Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

It'd been about 48 hours since Keith had slept, but he was still committed to carrying himself with grace and dignity. Plus, if Kolivan had found out he stayed up all night, he'd be on cleaning duty for a week. The point was, he still hadn't collapsed from exhaustion yet, so it'd be nice to keep up the facade.

His ship was close to the Castle's location now, and he could see it in the distance. Keith thought about taking his time, stalling the commotion that would ensue once he opened the doors and stepped inside. They'd practically interrogate him over the stunt he'd pulled at Naxzela until he passed out, and when he regained consciousness, the cycle would start over. He could always just not go, but then they'd hunt him down, and that would be worse.

After wringing his hands around each other for what felt like a few hours, he punched a few numbers into the control panel to his left and pushed a lever forward. He was moving at much quicker pace now, set to arrive any minute.

The size of the white ship slowly grew into the territory of overwhelming. Keith switched the controls from autopilot to manual and swung the vehicle upwards, towards the bottommost spire extending from the base of the Castle. Recognizing him as the red paladin, the tip of the tunnel gradually opened, allowing him entry. Tightening his grip on the handles of the craft, he reluctantly moved forwards, sleep threatening to overcome him at any moment.

"Let's just get this over with," he mumbled, thinking about the fact that now, there were no intercoms to accidentally broadcast something to another paladin or Blade.

That, he thought, could be the one thing that makes this whole ordeal worth it.

His eyes weighed heavy as he fought to overcome the tiredness that was now almost too much to bear. Keith tightened his grip on the handles of the ship in an effort to keep it steady, but it did little good. As skilled a pilot as he was, the wings of the craft were about to make contact with the wall of the tunnel at any given moment. By sheer willpower, he was able to veer off to the left in time to exit and enter the hangar itself.

After a rough but efficient landing, Keith made his way out of the vehicle and took the opportunity to glance at his surroundings. Each hangar was about the same size, with a ceiling almost too high to see the top of and walls wide enough to fit a small moon in. But the grandness of the room wasn't what most people would marvel at when they entered it- the reason it even existed is enough to make them do a double take. The red lion sat on his haunches in front of him, thoughtful yellow eyes trained on his figure.

Keith couldn't help but grin at the sight of his old friend. Combined with his piloting of the black lion and joining the Blade of Marmora, he'd have guessed it was a few months since they had even talked.

"Hey, Red!" At the sound of his nickname, the lion perked up and the red-tinted particle barrier surrounding him was dropped. With a loud creak and the sound of his body cutting through the air, he had bowed his head to him. Keith chuckled a bit and rubbed his palms against Red's nose, to which he gratefully accepted. A low rumble filled the room, as if to say, "How could I stay mad at you?"

If there was ever a time Keith had ever had to break up with someone, it was with the red lion. He'd thrown a fit and eventually calmed down, but leaving the team for the Blade had apparently crossed the line. At least at the moment,

"Dude, get a room," called a voice from behind him. It was instantly recognizable, but he still hesitated in turning to see who it was. Peering over his shoulder,  he could see Lance standing with his arms crossed, almost patiently waiting for him to finish up with his reunion with Red. He was a bit surprised by the way he chose to prompt that interaction, though. Keith didn't know whether to feel grateful or concerned.

"Hilarious. What are you doing here, anyway?"  Lance seemed to consider the question a strange one, lifting his eyebrows at it.

"Um, this is kinda my hangar now," he said. The red lion turned to Lance with a scowl,  and he backed off a bit. "O-okay, okay! We share it."

"Right. I forgot about that whole replacement thing. Sorry, it's been a long day." Keith rubbed at his now burning eyes, remembering the many, many hours that he had gone without sleep.

"It must be, because you just apologized to me." Lance marvelled at his choice of words. Keith's eyes widened a bit, and he shrugged it off.

"Yeah, I guess I did. Go figure."

Keith's lack of skill in conversational skills was getting this nowhere fast. Though he never saw it as one, Lance's tendency to never stop talking was turning into an advantage.

"How do you do that, anyways?" Lance asked, prompting Keith to furrow his eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?" The blue paladin sighed and began to walk away from him, leaving Keith confused. Lance was now standing in front of the Blade of Marmora ship that Keith had entered on, and made sure that the eye contact that he was initiating was enough to keep his attention. Lance took tired steps towards him and the lion. Exaggerating his movements, he peered his head up and smiled.

"Hey, Red!" He mimicked the tone of Keith's voice when he had said the same thing. Red showed far less interest in Lance and turned back to Keith, who grinned a little.

"What... Are you... Are you jealous?" he said. Lance dramatically moved one hand to his chest, dropping his jaw.

