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Thump!

Thump!

"Knock it off, Lance."

Thump!

"Lance. Stop."

Thump! Thump! Thump!

"Dude! Quit it!"

"You can't prove it was me!"

"I literally saw you throw a rock at me!"

"First of all, Keith. They're pebbles. And secondly, I'm bored! What else am I gonna do?"

"Well, not that! It's annoying!"

"You're annoying!"

"Guys! Focus," Shiro cut in.

The five of them were walking through a forest to find a plant that Coran needed. It was a dark and gloomy forest whose flora was colored grey instead of green. Tall trees covered most of the sky, casting dark shadows on the ground below.

"Remind me again why we all had to come to the creepy forest?" Hunk asked.

"To make sure no weird alien creatures surprise us," said Pidge. "Also Allura said something about team bonding?"

"I'm not gonna lie," Lance said. "The only thing I feel bonded to is my feet to the ground." He lifted his foot and sighed at the mud covered boot of his armor.

"I know it sucks guys but we have to keep going. We're almost there. When we get back, we can all clean off and take nice warm showers," Shiro said.

They continued their journey silently, the forest sounds filling the air instead of their voices. It was hot, and Shiro could feel his body tiring. He took off his helmet, thankful that the air was at least more breathable than his suit, and eventually found his own mind wandering from boredom. He hadn't been zoning out very long, however, before he felt something sharp on the back of his neck.

"Ack!" he groaned, hand coming up to rub the spot. He couldn't feel anything on his neck that would have bitten him, but he suddenly remembered a certain someone that had been throwing rocks only minutes ago. He sighed and turned around, ready to scold said someone.

"Lan-"

He gasped. His brain went completely quiet at the sight of his teammate, the dim lighting of the forest casting a soft glow on his lithe frame and soft looking skin. Had he always looked this good? Shiro became suddenly aware of how blue was very much Lance's color. The faint shine of sweat above the boy's mouth made his lips stand out and Shiro realized just how much he wanted to kiss his blue paladin.

"Shiro?" Lance's voice pulled him from his trance.

"Hmm? Yes?" he asked. He could feel his cheeks heating up, embarrassed that he'd been caught staring.

"Uh, is there something on my face?"

"Wh- N-No! There's nothing wrong with your face, it's perfect. I-I mean! You look great. Er, I- It's... You're fine. It's fine."

Shiro turned back around, his face undoubtedly flushed red. What had gotten into him? They were on a mission and there was no time to stare at his teammate, no matter how beautiful he was. Or how well his armor fit perfectly to his body. Or how lightly his brown hair brushed against his tan features. Or how sweet the soft freckles were that graced his nose and were barely noticeable unless one looked closely...

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of all things Lance. He was supposed to be keeping an eye out for the big tree in the middle of the forest; the plant they needed would be growing out of the base.

"There!" Hunk said, spotting the tree only a few yards away.

Shiro sighed, glad their journey was half over and he could stop internally battling with himself about staying focused.

They grabbed a few samples of the plant, Pidge making sure they were exactly the ones Coran had specified, and soon they were on their way back to the ship. On the way to the tree, Shiro had lead the way in front of the group. But this time, he chose to walk in the back, saying it would be better for him to cover from behind in case of danger. He left out the part where staying in the back would give him a chance to stare at Lance without being noticed.

He still wasn't sure why he'd suddenly felt so much raw emotion about the blue paladin. He almost felt drunk, intoxicated by the way he carried himself, by his walk, and definitely by his perfectly round butt.

Not that Shiro was staring at his butt, no way. Besides, there were other more important aspects to Lance, like his compassion and his humor. And his face, which Shiro unfortunately couldn't see while he walked behind the boy. But he couldn't forget those beautiful blue eyes that had stared back at him and made his heart flutter.

The longer he looked, the more intense his feelings were. He was so wrapped up in staring at the boy, that he almost missed something flying in the air directly towards him.

"Lance, look out!"

His arm lit up, ready to attack as he jumped in front of Lance and cut through the air, slicing the flying object in half before it could do harm.

