Chapter Text
It had only been a couple quintants since Allura and Keith set out on an escape pod together in the middle of the night. Sure, it had been to make sure that Zarkon wasn’t tracking the team by either of them, but why the hell would Zarkon be tracking Keith? His reasoning was that he had fought one-on-one with Zarkon and perhaps he had been imprinted. That didn’t make much sense if you asked Lance. He could see how Allura might be the one who Zarkon was tracking them through, but Keith? No, that would be ridiculous. Which was precisely why Lance could only see the entire scenario as an excuse on Keith’s part.
Lance raised his spoon to his mouth, eating the green goo. As subtly as he could, he glanced out of the corner of his eye at the boy in question who was sat next to him. Furrowing his eyebrows, he watched as Keith ate with his usual look of vaguely angry disinterest on his face. Everyone at the table was having a conversation about some planet or whatever, but Lance was too far into his thoughts to really pay much attention. He shifted his eyes around to the others but no one was looking at him.
What an odd coincidence it was that Keith and Allura would both have the idea to run away at the same time and end up in the pod together. Allura would surely have tried to stop Keith if that was the case, wouldn’t she? To have the paladins separated while waiting for Zarkon to show up would be just about the worst move anyone could make. So, why hadn’t she sent Keith back? Keith was a pretty stubborn guy and probably would have just left on a different pod had she told him off, but maybe it was something more. Maybe, they had been planning it together and it wasn’t as random as it seemed.
Lance had made a comment about Keith and Allura sitting in a tree at the time and no one had responded. Then again when they got Keith and Allura back, Lance had asked if Keith was with Allura. He hadn’t gotten a response that time either. Could it be that Allura and Keith really were together? There’s no way, right? Of course, they had been a lot closer to one another since their return; standing next to each other more, talking to each other more, hanging out together more, smiling at each other more. But that didn’t have to mean that they were together. Lance could be stretching it out to be more than it was. He hadn’t paid much mind to what Allura and Keith were doing before then. Perhaps they had always been that friendly.
“I don’t know, Shiro. You remember what happened last time, don’t you?” Hunk gave a hesitant expression to Shiro, taking another bite of goo as he did.
A sudden laugh broke out from Pidge. “I remember that!” She smiled at Hunk.
Hunk glared. “It wasn’t that funny!”
Lance had no idea what any of them were talking about. Next to him, Keith had an amused smile on his face. Shiro shook his head but there was a clear huff of laughter from him. Allura, who was seated at the head of the table, used her hand to cover the smile on her face.
“He looked like an evocula!” Allura commented through her laughter.
Suddenly, Keith dropped his spoon onto the plate with a loud clank and coughed. Everyone worriedly stared at him and Lance was prepared to put his hand on Keith’s back in an attempt to help him, but before he could, Keith cleared his throat. A wide smile was along his face and he was laughing. He snorted accidentally as he calmed down. Lance found it much more adorable than he thought he would and his cheeks tinted with pink slightly.
Keith pointed to Allura, the smile never leaving his face. “In Lozoak season, yeah?”
Allura clapped her hands together and tilted her head back as she released a startled guffaw. “Yes!” she cried. One seat over, Coran was chortling to himself. Lance stared at the two of them for a moment, trying to understand the joke. The others at the table looked just as confused as Lance felt. No one else was laughing except for Allura, Coran, and Keith. It was clearly a joke that only someone who knew Altea would understand, so why was Keith laughing and being so buddy-buddy with Allura.
Lance felt his heart drop a little. Keith and Allura really were closer since the escape pod incident and he wasn’t just imagining it. There was no need to panic though. It didn’t mean they were an item or anything. Normally, Lance wouldn’t care who was dating who and he would just be happy for them. But this was different. This was Keith. Lance had been head over heels for Keith since the moment he met him. It did start out with admiration for him since he was the Garrison’s best pilot, but it was also a crush. Lance had a crush on Keith. For the longest time, Lance had tried to get closer to him but Keith was just so shut off from everyone else. The crush had never gone away though, it only developed.
They had grown close while being in the Castle, even though Lance had created the rivalry between them. Keith just challenged him right back and encouraged it. They were friends. Lance could say, with confidence, that he and Keith were friends. That was great. That was fine. There didn’t have to be anything more there, even though Lance wanted it, but to see Keith with someone else hurt Lance. Did Keith even like boys? Since when did Keith ever like girls?
