Chapter Text
Keith was so focused on keeping his purple skin in check that he barely even noticed Lance had taken his hand after they exited Blue.
Lance had reached for his hand immediately upon exiting his lion. It was like now that he could hold Keith's hand, he wasn't exactly keen on stopping.
"Yeah, I'll hide you under my jacket or something if you start reacting," Lance nodded, very proud of his self-declared mastery of subtlety. He figured that since they were Official now (even if not to their comrades quite yet) it would be acceptable, seeming to be a sweet gesture of offering a coat to his cold boyfriend when it was really the two of them mutually hiding something from the rest of the team.
The first thing Pidge noticed about the clashing red and blue Paladins as they walked up the hall was their linked hands. Hands that were linked willingly instead of hands that were linked for the sole purpose of dragging the other member of the party along.
Pidge looked up from their computer, adjusting their glasses and calling over to Hunk. "Hey, get over here. This looks like it's gonna be good. "
Hunk heeded Pidge's call and came over, finishing off a rather hefty sandwich. Once he saw his bro, Lance, hand in hand with his crush, he whooped. "Heck yeah dude! Get it!"
"Is it too late to say 'I told you so'?" piped Pidge.
Hunk snorted, "I think you said that from the moment Keith cradled Lance in his arms."
As the two Paladins approached, Hunk smiled, admittedly relieved Keith's absence and Lance's worry was just over a little crush.
Keith and Lance stopped in front of the table Pidge was currently reclining at, Keith looking especially puzzled.
"Already hand in hand, huh?" asked Hunk, eyes absolutely shining with support for Lance, and Keith too.
Pidge rolled their eyes. "It just figures that you two would be a showy couple."
Wait? Hand in hand...?
It took a split second for Keith to realize that, oh yeah, hands are definitely a thing and Lance is holding mine right now oh no fuck, shit, fuck that's so embarrassing-! Lilac burst from the bridge of Keith's nose and over his cheeks in a split second, nails sharpening noticeably when he pulled his hand back from Lance's.
It would have been beautiful if it didn't have the power to make his team turn on him.
He panicked, not sure how to hide this in such a short amount of time. Keith looked over to Lance with pure fear in his eyes, ready to turn tail and run back to Blue, eyes silently begging for help.
Lance was way too engrossed in Keith until they got quite near to his two closest buddies in the whole galaxy, Hunk and Pidge. He knew that whenever they got to them, if they were still holding hands, that he at the very least would catch a lot of slack from it, a lot of teasing and diary quotes, he was sure.
He had opened his mouth to contest the jabs coming from the Green and Yellow paladins, but was intensely startled by the fact that Keith had drawn away so quickly at their comments. He looked over and saw-- Oh shit-
"H-Hey!! Keith! I think there's a hole in my jacket, can you take a look?!" He exclaimed in panic, laughing loudly in attempt to cover the anxiety in his voice as he stepped in front of Keith and spread one side of his coat wide, effectively hiding Keith, who seemed to have caught on and ducked accordingly.
"Dude, are you alright?" he whispered sharply, surprisingly discreetly, for Lance at least. But it wasn't like any part of this situation was discreet at all. Lance followed up by looking back at Hunk and Pidge with a completely subtle grin. Nothing was wrong, why would you suggest that?
The violet splotch across Keith's face drew back in from its starting point on his nose as he peered over the jacket at Lance.
Woah. Ok. Lance up close. Up close and personal. Ok. Woah. Hello. His eyes look so blue...his lips look so- fuck!
The violet splashed over his face for a moment before he shook it off again.
"I'm good. Now you have to explain that to them. "
Pidge and Hunk peered over at the two jumpy Paladins, questions budding at their lips.
Lance exhaled in relief, before taking in a large breath and turning back to Hunk and Pidge, attempting to laugh it off. "How about that? Not a hole to be found! See?" He then showed off his jacket to them, unblemished, save for the slight signs of frequent wear by its owner.
"Good for me, huh? Well, we're gonna head over to the kitchen and grab some food, since we haven't had any this morning, right Keith?" Lance said, slapping Keith on the back.
He was all for talking to Hunk and Pidge, but not now . Until Keith could control his change, every conversation was unfortunately a risk. And Lance just now found out how bad he was at being subtle, even though it had seemed so fine in his head. The two of them were probably not the best suited pair to be keeping such a large secret.
Pidge let it go, God bless, but Hunk wanted to tag along.
"I can whip you guys up some sandwiches or something, if you want."
No, you absolutely can not whip us up any sandwiches. is what Keith would have said if he was heartless.
