Archive of Our Own

“This is the last of ‘em.” Lance huffed, setting a crate of space-vegetables down on the kitchen counter.

Hunk dropped the three he had down too with a loud thud. “Thanks, buddy! Couldn’t have done without you.” 

Lance was sure he could….maybe he should work out more like Keith told him too. “Yeah, no problem.” He grabbed a cold water-pouch, scratching his neck as he sipped. “I’m going to go see if Coran has any ointment, this bug bit is starting to feel hot.” 

While Lance and Hunk were roaming through the local planet's farmer’s market, he had been bitten by this weird little big, coloured with bright yellows and pinks. The locals said it was harmless, and he wasn’t feeling woozy, maybe a little itchy, but not dead, so it was fine.

“You sure you’re okay? Want me to come with you?” Hunk asked, worried. He had been checking on Lance every five minutes, making sure he wasn’t about to pass out. 

“It’s fine. Really. I’ve been bitten by way worse stuff.” He’d been sent to the Garrison’s for one too many spider bits. Some of those are actually life-threatening. 

“Bitten by what?” Shiro asked, joining them in the kitchen. 

“God, I wish I was bitten by you instead.” 

… 

“Lance?” Hunk’s choked voice called out. He was bright red and that wasn’t even directed at him. 

“Yeah?” Lance didn’t stop staring dreamily at Shiro, fluttering his lashes at him. 

Shiro had a mix of emotions on his face, glancing at Hunk and then back down at Lance. “Um…” He took the slightest of steps back then froze immediately when Lance’s face dropped. The boy grabbed his arm, preventing him from going any further. 

“Did I do something? Do you hate me?” He asked, looking on the verge of tears. “I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable …”

“No! No…” Shiro coughed, hesitantly reaching to pat Lance’s head. He got a beaming smile for that and hugged the man’s prosthetic. Shiro glanced towards Hunk who seemed just as put off by the situation. They shared a look before Hunk let out a deep side, coming up to gently pry Lance off their leader.

“Let's go see Coran, okay bud?”

“Without Shiro?” Lance pouted. 

“Yeah. Come on.” 

“Alright~! Bye, Shiro!” He waved as he was pushed out of the room. 

Shiro stood there for a moment, waving Lance off. He looked down at his right hand, balling it up into a fist. “Ah- Wait…” He followed, figuring he should probably know what's going on with one of his precious teammates.  

______

“Oh- that was unmistakably an Artecor!” Coran proclaimed after Lance’s very shoddy description of what the bug looked like. He kept getting distracted by complementing Shiro on any little thing really, gripping his left-hand so Shiro couldn’t really move too far no matter how embarrassed he got, and Lance nearly cried every time he pulled away.

Hunk was doing his best to try and get Lance to be quiet, but the boy wouldn’t shut up. Allura and Pidge were eating this shit up though. 

“A-And...um...could that be why he is acting so...strange?” 

“Yes! Exactly! The bug has an unusual effect on people.-” 

He was interrupted by the med bay door opening.

“Heard Lance got himself in trouble again-” He stopped, blinking when he saw the scene before. Lance holding onto his boyfriend like his life depended on it. He blanked, staring at where they connected. 

Hunk took that as the calm before the storm, trying desperately to shake Lance off Shiro.

“Keith!” Lance beamed when he noticed the red paladin, letting go of Shiro immediately and hopping off the cot, doing a running jump into his arms. Keith caught him, of course, letting himself be hugged by the overly eager Lance. 

Everyone in the room was stunned quiet. 

“I knew you would catch me.” Lance purred, nuzzling the top of Keith hair. “You smell like sweat…” He murmured, taking a deep breath before pulling back a little to look into Keith’s eyes. “Were you training again?” 

“Uh, yeah?” Keith answered, not sure what else to say. 

“Come get me next time, I hate training...but it's the only time we get to be alone together…” He whispered for only Keith to hear, nuzzling into him again. “Shiro!” He barely turned his head, just so he could kind of see Shiro. “Come on! Your boyfriend is here! Why are you so far away! Keith is here!” 

“Yeah…” Shiro continued to stay still, staring at the pair. 

Hunk looked between the three of them, going pale when he saw Keith’s going as red as a fire truck. 