"Me, jealous? No. I just want to know why the giant, sentiant, mechanical cat likes you more than me. Why would a lion have preferences? It's a lion. And who would choose you when I'm here? No one worth spending time with." Keith laughed a bit while Lance went on about the situation. He noticed a while back that he tended to have a flair for the dramatic when it came to- well, anything. It had become a bit of a guilty pleasure for him, especially with their strange sort of rivalry. He'd play it off as laughing at his stupidity, but he wasn't sure if anyone else could see how much he really enjoyed his company.

More than anyone, Lance.

"So what's your secret, Mullet?" Lance mused.

"Okay, okay, uhhh..." Keith started to search for some way to bullshit his way through this. The truth was, he had no idea how he'd managed to bond with Red, much less with Black. Allura had seemingly assigned one to each member of the team based on personality traits, so he didn't know what that meant for all of the switching that had occurred in the recent months. But as usual, Keith would have to one-up Lance on everything, so he'd have to guess on everything. He pulled a few things from his mind and got to work.

"Here, boy!" Keith called, and Red turned his head reluctantly, obviously still not as happy with Lance as he was with the former. "Come on, you're fine. Don't be a baby." The lion leaned forward the same way he had done before, slower, as to make sure Keith wasn't trying to do anything he didn't approve of. "There we go. See? I'm not gonna do anything." With one hand, he rubbed the front of Red's nose, just as he had done before.

Lance studied the interaction closely, taking in every detail. Keith certainly made it look easy, but the blue paladin still hadn't managed to make any progress in bonding  with him. Any time Voltron was needed, they would do what they had to do, and that was it. With Blue, he had that whole "destiny" thing. They were two of a pair. Two peas in a pod. Flying Red was like trying to force both peas in said pod, but one pea is a stubborn asshole and won't get in the dang pod even though he's asked very nicely many times now, please just get in the pod.

So watching Keith return after months to the same bond he left behind was a bit frustrating.

"Lance, are you listening to me?" Keith repeated for the second time now. He had zoned out for a bit in the middle of him trying to show off his guide for bonding with Red. It was getting annoying now. He snapped to attention and nodded frantically.

"Y-yeah, of course. But just in case, do you want to repeat all of whatever you were talking about?" Keith sighed and rubbed at his eyes. He could just go to sleep right now. Before he could consider it, his brain switched into autopilot and began to fix the problem.

"Just come here." Lance obeyed, moving to stand next to Keith, and look at him for further instructions.

"Okay, what you're going to do is just get physical. And that varies. Sometimes it's just a hug, and sometimes, it's roughhousing," Keith instructed, renaming anything he mentioned while Lance was busy not paying attention.

"How the hell do you roughhouse with a 50-foot tall lion?"

"You don't. The lion plays with you and you might break an arm but you just have to pretend that you won't have to spend a few hours in a healing pod or else it throws a tantrum."

"Oh. Ow."

"Yeah. Anyways," Keith continued. "You've just gotta start small and work your way up from there."  He continued to rub at the lion's nose. Lance watched and slowly but surely, caught on.  With his fingertips, he reached out to touch the surface of Red's nose. Sensing that one too many hands were making contact with him, the lion pulled back. Both paladins sighed.

"Dude, he's never going to like me," Lance groaned, crossing his arms. Red turned to the two, equally full of distaste for the situation at hand. Keith was at a crossroads. There was only one other that he had considered, and that was one area he swore he'd never cross into. It was weird. It was stupid. And if he ever wanted to get to sleep, he'd have to consider it.

Waving Red closer once more, Keith shouted, "Come on, boy!" The lion waited a moment before turning, giving Keith a moment to process what he meant by doing so. Red was getting tired of this. It was his last chance to not mess around. For the last time, the lion lowered his head to the two, with less patience than before.

"Give me your hand," Keith had said after a moment of thought. Lance's cheeks turned red. He'd only seen him blush when he talked to Allura, or another pretty girl. Yeah, he definitely thought of it like that, which was definitely not what Keith intended. Nope.

"It's not like that."

"I-I know that, but why?" Lance's cool exterior had been lowered, and his nervousness was showing. It had been a while since Keith had seen this side of him, even with his leave of absence. It didn't take a lot to expose it, though.

"Just give it to me, and I'll show you. I have an idea," Keith said. He held out his own, and Lance, with a liberal amount of reluctance, followed suit. His hand were soft behind all of the sweat, which was probably from being around Red for too long. He put a lot of care into his appearance, anyways, and his nails were no exception. Fine cuticles and even filing skills complimented his smooth skin.

Keith swallowed and pulled him a bit closer. At the moment, it would seem like the strangest thing in the world for them to be holding hands, only inches apart. His mind attempted to move as fast as possible to get them out of the situation, but it was so hung up on the moment that he stopped for a minute. It made it look like he was just doing it told hold his hand, and in doing so, that was the thing that rushed him into work.