"Dude... It's a leaf," Keith said, unamused.

"O-Oh..." Shiro looked down at the innocent leaf he'd just slaughtered.

"Ha ha, very funny." Lance said, his voice sarcastic. "I suck at hand-to-hand combat so I need to be protected from any danger, I get it. Thanks, Shiro."

"What- No, that's not-"

"Hey," Keith asked, pulling Shiro back a few paces. "Why are you being weird?"

"I'm not being weird."

"You definitely are."

"I'm just... tired from walking is all," he said, avoiding Keith's gaze. "Come on guys, we're almost there!" He ran ahead, trying to escape the conversation so he could think about what to do with his feelings. And so he could think more about Lance.

--

It was a few hours later when Shiro found Lance sitting alone on the couch. He felt bad about embarrassing the boy, so he wanted to apologize.

"Hey, Lance?"

He felt a small flutter in his heart from speaking his friend's name.

"Oh, hey Shiro."

Another flutter, only bigger at the sound of Lance saying his name.

"I just wanted to apologize for...back there. I wasn't trying to embarrass you. I really thought you were in danger. But I know that you're strong and capable of protecting yourself. A-And if you think you need help with combat training, then I'd be happy to help, but you aren't weak or anything like that and I'm sorry if I made you feel that way."

"Um. Thank you. It's okay."

Shiro wanted to hug him - both as an apology and for his own personal enjoyment - but he kept going instead.

"You're so important to this team. And to me. I don't ever want to make you feel bad. I'm so sorry."

"Hey, like I said, it's oka-"

Shiro hugged him, unable to fight the urge any longer. He could tell Lance was tense, but the boy quickly wrapped his arms around him. That feeling sparked something inside and Shiro felt himself melt into the hug. His breathing fell short and stuttered and his whole body suddenly became addicted to the feeling of Lance. He buried his face in Lance's neck to get closer to him.

"Uhm...Shiro? Wh-what are you doing, there, bud?"

"Lance..." was all Shiro could get out in response.

His breath bounced off of Lance's skin and he felt the hair on the boy's neck raise. Lance's skin was so soft. He dragged his lips along the side of Lance's neck and heard the younger boy squeak. A smile spread across his mouth as he let out warm breaths, causing Lance to shiver in his arms. When Shiro found a good place, he stopped the slow movement. He was about to press a kiss to the spot when Lance lightly pushed him away.

The brunet's face held a blushing, confused, mess of an expression as he stared up at Shiro.

Oh no, he'd messed up. What had gotten into him?

"I...uh...don't know what came over me," Shiro tried.

Lance just stood there, eyes blinking to a spot on the wall, his red face still frozen in shock.

"I should go."

Shiro turned around and walked to the door. He glanced back at Lance, still unmoving, and bit his lip before leaving the room.

--

"I think Shiro's in love with me."

Pidge looked up from her latest project quizzically before busting into laughter.

"Yeah, and the Olkari asked me to be their new queen."

"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if that actually happened. But I'm serious. He's been acting...weird. You know I wouldn't joke about something like this."

"Are you sure this isn't another one of those 'he touched me, we're gonna get married' things?" Pidge asked teasingly.

"I don't do that...anymore. And no! This is... different! I mean, you saw him try to protect me from that leaf in the forest. I thought he was making fun of me, but then he came and apologized later and said all this nice stuff like how I was important to him. Then he hugged me - and this was not your normal 'bro' hug, okay? It was...different. He...did stuff."

"What did he do?"

"...I don't wanna talk about it," Lance said, embarrassed.

"He probably just felt bad. You know him, he's too nice to not apologize when accidentally hurting someone's feelings."

"I really don't think-"

"It's Shiro. Even if he did have feelings for you, I doubt he'd be so open about them. You're probably just over-thinking it."

"I guess..."

--

"Guys. We have a problem."

Lance walked onto the bridge where everyone else was, nearly dragging a heavy Shiro whose arms were slung around his chest, holding him close.

"What is going on?" Keith said accusingly.

