Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Keith isn’t one to admit when he’s insecure. Being insecure is easy when you’re alone. Keith knows he shouldn’t worry what people think about him, but he’s only human… or mostly human. That’s sort of what started all of this. Finding out he was part Galra, part enemy, really made him think about every little he does. The rest of the team doesn’t know, but he still finds himself over-analyzing everything. So yeah, maybe Keith has revamped his childhood anxiety and insecurity, but things could be worse, right?

–

“Keith!” Lance says, basically prancing over to him.

Keith turns his head slowly and brings lazy eyes up to meet Lance’s.

“Hi,” Keith says, closing the sketchbook he had in his lap.

Lance plops down next to him, seemingly oblivious to Keith’s desire to be alone. He doesn’t say anything, he just sits, playing with the laces of his shoes. Keith isn’t sure what to do with himself, he’s not entirely used to having people in close quarters with him. He knows Lance is a family guy, that he likes physical touch and quality time… but Keith is normally left out of that. Lance knows Keith gets all awkward and Keith appreciates it, but right now? Yeah, Keith has no clue what’s going on.

“So…” Keith says, sick of the silence.

“Pidge and Hunk are on that mission, Shiro and Allura are doing some diplomatic stuff and Coran is making some really stinky medicine,” Lance says.

Keith just looks at him. That wasn’t exactly the type of explanation he was looking for. It was actually not an explanation at all.

“That’s cool,” Keith says.

Way to play it cool Keith. He wonders how often Lance thinks about Keith’s lack of social awareness. Lance can make a witty joke at any moment, can strike up a conversation with anyone. Keith… he can’t really do any of that.

“What that means is that I don’t feel like being alone,” Lance says, “you can keep doing whatever you were doing, I’m just happy to be in the same room as someone.”

Keith feels something strange in his chest at Lance’s words. He’s never really understood Lance’s desire to be around people, but if there’s no one else around, he guesses he can deal with Lance’s presence for now.

“Can you- nevermind,” Keith starts.

It’s probably better for him not to start a conversation right now. Lance gave him the opportunity to continue in silence, he should take it.

“Ughhh, I was gonna be fine to sit in silence, but you can’t do that to a man,” Lance says desperately, “you know how much the word nevermind annoys me.”

“Perfect,” Keith says.

“Oh no, we are not doing the whole rival thing right now,” Lance says, “you can hate me all you want, but you’re going to tell me what you were going to say.”

“And if I don’t?” Keith says.

If there’s one thing that Keith is good at, it’s annoying Lance. He feels at ease when they tease each other like this, when they bicker like they don’t have the fate of the universe in their hands.

“Then I’ll look at your little diary there,” Lance says, nodding to the book in Keith’s lap.

Keith hugs it to his chest and glares at Lance with squinted eyes.

“First of all, it’s not a diary, second of all, no,” Keith says, “like you could even get your hands on it.”

“Is that a challenge?” Lance asks.

Keith is thankful for the distraction from his words. Asking Lance his question would have been more than embarrassing, and competition is an easy way to get out of things with Lance.

“Is it a challenge if you have no chance of winning?” Keith asks, smirking slightly.

Lance doesn’t hesitate to pounce on Keith, trying to knock the book out with his left arm. Keith, who knows Lance’s behavior by now, easily dodges out of the way, sliding the book behind his back. Lance scowls, standing up to use his height to his advantage. The whole two inches he has on Keith.

“Nice try,” Keith says, flashing a smile.

Lance’s face suddenly becomes neutral and he lets his shoulders relax. Keith scrunches his eyebrows in confusion, and suddenly Lance is pointing at Keith’s mouth.

“Do that again,” Lance says.

“Do what?” Keith asks.

“Smile,” Lance says, “I need to see something.”

Keith tilts his head, a slight flush creeping up his neck. Keith doesn’t smile often, and when he does, it’s normally because he’s mocking Lance. Lance is just looking at him, hardly blinking as he waits for Keith to comply. Keith hesitantly smiles, showing his teeth to Lance.

“I knew I wasn’t going crazy,” Lance says, “your canines are like, unusually fang like.”

Keith sucks in a breath, immediately closing his mouth. Ever since he found out about his Galra background, Keith has noticed small changes in himself. It’s likely the weird second puberty that the Galra in him is having. He was hoping no one would notice, but of course Lance is the first one to point anything out.

