Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Keith woke up by coming out of a cryopod, he was shocked enough. First, he was still with the Blades of Marmora, or so he thought. He ran over what he last remembered, and all that came to mind was that he went to bed after a particularly tough mission. He definitely didn't remember returning to the castle.

What else was weird was that his body felt...different. He hadn't thought he grew while he was with the Blades, but the room still seemed different as he stumbled out of the pod. He moved a hand to scratch the back of his neck, but then he froze when he didn't feel his hair brush his hand.

What the hell?

Keith went to a cryopod to look at his reflection, and his jaw dropped open. Rather, Lance's jaw dropped open. He lifted his hands to look at them, and they were tan instead of pale. They were also shaped differently and meticulously trimmed.

"Am I dreaming?" he asked out loud...except that wasn't his voice. It was Lance's voice.

He pinched himself on the arm, then rubbed the sore spot. He re-examined himself and nothing changed. Well.

Keith fainted.

<><><>

When Lance woke up, he was immediately confused. He was in a dark room with soft, glowing, blue lights and he didn't recognize anything. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, then he saw his hands when he opened his eyes.

He didn't bother trying to examine the rest of himself; he just got out of bed (with faster reflexes than usual?) and went to the door he hoped was a bathroom. Luckily, it was, except when he turned on the lights and saw his reflection he had to slap a hand over his — Keith's — mouth to stop himself from screaming in shock.

After taking a lot of deep breaths to try to calm himself, he went back into the room and sat on the bed to sort out his memories.

"Okay, so, the team was fighting a Galra fleet." It was weird to hear Keith's voice saying his words. "Red and I got separated from the team after we deformed Voltron, and we got caught in a wave of quintessence. No big deal. Except it's vaya cosa."

He sighed and looked over himself. "...And Keith sleeps in his clothes. Figures."

Lance froze when something occurred to him. Two things, actually. The first thing was that if he was in Keith's body, Keith was probably in his body. The second thing was something only Hunk knew before he told Coran after he was confused about medical readings. Shit, there was no way he was going to get out of it.

He turned on a light (it took less time to find the switch than he expected) and looked around the room to make sure there wasn't anything he thought was essential. It seemed like he was good.

He didn't have a chance to confirm, though, because the door was opened and Kolivan walked in with no warning. "Keith,"—oh, right, he was probably going to be called Keith until he proved otherwise—"one person from Voltron called and demanded to speak with you. Lance."

He had to stop himself from reacting eagerly. "Oh, good. I've been wanting to talk to K— Lance. Take me there." Whoops, he almost slipped.

"Hold on. Where's your blade?"

Lance was really glad he knew Keith well enough. He reached under his — Keith's — pillow and grabbed the blade from under it. He hooked it in the sheath on his — Keith's — waist. Why did Keith sleep with a sheath on his waist anyway? He shook it off mentally and followed Kolivan to the meeting room, and the video was up and showing a grumpy and stressed version of Lance's face. Weird.

"Oh, there you are, Keith. Hey, Kolivan, would you mind if I talk to my good friend Keith alone? It's pretty important."

Lance had to suppress laughter at how probably-Keith sounded trying to talk like him. Kolivan looked at him and waited for a nod of confirmation before he walked out of the room.

When the room was empty, Lance visibly deflated from how tense he was. "Am I right guessing you're actually Keith?" He got a nod in response and he found himself lost on words, but not in the getting distracted and forgetting what he was saying way that he was used to. He frowned. He just...couldn't figure out what to say. He jumped when he heard his voice clearing his throat.

"Are you gonna come here or am I gonna have to go there? I don't really want to explain to the rest of the team that I'm not you without you here. Do I really have hair sticking up at the back of my head? Well, you. Me? You in my body. Okay, why can't my thoughts slow down? I can't focus on the problem at hand."

Lance blinked in surprise. "I mean, I have ADHD. I guess that stayed in my brain and now you have it." He was quiet for a bit while Keith was wringing his — Lance's — hands together and generally looking restless.

