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Keith did take off his shirt, but Lance was being too darn gay and staring at his abs and the v-cut that shaped his hips to notice the cut on his shoulder. ‘Was it big? Did he take care of it? Would it get infected? Can he even bandage it himself?’
‘Ay dios santo bendito y la virgen y la santisima trinidad.’ The dim blue light at the entrance made his eyes stand out. They were glowing yellow. Though, it was not a sheet like it always turned it, it was just his iris that were yellow this time. ‘He just came out with a new hairdo and a tux that fits his body so well for crying out loud and you are going crazy over his eyes. How gay are you? Wait, what? A new haircut?’ Lance is sure he is blushing because Keith does not look like Keith. Just a moment ago he was cute with an amazing body but now he is just hot. Keith had shaved himself an undercut and styled his fringe a little messily. It was wavy and sticking out in all the right places. With that smirk, Lance has fallen once again. He thought only Shiro could pull that look off, but Keith looks absolutely stunning. Lance breath hitched and maybe his heart did skip a beat. Calming down got much easier, it was like a system reset.
“Ready to go?” Keith coughs which shakes Lance out of his imagination.
“Erm… yeah. Let’s.” Lance shuffles nervously beside Keith as they started to move towards the palace. ‘breathe boy, breathe.’
“You look good.” Keith whispers, his ears turning pink on the edge.
“Thanks… Erm… You too.” Lance took a quick glance at Keith and instantly regrets. He had caught Keith being shy again and his heart is not taking it too well. ‘Not the time for another heart attack Lance’
“You don’t have to say it just cuz I said it Lance. I don’t need compliments to feed my ego. I have your reaction whenever I win against you.” Keith scoffs and chuckles before giving Lance the most shit-eating grin.
“Okay! First of all, low blow and second of all, I meant every word. This haircut suits you better, not that the previous one was bad it’s just… You look good okay.” Lance’s cheeks were red, and he thanks the night light that manages to keep them from being too obvious.
“Thanks, I guess.” Keith shrugs and scratches at his neck. The rest of the walk was awkward. He could see Lance glancing at him ever so often at the corner of his eye, as if he wanted to tell him something.
Lance stopped. It was sudden and Keith had to around to face him. “Come on, we’ll be late.” And he was leading Lance by the hand.
It was warm and calming, and Lance could not help but feel his cheeks heat up. Bashful and all, he still held on to his hand and be pulled along. Like everything that has ever happened, though how much he tries to hide and push away his insecurities, Keith is always there to pull him out of it and tell him he is worth it. ‘He was always the first one and you know nothing of him, even going as far as to make him…’ “I’m sorry.”
“What for?” Keith was confused, he could not come up with a reason for what Lance was apologising for.
“I just… maybe… Thought that this mess, the tension, was kinda… ” Before Lance, could finish, they have reached the dining hall and was dragged away by the team. Turns out it was a party. Shiro got Keith dragged to a bar while Lance got caught by Pidge who chose the balcony instead. Hunk was waiting with a plate of food and a drink. Lance was glad he gets to eat first before getting interrogated. ‘I’ll do it later’ Lance sighed as he watched Keith go.
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Keith was a little disappointed but relieved to be dragged away from Lance. He had no idea what to do with himself. He had the recorder tucked in a pocket of his jacket, but he was not sure when to bring it up. Shiro could see his dilemma but did not comment on it. They just stayed in a comfortable silence for a few dobashes, listening to the celebration surrounding them.
Throughout the entire time, they had kept an eye one the trio on the balcony. Pidge was sitting uncomfortable close to the railing, more like on it, while an arm was slung around Hunk’s shoulder. Lance was just munching on the food only to stop to laugh or talk. When Lance was done, Hunk had taken his plate as well as Pidge inside, away from the balcony.
“I gotta go.” Keith turned to Shiro nervously. Keith was waiting for some inspirational speech, but nothing came. In fact, all Shiro did was pass a glass of what looked like alcohol to Keith. Keith took the glass and whiffed it before turning to Shiro with a confused expression. “Liquid courage.” He replied and pushed Keith towards the balcony. Allura managed to catch Keith along the way and patted him on the shoulder. There was a faint whisper of a “Good luck” from her but Keith was too nervous to respond.
“What are you doing here?” Keith spoke as he closed the door to the balcony behind him.
Lance jumped at his voice and turned to smile at him. “Just looking at the stars…”
The drink he had was doing its job, because he sure as hell would not be standing beside Lance if not for it. He had taken out the recorder and is holding it by his side.
“I gotta tell you something, I know that you like me, but – “
“I gotta confess something, all this was probably my fault. Wait, What!?”
“What? No?!”
