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Another victory, another planet liberated, another coalition banquet.
As nice as it was to be recognized as a paladin of Voltron & a guest of honor at all these literal out-of-worldly events, Lance still found it all a little overwhelming, he couldn’t imagine ever getting used to this, didn’t even feel like he deserved it really.
Sometimes, he still thinks that all of this is just some crazy dream he’s having and he’ll wake up in his pajamas, back at the garrison, back on earth, back home.
Saving Shiro, finding the Blue Lion, & basically sucking everyone into the other side of a wormhole all happened a little over a year ago & Lance tried to remember where he was on this particular day back then. Probably studying his butt off in his shared dorm room with Hunk for his exams, crashing the flight simulator again, or trying to woo that cute girl in his chemistry class or maybe...
He’d be back in Cuba. He’d be surrounded by his family. His dad’s goofy smile, his mom’s amazing home-cooked food, his siblings arguing over the tv remote, switching channels back & forth. God, he missed them so much. He looked up at the ceiling & sighed.
It’s not like it was all that bad. Minus the crushing immense fear of sudden death during missions & the possibility of never seeing his family ever again, Lance was finally doing what he’s always dreamed of. He was a fighter pilot, a defender of the universe. He was liberating planets under Zarkon’s evil reign, saving hundreds of lives, & it made him feel like he mattered. It made him feel like his life held purpose. He wondered if his parents would be proud of him if they knew, if he would ever get the chance to tell them.
He stood there on the sidelines of the ballroom, another one of the planet’s strange but delicious drinks in his hand. He was usually the life of the party. He always enjoyed meeting pretty aliens & telling them about his heroic adventures that Pidge would say were way too overly exaggerated. He would be out there on the dance floor dragging Hunk or even Allura, when he was bold enough, to join him. It was nights like these that let him forget about the war for just a moment & made him feel like he could act his actual age, a teenager.
For some reason though, he just wasn’t up for it tonight. He barely touched any of his dinner earlier despite it actually being pretty good compared to other planets they’ve been to. He settled on the sweet-scented alien juice that was being served around instead. He was on his fifth glass & his head felt a little fuzzy, but decided it wasn’t a big deal. The king had said its contents included side effects very similar to alcohol for earthlings earlier anyways. He scanned the room to look for his friends, a quick head count, all seemingly occupied doing their own thing. Allura & Shiro stood by the King’s side while overseeing the event. They were probably discussing diplomatic topics that never interested Lance. He smiled when he spotted Hunk & Pidge by the end of one of the long buffet tables, building a tower with these purple cube shaped fruits to see how many they could stack up before it toppled over. A handful of aliens gathered around them excitedly to spectate. What he couldn’t find among the lively crowd is that messy dark-haired mullet he knew he’d be able to recognize anywhere.
This wasn’t very surprising. He had no idea where Keith would vanish so quickly after most coalition dinners. That guy truly was the epitome of a brooding loner boy who thought he was too tough to cry or make a joke, or show any emotions at all really. All except anger stemmed from his short temper & his extreme irritation towards the blue paladin. Lance felt a soft throb in his heart from that last thought. Often times he wondered that if was less obnoxious around Keith, they would actually be friends.
There were moments where he felt like they were. He would never admit it to anyone out loud but he knew he was mostly to blame for their mutual hostility of a relationship. He knew Keith hated him & he couldn’t even blame the red paladin for it. Lance tended to run his mouth when the raven-haired boy made him feel embarrassed or got him flustered. He’s always hated not getting the final word & he refused to get tongue tied especially for a loner pretty boy & his stupid mullet.
Being stuck in space with his self-proclaimed rival was more torturous than he imagined it to be. It wasn’t because of Keith’s impulsive nature or his natural talent with a sword or his gifted ability for flying that seethed envy into the taller boy ever since they were younger. It wasn’t their bickering over nonsense or stupid bets that Lance had successfully goaded Keith into every single time or even the satisfaction he felt seeing Keith’s eyes light up when he was challenged but torturous in a way when Keith’s scowl suddenly transformed into a boyish grin during their competitions that always caught the blue paladin off guard.
