someone in space before. Or on another planet. I've never shared a bed with someone other than family before either. I've never been considered an Equivalent to someone either..." Lance rattles off a few things, his smile never once faltering. When had he become so sure about all of this? About Keith?
He couldn't recall.
Lance was positive it was a little late to be embarrassed by this. They had already made out more times than he could count and should he even mention the spooning every night? Though they don't go to bed spooning, they usually woke up that way. Lance had just always been a snuggler.
Keith starts messing with the collar of his shirt a little, "Shut up… I don't know how these dates are supposed to work- okay?"
"It's not rocket science. You go somewhere, you talk… you kiss and hug. There really isn't a rule or guidebook to it- you just go with the flow. I mean-" he clears his throat a little, "We do that enough anyway…"
Keith pinches him. Yelping, Lance tugs on him a little.
"That hurts!"
Keith pinched him a few more times. Turning and spinning in a few circles, Lance laughed and leaned into Keith once more. Sharing one more kiss, one that was longer and filled with something more, they hold each other close.
"Okay, Equivalent, where to now?" Lance cooed affectionately when they pulled apart
Keith smirks a little at him, "I dunno- there aren't many places left to go. We could go see those flowers that Dravla and Tellru mentioned,"
"Romantic- let's do it,"
0000-0000
When they got there, neither could believe how far the flowers spanned within the garden. Taking all shapes and colors, their twisted along paths and trees- they felt like they had stumbled into a painting.
"Whoa-" Lance leans down to squint at a few, able to get a good enough view from the proximity. Inhaling, he smiles at the sweet smell. "I just want to lay down," he tells Keith.
"You would crush the flowers,"
"I know but just- smell them,"
"They smell good,"
"I'm in heaven," Lance lays down
"Get up,' Keith tugs on his arm.
"Nope- I can die here. Go on without me." Lance snorted wildly when Keith grabbed his legs and started to drag him. "Bring out yer dead!" he called then clapped his hands. "Bring out yer dead!" he clapped again.
"What are you even talking about?" Keith asks over his shoulder, smirking.
"You ever see Monty Python and the Holy Grail?" Lance inquired.
"No,"
"Ah- then the joke is ruined for you. If we ever get back to Earth, I'll show you that movie," he sighs. "Carry on," Keith continued to drag Lance around the garden for a while. Lance was pleased to just stare at the flowers as he passed, and was surprised when a familiar pair of boots slide over his gaze,
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, hey Dravla," he waves from the ground.
"Is this how common human dates are?" Tellru inquired, peeking down at him.
"...Yes," Lance nods.
"No," Keith corrects him.
"You've never been on one before, so how would you know?"
"I've seen movies and TV, Lance," Keith drops his legs and helps him to his feet.
"Well, I'm happy to see you two are enjoying your day," Tellru chuckles. "Did you come to partake in the flower picking?"
"The what?"
"Every year on this day for the festival you are allowed to pick flowers. Similar to that fairy tale with the sea shells; if you pick 50 flowers then give them to your chosen Equivalent, it will bless you with luck for the upcoming year." she explains.
"Oooh- Keith we should do this. We need luck," Lance insists.
"What is with you and believing fairy tails?"
"Are you judging fairy tails? You? The conspiracy theorist?" Lance nudges him, "Admit it, you are just embarrassed to give me flowers,"
'T-That's not it," Keith nudges him twice as hard, "Why would I be embarrassed giving you flowers,"
"Because it would be romantic~" Lance waggles his eyebrows.
"Stop," Keith flicks him.
"So, wanna give it a go?" Dravla holds out baskets for them.
Lance takes it and forces Keith to take his, "So just pick 50?"
"Yup,"
"...If I collect mine before you do I get to be big spoon tonight!" Lance yelled into Keith's face. Blinking rapidly, Keith glanced at the fields of flowers then back at Lance.
"..." He shot into a sprint and Lance screamed.
"Cheating!" Lance moved down the steps to grab the red flowers. Plucking them gently but swiftly, he placed them within the basket as fast as he could. The job was rather simple, but with his sight, he was positive he wasn't moving as quickly as Keith.
