In hindsight, Keith...might've overreacted. But he couldn't help assuming the worst when he woke up and Lance wasn't lying next to him. It was the middle of the night. Where'd he go?
After reaching for Lance's hand and pawing at the cold bedsheet, he instantly came to. His senses sharpened.
He knew he would get no response, but he muttered Lance's name anyway. And, of course, he was met with silence.
Keith flicked on the light. No Lance.
Naturally, he started to panic.
Keith was such a light sleeper that he couldn't imagine anything noisy going down without waking him up. But could something have happened?
His heart hammered in his chest, pulse throbbing.
He sprang out of the bed in a messy heap of limbs and locks. He called for Lance a few more times, knocking on the bathroom and peering inside. Still, no response.
Keith's heartbeat sped up.
He swallowed.
Scrambling to the dresser, he grabbed the first shirt he saw and threw it over his head. He snatched his bayard and headed for the door.
In the hall, Keith whispered, "Lance?" He didn't want to wake up anyone else so he kept his voice low, but the lurking panic sunk its teeth in and sucked him dry of any restraint. It was hard to maintain the whisper.
Luckily, though, it stayed silent, which meant he didn't disturb any of the others.
But if something happened to Lance, he'd make sure all of them knew it.
Keith shook his head. Nothing happened to Lance. He's probably getting a late night snack. Calm down.
He kept a defensive position anyway, creeping across the castle on the balls of his feet with his bayard equipped in front of him. And he stayed alert. Just in case.
Keith kicked open the door to the kitchen. "Lance? You in here?"
Silence greeted him like a cold handshake, sending goosebumps across his skin. Once he made sure Lance wasn't there, he kept moving.
The pit in his stomach grew with each passing tick. Where else would Lance be?
There were no signs of a struggle. Keith reminded himself of that as he tried to swallow the increasing worry.
He decided to check the Lions' bay.
And sure enough, when his heel shoved the door open, he noticed a figure sitting on the snout of the Blue Lion. Between the eyes, towards the edge, legs pulled into his chest and arms wrapped around them.
Keith didn't need to get closer to know who it was. He'd recognize Lance anywhere.
He lowered his bayard. "Lance?"
Lance sniffled. "Keith?"
Keith stepped to Blue's paw, tilting his head to look up. He gave a relieved exhale. "Hey. I was looking all over for you."
"Sorry." Lance sniffled again and wiped his face. Keith frowned. "I just needed to think, I guess."
"Can I join you?"
Lance nodded.
Keith left his bayard on the floor. With a little assistance from Blue, he managed to climb up her arm and sit on Lance's left.
Keith instantly noticed that Lance had been crying. His eyes were red and puffy and there were stained trails of tears running down his cheeks.
Keith suddenly ached.
Lance looked down at his knees. He squeezed his eyes closed.
"Hey," Keith said softly. "What's wrong?"
Lance shook his head, sinking his face into his arms so Keith couldn't see.
"Lance," Keith tried again. He sounded more desperate this time. "Talk to me."
A pause. Lance hesitated. He took a deep breath before raising his swollen eyes. Keith's heart started to break. He hated seeing Lance like this. It nearly made him cry.
"It's just…" Lance bit his lip. Another tear fell and Keith wiped it away with his thumb. "I miss my family. So much. I thought it would get easier the longer I was away. But it's harder, y'know? Cause I haven't seen them in so long."
Keith pretended to understand. "Yeah."
"And I love you guys," Lance continued, dropping his gaze. "I do. I love you, Keith. You know I do. But...I just wish I could see my family."
Keith didn't know what to say. So, instead of saying anything, he took one of Lance's hands, wrapped it in his own, and let Lance keep talking. He just listened.
"I just never thought I'd be away from them for this long." His breathing staggered. "I don't know. I guess I've been thinking about them a lot. I really miss them. And don't get me wrong, being here and piloting the Blue Lion is the coolest thing ever. But sometimes...I just want to go back to Earth."
Keith waited for Lance to say more. He didn't. So, he tried, "Lance...by being apart of Voltron, you're keeping your family safe. You're protecting them. ...Without you, they wouldn't still be here."
"Without the team."
"Including you."
Lance managed a smile. "I guess I didn't really think about that."
"Did it help…?"
"Yeah."
Keith's heart swelled from the look on Lance's face. He pressed a lingering kiss to Lance's temple. "If you ever need to talk about it...I'm here."
"I know," Lance said. "I'm sorry I haven't really talked about it. You already have so much on your plate and I didn't want-"
"Hey," Keith interrupted. With his free hand, he slipped his fingers under Lance's chin and gently forced their eyes to meet. "You're not a burden, Lance. Whatever problems you have are my problems, too."
The smile turned sheepish. "I guess sometimes I just forget what an awesome boyfriend I have."
Keith kissed him without missing a beat. Dipping his head, he dove in for Lance's lips. A startled yelp rumbled out from Lance, mostly muffled by Keith's mouth. But Lance regained himself quickly.
Keith moved his fingers from Lance's chin to his jaw. Lance, though, tangled his in Keith's mes of hair. He knitted his fingers towards the nape of Keith's neck.
Breaking their entwined hands, Keith used his to push Lance closer. His fingertips lingered on the soft material of Lance's shirt.
Lance willingly followed Keith's hand. He, without unlatching his lips, maneuvered surprisingly gracefully into Keith's lap.
It lit the first spark of a fireworks show in Keith's chest.
Keith parted Lance's lips with his tongue. No matter how long they'd been dating, he never felt like he did it right, but Lance didn't care. In fact, he always responded with a soft moan.
Lance started to push Keith back, but before Keith could fall, he had to come up for air.
His eyes only opened into small slits when he said, "I'm not doing this on Blue."
"Oh yeah," Lance said breathlessly. He pressed a messy kiss to Keith's mouth. "Now I remember why I like being in space so much."
He was still somewhat in a daze, eyes half-lidded and mouth in a flustered smile. So Keith took his hand and said, "C'mon."
Lance followed as Keith led him down Blue and back to his room.