It had taken forever for Lance to properly understand his warm fuzzy feelings towards Keith that definitely didn’t go hand in hand with simple rivalry. Lance cringed, remembering moments over the last few weeks where he was in constant self-denial about liking boys, about liking Keith of all people, & how he’d snap at the boy he had a full-fledged fucking crush on for no apparent reason due to his sexual awakening crisis. He knew none of it was actually the red paladin’s fault but ended up taking it out on him anyways.
It was torturous to watch Keith tie up his stupid mullet while Lance desperately held himself back from running his fingers through it during training. Of course, Lance had to make a whole scene of making fun of how bad he thought Keith’s haircut was for the millionth time to hide the truth.
It was torturous to hear the raspiness in Keith’s voice whenever he teased Lance that made his heart do backflips and shit. Thus, causing him to eloquently tell Keith to shut his fucking quiznack or sometimes even flat out ignored his existence.
It was torturous to hear the rare moments when Keith laughed at the dinner table or the even rarer moments when he smiled at the blue paladin. Of course, instead of smiling back like a decent human being, Lance would avert his eyes or even go so far as to snub him by turning his head away from the red paladin, not wanting to let him see how flushed his cheeks were.
The most torturous of all was Keith wearing those tight skinny jeans that made his ass look way too good, it felt like a sin to he tear his eyes away. Which is why Lance could never concentrate during team trainings & always got his ass kicked by the bots. One time when Keith gave him a shit eating grin after witnessing the blue paladin fall on his ass, Lance just scowled, cheeks on fire. Even when the raven-haired boy had extended his hand to help him up, he just slapped it away. After that, Keith never offered to help him up again, stopped looking at him during trainings and dinners altogether too.
Lance was practically acting like a fucking middle schooler with a big fat crush on a boy who covered up his actual feelings by acting like a jerk whenever he got the chance. He would mock Keith about how terrible his fashion sense was, yet again. Told the other boy to find pants that actually fit & even one time flat out called him ugly when he attempted to flirt once.
Lance frowned at himself. This crush thing was obviously getting out of hand but he had somehow uncharacteristically kept his big mouth shut about it & never told another soul. He didn’t want to bother anyone, even his best friend, with his stupid mushy feelings. They were in the middle of a war & there was no time for love. Although, that four letter word was always something Lance had desperately craved since the start but it’s not like he would ever be lucky enough to have Keith anyways. After Lance spread on an extra thick layer of asshole-ness towards Keith while going through the complications of his newly founded bisexuality, the other boy had made it pretty obvious he was avidly avoiding him now. No longer interacting with him at all besides in battle or when they needed to form Voltron. Lance created an even bigger rift between them & never had the balls to apologize for it.
The blue paladin glanced at a door he hadn’t noticed earlier across the ballroom. It seemed to lead to somewhere outside & knew he could use the fresh air. He found himself following a narrow stone trail down towards a crystal purple pond surrounded by a small forest near the palace. Little firefly like creatures buzzed around in the grass below & it reminded him of summer. As he grew nearer towards the bank, he took in the amazing sight of how the planet’s moons seemed to shine brightly against its own reflection in the water. The amethyst color reminded him of Keith’s eyes. He smiled a little to himself before noticing the familiar brooding figure only a few feet away.
Keith had his head down, tucked into his smaller frame. His arms were wrapped around his legs that were pulled in closer to his chest. He looked so small. Lance stood there, frozen, aware of how the other boy hadn’t noticed his presence just yet. The blue paladin felt his heart crack right down the middle when he suddenly heard the sound of a faint sniffle.
Holy shit, what the fuck? Was Keith Don’t-Ever-Fucking-Touch-Me-I’ll-Fucking-Kill-You-With-My-Bare-Hands Kogane crying? Right there in front of him, unknowingly? He gathered up his courage while he nervously walked towards his fellow paladin. Keith’s head suddenly snapped up at the intrusive noise of footprints. Oh god, fuck me. Lance thought.