"I told you Shiro was in love with me," Lance whispered loudly to Pidge who looked apologetic.

"Shiro, what are you doing?" Allura asked.

"I really like Lance," the man said dreamily.

"Listen, normally I'd be totally okay with something like this, but this is not normal! Shiro barely talks to me, let alone say he likes me. And now it's like he's under some sort of hypnotic spell where he's in love with me and can't stop touching me!"

"Oh dear," Coran said. "I was afraid this might happen."

"What might happen?!" Lance cried.

"You see, the forest you all went to is home to many strange creatures, one of which is the Plectica."

"The what?"

"The Plectica, also called the Love Bug. It's poisons are unlike any other I've seen. Instead of being deadly, they turn their victim into a love struck fool for the first person they see. Also, the victim is completely unaware that they've been bitten while under the influence of love bug poison."

"So you're saying Shiro was bitten by some love bug, just happened to looked at Lance, and now he's in love with him?" Keith asked irritatedly.

"I can't be certain, but it appears so, yes.”

"That would explain why he was staring at me during the mission...” Lance mused. “But wait. Earlier he was coherent enough to talk to me, and now he's like a child hanging on his mother. What changed?"

"The affects don't hit all at once and they fluctuate depending on the moment. They will supposedly get worse before they get better, so you'll have to deal with him like this for a while until his body adjusts to the poison," Coran explained.

"Great," said Lance flatly, having mixed feelings about the whole situation. "So what can I do? How long do the affects last?"

"It depends on the person, so I'll have to do some research before I could give you a definite answer. For now, I'd say not to push him away entirely for fear he might get violent."

"Violent?!"

"You know what they say about love,” Coran smiled. “Number Five, come help me do some research. The rest of you, shoo!"

Pidge stepped up to brainstorm with Coran and the rest of them walked out of the room, shooting Lance and Shiro questioning looks.

"Wait, what? No! I don't know what they say! Who are 'they'? I-"

He was cut off when Shiro nuzzled his face into his shoulder and smiled. The black paladin had lost nearly all coherent thought and was only focused on one thing and one thing only: Lance.

"Alright, look," Lance said to Shiro, who was seated next to him. They'd moved onto the couch in the other room so they could talk privately. "I don't know what all this thing does to you, but why don't we just start out small. It's like, when you first start dating someone, you don't dive straight into being all over them, right? So maybe we can start with just...holding hands?"

"Okay!" Shiro nodded his head and smiled. He was almost like a puppy, and Lance would have found it adorable, had he not been anxious about the whole situation.

"Is that all?" Shiro asked. "Like, can I kiss you?"

He leaned in and Lance leaned back, pushing slightly on the man's chest to stop him.

"No."

Shiro looked sad, but he nodded. Lance felt awful that he'd made their fearless leader look so pitiful, but he couldn't bear to kiss him when he was like this. No matter how much he wanted to. It felt wrong.

"I-I mean," he tried, hoping to at least get rid of Shiro's frown. "Not yet. Let's take things slow for now. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good."

Shiro was smiling again and he took Lance's hand enthusiastically. Lance smiled back and rubbed his thumb over Shiro's. This was going to be a weird couple of days.

--

The next few hours went fine, Shiro and Lance holding hands wherever they went in the castle. In fact, it wasn't until dinnertime that there was another mishap.

They were all eating dinner, talking amongst themselves, Shiro only being convinced to let go of Lance's hand during dinner as long as they sat next to each other. Lance was listening to Allura tell some story from ten thousand years ago when he nearly choked on his food as a warm hand came to rest on his upper thigh. He looked down at the hand that nearly wrapped around his whole thigh, then looked up at its owner. Shiro was smirking at him, a faint glimmer in his eye. The smirk and the glimmer both washed away, however, when he noticed the look Lance was giving him.

"Not good?"

"Um, it's...I- Maybe n-not at the dinner table?" he finally stuttered out.

"Oh, sorry."

