~ I had a burst of inspiration thanks to one Leo_Char on ao3 so I hope y'all like the continuation on what has to be hands down the most fun ship to write~
Lance expected pretty much every part of the plan up until this point to fail outright since that's been his experience with things remotely relating so far in life but he found himself finding Keith's total concentration and genius plan a very welcome change of pace from having to rely solely on his own ability to pull miracles out of ass and make up for his own shoddy plans. He would argue to the death it wasn't the case and his plans were just a little unorthodox but honestly, he just had an amazing set of reflexes that made up for any shortcomings or sudden bumps in the road. Of which, there were always many. They served a greater purpose he supposed considering he had kind of an impressive repertoire because of them.
They had landed on the asteroid without problem, got the relays up and working without problem and he and his roguish prince were currently making their way down uncomfortably uniform hallways that literally all looked the same to Lance towards what appeared to be the office of whoever was in charge of the long-since abandoned facility according to Keith and his navigator extraordinaire. Pidge was having the time of her life with the free access she had to what looked like one of temporary bases to an outlying band of Galra militants more than a little pissed off about the attempts to bridge the gaps between the Altean people and the Galra Empire. The idiots had tried to put a half-decent encryption on their security but a total wipe would have been way more intelligent. You can't get a hold of information that doesn't exist but their idiocy was her entertainment and Keith's benefit. He could happily go back to the fleet knowing he wasn't empty handed. With an actual lead on the problem group none of the other Blades had been to make any progress on at all, he might actually come back to the fleet and get a pat on the back. Haggar and her band of Druids had been slipping between the cracks for years and the boisterous kind-hearted pirate happened to stumble on a key part in that, even if it was just a temporary hideout. It was more than anyone else had ever been able to secure. Keith's mind was focused on the task at hand as the Altean's wide eyes wrinkled with every absent observation he made into a terrible pun to pull the corner of his partner's stern lip up in the barest hint of a smile.
The nearly perfect fit of a beautiful set of black and red Altean armor hugging the curves and lines of the Galran's tight body was a surprise to both boys seeing how Lance thought the boots might be a weird fit for him and Keith was more than a little interested in what the lithe Altean looked like when he fit into the armor. His muscle tone and bulk fit perfectly under the expertly made pieces but the Lance currently crouched next to him fiddling with the shoulder joint of his left arm was far too toned to have had it fit him right now. He didn't know what to do about the way his stomach actually flipped at the mental image of the Altean Prince in this particular set of dark armor. Then it flipped back at the thought of a jacked Lance out of said armor. There wasn't any way for him to suppress the dry swallow or his attraction to every inch of Lance's capable willowy frame.
The prince on Keith's mind noticed the sudden tension in his body and placed his hand on the thick alloy of black shoulder pauldrons, his voice a soft whisper of concern as bright eyes scanned around them for danger. "Everything peachy keen, mullet?"
The weight on his shoulder pulled him from his devious thoughts with a raging blush before giving a force grunt of acknowledgment and standing to move down yet another hallway in a series of hallways that Lance was absolutely positive was actually a part of a massive maze system like the Labrynthiam on the moon they had just left. He hated mazes. The Altean was navigationally challenged and often mixed up left and right. In his defense, there was no difference between his left and right side. He had learned from a young age that life was easier if you could swing with both hands and he learned the hard way, it was much easier to be able shoot with both hands. His own ambidextrous abilities were accidental at first but now they were built in. Second nature. It gave him the advantage he needed if something were to happen to his hand again. Either of them. Maybe he was just trying to make himself feel better about the fact that he's so bad at navigating, the pretty young man got so lost at the Space Mall, Pidge made an announcement for a lost child and then he proceeded to get lost on his way to the service desk. He had to ask a security guard for help.
Unsure of what to do with the odd exchange of non-words, the brunette just blew an errant curl out of face with an airy puff, his sudden hot breath fogging his own helmet for a flash before the scrubbers took care of it, and enjoyed the view of the unfairly good-looking Prince of the Galrans in one of his favorite sets of Altean armor. It was kind of a funny story how he happened to come across it. In a youthful act that started as morbid defiance morphed into an unwelcome trip down memory lane. Lance visited his own grave and found the set buried in his place. When he left at the age of 16, he had a penchant for taking his free time in the form of swimming the tumultuous waters of Altea, spending hours in the soothing water at a time. The only real escape he ever had was when he sat crossed legged under the waves with a rock heavy enough to weigh him down and keep him down. In those days, he had a lot more muscle mass and apparently it just happened to work in Keith's advantage. He was waiting to see if the opportunity would rise for him to circle back to the whole 'you're wearing a dead man's pants' conversation from earlier. The testy Galran was adorable when he was angry and Lance loved some good irony.
When they finally managed to come up on what looked to be a control room of some sort, Keith pulled the borrowed helmet off his head, his raven braid falling down his back as his ears twitched with the freedom of being unrestrained. Lance was trying to choke down the sudden reappearance of his own sexuality as he watched the man do his best impression of one of those slow motion shampoo commercials with those girls with flawless long hair. He had never had quite this strong of a reaction to any of them though. He was starting to worry that he should have worn the roomier set of armor instead of the perfectly fitting set he was currently wearing at Hunk's insistence since technically it was the better of the two. The white and blue Altean armor was his most recent purchase from their latest trip to Altea and when he had it made, he definitely hadn't made a request for a roomier crotch for unexpected hard-ons in battle. He laughed to himself darkly as he tried in utter vain to ease the growing pain of his hard member trapped in unforgiving alloy and Keith saw the tightness in his expression but not anything below the Alteans chest thanks to the tall sets of controls scattered throughout the room to cock a curious brow at him in question.
