Chapter Eleven

Lance's tongue dragged against the skin of Keith's throat, over his adam's apple, up the underside of his chin, teeth and lips nipping, his back arching, hips off the desk as Keith pulled and the old jeans just slid off of him. Keith stopped when Lance's penis was free, erect and hard against his stomach, obscuring Keith's name which was red and dark against his pale skin.

Keith dragged his thumb, nail-side down up Lance's erection. Lance hissed, the mouth that was latched onto Keith's jawline that had been all suction, turned into a bite. Keith lowered his own mouth onto Lance's jaw, licking, tasting, savoring. "Good, so fucking good..." he muttered, his hand gripping around Lance's cock, starting a tight slide up and down.

Lance whimpered, moaned, thrust into Keith's grip and reaching with long arms, pulled Keith's jean's open, fast and easy. Keith felt Lance's hands against his skin, gripping against his hips, pushing into the muscle, moving down and around toward his ass. His hands were freezing. They were always cold, no matter how hot the rest of him got his feet and his hands always cold, and Keith had missed it, he'd missed it more than he remembered, more than he knew. Biting at Lance's neck the words tumbled out. "Missed your hands, cold and all."

Lance's hands left his ass, found his shoulders and pushed hard. "This desk is killing my ass, bedroom," he said.

Keith nodded, stroked Lance's cock twice more with a twist before letting go, though, their gazes still locked, a half smirk on his face as Lance's eyes rolled back for a brief second. Lance grinned at him and shook his head. "Asshole," he muttered, shoving Keith back to slide off the desk, his hand slapping Keith's ass, directly over where the mine was inked into Keith's skin.

Keith watched Lance kick off his jeans completely as he walked, grinned, at the red marks from the wood on Lance's skin across his ass, but he took his time. He took off his boots, toed off his own jeans and then walked into the bedroom. Lance was standing by the bed, back to Keith, shoulders hunched.

Keith drew in a breath, his heart was in his ears, he heard his own voice in his head. It was rational though angry, it was telling him they hadn't worked anything out, they hadn't solved anything. But he wanted Lance, one of the things that him aggravated was he didn't want to contemplate a break up. The idea of finality in his relationship with Lance, it wasn't a possibility, it just wasn't.

Lance was standing there naked, beautiful, vulnerable. He'd bled for Keith, he'd shouted out his love, sounding pissed as hell about it but it was the truth - Keith believed it. His walked up behind Lance, pressing his whole front to Lance's back, hands sliding up his back, onto his shoulders. He pressed his mouth against Lance's left ear, letting his lips hit as he spoke, "I never let anyone fuck me. I couldn't, it was too... I couldn't let anyone else touch me like you do. Didn't trust them, couldn't love them..."

Lance whipped around, hands on Keith's face, mouth against him, tongue inside his mouth, mapping it with is tongue, down Keith's throat, against the roof of his mouth, against his teeth. His hands fell Keith hips, around to his ass, grabbing his buttocks pulling Keith into him, stepping them back, making them fall onto the bed.

"I told the truth," Lance gasped, out of breath, breaking away from Keith's mouth, lips falling back onto his jaw, capturing his mouth again. "Never brought anyone here, not here, never here. This is our bed, our home, our planet; it was all one night stands, with guys who were never strong enough," Lance grabbed Keith's hands pulled his arms over his head, pushed his wrists down against he bed, leaned over Keith, challenge darkening his eyes.

Keith swallowed, under Lance, pinned down, pushed down he didn't want fight for control but he knew he didn't have to answer the challenge. He wrapped his legs around Lance's waist, tight enough to hurt, hard enough to bruise, a reminder he could he switch their positions in two seconds if he wanted to. If he wanted to.

Lance let out a sound that reminded Keith of when Black seemed to purr in his mind at certain speeds, his grin seemed feral and he stared down at Keith, eyes dark, and the grin faded, his cheek muscles clenched.

"You brought a fucking other man into our home," Lance said.

Keith's stomach twisted, guilt, shame, confusion because a part of him wasn't ready to face why he'd done it. He nodded.

"Say it," Lance said, mouth on Keith's jaw, tongue out and dragging against his skin. "Admit, Keith."

"I did, I asked him here."

"To fuck you, you were going to let him fuck you - Finally. That's what he was thinking, right?"

Keith shuddered, both at the question and at Lance's mouth against his throat, the feeling of teeth and he whined, he knew he whined into it. He closed his eyes, felt his cock bumping against Lance's, trapped between their stomachs, and it was easy to realize then it wouldn't have happened. He would have done the same thing he always did to Granger.