~
Keith always felt out of place during these coalition banquets. He was never good at holding conversations with other people, let alone literal aliens, unlike a certain blue paladin he knew. For the past few weeks, Lance had been acting so weird around him & he had no idea why. When it came to that blue-eyed boy, Keith never knew what to expect, thus, he never knew how to act around him. Were they even friends? Sometimes, he feels like they could be or that they already were but he had buried the other nagging feeling of wanting to be even more than just that deep between the cracks in his heart a long time ago. As if he’d ever be lucky enough to have Lance, as if someone like him would ever look at Keith in any way other than with anger or disgust. Keith frowned at himself. He knew he wasn’t really a bundle of sunshine & shit but was he really that terrible? Lance obviously believes so, makes it known to him & the rest of the universe how much he hates everything about the red paladin from his hot-headed temper to his “outdated” haircut. Keith always acted unfazed, hiding how much the other boy’s words had actually stung was something he had mastered since childhood, it was a survival trait or at least that’s what his instincts had seemed to tell him. As much as he longed to understand other people, he felt like there’s just always been something wrong with him. He wasn’t like them; he wasn’t like Lance.
The blue-eyed boy was like the sun, he burned so bright & held so much warmth,
& he was so completely untouchable.
Keith felt a painful throb in his heart when he stole a glance at Lance who sat across from him at the dinner table. The alien king of the latest planet they helped liberate was going on & on about diplomatic affairs & expressed his sincere gratitude towards the paladins for saving his people. After they finished eating, everyone was free to enjoy themselves for the rest of the night at their coalition party. Keith took this as his usual cue to search for a secluded spot away from the festivities & spend some time alone after such an exhausting day. The thought of also having to watch Lance flirt shamelessly with another new species of alien girls made his stomach twist. If he ever caught the other boy’s gaze across a party room, he would just roll his eyes & acted like he thought Lance was just embarrassing himself when in reality, he just wanted to look away, jealously seething under his indifferent masked demeanor.
Tonight, he found a good spot though. He saw a door by the corner of the ballroom that led him outside by the palace grounds. A trail led him to a beautiful pond surrounded by a forest, the planet’s ring of moons reflected in the purple water. He plopped himself down by the bank, making sure he wasn’t too far away from the rest of the team just in case.
He closed his eyes to bask in the quiet & the soft buzz of the party nearby. He had been feeling suffocated inside the castle ship lately despite how ginormous the thing was, he knew he was just trying to avoid running into Lance. Keith could never figure out what was going on in that guy’s head. He thought they were doing so much better than when they first got blasted off into space around a year ago. As if they were no longer bickering out of spite but instead just casually bantering, but maybe Keith had said something out of line during one of their recent conversations & just couldn’t figure it out & that’s why Lance had been acting so cold towards him now.
He pondered over his interactions with the blue paladin again for the millionth time since the rift between them had started. Keith, while he had always been the confrontational & always ready to fight one, feelings were another thing to him entirely.
He still couldn’t piece anything together, still didn’t know what he did wrong & he didn’t know how to fix things with Lance.
Once again, he wished he understood people, maybe if he did, maybe if there wasn’t something wrong with him, he wouldn’t have ended up stuck in the dessert all alone after getting kicked out of the garrison, maybe if he was good enough, he would have had a friend,
he would’ve had someone who stayed.
He felt tears start to prickle in the corner of his eyes & didn’t stop them from falling. He wouldn’t be heard out here anyways, the party behind him was loud & in full swing. Keith never let himself cry back in the castle. He did everything he could to not burden Shiro who could always tell when there was something on his mind. The guy had enough problems to constantly worry about already.
He could hear how much fun everyone was having at the party, a flame that burned brightly inside every single one of them, radiating warmth just like the blue-eyed boy he knew he’d never have. Keith knew that his small & fickle flame had been burnt out a long long time ago.
He had lost his dad, he had lost Shiro, he never even knew his mom & with everything that’s happened in his past, she probably didn’t even want to have him from the start.