His face was taut with worry for a moment before he saw the receding pink on his cheeks stand stark against his marks. The handsome bastard just gave him a slow curling smile before asking in an teasing tone that only served to exacerbate his growing list of problems. His dick at the forefront and top of that list. "Everything 'peachy keen', captain?"
"Shut up. Shut your face right now." It was not a proud moment for Lance as he turned into a ball of embarrassment and haughty sass having been caught. What he wanted was to jump through the glass windows at the front of the room the instant he saw the beginnings of a head tilt start from Keith's raven head of hair as he poked further fun at his flushed companion.
"I thought you liked my face?" The innocent tone at complete odds with the devious grin curling his lips and exposing the glint of his elongated canines to pull an actual whimper from between parted Altean lips. One quiet enough that Keith didn't hear it but he saw the way Lance's lips split. The way his tongue darted out to trace along his plump bottom lip. Keith found himself more inclined to play with the reactive man than the work at hand now that Pidge had confirmed without a doubt that Haggar had been here as he walked in front of the main control desk he was just behind to lean back against it with his thick arms over his chest. One foot lifted to give his hips a tilt opposite his head with a smug feline look of anticipation on his face.
Lance opened his mouth twice to start two separate thoughts with his finger out and gesturing uselessly before he finally snapped out, his arms crossed over his own chest as if they could protect him from the Galra's predatory gaze. "Just because I like your face doesn't mean there aren't times I wish it would shut." He seemed to take a second to glare into the deep purple eyes fixed on his without reservations before Lance's brows twisted in confusion as he went over his words in his head too many times for him to actually try and understand since they all seemed foreign at the repeated mental use of them. "Did that make sense? It feels like it did but usually when that happens, I am very wrong."
A raspy chuckle dripped like the smoothest nunvill from Keith's mouth and Lance felt the whole room shift around him before the problem in his pants grew nearly unbearable to the point of actual pain since like the rest of his body, the skin covering his dick was extremely sensitive. "I don't really think it matters."
"Yeah?" He could tell he was squirming but there wasn't much he could do otherwise as the Altean tried to keep the strain from his easy-going voice.
Sensing something was wrong, Keith's head tilted once again out of concern as he tried to catch Lance's eyes with his own from around the desk all the while Lance tried to casually back away from the raven haired man. "What's going on?" Stopping as soon as he saw the way Lance was flushing beneath his helmet, his eyes narrowed in accusatory manner. "Why're you acting so weird?" It wasn't like the arrogant pirate to back down. Or stop talking.
A squeak left the brunette before his hand went to back of his helmet to rub the smooth material nervously even though the action was ultimately pointless. "Nothing! Ah," he cleared his throat unconvincingly, "nothing at all. Just dealing with regular problems over here." He pulled at the front collar of his chest armor uselessly as his eyes darted upwards and sideways. Anywhere Keith's weren't. "Is it hot in here? I think I'm gonna gooo," throwing a thumb backwards over his shoulder towards what appeared to be a storage closet to Keith, "get out- get out of this room. Here. Cause it's so hot." Backing away until his back thumped into the door of wherever the quiznack he pointed, he opened it and walked in to shut the door behind him.
Keith resumed leaning on the control desks to see how long it would take the idiot to come out of the closet he retreated into. Pulling his shortened blade from his hip, he started flipping the sharp weapon in his hand with the practiced ease of man trained in all sorts of knives and swords. He was an easily bored child with a fascination with the mechanics of combat since there was only do or die when it came own to it.
Inside the little broom closet filled with boxes of tissues and cleaning supplies, Lance wanted die right there. Now he was literally hiding in the closet to get away from the fact that Keith managed to get him hot and bothered without trying. He was hiding in the closet to get away from the man that gave him a boner in the middle of a strange base that held that empty dry smell of abandonment and stagnant air. He wondered how long it would take for Keith to just leave him in here and continue with his Marmora stealthy self.
They both waited a grand and lengthy two doboshes before Lance couldn't take the tight space any longer and he burst out of the damn death trap with his helmet under his arm and his hand on his chest. He may or may not have pushed his fear of constraint too far and as a result of his own crippling embarrassment, may or may not be experiencing a mild panic attack.
Having never experienced what anyone looked like during a panic attack Keith didn't know what was exactly happening but he knew he needed to calm Lance down. His eyes scanned over the dark of the little closet for any outside threats before remembering his offhand comment this morning about being restrained and fought the wave of anger at the Altean for willingly going in the tiny room if he knew it wouldn't be anything but terrible for him. Instead, he reached a hand out to Lance for him to take if he wanted something to hold as he tried to keep his own voice from sounding too harsh. "What do you need from me? I'm sorry for whatever I said or did-" For what felt like the first time every time they seemed to touch, Lance took the offered hand and pressed it to his cheek as his breathing started hitting the point of hyperventilation. Unsure what to do next, his rough gloved thumb made an gentle pass over Lance's high cheekbones to earn a shuddering breath out from between Lance's lips as his wide eyes closed and he leaned further into the reassuring touch.
Having known the Altean for the short amount of time he had, he was scared he would ruin this or make it worse for Lance. But he also couldn't just stand here and not do anything.