"It was implied in the invitation but I wouldn't have let it happen," Keith managed to mutter out between hard kisses, and bites to his jaw and throat. "Any of those one nights turn into more..."

"Fucked a few more than once, took them back to my apartment."

"Apartment," Keith growled. His hands pressing up against Lance's hold.

"No," Lance snapped, thrusting his tongue into Keith's mouth.

"What apartment?" Keith muttered, arching up, tightening his legs around Lance again a reminder. "Never here but you had somewhere on the side - still have it?"

"What? Don't trust me?" Lance asked, pulling away but keeping his grip on Keith's wrists. "Stay," he ordered. Letting go, leaving the bed.

Keith watched him with his eyes, saw him opening the drawer - the same drawer as always, so many times, so many memories, he caught sight of things he'd bought, things he'd used on Lance, things Lance used on him. He saw the tube of lubrication come out, new and unopened and he swallowed.

"I trust you," he whispered.

Lance was back on the bed, on his knees, the tube on the bed, unopened. He stared at Keith, eyes wide and open and he nodded. "It won't sell, bad economy for real estate," he stroked his cock, eyes on Keith's mouth then his erection.

Keith moved, faster than he had in a long time when not in a fight for his life. Lance pinned under him down, his hands on Lance's hips, leaving a red hand print behind - he knew from experience. He tongued the tattoo, the flames under the name, the symbol for fire, for passion, then he took the head of Lance's cock his mouth.

Nothing tasted better. Leather, and the scent of firewood on the fire, he always had before the jacket, before Red Lion. They'd been things that slotted into place, Keith had always thought, pieces of Lance that had been found, not things that became part of Lance. Lance's hands were against his skull, pushing, and his voice was in his ears.

"Suck it, suck it baby and I'm going to fuck you so hard," Lance muttered. "Missed your mouth, no one as good you, not any of them...God, those hands, knew they could break through rock when I was sixteen, love them wrapped around my cock, tight, sliding, fucking...good. Keith..."

Keith hummed, his mind at ease in a way he hadn't been in so long, for so long. He'd been daft, both them so wrong-headed. He felt lost, confused for way to long, they had needed to just touch, fight, fuck. Keith popped his mouth off the tip of Lance's cock, "Touch me," he said, moving then keeping his hand on Lance, so they moved into the sixty-nine position. Lance's tongue was in his ass, the instant Keith had his lips back around Lance's penis.

~~.~~

"What was it?" Lance asked, leaning to his side, bumping his nose into Keith's as Keith moved to face him.

"What was what?" Keith asked, out breath, his cheeks flushed.

"That thing you thought Granger could give you, that you were going to try to settle with him?" Lance asked, he tried to keep the bitterness out of his tone but he failed horribly.

Keith closed his eyes, hand reaching out and grabbing onto Lance's waist, tight hold to keep him in place, in the bed, in their bed. Lance felt a weight leave his shoulders, but there were still many there, pushing down, worrying him.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm barging in now, I get it, you want me in," Lance said.

Keith's eyes opened. "Never wanted you out, never should have thought you were cheating on me. But you were purposely trying to piss me off."

"I was, I was jealous of Allura, I was jealous of fucking Garrison paperwork. I get that better now, it never ends. I think they make up crap just to make up grunt work..."

Keith laughed. "Maybe..."

"Keith?" Lance asked, bringing it back to his question. "What was it?"

Keith sighed. "I figured it out, a lot of it all out...right before I came."

"You're the only man I know who can think clearly while being fucked."

"It clears out the excess."

"It clears out your neurotic need to over think," Lance muttered, raking his hand into Keith's hair and frowning. "I never should've teased you about the mullet..."

Keith grinned. "So, I can grow it back?"

"Hell, no, just grow this out," Lance laughed. "You didn't have to go so damn short."

"Allura, told them what to do," Keith whined.

"Blaming the Princess?"

Keith grinned but then it faded, and he grabbed Lance's hand, ran his thumb over the knuckles, and he sighed. "I kept seeing you, standing there, your back turned. Bleeding."

Lance sucked in a breath. "Blindside me like that, what did you think..."

"We aren't all that smart..." Keith muttered.

"No, think Allura meant this as talking?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "This yes, what we did before now, no. It, Granger... he had a plan."

"A plan?"

"His bar, he wanted out. He's got a bank account, he puts money in every month, whatever he has over, whatever he can afford to put into it. It's not for retirement, it's for another life. One he wants to share with someone. In a small town, in a house, with a kid or two..."

Lance's throat went dry, the hand Keith held started to try to form a fist but Keith kissed the broken skin and some of the fury ran out of him but not all of it. "Marriage, fucking marriage. That was what it was?"