Keith tried to steady his breathing, he’s always been a fighter all his life, hasn’t he? Fighting aliens out in space and fighting nightmares, fighting not to let his past consume him, fighting with Lance & fighting with himself for having feelings for the blue-eyed boy. Maybe there was something weird in his drink from earlier, the king had said it had some alcohol-like side effects on earthlings. He only had one because he knew he usually cried when he would get too drunk after all. He sighed, trying to soften his sniffles by hugging his legs against his chest with his head down. He wasn’t supposed to be like this, right? He was supposed to be the strong one. He was supposed to be the one that didn’t care about anything but knives and getting angry according to Lance. His heart twisted again at the thought of the sun kissed boy whose eyes never met his anymore.
His breath hitched when he heard footsteps nearing. He shot up to glare at his intruder, forgetting about his tear stained cheeks
The next thing he knew he was drowning in an endless blue ocean.
~
Lance had never seen such a vulnerable look on Keith’s face before. Eyes wide in shock, red & puffy, brimming with tears yet shed but his cheeks were already stained with wetness. His iridescent orbs seemed to gleam against the moonlit sky. He’s beautiful. Lance thought but the wide-eyed expression on Keith’s face only lasted for a second before it contorted into a harsh glare when he realized who had caught him. He was gritting his teeth now, clearly seething.
“What are you doing here, Lance?” There was venom in his voice. Lance thought he was going to shit his pants. “Uh, I was- but you...” Real smooth, McClain. He sighed. “Look man, I just wanted to ask if you were alright...” He kneeled down beside Keith white the raven-haired boy seemed to search his face for any hint of sarcasm. “I was just worried because I saw-“ “Oh please, don’t act like you actually care about me.” Keith cut him off & rolled his eyes before turning away, arms now crossed against his chest defensively. Hesitantly, Lance placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder. He felt the other boy flinch from the sudden touch but he didn’t shove it away. Hopefully, a good sign.
“I...” Lance wasn’t sure what to say. It’s not like he ever outwardly showed how much he cared. Never told Keith how many butterflies would swarm around in his guts when the other boy walked into the room, how his heart flat lined whenever Keith looked his way, even if it was just to glare at him. Keith couldn’t have known, especially with how much of an extra ultra-jerk he had been to him recently. “Keith.” Lance attempted. “C’mon, I do care. Talk to me.” He squeezed the smaller boy’s shoulder, pleading. Keith slowly turned to face him.
“What’s wrong?” Lance asked, softly as their eyes locked. He noticed how the other boy’s breathing hitched, holding himself back from whatever words he was choking on. “Just leave me alone, Lance.” He mumbled. His eyes seemed so sad. “No, I’m not going anywhere.” is what Lance had wanted to say but instead what came out was a stupid jab. “No way, I can’t waste the opportunity of finally seeing you express another emotion.” Wow fuck him & his loud fucking mouth, always trying to joke his way out of an intense situation, desperately trying to lighten the air but always just coming off obnoxious. “Why are you even here, Lance? Why the fuck are you talking to me right now?” Keith sighed exasperated, not even resenting the other boy’s statement with a comeback of his own. Keith shifted his gaze to the floor, avidly averting Lance’s eyes now but the blue paladin had caught the hurt in them. A painful pang in his chest was suddenly growing as if was going to eat him alive. Something ugly was twisting in his chest. Guilt, it was guilt
“Are you... crying because of... me?” Lance squeaked out. “Shut up, Lance.” Keith snapped, overflowing acid in his voice. He wiped away at his face harshly with one of his sleeves. “You’re so fucking annoying.” He shoved Lance’s hand off his shoulder this time. Lance winced but mentally told himself not to run away. He knew he pretty much deserved this. He really had been lashing out on Keith out of nowhere for weeks now while the other boy had no idea what was going on. “Keith.” Lance could hear his voice tremble. The other boy didn’t respond. “Keith, please look at me.”