“We will be taking Lance now!” He swooped in, Pidge and Hunk moving faster than light. 

“How long is there going to last?” Pidge asked as Hunk snatched Lance off Keith. 

“72 hours-”

“Great! See you then!” 

“Hey!-” Hunk smacked his hand over Lance’s mouth before he could say anything else. They ran back to Lance’s room, tossing him in there and locking the door so no one else could enter. 

Pidge and Hunk collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. Lance blinked at them, watching the two take a moment to catch their breath. “... You guys okay?”

They shared a look with each other. Pidge let out a deep sigh first, leaning back on their hands. “Did you not notice the look on Keith’s face, Lance? He looked like he was about to stab you.” 

“And Shiro seemed so uncomfortable.” Hunk winced a little, looking at Lance for his reaction. 

Lance hummed, taking in what they said but, he was aware. “I know.” He shrugged. “But… I don’t know? If I don’t say anything to them, it feels like my heart is on fire.” 

“Good observation my boy!” Coran entered the room, though they were sure they locked it. He twirled his moustache, stepping over number 2 and 5. “The side effects of getting bitten by this bug make you feel like you’re on fire whenever you’re in front of your romantic interests. There is a whole festival dedicated to getting bitten by these bugs and professing your love. Exciting stuff! Since you were bitten by one that means their season has approached, the festival is coming up soon maybe we should participate-” 

“No!” Hunk and Pidge jumped in. 

“Can’t we just keep Lance away from them? Prevent him from embarrassing himself further.” 

“Or getting killed.” Hunk added. 

“Afraid not, Green Paladin!” Coran gave Lance a little smile. “If he is away from them for too long, his heart will start to burn and that can be rather painful, as well.” 

“That means I get to hang out with Shiro and Keith!?” Lance seemed eager at the idea now, but the other two had a feeling their best friend was going to regret it at the end of these three days. 

___

The halls of the castle were deathly quiet. They were a couple of hours into their night cycle and after a rather awkward dinner everyone retired to their room. 

Well, most people. 

“Boo!” Lance snuck up behind Keith, giggling when he jumped. “Scare you?” 

Keith stopped wiping the sweat from his brow, giving Lance a soft glare. “Shouldn’t you be asleep?” 

“Hmm, I was thinking about you and Shiro laying in bed and I started to miss you. I wondered if you would be here, and so I came to check if you were in the training room blowing off some steam since it’s been a long day and... I was right.” He grinned. “‘Cause here you are.” 

“Here I am…” Keith muttered, wiping his chin. Cheeks red from exertion. Only exertion. “How are you feeling?” 

“Oh, were you worried about me, mullet?” Lance asked, a cheshire smirk spreading across his lips. 

Keith rolled his eyes, thinking Lance was going to make fun of him for caring. “Of course n-“ 

He suddenly felt slender long arms wrap around his waist, pulling him closer. Lance’s head rested on his shoulder. “Thanks for caring about someone like me.” 

Keith's brain short-circuited. He gulped, opened his mouth, then gulped again. Throat dry as hell. 

“Everything okay?” Shiro asked from behind Lance, Keith’s head snapping towards him. Mouth still flapping up and down like a fish out of water. 

“Oh, Shiro.” Lance turned towards him, letting go of Keith to drift over to Shiro to hug onto him, resting his head on the man’s chest. “Perfect.” He hummed, slightly swaying with the other. 

Keith’s lips came together in a pout, staring at the boy that left him so easily to hug someone else. Shiro couldn't help but snort at the miserable look on Keith’s face. 

“How are you feeling, Lance?” He asked, hands lightly rubbing Lance’s shoulders. 

“Better now that I got to see you both.” He murmured, closing his eyes. “My heart felt like it was on fire earlier but just being around you guys made it better.”

“On fire?”

“Yeah, it's a side effect of the bug. I can’t be away from you guys too long, or it starts to burn. I don't know how I'm going to sleep through the night.” 

“You can sleep with us.” Keith graciously offered. “We don't mind.” 

“Really?! You don't mind?”

“Uh… No, no not at all.” Shiro answered, unable to say no to the hopeful look in both of their eyes. And he doubted his logic would be able to win over his desire anyway. 

