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Lance was never eating anything Coran gives him ever again. Ever.
It all started when Allura said they could take the next quintant to relax and reset. Hunk and Lance immediately looked at each other waiting for the punchline. When Shiro agreed, Keith's eyebrows almost hit the ceiling with shock.
"I can't tell if this is a test or not," Pidge said, blankly. Allura rolled her eyes as the other paladins nodded in agreement with Pidge's words. That was one time. In the beginning. She needed to ensure her paladins were serious about saving the galaxy, at any moment. Allura put her face in her hands, chuckling to herself.
"No test, paladins. After the last battle, I think everyone deserves a break,"
A shudder lapsed the room, a coarse reminder of what the last few quintants had been like. Hunk brushed his arm, feeling the raised bumps of where his new scars lay. Pidge absentmindedly flexed her leg. She found that being fresh out of the pod always made her feel like her skin was too tight. Lance and Keith shared a look, remembering the terror they'd witnessed and felt just vargas ago. They'd watched citizens die, innocent people running in terror from a blazing war they'd never wanted, or agreed, to be a part of.
Of course, they'd tried to save everyone.
Of course, they'd failed.
The war was always serious, naturally, but they were getting more and more requests from planets who were fully under Galran control and the presence of Voltron could not be hidden by their small resistance groups. They'd leave planets with their native people's freedom more often than not, but it always left the team with more memories, more wounds, more fears. They all bore their sins in a different way, all coping with the way the blood that coated their hands would grow thicker time and time again.
Pidge would try to make something new amid her stifled creativity, she'd push herself to the brink with no sleep and no self-care to make sure the screaming couldn't haunt her more than the exhaustion would. She'd end up collapsing in one of their common areas, finally succumbing to the sleep that may re-set her. Well, until the next time she closed her eyes - then she'd see their faces added to the crowd that occupied her mind.
Hunk was almost the opposite, he'd try desperately to patch up the holes the battle had left with taking care of everyone but himself. Making sure everyone's eaten, even if he had to spoon feed them himself, making sure everyone's healed. Taking responsibility for everything until Lance made him stop and cry it out.
And Lance, oh he was fine until he tried to sleep. Then the screaming would get so loud, so personal to him, his eyes tricking him into seeing the people he'd killed. The people he'd let die. He maybe slept three hours at a time since their first few phoebs in space.
Shiro, ever the responsible leader, made it seem like he was fine. He was hard to see through, until you caught him in the meeting room late at night. He'd sit there for hours by himself sometimes, occasionally debating whether or not he should tear his arm off and break it into a million pieces. He had that thought more often than anybody would think. He hated it, it was the bane of his very existence. He loathed what they had done to him.
Keith, if he wasn't in the healing pods after being stupidly reckless with himself, would be at the training deck for hours. He'd remember the way the soldiers who got away came at him, he'd programme the training bots himself just to make sure the same move wouldn't catch him out twice. He'd be fine until he wasn't. Until he was back there, watching someone die again because he wasn't good enough and he'd have to sprint back to his room before anyone caught him in tears.
Allura pressed her hands together, smiling at them. She loved her team dearly, they were her people now. Her little family. If she could find any way to ease their pain, she'd cross the universe to try.
"So! Consider it a day off, to do whatever you'd like - within reason, of course,"
Shiro looked at Pidge, Pidge didn't dare meet his eyes.
"No robotic experiments, I got it,"
Shiro smiled to himself before motioning toward the door out of the meeting room.
"Go wild,"
It took a few seconds for anyone to move before Hunk broke into a smile.
"You heard the man!" He went on to wonder out, the other three quick to follow. This was the first time in a long while that they could wonder around with nothing to do so the four of them (though it was Lance's idea, naturally) decided that the best use of their time would be to first go and bother Coran.
As they wondered through the Castleship hallways, Keith watched Lance joke around with Hunk and attempt at bothering Pidge. Keith had been keeping a close eye on him lately, his jokes were leaning further towards self-deprecation and his laughter seemed way more short-lived and much less real. He wasn't the best at reading social cues, but he knew his team. He knew Lance.
"Coran~" Lance trilled, bursting into Coran's little lab. Keith watched with a barely-concealed smile as he swung about the room, poking at the little things that were lying around with curiosity. That was his Lance.
..Their. Their Lance. He was never going to be just Keith's, Keith knew that much. As he watched Lance and Coran chat animatedly about nothing and everything, he could feel his chest swell with the feelings that he'd spent nights begging to disappear. Stupid heart.
"Before you get me even more distracted, what did you come in here for, my dear boy?" Coran asked, clapping a hand on Lance's shoulder. Lance grinned back.