“I’m pretty sure they’re the same as always,” Keith mumbles.

“I swear they’re sharper,” Lance says, “they look different.”

Keith ducks his head with embarrassment, not wanting to expose the secret he’s been trying so hard to keep.

“You’re just not used to seeing my teeth,” Keith says with a shrug.

“No, I’m not crazy,” Lance says, crossing his arms.

“What about that question I didn’t ask earlier,” Keith offers.

Keith really didn’t want to bring it back to that, but he’d rather talk about anything else than his teeth right now.

“Sit down and ask your question,” Lance says, sitting down before he can finish the sentence.

Keith lets out a breath of relief and slides down the wall to sit next to Lance. He sets the book down next to him and leans his head back, closing his eyes.

“I was just wondering if you could explain what it’s like,” Keith says, “ya know, the desire to be around people, even just in the same room as them.”

He can tell Lance is smiling next to him and it makes the flush climb up his neck again. It’s an embarrassing thing to ask, but he genuinely wants to understand it. Lance doesn’t answer for a while, and Keith didn’t expect him to, but for some reason, this silence isn’t unsettling this time. He lets his eyes open and when he looks over, Lance is already looking at him.

“What?” Keith asks.

“I just- that’s not what I expected,” Lance says, “I’ll answer, I just… need to find the words for it.”

Keith nods and smiles softly, looking down at his legs crossed below him. After another moment of silence, Lance takes a breath and folds his hands in his lap.

“For me, it’s like… being alone sometimes just feels cold, feels like something is missing,” Lance says, “when someone else is around, everything is warmer and my mind just… relaxes.”

Keith takes the words and lets them sink into his mind. He tries to understand it, he really does, but something just isn’t clicking for him. Being around people doesn’t instantly relax him like that. He’s honestly jealous Lance has such an easy outlet to find peace.

“I know it’s probably hard to understand, but just knowing that if you wanted to, you could talk to them or hug them… it’s reassuring,” Lance says, “it’s reassuring to know I’m not alone.”

Keith really thinks this time, trying his best to understand Lance. He wants to understand him. As he’s thinking, he realizes that Lance’s presence next to him is comforting. Maybe he doesn’t fully get it yet, but he thinks he might be able to learn not to be alone.

“That’s sweet,” Keith says, dropping his head to look at his anxious hands.

Lance breathes softly next to him, and Keith swears he can almost hear his heart beating in the silence.

“What’s your love language?” Lance asks.

The question catches Keith off guard. It’s not something he’s ever really thought of. He thinks about the team and how they show their care and affection, sure, but never really himself. Pidge is like Lance, she likes other people in the room. Hunk is obviously a physical touch guy, which… so is Lance. And Shiro likes quality time and so does Lance and- wow Lance must be a really loving guy. Keith has never really realized just how much care Lance has for the team. The more he thinks, the more he wonders if it’s just Lance adapting to everyone else's love languages to help them out. His heart swells slightly.

“I uh- I’m not sure,” Keith admits, wanting to cave in on himself.

He did not expect to be having this conversation today. He was expecting to be alone in his little area until it was time to sleep. He feels Lance’s eyes on him, but he can’t look up at him, it’s too vulnerable. He takes a breath when Lance doesn’t say anything.

“I’ve just never really thought about it much,” Keith shrugs, “I spent so long alone that I just… never had a reason to consider that, I guess.”

Lance reaches out and grabs Keith’s wrist. Keith looks up at him in confusion and the wind is nearly knocked out of him from the look on Lance’s face. His eyes are so genuine and sincere that it hurts his chest. He didn’t want this to be a pity party, he never wants that when he talks about his past.

“Keith, that’s not acceptable,” Lance says, still holding his wrist.

“What do you mean?” Keith asks softly, skin burning under the contact.

“We’re going to find out what your love language is,” Lance says, “there’s touch, quality time, words of affirmation, gift giving and acts of service.”

Keith cocks an eyebrow at Lance who finally lets go of Keith’s wrist so he can speak animatedly with his hands.

“What I’m saying is that for the next five days, I’m going to subject you to a love language,” Lance says, “at the end, you’ll know which one is your favourite.”

“And how are you going to subject me to gift giving?” Keith says, “I’m the one who would be giving the gifts.”

