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Lance and his lion pulled into the hangar. The battle lasted nearly six hours. The robeast had a pattern that was nearly indecipherable and five moving heads that had to be shot at exactly the same time to defeat it. That meant they couldn't use Voltron to defeat it. Everyone was bruised and battered.
Lance stepped out of Blue and rubbed her nose. He whispered to her, "Thanks, girl." He felt a deep rumbling of love in his chest from Blue. He smiled and pulled off his helmet. His hair stuck up in all directions, creating a halo of dark brown around his head.
He removed his armor piece by piece. First, the parts around his arm, then the chest plate and finally the legs and boots. All that was left on him was the sleek black bodysuit. He placed the pieces of his armor in a small glass closet beside his lion and headed out.
He and Hunk ambled into the lounge at the same time. They exhaustedly collapsed on top of the horseshoe-shaped couch, with Lance next to the armrest on one side and Hunk on the other. Pidge followed after them and laid down on the back of the couch near Hunk. She rolled off onto the seat. Shiro was next. Shiro, who never seemed to rest, laid on the floor liked a starfish.
Lance looked around the room, "Where's Keith?" He pondered out loud.
Pidge shrugged, "Eh, probably bonding with Red or something." She guessed.
"Did you see when Keith blew up that giant ship when he flew through the weapons hold? That was hella cool." Lance said.
"Man you're pretty focused on Keith, someone might think you like him." Hunk teased, dragging out the 'like'.
"Pffft, he's my rival, why would I like him?" Lance laughed nervously. Pidge raised an eyebrow at Lance and shared a knowing look with Hunk. The yellow and green paladins giggled to themselves. Lance pouted.
Just a few minutes later, Keith trudged in. He plopped down between Pidge's feet and Lance with a dramatic sigh.
"Paladins, It's time for-" Allura walked in and started talking, but stopped. She looked around the room. She saw Hunk with his arms crossed over his chest and his head sinking forward. Pidge was stretched out on her stomach and her arm rolled over the side. Lance had his head and arms resting on the back of the couch, and his legs splayed out in front of him. Keith was yawning. Then, she looked down at Shiro, who she was nearly stepping on, and saw that he was already asleep. She turned around and walked out.
Lance felt something warm and somewhat hairy fall against his shoulder. He looked down to see a mop of raven hair resting against him. His chest tightened and his heart threatened to bust out of his chest.
"Uh, Keith, buddy, whatcha doing?" Lance whispered.
"Shhh, 'm tired. Don't move." Keith grumbled. He pulled his knees to his chest, crossed his arms and leaned his back against Lance's side. He pressed his head into Lance's arm. Keith was surprisingly warm.
Lance's eyes were bigger than tractor tires. His face was as red as Keith's lion.
Pidge looked over and saw the two of them. She snorted and poked Hunk in the leg. Hunk jolted awake and looked down at her with a quizzical look. She pointed to Keith and Lance, and Hunk suppressed a belly laugh.
"Pssst, Shiro!" Hunk whisper-yelled to their leader, who was still on the floor. Shiro didn't stir. Lance silently pleaded Hunk to stop. "Shiro!" Hunk called again. Shiro raised his head groggily and looked at Hunk with a 'Why?' look on his face. Hunk gestured towards the intertwined paladins.
Shiro grinned and stood up with a groan. He walked over to a closet on the side of the room and pulled a gray blanket out and set it on the couch. He walked over to Lance and Keith.
Pidge got up and ran to her room. Just a second later, she returned with her space phone. She joined Shiro in looking at the two of them. Lance had an angry and mortified look on his face. Pidge begin to snap pictures of Keith and Lance.
Shiro walked around the back of the couch and picked up Lance's arm by the wrist. He gingerly placed it over Keith's midsection. Keith leaned into the touch and Lance's face grew redder immediately. Lance squinted at Shiro, who snickered maliciously.
Pidge was still furiously snapping pictures. She whispered out loud, "These are for your wedding." Lance glared at her and flipped her off. She only laughed. Shiro gawked at the obscene gesture. He placed his hands on his hips in a scolding manner. Lance shot their leader a death glare, who returned it with a smirk.
Pidge crouched down in front of the couch, held out her phone and motioned for the group to take a selfie. Hunk leaned over the back of the couch next to Lance's head. Shiro leaned on the other side of Lance. Everyone smiled at the camera, except for Lance, who scowled, and Keith, who was lightly snoring. Pidge's short arms couldn't fit everyone in the frame. Shiro walked back around tree couch. He took the phone from her hand and took the picture himself.
Hunk left the room for a split second and returned with Allura and Coran.
"Oh, how adorable!" Allura gasped. A chorus of "Shhhhhh" echoed from the other paladins, even Lance.
Coran whispered to Pidge, "Is this an earth bonding tradition?"
"Uh, sort of? It's usually romantic" She wiggled her eyebrows at Lance.
"But it's not now! I'm just being nice and not moving." Lance countered.
"Lance, your arm is around Keith. It's clearly romantic." Shiro smirked at Lance.
"You put it there!" Lance protested.
"But you didn't move it, did you?" Hunk added.
"Because that would wake him up! Don't we need to be well rested or something?" Lance indignantly huffed.
"I hardly sleep, and I pilot Green just fine." Pidge offered.
