When a hand had wrapped around his mouth, Lance had screamed. His own voice was muffled noise, barely able to reach his own ears.
The Coeihn that had grabbed him had planned it perfectly- not a soul was watching. He had managed to snag Lance right towards the water fountains when Ruru had needed a drink.
Who knows how long this Coeihn had been following them, waiting patiently for Lance to be alone and then striking.
His arms were pinned behind him before he could even start to panic, his body lifted like a sack of potatoes. Another set of hands grabbed his ankles- there were at least three of them. He could somewhat see their faces but everything was too blurry to make out much.
They were trying to move him- take him somewhere no one could see.
He screamed and kicked and thought of Keith.
It was pathetic that he couldn't seem to get out of any situation without him- but he couldn't help but desperately try and call out his name.
("Hurry up!") He couldn't tell what the one of the Coeihns had said, but he sounded rushed.
Knowing he would have no chance unless he got some ground he kicked and pulled. He wiggled, turning, thrashing as violent as he could.
They were trying to make a break for the gate. Perhaps they thought they could simply grab him and run? The very idea pissed him off enough and he tried to take a bite at the hand covering his mouth.
"Lala?" His blood ran cold. Lance's flailing had gone against the Coeihns timing, forcing them to linger just a second too long.
Ruru, oblivious at first, had walked out of the restroom. She spotted them instantly; her eyes grew wide with fright. She opened her mouth and tried to scream. One lunged at her, covering her mouth, desperate to silence her before she could.
She thrashed, clawing at the man's face. He grunted, lifting her.
("The Champion's child!")
The kidnappers were panicking with Ruru present. They were unsure of what to do with her and were yelling at each other to figure it out. They were already lifting her up, struggling to cease her kicking.
("Just take them both!") The leader of the three yelled in a hushed whisper
("She is the champion and translator's child! They will have us torn to pieces if they discover us!")
("We have no choice! Take them both. We will return the girl when the job is done!") They were pulling them both to the gates.
Lance was enraged when he realized they were bringing Ruru along. She had nothing to do with this!
He wanted to tell them to let her go, but even if they weren't covering his mouth, his words wouldn't have made sense to them. Whether he liked it or not, she was joining this hell ride.
From the corner of his eye, he watches Ruru go suddenly still. Her gaze locked with his, and she turned her head against the Coeihns shoulder. Her hair caught along their armor, and her ribbon snapped in two.
As it fell, her hair trickled down to her shoulders. The Coeihn holding her didn't seem to care and kept going.
What he hadn't seemed to take into account was the forgotten ribbon- the only trace to the direction they were being dragged off to.
Brilliant.
An undoubtedly taught by her parents in case such things ever happened.
("What the hell are we going to do about the girl?!") They were bickering amongst each other.
("As I said, we return her at the end,")
("She's gotten our scents! She'll know who we are and tell her Father!")
He couldn't tell what either of the two were saying, but he could tell one was staring at him. Well, more like glaring.
He was bigger than the other three, and the main one to keep his arms pinned. The anger that festered in his eyes was unnerving, and all of it was focused on him. Not sure what he had done to upset the alien, he wasn't prepared for what happened next.
His hand, thick and strong, reached towards him.
Lance gave a muffled scream when he wrapped his palm around his thin neck.
("He dare wear a traditional tie?") The Coeihn seethed. Nails scratched against his throat as they gripped the chain, giving it a sharp tug.
The metal tore apart easily, crashing to the floor.
Lance yelled.
Keith had gotten him that! He kicked the Coeihn in the rebuttal. Furious, they grabbed his ankle and turned his leg the other way. Lance thought it would snap in two, but the other Coeihns stopped him.
("Not here,") they reprimanded him. Huffing, they shuffled out of the park, barely able to avoid the gaze of others. They took them down back allies, avoiding the main streets as much as possible.
With how big of a place this was, Lance was positive that Keith would never be able to catch up or track them down.
But Ruru was clever.
Wonderfully, amazingly clever.
He refused to linger his gaze on her too much, not wanting to alarm the three kidnappers- but he could see what she was planning. Her Parents had taught her well, and she was using the fact that these Coeihns cared more about him to her advantage.
While she was small, and light, the Coeihn carrying her barely gave much of an effort to hold her still- just concerned himself with covering her mouth. This gave her a little bit of free range with her hands.
She was reaching for her braces, lifting her knees just enough to grip the metal attached to them. Slowly, carefully, she removed the screws that lined the paddings. Holding them within her palm, she blinked wide eyes at him.