Grumbling with that fact, he tried to quicken his pace and got up to move to the bigger pile of flowers.
In his rush, he rammed into someone else. Startled by the bump of someone's shoulder against his own he stumbling back. Lance quickly apologized. "Oh jeez, sorry there-"
A heavy hand came down on his arm, gripping it. Thinking the person was just trying to catch him from his fall, he steadied himself and attempted to step away. The grip didn't falter, only squeezing tighter.
Feeling uncomfortable from the hold, Lance frowned, "Um- let go," he tells the person slowly. They were tall, looming over him as Dravla usually did- but this definitely wasn't Dravla. Lance couldn't see his face clearly through his blurry vision, he felt he recognized them from somewhere.
They spoke to him in the Coeihn language, but he didn't understand.
"I don't speak your language," he says bluntly, "Where is Tellru-?" when he tried to look around for her, there was a sharp tug on his arm and they were walking.
"Hey-" he dug his feet into the ground to stop them, "Let go of me-!" he tried to pry the fingers off of his arm but they wouldn't budge. "I said let go!" Lance tries to yank his arm away and yelled. The Coeihn didn't seem to appreciate that and lifted him by the arm like a sack of potatoes. Lance gasped when a second hand grabbed his other arm, swinging him to the side when he started to kick.
He screamed.
The sound of heavy footsteps, rushed and furious, quickly followed.
"Hey!" a voice booms amongst the noise, "Let go of him!" the threat of possible death looms heavily with the demand if it is not followed. He knew that Keith hadn't been far, and he was grateful that his voice had reached him.
Tellru seems to be with him and is saying something in her language, ("Do we have a problem here, Rashra?")
Rashra.
So it was this creep again? What the hell did he want?
("This does not concern you, Tellru. It is official business,") Rashra frowns at her.
("Release him. He is a citizen and has committed no crime,") Tellru commands, refusing to back down. She holds out a hand to keep Keith in place when he tries to step forward. His gaze locks with Lance, wanting to run to him, and he glares back at Tellru for preventing him from doing so. Knowing he just wanted to have Lance return to his side, she pats his shoulder. There was no sense in starting a fight right now- especially with this big of a crowd present.
"Stay calm," she tells him. Keith's eyes flare but he nods. They both turn when Rashra starts to speak.
"What is he saying?" Keith demands, eyes never leaving Lance's dangling form. It pissed him off how Rashra was just tossing him around like that.
"He states that he is here to investigate constant complaints about the two of you and was bringing Lance in to question him," Tellru folds her arms and takes a little calming breath, ("Complaints do not seem like a valid enough reason to simply drag someone off against their will. He was doing nothing wrong just now and you are interrupting the festival- a very traditional festival to celebrate Equivalents- who he was spending his day with,") she motions to Keith.
("These two are hardly Equivalents- the entire Kingdom knows that. It sickens me that they dare even partake in our traditions,") Rashra growled at her.
("Who are you to judge another race?") Tellru demands, ("You may be head of the royal guard but you do not go above law, Rashra,")
Keith can barely keep himself still when Rashra squeezes a little too tightly along Lance's wrist. When he yells in pain Keith is barely held back by Tellru's arm, "I said let him go!"
His screaming was starting to draw the attention of the other Coeihns. Not sure what was happening, they began to murmur in confusion. It had become almost normal for the two humans to travel around the Kingdom, and most Coeihns hardly paid them any mind. But the pure rage on Keith's face was enough to catch their curiosity.
"If you gotta a problem than you can take it up with me!" he yells at Rashra, "But I swear you better get your grimy hands off of him or I'll rip your head off!"
"O-Okay Keith, calm down-" Tellru tries to say.
"NO! I'm sick of this! He is my equivalent! No one else's!" Keith yells to the crowd, furious and wild, "And if any of you try to mess with him, I'll kill you!"
Lance was wide eyed, his mouth hanging open. Feeling a heat spread across his skin, he turned his head to try and hide his blush into his arm. He hadn't expected Keith to just yell that to the world- but honestly, when Keith is angry, always expect the unexpected.