Keith sighed before he raised his head up to look at Lance like he had asked. His eyes hollow now, holding no emotion. “What do you even want from me?” Keith mumbled under his breath. “I just... I want you to talk to me. Obviously something is wrong & you can’t expect me to just-“ “If you’re just going to insult me again or run off to everyone else & laugh about how you saw me cry, go ahead! I don’t care! Just fuck off & leave me al-“
“I’m sorry!” Lance yelled, interrupting Keith. The words leaped out from his throat on their own. “I’m really sorry, Keith.” He lowered his voice, trying to get his shit together now that he was finally doing this, earnestly trying to convey how much he meant it. Everything he had embarrassingly kept bottled up inside was about to overflow & he wouldn’t be able to control it. Keith’s eyes widened, obviously shocked because an apology wasn’t what he expected to hear.
“I’ve been a complete jerk to you over the past few weeks...” Lance admitted, never breaking eye contact. “You’re always a jerk, Lance...” He heard Keith mumble under his breath. Lance didn’t care, he needed Keith to know. “I’ve just been... no, there’s no excuse for taking it out on you.” He shook his head. He took Keith’s hand in his & gave it a small squeeze. “I was being stupid, I’m sorry for all the mean things I said, I never meant any of it, honest.” He continued but looked down in shame. “I’m really really sorry for...” His words trailed off as he looked up at the boy again.
Oh god, tears were actually trickling down Keith’s face now. Lance felt like the universe’s biggest asshole. “Please don’t cry...” Lance squeaked out, gently placing both his hands on the sides of Keith’s face. He desperately tried to wipe away at the tears trailing down the other boy’s cheeks with his thumbs. “I-Isn’t this what you wanted? You get off on riling me up... You-you get off on this shit...” Keith choked out. Lance was so ashamed, he felt like crying too. He shook his head violently. “No, Keith! I-I didn’t mean to... No, this isn’t what I’ve ever wanted at all, n-never...” He kept his eyes on Keith while speaking but the other boy had shut his eyes, clearly uncomfortable with their eye contact. Lance felt a large lump grow in his throat. All he wanted to do was fix this, he needed to fix this right now. Keith deserved the truth, he thought Lance actually hated him but he didn’t, he-
“Keith, I don’t hate you. I’ve never hated you.” Lance spoke as firmly as his voice allowed. “Not even at the Garrison.” The other boy stayed silent; eyes kept closed but hopefully listening. Lance’s hands remained on the sides of Keith’s face & he gently stroked the boy’s cheekbone with his thumb as he continued. “I was jealous. God, of course, I was jealous of Star Pilot, Keith Kogane, top of the fighter class! You got a 108/100 on the flight simulator! Not a fucking 100 but a 108! Ugh, you stupid talented jerk.” He was rambling now but he saw the ghost of a small smile start to form on the other boy’s face. “But I never hated you. Keith, all I’ve ever wanted was...”
you.
Lance swallowed that last word back down before it escaped his lips. “t-to... catch up to you.” He felt like his throat was starting to close up, he needed to get everything out now before it was too late. “I didn’t mean t-to, y’know, make you feel bad. I’m really really sorry. I thought the rivalry thing was just our shtick but I was actually really shitty to you lately & I...” The other boy looked so fragile in his hands, listening quietly. God, even his eyelashes had to be pretty. “I just wanted to... b-be good enough like... you.” Lance finished, almost in a whisper. He knew his cheeks were growing red from his own embarrassing confession. Lance’s heart got stuck in his throat when the boy’s eyes suddenly flew open, locking with his instantly. There was a wildness in them he couldn’t place. “What... what do you mean good enough like me, Lance?” He asked, hoarsely. “What does that even mean?” Keith suddenly pulled Lance’s hands away from his face but kept a firm grip on both his wrists, pulling them closer to his chest instead. “How could you ever even think you’re not good enough?” Keith asked as if the idea was ridiculous. Lance went wide-eyed & for once in his life, speechless. “God, Lance, you’re everything I’m not, you’re so much more than just good enough, why can’t you ever see that?! That I-...” Keith’s breathing hitched again, he looked down at the space between them. A heavy silence fell around them for just a moment before Keith broke it. “Do you...” The raven-haired boy looked up to meet his eyes again. “... really not hate me?” Lance was going to drown in the vulnerability. “No, never.” He replied instantly. He yanked the other boy closer, wrapping his arms around him for a hug. “I could never hate you, Keith.” He whispered. The other boy’s body stiffened from the sudden embrace but quickly melted into it. “I’m sorry again.” Lance added, softly.