"Well, Allura very generously gave us the next quintant off," He rubbed the back of his head, gesturing to the other three paladins beside him. "But we got no clue what to do. She told us to relax,"
Coran looked past Lance to his other paladins. Pidge was inspecting his shelves, poking at his various trinkets and flipping switches - occasionally murmuring with excitement when she saw a reaction. Hunk was more or less doing the same from a further distance, not wanting to break anything, watching Pidge mess around. Keith was observing everyone, watching them do their own little things. Coran could tell when he was doing that, trying to watch everything without letting everyone know he was interested. When in reality, Keith was always interested, always aware. It was one of his finer qualities.
Coran thought anyway.
"Well, my paladins, I know a sure-fire way to get you relaxed! Now, there are a few side-effects, but they are a lot of fun!" Coran swung around in his own dramatic fashion, rooting through his desk drawers. It took him a couple seconds before producing a small, see-through bag. He plopped it into Lance's open palm, chuckling as the paladins attention all swarmed to the little candy-looking things.
"Now, there's enough in there for you all, but please refrain from taking more than a couple each! Have too many and it might make you far too light-headed and may induce distress,"
Pidge's eyes lit up with curiosity, looking up at Coran.
"What, like a whitey?"
All heads turned to her quizzically as Coran laughed. Keith turned back to Coran, eyebrows knitted together in an almost-shock.
"Coran, did you just give us space-weed?"
"I'm unsure on your earth terms, but possibly!" There was silence for a second until Coran made ushering movements with his hands, essentially shooing them away.
"Go on then, you four! Enjoy your quintant off,"
He winked before shutting the door on them, leaving them gawking in the hallway. Lance straightened his back, turning to look at his three teammates before pointing an excusatory finger at Pidge.
"You had just turned fifteen when we went into space! How the quiznack do you know what a frickin' whitey is?"
Hunk and Keith turned to her expectedly, almost suspicious. Pidge shrugged, smiling at the memory.
"Matt used to smoke a lot before he started his training for Kerberos. One time, he whited out so bad he didn't realise I was in the same room as him for three hours, I asked him a question and it spooked him so bad he threw up all over me. My mom almost killed him,"
Hunk snickered, running his hand through his hair.
"Oh man, my Mom would be the same. She'd never let me live it down,"
They all looked down at the bag again, not quite knowing what to do.
"Well.." Keith started. Lance turned to him, almost surprised. Keith looked back, a mischievous smile gracing his lips. "I mean it is our day off,"
Lance felt his heart flutter. Stupid heart. He grinned, slinging an arm around his shoulders. It was maybe the only way he'd ever keep Keith close to his heart, and he'd take all he could get.
"That it is, Keith, that it is! We could relax in the living room, throw a couple of those awful Altean flicks on and who knows, maybe we'll actually understand them,"
Keith laughed at him, but didn't pull away. Lance felt his heart almost burst out of his chest.
"Edibles don't suddenly make you speak different languages, Lance,"
Lance put his other arm on Keith's other shoulder, making them face each other. He could almost hear Hunk cooing in his head.
"Space edibles, Mullet. We don't know what they do,"
-
The four of them settled and comfortable, all peaking curiously into Lance's hand where the bag still lay. A colourful movie played on the screen before them in a language they couldn't decipher, but none of them were particularly interested anyway. Keith was sitting close on Lance's left, which definitely wasn't making Lance melt internally. Hunk was settled in on his right, with Pidge sat on the floor beside Keith, her laptop rested across her lap. She always preferred sitting on the ground, floor time was necessary to her daily routine.
"Are you sure we shouldn't go find Allura and Shiro first?" Hunk wondered aloud, being the first to pick one of the edibles from the bag. He squeezed it gently between his fingers, noticing it had the same consistency of a jelly candy. Seemed normal enough.
Pidge shrugged, reaching up and baring her palm. Lance picked one out and plopped it in to the centre of her hand. She brought it back down, inspecting it for a moment, before popping it into her mouth. When Hunk gasped, she giggled.
"I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually, either when they find us or when Coran tells them what we've been doing,"
Keith smiled, chuckling before grabbing one himself. Hunk and Lance watched him as he ate it, both a tad weary. Keith swallowed it and shrugged.
"She's got a point,"
Hunk and Lance turned to each other, deciding to follow suit. They faux-'cheers'ed, tapping their gummies together before eating. There was a short silence in the room before Pidge started giggling to herself.
"Well you can tell you guys have never had weed before,"
Lance squawked indignantly, putting a hand on his chest in mock-offence.
"Oh, and you have?"
A quiet silence prompted Keith to laugh in disbelief.
"Oh my god, Pidge! I thought Matt was supposed to be the pothead in your family,"
Lance snorted, nudging Keith with his elbow.
"She's a regular rebel, we should have known,"
"Matt had some leftover!" Pidge huffed.
Keith and Lance peeked at each other before both of them broke into a fit of giggles. Pidge playfully swatted at them, unintentionally knocking their knees into each other. Keith shrieked, lifting his legs up and laying them across Lance's lap. A hasty glance at Hunk told Lance that he could feel the panic radiating off him. When Keith made no move to change the position of his legs, Lance rested his arms on Keith's knees. And if Keith's cheeks flushed a little pink, he could blame the laughter.