Taking a bracing breath of his own, he pulled the head of curly brown hair into the crook of his neck as his other arm braced low on Lance's back. His fear was pulsing through his veins at the thought that this might be to much contact for him. Was this too constricting? Did this make it better?
All his worries stilled as he felt the soft length of thick eyelashes tickle the skin just behind his ear as an airy sigh hit his neck with the hot relief that he was easing the pained look from his soft prince's beautiful face. They stayed like that until Lance's breathing was even and his grip on Keith's hip eased to have the brunette pull back with a look of mortification on his face.
Before he could start apologizing, Keith brushed one Lance's curls back off his forehead as he teased with a surprising amount of care in his deep voice. "You just ran into a broom closet to get away from me."
Unable to anything but agree, Lance's chin dipped as a nod. "I did."
Twisting the curl around his gloved hand with his eyes focused on the natural wave, Keith asked without pressure. "Why?"
"Mmm, right. Well you see- The thing about it iiis...that…" A deep intake of breath cut of his own sorry string of incomplete thoughts as his hand came up to block as much of his face as he could cover as he mumbled unintelligibly under his breath.
Just as Keith was about try and get the information out of him, the alarm system started blaring and Lance morphed into an entirely new person right in front of Keith's face. It was stunning and the raven-haired prince had to take the time to remember how to breathe properly. In and out. In. And out. Repeatedly.
Lance's doe eyes grew sharp with focus at the threat as he jammed his helmet back on, his voice stern and hard. Without hesitation. His hand moving to grab the custom rifle across his back and have it's weight settle comfortably in his grip. "Tell me what we got, Pidgey."
Pidge's voice was drawn as if she were still looking over the security systems to see if it was her own doing that set the proximity sensor off (she severely doubted that) or if they had an unexpected visitor. "I'm checking the cameras now...but the ping came from a storage warehouse on the east part of the base. I'll let you know when I get a visual."
"Hunk and the rest of the crew made it back to Blue safe and sound?"
"Yes, mamacita. All your chicks are safely in the nest."
He gave a nod of his head as if she could see him as he brushed her sarcasm off with ease. "Make sure they stay there, gremlin. We're heading down that way now."
By the time he finished the short back and forth, Keith had put his own helmet back on after coiling the length of hair back up and held a sparkle of something in his gaze as he looked over the taller boy. Lance wanted to ask what it meant but he was pretty sure the line of questioning wouldn't end well for him so the two made their way down the halls with Pidges directions and warning that whatever set the alarm off had disappeared completely.
In his youth that would have relaxed his ready position but after countless ambushes, Lance stayed alert as the two made their way through the final door separating them from the warehouse. Pushing further in, Keith had started to open his mouth about the fact that Pidge herself said nothing was in here when Lance took his helmet off and shut his eyes. Moments later, the alarm system went off again and a wide childish smile morphed the royal Altean's face as he practically threw his helmet across the room, the light material bouncing before rolling to a stop, and dropped into a dead sprint to a pile of storage boxes stacked to a height that was precariously close to becoming its own avalanche of painfully sharp edges.
Seeing his intention, Keith immediately moved to try and grab the idiot before he got himself killed. "Lance! Lance! You can't climb up there." His voice was the most hilarious combination of scolding whisper and concerned mothering. "You don't even know what's in those boxes. What if there are explosives in those. Or-or knives!"
A gleeful voice resounded with playful determination off every surface to cut the near blaring silence compared to the flash of sirens from just seconds before Lance had made it nearly halfway up the leaning tower of mystery packages. "But he'll get away if I don't!"
An incredulous bark later, "He? Who the quiznack is up there?" Before he knew it, a black and red helmet bounced next to Lance's white and blue one as he found himself following the idiot prince up the stack against his better judgement.
Pidge and Hunk were watching from Blue with bets on who would fall first as the rest of Lance's crew made their wagers. Most of them bet against their captain. He had a habit of falling off things. And tripping. And other general klutzy actions that ended in his own pain 83% of the time. She would know. She's ran the numbers herself.
By the time Keith had made it to the top, he finally could hear what heck Lance was saying as he babytalked to their disappearing intruder. "Hey there sweetheart," the back of his hand was held out and just as the Galra crested the final box, he saw the little pup staring them down with equal parts resignation as caution. "Don't worry, we aren't here to hurt you. Do you have a home? Have you been here all alone this whole time?"
Keith thought it amusing Lance was actually talking to the fluffy black and blue canine. Taking a closer look at the small predator, he took in the distinct markings along his thick black fur and couldn't help but compare the bright turquoise lining his eyes to Lance's own markings. They matched the little markings under Lances eyes perfectly. His voice was filled with his amusement as he laughed out, "You match." Bright blue eyes swam with confusion before Keith's brows lifted and his head nodded in the direction of the space wolf. "Your markings match his."
Touching his face absently, Lance's smile grew wide and happy with the simple observation. His voice reflected the look as his eyes went back to the slowly warming pup as he rested his chin on his folded forearms on the top box of the stack. "What are the odds of that."
When space pup finally decided to venture over, it was ambling and clumsy in ways that reminded Keith entirely too much like the walking hazard trembling with the overwhelming joy that the pup was coming towards them. Bright eyes looked between the two boys before jumping to sit on top of the box they were both resting on before he blinked from existence and reappeared halfway down the boxes, setting the alarm off again and forcing a tiny little 'awooo' sound from his tiny frame.