Lance stared down at his food and tried his best to drown his feelings. Keith could date people, he didn’t need Lance’s permission. Lance swallowed thickly and clenched his eyes shut for a moment, listening to Keith laugh next to him.
The rest of the breakfast went by fairly quickly for Lance. It was always pretty fast since they had to get on with other things, but Lance had been stuck in his thoughts for the majority of the meal. He grabbed his empty plate upon finishing his food and trudged back to the kitchen to wash his dishes. By that point, most of the others had left except for Keith and Pidge. Without looking at either of them, he exited into the hallway.
His original plan was to return to his room or maybe find Hunk and hang out with him, but before he could, he was alerted to someone hurrying after him.
“Lance!” It was Keith’s voice.
Lance really wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone, but just the fact that Keith was searching for him and not Allura was enough to lift his spirits and he stopped. “Keithers, what can I do you for?”
Keith hurried up to him, slowing down to stand in front of him. There was a shy smile on his face as he stared at Lance. “I was just about to go train and–”
Snorting, Lance bumped his elbow into Keith’s arm. “You? Training? Wow, who would have guessed?”
The black-haired boy’s face fell into an unimpressed glare, but Lance could tell there was a layer of amusement there. It made Lance feel lighter and he could feel a genuine smile pulling at his cheeks. “I just thought you might want to train with me,” Keith finished.
Lance’s heart palpitated. “If you wanted some pointers from the best paladin, you could have just asked, Keith.” He shifted his nose up in a pretend show of superiority.
Keith shoved his chest which caused Lance to stumble backwards. “Shut up. Let’s go train.” He was smiling.
“Sure thing, mullet.” Lance couldn’t help the warmth that spread through him after making Keith smile like that at him. Take that, Allura!
The pair of them wandered to the training deck, chatting the entire time.
“What kind of training are we doing?” Lance asked, doing his best to keep his hands in his pockets and not do something stupid like grab Keith’s hand and ruin their entire friendship.
Keith hummed for a moment before answering, “I was thinking the gladiator first and then the back-to-back protecting exercise.” He tilted his head toward Lance as if asking for his opinion.
“Sounds good. You’re going down either way.” Lance gave his most charming, yet still challenging, smirk.
“It’s teamwork training, Lance. You have to work with me.” Keith rolled his eyes.
Laughing lightly, Lance bumped his shoulder against Keith’s. Lance was aware of how much he was touching Keith but he couldn’t bring himself to stop. He wanted so badly to be closer to Keith. Lance always felt that way, but this time he was sure it had something to do with his new suspicion that Keith really was dating Allura. “That’s fine too then, we make a great team.”
“Yeah… Yeah, we do.” There was a small quirk in Keith’s lip as he glanced up to Lance and then back down the hallway. Lance was sure he could see a pink tint to Keith’s cheeks, but it was probably just his own wishful thinking. It caused his heart to rise up his throat with a sense of hope anyways.
Once they were at the training deck, Keith removed his jacket and tossed it to the side of the room. Lance tried his best not to watch Keith while he did so, but he did sneak a few glances in. Copying Keith’s movements, Lance also removed his own jacket and let it drop to the ground over top of Keith’s. The red bayard was already clipped to Keith’s belt and he readied it at his side, letting it transform. Lance’s bayard was in the armoury. He entered the room and removed his weapon from its spot in the casing before returning to the training deck.
Keith was stood in the middle of the room, rolling his shoulders and stretching his arms. “Ready?” he asked. His shoulder joint cracked.
“You bet!” Lance called. He jogged over to join Keith and shifted his bayard into the gun.
Keith smiled at Lance’s enthusiasm and lowered himself to balance on his legs easier. “Start training level eight!” he yelled to the room.
“Eight?!” Lance cried. It was too late though; the gladiator was already manifesting.
Charging at Keith, it whipped its sword out to swipe him off his feet. Keith easily dodged and countered with his sword. “What?” he called to Lance with a smirk. “Too difficult for you, sharpshooter?” Keith grunted as he slashed at the gladiator.
Lance was shaken from his panic and aimed his blaster. “No way, samurai, step aside!”