Keith moved to press Lance's and his hands against the surface of the lion's nose. With Keith there, Red was still content, and amazingly, so was Lance. His eyes had lit up like stars in a dark sky. Keith noticed the smile that was now forming, cutting into his cheeks. He guessed that Lance had never had that success with Red other than at a show or in battle.

"I can't believe you're not fighting this, Red," Lance chuckled, and the lion let out a sigh. The only reason he wasn't was because it was too late at night to try and fight him off. He just wanted to sleep at this point.

Keith smiled a bit at that and glanced back at Lance, who was staring at Red with his blue eyes. Noticing things about Lance was quickly becoming a habit, because he had never seen how blue they were until he was this close. If you were on the beach and had a firsthand look at the ocean, that still couldn't represent just how much of it was held in his irises. And when you saw him in a moment of care, a time where he truly cherished the moment at hand, they shone like stars in a black sky.

Lance turned to look back at Keith. His hair, as he now saw, was a scraggly mess- probably from sleep. It wasn't too bad, though. It paired oddly well with his perfect complexion and light freckles scattered across his cheeks, and with his eyes, he was a masterpiece.

Did he actually just think that?

"Uh, do I have something on my face?" Lance pulled his hand up to rub across his cheek. Keith had been staring at him for a few minutes now. It took a minute for him to shake off his thoughts so he could respond. His face was hot, and his hand was starting to feel sweaty after being under Lance's for so long.

"N-no, no. It's nothing. I guess I'm just tired. Long trip." Lance removed his hand from the red lion and shoved both of them in his pockets hastily.

"Right. Yeah, it's late. I should be in bed by now. I mean you should, you're the one who said you're tired and all. I should too. We should. Not together, I mean, but-" Lance tripped over his own words and cut himself off, allowing a moment for Keith to process them. His own face was burning up now.

"Oh yeah, not together. I understood, no need to explain. It's fine. I'll just go then. To sleep. In my bed. Alone."

"Good idea. Great idea. Really great idea. I'll go too."

Lance began to move towards the door, as did Keith. Their arms bumped into each other as the two fumbled around, looking for a way for them both to maneuver around their persons. Things were already too awkward to continue, and it turned uncomfortable too fast to work out any confusion. The best solution was for everyone to leave, as Keith had decided, and if Lance would just stop moving, thank you very much, things would be a lot easier.

Because he still had to work around the fact that he thought Lance was a masterpiece. He hadn't even escalated from something like pretty, or even beautiful. Calling him beautiful would have been better than thinking that he was a bloody masterpiece. But the way he had noticed every detail on his face, or the way he held his hand. His ocean-blue eyes and messed-up hair, simple yet soft hands, and instantly mood-changing smile made his heart swell with a feeling he couldn't put a name to.

Maybe it was because he was tired, and maybe not. Either way, it wasn't good. They'd never let him live it down, and Lance would laugh in his face if he told him. And he could never tell him because the feeling he was feeling wasn't real.

For the record, Keith was not in love with Lance McClain. Being in love would mean that he was ready to spend the rest of his life with him. Keith was so satisfied with this that he chose to spend his morning not thinking about it, and instead decided to see what the crew could be making such a ruckus about in the kitchen.

His first steps into the room were greeted by the argument of the day. Pidge and Matt were bickering with Lance about who deleted what file in their game, Shiro was playing devil's advocate, Allura was keeping punches from being thrown, and Hunk was trying to explain everything to Coran. They still hadn't noticed that he was there, and he chose to play that to his advantage.

"Well if Pidge didn't lose all of our items, then who did?"

"I already told you, last night I was experimenting with the mice. Have them tell you."

"For the last time, taking embarrassing pictures of me while I'm sleeping is not experimenting."

"Is too, we were seeing how long it would take for you to wake up. That's an experiment. And an alibi. Your move."

"Oh, hey! Keith's awake. Look at that."

Each person eventually turned to face and greet him, and continued on with their conversation. Keith rolled his eyes and sat down at the table, where he drummed his fingers.

"Okay, now that everyone is here, I believe that we should begin our meeting," Allura announced. The voices died down into grumbles, and Keith could've sworn he heard Matt whisper "This isn't over."

"We have meetings now?" Keith asked, and Allura half-nodded.

"Just the one, actually. We agreed that it would be a good idea to go over a proposed agenda, since much of our time has been cleared up recently. The best course of action, I think, would be to make contact with these newly liberated planets." Murmurs of approval seemed to echo around the kitchen.