If either had their helmets on they would have heard Hunk and Pidge both yell their own 'dibs!' on the magic space wolf only to watch the glorious fall of a captain as he missed the ledge of a box thankfully near the bottom and slipped down the remaining few feet to land with a gasping 'oomf' before shooting Keith an immediate thumbs up to show he was still alive. His chest was tight from the fall but he managed to squeeze out an "I'm okay' before slumping down with his arms out to either side of his body.
Landing in a graceful crouch, the Galran royal stood straight to close the space and crouch next to the Altean on the balls of his feet, his arms resting on his knees before one hand reached out to give his chest a few encouraging pats. Both his face and tone were unreadable. "I give it a 7.5."
Blinking up at the dead serious man, Lance almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Did you just- just rate my fall, you furry asshole?"
A careless shrug prompted a crooked little smirk, one pearly fang flashing before another weight settled on his chest just as the alarms sounded again and without hesitation, space wolf let out another 'awoo' from his new perch on Lance's stomach and much to both pup's and Keith's surprise, Lance answered with a howl of his own. The tip of space wolf's tail started twitching just before Keith let out his own 'awooo' to set the fluffy tail swishing with a purpose.
This madness continued for ten minutes as they ran around the warehouse like a bunch of mental patients before Pidge's voice echoed from the comm system above. "Excuse me shoppers, I'd like to make the non-request that all children leave the base before we get angrier more murderous company. We've gotten all the information from the systems and I think you'll be interested in the shady shit that went down here, emo prince."
Remembering where they were with a shared look of doe eyed surprise, they both gathered their helmets absently before realizing they had grabbed the wrong helmets, exchanged them with blatant unnecessary contact on Lance's part to have a faint blush stain Keith's face and headed back to Blue with a whole shipload of fresh loot and a lead on the most wanted group of glorified heretics in the galaxy.
Space wolf followed at Keith's heels without hesitation and with a quick rub to his ears, the dark eyed prince set their brisk pace back to Lance's ship to meet up with the fleet. His veins buzzing with adrenaline at the prospect of being able to introduce the softly singing Altean beside him to his brother and the Blades. They were going to love him.
XxXxXxXxXxX
After sending Shiro a very concisely worded message to let him know that he would be arriving at the fleet in a few quintants in an Altean ship roughly the size of one their small command ships instead of the fighter he had stolen, Keith made the decision to spend the rest of the time traveling across space not being a prince in any capacity.
Space wolf and Fluff got along surprisingly well for two foreign species while Keith and Lance meandered back into his room, both working at loosening their armors as Lance asked question after question about Keith and his family before they were making their way down the hallway leading to Lance's room. "So how much older is your brother?" Before Keith could snap out what was about to be an unnecessarily biting retort stemming from the itchy feeling of jealousy below his skin, Lance's easy voice continued as he pushed through his door to make his way towards his bed, leaving a trail of armor behind him with every long stride of his curvy legs. "Allura is a few decophoebs older than you but I just want to make sure they aren't trying to force some old geezer onto my sister."
And easily as his jealousy came, it was gone. Replaced instead by the slow rumbling laughter at his particular word choice seeing as Shiro acted more like an old man than the dashing prince he was. Their father was more absent than not, forcing his older brother to take up the mantle of patronly responsibility but it suited Shiro just fine. He was meant to lead and teach the Galra to start a new era of tolerance and peace and who better to do that than someone with the patience of a saint. "He's a little older than Princess Allura."
With a curt nod of his head, he added as he pulled his chest piece over his head to strain his voice a little and Keith's breathing a lot. "Good. Good. Lura hates 'immature, pea-brained vessels of testosterone' so a little bit older is good."
Keith blinked at the harsh critique of their gender but resumed removing the borrowed armor with much more care than its actual owner was treating the white and blue set. "Shiro is the future of the Galra empire and Allura is the future of Altea and her people. I'm sure they'll get along just fine." He really didn't know how to bring up the topic that his older brother was only interested in the alliance for political reasons. Shiro wasn't taken in any way, shape of form with the female population in a sexual manner.
Turns out, he wouldn't have to.
"I hope your brother is cool with lifelong celibacy unless he wants to make his way through a lengthy sex change process."
The shock in Keith's voice wasn't surprising to Lance but the distinct edges of relief was more than enough to pull his trimmed brows together. "She's...She likes girls?"
"Yep. It made life in the castle fun for a little. All the girls fawning over me while the boys worshipped at Lura's feet." Mirth lit his vibrant eyes as he toed his boots off and flopped onto his back in the center of his bed. "She hated having to go to lunch after dinner after boring date with teenage boys." The dramatic way he drew out 'teenage boys' made it seem like they were the boogeymen of the universe.
There was comfortable silence between them as the Galra of the two finished stripping down to the black under suit while Lance lounged back in a deep navy suit of his own. Keith was too far into his own thoughts for his own good as he flopped down next to Lance on his stomach, using his arms as a pillow to take in the peaceful look on the other royal's uniquely entrancing face.
"You're staring, mullet." Drawling and languid, Lance's voice reminded Keith of gentle waves lapping at shore.
"No, I'm not."
Raising a brow as one eye opened to give him a knowing look, his lips set in a tight lipped smile. "I can feel your eyes. You aren't very subtle."
Another casual shrug lifted his broad shoulders as he answered earnestly. "I don't see the point in subtlety."
"Fair enough," was all he could chuckle out in response to the honest and simple admission that frankly suited the dark haired boy's whole demeanor.
