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Listen一Lance didn’t plan to become a pop star.
He had written several songs when he was still in high school, but hey, who hadn’t. After he and Keith’s disastrous first attempts at being together during the war and subsequent messy breakup, he had written a few Taylor Swift style breakup songs, but that was totally to be expected.
It wasn’t until they got back to Earth, held high above as coveted heroes that Lance did anything about it. He decided to put out an ep, more fun fun than anything else, and the rest was history.
No star's ascent could top that of Lance McClain. The whole globe was talking about it in mere days, demanding more and head over heels for the new rising star.
And Lance loves it. He loves the outfits, the performances to sold out arenas, the feeling of sharing an intimate piece of his story with people all over the galaxy. It’s unparalleled, and he never in his life felt happier or more fulfilled than when he is onstage.
However, being famous, as all six of them were discovering, came with seemingly more downsides than ups. Nothing in their lives was private anymore, constant paparazzi, fans, and interviews wanting to catch any glimpse they could of Lance and the other paladins.
It was fine. Fun, even, having such a spotlight, such a platform. Lance continuously advocated for what he believed in, becoming an openly trans and bisexual pop star, using his platform to show both Earth and the rest of the galaxy that he was not afraid to be himself. But fans still refused to respect his privacy, any of their privacy, so when he and Keith decided to try again, no one could blame them for keeping just one secret from the rest of the world.
Lance had never loved anyone like he loved Keith. Their relationship was still new, tentative, and beautiful, and for as much as they adored each other, they were scared of what the media would do to something so precious.
So they hid. Dodging questions, careful about their interactions in public, never letting the masses of teenage girls following them know the true nature of their relationship.
It was better this way, Lance tried to remind himself. No one was famous without a price.
one
Exclusive interview with Lance McClain: Ex Paladin of Voltron and Rising Star
Lance brightens up any room he is in. Everyone has heard stories of how charismatic he is, how beautiful he is in person, but let me emphasize to everyone reading this at home: he is perfect. He is immaculately dressed today, wearing long, white pants and a mesh top, pulled together with a belt in his signature blue. His smile is blinding from this close, and within seconds of stepping into our studio he has every single member of the staff charmed.
He shakes my hand when he sits down with me, and he has the gall to introduce himself to me, as if he isn’t the most famous person in the universe. He laughs when I make a joke to cut the tension, and at this point my heart is nearly thumping out of my chest with a combination of nerves and just the thrall of being in close proximity to him.
“It’s always been this way,” he tells me, after I look just a little too nervous around him. “Something about my presence has always been… just a bit too big for every room I’m in. Keith says when he first met me, just being in the same room as me felt a little suffocating.”
I wish you all could see the soft smile Lance gets when he talks about Keith. I am not a gossip magazine, and this interview is professional, and I am not here to speculate. But if I thought he was beautiful before, the way he shines when he talks about the people he loves is on a whole other plane.
The first thing we talk about is his upcoming album. His new single just dropped last Friday, and he was excited to tell me about it.
“I was a little nervous to release this one,” he tells me, leaning in just a little closer as if he has a secret. “There were some upbeat songs on my last album, but nothing quite like this one. I’m in a better place now than I was when I wrote my first album. I think you can really hear that in the way the song sounds. I think that most of my new album will follow that trend, too. Of course, it wouldn’t be me though without at least a few sad songs on there, so those of you that love to get in your feels, have no fear. I got you.”
He had no reason to worry. His single has become the most streamed single on it’s debut of all time, surpassing 15 million streams on Spotify in just the first 24 hours after its release. When I mentioned this to him, he blushed, looking away.
“I cannot thank everyone who listens to my music enough. When I fist started signing, I was just a stupid teen writing break up songs in my bedroom. I can’t believe there are people out there that listen to what I have to say.”
And speaking of writing songs in his bedroom, Lance has something else for us in store.