But instead, he said, "Sure." Fuck.
Lance had opened his mouth to politely reject, planning a playful jab that Hunk was suggesting that they were incapable of making something as simple as a sandwich. His mouth hung open however, because was Keith really the one who okayed this? While they were in this situation? He managed to push it aside as they made their way to the kitchen, because hey, who could turn down one of Hunk's masterpieces?
He had inquired about how pissed Allura was at both of them for missing both independent and team training, to which Hunk had replied very much, but she might be lenient due to the fact that everyone in the castle had been shipping he and Keith for a while now.
"Because of you and your tiny munchkin demon that have been going through my personal stuff," He dared not to say diary because not only would Keith know that he endlessly thought of him due to Blue's method of finding out, but also that he had been ceaselessly writing about him, which seemed even more personal and embarrassing.
"Oh yeah, your diary? That was really funny," Hunk snorted.
Damn it, Hunk .
"Diary?" Keith asked, so innocent, so young. "You've been writing about me? And what's all this about shipping?"
"Whoops," shrugged Hunk, grinning to himself as he made the sandwiches.
"You know, if we had an enemy invasion right now, I wouldn't feel any more attacked than I already do," Lance slumped over on the counter across from where Hunk was working ever so diligently. He groaned loudly into his arm for a solid minute at least. Who knew he could give a continuous stream of air for that long?
"First my best friend betrays me, and has been betraying me for a while, then my lion betrays me, pesters me about everything and then threatens to inflict bodily harm on me for complaining while letting Keith live, unlike myself, then my supposed best friend betrays me again ," He grumbled exasperatedly.
"But, in short. Yes. I've been writing like a little school girl in my diary about you because I thought I could trust SOME PEOPLE to respect OTHER PEOPLE'S' privacy. Apparently everyone else has known about this for a while and have wanted us to just go ahead and get together for a while now," Lance explained, his exhaustion hitting him now that he had slowed down a bit, sitting up, due to the fact that leaning against the counter made it tempting to fall asleep right there, and that would probably have gotten him in more trouble, making Allura suspect that he had caused such a fuss this morning just to have an excuse to go back to bed unnoticed and without repercussion. Which totally sounded like something that Lance would do.
Ok. Don't feel anything about that. Don't you do it! Not even a peep! It's not cute! It's not endearing! It's just-! Journaling! Yeah! Journals are totally cool and no one gets emotional because of them, yep yep!
Keith is visibly struggling and it'd be funny as hell if it wasn't so dangerous.
"I'm gonna- take my sandwich to go, Hunk," Keith said as he hopped up, wrapping one of the sandwiches in a napkin and high tailing it out of there. But not without mouthing "sorry" at Lance.
"Wh- ok, buddy," Hunk replied as Keith made a swift exit. He turned back towards Lance. "Sorry dude. Now your crush thinks you're creepy. My bad. I'll make your favorite sandwich."
Keith zoomed back to his room and shut the door, leaving it unlocked. His thoughts were whirling around his head at an alarming rate.
Lance, wow, what a guy, what a face, oh but my face- what if they find out- they won't they won't Lance will protect me. Lance, wow, what a guy-
Shades of lilac rose and fell over his body, making him all the more nervous.
He bit into his sandwich despite its overwhelming textures and tastes. Did being Galra affect his taste buds too? If this whole thing made him unable to eat Hunk's masterful sandwiches again, he'd be pissed. But for now Keith just pulled through and forced himself to eat. He hadn't eaten in what felt like days.
"Yeah Hunk you're really the best wingman, I can't even believe it," Lance grumbled, eating his sandwich and eventually returning to regular conversation with Hunk, less pouty. His longtime friend always seemed to be able to make him feel at least a little better. Even though he knew the real reason of Keith's absence, he was still a little sore of Hunk's unknowing triggering of Keith's change, but what could be done? It's not like he could explain all this to prevent it from happening again.
Lance dragged himself away after a while, wanting to dodge Allura mostly. He was way too tired to deal with the scolding right now. However, despite his exhaustion, he did want to check in on how Keith was doing. "Hey," Lance said quietly, giving a light knock on Keith's door. "Are you alright now?"
The door slid open, but Keith was a sorry sight to see inside. He was half out of and half under his blankets, purple splotches randomly dotting his form. His ears hadn't changed, luckily, but one eye had. Half of Hunk's sandwich remained uneaten on his short bedside table. He kept shifting uncomfortably, looking grumpy and pained.
"You tell me," he spit out sarcastically. Well, at least Keith was feeling good enough to be sarcastic. That had to count for something.