Shiro retracted his hand and placed it in his lap like a child who had just been reprimanded. Lance appreciated that even though Shiro was under some sort of hypnosis, the older boy still respected him enough to stop when asked. He also knew that Shiro's frown wasn't because he was told no, but that it was remorse for making Lance feel uncomfortable.

"It's okay. Here."

Lance grabbed Shiro's hand from his lap and held it in his own.

"I thought you said we can't hold hands during dinner."

"I want to," Lance smiled. He wasn't going to have mopey Shiro on his watch.

Shiro smiled in return and they both went back to listening to Allura. Or at least, they tried, but they hadn't noticed that she'd stopped talking and instead she and everyone else was staring at them.

"Don't we have a rule about no PDA at the table?" Keith grumbled.

"No, we don't!" Lance shot back. "And even if we did, these are special circumstances!"

"Oh, let them be. It's not as if Lance can exactly help it," Allura said.

"I don't know," Pidge chimed in, "I'm with Keith on this one."

"I think it's kinda sweet," Hunk cooed.

Lance put his face in his hands and groaned in embarrassment. Shiro's arm was around him in an instant.

"Lance! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Shiro," Lance mumbled behind his hands.

"Don't make fun of Lance!" Shiro scolded the rest of the table.

Lance was glad his face was covered because although he was embarrassed, he couldn't stop the grin that spread across it at Shiro's words. Even if Shiro was under a spell, it was sweet that he came to his defense. Maybe the next few days wouldn't be so bad.

--

After dinner everyone went their separate ways to their rooms to get some sleep.

"Can I sleep with you?" Shiro asked, before they got to his room.

"I- Uh. I mean... You can't sleep alone?" Lance blushed.

"I don't want to be away from you."

"I guess your body still hasn't fully adjusted yet..." Lance muttered to himself.

Lance wasn't sure which he would regret more, letting Shiro sleep with him or passing up a chance to have the older boy in his bed.

"Okay fine," he decided. "But just for tonight since you're still clingy."

Seeing the smile that appeared on Shiro's face was worth any regrets Lance would have later on.

"Just don't...do anything weird, okay?"

"I won't!"

Once Lance had finished his nightly routine (that had taken longer than usual with Shiro hanging on him the whole time), they climbed into Lance's bed together. Lance purposefully faced away from Shiro because he knew he would stare at him all night rather than sleeping. He was starting to feel himself drift to sleep when his eyes shot open in surprise at Shiro's arm slinking around his waist.

"W-What are you doing?"

"Cuddling," Shiro replied, scooting closer and pressing his face against Lance's neck.

Lance froze at the feeling. His neck was very sensitive and bitten Shiro seemed to have a fixation on it. He wanted to scream. It was unfair. He was finally getting what he wanted - to be close with Shiro - but the man wasn't even aware of what he was doing.

"Is this okay?" Shiro asked.

His breath was warm against Lance's skin and the brunet scrunched his neck at the feeling. Shiro chuckled lowly, blowing more air on Lance's neck and causing him to shiver.

"Sensitive?"

"H-Hey. No weird stuff, remember?"

"Sorry..." Shiro loosened his hold on the smaller boy and started to pull back.

Lance took a deep breath and put his hand on Shiro's arm to stop him from moving away completely. He knew he would probably regret it later, but he didn't care anymore.

"You don't have to keep apologizing. It's alright. We're figuring this out together, okay?"

"Okay."

Lance slid his hand down Shiro's arm and laced their fingers together.

"We're a team," he whispered, sleep finally catching up to him.

Lance fell asleep, still facing away from Shiro, but feeling safe and warm in his embrace. Even if it was all fake.

--

When Lance woke up, he was surprised to find Shiro wrapped around him. As he became more aware, the previous day's events came back to him. Right. Shiro was in love with him and he had to deal with it. In any other circumstance, Lance would be thrilled by this news. But it was all fake and the more Lance thought about it, the worse he felt. So instead, he chose not to think about it and let himself be happy for the affection he was being given.

It didn't take long for Shiro to wake up as well and when he noticed the blushing Lance in his arms, he smiled.

"Good morning, beautiful."