"Can we discuss what the hell we're gonna do? Please?"

"Right. I guess we should come up with a fake emergency that requires you, no, me to pilot the black lion. Like she stopped listening to Shiro for whatever reason. I'm getting other ideas and I just...don't know how to describe them? This is different." Lance rubbed his temple and tried to focus on forming words. He kept failing at it, though.

Keith shrugged. "That's how it usually is for me. I haven't had that issue in your body, so I guess it's something ingrained in my brain. It's always been something I've dealt with, so I just tolerated."

"Pidge has a hard time with that too, if it's not related to technology."

Lance fell silent when Kolivan walked back in. "Keith, what's your status?"

Keith started to reply, but Lance cut him off to keep their situation on the down-low. "Shiro is out of commission, so they need me to pilot the black lion."

Kolivan looked confused. "So why is the rest of your team not talking to you about this?"

Keith replied quickly. "Red paladins are generally second-in-command, being the right hand of Voltron. The rest of the team is dealing with repairs to the ship."

Kolivan seemed to accept that, and they started to discuss how Keith (Lance) would get to the castle. Within a half a varga, Lance was on his way to the castle's coordinates.

<><><>

After Lance was on his way, Keith went to find Allura to let her know that Keith (Lance) was coming. She was confused, but he promised he would explain the situation.

"Lance, are you feeling alright? Did the cryopod mess you up?"

Keith froze on his way out and turned back. "I'm just fine, thanks Allura. I'm gonna go wait for Keith now bye."

He slipped out quickly and headed to where Lance would be arriving. Sure enough, the ship came in and Keith was shaken by the reminder that he wasn't in the right body when he saw Lance come out.

"This isn't what I expected to happen when I got to see you again, bro," Lance said. He was acting like nothing really changed.

Keith rolled his eyes and walked over to Lance. He was surprised when he was pulled into a hug, and it was...different to feel his body. Also, the feeling of the Blades outfit was different than he remembered.

Lance pulled back sooner than Keith expected and he looked confused. "Do you normally have issues with physical contact or something? I've never had that before."

Keith just shrugged. "I don't hate it, but it can be a bit much sometimes. Are you really this restless? I can't handle waiting."

"That's the ADHD. I have to be moving my hands if I'm stuck waiting for something. I can't keep still. You seem to be not much better, though, but in a different way."

Now Keith was confused. "What? I thought everyone does specific motions in response to different things."

Lance shook his head and put a hand on Keith's shoulder. "Bro, I know needing to stim, and you get that need. C'mon, let's go tell the team about our situation."

They walked together in silence and Lance stopped near the rooms when they reached them.

"Uh, do you want to... No, I want to... clothes?" Lance looked lost and confused about words.

Keith caught on and nodded. He was surprised that he actually caught onto something, really. "C'mon, let's get you out of that." He walked to his room and paused when he realized Lance wasn't following yet. He walked back out and grabbed him by the wrist to drag him in. "I'm gonna go piss while you get changed. The zipper is in the back, but my body is flexible enough to get it off without help. You're gonna want to put on my fingerless gloves, by the way. I guess I just have a stronger sense of touch than others or something because I haven't had the same sensitivity in your body so far. Um. I'm gonna go do what I said before I keep rambling. This is new."

Lance looked confused, but then froze. "Wait, I need to tell you something before you go in there and freak out. Um. Only Hunk and Coran know this, and I haven't figured out how to tell anyone else? So. Uh." He ran his hands through his hair and started rubbing his thumbs on his fingers. "How the hell do I say this? My body isn't...right. And you won't be able to stand to pee."

Keith frowned in confusion. "What?"

"Trans!" He then shook his head. "Why are words so hard? Ay, I'm trans."

Keith ran that through before it actually clicked. "Wait, you're trans?"

Lance nodded and looked very uncomfortable. "I didn't want to say it, but I guess I have to since you'd find out either way. And I figure it's better than you finding out without me telling you."