("Are you threatening me?") Rashra inquires darkly, not quite sure what Keith was yelling. Tellru refused to answer. ("Until proven otherwise, this human is coming with me for questioning. He shall be returned to you later,") Rashra concludes.
("You can't just do that!") Tellru argues.
("Rashra,") Dravla had come down from the upper levels, gaze cold, stopping him in his tracks, ("Do not do this,")
("You do not command me, Champion. What I say is law with my position,") he turned, and Lance turned with him.
Tellru had to lift Keith up by the waist when he pulled out his Bayard. "Tellru! Let me go!"
("You are not above the law, Rashra!") Dravla was moving forward.
("I doubt any others will share your opinion,") Rashra smirks over his shoulder. He barely got in another two steps before a hand meets his chest. Stopping cold in his tracks, Rashra is surprised by the towering Coeihn, who had originally been standing in the crowd, moved to stand before him. While Lance had thought Dravla was tall before, this guy was on a whole new level.
("Is that so, Rashra? I shall be the judge of that,") This mysterious new figure, draped in a cloak, reached out his palm. With a quick set of motions, one too fast for anyone to follow, he had turned Rashra's wrist. He yelled in pain at the un-natural twist and released Lance.
Falling to the floor with a heavy thump, Lance looked up just in time to watch the figure flip Rashra over his shoulder and slam him into the ground, ("I believe your balance needs some work,")
Rashra seethed, coughing from the air knocked out of his lungs, ("Who-?")
The figure ignored him, stepping over him to Lance.
The crowd went quiet.
Surprised when a calming hand gripped his arm, Lance was helped to his feet, "Are you alright?" his savior inquired with a kind voice. He couldn't make out his face at all, but Lance could see the color of his eyes.
All Coeihns seemed to have the same skin and eye color (Gray or brown). They only varied when it came to their body shape/size and their hair.
But this one, his eyes were a startling green. It was so bright that even with his sight Lance could see it as clear as day
"Um… yeah," Lance nods slowly, "Thanks- wait, you speak English?" he gasped.
"I must learn every language that finds it's way to this world," the figure chuckles, motioning for him to return to his friends. "I apologize for what just happened. You are free to go,"
Rashra had just stumbled to his feet and was turning to the tall Coeihn in anger.
"Oh uh… r-right," Seeing Rashra approaching, Lance turned and ran. Keith wiggled out of Tellru's grip and met him half way, crushing him into a tight embrace. The tight feeling in Lance's chest was gone the moment they were together.
"Are you okay? Let me see-" he grabbed Lance's arms to examine them. "Why that no good-" he trailed his thumbs over the new places bruises that circled his skin. "Rashra!" he roared at him.
"Keith no-" Lane caught him before he could go after him.
Tellru was at their side in a second "Lance," she says softly, "Are you hurt?"
"I'm okay," he tells her. "Who was that guy?" he motions to the Coeihn that had helped him.
"I do not know," she admits, "But I feel- he seems familiar," she looks at Dravla who is frowning deeply.
"Either way, we owe him our thanks. I am sorry this happened- Rashra had no right to try and take Lance in for questioning simply because others do not believe you are Equivalents or spies," he sighs at them, bowing his head.
"S-Sorry," Lance lowers his gaze.
"It's not your fault," Keith insists, "It's-" he is breathing heavily, too riled up and pissed to calm down. Gripping Lance's shoulders he ran his hands up and down his arms, as if he was trying to rub away the bruises. With a wild glaze in his eyes, he shot a furious look at Rashra. "HEY!" he called to him.
"Oh- Keith no no- don't pick a fight," Lance tried to stop him.
Rashra turned and Keith pointed at him. "You," he growls, "I'll show you who equivalents are," he threatened.
Lance was confused, "Keith?"
"Open your mouth," Keith says. The words felt angered and… sensual? The odd mix of the two was weirdly pleasing to Lance's ears.
"Wha-" he blushed when Keith gripped his shoulders and leaned in.