Lance closed his eyes once more before growing antsy with his stillness and turning over to put his face alarmingly close to Keith's and eagerly asking in hushed tones, a faint flush to his cheeks. Keith didn't know if it was from embarrassment or excitement. "Are you gonna kiss me or what."
Blue eyes watched as predatory slits grew wide in the darkness of Keith's irises. He could see the thoughts behind them speeding through as he tried to figure out what his answer was going to be. Having not asked the question looking for an actual response, Lance was about to open his mouth to tease the poor guy in efforts to get that weirdly intense look off his face when Keith made it abundantly clear that his answer would be a firm yes in the form of taking the soft Altean lips for his own in a messy inexperienced kiss that nearly missed before Lance's brain finally caught onto the goings on happening to his face and guided the disaster of a liplock back to where it needed to be. His soft palms tracing up either side of Keith's throat to cup his jaw and pull him further into him. It took the other boy all of five seconds to realize he was no longer satisfied just with laying beside Lance. He pulled back with the intent on asking permission when the lithe tanned Altean took the time of their break to push his shoulder back while he moved to straddle Keith's hips to pull a low moan from between his sharp teeth. Guess that answered that question.
Breathless and maybe biting off more than he could chew, Lance asked for the both of them in a lilting tone that had Keith's back arching up into the warmth of Lance's pelvis, the feel of his growing erection grinding against Lance's was nearly enough to have him see white. "Is this okay? I don't want to make you uncomfortable, my shoulder was going numb and I'm kind of really turned on." His hot breath was everywhere at once as his little monologue continued, agile hands running shamelessly over the line of Keith's collarbone beneath the thin material between their skin. "That's what happened with the whole closet thing. That armor was not roomy enough to make that situation any kind of comfortable."
Keith's throat vibrated with his own rough laughter as his own calloused hands made it their personal mission to get both their shirts off. He was quite taken by way Lance felt sitting on his lap. Taken by the way his hands sent electric shivers over his skin. Taken by the easy way things seemed to click with this amazingly out there Altean boy. "That explains the cute blush then."
A single breathy laugh came from Lance's lips before he was pulling back with an unmistakable look of devious mischief that turned impish royalty back into the roguish pirate captain from their meeting with a wiggle of his brows and a bright smile. "Wanna see about that shower kink now?"
Yes. Yes he did. Without a doubt in his mind did he want to get into the shower with Lance. The brunette had an unfavorable advantage in seeing him naked and Keith wanted more than anything to see the rest of Lance's flawless bronze skin on display for him. He had been trying to make out what the complicated tattoo that stemmed from his left ribs up towards his left pec actually was. So he gave an eager nod of his head before smirking up at Lance with a sense dangerous sensuality that his partner took as a dark promise.
In a flash, Lance was shirtless and being thrown over a set of broad shoulders with a surprised gasp as Keith wasted little time carrying the giggling man to his bathroom, his hand massaging the firm muscle of the thigh beneath the most amazing ass he'd ever seen. Mind you Keith really hadn't seen or took notice of any other butts before now but he somehow got the impression that every part of Lance's body was sure to be the most amazing he'd ever seen.
"You really don't beat around the bush, do you?" The lost prince's voice held the barest hints of his own husky arousal but was honestly more preoccupied by the fact that the surly grump of a Galra was actually extremely nice to be around. He loved the way his emotions were so raw and how his earnest laugh was rough around the edges. It washed over him like the waves of his precious ocean except he wouldn't mind drowning in the sound of Keith's voice.
"You offered."
"I did. I definitely did."
"Have you ever...done this before?"
A moment of innocence took over the younger boy as the casually posed question went in one ear and out the other. "Can't say I have. I used to take baths with Allura and Romelle when we were kids but this uh, feels a little different."
"That's not what I meant, Lance."
"Oh," realization washed over him just before the heat surge of his own misunderstanding followed directly after. "You mean- I mean- I'm a virgin, yeah."
The older had to give it to him. He managed to keep his voice relatively even through the little stutter session and it only fueled the fire of his own growing desire for the Altean. "Me too."
Lance's body went limp over his shoulder from uninhibited relief. "Oh thank the stars. I thought this was about to become another one of those horribly embarrassing moments in my life."
Having gotten into the bathroom successfully, strong arms lowered Lance back to the floor to make them as eye level as they were going to get. The two stared at each other ready for one of them to change their minds before Lance draped his arms around Keith's neck and lowered his body to appear shorter than his counterpart. He would never admit it out loud but the thoughtless action came across as another of those adorable things Lance just seemed to do without realizing. He had no idea what the unintentionally submissive move did to the more basic instincts of the Galra and he wasn't about to waste a prime opening to taste the Altean's mouth again.
When the two pulled apart, Lance turned to get the water set in a dreamy daze. The way his left hand stretched to adjust the knobs gave Keith a perfect view of the intricate flowering tattoo layered over one of the traditional royal seals of Altea. It was simple in a beautiful way that only added to Lance's overall appeal. He would have to remember to ask about it after he was done tracing over it with his tongue.
Perched the edge of his tub to get the temperature of the water just right, he certainly wasn't expecting to feel calloused hands run up either side of his unfortunately still covered legs. Turning to meet Keith's gaze, Lance really wasn't expecting to see Keith already kneeling between his open legs, a delicious smirk on his face.