The gladiator was pressing down on the sword as Keith blocked the attack. There was a look of strain on his face but he huffed a clipped laugh at Lance’s words. Racing around the fight, Lance dropped to one knee and shot at the gladiator in quick succession. Instantly, the giant bot tumbled back and away from Keith, quickly regaining its footing and repositioning the staff in its hands. Keith took the opportunity to rush the gladiator, slashing into the torso. It jumped out of the way too late and began fighting Keith. He was doing well though, Keith was pushing it back, grunting and yelling as he moved. Lance got momentarily distracted by the fluid motions of Keith, feeling the fluttering in his chest at the sight of the boy. No, not the time!
“Keith, crouch!” Lance yelled, racing forward. Without a second thought or even a turn towards Lance, Keith ducked under the staff of the gladiator as it sliced through the air and he stabbed his sword into the floor, leaning on it. His back was flat and Lance took the chance to swiftly roll over Keith’s back, briefly disorientating and confusing the simulator bot. Once he was back on his feet, he jammed the gun into the face of the bot and pulled the trigger. The entire head exploded and the rest of the gladiator disappeared into a short flash of blue.
Lance watched for a moment, resting his arm at his side with the gun to the floor. “That was awesome!” He turned back to Keith, laughing, “I can’t believe the back rolling worked!”
The other boy was panting and grinning at Lance as he approached. “Level nine?”
“You sure? You look a little winded there, Keith,” Lance teased.
Keith punched Lance in the shoulder, causing him to stumble back. “That’s because you fight with a gun, dumbass.”
Lance laughed, “Gross, you’re all sweaty!” He pretended to swipe Keith’s touch off his shoulder, as if it hadn’t given him butterflies. A challenging side smile slithered along Keith’s face. “Keith…” Lance warned. Suddenly, Keith dropped his sword, took a step forward, and wrapped his arms around Lance’s neck to pull him down and force Lance’s face into his own neck. Lance was positive that he was about to have a heart attack. His face was buried in the neck of the boy he was in love with. It was enough to cause Lance’s mind to momentarily shut down. Keith was sweaty and gross, sure, but he was also giggling and adorable, and it took every ounce of willpower that Lance possessed to not kiss Keith in that moment.
After a second – although it felt like forever and no time at all in Lance’s mind – Keith pulled Lance away from him. “Now we’re both all sweaty,” he snickered. Then he retrieved his bayard from the ground and rolled his shoulders again. “Starting training level nine!”
Lance was still recovering when the gladiator dropped down and he nearly got whipped across the room.
◊ ◊ ◊
Sprawled out on the floor of the green lion hangar, Lance watched Pidge and Hunk tinkering with pieces of equipment. His limbs were stretched as far as he could stretch them and he was flicking a wrench through his fingers.
It had been a week since the training deck incident happened and it was still very fresh in Lance’s memory. Keith and him had hung out many times after that as well, just like they usually did. Most of the time it was training but sometimes it was just getting something to eat, chilling in the lounge, or playing games together. Keith was still just as close with Allura; one time, Lance had seen Keith rest his arm around Allura’s shoulders while they were checking out a planet in the bridge, which hurt Lance a lot more than he would ever admit. But something still got to Lance and convinced him that there was hope for him and Keith.
All of this had led to Lance laying on the ground while his best friends worked. “Hey, guys?” Lance asked to the ceiling.
“Yeah, Lance?” Hunk paused his repairs to glance at his friend.
Lance hesitated. “What do you think about Keith?”
At that, both Hunk and Pidge stopped. “What do you mean?” Pidge quirked an eyebrow.
Sighing, Lance shifted himself so that he was on his side with his head propped up on his palm. “Have you noticed anything odd about him? Or has he said anything to you?” It sounded so much more stupid when Lance asked his question out loud, but he went with it anyway.
“Not really.” Hunk squinted at him. “He seems like the same old Keith to me.” He turned to Pidge.
“He’s closer with Allura. Is that what you mean?” Adjusting her glasses, Pidge tilted her head in confusion.
Lance groaned and let himself fall back onto the floor. “Yes! Don’t you think that’s a little, I don’t know, weird?”
Pidge and Hunk exchanged a look. “No…” Hunk answered. “Why would that be weird…?”
“Because Keith is so,” Lance made a vague waving hand gesture, “and Allura is so,” he made another, more delicate gesture, “and they just don’t mix!” He smashed his fingers amongst each other in an angry show of what he was saying.
Hunk leaned over to Pidge without taking his eyes off Lance. “What…?” he whispered to her, but Lance could hear him.
“He’s close with you as well and the both of you don’t seem like you would mix,” Pidge pointed out, returning to her work.
“Well, I guess so…” he mumbled, unsure.
