Work Text:
For You
Stumbling out of his lion Lance barely had the time to register his surroundings before his back slammed against the wall. His side cried out in protest but he ignored the pain, focusing on the person in front of him.
“How fucking dare you?!” Keith was screaming at him, holding onto a fistful of his shirt.
“Keith! Stop it!” Pidge cried out from where they had just stumbled out of Green.
“No! Are you an idiot, Lance?” Keith pushed him harder against the wall.
“What?” Lance finally gathered the strength to respond. “I saved Pidge! What are you yelling at me for?”
“Yeah! Totally! Saved them by throwing yourself in front of an ion cannon and almost dying!”
“What are you on about? You said we had to help Pidge and I did that, so back off!” Lance pushed him off.
“Yeah! But when you few headfirst into the cannon’s laser beam I told you to stop!” Keith lunged for Lance again but Hunk stopped him.
“Keith, stop! Lance is hurt and needs to go to the infirmary. You can scold him later but let’s heal him first,” Hunk pulled him back.
“This moron! how dare you, Lance? Do you only think of yourself? What if you died? What if the Red Lion was destroyed? That would be the end of Voltron! The end of all hope for the universe. But did you think of that? NO! All you want is to play the hero!” Keith screamed, struggling against Hunk’s hold.
“Enough!” Allura’s voice boomed through the room. “Keith, that’s enough. Go to the bridge immediately.” She stood before the Blue Lion, arms crossed over her chest and a somber tinge to her features.
Keith looked at her and glared. For a moment Lance was sure Keith would defy her, but then he sighed and shook his head. “Fine,” he whispered, untangling himself from Hunk and storming out of the room. Lance took a deep breath and slid against the wall, his consciousness slowly slipping away.
“Lance, buddy! Stay with me!” Lance felt Hunk’s strong hands grabbing at his shoulders, trying to pull him up. But to no avail, for Lance passed out right there in his arms.
**
When Lance woke up he was sliding out of a healing pod. His head hurt and he had absolutely no idea what was going on. He sunk to his knees before laying down face up on the floor. He closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly until he felt like he was ready to take in his surroundings. Upon opening his eyes, he found himself in the infirmary. How had he even ended up there? Oh… right. He could now remember the battle, Pidge almost getting hit with an ion cannon and Lance throwing himself in the way. Oh… and because of that Keith had slammed him against the wall and yelled at him. Great. Just perfect. What was he supposed to have done? Let Pidge get hit? No way! With their technology knowledge, they were much more valuable to the team than him.
Taking a shaky breath Lance pulled himself up from the floor and leaned against one of the pods. He couldn’t remember being so dizzy after coming out of a pod. He stumbled down the room and reached the door, glad he could finally use a door for support. Where was everyone? Lance would have thought them to be waiting for him to wake up like last time. Well, even if not all of them then at least Hunk. No… They probably had more important things to be doing than watching him vegetate in a pod. Lance opened the door and stumbled out into the hall, frowning when he heard loud voices coming from one end of it. He braced himself against the wall and followed the voices.
“You had no right, Keith!” Pidge’s voice rung out through the hall.
“I had every right! He threw himself into a stupid dangerous situation that could have been avoided! He has no sense of self-preservation!” It was Keith yelling back.
“Right! And pushing him against the wall and yelling at him is totally gonna do the job!”
Lance’s heart sank to the bottom of his stomach and he stopped walking. They were fighting because of him. Pidge and Keith were fighting and it was all his fault. He really never did anything right.
“Well, I’m the leader so I decide what’s the best way to deal with this! If you don’t like the way I lead I’d be happy to step out!” Keith screamed and Lance wanted to facepalm because really, Keith had to stop pulling that card.
“What a great leader you are, huh! Sending us into the heat of battle completely unprepared and almost losing your right-hand Paladin. Wow, Keith. Truly. Congratulations on the great job!” Pidge stormed out, their tiny feet stomping on the ground.
Keith clicked his tongue and stormed out in the opposite direction. Lance slid against the wall and curled up, bringing his knees to his chest. Why couldn’t he do anything right? Why were Pidge and Keith fighting because of him? He was not worth it. If he had died then they would have found another Paladin and that’s that. Lance was perfectly aware of how dispensable he was. So why were Keith and Pidge acting like his death would actually take a toll on the team?
**
Lance found himself three hours later standing in front of Keith’s door. He couldn’t even remember making his way there, but he knew exactly what he had to do. All that lacked was the courage to raise his arm and knock on the door. He had been standing there for probably ten minutes when the door opened and Keith slammed into him. Lance stumbled back a few steps and looked down at the red paladin who looked utterly confused.