It ended up taking maybe ten minutes for the little candies to take affect.
Hunk had decided that Pidge was right in her love of floor time and now both of them were sat with their backs against the couch, watching the film that was playing. Both of them were sitting in silence, but every now and again they'd see something they thought was funny and whisper to one another, whack each other playfully, giggle aimlessly for about ten minutes and then fall into complete silence again. They'd gone maybe four vargas doing that, and neither of them seemed to be getting bored anytime soon.
Keith and Lance were still draped across the couch with their legs entangled, talking about nothing and everything. They'd gone from piloting, to their thoughts on mandatory galas ("Suicide pact?" "Suicide Pact."), and now they were debating how the Galaxy Garrison would cope with a drop-out and a former cargo pilot being the defenders of the universe.
"I'm serious man, if Iverson knew it was us up here protecting the universe he'd keel over and die, today," Lance said, his arm now around the back of the sofa. He had half a mind to sink his hands into Keith's hair, but refrained for his sake. "I swear, the man had no faith in me whatsoever,"
Keith scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"That old fucker was a complete moron, Lance. Without you, the team would be in total disarray,"
He turned and smiled fondly at Lance, and Lance almost folded right then and there.
"The universe would be in total disarray,"
Lance blushed, waving him off.
"C'mon Mullet, let's get serious here. I'm good for team spirit, sure, but don't flatter me too much. My ego might inflate even more,"
He meant it as a joke, but Keith refused to let this one slip through the cracks.
Keith reached out, taking Lance's face into his hands. If he had thought it through for more than a second, he might not have. Too late, he supposed.
"Stop doing that,"
Lance felt his heart speed up.
"What?" He murmured, eyes dipping down to Keith's lips for a second. He didn't look for long though, Keith's eyes were far more enticing.
"You talk down on yourself like you're not the best damn thing that's every happened to this team," Keith's voice never waivered, he spoke to Lance like he was... proud. What a funny feeling.
"I've never met someone who makes people feel complete like you do. You really think we'd have lasted more than a week without you?"
Lance opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Keith stern eyes softened, sighing as his hands dropped from Lance's face down the hand still on Keith's leg. He squeezed them slightly before letting go. Lance wished he wouldn't have let go.
"It's like you've got no idea how incredible you are,"
They were both quiet for a minute before Keith noticed Lance brushing a tear away, prompting him to panic.
"Oh my god, I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to upset you I just think you're a really great-,"
Lance waved his hand, sniffling.
"No, Keith, it's- I mean it's okay. I just.. uh," He wiped his eyes again. "I'm kind of struggling and it means a lot coming from you,"
Keith smiled softly, his heart hammering away.
"Anytime, I hope you know that,"
Lance's hand slid from behind Keith's head on to his shoulder.
"I do now,"
Keith, suddenly very aware of how close they were, went straight back into panic mode.
"Ah, uh, I'm sorry, I didn't think about how uncomfortable you must be - I'll just-,"
He went to lift his legs off of Lance. Despite how comfy he had been, Keith didn't want to push his already incredible luck. Lance fumbled, putting his hand on Keith's leg, rambling about how he was perfectly fine. They both froze, just looking at each other. Their faces were close, closer than they had been all day.
"You're sure?" Keith asked quietly, his voice almost weak.
"So, so sure," Lance whispered back, almost like a prayer.
For a second, neither of them even breathed. The moment felt too breakable - that was, until they heard a giggle. The two of them slowly pulled back and turned to look to their side. Hunk and Pidge were peeking at them over the edge of the couch cushion, seemingly having abandoned their interest in the movie. Keith and Lance looked down at them for a few seconds, before glancing at each other.
"I think maybe it's time for candy number two,"
-
By the time the second candy had taken it's toll, Pidge was fast asleep. Allura had found them after Coran had told her what he'd given them, taking one look and the plopping herself down next to Hunk and having one herself. She was now half-way through explaining the movie to Hunk who was, to his credit, listening intently and asking questions. Turns out being high just made Hunk kind of loud and very giggly.
Lance and Keith were still intertwined on the couch, murmuring about random topics once again. It was amazing, Lance thought, how easy it was for them to talk so peacefully. Maybe it was the weed, maybe it was what Keith had said to him earlier. Then again, they weren't the stupid kids they were when they got blasted up into space. They knew each other more now, Keith basically lived at the forefront of Lance's mind.
"Hello, Lance~?" Cue Keith waving his hand in front of Lance's face. Lance snapped out of it, blinking rapidly. Keith laughed a little, rolling his eyes.
"Sorry, world of my own for a hot second there," Lance said quickly, hoping Keith wouldn't notice the way his face was heating up. "Whatcha say, Mullet?"