"I better return the favor, then. You aren't gonna find out what having a dick is like 'cause I don't have one either." He shrugged like it was nothing, but his mind was spinning and making it hard to focus on one thing.

"Well. Okay. Go piss and I'll get dressed."

<><><>

Lance was frozen in disgusted shock, holding his hand defensively. He glared at the offending cloth and subconsciously knew his facial expression matched the face it was on. He sucked in a deep breath and carefully avoided the Altean-microfiber cloth and reached for an Altean-cotton cloth instead. He and Keith decided to eat before addressing their issue with the team, and he spilled some space goo.

He jumped when a hand was put on his shoulder. "You alright?"

Lance tried to calm his breathing. "Y...yeah. I think I get why you told me to wear those gloves. And here I thought you just wore them to be cool or something. Are you really that sensitive to different textures?" He was slipping on the mentioned gloves while he spoke.

"Yes, I am, and seriously? I don't wear sweaty leather gloves for fun." Keith sighed. "I still don't know why that's a problem I have."

"Keith! You're back!" Both of them jumped at the sudden interruption. Hunk had walked in the kitchen without them realizing it and he pulled Lance into a hug.

Oh, right. Lance's arms were pressed to his sides with the hug so he didn't have to worry about hugging back. He craned his head to look at the real Keith, but he wasn't any help. "Good to see you too, Hunk. I can't feel my hands, though."

Hunk immediately let go and apologized. "Sorry, things just aren't the same without you around. Isn't that right, Lance?" He turned to look at Keith and Lance panicked. Keith seemed to be zoning off and had a small smile on his face, though.

"Hey, Hunk. I'm pretty hungry so I need to eat. I'll catch up with you later, though, asere." Then he froze when he realized he slipped.

"'Asere'? That's what—" Hunk pointed to Keith, looked at Lance, and started looking between the two before— "HOLY CROW."

Keith looked startled out of his zoning out by the outburst, and Lance was trying to get Hunk to calm down.

"Yes, yes, I know. This isn't easy for us either, bro. Just...let us try to figure out how to tell everyone else so we can try to fix whatever caused this." He started leading Hunk out the door.

When Lance turned back, he let out an exhausted sigh. "Well, that's one less person to worry about telling."

"Tell what?" Lance nearly jumped out of Keith's skin when Pidge appeared out of nowhere. "And when'd you get back, Keith?"

Lance was quickly getting overwhelmed by stimuli, and he had to get out of there. "I-I'm sorry, Pidge. I can't do this right now. I need to..." He didn't finish before he slipped out of the kitchen and went straight to his room.

He collapsed on his bed and started squeezing his arms as a way to try to get himself to calm down. He felt like everything was too much, and he needed to get himself together. He was nauseous, everything was too bright, and everything was just... loud. He heard the sound of someone walking in, but he didn't look up and just continued to focus on the feeling of the squeezes to keep himself anchored. He noticed the feeling of a heavy blanket put on him, and the pressure seemed to help a little. It helped enough that he could look up and see his own face.

Lance started to try to talk, but nothing came out, and he found himself gaping like a fish while he tried to make noise. He started panicking again, but he was grounded by a gentle hug and he started focusing on his breathing. He noticed that his fists were clenched and squeezing rhythmically, but he didn't try to control it. He just let himself focus on the soothing quiet.

He tried to talk again after a few dobashes, but it still didn't work. Keith just reassured him quietly and he ignored the weirdness of hearing his own voice in favor of letting the soft tone wash over him and he slowly relaxed. He hadn't even realized he was crying until he felt a gentle thumb brushing tears away.

"Lance, do you want to try to eat?" He nodded and squeezed his fists tighter. "Okay. C'mon. Let's go slowly. Do you want to wear your jacket instead of mine?" He nodded again, and Keith didn't wait to answer before he put the red jacket on the bed and Lance's jacket on him.