"Are you saying we just visit each of them and make friends? That won't be easy, Allura. We don't know how friendly or unfriendly they may be, or how long it would take," Pidge pointed out. She worked her knuckles around in her hand in concentrated thought, either looking for another solution or another flaw.

"Our intelligence says that none of the planets in the sector are hostile, so that won't be an issue," Coran clarified. "But Number 5 is right. Too much time would be wasted in making allies out of of each community individually."

"Is there a way for us to reach every planet at once?" Shiro piped up. Temporary confusion spread throughout the room, the silence begging him for an explanation. "I mean, what if we were able to do everything at once? To bring someone like a representative from each society to the Castle, and that way, we create stronger ties with the planets, and they're able to talk with each other."

"So, are we talking, like, a party?" Lance had pushed his way into the group circle, previously separated from the conversation. Allura pouted.

"I don't think a party is the direction we'd be better off going in. It seems like more of the childish thing to do." Lance shook his head at her and began to argue his point.

"But isn't that what we need right now? We've been so busy working to get everyone to join the coalition, but by doing that we haven't had a chance to kick back and prove to our allies that we can keep them. And it won't be a party per se, it'll be a classy little celebration. The point is, we need to impress," he spoke, voice projecting more than usual. An idea seemed to have crossed his mind then, because his eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly.

"Do you guys have any idea what time of the year it is on Earth?" The room was filled with shaking heads. Lance groaned, which quickly turned into a smile. "It is approximately December 23rd, according to that watch Hunk got me a few years ago. Thanks buddy. Which means it's almost Christmas."

"What the quiznak is a Christmas?" Coran asked. Allura seemed to be in the dark, too. They had all evidently missed last year's, making this one count for both. The group descended into a flurry of explanations, eager to finally introduce the Alteans to an Earth tradition for a change.

"It's an Earth holiday, happens of the 25th of December. Mostly based on the spirit of giving, and it's because of some ancient deity's birthday but that's not the point. Everybody exchanges gifts and you spend it with family and friends. This guy named Santa Claus who goes around Earth on his sleigh powered by flying reindeer delivers presents to everybody in the world, and he goes down their chimneys and eats their cookies."

"I'm sorry, this man breaks into your homes and eats your confectionery? But in exchange he gives you gifts. How strange, indeed, Coran."

"We can close any gaps between the details later, but the important thing to know is that it's a fun time of year." Lance was practically giddy now, a wide smile stretched from ear-to-ear.

"Don't you think it's going to be really hard to try to explain Christmas to a third of an entire galaxy?" Hunk protested. Though usually taking Lance's side, he switched to his "voice-of-reason" persona, as had become the norm in these kinds of situations. That, he thought, was how he ended up playing devil's advocate for so many scenarios. Lance was quick to shut him down, though, having already prepared for this.

"That's why we're only going to keep it between us. If you all agree with where I'm going with this, it's going to be small. Small, but big enough to have fun with." Keith raised an eyebrow at his vague suggestions.

"That being said, where are you going with this?" he asked. Lance grinned and licked his lips, prepping himself for the reveal of his master plan. He parted from the circle the group had formed by taking a few steps back, probably to ensure that his audience was completely captive to his announcement.

"Don't complain. Secret Santa."

An odd mixture of groans, muted joy, and confusion enveloped the kitchen, the latter belonging to Allura and Coran. 

"Come on, you guys! I just told you not to complain. That's, like, all the rules, and you just broke them." Members of the team began to argue again, shouting various concerns and criticisms. Keith's mind flashed back to just a few minutes ago, when they had been doing the same thing. He realized just how often they bickered- every time they were in a room together, miraculously, no one could agree on anything. The curse seemed to continue into even this topic.

"What do you guys have against secret Santas? I think they're fun!" Matt called into the madness. Pidge elbowed him.

"It's too hard to pick presents for random people. You're never safe deciding on anything because you never know anything about your person. I thought you were on my side here," she explained. The Alteans were taking notes on the words being spoken, attempting to piece together the clues to make sense of the tradition. 

"What about Santa Claus requires him to be a secret? Of course, I assume that any home-invader would have to be silent, but now you speak as if you are playing the role of him. Are there multiple Santa Clauses? And why is it necessary for you to assume the role of the giver of gifts?" Every aspect of the situation seemed to be questioned by Coran. Allura nodded her head in agreement to every word the man said. He rattled off sentence after sentence until Pidge was able to butt in.

"Basically, Lance wants to write everybody's name on a piece of paper and throw it into a hat or something. You mix them all up, and then we each draw one out. Whichever name you get, you have to get a present for, but you can't tell them. That's the secret part. And it's dumb because I never know what to get anyone."

"I guess it'd be hard to find presents in space," Shiro commented. Pidge looked satisfied with this.

