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“You know it´s best to exchange body heat in these kinds of situations.” Keith said, leaning at the side of the cave.
“Are you suggesting we should cuddle?” Lance responded with a smirk.
“I´m just saying it would be the best way to hold out long enough until the others find us. Or do you want to die in this cold?” Keith remarked
“Ok well, I guess cuddling with you would probably be better than dying.” Lance stood up and made his way over to Keith with the emergency blanket.
“Wow thanks. “ Keith straightened up, trying to look hurt and then stared at Lance questioningly who now stood in front of him and just stared back for a moment.
“Sooo…how…?”
Breaking the gaze Lance started putting the blanket on the ground, “I guess the best would be that we just lay on it and wrap us in, so we are protected from the cold ground.”
“Yeah sounds good.” Keith shrugged and knelt down to help Lance spread the blanket.
Lance laid down first and Keith followed lying beside him. Both were a little unsure how to position themselves, exchanging awkward looks till Keith settled half on Lance with his head on his shoulder, chest to chest. Keith´s left arm pulled in the blanket to Lance right side and Lance´s right arm pulled his end over Keith´s arm, holding him. While Keith pulled his left Leg over Lance´s. More contact eventually meant more heat. It was actually quite comfortable.
They just laid there for a few minutes, warming each other. Then Lance broke the silence.
“We didn´t really have much time to talk, since you came back, with all that´s been going on, especially with Shiro,” he paused “…but I´m really glad you´re back with the team. We did miss you…and it was just not the same without you.”
“Thank you. I´m also glad that I´m back. I have to say I missed you, too.” Keith smiled. Lance could feel his breath tingling on his neck while he was talking.
“And you finally found your mom! How cool is that?” Lance almost shouted, then he got quiet. “What would I give to see my mom again. My whole family. Man,… I really miss them.” He sniffed. “Sorry I don´t want to drag you down now, only because I´m sad.”
“Hey no, it´s ok,“ Keith replied, “I think I never really understood what it means to have a family. Not like you have one. Of course I missed my mom… and my dad. But it´s not what you have. The closest thing I had to a family was Shiro, but maybe that has changed now.”
“Now you have your mom.”
“Yeah I do. And it´s great. I never had that. I wanted to be mad at her for leaving me. For going back into a war where she could have died and I never got to see her again. For just not being there for me. But I couldn´t. I couldn´t stay mad at her. I understand that she left to protect me, that she had a duty at the Blade of Marmora. And now she´s giving it up. Now she stays here. How could I not forgive her?”
“You don’t have to justify anything to me. I know how a moms hug can make everything undone.” Lance gave Keith a reassuring grasp.
“Hm. But… it´s not just my mom. “
“What do you mean?” Lance asked confused.
“Ever since this whole crazy thing began I was so focused on finding out who I am and where I come from, that I didn´t realize what was going on right in front of me. I was so caught up in my thoughts. I wanted to get to know the Blade of Marmora, to follow in my mother´s footsteps, to feel closer to her. And because I thought that it was the best for the team to step aside and leave.”
“What?” Lance turned his head to look disbelieving at Keith.
“You were right,” Keith said, “we were one Paladin to many and it was the only logical choice that I left.”
“Wait… what? Why you?” Lance stared even more disbelievingly at Keith. “Are… are you saying you left because of me? Because of what I said?”
“Well… yes. Who else should have gone instead? Shiro was clearly the better leader. Even though he wasn´t himself. And I could have never taken Red from you. And I had the Blade to go to.”
“You weren´t that bad of leader” Lance responded quietly.
“The only reason I wasn´t more terrible as a leader was because of you.” Keith said earnestly.
Lance suddenly realized how close their faces were. Only centimeters away from each other. “Because of me?” He whispered.
“Yeah. You basically made me not lose my shit. You reminded me of what was important and you encouraged me not to give up. I couldn´t have done it without you.” Keith looked deep into Lance´s eyes, who broke into a smile, “Against popular believe we do actually work quite well together.”
Keith smiled now, too, “Yeah we really do.”
“We are a good team.”
“Yes. Wait… you said that before.” Keith face went from looking softly at Lance to frowning at him.
Lance was smirking at Keith: “I know.”
“You… know?” now Keith was the one staring disbelievingly, “You mean… you remember?”
“You mean how you came rushing to my side, asking me if I was ok and we were holding hands. Pretty much. Although I´m not so sure about the cradling me in your arms you mentioned.”
Keith was blinking at Lance. “Why didn´t you say something back then?”
“I don´t know. I guess I didn´t really know what to think of it and I also wanted to mess with you”.
“Of course you did.” Keith sighed.
“Hey we were rivals back then.” Lance teased.
“You made this whole rivals-thing up!” Keith retorted.
“Ok I know… but back at the garrison you were always this super awesome pilot and I was jealous and wanted to prove that I´m just as good as you are. Or better. And… I don´t know … it just … happened.” Lance was looking at Keith, questioningly. “But that’s in the past now, right? Cause we are a good team. And we´re friends, right?”
“Yeah I would say we are friends.” Keith was smiling at Lance. “Actually, what I wanted to say earlier,… what I realized.” Keith took a deep breath. “All my life I was searching for a place to belong, people to belong to, I guess for finding a family,... that I didn´t see I already found one. Maybe I didn´t know what I was looking for exactly. What a family looks like. But I feel like the team is my family. You are my family. And I don´t want to be anywhere else anymore.”
“Yeah I guess you could say we are a family,” Lance smiled, pulling him closer, “and it´s good to have you back.”
They stayed silent for a bit, just holding each other. Lance felt Keith´s head on his left cheek, his hair tickling him a little.
Then he spoke again, looking at Keith:” I´m glad that we´re friends,… but what if I don´t just want to be friends with you?
Keith felt Lance´s heart drumming in his chest and tilted his head to look at him. “What do you want to be?” He felt his own heart beating faster now.
“I´m not sure,... but …I really like you.” Lance looked cautiously into Keith´s eyes.
Keith certainly didn´t expect to hear that, but he felt that he had secretly wished for it. Keith kept staring into Lance´s eyes and Lance stared back. Until he moved up his hand like on autopilot. He cupped Lance´s cheek and then just leaned in till suddenly his lips were on Lance´s. And he felt him move under him. Pulling him closer and soon feeling Lance´s hand on his own cheek.
When they broke the kiss they looked into each other´s eyes, smiling.
“Wow ok… that was nice.” Lance was breathing heavily.
“Yeah it was.” Keith was still smiling.
“Ok but what is this… what are we now?” Lance asked.
“I don´t know. But maybe we can just find out.” Keith whispered.
“Yeah…sounds good.” Lance whispered back.
They laid there for a few more minutes, holding each other till they finally heard Hunk shout their names.