"Do it,"
Lance couldn't argue, his words getting stuck in his throat. Shaking a little, he hesitantly opened his mouth. Kind of expecting, and hoping for a certain something, his assumption was correct felt Keith opened his own mouth and closed the distance between them.
With an airy exhale, Keith's tongue slipped into his mouth and twirled heavenly. The kiss was rough and wet- complete tongue to tongue. He legs felt ready to buckle. Keith was getting good at this.
The entire crowd was caught by surprise, eyes widened and some even giggling at the show.
"Ke-" When the kiss started to draw out Lance tried to pull away, his mind going hazy. They were in public- everyone was watching- but Keith was persistent- pushing, pulling and sucking. It was overwhelmingly wonderful.
Ending a little too quickly, Keith tore their lips apart, eyes instantly lifting to glare at Rashra. The Coeihn scoffed indignantly, stepping back with a contorted scowl.
"Jeez, Keith…" Lance gasped for air, whipping some drool of his chin, "I-If you wanted to just make out where ever you should have told me," he tried to tease but it came out shaky.
"Stop talking," Keith silences him with a kiss to his lower lip, his eyes locked with Rashra's in a challenging threat. It was possessive and hot and holy crap Lance wasn't going to be able to stand for much longer if this kept up.
"K-Kay," he shivered. He glanced at Tellru and Dravla
Like little fangirls they were holding hands and bouncing excitedly, grinning and giving him thumbs-up.
He blushed and looked away.
("Well- I think you have your answer there, Rashra,") The tall Coeihn who had saved Lance before mused.
("Who are you in the first place to stop an arrest by the guard?") Rashra turned his attention back to him.
("Me? Well you know me, Rashra,") they lifted their hand and pulled down their hood.
The entire valley gasped.
The Coeihns began to bow, dropping like flies.
(K-King-") with a panicked expression, Rashra fell to his knees and bowed his head.
Lance nuzzles into Keith, "What's going on?"
"Our king…" Dravla says in an awed murmur next to him. He motions forward to the man who had intervened "King Manson," he drops to a knee with Tellru.
Holy- this was the King?
THEY HAD JUST MADE OUT IN FRONT OF THE KING?!
Lance was going to faint and had to lean into Keith for support. Not sure why he was freaking out, Keith gawked at him.
All in all, neither were sure if they should follow the others and bow or not so they just stood awkwardly amongst the crowd, staring at the supposed Coeihn King in shock.
With bright eyes and a dazzling smile, he nodded his head to them, ("Now tell me, Rashra- why did you interrupt these two on such a joyous day?")
Rashra dare not speak, his shoulders trembling slightly.
("This young man-") he motions to Lance, ("Has won his citizenship fair and square. I witnessed his trial, as did many of you- yet I continue to see a very rude display of mindless accusations thrown at them. They are not Coeihns, if their appearance did not point that out enough. They will not follow in our traditions for they were not raised in them. That does not mean you belittle or treat them poorly. They are equals to us all. If any of you have a problem with this I will gladly speak with you one on one to discuss this but for the time being, and I mean this with the utmost care I can, leave them be,") the crowd shivered with his dark look. His previously bright green eyes had grown red with his command. Shifting back to green, he stepped over Rashra and moved towards them.
"What did he just say?" Keith demanded to Tellru.
"He has told everyone to leave you both alone," Tellru summarized.
"Oh... how nice of him," Lance perks up, watching the King approach Dravla.
"Dravla," the King smiles at him.
Dravla bowed his head and rose to his feet, "Manny- what are you doing here?"
"I finished my council meeting an hour ahead of time. This festival has always been one of my favorite holidays, I couldn't bare to miss it," he nods his head to Tellru then turns to Keith and Lance, "Lance and Keith, was it?"