“What how?” Lance was red, he is sure that even the night sky is not going to save him this time. He is burning up by the ticks and Keith’s silence is not helping. He was hot, anxious and very much confused. “Hey! Tell me!” Keith blinks a few more times before snapping out from his daze to pass Lance the recorder. Lance took it with a perplexed look. “What’s with the recorder.”
“Shiro gave it to me, told me to pass it to you but I kinda accidently hit play on this. Ended up listening to the whole recording.” This is too much; Keith is so embarrassed and so damn anxious to find out Lance’s reaction. He down the rest of his drink before looking back at Lance.
The air was filled with nervous anticipation as Lance’s finger hovered over the play button. Keith had offered to leave but Lance stopped him before he could go. When Lance had finally hit the button and the first few words had been spoken, he was left with utter bewilderment. It was a clear sign for Keith to know that Lance had no idea this happened. It only took a few more ticks before Lance turned from a muddled mess to someone who just had a realization. He gasped, jammed the pause button on the recorder and proceeds to cover his already red face. He had not even reached the confession. He was so embarrassed that he had to turn away from Keith to hide his expression. “Dios mio.” Lance whispered.
Keith was not having it; he knows Lance’s memory has returned. He grabs Lance by his shoulder to turn him back only to have Lance stare of to the side. He kept his hands over his mouth and his eyes away from Keith. When Keith went to pull his hand away, Lance proceeds to stare at the floor. Keith is sure he is smiling. His cheeks are rosy too, but he is not going to hide it. ‘cute.’
Lance bit his lip and stared back at Keith. ‘When did he come so close?’ Lance snatches his hands back and turns to the door. “About forcing the confession out of you, I’m sorry. I just… I guess maybe I liked you then already, wanted to hear something else.”
“...” Keith is stunned, mind blank and literally lost for words. He was stuck with his mouth gaping open at Lance. He was not expecting Lance to confess honestly. He had no idea when Lance had actually made the confession. He just thought maybe he could explain how he knew, gave the recorder to Lance and probably see how it is going to work out from there. Apparently, the universe had other plans for them.
Before he could reach the handle, Lance was taken by the hand, spun around to have his back against the wall. He saw two yellow eyes blink to night purple and his heart skipped a beat. “You remember everything, don’t you?” Keith whispered. He could fill their breathes with how close they are standing together.
Lance swallows and nods. ‘When did he get this tall?’
“Fuck it.” Before Lance could utter another word, Keith had smashed their lips together. It ended as quick as how it started, and Lance found himself chasing after Keith when they separated. Keith had clearly noticed and chuckled before releasing Lance. “I like you Lance.” He did not mean to say it out loud, not because he did not want to, but because it was just too darn embarrassing.
“I’ve always had.” This time Lance had initiated the kiss, closing the distance between them by pulling Keith down to him. It took a while before Keith started moving his lips and melting into the kiss. His hands danced around him and every touched burned. His eyes are closed but he swore he saw fireworks bursting before him. It was addictive and he wished so much that there was nothing between them. A low moan escaped his lips as he hooked both his arms around Keith’s neck. He could not help but sink his fingers into his hair and twirl at the curls. Keith had his hands rubbing at Lance’s waist and back, pulling him closer. The kiss was passionate yet soft at the same time as they explore each other’s mouth with their tongues.
When they had separated, they were both panting with their foreheads pressed together. Lance eyes were blurry with lust but remained still. He was still trying to catch his breath. They were just staring at each other in comfortable silence before they started laughing. When they stopped Keith gave a peck on Lance’s lips before stepping away. Lance let his arms loosen and slide off Keith’s shoulder. “I’m sorry it took so long, and I’m sorry you had to go through so much, and I’m sorry for all the time I’ve been messing with you.” Lance grips onto Keith’s hand and gazed at Keith.
Keith’s smile never broke “Stop saying that, I’ve already forgiven you long ago and it doesn’t matter now. As long as you are not messing with me now and I can be yours and you to be mine, I’m happy.”
“But the one –“
“It’s just a careless confession, nothing to be too caught up in. I’m fine now.” Keith could hardly keep still. Ecstatic, even that word could not describe how happy he is. He even did a spin to show how ‘fine’ he was.
Lance was still finding it hard to accept his forgiveness but why get so caught up in the past when you can be living in the moment. He grabs Keith’s hand, lacing their fingers together “Then I’ll be yours. And even if you try to get rid of me, I’ll hunt you down.”
“Like I could ever.” Making sure to get the message across, he decided to flick Lance on the head. Lance went to make a hurt face but was quickly wiped away with a peck to the same place.
They laughed at how ridiculously cheesy they are, ignoring the flush of their skin and lips to step back into the party hand in hand.
“So… You figured out your trauma?” Lance had nearly forgotten about everything else.
“About that…”