“I wrote… a lot of songs while I was in high school,” he laughs. “My mom called me a few days ago and said that while doing some spring cleaning, she found my old song writing notebook from when I was 17 years old. I was head cheerleader in high school, it was before my transition, and apparently all I sang about was boys and breakups. I think, after the new album comes out, I might like to record some of those songs and make them public where everyone can listen. I think being able to show my progress as a songwriter, and as a person, can be something so intimate and special, and I would love to work on this album for all of you.”
When I asked when we might be able to expect the album, Lance just laughed. He has the kind of laugh where you can immediately tell he is not laughing at you, but rather with you, and hearing it brightened my whole day.
“I haven’t even gotten out my guitar to play most of the songs yet. Some of them, I only have lyrics with, like, four guitar chord progressions scribbled across the top of the notebook page. It’s going to take a while to piece together these songs, but it’s a project I am actually, truly excited for, so I can’t wait to get started.
“The new album is my highest priority right now. If I’m honest, my production team and I still haven’t picked the final single.” He laughed again, and shook his head. “I’m sure I’m such a terror to work with, from a production standpoint. I don’t know the first thing about anything in a recording studio. I just show up with my guitar.”
We both laugh at that. It’s no secret that Lance’s skyrocket to fame had nothing to do with his skills in production, but his gorgeous voice and mesmerizing lyrics. He always writes all of his own lyrics, and usually all of his own music as well.
“I like to write songs with other people,” he says, a little shy about it. “I bring my guitar out to the lounge and just plop myself down, plucking out chord progressions that I like until whoever happens to be out there tells me they like the sound of one. I never work alone, my friends always help me, giving me advice or telling me when to shut up. It’s really, really nice. I couldn’t do what I do without them.”
Don’t worry, Klance fans. I asked.
“Keith helps me too,” he says, grinning, clearly amused at the question. “Keith is actually very musically inclined. Last month when I performed in Texas my guitarist, Kelly, fell ill and Keith stepped in. That was a really fun show, for me at least. I’m pretty sure Keith fucked up, like, every song, but it was really fun to be on stage with someone I care about. But for all of that, he has never once helped me come up with a lyric. If I ask for help, he usually just sighs and says ‘sounds good, Lance.’ Classic Keith. But sometimes, if I catch him when he is in a good mood, he will lay next to me while I play the guitar, and he always has the best suggestions.”
I asked him next what songs Keith had helped him write. But he just frowned and told me he couldn’t remember!
“I’ve written probably hundreds of songs. I write so many of them with my friends, and some I wrote 7 years ago. There are very few songs I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I wrote them. Mostly my breakup songs, I guess. The songs I write while the wounds are so fresh.”
However, we have gotten a lot of breakup songs from him. In fact, his first ep was entirely breakup songs.
“I swear I haven’t had, like, 50 boyfriends. I have written a ton of songs about the same few breakups because being angry or sad is a really easy emotion to harness, even after the fact. Besides, do you want to know a secret?”
Of course, we want to know a secret.
“Shiro and I actually have a bet.” At this, he actually looks a little sheepish, but he pushes forward. “There was… a particularly bad breakup in my past that I have written a ton of songs about. The man they are all about is still in my life, and he practically begged me to stop writing breakup songs about him. Light-heartedly, of course, he doesn’t actually mind or else none of this would be happening. Shiro at the time basically said, ‘It’s okay. Lance will run out of breakup songs eventually.’ I, of course, being me, immediately said ‘wanna bet?’ So I am so sorry to those who hate breakup songs. I will be writing songs about this particular breakup literally until I die.”
When I asked if we could expect the upcoming album to have some of these breakup songs, he nodded.
“Breakup songs will always be a part of my story. I’m at a great place in my life right now, truly, but the road to get here has been long and very, very difficult. I don’t want to just sing love songs when the breakups that I have experienced in my past are what led me to where I am now. You can expect a healthy mix of both my sickly sweet love songs and just brutal breakup songs on the album. I hope you like it!”
LOVERBOY will be available everywhere on October 23.
“Did you really have to tell the interviewer about our bet?” Shiro leaned over Lance’s shoulder to finish reading the article, and Lance rolled his eyes.