She was terrified, but something deep burned within her gaze. A small spark of courage, a willingness to fight. He had seen the same look in Tellru's eyes when she stood up to Rashra, or Dravla whenever he stepped into the Arena to fight.
With a quiet communication, inspired by that glint, Lance would shake a little with every turn they would take. This caught the attention of the three Coeihns long enough for Ruru to subtly drop a screw without any of them noticing.
Ruru was the coolest kid he had ever met.
This was their own messed up version of Hansel and Gretel and by the stars, he was definitely not going to allow either of them to get gobbled up by some witch.
He could only hope that Keith and the others would see the screws. But, knowing that Ruru seemed to be prepared for something like this, he was positive Tellru and Dravla would be looking for them.
("Hey!") The Coeihns stopped when one of the three yelled. ("What are we waiting for? We just kill him and leave,") the large one, the one who Lance dislike the most, was barking something angrily.
("It is too open here. We take them to the requested location,") the leader says sourly. They had gone a few blocks before Lance realized they had somewhere specifically planned to take him. Which meant he had to do everything he could to either stop them from getting there or delay them long enough for the others to catch up.
("The request was to kill the blue Champion- why does it matter if it is here or the Eastern wall?") The Coeihn, who Lance will now call Pinhead, demanded. Man he wishes he knew what they were saying.
("Because that is what we were hired for, you moron!") The second snapped. Pinhead turned on him, shoving him. Ruru almost slipped from his grasp when he shoved pinhead back.
A fight. A chance.
Lance swung hard.
His foot collided with the Coeihn that was holding his knees, catching him right between the eyes. They yelped and fell over, and his legs fell with him.
Like hell he was just going to go with these creeps.
With that thought, he threw his head back and collided it with Pinhead's nose. It cracked, and he slipped free.
By the time his feet hit the ground, Ruru was already biting at her kidnappers arm, right at the juncture around the elbow.
Acting quickly, Lance rammed into the first Coeihn he could. They had to get away. They couldn't fight right now. Just run.
Just-
Ruru yelled.
They had hit her- backhanded her to the ground.
Lance saw a flash of red.
He slammed his fist into the Coeihn, cracking his jaw.
Hand to hand was never his specialty, and maybe if he was thinking straight he would have reached for his Bayard, but he wasn't.
He was pissed.
You never, ever, lay a hand on Ruru.
One swing, two- his fist connected against skin with blind precision. He had the upper hand for a short time, but it only lasted so long with two other Coeihns present. Outnumbered, he couldn't block the shove to his right, or the knee colliding with his gut. They pummeled him, knocking him to the floor.
A hand had wrapped around his throat faster than he could react, lifting him. Lance scrambled to grip their wrists, tugging and pulling to get him to release him, all the while staring into those dark eyes.
Their grip tightened.
This Coeihn was going to kill him.
Fear coursed through him, clouding his mind.
Like some primal instinct he lifted his Bayard and activated it as the body slammed into him.
Heavy breathing, hands on his throat, crazed eyes locked with his, the threat of death.
Of death.
Of death…!
He fired.
A sickening warm and red liquid splattered across his chest and face.
The body above him let out an unsightly yell, gasped something, and fell limp. Crushed below the body, Lance could not longer hear the heavy breathing, the grip on his throat, or the crazed look in the Coeihns eyes.
The only thing he could hear was bounding in his ears. The Coeihn wasn't breathing.
He screamed and screamed.
And then, he called for Keith.
He cried out for him till his voice cracked, leaving it raw and stinging. He cried for him till he was tugged off the ground and a blade, seeking vengeance for the fallen, was lifted towards his chest.
He cried for him, wishing to see him one last time before everything ended.
He cried, wanting to go home.
He cried.
He wanted Keith.
KEITH
"I feel better when I can hold on to you." Lance had blushed after he spoke these words. It seemed so long ago when they were stuck in those cells, barely able to reach across and grab the other's hand and hold it close.
Keith hadn't realized how much he relied on Lance's touch that day. How much his words had been true not just for him, but for Keith as well.
He had come to expect and require Lance's presence next to him to feel at ease. Being away from him made him feel anxious and unsettled.
Not knowing where he was in his absence was worse.
It made him want to tear this town apart.
"LANCE!" the sound reverberated through the street, bouncing off the walls and then settling, like dust to the wind, "WHERE ARE YOU?!" Something give him a sign. Tell him where to go- where to look- how to make this right! "LANCE!"