Lance's bomber jacket felt different and fitted differently than he was used to, but it felt right. He was relaxing even more just from wearing it. He started to stand up, and he gratefully took Keith's hand as support. They started to leave the room slowly, and Lance froze up again when he heard someone else call out.

"Keith!" Lance had to stop himself from hyperventilating on the spot and started to go back in the direction of his room, but Keith stopped him with a gentle and reassuring squeeze of the hand.

Keith looked over at the newcomer — Coran — and answered quickly. "Hey, can we be alone for a bit? Keith can't talk right now. I'm trying to help him out."

"Oh? Did he hurt his throat? Does he need to go to a healing pod?"

Keith shook his head. "No. It's not a physical issue. It happens sometimes, and I guess this is the first time he's actually gotten help when it happened." Lance looked at him in surprise. Keith had this happen multiple times and he hadn't gotten any help for it?

"Oh, alright. I hope you feel better soon, my boy! It's good to see you around here again." Coran went in the direction of the control room and Lance slumped.

They started to head back to the kitchen again. They were going slowly, but Lance was grateful for that. He sucked in a breath and tried to talk again. All that came out was a small squeak and he frowned. Keith squeezed his hand and he put his hood over his head. The feeling was really relaxing, and he closed his eyes before continuing to walk.

<><><>

Keith was surprised with how well he was able to identify what Lance needed and how to help. He normally struggled with figuring out what to do in a given situation if it wasn't something he didn't have to think about. Especially when it came to other people. This time, though, he didn't struggle at all. It was like a barrier was removed.

When he and Lance reached the kitchen, Pidge was still in there and she was eating a bowl of space goo. When she saw them come in, she raised an eyebrow at what looked like them holding hands while Keith (Lance) was wearing Lance's jacket.

Keith cut off Pidge before she even started talking. "Not now, Pidge. He can't talk right now and he's overstimulated. I'm trying to help him out."

Pidge just nodded and seemed to redirect what she was going to say. "Is there anything I can do to help out? I have a few stim toys that help me when that happens."

Lance nodded and let go of Keith's hand to pull his hood further over his head. He sat down and rubbed his fingers on the sleeve cuffs of his jacket. Pidge just slipped out of the room and came back a few minutes later with a handful of trinkets and other things. There was a very long tangle, a bundle of metallic balls that stuck together and Pidge showed that they pulled apart and came back together with a gentle tlink, a fidget cube that she must've brought from Earth, and a green squishy ball that looked like it would endure a good beating.

"Where did you get all these?" Keith asked with an awed look on his face.

"I've had them," Pidge said with a satisfied grin. "Everything except this" — she held up the bundle — "were in my pocket when we left Earth. I never go anywhere without a good supply of stim toys. Now, I'll leave you two to yourselves." She had a frisky look on her face, but she left without saying anything else.

Keith looked back at Lance, who was using the tangle very eagerly. He was tangling it around his hands, squeezing it so it made small plastic-on-plastic noises, and twisting it. He looked completely engaged in what he was doing, so Keith went to fill two bowls with space goo.

When he came back and put the bowls on the table, Lance was trying to get his voice to work but only squeaks were coming out and breathy, soundless words.

"Hey, don't push it. It'll come back eventually." He sat down next to Lance. "Try to start eating for now. One step at a time."

Lance nodded and put the hood of his jacket down and started to eat. He paused after the first bite like something was wrong, but he didn't recoil and just kept eating. When he finished, he tried talking again.

"Tell." It was quiet and only one word, but it was talking. Keith smiled in encouragement. "Tell...team."

"You want us to tell the team about our situation?" he inferred. Lance nodded in response. "Do you want to see if you can get your voice back a little more, or just go now?"

"Now." Lance put the tangle around his neck, probably liking the feeling, and grabbed Pidge's cube and started messing with the different faces before settling on the one that let his thumb rock back and forth.

He stood up and started walking out of the kitchen while still clicking the cube. Keith quickly followed.