“I never hated you either, y’know.” Keith mumbled into the crook of his shoulder. The smaller boy hesitantly wrapped his arms around Lance’s waist. The blue paladin prayed that Keith couldn’t hear the rapid pounding of his heart beat. “Even if you are a jerk sometimes.” He added. Lance just chuckled softly. He reached up to gently comb through the jet-black sea of hair like he had always wanted. Keith let out a soft sigh as Lance trailed his fingers down to the nape of his neck. Oh no, his mullet is soft.
Both boys basked in the warmth between them for just a moment too long. When Lance pulled away, he saw the faint blush that dusted Keith’s cheeks. So cute. Lance reached his hand out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind Keith’s hair while the other boy’s hands remained on his waist. Keith gave him a shy smile & the taller boy thought his heart would explode. “Lance?” Keith whispered. “Y-yeah?” The taller boy answered with his heart caught in his throat again. “W-what was all that on the ship? You would just- Did I...” Keith bit his lip, hesitant to finish his question. “Do something wrong...?” He asked, quietly. Lance rapidly shook his head. “No!” He responded. “No, Keith! It’s not your fault! It’s not your fault at all, it’s mine! I’ve ... I just- haven’t been...” Lance trailed off, not sure how to explain himself. “There’s just been a lot on my mind & I just... didn’t know how to act around you.” He said that last sentence under his breath. Keith furrowed his brows in confusion.
“Why?” The smaller boy prodded cautiously; his voice soft. Lance took a deep breath. He guessed it really was now or never. He knew he couldn’t hide how he felt forever. He could come right out and say it already & just try to get over the crushing rejection as soon as possible.
“F-for the past few months, I’ve just... been uh, freaking out over a lot of things I never really thought about before...” Lance shut his eyes while he spoke. He couldn’t look at the other boy, too scared to see the twist of disgust that was bound to form on the red paladin’s face. He took another deep breath. Keith hummed softly to acknowledge that he was still patiently listening. “I, uh, I haven’t actually said it out loud yet before now but I think... I like boys?” He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, knowing his cheeks were flushed red. “I mean, yeah I thought guys were good looking & stuff but I never saw myself like, wanting to romantically get involved with anyone...” Lance was trying so hard not to just pretend to pass out to stop this conversation from happening. He paused for a moment, still too scared to face Keith but wondered what he thought. He felt Keith place a hand over his & squeezed it gently to reassure the blue paladin to keep going. “What changed?” The smaller boy asked, softly.
Lance cracked him a small smile before he dropped the galra war ship sized bomb.
“You.”
Lance said with much conviction as he could even though he felt his hands trembling.
“Huh? What do you mean I changed?” Keith asked, confused. Lance couldn’t believe how dense the red paladin could possibly be. Lance’s jaw dropped; eyes widened after hearing the misunderstanding but they grew even wider when he realized how close his face was to Keith’s. A completely confused look plastered on his face. Lance shook his head in disbelief. “No! No, I didn’t mean you! Like, when you asked what changed I meant me-“ Lance blabbered, trying to clear things up. “I-I changed because of you.” Lance admitted, breathlessly. “What did I do?” Keith asked, brows still furrowed. Lance looked up & sighed, closing his eyes again & gave the other boy’s hands a squeeze with both his own. “I realized that I...” His voice trembled. “I like you.” He confessed softly, knowing this is the closest he’s ever wanted the entire universe to just blow up completely so he didn’t have to face the upcoming rejection.
~
Keith’s breathing hitched from Lance’s last statement. Is he just pulling some kind of cruel prank on me right now? Oh god, did he find out & is just teasing me about it, I can’t-
He felt the way Lance’s hands were trembling in his through the heavy silence that fell around them. His eyes tightly shut just a few inches away from Keith’s face. If the blue paladin was trembling this much... it couldn’t just be some stupid joke, right? Keith took a deep breath, unsure about what Lance meant behind his words. Did he mean it in a “I don’t hate you, you’re my friend & I care about you so I like you” way or was it in a confessing confessing kind of way? As in he liked Keith back?