Lance squeaked for what felt like the hundredth time in less than a day. How dare Shiro call him beautiful, and so early in the morning, too. The deep laugh that came in response was not helping Lance's heart palpitations.

"Good morning," Lance finally got out, voice cracking slightly. He cleared his throat and got out of bed, hoping to escape his embarrassment for at least a moment to go to the bathroom.

"Wait!" Shiro whined, grabbing his hand. "Where are you going?"

"I-I need to pee! And I'd prefer to do it alone."

"Come back quickly," he said, letting go of Lance's hand.

When Lance was finished, he opened the door to the bathroom and nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Shiro!"

"I missed you."

"So you had to wait outside the door?"

"...Yes."

"Geez... Well, you almost gave me a heart attack."

"I'm sor- Right! No more 'sorrys.' Uh, I will work on...not scaring you anymore," Shiro said, matter-of-factly.

Lance couldn't help but smile.

"You're so cute. I mean! Uh-"

Lance was about to take it back, but a huge grin was plastered on Shiro's face. He looked like a kid in a candy store, or, more literally, a kid whose crush had just said they liked them.

"You think I'm cute?"

"I-I... Yes?"

What harm could it do to divulge bitten Shiro just a little? It was the truth, after all.

Shiro smiled brighter, if that was possible, and bit his lip in excitement.

"I think you're cute, too."

"Thanks, Shiro."

They got dressed, Lance making Shiro at least turn around if he wouldn't leave the room while he changed, and Lance doing the same for him in his room. When they were finally ready and Lance was feeling fully embarrassed, they walked into the kitchen for breakfast hand in hand.

"Here come the lovebirds!" Hunk said happily when he saw them.

"Ugh, Hunk-" Lance started.

"Lance thinks I'm cute," Shiro said to Hunk giddily.

"Does he, now?" Hunk asked, giving a look to Lance, knowing full well the extent of his affections for the black paladin.

"I definitely...did say that..." Lance said embarrassedly.

"Can you guys go be gross somewhere else?" Pidge said from her bowl.

"Hey, Pidge. Don't you have some research you should be doing?" Lance glared at her.

"I'm eating breakfast. I'm not gonna skip a meal to do some research for you while all your wildest dreams come true."

Lance mumbled something under his breath about wild dreams and moved to get himself and Shiro breakfast. Once they sat down, Shiro leaned his head on Lance's shoulder as he started eating. The younger boy blushed and smiled to himself before he looked up and saw Keith sitting in front of him.

"Can I help you?"

"Don't you think you're enjoying this too much?" Keith asked.

"I'm just trying to do what I was told to do, which is not push him away. Besides, what is it to you?"

"Shiro's like a brother to me, okay? I just don't want to see him get hurt and I don't want you taking advantage of him."

Lance hadn't expected such a genuine answer. He thought maybe Keith was jealous that someone other than him was getting Shiro's attention. But his answer made sense and Lance knew Keith was trying his best to handle the situation just like everyone else. Shiro's leadership duties had been put on hold while his mind was otherwise occupied, and it had put a strain on the rest of them.

"I understand why you're worried, Keith. But I promise you, I'm not taking advantage of the situation or of him. I wouldn't do that. I'm just trying to get through this like everybody else."

"I'll hold you to that."

"I know you will."

--

The next few days flew by. Shiro was still clingy, but by the end of the second day his body had finally adjusted to being bitten and he was able to carry on part of his duties as leader - as long as Lance was by his side at all times. Lance was happy to oblige, allowing himself to enjoy at least some of the attention of being the leader's favorite while it lasted. Pidge had somehow found the dead corpse of the culprit of Shiro's bite in his armor after the mission and she and Coran had been running tests on it. Along with a sample they took of Shiro's blood, they said they would hopefully find out how long the hypnosis would last in no time. That was four days ago.

Lance had said Shiro could only sleep in his bed the first night, but when the second night rolled around, Shiro had asked again and Lance realized he didn't want to sleep alone either. Every night since then they had slept in Lance's bed together and Lance let Shiro cuddle him more and more each time.