Chapter Text

"So, you're telling us that you two have switched bodies?" Shiro looked skeptical. "And 'Lance' can't talk right now to confirm?" Lance's jaw dropped open. Did he seriously think that they were making that up?

Luckily, the rest of the team didn't seem to have the same doubts. Hunk was the first to reply, though. "The person in Keith's body called me 'asere', and only Lance calls me that. I don't know why you don't believe them."

"They're acting too natural."

Keith just snorted in response and muttered, "I'm already used to being in the wrong body. Now it's just literal." Everyone looked confused, so he sighed. "'Cause I'm trans. Can't exactly feel too fucked up about it when I'm already used to dysphoria."

That seemed to ease Shiro's worries, but he still looked suspicious. He didn't comment, though, and just walked away. Keith turned to look at Lance, who was still tense and miffed. Everyone else seemed to be taking it pretty well, considering.

Lance opened his mouth to try to speak, but nothing came out, so he just closed it and huffed. He wasn't used to this, and he was frustrated. He shrugged and walked out of the room so he could head to his own.

When he heard steps behind him, he didn't turn to look. He just stopped and leaned back on a wall, and he was surprised to see that Pidge was who followed him.

"Hey, Lance. Are you doing any better?" He shrugged in response. "Did the stim toys help, at least?" He nodded. "Good. Listen, if you need advice for anything, I can help out. I'm autistic, so I get it." Lance looked surprised at her words, so Pidge shrugged. "I have good coping methods, but I'm not perfect."

"Autistic?" Keith had apparently arrived, likely to check on Lance. "Why is that relevant?"

Pidge turned and looked at Keith in surprise. "Wait, are you autistic? You give me the vibe for it. Well, Lance does, now, but same difference."

Keith just shrugged. "I was never diagnosed for anything ever. I've just always assumed I was just not able to connect with people and when I found out I'm part Galra, I just figured that was why. I guess that makes sense, too."

Lance just looked between the two in confusion. "Can't we just...see if Coran has anything that might be able to pick up the right reading? Hey, I can talk again, sweet. Um. Being able to voice doesn't help when I don't know what else to say."

"Don't push it. Now, c'mon!" Pidge immediately grabbed his hand and started dragging him in the direction of the medical bay while ignoring Lance's complaints that he could walk and telling Keith to get Coran.

Lance grumbled in response while walking after Pidge, not that he had much of a choice. When they got to the medical bay, she told him to lay down on a table and he just sat on it to spite her.

"Why do you think I'm— Keith is— Keith's body is autistic? I have ADHD and I get sensory overloads. That wasn't new. The only thing was not being able to talk."

Pidge shrugged. "Remember that 'vibe' I mentioned? Autistic people can often tell when someone is autistic, or at least neurodivergent. It's pretty dang accurate, too. Besides, think about it. Think about how Keith acts when he's in the right body. Unsure how to interact with people, trouble understanding jokes and things like your Voltron chant, not able to express emotions well."

Lance thought about it, then nodded. A couple dobashes later, and Keith and Coran walked in. Coran was confused, so Pidge went to him and explained what she was wanting. Then Coran nodded in understanding, mentioning an Altean equivalence, and got a scanner.

The scan itself took a few dobashes, and Lance rubbed his finger with his thumb while waiting. Keith was shuffling uncomfortably and eventually started pacing because he couldn't seem to keep still.

After the scan, Coran did the same to Pidge and Keith with the intent of comparing results. When everything was done, Coran took a few dobashes to read over the results.

"Aha! First, the scan does show evidence of you two" — he pointed between Lance and Keith while he was talking — "being in the wrong body, but it doesn't show the cause. Other details include 'number five' and 'number four' having similar readings, pointing towards what Pidge called 'autism'. The reading calls it laricia, but it sounds like it's the same thing. Basically, I'm saying that Pidge is right and Keith — Lance, now — is in fact larictic or autistic."