“It’s funny, Kashi. The people of the internet are going to lose their minds, and I really want to keep the hype for the album up. I think I should release a breakup song for my next single before the album comes out now that this article is out.”
From where his head was currently resting on Lance’s lap, Keith groaned, burying his face into Lance’s stomach. “Stop writing mean songs about me.”
Both Lance and Shiro chucked, and Keith let out an exasperated sigh. “Why do you never write mean songs about Shiro?” he whined, rolling over to stare up at the two of them indigently.
“I have never broken his heart before,” Shiro spoke, clearly amused by Keith’s antics. Keith squawked, and the two of them began to playfully fight on the couch while Lance looked at both of them fondly.
“Can you two stop? You know I love you both equally.” At his words, both Shiro and Keith turned around to face him. Keith smiled and wrapped his arms around Lance’s shoulders to place a kiss to his lips.
“Love you so much, baby. Sorry I dumped you while we were in space, I was out of my mind with stress and couldn’t think straight. I promise I will never dump you ever again,” Keith cooed, kissing the apples of Lance’s cheeks. Shiro groaned somewhere next to them on the couch, something that sounded suspiciously like “get a room.”
Lance pulled away from Keith, leaning over to press a kiss to Shiro’s cheek. “Love you too, Shiro. We can go away if you want us to.”
Shiro shook his head, dropping a kiss to Lance’s hair in return. “It’s okay. You know I don’t mind.”
Moving in with Shiro had been one of the best decisions Keith and Lance had ever made. After the war, and with Adam gone, Shiro had been withdrawn and Keith and Lance had needed a place to stay.
Luckily, they had found a place in Miami big enough for the three of them, close enough to Lance’s family to see them often but far enough away to not feel stifled, and with thick enough walls to make them all happy. (Lance and Keith were young and in love, okay? You couldn’t blame them, and neither of them wanted to traumatize Shiro.)
Now, their house had become a sanctuary, a hub where the six of them could be themselves with no worries about the pressure of the outside world and prying eyes. They were a family, and here, in the quiet of their home, it was easy for Lance to close his eyes, listen to Keith and Shiro start bickering in the background, and imagine that just one thing in his life was normal.
two
When Lance got home from the studio, their house was sweltering and both Shrio and Keith were lying on the master bed in silence. Lance huffed, setting his guitar in the corner before flopping on top of Keith. Keith just grunted, moving one hand up to support Lance around his waist, and on the other side of the bed, Shiro moved onto his side to face them.
"Air conditioning went out a little bit ago. How did you convince us to move with you to Miami?"
"You guys like being close to my family," Lance mumbled into Keith's neck, taking in his comforting scent. Shiro made a reluctant noise of agreement, and Keith finally stirred.
“Lance, you’re too hot, get off,” he said, and both Shiro and Lance laughed at that, and Lance lifted his head to poke at Keith’s cheek.
“I know I’m hot. But the only way I’m getting off of you is if you go fix the air conditioning.”
Shiro nodded sagely beside them. “If you don’t want Lance I can take him.” Lance perked up and quickly agreed with Shiro.
“Yeah, Keith, Shiro can take me,” Lance punctuated the statement with a shit eating grin, and Keith picked Lance up, dumping him on the bed next to Shiro before getting up.
“Can you two stop acting like children for like, five seconds? It’s too hot for this,” he grumbled, and Shiro and Lance grinned at each other again, Shiro adjusting slightly so the two of them were lying together.
“You can fix the air conditioning, Keith. Then it won’t be too hot to deal with this,” Shiro looked a bit like the cat who got the cream, putting an arm around Lance where they now both propped up against the headboard. Keith scowled, and gave Shiro the evil eye.
“Fine. But hands off my boyfriend, Shirogane. Absolutely no shenanigans or I leave you both on the streets.”
Shiro put his hands up, looking innocent, and the second Keith left the room they both devolved into uncontrollable giggles.
“You know,” Shiro began slowly once they had worn themselves out from laughing. “There’s a small section of the internet that thinks you and I are dating.”