Being Galra now was....off-putting, to say the least. Whenever he shifted, he felt....wrong. To repress his emotions, to turn human again....was beginning to feel very, very wrong. Because he wasn't human anymore, was he? How could he be if everything in his very being screamed out for him to be a part of that alien menace? Being human felt like a dishonesty, and that made Keith worry. Keith wanted to be told that everything would be ok. He wanted something, someone who could reassure him. He didn't think he'd ever needed that before...
Of course, there was Shiro. He'd treated Keith like a brother from the moment they met, helping him out when school drama and teenage angst was kicking his ass. But he couldn't go to Shiro now. Not to talk this out, and definitely not for a hug, some comfort. God, what he'd do for some comfort right now.
Keith looked up at Lance wearily, drawing the covers over himself more closely. He wasn't quite sure if he could ask Lance for something as simple as a hug. They'd never been this close before, despite how badly Keith had wanted them to be. But now that they were, Keith didn't know where the line was. What was too much?
It was probably too much to even share this with Lance in the first place, the crush, the whole Galra mess. But he had already, and he couldn't go back. But he certainly wasn't going to ask for help. He was strong enough to face this alone. Or, at least he thought so until he felt tears carve a pathway down his face. He wiped his eyes and covered his face with a layer of blankets, shifting under them.
"I'm fine," Keith said as he was very obviously not fine.
Keith looked and felt like a mess from what Lance could see. He felt bad for even the few moments on the walk here that he felt sorry for himself due to his lack of sleep. Keith was going through so much more, how did he allow himself to forget that??
Lance quickly entered, shutting the door behind him, unnoticed and silent as could be, to avoid attention. What to say in a moment like this? He found himself walking over to Keith's bed and sitting on the edge of it. It reminded him of times back on earth, before the garrison, when his siblings would be upset and he would sit on the edge of their bed and scoop them up, sing them a little lullaby and talk it out if necessary. Sure, that might work on a child, but not only was Keith not a child, but there was a whole different connection between them and it definitely wasn't familial.
"Hey," he finally said after a moment. Lance felt his lower lip quiver. It was taking a toll on him, seeing Keith cry was. He never wanted to see Keith cry, he wanted to see that rare smile of his, or even just a scowl, anything other than tears. He managed to find what seemed to be Keith's shoulder under the cover, trying to rub it in an effort of comfort.
"I--I know this may seem like a losing battle either way to you--hiding or hatred--but I promise you that no matter what happens, it gonna-- It's going to be okay, Keith. No one hates you and," Lance took a large breath. This was definitely harder than comforting a little kid. "I'm going to stick by you in whatever decision you make, whatever you go through. I'll lie and I'll cover for you as long as I need to, I've got plenty of experience, even though I'm not that great at it," Lance let out a little laugh.
"But," he paused, pursing his lips for a moment. "For whatever counts, I-- I promise that I'll be here despite anything anyone says or does. Nothing can make me hate you more than I thought I did at the garrison, and I mean, it's not like that even applies anymore or was even valid in the first place, so." He smiled, even if Keith couldn't see him through his covers.
Keith did the only sensible thing in that moment and swept Lance into a hug. Even with all the covers, Keith's warmth definitely wasn't solely because of the blankets. A face red from tears and blush complimented the red motif in his room.
Keith was glad he had a few layers of blanket to protect Lance from his growing claws as he became fully Galra for the second time that day. His shoulders shook as he cried into Lance, holding on to the blue paladin with a vice-like grip.
All Keith could think to do was mutter 'thank you' over and over like a mantra. He stayed in Lance's arms for what felt like hours, but was really only about twenty minutes. As he pulled his head back from Lance's shoulder to look up at him, his large ears swiveled to attention.
Was Lance crying? Oh no.
He hadn't even thought of how this mess would weigh on Lance-! Hiding this problem was going to hurt him just as much as it would hurt Keith-!
It was right then and there that Keith promised himself he would try to come to terms with this Galra curse. He couldn't change it, but hiding it would only make it that much worse.
He couldn't though, not now, not yet. But he had to soon.
Holding Keith like this, having him in his arms, would have normally been something that would have had Lance over the moon, but in their current circumstances, Lance found tears dripping down his own cheeks. He knew it would be easier for both of them to just tell everyone, but he also knew more than anyone that the fear and anxieties of how people would react might be one of the worst things in the world.