The three walked back to Shiro’s room, a strange silence between them. Keith and Shiro both took a shower and changed, Lance messing around with the things Shiro had scattered about his desk. 

“So, should I sleep on the inside or the outside?” He asked, standing at the foot of the bed. 

“Huh?” 

“Like, do you want me against the wall or on the edge? I personally prefer the middle, but I wouldn’t ask for that, I’m already invading your space.” He gave a small smile, even Lance in his ‘doped’ up state had a little self awareness.

“Well, Keith likes sleeping near the wall.” Shiro answered. “And I prefer the edge, easier to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.” 

“Grandpa.” Keith muttered, climbing into bed. Lance covered his mouth because he couldn’t help but let out a small giggle. 

“Hey, when a man has to pee, a man has to pee.” 

“Alright, grandpa.” Lance grinned, climbing into bed and scooting to leave just enough room for Shiro to get in. 

As soon as the black paladin laid down, Lance came closer, laying his head on the man's left breast and letting out a deep satisfied sigh. “Softer than I could ever imagine.”

Shiro's ears turned red while Keith snickered behind them. He curled into Lance’s back, spooning him as he cuddled up to Shiro. Softly chatting as they all drifted off to sleep like that. 

____

The routine for the next few days wasn't that much different from normal. Lance still ran around, helping in whatever way he could, but this time he would manage to rope Shiro or Keith into the activities. 

Normally the two would do whatever they want outside from strategizing and team exercises, so they didn't realize how much work went into maintaining the ship. 

“Lance?” Hunk popped his head into the common room, finding Shiro sitting up right and watching a movie. He was about to ask if he had seen his best friend, until he noticed the brown tuft of hair poking out behind Shiro’s shoulder. He let out a deep sigh. “Lance…” 

He was about to grab the boy and left him out, but Shiro stopped him, wrapping his hand around Hunk’s wrist and pushing it back, a little forceful if you were to ask him. 

“Shhh…” Shiro still gave him a charming smile though. “He’s sleeping.” The protective arm wrapped back around Lance, gently rubbing his shoulder. 

Sure enough the boy was knocked out, softly snoring while Keith laid his head on his lap, still focusing on whatever they were watching. Surprisingly his movie taste lined up very well with Lance’s, no matter how much he didn't want to admit it. 

“He had a long day, Coran had him running up and down the castle.” 

“I see…” Hunk answered, staring at the three for a moment. “Are you sure you don't want me to take him? I can put him in his room.” 

“It's fine, he’s been sleeping with us anyway.” Keith answered. “We’ll take him to our room when we’re done. 

“He has… Since he was bitten?” Hunk asked, getting a nod in return. He let out a deep sigh, putting his face in his hand. “It's been 60 hours since he was bitten.” He reminded them, putting his hand on Shiro’s shoulder and giving it a not so gentle squeeze. “Keep that in mind.” 

Shiro watched Hunk good, giving his shoulder a small roll. “Right.” He didn't stop keeping track of the time, ever. It was like a very slowly detonating bomb, that no one knew how to disarm. 

Keith wasn't paying any attention to the film now, turning to he could look at the both of them. “Do you…” 

“We’ll deal with that when it comes.” Shiro pushed him off Lance so he could stand, taking the blue paladin with him princess style. 

“Show off.” Keith muttered as he sat up, following behind back to their room.

———

The next morning started off weirder than usual. Lance, normally so cuddly and drowsy; well, normal for the past two days at least; was stiff as a beanpole when he woke up, shot straight out of bed at Shiro’s alarm and changed, saying something about helping Hunk with breakfast. 

He was sure to leave them with a departing kiss on the forehead and a prolonged hug. 

Lance sat right between them as they all ate, not much unusual, still saying dreamy things about Shiro and Keith, though he was definitely less touchy. 

“Lance, my boy, I need some help again today. He didn't get to finish the repair of our quantum meter!” Coran said.

“Yeah, no problem!” Lance agreed easily, shoving the food into his mouth, so he could quickly go help. 

“Oh, I’m free today I can help too-“ 

“I got it, Keith, no worries.” He patted his shoulder, sitting him back down. “See you later!” He waved, quickly running after Coran.