Lance scoffed, "That's because you're an evil gremlin." Pidge made a faux-angelic face.
Coran patted Lance on the shoulder, "Oh, Lance. So out of touch with your true feelings, reminds me of myself when I was younger." Coran twirled his mustache and nodded.
"Pidge, did you take a-what is it called?- photograph?" Allura asked.
"Oh I've got so many, Allura." Pidge answered with a sly grin.
Lance pouted and rolled his eyes. Keith began to stir and Lance froze. Keith lifted his head and looked at the arm around his waist, and then the rest of the team in the room. He mumbled, "Keep it down, I'm trying to sleep." He put his head back down and resumed his slumber.
Allura grabbed the blanket that Shiro had gotten from the closet earlier and draped it over the red and blue paladins. She ruffled Lance's hair and headed towards the door. The others followed her and walked out. Pidge was the last one out the door; she turned out the lights and grinned at Lance. Lance returned the gesture with a leer and a middle finger.
Lance sat in the darkness. With nothing to see, there was nothing to distract him from the heavy warmth pressed against his side. The couch was very wide, and with Keith pressed against the back, there was definitely room for Lance's legs. Lance slowly swung his legs up onto the couch and laid back until his head rested on the cushion.
"What are you going?" Keith grumpily asked from between Lance and the couch.
"I figured you're not moving anytime soon, so I might as well get comfy." Lance responded, trying not to sound nervous.
"Mmkay," Keith grumbled. He straightened his legs out a bit so he was no longer in the fetal position. He grabbed Lance's arm and pulled it over his waist, "Your arm is warm, I like it." Lance's other arm ended up under Keith's head after Lance shifted. Lance felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest as he pulled Keith closer and laced their fingers together.
The red paladin was asleep again, leaving Lance awake. There was nothing he could do but appreciate how soft Keith's hair was, despite the constant teasing. Lance smiled, and was lulled to sleep by the heartbeat and soft breathing of the black-haired boy in his arms.
<+>
Pidge trodden out of her room and towards the kitchen. The door silently slid open. Pidge took her seat. Everyone was already there except for Lance and Keith.
"Good morning Pidge, do you know where Lance and Keith are?" Allura greeted her.
"Eh, probably being angsty about last night?" She suggested with a shrug.
"Keith is probably training." Shiro guessed.
"Lance is probably sitting in his room questioning pretty much everything." Hunk nonchalantly said.
"We should probably go find them." Coran added.
The five of them got up from the table and headed towards the training deck. From the hall they could tell that Keith wasn't there. No swords clanking or grunts came out the door.
Hunk offered, "Maybe he's in his room?" The group began to head that way.
Soon, they arrived at the hall with the sleeping quarters. Coran squinted at the panel on Keith's door and announced, "Its unlocked."
"That probably means he's not there." Shiro said.
"Maybe Lance is in his room?" Pidge wondered.
They shifted down the hall. Coran pressed a button next to the door and it slid open. The room was empty.
Allura spoke up, "They might still be in the lounge."
She lead the way back to the lounge and opened the door. Hunk flicked on the lights. He, Shiro and Pidge collectively gasped.
"Oh my god, they're spooning!" Pidge suppressed a snort and a loud laugh.
"What's spooning?" Allura asked.
Hunk pointed at them, "That. That is spooning."
"We called that boodging on Altea!" Coran spouted.
Pidge looked back at Coran with an incredulous look on her face.
"Should we wake them?" Shiro turned to Allura.
"No, let them sleep. They deserve it." Allura smiled at the sleeping paladins.
Once again, they left the two boys tangled together on the couch and turned out the lights.
<+>
Keith woke up confused as to why he was facing the couch and whose arms were under his head and around his waist. He picked his head up and turned around. He looked at the angelic boy beside him. He tensed up and wondered if he should wake him. There was no way to get off the couch, since Lance had him trapped and had his arm around Keith.
Keith lightly shook Lance's shoulder. The blue paladin didn't wake. He shook Lance's shoulder harder. Lance's eyes flickered open then went wide when he realized where he was. Keith stroked the side of Lance's face as Lance began to panic. "Sssh, ssshhh, ssshh. It's ok. Don't worry." Lance calmed down. "What happened?" Keith asked, searching Lance's eyes.
"Uh, you, um, you fell asleep on top on me and I couldn't move you so I decided to just stay here." Lance stuttered and looked away. "I'm sorry-" he started.
"Look at me. Don't be sorry. I'm glad you stayed." Keith smiled softly at Lance.
Lance sighed in relief. Immediately, he wondered where everyone else was. "Shit, where is everyone else?" Lance began to sit up.
Keith pulled Lance back down onto the couch, "Don't move, you're warm." Lance laughed.
"I'll give you a piggy back ride to breakfast." Lance offered.
"Deal." Keith smiled.
They both stood up and Keith hopped onto Lance's back. Lance bounced his legs to get a better grip on Keith. Keith rested his head on Lance's shoulder and lightly wrapped his arms around Lance's neck.
When they walked into the kitchen, Hunk almost spat out his food goo. Shiro raised an eyebrow. Coran and Allura tilted their heads in confusion. Pidge simply took a sip of her drink.
Keith glanced at everyone at the table and said, "What?"