Keith's grip around Lance's waist tightened,
"Uh… yeah. Yeah that's us," Lance nods nervously,
"It is a pleasure to meet you," he bows his head. "I am Manson,"
"Thanks for the save,"
"Rashra has always been hot tempered- holding a grudge longer than he should. But this is a day of celebration. I did not wish to see it ruined by faceless blame. I've seen spies- you are not them,"
"Thank you, Manny," Tellru says gratefully. Lance found it kind of cute that Dravla and Tellru both seemed to call Manson by this shared nickname, "Rashra refused to listen to reason,"
"Yes- I am aware. He has been pushing his boundaries lately," he glares over his shoulder for a moment. Sighing, he lifts his hands and motions for his people to continue about their day. When they start to disband, most smiling and waving to the King excitedly, he turned back to them, "Now- Tellru here tells me you had something you wished to discuss."
"Oh… Oh yeah! We did!" Lance gasps, "We need to reach our friends,"
Manson nods, "Yes, Tellru has mentioned this- the ones out in space? In all honesty, I see no problem to why you cannot contact your allies. However, there is an issue."
"Issue?" Keith frowns.
"Our signal is being jammed,"
"Jammed?" Tellru was shocked.
"You didn't mention this before, Manny." Dravla adds.
Manson sighed. "I hoped to discuss this with you tomorrow to save the joy of today, but I might as well tell you now. The Traveks, they've developed some means in blocking all forms of communications out of the kingdom. While normally we could see a call to our forces west and north, we now have the travel by Parlog to get it there,"
"Meaning all interstellar communication is the same," Dravla frowns
"I'm sorry wait- Traveks?" Lance asked.
"I mentioned them to you once before when you first arrived here. We have been at war with them for decades now," Tellru tells him,
"So they are blocking your communications some how? Can you fix it? Stop them from blocking you?" Lance asked
"Yes, but first we have to discover where the source of the jamming signal is coming from. If we can do that then we can cut off the signal." Manson tells him.
"You just can't find where it is coming from," Keith concluded
"Yes," he sighs, "We are looking into it now, but for the time being, I am afraid I have no means of contacting your friends."
Keith and Lance share a glance, sighing. So, more waiting, huh?
"Well uh, thanks for telling us. If there is anything we can do to help locate that signal we'll do what we can," Lance says.
"I appreciate that. For now, please enjoy your time here as our guests. I wish I could assure no one bothers you, but not everyone in this Kingdom agrees with each other,"
They nod in understanding. Sharing a bow with the King, they watch him run off to get back to his duties. It was strange just meeting a King and talking to him so casually.
"He seems nice,"
Dravla smiles, "He is. Very kind."
"I cannot believe he snuck out of the Kingdom to come down here," Tellru rolls her eyes. "I guess he really wanted to meet both of you."
"I thought he said he was here for the festival?" Lance asks.
"Manson doesn't celebrate the festival anymore…" Dravla pauses, down casting his eyes, giving Tellru a long look. Tellru looked away, "At least, not since his Equivalent passed away. I am positive he came here just to seek both of you out. He rather enjoys talking with beings outside of our world- though he never really gets the chance to,"
"Oh," they nod. "It was nice to meet him too."
"Now we just need to locate that jamming signal," Tellru concludes, "Those Traveks- what other strange methods have they devised?"
Dravla pats her shoulder, "More work for us, right?"
"Always," she groans. Smiling at the two of them, she hands them back their baskets, "I'm positive you won't be interrupted this time,"
Lance takes it with a smile. Noticing that Keith didn't seem as inclined to run off in a different direction this time, they started to collect flowers again. "You got 50 yet, Keith?" he asks. Keith is only a short distance away, glancing at Lance constantly with this protective kind of aura surrounding him.
"Almost, 10 more to go."
Lance needed 22. Realizing he wasn't going to win this, he bit his lip. Knowing he would need to get Keith distracted somehow to assure his victory, he struggled to think.
Then he recalled what Tellru had mentioned earlier.
The notion of Keith liking his back.
Fumbling with the basket, Lance dared the theory, "H-Hey Keith?" Keith lifted his head.
"What?"
Lance put a hand to his hip, leaning slightly in an almost model like pose. Keith choked a little behind him. Feeling a burst of courage from that, Lance curved his back; inquiring with a sweet voice over his shoulder, "Wanna get something to eat after this?"
He coughed and stammered, "S-Sure,"
"You okay?" Lance hummed
Keith nodded meekly, averting his gaze.