Only the beating of his heart answered him.
Slowly, in a daze, he turned in a full circle.
"I'll be whatever you want me to be, Keith,"
He could picture it- like a vision in his head, he could see Lance. He was smiling, carefree and happy, just like he should be.
"I love them..."
His grip tightened around the traditional tie. Oh god… where was he? Where was he?!
""I just wanted to see you as fast as possible."
Was this how lance had felt then? The urge, the unpremeditated need to do virtually anything to assure Lance returned to his side?
Was this so much to ask, that Lance just stays safe? He was never cruel, or unkind to anyone they met- so why was everything so insistent on hurting him?
On taking Lance from… from him?
"Lance!"
Coeihns were staring at them.
Screw 'em.
He couldn't talk to them anyway- they were useless to him. And, though he knew it was wrong to judge an entire race for the actions of a few, he couldn't help but hate them. Not to say he felt that way for Tellru, Dravla or Ruru. Not even to Harri or Manson- no. No he rather enjoyed their company.
However more times then not, it was Coeihns that were the cause of their problems.
At least for now.
They were paladins after all- even if they were to get off of this planet and back to Voltron, they would still be threatened daily by Galra, Zarkon, and other threats.
But at least then his lion, safely secure in the cockpit, would most likely shield Lance. That was the case right now.
Right now, Lance was alone, with an injury to his eyes that put him at a disadvantage.
He was where Keith couldn't get to him.
"Keith!" A rough hand tugged him back. "Hold on,"
He turned to Tellru, almost forgetting she was there and lashing out, "Hold on?!" he demanded.
"Yes," she snipped at him and motioned to Dravla. He was knelt to the ground, something small and silver clutched between his grasp.
He inhaled deeply, and lifted his head in a specific direction. He had found something.
Suddenly, he was moving, sprinting down the road, like a dog that suddenly picked up a scent. Keith and Tellru rushed after him, watching as he turned the corner and knelt down again.
Once again he lifted something small and silver, "Ruru," he confirms. Relief and pride swelled in his voice as he lifted something towards them.
A screw?
"What is that?" Keith frowned.
"From her braces," Tellru took it delicately, cradling it like it was something precious, "That's my girl," she brushed a tear from her eyes, composing herself.
Like breadcrumbs, Ruru had left them a trail.
Keith released a breath he was holding, brokenly saying, "I'm going to give that girl the biggest hug I can,"
"I'm going to buy her those pink glowing shoes she wanted," Dravla clears his throat and gets up. "The trail leads this way, come on," They are running, scanning the ground for the next screw.
Keith had been the one to find it, motioning to a dark alleyway. Dravla didn't hesitate to move down it.
"They don't want to be seen." He concludes, "They will use all the back alleys and less busy streets,"
"Where in the world could they be taking them?" Tellru grumbled, "Why would they take Ruru?"
"I doubt they want her- she probably just walked in at the wrong moment,"
Keith hated the thought of that. You should never involve children, no matter who their parents are or what they see- it wasn't right. For the time, they could consider themselves lucky that she was brought along- her bread trail was the only thing keeping his mind focused enough not to pull out his Bayard and just start swinging.
One, two, three screws- they were running, knowing Ruru's braces only had so many. If they couldn't catch up to them before she ran out, they were out of luck.
Hopefully Lance and Ruru had devised enough of the plan to make sure their kidnappers took as much time as possible to get them were they were going.
Lance was smart. Even if most didn't agree, Keith knew- Lance was brilliant. He was always thinking, sometimes overthinking, every little detail.
He could delay them. He could assure Keith got there on time. He could-
BAAM
There was the sound of a gun firing. Keith recognized it as someone would recognize the sound of their own door bell- it was Lance's Bayard.
"KEITH!"
That's when he hears the scream. So full of fear that it ices his blood cold.
He forgets where he is, what his own name is, leaving only a single thought coursing through his being: He must reach him. He must protect him.
With a turn of his heels, he runs wildly in the direction of the voice, heedless of danger.
It was Lance calling for him- for Keith to help him. To take him away from the danger and hold him- tell him everything was going to be okay.
Keith ripped through the pausing crowds, leaping over a fence.
Faster, run faster, get there. Make it!
He heard could hear Ruru yelling this time. It was coming from that street! He barreled towards it.
Just a little more-
It was when he heard the squelching sound of a blade piercing skin and Lance wail in agony that Keith knew he had failed.
