Light streamed in beneath the bedroom door, illuminating the room in the soft glow of day. Lance stirred, the sudden brightness gently drawing him out of his bottomless slumber. He opened his eyes, blinking groggily against the harsh light. As his eyes adjusted, he took in his surroundings; a room he didn't recognise, immaculately clean and organised, a stark contrast to the usual mess of his own room. The steady inhale and exhale of someone beside lance reminded him where he was, and suddenly, as if a floodgate had been opened, the events of the previous night poured into Lance's memory. The room he saw, the bed he was in, the steady rhythm of a heartbeat he could feel on his back, all belonged to Keith.
Lance smiled. He savoured each sensation, the feeling of Keith's breath on his neck, the weight of his arm draped over the blue paladin's chest, the way that their bodies fit perfectly, like puzzle pieces, pressed together.
Lance felt Keith shift against him, drawing Lance closer to his chest. He rolled over, so that the paladins were now face to face. Lance pressed a tired kiss the Keith's lips, a playful smile splitting his face.
"Keith, I am definitely the big spoon, okay?" All the times that Lance had pictured this moment, it had been him with his arm draped across Keith, and he'd been damned if he ended up as the little spoon in this relationship.
Keith, barely awake enough to comprehend what was happening, nodded, pulled Lance towards him, and pressed their lips together. This elicited a sot sigh from the blue paladin, who simply melted into Keith's embrace.
They lay like this, seemingly for hours, chest to chest, face to face. Their heartbeats found the same rhythm, their breath mingling. The warmth they provided each other would have been enough to sustain them for a lifetime- if they had not been interrupted.
First, they heard footsteps, a fair distance away. Neither allowed this to disturb them. Soon after, a knocking rang out down the hall, followed by a door opening. Softly, as if from very far way, someone called "Lance!"
Lance stirred, shifting against Keith, whose arms were holding too tight to allow for much movement at all.
Another cry sounded, closer this time. Lance recognised the gruff voice as Shiro's, which sparked a sudden sense of panic in the paladin. Lance's eyes shot open, only to find the endless night of Keith's staring back at him.
Shiro called once again, his footsteps echoing across the walls, stopping just outside Keith's door. His shadow crawled beneath the crack and into the room, seemingly taunting the two boys.
Keith drew in a shuddering breath, abruptly pulling back from Lance. The sudden distance and cold that overcame them left the two temporarily paralysed, however they were suddenly thrust back into action when a knock sounded at the door.
"Keith, are you up?"
Lance started at Keith helplessly, his brain thrown into overdrive. Keith's mind simply emptied.
"Have you seen Lance?"
Lance silently gestured towards the door, desperately willing Keith to respond to Shiro's inquiry. Confusion briefly flitted across Keith's face, followed by a relieved understanding.
He quickly replied – "Hang on, Shiro!"- before jumping to his feet and pulling on his jacket, which still lay discarded on his bedroom floor.
"Keith? Can I come in?"
Another surge of panic rose up in Keith's chest. He frantically glanced around the room, searching for anything that may offer a solution. Lance remained perched on the bed, his hair and clothes awfully dishevelled.
"Keith?"
His eyes finally rested on the space beneath his bed, which was definitely large enough or the blue paladin to squeeze into.
"Get under the bed!" Keith hissed, his voice frayed with panic and urgency.
Lance nodded in recognition, pulling on his own jacket which had apparently fallen off overnight. He slipped out of the bed, furiously trying to keep his footsteps light and delicate, so as not to alert Shiro off his presence.
"Keith? Are you okay?"
Keith's head whipped towards the door, which he knew could burst open at any moment.
"Coming, Shiro!"
Keith took a step towards the door. His legs shook violently, adrenaline and panic still coursing through his veins. Drawing in a steadying breath, he attempted another step, which almost sent him crashing to the floor.
Suddenly, Keith felt something grab him from behind. He was thrust backwards into Lance's embrace, their lips colliding. Keith felt his knees buckle beneath him, but no longer due to the immense panic he had felt before.