Keith laughed at him fondly, it made Lance's breath hitch. He was desperate to reach out and touch him, pull him closer, anything.
"Y'know how you said before that Iverson would drop dead if he knew it was us up here?" Keith asked, and Lance's eyes immediately lit up. He grinned, the image of his face appearing in Lance's mid again. With Keith's belief behind him, Iverson's shocked face was a lot more satisfying than intimidating this time around.
"Yeah," He giggled. Keith's brain short-circuited for a second before he remembered his original point.
"I was thinking about all his old lectures and tactics, and it got me thinking," He paused, letting Lance get invested before he broke into laughter himself. "He'd be so bad at this,"
Lance smiled, a laugh bubbling behind his words.
"I mean.." His smile grew wider as he actually thought about it. "Oh my god, yeah! I haven't used a bit of his advice since we got here,"
Keith nodded, sitting up excitedly from his formerly relaxed position. In doing so, his legs flexed and he shifted closer to Lance. They both tried not to overthink it.
"He was always yelling at us about the little things, like the fucking simulation tests! Tell me why none of those were realistic? I thought their whole thing was preparing us for space travel, possible invasion-!"
The two of them spent the next 30 minutes going over their awful memories from the Garrison, like Keith's 'fight' with James Griffin - Lance prefers to call it a slaughter - and the time Shiro almost caught Lance and Pidge sneaking into the staff room. Now that got Keith cackling.
"Oh my God Lance, you never told him that was you?"
Lance shook his head, his stomach had started to hurt from how hard he was laughing.
"Of course we didn't! Could you imagine?" He put on his best Shiro impression, squaring his shoulders. "I'm Shiro, I just got shot back into space with a bunch of dumbass kids after being kidnapped for a year,"
Keith could feel tears pricking at the corners of his eyes as he clutched his stomach, trying not to laugh too loud. Lance carried on, now in his regular voice.
"Hey Shiro, my hero since I was 10 years old, I was a cadet at the Garrison before you went to Kerberos and one night I raided the staffroom because we knew that's where the good snacks were and accidentally knocked over a broom and left it on the floor, and me and Pidge watched you eat shit with our arms full of twinkies and mars bars,"
Now they were both in tears, their faces a bright red. And this specific moment was when Shiro decided to wonder into the room for the first time that day.
One look at him, then to each other, and Lance and Keith spent the next five minutes laughing in his face. Shiro could not have been more confused.
Allura, who was completely oblivious to the laughing and Shiro's presence until he tapped her on the shoulder, meekly admitted that yes, they were all stoned out of their minds. Turns out for Alteans, the weed-like substance was a lot stronger than it was for humans and she had been so off her face that she hadn't even realised Pidge and now Hunk were sleeping right next to her. She had been explaining the plot of the movies they had been watching to them the entire time and hadn't noticed when Hunk wasn't asking anymore questions.
"I can't believe you guys," Shiro sighed, exasperated as he turned to Lance and Keith who had finally ceased their giggling. The raised eyebrow he threw at Keith had more to do with how close he was to Lance than anything else, but that was between the two of them.
"..Alright, help me get them all up,"
Keith whined, his head lolling back. Lance looked almost bewildered at the sight of Keith behaving like the younger brother he was. Hell, even Shiro looked slightly surprised for a second.
"Shiro-! I'm comfy, stoned and getting along with Lance. Isn't that worth leaving us be?" Lance flushed a deep scarlet, which Shiro clearly noticed because of the massively smug smirk that crossed his face. He sighed dramatically, a stark contrast to how easily he was hauling Pidge over his shoulder at the same time. He picked Hunk up next, carrying him like a bride.
"Alright, don't stay up too late then," Keith grinned, nodding. Lance didn't miss the way Shiro winked at them before he left, letting Allura hold onto the back of his shirt as he guided her out of the room towards their bedrooms. Now it was just the two of them.
As the door slid shut, Keith turned to Lance and began giggling again.
"I can't believe that actually worked," He scoffed.
Lance exhaled a little laugh.
"Well, you know what he's like with you,"
Keith chuckled, pressing his lips together. He looked like he was contemplating something. Lance poked him, smiling.
"What's on your mind, Mullet?"
"Could I ask a kind of personal question?" If Keith didn't notice his face turning red before, he was about to.
"Sure, I mean c'mon Mullet, I am the open book," Lance hurried through his sentence, internally cringing at himself for using the same nickname twice in a row. He was better than that.
Keith snickered, Lance thanked whatever space god apparently made Keith temporarily colourblind. Lance probably would have been much more nervous, if he wasn't stoned out of his mind. He motioned with his hand, smiling.
"Go for it,"
Keith's head hit the couch pillow to his side gently, fiddling with his hair.
"Do you actually, like," Keith paused and wondered on how to phrase it. "Are you really the flirt you say you are?"
Lance tilted his head to the side, a little confused.
