Work Text:
Lance slammed onto the training room floor with a groan.
“Damn, you must be a broom because you just swept me off my feet.”
Irritation and confusion spread across Keith’s face. “The hell do you mean broom? We’re doing hand to hand.”
Lance just let out another groan.
The voices in Lance’s communicator faded into the background as he scanned the area for any rouge galra fighter ships. On the outskirts he noticed the red lion making a bee line for a group of galra alone.
Clenching his teeth in both creeping fear and annoyance, Lance took off after the other.
“Hey, Keith.”
A pissed off sounding “What” came through the coms.
“Are you the square root of 2?” Lance set his sights on the furthest ship shooting at the red lion. “Because you make me irrational.”
All he heard was groaning before bodily slamming his lion into the ship.
Lance sidled up to Keith, abandoning Hunk in the kitchen. Watching the other riffle around in the fridge he asked, “Do you drink milk? Because it sure is doing your body good.”
The Cuban watched the half-galra freeze, grab one of the bottles of Kaltenecker’s milk, and turn to him before stating, “I’m lactose intolerant.”
Eyes widening, Lance reached out for the bottle. “Keith, nO!”
“Keith, yes.” Was the reply before Lance starting chasing Keith around the kitchen to stop him from drinking the milk.
Hunk just shook his head with a fond smile on his face. Swearing and the sound of running feet acting as background noise to the sound of his cooking.
Wandering around space malls is one of Lance’s favorite things to do. Sure, sometimes it’s traumatizing and can be terrifying, but where else is Lance supposed to find an overabundance of weird space stuff to look at? Like the blanket he was currently holding that shifted in the light from navy blue to a pale lilac purple and every color in between. It was also as soft as the rabbit he used to own back home in Cuba, Turtle.
Even so, Lance gently put the iridescent blanket down. They were all told to try and only spend money on things they really needed. And while he really wanted it, he didn’t think he would be able to convince the others of the necessity considering the sheer amount he already owns within his room. It’s not his fault that his room always feels way to cold to be livable, no matter how many times he attempts to raise the heat.
He’s just about to move on to the next stall when a gloved hand reaches out and grabs the blanket for around him.
“Just buy it if you want it.” A voice behind him says, “How much?”
Lance spins around, following the gloved hand to up the black and purple colored suit and all the way to a shaggy raven-colored mullet.
The store clerk looks between Lance and Keith. “200 GAC.”
Watching Keith scowl in distaste at the man he grabs the other boy’s wrist. “Keith, just leave it. I doubt the technically even counts as necessity that Shiro and Allura were talking about.”
Lance flushed a bit when the other’s violet eyes locked onto his, silently hoping Keith wouldn’t notice. “I still have my card Allura gave me so she can fight me on necessity all she wants.”
Lance’s flush deepened. Trying to crush his embarrassment, Lance put on his best winning smile and looped one of his arms around Keith’s. “Hmm, I may have come here looking for treasure, but I think if I looked around your chest I’d find what I’m searching for.”
A flush lit up Keith’s cheeks as they stared at each other in silence. The moment was broken by the man behind the booth giving a cough.
“Are ya gonna buy something or what?”
Keith just gave the alien the stink eye before leaning down to Lance’s ear. “Do you really want the blanket?”
Lance only nodded his head.
“Then I guess it’s time to leave.”
Turning to the store clerk Keith grabbed one of Lance’s hand with his own while the other grabbed the blanket in question. Lance gave a confused grunt at what was happening. “We’ll take it.”
With that Keith took off with at a sprint, dragging an even more bewildered Lance behind him. Uproar ensued behind them. Screams followed them as they weaved their way through the stalls and people, neither stopping until they reach Keith’s Blade of Marmora ship. Slamming into the pilot seat Keith takes off just as Lance gets a grip of the back of the chair.
“But Red—”
A streak of red shoots by across the front window.
Keith gives a small smile as he gestures out the window. “Looks like she’ll beat you there, treasure hunter.”
Lance just splutters before lapsing into silence, sulking as he holds on to the pilot chair.
Later, after they dock and the others find them, they’ll dissolve into laughter when asked if they know what the commotion was about earlier in the mall. The blanket they stole draped across their laps shifting colors almost as if it were laughing too.
Lance woke to pain and warmth along his left side.
Opening his eyes he attempted to focus on what all the colors and bright lights were, but they flew by too quickly. Instead he tilted his head to find out what exactly was so warm. It was like he was next to a bonfire except he couldn’t be since he was pretty sure he was moving somehow. “Maybe that’s why it was so hard to focus on the bright lights,” he thought.