Pidge pumps her fist in victory. "I called it! Okay, you two have fun now, bye!" She slipped out of the room without another word, leaving the three remaining people confused.

<><><>

After Coran left the medical bay and Keith and Lance were alone, Keith sat down and let out a long breath.

It was one thing to have the idea that he could be autistic in his mind, and it was another to have that confirmed. It was even more shattering to think that he was suddenly ripped from how he'd been his whole life and put in the position of a completely different disability. He was constantly wringing his hands together, and he just couldn't keep still. He eventually just slumped in the chair and dragged his hands down his face. The fact that it wasn't his face kept echoing in his mind, though.

"Hey, you cool, Keith?" He just groaned in response. "Is it my turn to help you now?" He looked at Lance and he rolled his eyes when he saw his own face with a smug look except how Lance would make it.

"That expression doesn't look right on my face. Stop that." He was avoiding the question. "If you wanna be helpful, give me ground rules."

Lance looked thoughtful for a minute, but then he answered. "Okay, first, just because you're in my body doesn't mean I'm gonna let you neglect my fire skin. I can either give you instructions or do it myself."

Really? Keith let out a huff that was more incredulous than anything. "The first thing you worry about is your skin?" He thought for a moment. "You might as well just do it yourself. I'm having hard enough of a time keeping track of things without adding in directions."

Lance stood up and walked over. "I take my skin seriously. How else am I supposed to woo everyone?"

That brought up a point. "Don't flirt with people while you're in my body. Just...don't."

"Not even with hot guys?"

"No, n— wait, what? Why would you do that?"

Lance paused and looked unsure. "Was I getting the wrong vibes off you, or are you gay?"

Keith stared in surprise. "I mean, yeah, but how did you...? Is it that obvious?"

Lance just shrugged. "I started guessing after the way you were looking at Rolo back when he and Nyma duped us."

He raised an eyebrow. "Don't you mean duped you? I don't recall anyone else being handcuffed to a tree."

"I— you— ugh, you have me there. Anyway, good to know I wasn't wrong."

Keith looked over Lance. "Okay, but I don't get why you would flirt with guys just because I'm gay." After he got a confused expression in response, he added, "Since you're straight?" Lance burst into laughter, and Keith was left confused. "What?"

"B-bro," Lance managed through his laughter, "I'm not straight. I'm bi. Or pan. Either way, I'm not straight. Holy crow, I can't believe you thought that." He dramatically wiped away a nonexistent tear.

Keith just stared in shock. "But I only ever see you flirting with girls!"

"Doesn't make me any less bi. Get with the program, bro." Another laughing fit shook through him. "Would it convince you if I started flirting with more guys? 'Cause I gotta go tell Hunk that you thought I'm straight. He'll love it."

Lance didn't seem to wait for a response before leaving the room, and Keith dragged his hands down his face to get himself together. He thought he was completely screwed, but finding out that Lance was bi...

How am I supposed to handle this?

<><><>

Lance knocked on the door. "Yo, Keith, time for skincare."

It took a little bit, but the door opened up and Lance was once again shook by seeing his face instead of Keith's. "Is this really necessary?"

Lance held a hand to his chest and feigned offense. "Absolutely. Besides, I gotta keep my routine up. Skincare is very important, and it's so relaxing. It's worth it, bro."

Keith didn't look like he bought it, but he shrugged and moved to let Lance in. The two got situated on Keith's bed, and Lance started out with washing off Keith's (Lance's) face. Keith was complaining about it, but Lance didn't let him keep it up.

Eventually, Lance decided to change the topic. "Hey, I never really had a chance to thank you for earlier. With...helping me out with the sensory overload. It helped a lot. I've had them before, but never really that bad or going nonverbal." He rubbed some ointment over Keith's cheek and he felt a surprising pang of grief, and not because of him being in the wrong body but rather because he didn't get to look into Keith's eyes and feel Keith's skin.

"Oh. You're welcome. I guess I just couldn't let you deal alone."