"I don't follow,"
"I mean, I know you're good with people, that's a given. I'm actually kind of jealous of it," Keith admitted, smiling when Lance puffed out his chest in pride. "What I'm asking is basically, you have the ladies man reputation, but do you actually do the hook-ups and that sort of shit?"
Lance thought, really thought before he answered. Keith clearly didn't mean any harm, and he was feeling bold.
"Honestly, I talk a big game but honestly I don't sleep around that much. I did kind of often when we first got to space, stress of Voltron plus being away from home made me do some dumb things. But I'm sure you know that already,"
Keith frowned at him playfully, smacking his arm gently. Lance laughed, holding his his hands up in defeat.
"I know, I know," He smirked, winking at Keith. "But you know, everyone wants this. I just like to give the people what they want, I'm blessed like that,"
A surge of confidence went through Keith like an electric current. Now or never, he guessed.
"How blessed exactly?"
Lance's eyes widened as Keith's grin turned mischievous. Well, two could play that game.
Lance lifted his hand, trailing it up Keith's stomach. His fingers stopped just below the belly button. Keith didn't dare breathe, looking from Lance's hand up to his face. Lance's eyes met his, and he grinned in a way that almost made Keith's heart stop.
"Blessed about that much,"
Neither of them did anything for a second. Lance went to move his hand before Keith pressed it back to his own stomach - his other hand reached for Lance's face, softly caressing his cheek. Now it was Lance's turn to be shocked. Keith leaned in, eyes challenging.
"I expect proof, McClain,"
Lance's mouth went a little dry and the room got real warm all of a sudden. And Keith was no where near as close as he wanted him to be. One swift pull landed Keith on his lap completely. Keith huffed out a surprised laugh, shifting to make himself comfortable and rested his arms on Lance's shoulders. Despite being a good 160 pounds, Lance had pulled him in like he weighed nothing - and Keith found it stupidly attractive. Lance's hands found Keith's hips, and his grin only widened.
"Oh I can prove it, Kogane,"
Keith leaned in close, their foreheads touching now.
"Oh, yeah?" he whispered. Lance's lips were practically against his when he whispered back.
"Yeah.." Keith didn't let him get another word in before their lips pressed together for the first time.
If anyone had asked either of them a quintant ago if they would ever make a move, Keith would have outright denied the feelings even existed (like he had been doing to Shiro since they had first gotten to space) and Lance would have choked on his own tongue before babbling out some kind of excuse and running away. And now?
Now in one of the common areas in the castle, where they could be walked in on at any moment, they were wrapped up in each other and kissing on the couch. Lance needed to remember to thank Coran the next time they saw each other.
Keith pulled back a little, taking a deep breath. He couldn't peel his eyes away from Lance, the way his chest was rising and falling almost in cohesion with his own.
"Should we be doing this here?"
Lance pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.
"Probably not," he breathed out before kissing him again. Keith's hands sunk into Lance's hair as he began to grind down against him, starting to feel the so-called 'blessing' they had talked about just minutes ago.
Between kisses, Lance kept talking.
"We've always been like that though," he muttered against Keith's lips, stuttering his way through a sigh when Keith made him feel particularly good.
"That's what draws me to you, you're fucking magnetic. I'd probably jump into a volcano if you asked me to,"
Keith laughed, pulling back a little. He wanted to look Lance in the eyes. Oh, and what eyes they were.
Deep blue eyes, filled with adoration gazing up at him like he was some kind of star. To Keith, he was like the entire galaxy.
Keith twirled a strand of hair around his fingers.
"I like you too much to get you to jump in a volcano," Lance couldn't stop the massive, goofy smile that graced his lips. He laughed softly, pressing his face into Keith's chest.
"God, Keith you're killing me here. I have been.." Lance sighed, trying to find the right words. "I have been crazy about you for ages,"
Keith chuckled, pulling Lance's head back so they could look at each other again.
"Shiro almost had my head for the amount of times I've rambled to him about you,"
They couldn't look away from each other, soaking up the feeling of being wrapped in such a perfect embrace.
Keith could feel the growing erection beneath him twitch, and Lance seemingly noticed at the same time. His face heated up, burrowing his face into the crook of Keith neck. Who was seemingly finding Lance's sudden embarrassment very sweet.
"Maybe we should head to my room.." Keith whispered against Lance's ear, delighting in how he shivered. Lance tilted his head to the side, the side of his face now resting on Keith's shoulder. He had a smug look in his eyes, something that almost always indicated he was about to do something either reckless or mischievous.
"Oh?"
"Mhm," Keith's hand slid up Lance's face, his thumb rubbing circles into his cheek. "I don't think anyone else needs to see what we're about to do, do you?"
In one quick motion, Lance stood up with Keith still in his arms. Keith made a squeaking noise, shocked at the quick move before realising Lance had him fully secured. Safe.