Lance scrunched his nose briefly in consideration before sighing dramatically. “High school me would have a stroke to be in the same room as you, I think. Has Keith told you about my poster I used to have of you?” At the shake of Shiro’s head, Lance continued. “Well, it’s safe to say I used to be, like, obsessed with you. Imagine 16 year old me finding out people thought we were dating? I think I would have a heart attack.”
They both laughed at that, and Shiro rolled over to lay on his back. “It’s just so weird to me. How all of us are always in the spotlight, no matter what we do. They don’t care that Keith and I are brothers, they don’t care about any of it. I’m so tired.”
“I wish I could make them all stop,” Lance spoke softly. “It kills me that even though we are saviors of the universe we can’t stop people from getting in our personal business. I can stop being touchy with you in public so they stop saying those things, Shiro, it’s okay.”
Shiro shook his head, closing his eyes. “It’s not that. It just… makes me miss him. More than ever.”
“Oh, Shiro,” Lance leaned over to wrap his arms around Shiro’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry. You deserve to be happy more than anyone on this entire planet. It’s okay to miss him.”
Shiro didn’t say anything, but shifted to wrap his arms around Lance tighter. Lance held him for a while, and they stayed that way until the air conditioning began drifting into the room in a steady flow. When Keith came back in, they switched positions, and Lance quietly slipped away to leave Shiro and his brother alone.
Lance! @loverboylance tweeted 2 minutes ago:
I love you guys so much, but sometimes even defenders of the universe need their privacy. Please respect that! XO, L
three
“Hey Keith, are you ready--oh. Sorry, are you live right now? I can go.” Keith looked up from where he was talking quietly to his phone, and smiled over at Lance.
“Yeah, but please come save me.” Their management had been making Keith go live on Instagram at least once a month, fans complaining that they never got to see him. Keith absolutely hated it, and Lance could see why. Talking to no one for hours was something he was definitely capable of, but for Keith, who didn’t even like talking to someone, it was torture. Lance honestly hadn't meant to interrupt, but this was something that would benefit everyone involved.
From his vantage point, he could see the chat of the livestream blowing up, people going crazy about “Klance.” They still had not officially come out as a couple because they wanted to keep some semblance of privacy to themselves, but they were no longer nearly as subtle with each other as they were a year ago during Lance’s first rise to stardom. Some things never changed though--fans still went wild trying to discover the true nature of their relationship.
(Actually, it amused them both to no end to read what people said about their relationship. Lance had discovered there was over 100 fanfictions tagged “Lance McClain has a massive cock”, and he and Keith had laughed at that for hours. Afterwards, Keith had argued that he could have a massive cock, and they spent the next 20 minutes perusing online sex shops to find a strap on they both thought fit the bill.)
Lance settled next to Keith on the bed, setting down the hair brush and ties he had been holding. “I can do your hair later, if I need to. Hi, everyone,” he directed the last part to the phone camera, waving a little as the chat continued to move at a lighting speed.
“You can do it now. If you want, I can just read us questions to answer while you do it,” Keith hummed, closing his eyes as Lance took the opportunity to begin brushing Keith’s hair out. They did this little ritual every night, Lance pulling Keith’s hair into two matching braids so that it was out of the way while they slept. It held the added bonus of making Keith’s hair just slightly wavy in the mornings, and Lance could probably wax poetic for several hours about how cute that was.
Lance began to work his fingers slowly through Keith’s hair, parting the two halves as Keith opened his eyes to begin sifting through the questions.
“ILoveLance74 asked if I have heard any of the songs on the new album yet,” Keith scowled slightly as he read the question. “No, I hear them for the first time when Lance performs them at midnight on release night. I was obviously around when he wrote some of them, but I hear the finished album at the same time as the rest of all of you.”
Lance hummed, not even looking up from where he was working. “Believe it or not, Keith has truly the biggest mouth, I would not trust him to keep my songs a secret. Besides, I think there’s something special about hearing music live for the first time, and since I make the rules, that’s when Keith hears my songs.”