Lance felt warmth under his fingers but didn't see a blush. He wished he could've seen it— wait, but he would've just seen his own face blushing. Why did he suddenly care so much about how he didn't get to see Keith instead of how he was in the wrong body? Okay, his normal body was still wrong, but that was beside the point.

Lance was quiet for a few dobashes, trying to gather his thoughts, and he kept at the ointment application. Keith wasn't much better. When he finished, he grabbed the warm cloth and started wiping the ointment off.

"What's the point of putting that goop on if you're just gonna wipe it off?" Keith grumbled.

"It's a tricky balance. It cleans pores, but it also can cause a breakout if it clogs them up. I can't risk that even if you have my face."

"Missing some skincare isn't going to change how attractive you are," Keith deadpanned.

Lance's reply was interrupted by how he felt like he choked on his tongue. "Wait, what?"

It seemed like Keith didn't mean to say what he did based on his expression. "I guess that's out. I'm not taking it back."

Lance stared for a minute before he started to resume wiping ointment off. He didn't reply, but he was pretty sure he was blushing. After he finished getting all the ointment off, he set down the washcloth.

"We can leave out the mask for tonight," he murmured. "And, uh, thanks again for earlier. I'll...let you do what you need to." He stood up and started to leave, but he was stopped by a hand grabbing his wrist, and he looked at Keith.

"Why are you running out? I never said you were bothering me." His voice was soft, and Lance felt like he should've been able to pick up on underlying things. He sat down again anyway. "Lance, I didn't really have a chance to say that I've missed you. While I was gone, I mean. I was hoping the next time I saw you would be your face, but this is fine too."

Lance's breath caught in his throat. He took a moment to reply. "Honestly, I never wanted you to leave, but I wasn't about to stop you from doing what you thought was right. It's been...really boring around here. The most eventful thing was when Coran went in his hyper-showbizz mode and all that. I... I've really missed you too." He left out that he'd been holed in his room and playing video games to pass time since he had nothing better to do. Or how he didn't know how to handle Shiro being the black paladin again because he was so used to being Keith's (literal) right-hand man. Or how he kept wanting to call Keith but never did because he didn't want to bother him. Instead, he just added, "Red's missed you, too. I know you haven't piloted him in a while, but I guess he was just okay with you being nearby."

When Lance looked at Keith again, he saw him smiling. It wasn't anything big, but it was still a smile, and Lance really wished he could've seen that expression on the right face. "I heard about those shows, loverboy." He ignored Lance's spluttered complaints. "I did watch some of those. Were you in gymnastics or something?"

Lance laughed almost sheepishly. "Yeah. When I was younger I wanted to be an acrobatic. I eventually grew out of that, but I stayed in gymnastics because I was good and I had fun. I pretty much stopped when I figured out why I didn't fit in with other girls. I wasn't one."

Keith was quiet for a minute before he replied. "Well, it payed off."

"What?" was all Lance could think of to reply. Smooth.

Keith held Lance's gaze firmly. "This face" — he tapped his (Lance's) cheek — "and this body" — he gestured to emphasize — "looks really good."

Lance was stunned into silence. He took several ticks before he managed, "You're one to talk."

A silence fell between them, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Sure, Lance was wishing he could be looking at Keith's face instead of his own, but that was out of his control for the moment. Instead, he just mentally corrected what he saw with what he was used to. Then he realized Keith was leaning in, and he froze.

"Um. Keith?" Keith stopped in response.

"Oh. I must've been misreading the situation. S—"

"No! No, you weren't. I just... we're in the wrong bodies."

Keith nodded. "Okay, that's true. Are you saying you haven't wondered what it'd be like to kiss yourself?"

Lance's mouth opened, but nothing came out with how surprised he was with the forwardness. He took many ticks, but he finally got out, "I...haven't really thought about it?"

"Really? With how much you care for your appearance?"

"That doesn't mean I imagine kissing myself!"

"Well, would you like to find out what it's like?"