The fifth night came and Lance was doing his nightly routine in the bathroom, now used to Shiro hanging off of him while he worked.

"Why do you put that green stuff on your face?" Shiro asked, hugging Lance from behind.

"To moisturize and soften my skin. It takes work to look this good," Lance winked in the mirror.

"Can I try it?"

"You really want to?"

"Yeah! Why not?"

"Okay," Lance smiled. "Stand here facing me."

Shiro let go of the boy and stood in the spot he was told. He smiled as Lance started applying the 'green stuff' to his face and Lance blushed when he realized he'd never touched Shiro's face before.

"Your hands are soft," Shiro remarked, trying to lean into the touch.

"Thanks, your face isn't too bad either," Lance teased. "And stop that, you'll mess up the process."

When Lance finished, he turned Shiro towards the mirror so he could see his covered face.

"We look like aliens," Shiro said.

"Best looking aliens I've ever seen. And I've met space mermaids."

"You're way prettier than a space mermaid."

"So are you," Lance smiled.

There was a small pause as Lance realized they'd just called each other pretty.

"Uh, hey," he said, changing the subject. "We should take a funny picture together while our faces are like this."

"Oh, yeah! Okay."

Lance got his camera and stood in front of Shiro, holding it up to get both of them on the screen. Shiro winked and Lance made a kissy face before snapping the picture.

"That's a keeper," Lance said, looking at the picture and grinning to himself. He was glad to have something to remember their days together once Shiro went back to normal. He put the device down, making a mental note to make that picture his screensaver later.

"Okay," he said, clapping once to clear his thoughts. "Time to wash this stuff off."

They started rinsing, taking turns sharing the sink in Lance's bathroom. Lance had been splashing water on his face for a few minutes when he felt something bump into his hip.

"Excuse me?" he said as he lifted up, grabbing blindly for a towel and wiping his face off. "Did you just booty bump me so I would hurry up?"

Shiro leaned over and rinsed his face thoroughly before responding. He pulled back up and grabbed the towel from Lance, wiping off his own face and smirking.

"Maybe."

Lance gaped at him in fake offense. He saw that the water was still running and he put his hand under it, then flicked it at Shiro, causing the older boy to flinch as drops hit his face. Lance giggled and started to run out of the bathroom, but he was stopped by a thick arm pulling him back against an even thicker body. Shiro reached under the faucet to wet his hand and then lightly smacked it down on Lance's face and dragged it up through his hair.

"Ew, stop!" Lance laughed, pushing Shiro off him. "Now I'm all wet!"

"Oh here, let me help dry you off then."

Shiro grabbed the towel and placed it on Lance's head, using both hands to scrub it over his face and hair. When he pulled it back, Lance was frowning up at him, hair in complete disarray. The frown quickly turned into a smile and then a laugh as they both started giggling at what had just transpired.

When their laughter died down, Lance became suddenly aware of how close they were. Without breaking eye contact, Shiro sat the towel down on the counter. His hand came up to caress Lance's cheek and the boy took in a shaky breath at the feeling.

"Can I kiss you, now?"

Lance remembered on the first day he'd pushed Shiro away when he tried to kiss him. He'd told him 'not now,' and Shiro had respected his wishes the past five days. He hadn't wanted to kiss Shiro while he was affected by the love bug. But they'd grown closer since then, whether Shiro would remember it or not, and Lance wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline or just his own stupidity that made him nod his head yes.

Shiro leaned in the few inches and pressed their lips together. Lance's eyes fluttered shut and a small noise escaped his lips as he kissed back. It was short, far too short for Lance's liking, but he finally got to kiss Shiro and that was perfect enough for him. When Shiro pulled away, they both opened their eyes, lips still centimeters apart. They shared a few breaths and Lance wasn't sure how long they would keep going if he didn't stop it there.

"Time for bed, don't you think?" Lance whispered, the words lingering between them.

Shiro's eyes were still half lidded, staring into Lance's as he blinked. He smiled and nodded, something hidden behind his expression that he wouldn't dare show.