He exhaled, before noticing the look of utter awe and excitement on Lance's face. He raised an eyebrow with a little smile.
"Lance?"
"That was so cute," He giggled his way through the words, a smitten look crossing his face. Keith, realising he meant the noise he'd involuntarily let slip moments before, promptly burst into a bright red blush and let his head fall against Lance's shoulder. Lance chuckled as he began walking, whispering little encouragements to Keith along the way. His embarrassment eventually subsided the further they got, being entirely forgotten when they reached the hallway to their rooms - although the soft kisses being pressed to his neck and jaw may have played a part in that.
The second they got to Keith's room, his back was to the wall. Lance was never the patient type. Especially not when he finally had the person he wanted pressed up against him like he was something. That's all he had ever wanted - to be something to Keith. It was different back then, of course, he wanted to be as good as him, better even.
The more he'd thought about it, all his dreams had revolved around Keith. Lance loved being in his orbit. Lance loved Keith. It burst out of him by the seams, in his actions, his words. Keith was his entire world, and he had no idea
A soft moan broke him from his trance, their eyes locking together as they drew apart. Keith's chest was rising and falling fast and his breathing was erratic. His hair a mess, lips kiss-bitten and face flushed. God, he was just so beautiful. So he said as much.
Keith's reaction was immediate, not in the way Lance expected. His expression grew soft and the world around them fell silent.
"Really?" Keith whispered and it almost made Lance flinch. If Keith noticed the momentary loss of composure, he didn't let it show.
"Perfectly beautiful. Every-fucking-thing about you," Lance whispered back, his response immediate and voice full of emotion. "Do you need me to show you?"
Keith's mouth opened slightly, but he found himself unable to speak. He nodded, not knowing what else to do. Lance smiled, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
"I'm moving us over to the bed, okay?"
As he did, a weight settled in his chest. He would ask Keith about it later. Right now, he wanted to focus on how to make him feel good.
Laying him down on the soft sheets, Lance slotted himself between Keith's legs before putting his hands on Keith's hips.
"I'm going to take these off for you, okay baby? Let me know if you want to stop, and we'll stop immediately,"
Keith smiled, sitting up slightly to give him a gentle kiss before pulling his own shirt off. He lay back, propping himself up on his elbows.
"I look forward to the real 'Lance McClain' experience,"
Lance chuckled, unbuttoning his pants and pulling them down slowly.
"You might be the only one whose ever gotten that,"
Keith raised an eyebrow, lifting himself up slightly so Lance could get the jeans off totally and discard them. He was now left only in his boxers.
"Really?"
Lance looked at him, really looked at him.
"Well, yeah. Sure, I do my best - I love to please. The Blue Paladin of Voltron is a real flirt, if you ask me," He smiled widely after getting a little laugh out of Keith. "But Lance McClain? He's reserved,"
Keith's breath hitched as Lance's hand rested on his upper thigh. Their eyes locked, and he swore he felt dizzy with excitement.
"Lance McClain was always for you,"
Keith surged forward, connecting their lips once more. Lance fell into it easily, smiling at they parted.
"You really enjoy that, don't you?"
Keith licked his lips.
"It's my new favourite thing,"
Lance laughed, pressing their foreheads together. His hand remained where it had been, the other now on Keith's waist.
"It's mine too. Keith.." Lance's hand slid up to fiddle with the waistband of his boxers. "Can I?"
Keith let out a breath he had been involuntarily holding in.
"Yes.. but you better be planning on stripping too, because I can't be the only naked one here. It's not fair," He was only teasing, Lance knew that, but stood up all the same and started to pull his own shirt over his head.
"You got it, babe,"
Keith smiled, also sliding off the bed. He helped Lance pull his shirt off the rest of the way before beginning to figure with his belt buckle.
"Mind if I help?"
Lance grinned, putting his hands of Keith's face and giving him a peck.
"I would be honoured,"
As Keith fiddled and undid Lance's belt and started undoing the fly, he dropped to his knees. It was easier to pull Lance's pants off, but he mostly did it to see how Lance would react. And he saw almost immediately that he had made the right decision when the bulge in Lance's boxers twitched and grew. Lance sighed, tense and aching for more as he stepped out of his jeans entirely. But Keith didn't rise from where he knelt, instead resting the side of his face on Lance's warm thigh.
Lance looked down at him, voice shaky.
"You are such a tease,"
Keith laughed, trailing his fingers up Lance's exposed body as he slowly stood before wrapping his arms around Lance's neck.
"You love it,
Lance grinned, strong hands pulling Keith's waist in as he murmured in agreement before kissing him. They backed up onto the bed, Keith letting Lance push him down. They pressed their hands together almost as fiercely as their lips had collided, constantly battling each other for dominance in the way they always did. This felt less competitive though, more like a desperation to be one with the other. Keith let out moan as Lance's hand slid from his and under the waistband of his boxers.