Then Keith saw him crying. He had tried to repress whatever shaking and sniffling he'd normally do, but apparently Keith had noticed. "Ah--uh, sorry," Lance muttered, pulling away slightly to swipe his sleeve across his face. "I'm a little bit more emotional when I'm tired, I guess," he lied, giving a small laugh. "I just hate seeing you go through all this stress, Keith. Hunk's usually the stressy one that I have to calm down," Again, trying to lighten the mood a little and distract from himself. Excuses, excuses, he couldn't let Keith know that already this was stressful for him too. Keith was going through much, much more with this and Lance felt he didn't even have the right to feel anxious, much less let Keith know about it.
"You don't have to pretend it's ok," Keith whispered, afraid saying that at full volume would sound more threatening than he intended.
"It's not ok, I know you're not ok. I- I care about you a lot, y’know. That's probably pretty obvious, but," he paused to sniffle, "I don't know if I'll be able to tell them right away...but. Let's- let's give it a week."
Keith paused to look back up at Lance, sniffles subsiding. And w o w did Lance look really sad and wow did he want to fix that right away.
"A week's long enough to know, right? If it'll be too hard?"
Fuck. Keith should not be thinking like he is right now, definitely not think about how he just wants to kiss it better, make Lance smile and fall back into comfortable banter with him. He wants stupidly positive Lance back. The Lance who he knows would take on the world single-handedly if given the chance.
But fuck, Lance looks really kissable and wow Keith is struggling.
He held himself back as well as he can, because you shouldn't kiss people who don't want to be kissed. Duh.
"I'm okay, really." A wobbly smile and a voice crack was really convincing, surely. Damn it .
"Forget about me, I'm hangin' in there with you for as long as you need or want me to," Lance reassured him. "You don't need to rush how you feel. Fearing how people might react, in my experience, is usually irrational and everything turns out alright, but. Given that experience, I do know how terrifying it is,"
Lance smiled at him, hoping that he was able to hide all the different anxieties and what-ifs that were plaguing his mind, but as Hunk had told him many times that he could read Lance like an open book most of the time. Then, as if his emotions couldn't have been any more all over the place, Keith seemed to be staring at him and subconsciously leaning towards him a little bit. Lance hadn't been kissed many times and he didn't know if this was just wishful thinking on his part, but this was definitely corresponding body language.
Holy shit . It totally wasn't that Lance didn't want to kiss Keith, because honestly how far from the truth could that be? But how terrible of him would it be to misread the situation and exploit Keith's vulnerable state?? What an asshole move that would be!
"Haha! Wow!! Look at the time!" (There was no clock anywhere, and besides, space time was really weird.) Lance stood up quickly. He needed to get himself out of there if kissing and Keith's cute face and his kissable lips was going to engulf his mind. This was not the time, Lance !
"I-I bet Allura is probably-- I think I just heard her voice and I probably need to go-- go and tell her that-- tell her why we weren't at team training today," Good job, Lance. Smooth. He edged towards the door. "You should probably take the rest of the day and just chill out. Want me to bring you some dinner? Since we kind of just had our breakfast and lunch?" Lance managed to calm himself down a little while asking those questions, but his heart still threatened to beat out of his chest. "Is there anything else I can get you? I'm willing to be your personal servant just for today, but tomorrow it's back to normal," he managed to tease.
Oh.
How stupid he was! How could he have ever thought Lance would kiss him, especially so soon, especially with his new fangs-! How idiotic.
Keith's heart sunk a little when Lance got up, but he nodded him on, not having the energy to argue. He hoped this week would go by quickly.
Allura had her hands on her hips from the moment Lance approached her.
"While I am happy for you and Keith's union, that does not excuse your absences. What happened?"
"Oh yeah, we were gonna race our lions and that's what I was running around for this morning because apparently Keith went on ahead of me and I didn't know it," Lance explained still a little frazzled from what had just almost went down with Keith. "But we all know how well Keith and Kitty Rose can get along at sometimes, but at others, they totally butt heads." Lance nodded, his hands knowingly resting on his hips.
"So I figured that since we were already all riled up for a Race in Space, that I'd just take him out in Blue for a while and-- well," Lance pretended to be a little flustered. "Things escalated a little and you know-- we got a little carried away," Lance's vagueness could have definitely been taken in a suggestive way, but things had escalated and some things were said that weren't intended to be given away, which could be argued as 'getting carried away'.
Besides. Maybe being a little suggestive as was expected of Lance would keep Allura from asking anymore questions.
It did just that. Allura frowned.
"Well, do try to restrict that to non-training times. If you can help yourselves."
She turned and headed back to vent to Coran about these slacking Paladins.