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Keith closed his eyes, listening to the music as it started to play. He inhaled deeply before starting to sing.
"I'm jealous of the rain
That falls upon your skin
It's closer than my hands have been
I'm jealous of the rain"
"Come on, Lance, if you stay out in the rain you will get a cold" Keith yelled from under the castle, still sheltered from the rain.
When they had landed on the planet, Keith had just through it was a dull old planet with nothing unusual on, it was uninhabited after all. But apparently, he was wrong. Coran had been the first to see the small droplets on the castles big window in the commanding room and quickly tested it.
By the time the rest of them noticed it too, Coran had informed them that it was just water. Everyone didn't think much of it, at least not until they heard the door get slammed close, and Lance disappear.
Now Keith was standing outside, in the wind and cold, yelling to the brunet to get inside. Keith was just about to give up and walked back, then Lance turned.
The boy was soaked, tears were streaming down his face along with the rain, and a sad smile was on his lips. Keith didn't know what to do. He had never seen Lance cry.
"I miss my family. I miss them so much" Lance mange to say just before breaking down completely.
Keith had to hold back tears when the flashback hit him. His voice still clear and not even shaking.
"I'm jealous of the wind"
Keith watched in awe as Lance talked about something, he couldn't quite remember what. Still, it was capturing to just watch the brunet as he happily continued to speak.
Keith gave up on fighting the memories that flooded him and just continued to sing.
"That ripples through your clothes."
"Whoever gets last is a rotten egg" Lance yelled as he sprinted off to the lounge.
Keith followed closely behind the other boy, laughing along.
"I just hope you are ready to stink, loverboy" Keith said, just as he passed Lance he winked.
"It's closer than your shadow."
Keith walked down the dark halls as quietly as he could, he knew if Shiro or the Alteans caught him, he would get scolded. It was well past midnight, so no one should be awake. That's the reason Keith stopped dead in his tracks when he heard noises down the hall.
If Keith was honest, he was about bolt the other way, sure that he had gotten caught. But he stayed, something made him stay. The raven-haired boy started making his way down the hall as silent as he could.
The closer he got, the louder the sounds, it didn't take long for Keith to realise what they were, they were muffled sobs. The second Keith realised, he was about to turn around again. Keith, this time decided that would be the best cause of action, but as he turned, he noticed the figure of someone just a few feet from him. Keith immediately recognised the person, and now he couldn't just walk away.
"Lance? Are you okay?" Keith asked softly, slowly approaching the other boy.
"No…" The answer was muffled and said with a voice thick from crying.
"What's wrong?" Keith asked, crouching down in front of Lance.
"Everything, Keith. Everything is just too much, and I'm not good enough, not enough. I just came along with you, not because of my skills. I should take home, home to my family, and you can find someone better" Lance said, his voice breaking multiple times, falling into Keith's arms.
"You are good enough, without you we would all go insane or kill each other. I know you want to go home, hell, even I want to go home, and I don't have a home. Being the universe last defence sucks, and the pressure gets to us all, we just have you to help us. Whatever you chose, just keep in mind, that we would never be able to find a better paladin than you" Keith said, hugging Lance.
"You really think so," Lance asked, hope filling his voice.
"I know so," Keith said, hugging Lance even tighter.
"Oh, I'm jealous of the wind
'Cause I wished you the best of
All this world could give"
"Really? They are holding a party just for our honour?" Lance exclaimed after Allura had briefed them.
"Not only that number three, but the special guest of honour is you. The party, though dedicated to all of Voltron, is for you especially" Coran said, his eyes sparkling with joy.
"Wait, really? Why me? Everyone did so much more than me. I only saved a couple of kids" Lance said, his eyes wide and cheeks tinted pink.
"But what you didn't know was that one of the kids you saved is this planet's beloved prince and you also saved his best friend. You also saved that school, that I was just informed we're an emergency centre, so it was filled with both kids and elders not to mention pregnant women and sick" Allura said, a proud smile sporting her lips.
"And I told you when you left me
There's nothing to forgive"
"I'm sorry, Keith" Lance choked out, sending an apologetic smile to the red paladin.
"Hey, no, none of that, Lance, You are going to make it, you hear me," Keith said desperately.
Keith felt tears form in his eyes, his voice starting to shake slightly.
"But I always thought you'd come back, tell me all you found was
Heartbreak and misery"
"And this is my oldest sister, Veronica. She is an instructor at the garrison. She made me interested in space" Lance said, pointing at the last person in the picture.