Holy hell…
Feeling this sense of power and control, Lance stretched his hands over his head. "Man am I stiff," he says innocently, stretching his arms across his chest and over his head.
Keith had grown dead quiet behind him.
With a little whistle, felling hesitant but excited, Lance reached for his toes, giving Keith a perfect view of his ass.
Keith sucked in a heavy breath.
Lance snapped back upright, face red and grinning. His spine was tingling with this little thrill. To have Keith wrapped around his finger with just a simple action- it was awesome.
"Done!" he lifted his basket in victory.
"W-What?" Keith tensed behind him. Lance presented him the basket of flowers.
"50 flowers and I'm big spoon tonight when we cuddle," he declared.
"Wha- you-" Keith stepped back, "Don't just talk so casually about that!" he yelled with a red face.
"Why?" Lance inquired, "We are cuddling tonight, aren't we?"
"..."
"Keith?"
"O-Of course we're- yeah of course we are but you don't need to announce it," he muttered in a way that Lance thought was adorable.
"You are the only one who understands me," Lance reminded him.
"Well, we understand you," Tellru and Dravla called from their picnic table, grinning mischievously at them. Lance and Keith screamed, chucking their baskets at them.
Red and Blue flowers shot into the air as laughter echoed through the valley.
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"Goodnight!" Lance waved to Tellru and Dravla as they walked away. Having stayed out late into the night, Lance was glad when they were finally able to head in and go to bed. "Well, today was weird- but not bad,"
Keith yawned, "If you say so,"
"It was," he insists. Shuffling into the apartment, Keith paused in the kitchen. Reaching into his pocket, as if he just realized something, he turns to Lance. "Lance?"
"Yeah?"
Keith approaches him, slow and attentive, "I forgot to give you this… But um- don't take it the wrong way," Not sure what he meant, Lance felt something drop into his palm. It was small, and slightly heavy. A metal? "Those are considered the traditional ties here so um… D-Dravla was pretty demanding that I get you one,"
Lifting his palm closer to his face, he sucked in a heavy breath, "Is this a ring?"
"Like I said, don't get the wrong idea- it is just a traditional tie or whatever. I'm not proposing or anything,"
"Oh my god, you got me a ring," Lance ignored him. "An actual ring- does it fit?" he put it on his ring finger. Keith was panicking, trying to get him to take it off. "Do you have one too?" Lance demanded, agreeing to at least put it on his middle finger instead.
"I- yes but-"
"Put it on," Lance grinned.
"N-No!"
"You got us ties, so you got to wear them. It's a tradition here Keith," he says slyly. He didn't know why he was enjoying this so much. Something about Keith getting him a ring just made him happy. Of course he was in no way ready to marry this guy, but the thought of them sharing a cute little ring was nice.
After a few plea's, he eventually got Keith to put it on.
"I love them," Lance reaches for Keith, brushing away some of his bangs and cupping his face. Feeling the heated skin at his fingertips, he smiles.
Keith doesn't say anything, but leans into his touch.
"I got chains too…" he whispers, embarrassed. How this guy was able to French him in front of some huge public but not wear a little ring for longer than 5 minutes, Lance would never know.
But he agreed to put the ring around the chain and wear it as a neck less.
Lance was cackling as they slipped into bed, grinning like a mad man, "Big spoon~"
"Why does it matter who is big spoon and who is little spoon…whatever those even mean," Keith sighs. Wrapping around the blankets, Lance shimmied over to his side of the bed, wrapping his arms around Keith.
"It's spooning," Lance informs him, "Cuddling,"
"I get that part- ohh. Wait, it's a play on words," he sighs.
"There you go," Lance praises. Tucking his arms around Keith's waist, he smiled brightly at him. "Thanks for the gift,"
Keith's eyes trail down to the necklace and he nods, "Your welcome,"
DONNENENENENENENENENENENENNENEN I loved this chapter.
And hey- You finally get to meet the King. And we are slowly pulling our way into the more, let's say, smuttier part of this fanfic. *eye brow wiggle *