"So we pay a visit to the Space Mall again. You've got to find something there," Lance rebutted. The team couldn't seem to find a flaw with his logic. Allura looked slightly troubled by this.

"If we're going through with Lance's proposal, we'd have to leave now to make it back in time. Remember, we still have to inform each planet of our plans well before they're scheduled to arrive at the celebration in two quintants. That doesn't include making the necessary preparations to accommodate all of those people," she explained. Each person turned to face each other, examining the expressions the others wore. Half appeared to be indifferent to everything, and the rest were on the fence about it. 

"I'm in," Hunk finally said, breaking the silence.

"Me too."

"Okay, I guess I'm doing it, too."

"I think it sounds like a great idea, Lance."

One by one, the group seemed to join. Two, three, five, seven people had broken. Lance glanced at the girl sitting across from him, and she looked back up at him. His eyes pleaded for her to cave, just this once. She bit her lip in protest until she could taste blood. She quickly realized that her stubbornness was getting this nowhere. Pidge slammed her palms on the table in frustration, gathering the attention of each person. 

"Fine. I'll do it," Pidge announced, and pouted. Cheers followed her words, and Matt jokingly swung one arm around her shoulders.

Keith joined her in the regret that they now felt. He didn't know why he'd voted in Lance's favor- he hadn't celebrated Christmas in years, and when he did, it wasn't a big event. Shiro had taken them to a diner when he was twelve. He'd burnt their dinner a few hours prior and still wasn't finished apologizing, even after they'd paid for everything and had walked out the door. It was something he had never forgotten, despite how crude it had been. Still, he hadn't had a real Christmas since before that, so the feeling of excitement that was supposed to come this soon to the holiday wasn't quite there like it was in Lance.

Almost forgetting his surroundings, he tuned in to the spectacle now taking place. Lance had left to scramble together something to draw names out of and would return any minute, the rush of things finally going his way fueling his hunger for the holiday season. The group was left to talk among themselves, leading them back to the argument that Keith had walked in on earlier. Pidge had quickly taken the reins back, using her opponent's absence to her advantage. She attacked his points swiftly and angrily. At this point, she was just convincing the group to join her side, like some sort of twisted motivational speaker. Losing the battle to Lance earlier had only encouraged her. It was a strange sight, enough to make Keith laugh a bit.

"Okay, I'm back," the blue paladin called just before entering the room. Faster than Keith could perceive, the conversation had stopped. Lance stepped into the kitchen as if nothing had happened. He blinked a few times just to make sure he wasn't imagining things. The feeling that he was a witness to something he wasn't supposed to grew in his chest, but over something this trivial, it died too fast for him to think about it.

In his hands, Lance held a small bowl, and was swirling around in circles to mix up its contents. As Keith stretched his neck to see inside, he turned the bowl out of his line of sight. He shook his head dismissively at him, as if he was scolding a child for trying to sneak a cookie from a jar.

"No peeking," he said. He held the bowl out to the group after a few more seconds of shaking, and six hands dove inside in search of a name. With a generous amount of hesitation, Keith added his to the group, feeling for one that wasn't already being grabbed. He could see Lance starting to buckle under the pressure they were all placing on his arms. 

As the herd thinned and everyone had chosen, as did the options Keith had. His fingers searched the bottom of the bowl and brushed against something rough, caught between two other hands. Thinking fast, he gripped to the center of the slip and pulled, careful not to rip it in two. That being the case, he made sure not to use too much force as he did so. After working it around everybody still crowded around Lance, he clutched the paper to his chest and leaned back into his chair, nearly satisfied with his prize. 

Now came the hard part. Keith had never been good with people, and drawing the wrong name could spell disaster. He remembered how Pidge had described her issues with the tradition, and how he had wanted to scream then because whatever she was bad at, he was considerably worse. Keith looked down at the paper between his fingers, and before he could stop himself, he peeked at the name hastily written on it. 

Others read their giftee's name and sighed in relief, or wrinkled their nose in disgust. Keith read the slip and wanted to vomit. It was worse than he thought.

"Ah, shit," he could hear from across the room. Pidge crumpled her paper. Matt hit her with his elbow, reminding her to watch her language, following it up with a wink. Keith swallowed, hard. He could feel the color drain from his face, and he desperately tried to cover it up by shoving his hands into his pockets, sinking back into his chair as much as he allowed himself to. 

"Okay, there's no time to waste, then. Let's get to the mall," Allura announced. "Come on, then." Coran, Matt, and the paladins soon filed out of the room, eager and ready to decide on their gifts.

Keith stayed seated, pulling the name back out of his pocket. He traced a finger over the letters. Over the curve of the "L," into the "A," and over to the far end of the word, where he'd drawn a small heart. It was connected to the cursive he'd written his name in.