"You make such pretty noises, Keith," Lance whispered against his lips as he started to pump Keith's dick slowly. "So, so pretty, sweetheart,"
Keith whined, shaky hand sliding up Lance's jaw as Lance began to move his hand slightly faster, toying with him just to see his reactions.
"Please.." Keith's voice came out as more of a whimper, though he could honestly say he didn't care how he sounded anymore. His entire body felt like it was on fire, he desperately needed to be closer and closer to Lance and he could hardly bear it every second that he wasn't. He could feel Lance's smile widen, his warm breath brushing against his skin as he spoke.
"Since you asked so nicely,"
Lance pulled his hand back, sitting up despite Keith's whines at the loss of contact. His fingers brushed against Keith's boxers again, enjoying the way his breath hitched and the pleading look Keith had given him.
"I'm going to take these off now, okay?"
He chuckled as Keith nodded enthusiastically. Lance was enjoying how relaxed he was, how eager to be touched. He'd wanted them to be together for so long, and now they finally were. It was like a dream. He slid Keith's boxers down his thighs and off his legs entirely before throwing them to the side and admiring the perfect man who was lying in front of him. A flush crossed Keith's face as he watched Lance admire every part of him, the healed scarring and each bend of his body included. Emboldened by the clear adoration, Keith's hand slid up Lance's thigh and tugged on his underwear gently.
"You turn, lover-boy," Lance flushed a little himself before he did as he was told, leaving them both completely bare. Keith sat up, pressing a soft kiss to Lance's shoulder, then his neck before he looked up properly and pressed a final kiss to his lips.
"There should be lube 'n some condoms in the nightstand. Lube should already be in the box,"
Lance paused, pulling back and reaching out for the drawer. His hand rooted through aimlessly for a few seconds before finding what they needed. A spike of unwanted jealousy wormed through him as he pulled the box of condoms out of the nightstand. It wasn't empty by any means but a few were definitely missing and the lube was half-used. Despite the jealousy eating at him, Lance playfully raised his eyebrows at Keith with a smirk.
"Looks like I'm not the only lover-boy in the castle, hm?" Keith blushed, looking a little embarrassed. Lance immediately felt a pang of guilt, putting his hands up. "I'm only kidding, obviously-"
"I was thinking of you," that stopped him dead in his tracks.
Keith looked him in the eyes, a small smile pulling at his lips. "I was trying to get over my crush on you, but every time I just.."
He fiddled with his fingers, and it hit Lance just how vulnerable he must feel. Keith was the strong, guarded one, and he was admitting this to him. Lance had always thought he was one of the people Keith kept his guard up for. He'd never realised that he'd been inside the walls all along.
Keith looked down, voice growing soft. "Every time I just pictured you,"
Lance was so, ridiculously, in love.
Seeing how Keith was squirming uncomfortably, he decided to share a story of his own.
"I said your name," Keith's head shot up, a look of slight disbelief on his face. Lance rubbed the back of his head, sheepish. "The last time I hooked up with someone, that royal advisor from Giklos, Krayis. I called him by your name when I.."
He didn't have to finish his sentence. Keith's shock melted away in a second, replaced by a smitten, sappy grin.
"Is that why he was glaring at me through the screen on that last meeting?" Keith laughed.
Lance, slightly relieved by Keith's reaction, giggled with him and nodded.
"Probably, he wouldn't even look at me,"
When their laughter tapered off, Keith leant forward and pressed their foreheads together.
"Jesus, Lance, how long have we been waiting for this?" He whispered.
Lance's smile widened.
"Too long. Let's make up for it,"
Keith pulled him in by the back of his head, giving him a deep kiss before leaning back on to the pillows and spreading his legs a little wider. Lance backed up a little and grabbed the lube from the box. He put a generous amount on his fingers, the cool sensation sending a shiver through him. Lance leaned forward, using his other arm to support himself as he hovered above Keith. As his fingers traced Keith's entrance, he heard him take a staggered breath. Lance smiled, pressing one finger inside as he kissed Keith's jaw, which prompted a quiet gasp.
As he slowly worked his fingers in and out, Lance kept a close eye on Keith's expressions. He wanted to map out every little thing about him like a permanent imprint in his mind. It made Lance wonder.
"Do you do this to yourself often, baby?" His voice came out a lot more breathlessly than intended, but Keith heard him all the same. He could tell by the way he tensed a little.
"Ah.. maybe.." Keith panted. "I just.. like how it feels,"
Lance smiled down at him, sliding in another finger and watching the tension in him disappear.
"Good to know, sweetheart. You look so handsome like this,"
Keith whimpered again, louder this time, and a little light bulb went off in Lance's head. Oh. He pressed his fingers a little deeper, and leaned in close to Keith's ear.
