Work Text:
“I just wanted to say…. stay safe out there,” Allura blushes as she looks up at Lance.
Lance’s face warms up immediately after hearing those words from Allura. He is grateful that Allura decides to see him right before they depart to their lions. He wonders what could have brought on this interaction, but there’s no time to really think on it.
“You too, Allura.” Lance looks at her with a soft glance. Allura walks away and Lance is left to ponder on this interaction. He wonders, Did that blush mean anything? Could she possibly like me back…?
“It seems like the princess likes you back.” Veronica gives him a knowing smile.
Lance yelps in surprise at that comment and jerks his head away from Veronica. “No! She’s like that with everyone because she’s awesome...like...that,” he stammers with an even darker blush. He honestly couldn’t believe that actually happened. He turns around to face Veronica and is about to get into his seat when-
“Lance!”
Lance immediately turns back around and stares down at….
Keith. Looking at him with an unsure expression.
What could he possibly have to say to me? I hope it’s nothing negative. Lance is puzzled and shocked honestly. He is not prepared to see Keith at this moment, especially when Allura made him feel all warm inside. He does not see this moment coming at all. He couldn’t even decipher what Keith wants to say based on his expression.
Lance does not want to leave Keith hanging, so he asks a simple question instead of trying to analyze his face, “Hey Keith, what’s up, my man?” He decides to jump off the vehicle so he can get a better look at Keith’s strange expression. He feels a bit anxious about the situation as it has been a long time since they’ve talked one-on-one.
“I just wanted to say…” Keith darts his eyes around, not making eye contact with Lance. “Don’t do anything crazy out there, okay?”
Lance looks at him with a confused face. “C’mon mullet, shouldn’t I be the one to say that to you? You’ve always been the one to dive into the face of action and danger!” Lance seriously doesn’t get what’s going on here. Keith telling him to not do anything crazy? That’s a new one. He starts to stare at Keith, despite Keith not even attempting to look at Lance.
For some reason, Keith decides this is the perfect moment to snap his head back up and look straight at Lance. “That’s not what I meant! I-I just.. am feeling really nervous about this battle. There’s really high stakes involved and I don’t exactly know how to deal with the stress right now?” Keith crosses his arms and looks at the ground anxiously.
Lance starts to understand what the situation is now. Keith’s worried about this battle and came to me. Hopefully, I can reassure him that we’ll be fine.
Lance decides to place his hand on Keith’s shoulder, slightly aware of the deja-vu he’s experiencing in this scene. Keith gasps and focuses intently on Lance’s eyes.
“Keith, buddy, let me tell you something… we will win this war. I don’t doubt any of us and you especially shouldn’t doubt yourself. We’ve come too far to lose; the Galra have taken so much from us. Believe in our bond as paladins and our bonds with our lions; they’ll definitely come through for us. Trust me.” Believe in me, your right hand man. Lance looks at him with the most determined look in his eyes. Lance tightens his grip on Keith's shoulder to reassure him even more. He wants to erase all of Keith's doubts. Keith is a great leader that Lance will never hesitate to follow and doesn't deserve the anxiety that's plaguing his mind.
Keith notices something he didn’t see before. How comforting Lance is as a person and how supportive he is as Keith’s right hand. He slowly loosens his tense muscles and intense furrowing. He realizes that he should be placing his utmost faith in Lance, who has never been wrong about these situations. Lance lets down his arm from Keith's shoulder, and Keith instantly misses the warmth he emitted.
“You’re right. I don’t know why I even doubted us in the first place. Thanks Lance, it means a lot coming from you. This is how I know I can trust you as my right hand man. You've really matured during all this time,” Keith smiles at Lance with the softest glance and beaming eyes.
Lance is completely caught off guard by Keith. Keith looks at him with this admiration in his eyes and Lance doesn’t know how to handle it. He feels himself getting warm again. Oh nonono. Not this feeling. Not toward Keith. I finally feel like there’s something between me and Allura and now Keith comes in an- Wait what am I saying?! Lance decides to stop his train of thought from spiraling into uncharted territory, thoughts that he hasn’t even brought up to surface.
“Of course! Keith, don’t worry, we will win.” As Lance raises his closed fist, he smiles so brightly at Keith. Lance doesn’t understand his feelings right now, but he knows he’s really happy that he was able to rest Keith’s worries.
“We will.” Keith bumps his fist against Lance’s and nods at Lance with an assuring smile. He turns away and starts to walk toward James’s vehicle.
Lance climbs back into Veronica’s vehicle and sees Veronica with another knowing smile. “Soooo…. Is there anything you want to tell me, Lance?”
“No!” Lance’s cheeks turn slightly pink. He refuses to let the subject matter linger any longer. He does not want to think about how his heart is currently betraying him.
------
The second Keith hears Lance's and Veronica's screams, he panics. No. This can not be happening. There is no way they're gone... Lance promised me he'd be alright. He promised me we'd win. Keith tries to calm down from Allura's cry for Lance, but his body is going into full panic. I refuse to believe Lance is gone. He just has to make it! He continues to glare at his communicator, hoping Lance would say something to reassure the team.
Keith attempts to stop thinking about the worst that could happen to Lance and decides to place unwavering faith in his sharpshooter. Lance will be okay. Please, Lance. Come back to us. Come back to m- Wait what? Since when did Keith feel differently about Lance? Keith decides to push that thought away for now; now is not the time to think about that. Lance's life is in danger right now, and Keith doesn't know what is happening to Lance right at this moment.
Everyone starts to use their communicators to contact Lance, asking where is he and if he's there.
Keith just needs Lance to say something before he goes out of his mind.
"Lance?" Keith closes his eyes and desperately tries to convey the dire state of his mind, "Lance, come in!" Keith needs something, anything from Lance. He wants to hear his sharpshooter. He needs to hear his sharpshooter. And in that moment, in the back of his mind, Keith thinks Maybe...just maybe we have something special.
------
Lance is completely knocked down on the ground. He hears the faint voices of Allura, Hunk and Pidge. He slowly starts to open his eyes. His vision starts to refocus and his head starts to clear. Then he hears,
“Lance?...... Lance, come in!”
He hears how panicked and desperate Keith sounds. Lance knows that the others are probably just as worried as Keith, but there's something about the urgent tone in his voice. Keith… That gives him the energy to actually wake up. I can’t let the team down. I told Keith that we’d be alright. I can’t let him think that I was wrong. I can’t leave him worrying about my status. He needs to reassure his leader, the leader he will fight to the ends of the earth for.
His vision comes into full focus and he makes a fist, determined to get back up. He starts to analyze his surroundings and realizes what happened. He mentally thanks Keith for being the main strength Lance needed to refocus. Maybe...just maybe we have something special.