He had made a quiet promise during the first few days they arrived in the strange world: Lance would be safe. Keith would protect him. Nothing would harm him again now that he was by his side.
A gurgling choke of a noise echoed to his ears. He had betrayed Lance. He wasn't fast enough.
"Lance?!" When Keith rounded the corner the world stopped.
The scene played out before him in slow motion.
Lance was pinned high to the wall by his throat and shoulders, with his legs dangling limply below him. Two Coeihns loomed over him; a third lay unmoving on the ground.
One of the Coeihns was holding a sword, plunging it into Lance's body.
No.
No!
A step forward allowed him a better angle of the scene. They had stabbed his arm, an injury that Lance could live from.
The Coeihns might have struck Lance's heart, had it not been for Ruru.
She was at the Coeihns legs, something sharp in her hands. She had removed one of the support poles of her braces, imbedding the metal into the sensitive knee of their attackers.
The wound had been enough to knock his attack off course, stabbing his sword too far to the right and missing Lance's heart, and instead delving into the top of his forearm.
Lance withered in pain, but he was alive.
He was injured.
Another thing had hurt him.
Another thing was threatening to give lance another nightmare in the night. Another thing to fear. Another thing to have that perfect smile wavering.
A sound of barking anger and the Coeihn that had been stabbed was reaching down, grabbing a handful of Ruru's hair and chucking her to the side.
The blade was forcefully ripped from Lance's arm, warm and very red liquid drizzling down it to the handle. Keith's eyes followed the flowing trail till it began to fall from the blade.
Drip
His body jolted violently.
Drip
Lance's cries enveloped his world
Drip
His Bayard was being summoned
Drip
He roared.
It was crackling in his throat and tearing through the silence.
The Coeihns turned, then stumbled back as the red paladin rammed into them.
Their grasp tore from Lance's shirt and he fell into awaiting arms.
Foggy but blue eyes went wide with surprise, snapping to look up at his savior
"Keith…!" Broken joy pulled at his lips. "Keith!" They hug. Keith can feel every quiver from Lance's body, and he can feel it... The blood. It's pouring from his arm.
Something is snapping in him.
With a kiss to Lance's brow, he lowers him to the ground, gentle but rushed. "Stay here,"
"Keith…" Lance gasped, "Keith watch out-!" The Coeihns were back on their feet and charging at him.
Without even turning Keith slammed the hilt of his Bayard into the jaw of the closest Coeihns. It was brutal; cracking it the moment impact occurred.
With a turn, Keith went wild.
Slicing, punching, destroying. With a heavy slice, something heavy hit the ground.
An arm.
Lance could hardly watch, bile rising from his stomach. "K…" He had sliced off the arm of one of the Coeihn with little effort- barely even lingering on the fact long enough before he was swinging again.
They were screaming, pleading for mercy. They received none as Keith grabbed one roughly by their hand and threw them to the floor. Stepping over it, he held it down with a slam of his foot to their chest, "How dare you…" The red paladin seethed.
He lifted his Bayard.
There were words tossed into the air.
Stop.
Keith didn't hear it.
It cried out again, falling to deaf ears.
Nothing seemed to register in Keith's mind as the blade delved into the soft skin of the Coeihns chest.
They screamed, withering in aguish at his fingertips. He enjoyed the sensation.
He enjoyed making this alien suffer.
Once. Twice. He lifted his blade up and down violently.
Die
Get out of his sight
Get out of his world
Never come close to Lance
Never make him suffer again!
The sound of the cry dully registered in his head once more.
He hoisted his Bayard up for the third time
"Stop!" Something threw themselves upon Keith, wrapping their arms around his torso, trapping one of his wrists, "Stop Keith- stop!" they pleaded into his shoulder.
Keith turned against it- he had to make this Alien pay. Had to make sure that others would learn through him to never mess with Lance again.
Had to-
Two hands, soft and trembling, reached out for him. They cupped the back of his neck slowly but persistently turning it in the other direction.
Away from the Coeihn.
Away from his rage.
He could feel the presence of chapped lips.
They pressed delicately against his own- wet and distressed.
When they pulled away, a single word slipped from them before they kissed him again, "Keith… Kei-" it was Lance.
Lance. Lance. Lance.
He was pulling Keith away from the Coeihn. Mouth to mouth, he managed to get hem a short distance apart,
Keith followed, too stunned and caught up in this little moment to think straight. All he could think about was Lance and something else. It was strange, pulsing in the back of his mind like a plague,
"My Lance," the voice said, "My precious Lance,"
Because Lance was.