They got into bed and faced each other like they had for the past couple of nights. Lance let Shiro hold him close to his chest. He decided would miss this the most when the spell wore off. He'd gotten used to having another body in his bed and Shiro's presence helped him feel safe as he fell asleep each night. He could tell he helped Shiro too, the man always falling asleep almost instantly once his head hit the pillow.

Lance watched as Shiro's chest rose and fell evenly. He couldn't sleep; his mind kept drifting back to the kiss and how good of an idea it seemed in the moment. He felt guilty. Shiro was basically brainwashed and Lance had taken advantage of it. Just like he'd told Keith he wouldn't. It was like he was drunk and therefore even if it was consensual at the time, Shiro still wasn't in the right frame of mind to give full consent. Or maybe it was different, since instead of alcohol, Shiro was under the influence of a space bug bite. Either way, Lance didn't feel good about it and he knew Keith would kill him if he found out. Though, he originally hadn't felt good about the whole situation anyway, but he also hadn't wanted to make it worse by pushing Shiro away. Maybe Shiro would understand that when he was back to normal. Maybe Shiro would forgive him. Maybe Shiro would want to kiss him for real...

--

Lance woke up with Shiro wrapped around him, as he had the last few days. Shiro was already awake, staring at him as he slept.

"Good morning, weirdo," Lance said teasingly as he stretched.

"Weirdo?"

"You've been watching me while I sleep."

"I was unaware that made me a weirdo."

"Yeah, well...it does."

Lance smiled and got out of bed, taking Shiro's hand out of habit and walking them into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

They got ready in silence, the only sound coming from Lance who was quietly humming. Lance looked up while he was brushing his hair and saw Shiro standing there deep in thought. He wondered what Shiro was thinking about that had made him so quiet.

"Lance?" Shiro's voice came, as if reading his mind.

"Yes, Shiro?"

"I... Nevermind," he sighed.

"What is it? You know you can tell me anything. We're a team, remember?"

Lance put his brush down and placed a hand on Shiro's chest, willing him to speak his mind. The black paladin was silent for another moment as if gathering his thoughts before he spoke again.

"...I love you."

That statement broke Lance. He had been keeping it together, trying to play it cool for five days. He'd let Shiro cuddle him and hold his hand. He'd even kissed him, which he was still feeling guilty about. But Shiro had just said the one thing that would break Lance down into a sobbing mess.

It wasn't fair. It was not fair. Lance didn't want to play this game anymore. Shiro didn't love him, he only thought he did. But Lance was in love with Shiro, and it was tearing at his heart that he knew the man he was in love with would go back to ignoring him once the spell wore off. Hearing him say the one thing he'd always wanted to hear only made it worse.

"Hey, why are you crying?" Shiro asked, wiping a tear from Lance's face.

"Th-They're happy tears," he lied. "I'm so happy that...you love me."

"Oh," Shiro smiled. "Then I'm happy you're happy."

Shiro brushed a hand through Lance's hair and kissed his forehead. Lance let out another small sob at the gesture, making Shiro hum contentedly, still thinking they were happy tears.

"We need to get dressed," Lance said, moving away. "Can you go to your room and let me change?"

"You aren't gonna come with me?"

"Please Shiro, can you give me five minutes to myself? I'll meet you outside your room when I'm done."

Lance had said it a bit more harshly than he'd intended, but he needed time alone to calm himself down.

Shiro nodded and walked to the door, turning around before he walked out.

"I'm sorry," he said for the first time in five days. Then he opened the door and left.

Lance got dressed hurriedly and then went back into the bathroom. Turning on the faucet, he splashed his face with cold water and dabbed it dry so he wouldn't look like he'd been crying. He took a deep breath, flashed his famous smile into the mirror, and went to find Shiro.

--

They were sitting on the couch; Shiro looking at some chart on a tablet and Lance laying his head on Shiro's lap, letting his hair be played with while he tried not to think about how messed up his life was. He was zoning out, thinking about space sharks when he heard distant yelling and the sound of feet running. It took only a few seconds for him to snap out of his daydreaming when Pidge was standing in the doorway, panting slightly and pointing at both of them.