Keith grumbled a bit, going back to scrolling through the rapidly moving chat. “Oh, this is fun. Someone just asked what our favorite Lance songs are.”
“I can’t wait to hear what you’re going to say, mullet,” Lance laughed, tying off the first braid with a black hair tie. “To answer the question, my favorite song I’ve written is probably one off of the upcoming album, so I can’t really say. Sorry! My lips are sealed.”
Keith, after hearing his answer, grinned like a cat. “To be honest, Lance let me hear one single song off of his new album. Not the full version of course, but he played it for me on his guitar. That one is my favorite. Sorry I can’t give you a better answer!”
Lance was honestly really proud of Keith’s answer, for he knew that whatever song Keith had said, the fans would all swarm on and come up with crazy theories about how it was secretly about Keith. Actually, almost every single one of Lance’s songs was secretly about Keith, but the public didn’t need to know that.
They answered a few more questions, bantering back and forth in the warm glow of their salt lamp on their bed side table. It was hard not to be as touchy with each other as they normally were, but luckily Lance’s hands were occupied in Keith’s hair.
“Oh, Keith, read that one,” Lance asked, reaching around to place one hand on Keith’s shoulder and point at the screen with the other. Keith furrowed his brow, but dutifully began to read what was on the screen. At this point, Lance had finished with Keith’s hair, and moved to settle next to him on the bed.
“‘Keith, what would you do if you met the really terrible ex that Lance writes all of his breakup songs about?’” Keith looked at Lance with a look of horror, and Lance laughed, causing Keith to growl in the back of his throat.
“That’s enough of this. Goodnight, guys,” Keith grumbled out, and abruptly ended the live. He threw the phone somewhere behind them on the bed, and practically crawled into Lance’s lap, burying his face into Lance’s neck. Lance felt him inhale, and he figured Keith was taking in his scent.
(“The thing I am told by fan’s most often when they meet me is that I smell nice,” Lance had told an interviewer once. “I have no idea what it is. I keep myself clean and use cologne just like the next guy. But every single time I hug someone, I get told that I smell nice. What’s that all about?”)
“I’m sorry Keith,” Lance whispered, beginning to stroke small circles on the small of Keith’s back. “I was just trying to tease you. You know I’m not mad at you anymore. I never was. I love you so much.”
Lance kept whispering reassurances to Keith for several minutes until his face lifted from Lance’s shoulder. His eyes were just a little red, and Lance leaned forward to kiss him firmly.
“I just feel so fucking sorry. All the time, Lance. Every time I look at you, my chest aches with how much I love you, and how much I regret fucking up.”
“I forgave you a long time ago, love, even though there's nothing to forgive,” Lance answered simply. “I love you more than words could possibly describe. You know I only write songs about it because they sell. It’s a closed wound, one that you press healing kisses over every day.”
Keith just shook his head, curling up a little smaller in Lance’s lap. It was very rare that Keith allowed Lance to hold him, so Lance made the best of it, pressing kisses to Keith’s hair and stroking his back to help him calm down.
“Besides, we are both to blame. We had a nasty breakup because neither of us were emotionally ready. We were in the middle of a galactic war, we were stupid for even trying at first. I hurt you too, darling, and it isn’t a competition of who hurt the other more. All that matters is that we have each other now, okay? It’s not your fault.”
Keith nodded slowly and Lance stroked his hair. Lance hated how no matter what they did, no one could protect Keith (or, Lance supposed, any of them) from the never ending pressure of their fans. They lapsed into silence, and Keith buried his face into Lance’s neck until they both drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Twitter was a united front against the mysterious man that had broken Lance's heart. Lance handed Keith’s phone silently to Shiro so he wouldn’t be tempted to read the tweets as they flooded in. Whenever Keith opened his mouth to speak, Lance would kiss him to keep him quiet, and they held each other as the boat rocked violently around them.
four
VOLTRON SCANDAL!!