Lance worries his bottom lip and stops his hands from moving. Lance clearly hadn’t put all that much thought into his plan. That is one thing Keith can admire about Lance, he really does everything with his heart, with love.

“I mean, you sort of already do that,” Lance says with a shrug, “you always have little things for everyone.”

Keith huffs, but he can’t deny it. Just the other day he gave Lance a small rock from a planet they were on. He doesn’t exactly know why, but it was blue and sparkly and made him think of Lance.

“Look, I’ll let you know each day in the morning what one we’re testing,” Lance says, “we’ll discuss what that entails when we get there.”

“Wow, you sound so proper and official,” Keith says.

“This is serious business,” Lance says, crossing his arms.

Keith nods firmly and places his hand on the book next to him. He’s honestly glad Lance wasn’t successful at taking it. Everyone else in the castle knows he likes to draw now and then, but recently, he’s been drawing Galra anatomy and writing notes on how small parts of his body and mind are showing Galra tendencies. Those pages would be a bit hard to explain.

“So when are we starting this?” Keith asks.

In all honesty, he doesn’t think anything will come of this conversation. They’ll both go to sleep and wake up completely forgetting about Lance’s silly plan. Keith can survive just fine without knowing his love language.

“Tomorrow,” Lance decides, “I’ll let you know which one it is at breakfast.”

Keith sighs. Maybe Lance isn’t going to forget about this one so easily.

Chapter Text

When he wakes up that morning, Keith half expects Lance to be looking over him, announcing the plan for the day. Thankfully, when he opens his eyes, he sees nothing but his empty ceiling and he can’t feel any presence next to him. Maybe he was lucky enough for Lance to forget about his plan. He gets himself ready and heads out to the kitchen to join the others for breakfast. When he gets there, everyone is around the table except for Lance.

“Morning,” Hunk says brightly, “want some pancakes?”

Keith looks down at the plate Hunk is holding. The ‘pancakes’ are a deep purple, but there is a sweet smell wafting off of them. He shifts his eyes up hesitantly, but when he sees the look in Hunk’s eyes, he can’t bring himself to push them away.

“Sure,” Keith says.

When he sits down, Pidge eyes him curiously, and he tries not to squirm under her gaze. For such a small person, she can be really terrifying. Keith starts eating, and Lance still doesn’t show up. It makes a strange feeling pool in Keith’s stomach. A mixture of anticipation, worry and annoyance curls around his insides and he suddenly can’t sit still.

“Hunk, can you pass me that plate?” Keith says.

Hunk looks at him, then down at his unfinished plate, but ultimately shrugs and slides the plate over to him. Keith takes one last bite of his food, then stands, avoiding Shiro’s gaze as he walks away with the full plate. He makes the familiar walk back to his room and stops at the door across from his own. Lance normally locks it at night, so he knocks softly. The door glides open and Keith is met with Lance sitting just behind the door, reading some Altean comic.

“Keith!” Lance says, closing the book.

Keith tilts his head in confusion as Lance stands up and takes the plate like he’d been expecting it.

“Is everything okay?” Keith asks, “you never miss breakfast.”

Lance’s face softens and he motions for Keith to follow him into his room. Keith walks in, hearing the door close behind him. It’s been a while since he’s been in Lance’s room, and everything about it is just so… Lance. All the walls are decorated with things from different planets as well as some of Pidge’s old blueprints and even some of Keith’s drawings. The air seems warmer in his room and it smells so strongly of Lance it almost makes Keith dizzy.

“Thanks for bringing me food,” Lance says.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Keith says, awkwardly standing in place.

“Today is acts of service,” Lance says, “you’re starting off strong.”

Keith feels himself flush slightly and he curses internally at the way it makes his ears perk up. His mullet has done well enough to hide the slight point his ears have come to take, but now he’s sure Lance can see them. Lance seems to notice, but if he does, he doesn’t say anything, he just starts to casually eat the pancakes.

“Oh,” is all Keith can manage in response.

He’s never really thought about it, not at all, but he does like to show his support to his team through actions, it’s a lot easier than words.

“So, here’s what I’m thinking,” Lance says, “we both do nice things for each other today. You know, like, doing each other’s chores or stuff like this.”

He wiggles the plate a bit and the way the odd pancakes jiggle make Keith smile softly.

“Okay,” Keith says, “I guess that makes sense.”