Black and grey armor met Lance’s eyes. He followed the armor past glowing purple designs and up towards a familiar black mullet. “Keith?”
Violet eyes snapped down to meet his. “Holy shit your awake. That’s good. You’re not allowed to sleep anymore, okay? Lance? Lance, did you hear me?”
Blinking slow Lance made out the sound of Keith’s running feet. He felt like that should cause more pain, but his stomach felt really numb so maybe that’s why he didn’t feel all the jostling.
Blinking again cleared up more of Keith’s face.
“Lance!”
A startled noise escaped Lance’s throat. “Mm, no sleep. Said no sleep. ’m not sleepin’.”
Lance blamed the lingering blurriness for the overwhelming concern in those pretty gemstone-like eyes. It made them look cloudy. Lance didn’t like it. Those eyes were supposed to be as vibrant as the amethyst necklace Victoria bought for Mamá one Christmas.
“Hey Keith, wanna give me the D?”
The startled noise Keith gave made the corners of Lance’s lips twitch, even as his eyelids felt like weights were being added to them.
“That means death. Please euthanize me.”
“What the actual fu—”
Lance didn’t even realize his hand had moved until it touched the smooth skin of Keith’s cheek.
“Dios,” Darkness was creeping into his vision like spider legs, “Tus ojos son tan hermosos.”
“Wha— Lance!”
“This is gonna hurt.” Was the only thought Lance had as he tipped out of the healing pod, far too tired and cold to even attempt to catch himself this time around. Though when hands steadied him he leaned towards the heat he could feel radiating from in front of him. The hands felt like fire even through the healing pod’s suit and did wonders for chasing away from of the chill that still permeated the Cuban’s skin.
Finally cracking his eyes open against the light, Lance caught the slightest glimpse of red leather before closing his eyes again and fully leaning his weight on the other boy.
“Are you a bear? Because I’d like to hibernate all winter with you.”
Gloved hands tried to pull Lance back, but the tan boy just latched on tighter to his, now, personal heater. “Nooo, ‘m so coooold.”
Lance felt Keith sigh more than he heard it. “I know you damn idiot. You feel like a popsicle. Let go so we can get to your room.”
Clinging tighter Lance sniffed petulantly, “Tired.”
Without warning his feet were suddenly no longer touching the floor, forcing a small yelp to escape his throat as his eyes finally snapped all the way open. “W-wait, what are yo—”
“Just shut up. You looked dead on your feet. Which you just came out of a healing pod so fucking Christ how much sleep are you even getting?”
“Ok Mr. Insomniac what the—”
“Just… shut up for once.”
Lance snapped his mouth snapped shut, teeth clicking uncomfortably against each other. He knew he was tired but didn’t realize just how tired when the last thing he can remember is the glowing lights of the hall before he’s waking up, surrounded by a proverbial mountain of blankets, iridescent blanket gripped in one hand and a red leather jacket in the other.
“Hey Keith?”
A muffled grunt came from under the blanket.
“Was your mother an alien? Because there’s nothing else like you on Earth.”
Lance squealed and tried to escape as fingers latched onto the sides of his waist.
Omake
The pink sand beach looked like glitter under the unrelenting gaze of the planet’s two suns. The planet they were currently on was peaceful with friendly natives, no actual nighttime, and pink beaches that stretched for miles in either direction; beaches that faded into a ruby red ocean.
How the ocean moved without the help of a moon was confusing at first but the Cuban eventually gave up and just enjoyed being able to swim in an actual ocean. The color was slightly off putting at first, but after finally diving in Lance found it to be almost the same as Earth’s oceans.
Everyone was happy for a slight break. Lance was too, but he was even happier that a certain half-galra could get away long enough from the Blade to join them.
Here floating on an ocean, the sun shining against his skin, and the sounds of everyone having fun a little further along the beach gave Lance peace.
Peace that was broken as hands patched into his ankles and dragged him under the water.
Surfacing, Lance spit the water in his mouth out towards the laughing raven haired boy.
Lance was dragged forward until he was pressed against the other, chest to chest.
“Come back to shore. We’re gonna go out to eat soon. Apparently the ‘night’ market has really good street food.”
Wrapping his arms around Keith, Lance stopped treading water, trusting the other to keep him afloat. “Hmm, but I’m comfortable. Can we stay a little longer?”
A soft kiss was pressed to his lips.
“Just a little longer.”