Early Tuesday morning, Keith Kogane, the previous Black paladin of Voltron, was seen leaving a Miami coffee shop sporting a considerably sized hickey that was poorly covered on his neck. Lance McClain, former Red Paladin and singer, was with him, sparking fire all throughout the internet. Many fans “ship” the two together, meaning they speculate that McClain and Kogane are involved romantically. Could this photo be evidence of “Klance?”
Several fans tried to speak with McClain and Kogane upon their exit from the cafe, but both declined to comment. This was flagged as unusual behavior from McClain, as he typically is very happy to meet with fans no matter the hour. However, a few weeks ago, McClain sent a message to his fans via Twitter asking for some privacy, so perhaps his reaction to the ambush outside the cafe was warranted.
Recently, fans have been focussed on unmasking the man that supposedly broke McClain’s heart. In a recent interview he revealed that just one man had caused the breakup that inspired most of his songs, and on a live stream last month Kogane had a near violent reaction at the mere mention of this unknown man.
Fans believe that this man could be the key to finding out the true nature of Kogane and McClain’s relationship. Who was he, and when was the breakup between McClain and this man? Some speculate this mysterious lover could even date back to before they went to space, perhaps even an old high school flame.
Some new discourse has now began in the fandom space. Several fans have begun to question the authenticity of the supposed relationship between Kogane and McClain, insisting that the relationship must be faked for PR purposes. They reason that, if in a true relationship, why haven’t the two officially come out? They would have all the support in the world, and this odd hesitance has made some fans begin to turn away from the two paladins.
We turn to our readers to ask what you think of the situation. What lucky man or woman gave Kogane the hickey? Are you team Klance, or do you think the whole relationship is a media stunt? Vote in the poll below! And don’t forget to comment who YOU think the man who broke Lance’s heart is!
McClain’s new album, LOVERBOY, comes out October 23.
“I think I might be sick,” Allura mumbled, and Hunk nodded vigorously from beside her.
“The audacity for them to mention that you asked for privacy and yet still come out with the article,” Hunk grumbled, passing the phone to Pidge for them to read.
“I’m stuck on the fact that they’re calling Keith and Lance’s relationship a publicity stunt,” Pidge added after a moment of skimming the article. “I mean, have you seen the way these two are with each other? How could anyone not think they are head over heels.”
“It’s terrible,” Lance said, not sure whether he wanted to laugh or to cry. “A poll? They took the time to make a poll on who gave Keith a hickey?”
“Clearly they have no shame,” added Allura. “Gossip magazines will always be like this no matter what we all do to try and keep them away from us. Who are the options on the poll, Pidge?”
“Trust me,” they spoke darkly. “You do not want to know.”
“Why did you have to give me that stupid hickey, Lance,” Keith grumbled from where he was sitting with Pidge on the couch.
“That's the thing, isn’t it,” Lance felt almost hysterical. “I should be able to give my boyfriend a damn hickey if I want to and not have to worry about gossip magazines jumping all over us. It’s not fair.”
“It’s something we all have to deal with, though. You more than anyone, Lance,” Pidge reasoned, and Lance shook his head. They had saved the whole universe. He thought that of all the people out there, they deserved the most privacy, but that would never be the case for them.
The worst part was he felt so guilty every time they talked about things like this. Lance was the most famous person in the whole universe, living out just about every dream he ever had, and here he was, complaining about everything that came with it. Who was he to have turned those fans away when all they had wanted was a picture with them? He was supposed to be a role model, a hero, and all he had done was make those girls upset. He slumped onto the couch next to Pidge and Keith, and Keith put an arm around his shoulders instinctively.
“I didn’t mean to snap, baby, I’m sorry,” Keith pressed against his neck. “I don’t care that you gave me a hickey, In fact, I asked you to do it. I’m just feeling keyed up, not mad, I swear.”
Pidge groaned out a small “gross” beside them, and Lance smiled at the familiarity of it all. “It’s fine, Keith, I was thinking about something else. You didn’t upset me, I swear.”
He felt Keith’s breath of relief, and Shiro spoke up from the kitchen where he had been working in silence for the last several minutes.