A cautious tone lit his words as humor danced behind his bright blue eyes. "Whatcha doin, buddy?"
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Keith answered matter of factly. "I want to taste you."
"Oh. Well, by all means, uhm, continue," making an awkward if endearing 'go ahead' motion to match his awkward endearing blush. Keith had no problems heeding his shaky words.
There was a reason Lance hadn't actually been with anyone else before. His magic. It was an amazing gift according Alfor and Coran but it seemed to serve as a hindrance for most of his relationships seeing as most of the touches he's had left him bruised and uncomfortable in his own skin. That was when he was younger and didn't understand his own power but it didn't change his bodies reaction to most contact initiated by outside sources. He waited for the grimy unclean feeling to come but it never happened with Keith. Like all other things, this was natural with Keith. Pleasurable in ways he hadn't known before. It seems that would only grow in the time to come.
A trembling breath danced across his ribs before warm lips traced the outline of his own private memorial for his parents. The flower was the same as the one his mother had tattooed in the exact same spot as his own in her youth and the crest was his father's and his grandfather's familial shieldcrest before him. It gave him peace of mind to know he could have a slice of family with him at all times but that wasn't even remotely on his mind when Keith was working his way up towards the hard peaks of his nipples. His chest heaved when lips wrapped around the bud to tease the sensitive flesh between his teeth. Pulling back, his exhale cooled the hot skin in a sensual play to pull an honest to gods moan, loud and long, from Lance. When his blue eyes searched for Keith's, another gasp fell from his pretty swollen lips. The usually deep purple eyes had blown wide with his own reaction to their position and it made his cock twitch to see the danger flirting with his desire to give him a predatory glint in his eyes while his cheeks radiated the heat of his arousal.
Lance traced a line down Keith's chest to slip under his shirt and pull it off as he stood in front of his kneeling prince with a warm smile and his own impressive physique on full display, his pants having trouble keeping his throbbing member contained. The sight was one Keith hoped he never got used it because it was about to become his second favorite. Impatient fingers hooked under the waistband to tug at them, claws teasing the bronzed skin in nipping little jerks as Keith took to nibbling along the cut lines above his hip bones with every inch exposed to his greedy mouth.
"Keith…" His name was drawn in delicious notes before his hands grabbed the back of Lance's knees one at a time to help him out of his clothes before leaning back on the balls of his feet to take in the sight of the mouthy seafarer completely nude and exposed to him. A sight he knew would top the list of anything he'd seen so far in life.
It was better than he could have ever anticipated. Better yet, the gorgeous tanned man had shot him a cheeky wink before turning to step into the streams of steaming water coming from too many angles to give him an uninhibited and mouthwatering view of the most fuckable ass in the universe. At least to Keith it was. He swore he could feel his teeth ache from how hard he was clenching his jaw at how badly he wanted bite right at the defined curve just beside a sexy set of back dimples as the jeweled crown on top of a taut, incredibly well-built ass.
"You gonna get in, sugarpop?" The sweet melody to the dazed question was just to motivation he needed to strip out of his own bottoms and join the living music box for a mate he had.
Blinking down at the unsuspecting Altean bent to grab a discarded bottle that had fallen from the neatly organizing shelves in the large shower, Keith backpedaled his own thoughts to go over one word repeatedly. Mate. He had said mate. That was not a word he thought was ready to be attached to anyone in direct relation to Keith himself.
Lance, having accidentally dropped one of his empty shampoo bottles he kept forgetting to throw out, straightened with a dopey grin at a languid pace that drew a hungry growl from the Galran royalty. Looking back over his shoulder with heavy lidded eyes and a sultry little smile, he asked with false innocence that stirred more than just Keith's girthy length. "See something you like?" It furthered stoked the inner fire that were the carnal instincts every member of the Galran race had at their roots. They were well-known for being fierce, indomitable in battle and Lance would never admit this to anyone ever but he happened to have a curious inclination towards the purple skinned peoples so he knew they weren't particularly known for being gentle lovers. Which suited him just fine as long as it was Keith. Unfortunately for the well-informed brunette, Galra also have a very real ability to tie two beings together in a permanent bond only once in their lifetime through a series of repeated bites. Not that it would change anything for Lance since he wasn't a Galra but it wasn't something to be done lightly. Some of his people went their whole lives without even having the chance to try.
One clawed hand traced along the slope of Lance's neck to pull a contented sigh from his lips before the same hand wrapped around the back to tangle with the wet length of hair at its nape. Keith's voice held nothing but the impatient rasp of his arousal as his grip tightened just enough to have Lance expose his neck in a move that satisfied his instinctual need to dominate and the more prevalent desire to make this responsive perfect man weak from his efforts. He was relying on Lance's reactions and his own impulses to get them there. Right now, he had the fantastic urge, a nagging desire really, to hear Lance say his name again.
Without giving it another thought, he palmed Lance's member as he felt his braid grow heavy with water and he was rewarded with a keening groan. Lance was in the process of getting himself a handful of juicy Galra booty when Keith pulled that emboldened move. In turn, Lance's handful became an accidentally bruising grip that ended with his back slamming into the side of the shower as Keith's breathing picked up. One hand testing the grip around Lance's aching hard cock and the other in a fist on the other side of the Altean princes head to keep him from doing something he'd regret like hurt him. He thought he'd get to hear his personal siren's voice when he pressed Lance's legs apart with his own thick thigh to run easy strokes over his balls while his hand started pumping in earnest. The tip of his thumb passed over the leaking head with every downward stroke. While he was rewarded with another of the loud unbidden moans that came from deep within that had his own cock leaking pre-cum down the smooth skin of Lance's cut pelvis, it wasn't the reaction he was looking for.
