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To Keith, this had only happened one other time.
He got stuck in the elevator with Shiro and about ten other students and their parents on his original entrance day to the Garrison. They were only stuck for maybe twenty minutes at most, and Keith shrugged it off with passing.
He finds himself stuck in the same situation again, trapped in an ever-closing space. But this time he's with Lance, his friend, rival, and crush. Yes, feelings could fucking suck it, Keith didn't have time for this right now. He feels like the world is crashing down on him when he has to be closed in this tightening space. And he feels worse since he's not with Shiro and he's not in the middle of a crowd of people.
Keith is quietly panicking as Lance is trying to contact someone through his phone. They don't understand the alien space letters on the floor buttons and it feels like time isn't real. Keith sinks to the floor at Lance's chattering and attempts to stop shaking a bit, staring at the doors and hoping they will open purely by his will. Unexpectedly, Lance sees him and sits down next to him, now he's off the phone and he's whispering something to Keith, is he trying to comfort him? Keith's heart is beating fast and now beating faster as he realizes Lance is closed in on him too, but warmly, and suddenly Keith is slowing down.
Lance is hugging him.
"You look terrified, are you alright?" Keith could finally make out the words that Lance spoke softly.
"Y-yeah. What—what did you say before? When you were whispering?"
Keith was still on the ground, breathing heavily, his back against the elevator's wall, Lance's arms still wrapped around him. He could see Lance now, the blue eyes facing him with worry, and the rest of him was coming into focus.
He was warm.
"I asked if you were alright. Are you?"
He gave a nod. Keith had never seen Lance with this worry in his eyes before. Lance pulled away from the hug, and the warmth went away, and he knew that the room was going to close him in again.
"Wait, Lance," Keith looked up at the boy, standing and trying to reach someone on his phone. "C-c..."
"Can't resist me?" He smirked. That was the Lance that Keith knew. Yet the Lance that Keith knew was all a facade; once Lance realized the state of Keith he retracted his smirk. Lance put his phone away again.
"I'm sorry, really, are you okay?" He said, sitting down next to Keith and wrapping an arm around his back. Keith's head returned down, he had his knees against his chest. He slowly leaned into Lance's grasp. He leaned into the warmth.
"No," Keith shuddered out a breath through his silent sobs.
Lance was surprised. There was an emo boy kinda in his arms. He didn’t know why he’d never seen Keith cry. Lance just thought back to his mom, what would Mamá do?
“Keith, look up at me, okay?” Lance removed his arm from Keith and sat in front of him, a little to close to the poor curled-up red paladin. “Keith,” he repeated.
Keith was still choking out the words to Lance. “I’m claustrophobic,” He said slowly, unraveling himself from his sad ball and looking up at Lance with fresh tears still rolling down his cheeks.
“I can tell, are you okay—"
“No. And you’re warm. C-come back, please.” Keith basically demanded, with and without fear at the same time. Why the hell would you say that, you emo. He doesn’t like you. The room is closing in. But you need this right now, the room keeps closing in. Yes. I need this right now. The room is closing in, but he doesn’t—
Keith’s inner torment was swiped away by Lance closing in on him. He basically picked up Keith and pulled him onto his lap, and hugged him loosely around the middle. Keith’s head was on Lance’s shoulder and he didn’t know what to do with his hands. He was awkward, until Lance placed Keith’s hands around him in an effort to make him more comfortable. Lance stroked his back and Keith didn’t think they could get any closer, until Lance proved him wrong by pressing his chest against Keith’s, hugging him tighter. Keith was crying into his shoulder, letting the sounds of the sobs release into Lance’s very comforting embrace, and he was glad Lance couldn’t see him because his face was heating up from the sudden close contact. He was internally screaming, the thoughts were back, and he was so, so confused. He tried to reason with himself, he tried so hard, to let everything go, but he was still shaking into Lance.
“Keith, just listen to the sound of my voice,” Lance whispered softly into Keith’s ear, still keeping the close contact in effort to calm him down. This is what his mother would do.
“It’s all going to be fine, Keith. Keith. We’re going to be okay. Coran is coming to get us.”
“I—I—“
“Don’t talk, just listen to me. I’m here, I’m here for you.”
Keith’s heart was beating faster than before. The walls. The walls.
His voice was quiet. Keith could barely hear him over his thoughts. “…breaths. In, out. Deep breaths, Keith.”
Keith breathed in and out like Lance said. He shifted in the embrace, situated himself on Lance, and he let his tears fall, he let himself melt into the blue paladin, let himself relax and breathe in relaxation, breathe in Lance.
“Is this okay?” Lance interrupted the silence again with a soft, sweet whisper.
“What?”
“This hug? Is this awkward, or—“
“N—…no, it’s fine,” Keith spoke quietly as well. He’d closed his eyes a while ago now. The tears had stopped. The both of them were quietly comforting each other.
“I— is it working?”
Keith quietly chuckled at Lance’s soft remark in his ear, because yes it was working, and he wished it could work forever, that they could stay like this and Keith would be safe.
“Yes, Lance.”
The dark-skinned boy pulled away to see the paler one’s face, wet with tears and a small smile. Lance kept his voice low, “I’ll keep you safe, okay?”
The space between them was still not much and their faces were inches apart. Keith was lulled by Lance’s voice and his eyes were lazy, looking up and down his face. Keith wanted to touch that face. I probably never will be able to again, he thought, if I don’t take this chance. Keith lifted his hands from Lance’s shoulders to his cheeks, cupping them gingerly as if he were holding a baby. Keith stroked his cheek and bit his own lip, watching the expression of the boy holding his waist underneath him. Lance’s own face was also relaxed, eyes half-shut, feeling Keith’s touch with so much hunger. Lance opened his eyes fully and looked at the red paladin, realizing he was probably liking this too much.
“K-Keith,” He spoke, his face heating up under the touch.
“Yeah—uh, um—I’m sorry,” He quickly removed his hands from Lance’s high-as-mountains cheekbones and backed up a bit, shifting and looking away from the boy.
“N-no—“
“I shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry.” He doesn’t like you, Keith.
“But… it was okay.” He doesn’t like you, stop it Lance.
Keith returned his gaze to Lance, “Then, is it okay if—uh…” God, I love Lance.
Lance looked fondly at the red face above him, “Yeah, it is.” Dios mío, estoy enamorado de este chico.
Keith’s hands returned to Lance’s face, and both of their eyes closed at the same time and they became closer. Keith fell into Lance and closed the gap, pressing their lips together slowly. He pulled away and Lance opened his eyes wide, moving forward to enter back into the kiss, focusing on how he wanted to comfort Keith until he died. Keith opened his mouth a little, thinking in that moment how much he loved Lance’s soft whispers in his ear. He ran his hands down Lance, from his face, to his neck, his chest and then his waist. Lance bit the red paladin’s bottom lip and he completely melted in Lance’s arms, allowing Lance to lead. Lance was finally able to feel the mullet and Keith was allowed to run his hands down the hips that don’t lie. Keith squeezed his hips and smiled into the kiss and Lance had to pull away to curse, “Mierda, Keith.”
Lance looked at Keith’s face endearingly, because he’s wanted this from his rival for a long time. He was about to dive back in to Keith when the doors to the elevator opened and he could practically feel Keith’s panic—
“Um… should I… come back later—“
Shiro was interrupted by Keith jumping up and sprinting the hell out of that elevator in pure fear of never being able to get out again. He mentally noted himself to get stuck in a room with Lance another time, though.
“Lance, what was tha—“
Lance followed Keith out.