Pidge sighed, “Is this about your crush on Keith?”
Lance glared at her out of the corner of his eye. “No…” He was lying and they all knew it.
“Oh my god, Lance. You’re just jealous of Allura.” She made an exaggerated arm toss to the sky, nearly dropping the tool in her hand.
“Well, yeah! He’s maybe dating Allura, why wouldn’t I be jealous?!” Lance mimicked Pidge’s arm movement.
Hunk made an expression of surprise. “Keith is dating Allura?”
“Maybe!” Lance’s voice was much higher pitched than he had intended. “There’s no reason they wouldn’t be! They’re both really hot and badass, and they seem to like each other’s company a little too much! They’re probably in love with each other and they’re going to get married and have kids! And you know what?! Their kids would be hot and badass too!” Lance hadn’t even noticed when he had started to cry. It wasn’t full on sobbing, but there were tears trickling from the corner of his eyes and down his temples, into his hair. Finally, he stopped and just laid there.
Everything was silent in the hangar as Hunk and Pidge stared, wide eyed, at Lance. Sniffling, Lance wiped at the tears. He could feel his heart aching in his chest and he tried his best to calm himself. His friends probably thought he was being ridiculous.
“Buddy, it’s okay,” Hunk reassured, placing his screwdriver on the ground to rest his hand on Lance’s arm comfortingly. “You don’t even know if they are dating.” He smiled encouragingly.
Pidge joined in, lifting herself with her crossed legs to better stare down at Lance. “Lance, I really don’t know what’s going on with Keith and Allura, but I’ve seen the way Keith acts around you and I think it goes a little bit beyond friends. I think you have a chance.” Her tone was serious. “If you need any help, Hunk and I are here for you.”
“That’s right!” Hunk added.
“Okay, Lance?” finished Pidge, awkwardly placing her hand on Lance’s shoulder.
Lance glanced between the two of them for a moment from his spot on the floor. The tears in the corners of his eyes had steadily stopped. “You really believe Keith might like me?” he asked in a small voice.
“Of course!” Hunk laughed. “I mean, why wouldn’t he? You’re a catch, Lance.”
Pidge gestured to Hunk in a way that said she agreed with him. “And if it’s any consolation, you and Keith would have hot, badass kids too.” Her eyebrows waggled and Lance laughed even through his blush.
“Thanks guys.” Lance pushed himself into a seated position and yanked Pidge and Hunk into a giant group hug. Hunk accepted readily, but Pidge choked a little, relenting after a moment.
“Alright, too much love for me,” she said finally, pulling away and turning back to her project. Lance smiled at his friends. They were the best friends he could ever hope for and he knew they would be there for him no matter what. He also knew they would never lie to him. Hopefully, they were right about Keith.
◊ ◊ ◊
Another two days of hanging out and training with Keith, and Lance was feeling more and more like he and Keith might be able to have something. Sure, Keith was still doing things with Allura and even the others, but it wasn’t bothering him as much anymore. That just seemed to be Keith once he opened up and got to know people. The talk he had had with Hunk and Pidge had helped him a lot to feel more confident about their relationship too. Keith was really touchy with Lance but he wasn’t with anyone else on the ship, Lance had noticed. Except for Allura. He would still drape his arm around her shoulders and sometimes she would hug him. That didn’t have to mean anything though. Lance reminded himself of that daily.
It was the middle of the night and Lance was just finishing up his nighttime facial routine. Washing his face always brought him a sense of repose. He was already in a good mood from spending half the day training with the team and the other half relaxing in the lounge, Keith at his side as opposed to Allura’s, he’d noticed.
After his face mask was all in place, Lance made his way over to the bed, getting ready to settle down and go to sleep. The covers were pulled back, but before he could get in, he heard a noise. It was through the wall from the room next to him. That was Keith’s room. He didn’t mean to listen in on what Keith was doing, but he couldn’t help it since Keith was leaving his room. Where was that boy going? It was time to sleep. He better not be going to the training deck again. That kid could work himself to death if he tried hard enough.
Except, instead of wandering past Lance’s room in the direction of the training deck like Keith sometimes did, the footsteps went the other way. Lance paused. He dropped the blanket back onto the bed and wandered over to the door of his bedroom. Instead of opening his door, he just pressed his ear against it. The footsteps could still be heard, not slowing or stopping. Once he could no longer hear the steps, Lance opened the door and poked his head out.