Impatient and fighting his own gruff nature, Keith demanded what he wanted with a husked rasp over the pointed oversensitized tips of Lance's pierced ears. "Say my name."
"Bite me," was Lance's breathless attempt at sass while fighting his trembling legs to stay upright but the poor word choice was unfortunately the magic words to release a torrent of hormones that drove Keith's anatomy into overdrive and in a miraculous coming together of unintentional melding, sharp teeth sunk into the crook of bronzed skin of Lance's neck. The initial pain forced Keith's name to tear through Lance's throat but the immediate rush of electric hot pleasure that followed had the Altean using Keith's name as a prayer with each of his careful strokes. It wasn't long before the taller of the two clutched painful half moons into Keith's hip and back to match the height of the orgasm tearing him apart from the inside out.
And if that wasn't enough for Keith's ragged control over the situation, the brunette gently pushed at Keith's chest to force him back and watch as he got on his knees to take his member between his lips to lap at the throbbing sensitive head. Thankfully he hadn't taken his hand from the shower wall or he would have gone down right there. This position gave him a perfect view of the still bleeding perfect bite mark where the slope of Lance's neck and met collarbone. It pulled rumbling purrs from Keith which forced Lance's humming laughter to escape from around his length as he pulled it further into the moist heat of his ready mouth. Keith's own overstimulation wouldn't give him much time to enjoy the slow bobbing before he felt Lance swallow around him and his world crashed to a halt before exploding in vibrant colors that had his hand tangling in dark brown locks as Lance's name ripped through Keith's clenched jaw in a sexy growl that had Lance humming with satisfaction at the most intense moment of his climax to push his peak a step higher. Sensing the raven-haired man made of sex and muscle was about have a problem with his legs, one arm braced the powerful muscle of his ass while the other teased aimless patterns on the skin on the inside of his trembling thigh.
By the time he finally let the softening member fall from his mouth, they were both panting as cascades of water streamed over Keith's back and down Lance's chest as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back to let the water wash over his face.
He didn't get to stay that way for long before he felt a capable hand take his own to coax him up into an embrace that somehow made the Altean feel small and safe. The heat of Keith's body rivaled the heat of the shower and Lance found himself untangling the barely knotted braid hanging between defined shoulder blades to flirt at the small of a scarred lower back.
The rest of the shower was wordless but not uncomfortably so. In fact Keith was to preoccupied with the the graceful way Lance managed to move when no one but he was watching as the Altean murmured slow songs under his breath to match the subtle sway of his hips. Lance insisted on washing his hair for him, promising it would be his pleasure to be able to do it for him and he wasn't lying. Lance was more than happy to get his hands on all that glorious hair. Manicured nails ran along his scalp to pull more throaty purrs from Keith and in a bold move as far as Galrans go, Lance stroked the soft purple fur of his ears in an absent gesture that had Keith leaning back into a lithe chest before turning his head to kiss the corner of his mouth with a lazy smile pulling at his lips.
When they got out, Lance toweled off as best he could before pulling on his robe and making his way to his vanity to start his nightly skincare routine while Keith was just as well taking his time drying the length of thick raven hair and watching the odd Altean uses bottle after bottle on his face and body. By the time that was all finished, Keith had wrapped his towel around his hips and had internally gone over what Shiro and Ulaz had told him about bonding with someone at least a dozen times through just to make sure he hadn't just trapped Lance into a something far more permanent and intimate than sex itself. He hadn't. But that didn't mean Lance didn't deserve to know what could happen if he chose that for them later.
As if Lance had telepathy as well as his whatever his magic actually was, his bored voice drew like silk from where he had leaned closer to the mirror to make sure he got all the remnants of his mask off his face and double check there wasn't any in his hairline. "Let's talk about the full set of chompers on display in my neck. Wanna tell me why it happened?" His casualness was forced but done impeccably so. He knew exactly what the bite meant. It was a sign of protection and possession. A claim and an offer. It meant a whole lot to a lot of Galra and he needed to know if this was one of those and not a mistake.
"You asked me to." Borderline standoff-ish, Lance missed the wince cross Keith's features at his inquiry.
Did he? He remembered the haze and how amazing Keith's rugged body felt pressed against him. Oh, yeah. There it was. The half-hearted 'bite me' against the shower wall. "Is...that the only reason you did it?" His heart was pounding beneath his ribs to the point Lance thought he might watch it burst out and sprint away right there.
"No."
This was a little like trying to convince a Javic to leave their skieet behind. Which was very difficult and required a lot charismatic cajoling since the Javic were a stubborn, taciturn race that really liked a good skieet. Rolling his eyes out of exasperation, the lost prince crossed his arms over his chest and faced the root of it head on.
Keith was having a hard time keeping a straight face with the thick band of rainbow fabric holding the mop of curly earthy locks back out of his face making him look ridiculous with the stern look currently fixed on it.
"Then why else did you do it?" Lance was adamant and getting testier by the moment.
Bare shoulders tensed before they lifted in a shrug, his voice even as his gaze locked in Lance's unabashedly. "I wanted to."