"They all sound amazing, I can't wait to meet them," Keith said, looking at the photo.
"They are going to love you. My mom will probably try to adopt you" Lance joked, but the comment made Keith smile.
"It's hard for me to say, I'm jealous of the way
You're happy without me"
Keith looked at Lance talking to some aliens. He felt himself slowly getting jealous. The aliens were clearly flirting with Lance, and Keith hated it. Keith felt his scowl deepen as one of the aliens touched Lance's arm.
The raven-haired boy was just about to go over there, and make a fake excuse to drag Lance away. But then Lance turned and smiled reassuringly at him. The brunet then proceeded to excuse himself from the aliens and walked over to Keith, bumping his arm lightly into the Keith's.
"I'm jealous of the nights
That I don't spend with you"
"Do you have to go, Keith? Can't you just stay? Please" Lance sounded so desperate as he talked, a hand holding tightly onto Keith's wrist.
"I'm sorry, but I need this a lot. I need to find out who my family is before can find out who I am" Keith said quietly, taking Lance hand off his wrist gently, holding it for a bit while staring into Lance's eyes.
Keith then let go of Lance's hand, turning around and walked away, already regretting to haven't kissed the boy.
"I'm wondering who you lay next to
Oh, I'm jealous of the nights."
Keith was exhausted as he walked into the launch, the blade of Marmora mission had been hard on him. Keith was just going to walk through the lounge and to his room but stopped when he saw a figure sleeping on the couch.
Keith chuckled fondly as he recognised Lance, walking silently over to the sleeping boy. Now that he was closer, Keith saw that the pillow Lance was using was Keith's red jacket. The raven-haired boy smiled softly, crouching down next to Lance. Keith took the brunet gently up in his arms, carrying him to his room.
"I'm jealous of the love
Love that was in here
Gone for someone else to share
Oh, I'm jealous of the love"
"Keith, you are reckless. The blades don't care about you. They would leave you without a second thought" Lance yelled as he walked after Keith.
"Stay out of it Lance. It has nothing to do with you" Keith sneered, turning around to look Lance in the eyes.
"The hell it does. If you go and get yourself killed, who's going to pilot the red lion? Who would calm me down when I get insecure? Who?" Lance yelled, startling Keith momentarily.
"I don't know, okay? Is that what you want to hear? I already told you, I need this, I need to know where I come from. I need to know why she left" Keith yelled back, his voice desperate.
"I'm not saying you should give up. I'm saying you shouldn't do it alone. I'm here to help. Everyone is. You just need to ask" Lance sounded just as desperate as Keith, hoping his words would get through.
"None of you understands, you all have loving families and know where you are from. I don't have that. So, Lance, don't talk about shit you don't understand and go look at pictures of your perfect family" As soon as the words left Keith's mouth, the boy regretted them.
"Don't you dare pull that bullshit on me. My family is long from perfect, and you already know it. I'm adopted, so I understand plenty. I never knew my parents or where I came from, but do you see me risking my life for the knowledge? No, and do you know the reason? I now have a family, though not perfect, who supports me, and you do too, you just don't see it because you are too caught up in the whole 'lone wolf' act" Lance said coldly, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
"What do you mean? My dad died when I was ten, and I've only had Shiro since then" Keith asked tiredly.
"Us. You have us. Hunk, Pidge, Allura, Coran, Shiro, and me. All of us are here for you. We are your support system now. You just need to ask for help. But you never do, Keith, you do everything on your own, even when you can't. You are always there for me. Please let me there for you" Lance said, trying to catch Keith's eyes again, but the other boy seemed to look anywhere but at Lance.
"Lance, I DON'T NEED a support system. I never have. Why should that change now? Why do you even care?" Keith was back at yelling, which startled Lance.
"Why I care? WHY I CARE? Jesus Keith, there are so many reasons to why I care. You are amazing and strong and so many other things I'm not. With all that said, you still need help and you don't see it. I do care for you, more than you think, I- FUCK- KEITH, I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU" Lance was yelling too, anger and frustration and hurt way to clear in his voice.
Keith was about to yell back, but as Lance's words sank in, he stopped himself. Keith just stood frozen, staring at Lance in disbelief.
"Just don't die, nothing else matters," Lance said, as Keith had made it clear he wasn't going to say anything, Lance then proceeded to push passed the stunned boy.
Keith was about to yell after Lance, but the brunet was already gone.