Just as Lance checked, Keith was slipping around the corner and out of view. Narrowing his eyebrows, Lance left his room, closing the door behind him. He was still in his robe and blue lion slippers, but that wasn’t going to stop him. As quietly as he could with his clacking slippers, Lance hurried down the hallway, past all the bedrooms of the other paladins. His slippers did make noise though, and he cringed. Once he was at the corner, Lance pushed his back up against the wall and peeked into the next hallway over.
Keith, still in his usual clothes, sans his jacket and fanny packs, was casually sneaking along. Lance squinted suspiciously as Keith rounded another corner. Where the hell was he going? Lance tip toed as fast as he could down the hall after him. He had his arms spread out in a ridiculous attempt to balance him, as if it would quiet his movements. It didn’t.
The same situation went on for a little while longer as Lance stalked Keith through the castle. He was actually surprised that Keith hadn’t noticed that he was being followed yet. Keith either had to be really out of it or Lance was much better at sneaking than he had originally thought. Eventually, Lance turned the corner, expecting to see Keith at the end of it, but he wasn’t there. Lance paused. He glanced around the hallway again, as if he had missed something, but Keith wasn’t there. Lance furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Slowly, he wandered through the hall. He wasn’t even trying to muffle the noise of his feet anymore.
Lance was around halfway to the end of the hall when he was halted by a noise. To the left, through a giant door, he could hear laughter. It sounded higher in pitch and Lance suddenly realized that he had followed Keith into the hallway where the royal bedrooms were. That was Allura’s bedroom. Allura was laughing. Something in Lance’s stomach dropped and it took him less than a second to connect the dots as to where Keith was going. He didn’t want to believe it. In fact, he told himself that there was absolutely no way, but he had to know. He had to.
Reluctantly, and with much dread, Lance stepped closer to the door. Raising his hand to the door, Lance knocked. It was much harder of a knock than he was intending but every part of his body felt like lead. The laughter paused. There was a flurry of rushed shuffling inside and then the door was opened. Allura stood in the doorway with her long, blue nightgown on. Her hair was down and flowing around her as she smiled easily at Lance.
“Oh, what’s the matter, Lance?” she asked. Behind her, Lance could hear something clatter and her eyes widened. It caused a sense of helplessness to bubble up inside of him. He almost didn’t remember to answer her question.
“I saw Keith come by here a moment ago. Have you seen him?” Lance asked. His voice was miraculously level compared to how devastated he was feeling in that moment.
The princess paused for a moment. “Keith?” she said his name, as though she had never heard of a Keith in her entire life. “No, I don’t believe so…” Subtly, Lance attempted to lean to the side so he could see farther into her bed chamber but as he did, she followed his motion, blocking the entrance further.
Once again, there was a sharp thud from in the room. “Fucking hell,” a muffled grunt of pain whimpered. It was Keith. Lance had heard that same tone of voice while training with the boy as often as he did. No doubt about it, that was Keith. In Allura’s room.
“Why’re you lying?” Lance stared dead into Allura’s eyes, seeing the surprise. He had surprised himself then too, but he was on the verge of breaking into tears at the same time. He knew Keith was there, but something still convinced him that maybe there was a chance that that wasn’t him. Without waiting for a response, Lance pushed past Allura. It was very obviously rude, on many levels. For one, it was Allura’s room and what was going on inside really didn’t concern him. Also, Keith wasn’t his boyfriend, so it wasn’t as though Lance was about to catch him in the act of cheating. Still, Lance carried on.
There, on the floor clutching his foot, was Keith. Not only was it Keith, it was Keith with significantly less clothes than when he had entered the room. He was wearing only his shirt and boxers, nothing else. Lance could deduce that Keith had probably stubbed his toe on the bedframe of the bed in his mad dash to hide himself from Lance, but he didn’t care. It all hit him like a brick and he forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat. He always knew that Keith and Allura were together, who was he kidding. To think that he had actually deluded himself into believing that Keith gave a shit about him. He was on the verge of crying and he had to get out of there as soon as humanly possible.
Lance didn’t wait for anything else to happen. Even as Keith flailed on the floor, trying to stand up and talk to Lance, everything was ignored. He left the room without saying anything to Allura, and he trudged back down the hallway toward his room. After everything that had happened in the day, Lance really wished he had just gone to bed with the delusion that he had a chance with Keith instead of what he was actually doing which was crying himself to sleep. And over a boy, no less. Lance was heartbroken.