Lance pulled away, tracing his finger across Keith's cheek.
"Go get 'em, tiger." Lance's voice dripped with a fondness that Keith didn't recognise, flooding his body with warmth and flushing his cheeks a bright crimson. His face broke into a brilliant grin.
"Okay, get under to bed." Lance cocked a suggestive eyebrow, which Keith dismissed with a quick gesture. Reaching his hands up, he offered Keith a reassuring squeeze of his shoulders. Lance nodded determinedly, his own animated beam reflecting Keith's.
He crouched beside the bed and expertly contorted himself to fit beneath it, a skill he had acquired through many rounds of hide-and-seek played with his brothers and sisters.
Keith turned to face the menacing shadow reaching beneath his door. He drew in a breath, his mouth still split into a dumb grin.
"Keith?"
He took a step towards the door, which occasionally trembled beneath Shiro's pounding.
"Keith? I'm coming in."
Keith reached the door, his hand closing around the knob. He took a final breath before turning the handle, revealing Shiro's concerned expression behind it. Keith managed to calm his features into his usual bored expression before he spoke.
"Jeez Shiro, what time is it?"
Shiro's gaze turned quizzical.
"Keith, it's late. Everyone else is already up."
Panic flooded Keith again, internally begging that Shiro couldn't see through his façade.
"I came through to get Lance up- he's a really heavy sleeper-"
An understanding smile drifted across Keith's lips as he recalled Lance's deep slumber.
"-but he wasn't in his room. You haven't seen him, have you?"
Keith shook his head, furiously trying to keep his expression neutral.
"He's probably playing some video game. Or doing one of his beauty treatment things." Keith laced as much distaste into his voice as he could muster, hoping it would be enough to convince Shiro.
Fortunately, Shiro just nodded, satisfied with this response.
"Okay, just come out for lunch soon." And with that, Shiro turned away, his footsteps echoing as he walked away. Keith had succeeded. He let out an exaggerated sigh of relief, letting the door fall closed behind him as he trudged back to his bed. Lance was busily unfolding himself from beneath the bed.
Keith collapsed onto the sheets, Lance falling into place beside him. They turned to peer at each other, both paladins grinning furiously, knowing they had just evaded being caught.
"You did it," Lance muttered, his voice hoarse and exasperated.
"Yeah," Keith sighed. "I did."
Suddenly, Keith's expression darkened, sorrow flooding his face. Lance registered the shift, his eyes growing worried.
"Keith?"
The red paladin peered at Lance solemnly, his gaze wanting, desiring. He sighed, the sound full of a sadness that starkly contrasted the giddy joy he had felt before. He turned to the boy beside him- the same boy he had known and loved for years, who he had kissed and held in his arms, who he had shared a bed with just the night before, and with a sorrow he had rarely felt before, said:
"What are we going to do, Lance?"
Pidge watched as Shiro wandered into the kitchen, his eyes weary and confused. She found his gaze, and he shook his head.
"He wasn't in Keith's room, Pidge. But thanks for the suggestion."
She nodded, lifting and dropping her shoulders in a gesture as if to say "oh, well".
Pidge returned to the chore that currently required her attention, elbow deep in water and soap bubbles.
Hunk piped up behind her, busying himself with lunch preparations.
"I don't know why he would be. Those two don't really… get along."
Suppressing a knowing smirk, Pidge nodded in agreement, along with Shiro. They continued in silence, Pidge cleaning dishes, which Hunk required for the delicious meal he would be serving.
When the final dish was clean and dry, Pidge emptied to sink, shaking her hands in an attempt to dry them. Her efforts were fruitless, and she was ordered by Hunk to "take her wet hands elsewhere." She grumbled a snarky response, deciding to head to the bathroom for a towel.
As Pidge slipped stealthily down the hall, she heard hushed voices spilling from behind Keith's door. She smiled wickedly, recognising Lance's voice even behind a closed door. Sighing dramatically, Pidge continued on her way, clicking her tongue as she walked.
"Well, you boys are in trouble."