"You like it when I say things like that, don't you baby? When I tell you how perfect you look,"
Watching the shudders ripple through Keith made Lance even more excited, his dick almost hurting from how hard he was. Lance bit Keith's earlobe gently before going down to the crook of his neck and peppering kisses across it. Keith's head felt light from the high Lance was giving him.
"Lance," He gasped, pleading. "I'm begging you, please.."
Lance dragged his tongue across the sensitive skin of Keith's neck, feeling cocky.
"Are you? I don't hear any begging,"
Keith could cry. He reached for Lance's face, pulling him in close. He pressed their lips together and began to whisper.
"Please, Lance, please I need it so badly. I need you to fuck me before you drive me insane. Please, baby.."
Any sort of resolve Lance had evaporated in that second and he kissed Keith hard before pulling away. What could he say, he liked to give people what they wanted. Lance pulled his fingers out before sitting up. Keith involuntarily whimpered at the loss of contact and Lance smiled at him as he rolled the condom onto his own aching cock. He shivered at the first contact it had gotten for a while. He reached for the lube as he spoke.
"Are you comfortable there, sweetheart? We can switch to having you on your stomach if that's more comfy?" Keith shook his head.
"I wanna see you,"
Lance let out a strained chuckle that could almost be a moan, running his spare hand through his hair.
"Fuck. Seriously, Keith, you're going to be the death of me,"
Keith grinned, pulling Lance in for a kiss before he lined himself up. Lance clasped one of Keith's hands in his own while the other slid on to Keith's hip to guide himself inside. Keith's legs were wrapped around Lance's hips now, basically itching to pull him in closer. He sighed shakily as Lance pushed his way in, exhaling when he stopped moving. Lance nuzzled their foreheads together, baby blue eyes locking on to Keith's violet ones.
"You're not hurting, are you?"
Keith smiled.
"Doesn't hurt, just feeling very blessed right now,"
Lance snorted, shaking his head.
"Me too,"
Keith pressed a kiss to Lance's neck before squeezing his hand. Lance nodded, his grip on Keith's hip strong as he began to move.
Keith's head fell back on to the pillow, relaxing as Lance found a steady pace. His breath hitched as Lance brushed against just the right spot. And, observant as ever, Lance noticed. It took him a few times to hit it dead on, but when he did he could tell. Keith's back arched slightly, a loud moan escaping his lips. His fingers flexed and gripped Lance's harder, his other hand grasping Lance's shoulder tightly.
Lance grinned, pressing a soft kiss to Keith's ear as he kept on thrusting harder.
"That's what I like to hear, darling,"
Keith shuddered, his hand at the back of Lance's head.
"Lance.. fuck, Lance,"
"I know, baby, I know," Lance whispered, watching Keith fall apart in his arms. "You're doing so good,"
He continued whispering soft praises to Keith as he thrusts got harder and a bit faster, his own breathy moans occasionally lapsing his words. Lance had dreamed of their bodies pressing together like this many more times than he'd ever admit and Keith had too. The way they moved and writhed in tandem, each rise and fall of their chests as they pushed closer to one another brought them closer to their finish.
"I'm.." Keith groaned, gasping when Lance pulled back further and slammed back into him. Keith gripped the back of Lance's head even harder, fingers brushing his hair. "Lance, 'm close!"
Lance leaned down, keeping at his pace while he pressed a deep kiss to Keith's lips. He could feel both of their moans vibrating into the kiss, pushing him even closer to his climax.
"Do it, baby. Go on, you've been so good for me,"
A gasp rattled Keith's frame, crying out as he finish. The pure image of Keith cumming for him sent Lance over the edge too, gripping Keith's hips and thrusting into him hard while he rode out his orgasm. The room was filled with harsh panting and shaky breaths before the noise eventually subsided. Lance gently guided himself out of Keith, typing up the condom and throwing it in the bin. He collapsed alongside Keith and they lay quiet for a moment.
"Now that was the real Lance McClain experience, huh?" Keith murmured, squeezing Lance's hand teasingly. Lance chuckled, rolling on his side to face him. For the first time, they let go of each others hand.
"We're about half-way, I'd say,"
Keith raised an eyebrow, a shy smile gracing his lips.
"There is no way you have enough energy to go for a round two right now,"
Lance scoffed playfully, his hand resting on the small of Keith's back. He pulled him in, letting Keith rest his head against Lance's shoulder.
"Oh, I so could. But I'm talking about this,"
Keith smiled contently up at Lance, who swore to god he'd never seen Keith look so beautiful than right then. Lance leaned down, placing a soft kiss to his forehead, then his lips. Keith leaned in to the touch, then nuzzled happily into Lance's chest.
"This might be the only thing I've ever wanted this badly," Keith whispered, and Lance melted. His hand reached up and toyed with one of the curls at the end of Keith's stupid mullet.
"Me too,"
Tomorrow, they'd have to get back to work saving the universe. But tonight, the universe was humming a long-forgotten tune as they fell soundly asleep in his arms. They were safe tonight.