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His family would all be gone when Keith got there. Or, they should’ve been.
The hospital had officially asked all visitors on behalf of the patients by now. The nurses needed to check in on everyone before saying goodnight.
Keith knew because his mother and Kolivan had left a few minutes ago.
But it’s not like he could get any sleep in this place anyway. It was dark and cold. Too many people. Too many noises. It took Keith a while to adjust to sleeping somewhere unfamiliar, and just one night in the hospital wasn’t enough for him to get any shut eye.
Besides, even if he could, there was something gnawing at him, keeping him awake and alert.
He couldn’t get over the way he’d treated Lance since getting back. It was almost like they were “rivals” again, before they became friends. Before Voltron. Once he returned to the team, Keith fell back into his old habits.
And he hated himself for it.
He didn’t miss the looks on Lance’s face after every frown and every snarky comment. Lance used to retort and bicker. Now, he just blinked at Keith like he didn’t know who he was.
Keith didn’t want that. He didn’t want this . He missed the way he and Lance were. Their friendship had become so easy, so organic.
But because Keith ran away with the Blade of Marmora, he’d lost everything. He’d gotten scared of his growing feelings for Lance and he ran away , which was the exact opposite of all his natural instincts. But he needed the breathing room.
He just hadn’t realized it would come at a cost.
Now, he was reverting . His relationship with Lance...every layer was chipped away by another one of his stupid remarks.
Keith was facing the consequences for his actions.
He had to fix it.
He rapped his knuckles against the door of Lance’s room.
“Mama, I already told you,” said Lance, “once they tell you to leave for the night, you can’t come back. I don’t wanna get in trouble again!”
Stifling a soft smile and a chuckle, Keith went inside.
Lance was sitting up in his bed, scooping the hospital-provided blue gelatin into his mouth. When Keith closed the door behind him, he turned his head.
“Keith?” he asked through his full mouth.
“Lance,” he greeted.
Lance swallowed, looking puzzled. “Hey, buddy. What’s up?”
“Just checking in.” Keith tried to play it off nonchalantly, crossing his arms and leaning against the closest wall.
One of Lance’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline. “Okay?”
“How are you feeling?”
Lance shrugged. “Good, I guess. Nothing hurts? I mean, I wish I was healing in a pod on the castle, but by Earth standards, I feel good.”
Keith gave a slow nod. “Good.”
Lance picked up his spoon and took another bite of gelatin. “What about you, team leader?”
Those words had never sounded as good as they did coming out of Lance’s lips.
“I uh…” Keith looked down. “I came to...apologize, actually.”
Lance furrows his brows. He put his spoon back on the tray. “For what?”
“I just…” Keith couldn’t find the words. His eyes flicked to Lance, and his face helped but his expression didn’t. “I haven’t been the best leader lately. I wanted to-”
“Keith? What are you talking about?”
Keith blinked. “What?”
“We couldn’t have beat Sendak and saved Earth without you. How could you even say that?”
Keith pushed off the wall and stepped a little closer to Lance’s bed. “We couldn’t have done it without each other. But that’s not what I’m saying.”
“What are you saying?” Lance’s stare bored into Keith’s. “You couldn’t have been a better Black Paladin! You were everything we needed you to be, Keith.”
Keith repressed his blush. “I wasn’t there for you guys, Lance. I was too much of a lone wolf and I wasn’t the leader I should’ve been.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
“Is it?” Keith was moving closer. “I was hard on you guys. After all we’d been through, I still treated you like you weren’t my friends.”
Lance stilled. They both knew it was true.
Keith sighed, crossing his arms again. Their gazes lingered on each other, but Keith looked away. “I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry.”
The bed creaked as Lance shifted, pushing the blanket off himself and dropping his feet to the floor. He padded towards Keith, who raised his head at the sound of footsteps.
He stretched a palm over Keith’s shoulder. “It doesn’t matter, Keith.” His voice was soft. “What matters now is that you’re owning up to it.” He smiled. Lance had such an easy, gentle smile. “It’s okay.”
They were staring at each other again. Keith couldn’t focus on anything else in the room. Just Lance. Lance and his brown eyes. Lance and his warm hand. Lance and his big smile.
Keith’s eyes went to Lance’s lips, corners curled upwards like they were meant to stay there.
He’d always wanted to kiss Lance. And he’d always wondered what it would be like. After thinking about it so much, he eventually decided that he couldn’t predict it what it would be like. He’d only know if he ever took the chance.
There were plenty of chances presented to him. He’d almost taken several. He’d wanted to take all of them. But he never would.
He never could.
Keith was prepared to leave the moment like that, his heart aching deep in his chest. Every time gave his heart another permanent bruise, reaching much deeper than just the surface.
But when he started to retract, Lance kissed him.
Lance kissed him .
Keith hesitated, unsure of what was happening. Lance’s hands wrapped around his back, though, and the reality settled in.
So he kissed Lance. He kissed Lance with everything he had. He kissed Lance with parted lips. He kissed Lance with tongue. He kissed Lance with fumbling hands and awkward nose bumping.
But mostly, he kissed Lance with intent .
When they pulled apart for air, Lance tipped his forehead against Keith’s.
“I’m glad your back,” he whispered. Then, with a grin, he added, “Team leader.”
Keith leaned in to kiss him again. “Glad to be back, sharpshooter.”