He was precious. He was so precious to Keith and had been for a while- it just took a while for that thought to surface.
His rage was leaving him as Lance tilted his head to kiss his cheek and exhaustion was taking its place.
A kiss was placed along his jaw, his eyelids, his nose, forehead- they splattered across his skin delicately, pulling him back into this surreal world where it was just Lance and him.
"I'm here…" the crack in Lance's tone was too startling.
Realizing he was crying, catching each sob with the brush of their lips, Keith embraced him.
"Don't' cry," he pleaded into his shoulder. Lance should never be pushed to tears because of fear or loss- it wasn't right. It was something Keith should have protected him from.
Lifting his hand, he brushed it against the side of Lance's face. He leaned into it.
Keith could hardly breath when he tugged the blue paladin into a crushing embrace.
His mind was clearing.
What did he just do?
Wha- had he- the Coeihn was…
They weren't moving. They weren't breathing.
"Shh," Lance hushed him. Peeking over his shoulder, Keith could see the others. He didn't know when Dravla and Tellru had arrived on the scene, or how much of that they had scene.
Probably enough, considering the wide look of quiet horror they were giving him. Ruru was in their arms, her face buried in her mother's chest as she sobbed. Had she seen that as well?
Stillness was an unwelcomed presence.
Two Coeihn lay on the ground, dead. The third was gone, having fled the scene.
It was over.
Everything was over.
Dravla's voice was amplified by the quiet, despite how soft he spoke, "Let us leave," startled, they all flinch, but nod.
Keith didn't move initially. He couldn't.
He found the will too when Lance gave a light kiss to his eyebrow. "Let's go, Keith," he whispered, pleading with him gently. He tensed when Keith had lifted him up, cradling his form. "Keith…" he mumbled, "I can walk by myself," when Keith refused to reply, he thinned his lips and buried his head into his neck
He supposed he could allow this for today.
He would allow Keith to carry him like a bride, his hands so gentle and so warm that Lance wanted to cry
Maybe he did a little.
He was too tired to tell
The guards were called, and Dravla explained the situation. Keith would have a hearing with the King in two days time, and the Coeihns in question would be looked into, as well as whoever had hired them.
A few guard were insistent that Keith be placed into holding till then, but King Manson told them otherwise. Dravla had informed him of what happened, and he agreed that in the end, it was all a matter of self-defense.
That would be called upon more at the hearing, but for now, Keith was free to stay by Lance's side.
Like hell Lance was going to let him get taken away again in the first place, but he was grateful that Manson understood.
They stayed at Dravla and Tellru place for the night since everyone was too exhausted to make the trip back up to the upper districts.
They would be staying in the guest room.
"We have a cleansing room," Tellru tells them gently. She eyes theirs clothes, wrinkled with drying blood. "If you require it, then it is down the hall to the right. I've placed some clothes and towels there," with a final glance, she leaves them alone. Her tone was very unlike her- quiet and weary. Lance couldn't blame her.
When Keith doesn't even acknowledge that Tellru was there, Lance nudges him.
He doesn't budge, his gaze down casted, his fingers tightening around Lance's.
"Keith," Lance leans into him, grabbing his chin. Turning it to face him, he says, "Go wash up."
His eyes slowly rise, peering at Lance quietly.
"Come with me,"
His quiet plea was enough to make Lance's heart melt. "You wanna bath together?" he tries to tease, bumping his temple affectionately with his nose.
There is a heavy pause, and Keith flops back into him, exhausted. Lance doesn't expect this and they fall back against the spare bed. "I don't want to take you out of my sight," he admits, turning to face Lance "Is that- that is weird, right?"
"No," Lance says, shifting a little against the mattress "I think it is fair. Every time you do something seems to go wrong,"
Keith squishes Lance's face between his palms, "Why is that?" he demands, like Lance would know the answer, "Why is danger just drawn to you? Why are you a danger magnet?"
"Like I'm the only one," he scoffs. "Tellru and Dravla are right down the hall- got take a bath. You smell like blood," he points out down at himself, Keith grimaces. "I- yeah, I do. Sorry," he is already unzipping his jacket. Pausing, he glances at the door then to Lance. The torn expression is the most adorable thing lance had ever witnessed, "You could still come with me," he offers.