"'Cause I wished you the best of
All this world could give
And I told you when you left me
There's nothing to forgive"
Keith felt his blood run cold as he sprinted towards the limp body that belonged to the blue paladin. Keith had seen the shot. He had seen Lance collapse. There were nothing he could do to stop it, Keith felt utterly useless.
When the boy reached Lance, he fell to his knees, taking Lance's head in his hands. Keith quickly looked at the brunet's torso, seeing how the blood pumped out of Lance. The raven-haired boy let one of his hands cover the gun wound, leaving the other at Lance's head.
"Lance?… could you… could you open your eyes for me? Please?... Lance?!" Keith stuttered desperately, brushing Lance's bangs away.
Keith bit his lips, holding back tears. Lance's skin was sickly pale, clammy, and cold to touch. His breaths were rapid and shallow, and Keith could hardly find a pulse. But what really worried Keith was how Lance's lips and fingertips were turning a pale blue.
Keith turned his gaze to Lance's eyes once more, this time, he was met with ocean blue eyes.
"He-y, Keith" Lance's voice was a bit husky, but Keith didn't mind, not at all.
"What's… what's happening?" Lance asked, confused as he looked at Keith's tear-filled eyes.
"But I always thought you'd come back, tell me all you found was
Heartbreak and misery
It's hard for me to say, I'm jealous of the way
You're happy without me"
"Are you sure you are good to fly, Keith? It seemed like a pretty heated argument you and the blue paladin had" Keith had never heard Kolivan so worried, but that didn't matter to Keith right now.
"I'm FINE. Lance was just stupid. He doesn't understand what I need" Keith snarled, ignoring the concerned looks he got from Kolivan and the other blade member that was in the cockpit.
"You do know that he's doing it because he cares about you, right?" The blade member, Hazwi, said unsurely.
"I never asked him to care! I don't need anyone to care about me" Keith was practically growling as he talked.
"You don't choose who cares about you and who you care about, and I know that the blue paladin cares about you deeply even if you don't see it," Kolivan said, finally able to calm Keith down a bit.
"As I sink in the sand
Watch you slip through my hands
Oh, as I die here another day, yeah
'Cause all I do is cry behind this smile"
"Hey, come on, Handsome, keep- keep those blue eyes open, for me, okay," Keith said a little desperate as Lance's eyes kept closing.
"'m jus' wan' 'o 'eep" Lance slurred sleepily, blinking slowly.
"I know you do, but you can't right now, I need you to stay awake. You can't die, Lance, I won't let you, I need you here" Keith whispered, his voice breaking as he talked.
"You don' n'd me… nev'r has nev'r w'll… 'm so' ry… Kei'h" As Lance talked he fell in and out of consciousness, and each word broke Keith's heart more.
"Hey, no, Lance, I need you, I really need you. Lance, you are going to make it, you are okay. You can't leave me. You can't die" Keith felt that he repeated himself, but he couldn't bring himself to care.
"'s o' ay Kei'h, 's my 'ime" Lance smiled at Keith, trying to give some comfort to the distressed boy.
Lance laid his hand on top of Keith's, the one that was on Lance's stomach, and gave it a weak squeeze.
"I'm sorry about what I said in our fight," Keith said quietly, after a few minutes of silence.
"'s o' ay, 'm 'ot mad, 'ot 'nym're. I… c'n't… h'te… you" Lance seemed to have difficulties talking, but that didn't stop him from doing it.
"I love you."
It was so clear that if Keith had had his eyes closed, he could have fooled himself that everything was fine. But Keith knew that it wasn't.
"I love you too" Keith choked out, tears finally falling down his cheeks.
Keith pressed his forehead against Lance's, holding the dying boy tight as he breathed out his last breath. Keith felt as Lance grew completely still, no longer drawing in air.
"I wished you the best of
All this world could give
And I told you when you left me
There's nothing to forgive
But I always thought you'd come back, tell me all you found was
Heartbreak and misery
It's hard for me to say, I'm jealous of the way
You're happy without me
I-I-It's hard for me to say, I'm jealous of the way
You're happy without me"
Keith finished the song, as steadily as he could, but as soon as the last tone had left his mouth, the boy could keep it together any longer. Keith just sobbed, letting out every emotion, growing numb to the world around him.
He didn't notice how Hunk's strong arms wrapped around him or how Lance's mom thanked him for the song. Keith's world only evolved around his sorrow over losing the love of his life.