Yeah, Lance was funny like that.

Keith had joined the group in the control room of the Castle last. Allura was busy looking up coordinates on some miscellaneous screen and Matt and Pidge had returned to their conversation with Lance, though it looked like the former two were winning. Overall, peace had seemingly been restored to the team. Meanwhile, Keith's heart was still pounding in his chest. His eyes darted to an empty corner of the room, where he stood in silence, deep in thought.

"There, I've got it. Hold on, everyone, this one's going to be fast," Allura shouted, and placed her hands on the two spheres to her left and right. She was obviously more excited than most when it came to this. Lance scoffed.

"Yeah, ri-" His words were cut off by the Castle's lurching forward. The force brought on by being sucked into the wormhole sent everyone flying back. Keith's shoulder hit the wall. Those next to something to hold onto were fortunate enough not to be completely knocked over, but their dignity was still stripped from them when the moving had ceased. The aftermath left people doing anything from picking themselves up off of the ground to pushing other people off of them.

"I stand corrected. Well, not stand, but you get the picture," Lance joked. Pidge shot him a rude gesture with her hand.

The giant window making up the front of the room gave the group a view of a small, Earth-like planet directly ahead. Keith recognized it as the one that they had visited to collect scaultrite for the smaller teledav inside their ship. It must've been a year since they had been, but the memories played clearly in his head like a slideshow. He remembered how he'd talked to that vendor with the knife show, and how Lance and Pidge had dug through the fountain for gac, and how they'd barely escaped on a cow of all things.

"Okay." Allura turned to face the crowd. It seemed that Lance's joy had been transferred to her, and while that would thrill him under normal circumstances, Lance knew better than to not be wary of her when she was too into something. "Everybody should get what they need and move fast. We should all meet back here by- oh, quiznak, I nearly forgot. We need someone to keep watch over the Castle." She pouted and crossed her arms, tapping one finger against her skin at a rapid pace. In the heat of the moment, Keith spoke him, not thinking about what consequences his action might hold.

"I can stay and guard the Castle, Princess," he volunteered. He was met with a wary look from Shiro, but he brushed it off. It wasn't like his concern was something he needed to take into consideration in this case. The decision to stay wasn't a life changing one.

But once everyone had left and he was alone with nothing but his thoughts, yeah, he regretted it. He was a selfless person, and sometimes he went too far. His instincts would tell him to help everyone at every opportunity, and while that was a good ground rule, it occasionally failed him. While the team was out deciding on presents for each other, his loud mouth had gotten him stuck, alone, in an empty Castleship. His gift would have to come from inside of said ship, because what kind of dick offers to help and then immediately goes back on it without a good reason?

Shiro hadn't said a word to him before they had all left, but he was clearly suspicious. Keith wouldn't stay behind unless he had a good reason, and he knew that his selflessness wasn't it. No, Keith had chosen to stay on the ship because the first thing on his mind as Allura stated their problem was, "I can use this to get away from Lance." It sounded bad to say out loud, but his intentions were far from that.

Keith, still, was not in love with Lance. He wasn't in love with his ocean blue eyes and how they shone when he got competitive. He wasn't in love with the way he walked, or the way he danced. He wasn't in love with the way he had saved so many people and still wasn't satisfied until they were all guaranteed to be safe. He wasn't in love with how kind he was, or how he would give it all up for the smallest of things. He wasn't in love with how he had grown to the rank of right hand man, and how he effortlessly hit every target given to him. He definitely wasn't in love with the way he had smiled the night before, or how he'd been the one to comfort him when he'd been forced to take up the position of the Black Paladin.

Keith leaned back into the corner he had sat himself in and made a sound of disgust, a loud one at that. Now that he was completely alone, he could make as much noise as he wanted. He was especially thankful for this in light of his recent dilemma. Being alone also meant talking to himself.

"Why'd I have to get Lance? Lance, who hates me. Lance, who I don't love. He's going to hate his gift- whatever it is- and he's immediately going to know it was me because there's no one else stupid enough to get him that. I'm going to end up getting him a book, or something lame like that. He'll be all, 'Wow, that's a funny joke. So where's my real present?' And then they'll all laugh at me because that is my present. Whoops, better luck next time Keith. You're going to die alone and you suck at gift-giving."

Keith pulled the piece of paper with Lance's name on it out of his pocket and started to crush it into a ball, but noticed something unfamiliar to him on the back.

"And who puts their phone number on the back of their name when they enter a Secret Santa?" He suspected that Lance was hoping for Allura, as always. An idea popped into his head, and though his streak for ideas wasn't exactly working out in his favor today, this one was good.