Glancing down at himself, Keith grimaces. "I- yeah, I do. Sorry," he is already unzipping his jacket. Pausing, he glances at the door then to Lance. The torn expression is the most adorable thing lance had ever witnessed, "You could still come with me," he offers.
"Once again, you are offering that we bathe together." Lance tells him, "Are you listening to yourself right now?"
"We bathed together before," Keith grumbles. Was he pouting?
"That was in a much bigger bath- judging by the size of this house, Tellru and Dravla's cleansing room isn't even going to be 1/3 the size of the one back at the apartment. We would be squished up against each other."
"..."
Not expecting the blush to dust his face, and the realization that Keith was still considering this even after what Lance said, he averts his gaze. "T-There wouldn't be any room to actually make sure we get clean…" Lance insists through the stuttering of his heart.
"Y-Yeah. Of course, right," Keith nods quickly, flustered. In his panic, he lifted his hands towards Lance. Not even sure himself what he was about to do he waved them around the front of his face awkwardly- the slammed them against lance's cheeks.
He leaned forward, eyes in a panic. Today's events had thrown him off, making him anxious, nervous- he didn't know what was right or wrong anymore.
They share a kiss.
It is small, barely a peck of lips.
And it has both of them pulling back with flushing cheeks and ragged breaths.
"G-Go hurry up and take your bath," Lance shooes him, knowing if he opened his eyes… he might just agree to go with him.
Keith is stumbling out of the bed and out of the room with a nod.
While he was gone, Lance removed his jacket. The Coeihns blood had already seeped into it, staining it. He sighs, placing it to the side.
He could still feel the weight of his Bayard in his hands and the recoil of it when he fired into the Coeihns chest.
Had he killed them?
Of course he had, he wasn't breathing by the end of the day.
The thought made his stomach twist. He hadn't meant to… They had just- they were trying to kill him. They hurt Ruru.
He didn't have a choice. He didn't-
He should have said yes to Keith's offer. Or Keith should at least hurry back already so he can hug him. He couldn't seem to stop shacking.
"Lala?" Ruru stood at the door, looking smaller than usual.
He turned, "Ruru. Hey, sweetpea," he held out his arms. She ran into them sniffling. Crawling up into his lap, Lance fell back and held her. "Hey… shhh, no. It is alright,"
He had never wanted anyone to get hurt from this. For them to worry about him.
It was worse that he got her involved- she even got hurt.
"I'm so sorry Ruru," he whispered, brushing his thumb carefully against her cheeks and along the bruise. "This is all my fault,"
She shook her head, "No…"
"Yes it is," he tells her, "If it wasn't for me, this would have never happened to you." He pulls away to smile at her, "You were so brilliant today, sweetpea. You saved us,"
She hiccupped, shaking at his words. When tears streamed from her eyes, he embraced her again, "I know you get made fun of for your braces but- if it wasn't for them, the others wouldn't have found us. You saved us, Ruru. You saved me. Thank you,"
She clung to him until Keith returned, bathed and staring at them mournfully. Looking wounded, he turned his gaze when Ruru looked back at him. He couldn't look her in the eye.
She got up and walked to him. He tensed at her approach, fisting the edges of his shirt nervously. To Lance horror, he realized that Keith was expecting her to call him a monster.
"Ruru… I'm so sorr-" she took out his knees. Falling back, he hit the ground hard. When he sat up to question her, she hugged him.
"I love Keef," she tells him. "I love Keef," she repeats the phrase, over and over, refusing to stop until he understood. With shaky fingers, he hugged her back, burying his face into her shoulder.
Knowing they needed a moment, Lance gets to his feet and tiptoes around them, patting Keith's head quietly. He sniffs in response and Lance leaves the room. Moving down the hall, he paused to peek into the kitchen. Dravla was seated at the table; staring at the drink he had yet to taken a sip of.
"…Dravla?"
Lance doesn't expect a smile from him, "You going to the cleansing room?"
"I… y-yeah,"
"Alright. Make sure you head to bed soon," he instructs gently. Lance wants to say more, to tell Dravla to be furious with him, to hate him…
He can't.
"Are you…" he doesn't know what to say. Dravla takes up the moment for him.