Keith looked up. "We never talked about it, and I hated it when people called us practically married, you know that... It was, I got so mad as Bandor and Allura were going on and on. Our tattoos where a commitment to each other, but it they weren't marriage. Not us vowing, not us with our families, all our families. Not making that pledge, that bond.. that step. I wanted, I wanted to back then bring it up but I was afraid you'd fly away..."

Lance gritted his teeth.

"Granger, he got tired of me pushing him away, controlling every thing, telling him it was just sex and he told me. He told me he wanted me in that house with the kid or two. He told me he'd wait for me to figure out what it was that holding me back..."

Lance laughed. "You skipped that part before you called him."

"I lie to myself well."

"Only way you do lie well," Lance said.

"I didn't really know, it was...it was there but I wasn't letting myself think it. I wanted more from us, I wanted you ask me," Keith laughed nervously. "But it was this insecure thing in the back of my mind and I never really hit me until now. Until I brought Granger here because I knew he was offering solid commitment, and then Bandor..."

"Right," Lance said, his eyes moving to the closet.

"What?"

"I..." Lance sighed. "See, this is one of those situations, when it's... if I do this now, does it look like I'm appeasing you, or do you understand it's just true."

Keith stared at him.

Lance sighed, pulled his hand free and started to move but the hand Keith at on his hip, pressed down. "Baby, I'm not going far."

Keith let go. Lance grinned, he hurried to the closet, picked up the box - the damn box - and he the he crashed back down on the bed. Where he'd been before, Keith's hand grabbing onto his him again, his own free hand, grabbing Keith's bicep. He put the box on the bed, in the small tiny space between them.

"What is that?" Keith said, eyeing the box, his voice low.

"Open it," Lance said, nervous and he held his breath and as Keith let go of him, took the box and sat up, away from him, back against the headboard. He opened it, stared at the three rings in the box and pulled out the one of Lyran Granite and Silver. Lance held his breathe as Keith studied as he took in the black stone between the thin silver rim, then saw the streak of red. He saw Keith's eyes widen as he found the engraving in the inside.

"Keith, ask me when I knew I loved you, and know it's for keeps," Keith read out loud, and his eyes fell on Lance.

"We were seventeen, I don't remember much else about the day. Can't tell if it was a weekend or not, but we were in your parents den. It was raining, downpour was hitting the windows, and your sister was there, so we couldn't do anything..." Lance laughed. "I remember hating that we were sitting next to each other we couldn't touch, couldn't kiss, couldn't get naked... And then you looked at me and gave me this shy half-smile. First time you have me that smile, that knowing, intimate, half-smile of you knowing what I'm thinking and yeah your there too. Knew I loved then, been in love with you since... just as stupidly."

"Loved you then too, knew it then too, hit me way before then though. Hit me when i was pissed off at you for being such an asshole about something when we were fifteen. Before I told you I was into boys, before you told me..." Keith laughed. "Lance, this ring?"

"I bought it when I was being an asshole, when I was getting back at you for putting Work and Chaperoing Allura duties ahead of me instead of just yelling at you about it for once, instead of just working out the argument. Then you... you accused me of cheating and I got madder, prideful, hurt you didn't trust me."

"I trust you," Keith said. "I didn't...it was...I don't...fuck."

Lance laughed, and he took the ring, Keith's, "Hey," as it left his fingers gave him a boost and he smiled. "So, here is the thing... we aren't ready to get married, we have a lot to figure out and a lot more angry sex to have..."

Keith laughed.

"But, uh, wanna get engaged?" Lance asked, grabbing Keith's left hand.

"Put on me already," Keith said.

Lance leaned forward, kissed Keith as he slipped the ring on. The second the ring was secure on Keith's finger, Keith flipped them so Lance was pinned under him and he stared down at him and smiled that shy half smile. "How long to you think they're going to leave us in this room?" he asked.

Lance grinned up at him. He glanced at his alarm clock, it'd been only a little over an hour... Really? He laughed at how little time it took once they'd finally started dealing with each other but he sighed. He knew they had a lot to work out, but they had a start. "Um, I thinking Allura's expecting us to be really stubborn."

"Hmm," Keith said, starting to kiss Lance's chest.

"So, uh.." Lance dug his nails into Keith's scalp. "We probably have until tomorrow morning, maybe early afternoon."

"You mean, Christmas Eve."

"What?"

"Tomorrow is Christmas Eve," Keith whispered into his ear, kissing his cheek and then his mouth again.

"Merry Christmas Eve," Lance said trying to get Keith to land on his mouth and stay there.

"Merry Christmas."

"Oh, hell yeah, let's pretend to hate each other still until Christmas," Lance laughed.

The End.