“It’s okay to be upset, Lance. I know that you’re beating yourself up right now, but you don’t owe these people anything, especially not after the way they treated you.”
“Exactly. You’ve done so much already,” Hunk added, moving over to squeeze Lance’s hand. “We all have done so much already. You just focus on getting your album out, and maybe take a social media break until that happens.”
Reluctantly, Lance told himself that Shiro and Hunk were right. The album release was coming in just two weeks, where he would play a midnight show of the whole album straight through for fans to experience for the first time. He couldn’t let himself get distracted by the gossip that was closing in on them from all sides, increasing tenfold with all of the hype surrounding LOVERBOY.
“I love you guys,” Lance whispered, holding his chin high. “Thank you. All of you have given me your unwavering support, and I couldn’t have asked for a better family.”
Hunk was the first to move in to hug Lance, and soon they ended up in a messy pile on the floor, laughing as Lance wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.
five
The second he got offstage, Lance flung himself into Keith’s arms. He was still high off the rush of performing, sweaty, glitter smeared across his cheeks and in his hair, but he was beaming.
“I’m so proud of you baby!” Keith called over the cheering in the arena behind him. “You were so beautiful up there, sounded so good.”
“Did you like it? Really?” He felt uncharacteristically shy whenever he shared new music with Keith, and hearing a whole album at once (especially one where nearly every song is about you) can feel particularly overwhelming.
“I cried so many times, L. You’re amazing. I love you so much.” Keith insisted, and their lips met in a short kiss, Lance pulling away a little out of breath. He looked over Keith’s shoulder where he knew Shiro would be, and smiled at the sight of him. Shiro just opened his arms in invitation, and Lance got a running start. Shiro caught him, spinning him around in the air.
“Lance, that was amazing. Better than I could have ever imagined,” Shiro smiled at him, and Lance giggled.
“I hope it was worth the wait!” Both of them rolled their eyes, but Keith squeezed Lance’s hand once more before moving out of the way. Lance squealed in excitement, practically throwing himself at Hunk and Allura.
The two of them talked over each other in excitement and praises, and Lance felt his insides warm slowly, filling his stomach with liquid joy.
“Thank you all so much for being here. I cannot express how much it means to me that you came to my debut.”
“We would do anything for you,” Hunk insisted, hugging Lance tightly from behind, resting his chin on Lance’s shoulder. “We love you, and we are so, so proud of you. Even though hearing you sing love songs about Keith can get old pretty quickly.”
Both Lance and Keith called out in annoyance, causing their friends to laugh around them. Hunk flicked Lance’s ear, squeezing his waist once in apology.
“You know I’m kidding, Lance. It was so wonderful. You’re wonderful. I cannot wait to listen to the album again and again and again.”
“I guess it was alright,” Pidge’s voice came from behind them, but Lance could tell that they were smiling.
“Come here, you,” Lance yelled, pulling Pidge into his arms, ignoring all of their protests. Keith finally pulled the two of them apart (the traitor, taking Pidge’s side as always) and Keith wrapped his arms around Lance’s waist instead.
It was at that moment when things went to shit.
Commotion erupted next to them, and Lance looked over to where the noise was coming from, and to his surprise, two teenage girls walked into the private area.
“Oh my god, it’s really Lance,” one of them cried out, and both girls ran over to where he was standing. Lance took a step back, unsure of what to do, and Keith let go of Lance’s waist to step forward slightly.
“How did you get back here,” Keith spoke lowly, clearly trying to keep the growl out of his voice. The girls chose to ignore him, instead coming to a stop in front of Lance.
“We are like, your biggest fans,” the shorter of the two spoke. “The album was so amazing. How much of it was about Keith? Can we get a picture with you? Are you and Keith really dating?”
“Yes, please let us get a picture,” the other one piped in. “We came all this way to see you, please let us take a picture with you and Keith?”
Lance laughed a little nervously, steadfastly not turning towards Keith like every inch of his body screamed to. “Listen, I’m sure you both are really cool, and thank you so much for supporting me by coming to my show, but you really aren’t supposed to be back here, okay? I have to ask you to leave.”