"Joke's on him." Keith reached into his back pocket and pulled out his own phone. Hunk had worked out a sort of makeshift battery that fused Altean technology with something else. He wasn't paying attention enough to remember the exact words. Long story short, he could make calls. And that's what he planned to do.

The task of making a prank phone call was going to be a skill that he would have to learn on the spot. 

Keith proceeded to punch in the number, double-checked it to make sure he had it right, and pressed the green button at the bottom of the screen. By pressing it to his ear, he could hear ringing, indicating the call was going through. He mentally prepared himself for the talk. 

The sound of drumbeats could be heart echoing down the hall to an entirely recognizable beat. Music. Keith was baffled by the presence of the melody. It didn't make sense for a song from Earth to be playing all the way out in space, and yet, somehow, it was. The only solution he saw was to follow the sound to the source. Gathering himself and raising up to his feet, he did just that.

It wasn't very far away, as far as he could tell. Maybe behind a few doors, but it was close. As he continued to hunt the source of the sound, the song continued into the first verse. It was completely familiar to him, and he quietly sang along with the music as he navigated the Castle.

"I hear the drums echoing tonight, but she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation."

Keith stopped at a normal door in the hallway the paladins' dorms were located. He hadn't memorized which room belonged to who, but by process of elimination and a little common sense, he knew it must be Lance's. Sensing his presence, the door blocking him off from the room slid open. The floor was littered with clothes, but other than that, it was fairly neat. The bed was made, and the rest of his belongings were either organized in one corner or put away in the closet. He could've been assuming too much, though. If he opened the door to the closet, various items of origins unknown would probably come tumbling out. He made a note not to touch anything, so as not to let him know that anyone was there.

The sound was coming from under Lance's sheets, which were still a mess from last night. With all that was included in his morning routine, Keith didn't see how he would have the time to make it at all. Shoving his hand under one pillow, he retrieved his cell phone, which was vibrating intensely and blasting the music he had been tracking.

"I stopped an old man along the way, hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies."

Keith smiled. He hadn't heard Africa in a long while, but he still remembered every word. Spending a few months alone in the desert gave him time to do lots of pointless things, like memorizing song lyrics and learning how to sing. They were a good combination, but only good when he was alone. He didn't consider his voice to be the best, and stage fright tended to keep him from taking the lead on anything. But now that he was alone once more, the temptations returned, overcoming his heart and brain, and eventually he was sucked into the addicting melody. He threw the phone down on the bed and gave in.

"It's gonna take me a lot to drag me away from you, there's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do."

Keith felt his lungs fill with gallons of air and then exhale into the words in the song. It wasn't the most conventional or distinguished thing he'd ever done, but he'd be damned if it wasn't fun. Memories of this same scenario played out in his mind, back in the desert. He was happy, and though he was alone, he was free. 

"I bless the rains down in Africa, gonna take some time to do the things we never have."

The music from Lance's phone had stopped playing now, and Keith was on his own, but he barely noticed. He still had the words in his head and the beat in his hands. He mimicked the bass drum's pattern with his hands on the fronts and sides of his legs and exited the room. It'd be weird to stay there when he had the Castle to himself.

Unconsciously, he had started to step to the beat, slowing it down to his pace. He was conducting his own song, as silly as it sounded. But, it was true. He grinned at took another breath for the next verse.

"The wild dogs cry out in the night as they grow restless longing for some solitary company. I know that I must do what's right, as sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti. I seek to sure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become."

Keith reentered the control room of the ship with as much flair as he could muster. He typically wouldn't go this far, even back home, but it'd been a while since he'd had the opportunity to let loose. He guessed that Lance had a bit of influence over him, too, what with all of the time they had been forced to spend together. The fact that he was starting to rub off of him terrified him, but only slightly. Maybe it wasn't so bad, if the right stuff influenced him.

"It's gonna take me a lot to drag me away from you, there's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do. I bless the rains down in Africa, gonna take some time to do the things we never haaaeey guys what're you doing back so early?" Panic crept into his voice as the sight of a shell shocked Matt and Pidge caused any confidence he had gained in those minutes to disappear. He could feel his heart sink into the pit of his stomach.

"Holy shit, dude. Holy shit." Matt dropped the bags he was carrying and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Oh my god Keith, I didn't know you could sing!" A giant smile spread across the younger sibling's face. Pidge was giddy with excitement, as made apparent by how she was quickly bouncing up and down. Keith could feel his face growing hot, and the two saw this, but didn't seem to care.

"It's nothing, really. I was just messing around and you guys were gone s-so I..." He could see that his explaining was getting him nowhere. The Holts' walking in on him would never be lived down. Today was being filled with nothing but regret and bad choices. Pidge would be egging him on for years to come, or worse, blackmailing him into doing things for her.