"As the 5th champion, my life has been threatened more times then I can count. As the 5th champion, the life of my Equivalent and my child have also been threatened multiple times. There was a reason we taught Ruru that little trick… this has happened before." He gets to his feet and stride across the room in three easy steps. Placing a hand on lance's shoulder he says, "I know how you feel right now. It isn't fair to drag others into danger because someone has a quarrel with you… but you can't decide the actions of others. You can only do your best to prepare for when those times come," he reaches around Lance and pats his back, the hug brief but impactful
"Dravla…"
"Everything will be alright, Lance. Go get washed up,"
Biting his lower lip, he nods. Knowing he will start crying if he doesn't leave now, he shoots out of the room and down the hall to the cleansing room. He was right; this is a lot smaller then the one at the apartment. The size of a normal earth bathtub.
Stepping into the bath, Lance washed the blood off his arms and hands as soon as he could. Over and over he scrubbed, hating how he still sensed it there.
It wouldn't go away.
He at least was mindful of the wound to his arm. He honestly couldn't recall when they had bandaged it, but that didn't really matter now.
"Lance?" there was a tap at the door. He jolted in surprise but relaxed when he realized Keith was standing on the other side. "You almost done?"
"No," he admits. "I kind of- I like to take baths till the water gets cold,"
"It's okay. I'll wait back at-"
"Wait- don't leave!" Lance calls to him. Surprised in himself for requesting such a thing he was about to take it back, but then something slumps against the door.
"Okay,"
"Are… you sure?" Lance inquired.
"It's fine. I don't want to leave either."
"Oh…"
They talk between the door about nothing in particular. The play, the lunch they had… anything to avoid discussing what had happened a few hours before.
"I'd like to go back to the beach," Lance tells him. Nothing horrible happened at the beach. They went an entire day of just relaxation when they did.
"Then we'll go back," Keith tells him, "I'll help you collect shells again,"
"Maybe you can actually go into the water with me this time," Lance feels relieved when he can chuckle.
"I don't like water,"
"We won't go deep," he assures him. "Just a little bit… to our knees maybe,"
Keith surprises him when he agrees, "Okay. Just a little… For you,"
Lance is hoping out of the bath, almost slipping on the ground. Scrambling to get his towel, he poorly dries himself off, changes into his new clothes, and dives for the door.
Throwing it open, his hair still soaked, Lance didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around Keith's shoulders. They hugged in the middle of the hall, they kiss, and they hug again.
For you.
For you.
Lance wanted to do anything for Keith.
"It is okay to just sit on the beach too." He tells Keith, "We can make a big sandcastle,"
"That didn't really work out so well," he mumbled into his shoulder.
"We would have all day to perfect it," hand in hand, they return to their room. Sleep was calling to them, and the blue paladin plopped back onto the mattress.
Lance lifted his arms, and Keith slide into them, resting his head on Lance's chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.
They were shaking. Had they both become murderers today?
"Thank you for coming for me today," Lance whispers to him.
"Like I would just leave you behind,"
"I know..." Keith isn't looking at him, "Keith…?"
"I should have gotten there faster,"
"Keith no-"
"I killed that Coeihn,"
"I did… I did too," Lance chokes out, "But we're alive…I'm alive," Lance tells him.
Keith inhaled, held it, then released it, "You're here."
"I'm here."
"You were just starting to heal," Keith whispered quietly between them. He examined Lance's fingers. His bruises had faded to the point where you couldn't see them as clearly as before.
His side injury was closed and wouldn't reopen anymore.
But now he had a new scar to add to his list.
Keith hated the sight of it, "I should have gotten there sooner,"
"Don't do that to yourself," lance pleaded wit him, "We're paladins of Voltron Keith- getting a bruise or a cut somewhere is part of the job."
"That wasn't us being paladins… We aren't paladin's right now,"
"Then what are we, Keith?"
He couldn't answer because he didn't know. "I'm still figuring that out,"
The next seconds were filled with Lance shifting them both till their heads were turned to each other, lips pressed to lips.
Caught of guard, like he always was with everything lance managed to do, Keith is speechless. With wide eyes and flushing cheeks, he trails a hand up to his lips. They shivered, already missing the warmth of Lance's mouth, "Wha-?"
"Sneak attack," the softness in Lance's voice almost undid him. It pulled threateningly at Keith's seems- like overflowing water, threatening to pour out something strange. Something new.
Something wonderful.
Keith reaches between them, looping a finger through the chain on lance's neck. With his knuckle bumping the ring attached, he gave it a sharp tug and pulled Lance's face back down, stealing his own kiss.
"Counter attack," he whispers to Lance's startled face, cupping it with his other hand. Lance shivers when Keith runs a thumb across his lower lip- as if to silently say, these are mine.