They began to protest, begging for answers to their question, but Lance just shook his head again. “Shiro,” he whispered, and immediately Shiro moved from his side, gently leading the two girls out from backstage. Lance listened to their low conversation about boundaries as they walked away, and once they were out of sight, Keith was on Lance, gripping his wrists in panic.
“Sweetheart, are you okay? That wasn’t supposed to happen, I’ll talk to the security guards right now, this won’t happen again. Lance, talk to me.”
Shaking his head, Lance pulled away. “I just want to go home,” he whispered, and Allura moved forward to rub his back.
“It’s your night, Lance. Are you sure? We can still celebrate like we planned to if you want,” she spoke quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. “Don’t let them get in your head.”
Lance just felt so tired. He couldn’t even enjoy one night with his friends without someone coming in and crashing through the thin walls of privacy that they had built up, questioning his relationship with Keith, treating him like some trophy instead of a person. He took a deep breath, reminding himself that performing was what he really, really loved to do. The high he had experienced on the stage performing his album was unreal, and as long as he could keep doing that, with his people beside him, he would be fine.
“You know what, you’re right,” he pulled away from Allura, smiling back at her. “I’m a goddamn pop star. We are the most famous people in the galaxy because we saved the whole sticking universe. Let’s fucking celebrate!”
Allura pressed a kiss to his cheek in victory, and Lance let Hunk lead him away from the stage, the taste of love for his family thick on his tongue.
***
plus one
New post from Lance McClain!
Pictured: Lance holding hands with someone, gorgeous engagement ring on his finger. However, all of the world holds their breath as they begin to read the caption.
the thought of marriage has always, to me, been a distant one. at first, because i couldn’t ever imagine myself being tied down. then, even once i met my soulmate, it was because we were in the middle of a galactic war. both of us stumbled, hurting each other so much i feared that we would never recover. do you want to know a secret? the man that broke my heart the worst, the man that has caused the most damage to my heart is the one who just got down on one knee. we have been through so much trife together that if you asked me years ago i never could have imagined marriage was in store for us. i have always wanted to get married someday, but it just seemed so far into my future. i love my keith deeply, and after getting back together after the war i knew that i wanted to, and will, spend the rest of my life with him. i have never felt a great need to have some formal slip of paper that binds us together when my heart and the song inside my soul is already littered with the affections he has for me. but last night, as keith explained what marriage meant to him, i finally understood. its more than just a ceremony, or a piece of paper. its a vow. its a promise, written and spoken, to be there with the one you love for the rest of your life no matter what. the universe decided we are soulmates, made for each other in every aspect, and now, by getting married, we are choosing to accept what the universe has graciously gifted us. we were already a family, but once we are married the rest of the world will see us as one too. last night, in tears as keith slipped the ring onto my finger, i was plunged head first with no warning into the feeling of being engaged.
it feels like falling in love all over again, and it feels like belonging. it feels like magic. i said yes!
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Voltron Romance Confirmed!
Early Saturday, international pop star Lance McClain posted a picture of his beautiful engagement ring along with an equally stunning caption explaining his reservations about marriage and how ultimately Keith Kogane, Voltron’s Black paladin, stole his heart. Fans have suspected a romance between the two since McClain’s career began after their triumphant return to Earth, and with the announcement much of the internet has been celebrating.
However, in his caption, McClain also confirmed something fans were not as excited to hear: Kogane had, in fact, broken his heart before, and this break up inspired many of our favorite breakup songs.
Klance fans have no need to worry though. The two have clearly kissed and made up, and their romance is going strong.
In an additional Twitter post, McClain apologized to fans for not being clear about the nature of their relationship earlier. He asked fans to forgive them and understand that being in the spotlight was hard for them, and they wished to keep just one thing private and to themselves.
Do you agree with their decision to keep their relationship under wraps? Were you a Klance believer or a Klance skeptic? Let us know in the comments!
One thing is for certain, we are all looking forward to what McClain will be wearing at his wedding! Congrats to the happy couple, we wish you all the best.