The former explanation seemed more realistic but Keith couldn’t help but hope he meant it in the other way. He didn’t know how to process this vital piece of information properly & could feel his brain start to short circuit as he tried coming up with his response. “Um!” Lance squeaked out; eyes still shut but breaking the silence. “I mean, you don’t have to say anything back, I didn’t expect you to uh, return my feelings or anything...” Lance mumbled, awkwardly.
Wait.
Return his feelings? Feelings like what?
Like... love?
Keith suddenly placed his hands on the sides of Lance’s face & pulled him in closer so that their foreheads were touching. He could feel the heat coming off from Lance’s flushed cheeks. Oh fuck, did Lance just say he liked him back?
“Lance, I like you too.” Keith gasped, softly. Suddenly, the other boy’s eyes shot open & Keith was drowning in that endless blue ocean once again. He stroked Lance’s sun kissed cheek with his thumb & smiled at him. Lance’s eyes lit up & Keith watched a huge grin spread onto his face. Lance huffed, softly. “I mean like, do you like-like me back?” Keith rolled his eyes, fondly this time. “Yeah, I like-like you back, idiot.” Keith smiled, he felt like his heart was going to soar out of his chest, he felt the flame that burnt out in him so long ago reignite.
Lance wrapped his arms around Keith’s neck & pulled him in. Keith felt a pair of soft lips press against his own & melted into the feeling instantly. The red paladin ran his fingers through Lance’s tousled tuff of brown hair & cupped Lance’s face in his hands again. There’s no way this is real life right now. There was no way-
Keith pulled back for a moment, opening his eyes & was greeted by a blushing mess of a boy, a shy smile on Lance’s face, eyes brimmed with fondness while looking right at him. That smile was his.
Keith just grinned back & pulled Lance back in for another kiss. This time, they took their time before parting their lips again. Keith revealed in the little gasping sounds Lance would make against his mouth, his hands gripped tightly around Keith’s sleeves. He loved the way he could feel Lance smiling while they kissed. He hoped that the other boy could feel his smile too. He didn’t know how to stop his heart from beating so loud & he didn’t know if it would ever go back to normal after tonight but he thinks he wouldn’t even mind.
He wouldn’t mind anything else as long as Lance kept kissing him like this, as long as Lance was his.
Keith felt like his heart exploded as he heard another one of Lance’s sweet sighs when he had deepened their kiss. After a moment, Lance pulled back, a playful look on his face. “Hey Romeo, why don’t you take me out on a date first before sticking your tongue down my throat?” He laughed.
~
Keith pouted, cheeks on fire from embarrassment. Oh my god, he’s so cute & now he’s mine. Lance’s heart felt so full, he can’t remember ever feeling excited like this over a love that was bloomed before. The blue paladin sighed fondly as he looked at the other boy’s pretty face. Keith was smiling & Lance felt warm knowing that he had been the one to put it there. “I actually... I’ve actually liked you for a while now, Lance.” Keith admitted. “& I can’t believe you ended up saying it before.” He mumbled. Lance just broke into another wide grin. “Hah! I win!” He flung his arms around Keith’s neck once again but the smaller boy lost his balance & ended up falling on the group on his back. Lance hovered right above him, his hands on the sides of Keith’s head, pinning him in place below him. Holy fucking quiznack. Lance flushed from the embarrassing thoughts that suddenly appeared in his mind.
Keith just gave him a shit eating smirk as if he had just read them. The smaller boy pulled his body down closer by the back of the blue paladin’s neck to plant another kiss on his lips. Lance savored in the feeling of touching Keith like this, not sure if the loud pounding of a heart beat belonged to the raven-haired boy or his. Keith giggled in between one of their kisses. “What exactly did you even win, sharpshooter?” Keith questioned, smiling. Lance smiled back, knowing that he was about to drop the cheesiest pick up line in the whole galaxy.
“Your heart.” He whispered, as he pulled Keith in closer once more. Both boys breaking out in laughter before they kissed again.