Lance would be lying if he said he didn't think Keith being possessive was the hottest thing in the galaxy.
"How sneaky of you," he says in a more airy tone that he originally intended, playfully nipping at Keith's thumb. He pulled back with a small smile, trailing his fingers along Lance's cheek. Then, the warmth of his fingers moved up to his eyes. Lance closed them, allowing Keith to gentle prod and poke at his scar.
"It's ugly," Lance says
"It's just different, that is all. Your still…" He cuts himself off. Lance opens his eyes slowly, clouded blue meeting light purple.
"Say what you were going to say,"
The silence follows, bringing a foreign sense of intimacy that neither had experienced before. Despite everything that had happened to them thus far, this was different. It was gentle, cautious…
Keith thinks of what he is about to say next, but it is too intimate, so he tries to think of something else to say.
He says it anyway when Lance blinked at him, wide and curious and just stunning.
"Beautiful," He reached up and took a curl of Lance hair between his fingers. He was close enough that Keith could feel the warmth of his body, smell the soap he used on his skin and the shampoo in his hair. "You're beautiful Lance,"
Lance's hand quiver, and he lifts them. Covering his eyes, he lurches forward, pressing his nose to Keith's shoulders. "You can't just suddenly tell me that,"
"You won't ever understand unless I tell you what I'm thinking..." the red paladin mutters, flattening his hands along the other's back.
"Since when did you ever think that?" Lance mumbled.
"Always,"
"Shut up,"
"I mean it,"
There is a tap to Lance's chest. He glanced down curiously, watching Keith's fist continuously tap his chest and shoulders. Like small punches, he covers his upper body with them, saying nothing.
"Um…" Lance raised his eyebrows "What?" he was hit again and recoiled, "What?" he asks a little more persistently.
"I…" Keith hits him again. None of the punches hurt and we in fact very gentle, but there was not meaning to them that Lance could understand.
"Are you angry?"
"No…"
"Then stop hitting me," Lance frowns.
Keith couldn't look at him, "I… need to tell you," he hits him.
"Tell me what?"
Keith hits him again,
"Keith-"
"I punch things I like…!" Keith's knuckles delicately connect with Lance's lips, lingering. "Things I really like, but not always cause I punch things I don't like too but… b-but… But I punch gently when I cherish them…" he pressed his fist forward a little, barely grazing Lance's lips once more, "
Lance pondered for a second too long if this was a confession. Knowing that, obviously yeah, it was, he exhaled deeply.
A warm emotion was fluttering in his stomach, and he lifted a hand to grip Keith's wrist.
When Lance kissed the knuckles hovering over his mouth, the red paladin jolted a little.
"I kiss the things I like…" Lance explains
He startles Keith when he attacks his hand with small kisses. He loved Keith's hands.
Gripping the finger of the glove between his teeth lance pulled. Keith sucked in a breath, eyes locked with the sight, shivering as the glove slide from his palm.
Dropping the glove, lance pressed light kisses to his skin. .
Taking a second to hesitate, he peeked up and Keith and opened his mouth. Keith gasped quietly as lance sucked his fingers into his mouth, suckling delicately on them
It should have been gross.
It should have been weird.
It definitely shouldn't have been hot.
"You bruised your hand," Lance whispers sensually, "Does it hurt?"
Keith can't speak for a long time, and when he does, it comes out in a voice too shaky to be considered his own, "No,"
"I'm glad…" His smile is small, barely there.
Something moves in Keith's chest that he isn't prepared for, travelling throughout his entire body.
"L-Lance…" he says in a voice he doesn't' recognize. He paused, glancing at him. "I never got to…" he hesitates then says, "I never got to answer you before,"
Lance tilts his head in a way that is adorable in Keith's eyes, "Hmm?"
"You asked if I was attracted to you,"
Lance's freezes, clutching Keith's hand in a numb grip, "Oh…" he swallowed.. Feeling heavy, he wondered why he suddenly felt so afraid to hear the answer, "And what were you going to say to that?"
Keith leaned forward, pressing his face deep into Lance's shoulder. Safely tucked away, and with his face out of sight, he says, "That I am…"
The silence draws out between them, holding out longer than Lance can bare.
"K-Keith?" When he glanced down, he found the red paladin was asleep, clinging to his waist tightly. That or the little cheat was totally faking to avoid the embarrassment of this situation.
Lance decided he didn't care for either option.
"Goodnight Keith." He kissed his shoulder and closed his eyes