“Lance? What are you doing? You’re supposed to be resting,” Keith frowned and grabbed Lance by the shoulders.
“Oh… I got out of the pod a few hours ago.” Lance rubbed the back of his neck, adverting his eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“I wanted to be alone for a while.” Lance shrugged.
Keith sighed and dropped his arms from Lance’s shoulder, running a hand through his own hair. “How are you feeling?” Keith stepped back and Lance walked in.
“I’m feeling better. I don’t even remember what was hurting.” Lance offered him a weak smile that Keith didn’t return while closing the door. Neither of them said anything for a while until Lance finally gathered his courage. “I’m sorry.”
Keith looked positively taken aback. He blinked several times at him before shaking his head and frowning. “What do you mean you’re sorry?”
“I’m sorry for being reckless. I mean, I’m not sorry for saving Pidge but I’m sorry I jeopardized the team while doing it.” Lance avoided Keith’s eyes at all costs.
“Are you serious right now? Do you really think that’s the issue here?”
“Well… Isn’t it?”
“No, Lance! The issue here is how you think you mean so little to the team! You act like you’re expendable. Are you that blind that you don’t see how much the team needs you?” Keith had uncrossed his arms and started gesturing around with his hands.
“What? How else do you want me to act? I am expendable!”
Keith clicked his tongue and pushed him back. “Stop saying that!”
Lance stumbled back and glared at Keith before pushing him. “Don’t push me!”
“Then stop saying those things.” Keith pushed him harder this time and Lance felt his blood boil.
“I come here to apologize and this is how you treat me?” Lance growled before lunging at him and pushing him against the door.
Keith groaned and hissed down at him, trying to push him off. Lance reached up and grabbed him by his shirt, pushing harder against him. “Gettoff!” Keith growled at him.
“I saved Pidge! Did you want me to let them die?” Lance demanded.
“No! Of course not! I just wish you weren’t so fucking dense!”
“I wish you knew how to lead without putting all of us in danger!”
Keith’s eyes darkened and for a second Lance through Keith was going to punch him. However, Keith leaned up and pressed their lips together, closing his eyes. Lance gasped and moved back a bit, having a hard time processing what was happening. Feeling that Keith was about to pull away Lance leaned forward, kissing him back. The kiss deepened and Lance’s insides were on fire. The kiss was gentle and warm at first but became more demanding and harsher. Keith grabbed him by the waist and flipped them so Lance’s back was pressed against the wall. In turn, Lance wrapped his arms around Keith’s neck, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss so that their tongues intertwined flawlessly while exploring each other’s mouths.
As time passed both boys became exhausted and pulled away, resting their foreheads together. Lance closed his eyes as he tried to regain his breath. Keith leaned in and pecked his lips once more before pulling away completely and sitting on his bed. Silence reigned in the room for a few minutes but Keith was the one to break it this time.
“It was my fault,” he whispered.
Lance opened his eyes and frowned. “What was?”
“The mission. Pidge getting targeted. You almost dying-“ Keith’s voice broke in the end.
Lance sighed and moved over to Keith, sitting by his side and wrapping an arm around him. “It really wasn’t Keith. It was a bunch of things combined. It was no one’s fault.”
“Yes, it was. If Shiro had been leading this never would have happened.”
“Maybe. We don’t know. Siro isn’t here, though, and you’re our leader now. You just gotta take some time to think before you jump into action.” Lance offered him a soothing smile but Keith wasn’t looking his way.
“It’s my job as a leader to make sure you feel valued. It’s my job to show you that you’re an important part of this team. I failed at that.” Keith’s voice sounded like it would break again.
“No, Keith. Not even Shiro could do that. We all have our issues we have to work through. I know I’m not as important to the team as the others. Still… Doesn’t mean I’ll just lie down and weep. I’ll still fight. That’s what we gotta do. We deal with the circumstances that life throws at us and fight through it.”
Keith looked up, a frown on his face. “When did you become so wise?”
That got a laugh out of Lance who pulled Keith closer and ran his fingers through his hair. “I always was, you just never noticed.”
Keith rolled his eyes and leaned up, pecking Lance’s lips. “Promise me you’ll never do something so stupid again,” he whispered against his lips.
“I promise. I’ll stay alive for you, Keith,” Lance whispered back, eyes sliding shut.
Keith smiled down at Lance before leaning in and kissing him again. This was fine. Maybe they would be fine.