Giving a slow nod of his head, the brunette seemed content with the answer before narrowing his eyes at the other boy with a slight tilt to his head in silent self-contemplation, the inner train of his thoughts unknown to Keith, before giving a shrug of his own and turning back to the mirror to pull the wrap from his head and fix his hair back to something that sort of resembled a style other than really bad bedhead.
"Do...do you know what that means to my people?" A tentative cautious question rang through the bathroom.
"Yes." A simple no nonsense answer.
Regardless of the simplicity of this bizarre exchange, it still meant a lot to the young Galra prince. Even in a half-cocked moment of passion, Keith didn't regret it or want it gone. He rather liked the way it looked cleaned up and placed perfectly so it would be seen when the captain wore his regular clothes and his armor. "That's it?"
"That's it." Lance was either not understanding what Keith was getting at or genuinely and recklessly wanted Keith to bond with him.
Again, his simple no nonsense response had him reeling for a few ticks before his desire to give him space and respect his answers if they turned unfavorable was eclipsed by a greater need to see without a doubt if Lance knew what he was saying. He was taking his soft prince's smooth hand in his to wrap it around his forearm before Lance could have any of his objections he might have about the action land home to lead them both to his bed.
Letting Lance get comfortable in the spot next to him after releasing his hold and sitting down next to him, Keith leaned back on his palms, putting his scarred chest and abs on display as well as that simple little necklace that marked him royalty nestled between chiselled pecs before clearing his throat and nipping his own fear of rejection in the bud. His muscles were starting to tense and he didn't want ruin the night with his own unnecessary irritation. "I need to know you actually understand what a bond means to me."
The tanned man focused his attention on the ends of his nails to see if any needed any work as his voice drawled lazily. He picked up on his lover's mood and knew Keith wasn't searching for physical comfort or empty reassurances. "I'm a prospective mate choice, yeah? Probably the only one…," before his humor-lit eyes snapped to Keith's in a momentary jealous flashbang behind his narrowed baby blues. "I'm the only one, right?" His voice getting firm to make the repeated word sound less like a question and more like a demand. "Right."
A few strangled laughs escaped through a suppressed fanged smile before he was earnestly laughing to the point he needed to clutch his stomach and wipe at tears in the corner of his eyes. His voice filled with his own humor obvious in his whole personality flip as a result of the little exchange. "That is not what I was expecting and yes, Lance, you are the only one. I've never even had the passing urge to bite someone ever in my life."
"But you did with me." The way he said it made it sound like he was bragging about to Keith like that would somehow work to rile him up. It wasn't so much with his words but the shit-eating grin that split his face and the sideways way he was eying him up from his lazy position.
It did rile the fair skinned prince but that didn't mean Keith was about to give Lance the satisfaction of knowing that it had. "Yeah. I did. And I don't want it gone either." He also had no shame whatsoever in admitting the truth.
There were a few doboshes of tense silence before the softer of the two gave in and Lance crawled over to lay his head in Keith's lap, stopping before he did after realizing Keith still had his wet towel wrapped around his hips while he sat on his bed. "Do you want pants you animal? Honestly," the exasperation in his voice teasing as he gave Keith's bulky shoulder sharp pokes to get him to get off the sacred place with his damp butt before stealing the towel right off his hips with a rakish toothy smile. Watching the Galra move to cover himself as a blush spread from cheek to cheek in a comical show of bashfulness after the sexy shower show had Lance in absolute stitches.
Keith managed to keep it together for what felt like an eternity before he finally snapped out, huffy irritation prevalent throughout his words as his head turned away, one hand doing a poor job of covering himself as the other rubbed across the planes of his chest nervously. "Are you gonna get me something to wear or what?"
"Oooo, tough choice." The conniving shit gave him a schmoozey grin before walking out of the bedroom, towel slung over his robed shoulder, to throw said towel in the laundry with his own only to come back sans his robe and naked as the day he was born. Again, his voice was drawn and playful as he confidently sauntered back over to where Kether stood frozen beside his bed. "Now we're even, mullet." His hands coming out on either side of his hips with jazzy little wiggles to his fingers as if his toned swimmer's build needed anymore pomp than what its already got going for it to make it shine.
Noticing the distracted way Keith ate at the exposed curves of his body, Lance's smile warmed with earnest affection. "You are downright adorable for a ruthless member of the Galran race." Each word was an easy bounce back over to his stock still frame before the Altean laced his fingers with his and pulled him to the bed where Fluff and Space wolf had already cuddled up together at the bottom corner. He remembered thinking it might have been too big when he first got it but found it perfect for sharing with a grumpy Galra, a feathery soft space dragon and a teleporting space pup.
"And you are surprisingly annoying for a guy with the voice of an angel."
Taking it as a compliment, Lance gave the surly prince a wide smile and a wink from where he had taken it upon himself to pull Keith onto his chest after laying down on his back so the brunette could run his fingers through the piles of silky black hair. "Thank you so much, babe. That's the second nicest thing you've ever said to me."
Sleep was weighing heavy on the emotionally drained older man with each mindless stroke of Lance's hand and it seeped into his words while his hands searched for warm nooks to tuck themselves away into. "Only the second?"
Brushing the shorter black hair framing his face back, ocean eyes looked over the planes of Keith's face as his soothing voice hitched with soft laughter. "Yeah, I still like you telling me you like my face."
"Mmmm'strue."
"Go to sleep already you idiot." The affection was fighting the sleep from taking hold in Lances own voice but he only managed to last a few doboshes longer than his older counterpart before succumbing to the reassuring weight of Keith on his body.