"No, seriously! That was awesome. I mean, I had no idea you could sing," Matt said. He scrambled to set his multicolored plastic bags to the side, eager to get more into the conversation. He seemed committed to knowing more about Keith's singing "hobby."

"Yeah, Keith. I'm not joking when I say you have talent," chimed Pidge. Keith swallowed and attempted to avoid eye contact. He wasn't a fan of his voice, but he had fun singing. He'd never done it in front of anyone until then, so he wouldn't have any way of knowing if he had a nice sound to him. There was a difference between knowing how to sing and being able to. But if she said that he sounded nice, who was he to question it?

"I really don't know about the talent part, but thanks." Pidge threw up her arms in protest.

"Are you kidding me? Have you even sang in front of anyone before now?" 

Keith shook his head. "Of course not. Are you crazy?"

"Well that's why you don't think you're any good. And no, I think you're the crazy one." Matt stepped up to join her.

"Yeah, dude. You have a gift, so you should use it." Keith bit his lip in frustration. It was hard not to take compliments, even when you didn't usually need them to get by. He tried his best not to let them get to his head. If he did, he risked making an idiot out of himself. It would accidentally give him the confidence he needed to perform in front of a crowd.

"Look, I appreciate you guys letting me off easy on this one, but I don't think I like where this is going." The room sat in a quietness that could only be caused by the thoughts swirling in everyone's heads. Pidge seemed to be the most passionate one of the three, emotion now clear on her face and in her voice.

"I'm just saying it won't hurt to try and face your fears. That party is in a few days and it wouldn't be a bad idea if you-" Keith's muscles tensed up, realizing exactly what direction she was heading in. 

"No way." Keith repeated the words on his tongue and in his mind. A wave of panic had caused him to interrupt Pidge, and she didn't look happy.

"You should! We both know your voice is fantastic, and I know you know," she rambled.

"P-"

"Let me finish," Pidge commanded. Keith's mouth snapped shut. Matt seemed to be in the same boat. "I was thinking about the fact that you stayed behind and all. You don't have anything to get for your person, except for what's on board. You're going to be pretty limited when it comes to options."

"You think I should sing them a song?" Pidge nodded.

"Yeah, I do."

"I sounds like a good idea to me," Matt joined in. Keith was left at a crossroads with her suggestion. Singing sounded easy in theory, but conquering his fear and doubts was another. Combined with his giftee, the plan was a no-go.

"Pidge, as much as I would love to try that, I'm saying no. In any other circumstance, I'd do my best to play along. This is different." Matt narrowed his eyes.

"Why is this different?" He asked. Keith was caught in a bit of lie. Lying wasn't his strong suit, and the Holts were hard to lie to. He rubbed his thumb against the side of his hand in a futile effort to calm himself. They best way to go about this would have to be working around the truth for as long as he could.

"I've never done a secret Santa before," he explained. Pidge and Matt's expressions didn't change. Despite this, somehow, he could tell they were too suspicious of him. Throughout this whole encounter, actually, they hadn't let their guard down.

"Is that really all it is, Keith? Or is it something else?" He froze.

"I'm telling you, it's nothing. Get off my back." Keith attempted to put that invisible wall back up, but it had been left unguarded for too long. The two had already made their way above it and were well on their way to the castle.

"Is it about whose name you drew?" Matt prompted. Keith remained silent. Pidge's eyes widened, mind working at a rapid pace behind them. She was beginning to assemble every puzzle piece she had, and was drawing conclusions based on the missing ones. 

"It might be," he said. He cursed himself for letting this go on.

"Who is it, Keith?"

"Is it... is it who I think it is?" Pidge asked. Keith couldn't tell if she was masking wonder with mockery or the other way around. Either way, she was excited. Keith swallowed hard and prepared for the repercussions of his response.

"Yeah, it's him." He hung his head a bit. While Matt was busy running his hands through his hair in shock, laughing, Pidge made an ugly noise that sounded like a cross between a shriek and a snort.

"I knew it! See, Matt? I told you I was right, but you didn't believe me. Oh, this is great. This is better than I ever could have hoped." Matt shrugged and grinned, leading Keith to drown out his humiliation with confusion.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. I think we both know that we can agree on that thing now. Wouldn't you agree?" Pidge accepted his nonchalant concession and nodded fiercely. The two had seemingly had some sort of pact or deal that Keith had no knowledge of, and this added to the heavy amount of stress already being placed on his conscience. 

"What the hell are you guys up to?" Matt and Pidge mimicked cartoon villains, rubbing their hands together and wearing curvy smiles.

"Do you want to say it or should I?"

"You can do it that's fine."

"Okay."

"Yeah we know you're in love with Lance."

Keith started to choke on air.