"Three days," she said, holding up three fingers.

"What?" Lance asked, moving his head only slightly to look at her.

"The poison only lasted three days. It's been six. He hasn't been affected by it for the last three days."

"What." Lance deadpanned. He sat up, glaring at her, then glaring at Shiro, who looked like he had no idea what was going on.

"It's true! We've been working on it nonstop and finally the results came back. We can even do another blood test and check his blood now if that would convince you."

"Yes. I want to. That okay with you, Shiro?"

"Wait, what's going on?"

Everyone gathered in the lab as Pidge tested Shiro's blood again. It only took a few minutes, and as soon as it was done Pidge held up the results to Lance.

"See?" she said. "Clean. No poison. He's officially unaffected, and has been for three days."

"Wait, then why have you been acting like you're still in love with me?" Lance asked Shiro, feeling a little hurt that he'd just been faking it the past few days. "Why have you still needed me around you? Why did you...did you kiss me? Why did you tell me you loved me?"

Lance was angry and confused and he needed answers.

"I...I didn't know. I was bitten- ? I thought-" Shiro looked confused, too. Lance would have believed it if he didn't know it was impossible for normal Shiro to love him.

"That's really low, even for you, Shiro. How could you play me like that? For three extra days? Were- Were you just trying to see how I would react? Trying to find blackmail? I don't understand. Why did you do this?"

"Lance, no! It's not like that. I didn't... Listen, I didn't know I was bitten by something. I mean, it makes sense why I was feeling and acting weird a few days ago. And why I don't remember a lot from the mission. But everything since has been real. I- I do love you. I wanted to kiss you. I wanted to sleep with you and hold your hand. Not because of some stupid love bug. But because... I've had feelings for you for a while. I just kept them hidden because I didn't think it was appropriate as a leader to have feelings for a teammate. And I didn't know I was bitten or else I would have come clean sooner. I just... I thought maybe somehow everything had just worked out during that first fuzzy day and we were in a relationship. It certainly seemed like it."

"You... I... What?" Lance's brain had stopped working. There was no way this was actually happening.

Shiro stepped into Lance's personal space and placed a hand on either side of his arms.

"I love you, Lance. Me. Real, unaffected, un-love-bugged, Shiro."

He let his hands slide down Lance's arms and held the boy's hands in between the two of them.

"Please tell me you feel the same."

"Um..." Lance felt everyone staring at him. He wished this had been a more private love declaration, but he would take what he could get. "Everything's been happening all at once and it's so confusing..."

"You're telling me," Shiro smiled sheepishly.

"I mean," Lance continued, "the guy I'm in love with just told me he loves me back after almost a week of thinking it was all fake? It's...a lot to take in."

Lance bit his lip and looked at Shiro. Shiro looked confused for a moment before something clicked and a grin spread across his face. The brunet smirked as realization of what he had just said washed over the man and he realized Lance reciprocated his feelings.

"Really?" Shiro asked excitedly.

"Yes," Lance smiled back. He put a hand on Shiro's face and leaned forward to kiss him.

"Wait, you guys slept together?"

"Shut up, Keith. Mind your own business," Lance said, annoyed at being interrupted.

"Maybe we could go somewhere more private?" Shiro suggested.

"Agreed."

Lance took Shiro's hand and they ran to his room and locked the door. Once they were inside they drifted to one another again.

"You really love me?" Lance asked, needing assurance one more time.

"I really do love you, Lance."

Shiro brushed his human hand across Lance's cheek and the boy closed his eyes, smiling into the touch.

"Will you say it?"

"Hmm?" Lance lazily opened his eyes at the question.

"Will you tell me you love me? You've heard me say it, a few times. But I haven't heard you say it yet."

Lance nodded, wrapping his arms around Shiro's neck and putting their foreheads together.

"I love you, Shiro."

Lance leaned up and kissed him, no weird space bugs or misunderstandings to make him hesitate. And when Shiro pulled him closer and kissed back, he knew for sure that it was real.