They didn’t see Lance for the rest of the day though. 

Any time they would try, he was already off. Sprinting to the next task Coran needed done. It wasn’t until after lunch that Keith finally caught him, sneaking into the kitchen to get some left-over food goo.

“Lance! Where have you been?” Keith crowded him before he could try and run off again. “How are you feeling?” 

Lance was jumpy, bright as a tomato as he pressed himself further against a wall. Away from Keith. “Um, fine, haha... What? Is Keith, the lone wolf himself, worried about me?” He gave an awkward little chuckle. “Don't I feel honored-” 

Keith was ready to fight, of course he was worried. The boy had been sticking to his side the past three days and then suddenly he was pulling away. Did Keith do something- Oh, the bug. The bug. He stared at Lance, who was still stammering (probably something insulting, just to deflect) and how he was clearly embarrassed by what happened. Keith took his hand. “Of course I was worried about you.” 

Lance shut up in an instant. Staring at where gloved hands wrapped around his and- Nope, heart was on fire again. “EUGHHHHHHH!” He squealed at the top of his lungs and booked in. Running as fast as his legs would carry him. 

Keith's ears rang from the yell, making him falter for a moment. But as soon as he realized that Lance had booked it, he ran after him. Chasing him down the halls of the castle. “You can’t ignore us forever, Lance!”

“I can try!” 

Lance skidded around a corner and yelped again, Shiro casually walking towards him. 

“Lance-” 

“BYE!” He yelled, dodging away from Shiro. 

The man was left stunned, watching Lance’s back disappear at the other end of the hall, confused and a little hurt, then a rough yank to the back of his collar snapped him back, his boyfriend dragging him along.

“I’m not letting him avoid it.” 

Shiro couldn’t help but chuckle at the determination in his boyfriends eyes, quickly matching the pace. 

There were a few more turns and curves but eventually they came to a dead end, and as they rounded that last corner there Lance was... Nowhere in sight.

“What. The. Fuck?” Keith panted, wiping the sweat from his chin. 

They both spotted the utilities closet at the same time, sharing a look. Shiro knocked, gently calling out to Lance. “Can you open the door please? We just want to talk…” 

Keith was a lot less tactful about it. When Lance didn’t respond he opened the door himself. When the sliding door moved out of the way, it revealed a bundle of white soft linen -like blankets, curled up on the ground. “Lance.” It twitched. 

“Can you show us your face?” Shiro crouched, peeling back one of the blankets. “Please?” 

“No.” 

“We want to talk about the past few days.” 

“No.”

“We can’t just ignore it!” 

“What’s there to talk about!?” Lance snapped, pulling his jacket over his head and curling deeper into himself. Shiro had taken away all the blankets, leaving him defenseless. “I got bitten by a bug, and it made me tell you both about the fact I’m in love with you and stick close to you like some kind of weirdo! You two were clearly uncomfortable and were just too nice to say no, and now I’m trying to give you some space from because the whole ship knows that I’m a creep that wants to kiss his captain and his boyfriend-”  

“We want to kiss you too.” Keith interrupted, this was the one time they were grateful for Keith's lack of tact.

Shiro sighed, gently nudging the ball of Lance, so he could bring it up into his arms. “We love you too, and we weren’t uncomfortable, we were just- in shock.”

“We didn’t think you would feel the same so, we’re happy you got bitten by the bug.” Keith shoved his hands under the army green jacket, forcing it off Lance’s head. “You were kinda cute when you were horny for Shiro.” He grinned.

“Can you shut up!” Lance pushed the face out of his, getting frustrated as Keith just laughed at him. “You try seeing how you fair when you get bitten by a love bug and years of repressed hormones come out!”

“We don’t need a love bug to do that if you agree to be our boyfriend.” Shiro chimed in, grinning at the reaction he got out of Lance.

“Wasn’t your name lover-boy Lance? How come you’re blushing like a virgin right now?”

“Can both of you shut up!” 

_____

“Wait, so we’re boyfriends now?” Lance asked from his spot sandwiched between Shiro and Keith again, curled into one another perfectly. 

Both of them groaned, already half asleep. “Yes, Lance.