“And you don’t have to say anything at the end of the day or anything,” Lance says, “just keep track of what you like and don’t like. This isn’t for my benefit after all.”

Keith wonders why Lance would be doing it if it wasn’t. But he thinks about Lance, about everything he knows about Lance and one thing he knows for sure is that Lance is far from selfish, sometimes dangerously. Keith should consider thinking more, there’s a lot about his team that he doesn’t really appreciate quite enough.

“I’m uh- I’m going to train in a bit if you want to join me,” Keith says, clearing his throat.

Lance grins and nods, mouth too full to say anything in response.

“I’ll see you later then,” Keith says, taking one last look at the drawings Lance has on his walls.

Keith feels the flush creep up higher on his neck. The drawings Lance has up are of all his teammates. There’s an empty spot right in the middle, and Keith can’t help but wonder if Lance is waiting for Keith to draw himself so he can put it there. Keith shakes his head. He shouldn’t be thinking like that, Lance surely doesn’t care about that, it’s probably just a gap for aesthetic purposes. Keith tries not to think at all as the warm water of the shower runs over him that morning.

–

Keith trains for a while, working up a sweat as he increasingly ups the difficulty of the simulators. He stops after a particularly hard round and leans against the wall, wiping a thick layer of sweat from his forehead.

“Am I too late to join you?” Lance asks.

Keith startles slightly at his voice, but he quickly reaches up to catch the water Lance is throwing at him. He takes it gratefully and watches as Lance approaches him.

“I was just getting started,” Keith says, “did you wanna spar?”

“I could work on my close combat,” Lance says with a shrug.

Lance slides his jacket off and Keith has to admit, fighting aliens in space has done Lance’s body well. Keith rips his eyes away and picks his bayard back up. When he turns around, Lance has a grin on his face.

“What?” Keith asks.

“Nothing,” Lance says, “just keeping track of things.”

Keith tilts his head and studies Lance’s face. He’s not sure what exactly Lance could be keeping track of. He then remembers Lance’s stupid mission for the week.

“I don’t get it,” Keith says honestly.

“You brought me my breakfast, I brought you water, you offered to spar,” Lance says, “it seems natural.”

Keith nods his head, unsure of what to say. Maybe it is natural. He doesn’t get much more time to think before Lance is standing a foot away from him, swinging at his chest. Keith catches the punch easily and smirks. Sure, Lance has gotten a lot better at combat, but so has Keith. They go at it for a while, mostly Keith trying to guide Lance into better attacks. Keith feels light on his feet, like he’s truly in his element. He knows he likes to fight, likes to take down the enemy and show his strength, but something about sparring with Lance? Sure, he likes to spar with Shiro, but it’s different with Lance. Lance is interested, he wants to get better and Keith is able to help him. They stop after a while when Lance yells for a water break. He sits down against the wall and Keith can’t help but sit down next to him.

“You’re getting better,” Keith says, voice softer than he meant for it to be.

Lance turns his head to smile at Keith and it makes his skin tingle slightly.

“You’re a good teacher,” Lance says, “we should spar more often.”

Keith hums an agreement, idly playing with his own fingers.

“You think you could teach me how to shoot?” Keith asks, “I’m fine when I’m in Red, but- I could use some help.”

Keith mentally curses for letting the words leave his mouth. The last thing he wants to be is a burden. But when he looks at Lance and sees his entire face lit up with joy, he can’t help but push the thoughts away. Lance is always selfless.

“I think those are the best words you’ve ever said,” Lance says, jumping to his feet, “come on, I’ll make you the second best sharp shooter around.”

–

By the end of the day, Keith is exhausted. Him and Lance trained for hours and then they got a surprise attack from the Galra and then Hunk was in a healing pod and then Keith had to help Shiro with his robot arm. Safe to say, Keith is ready to sleep for once, so he walks with his head down to his room, hoping to avoid everyone. He’s just about to reach his room, but he spots Lance sitting by one of the large windows, moving his shoulder in circular motions. Keith walks over to him slowly and stops just a foot or so away.

“Oh hey,” Lance says, stopping his movements.

Keith sits down next to him. His exhaustion can wait for a bit.

“Is your arm okay?” Keith asks.

Lance smiles and leans slightly to bump their shoulders.

“I think I pulled a muscle or something,” Lance admits.

“Why didn’t you tell Coran?” Keith says, “you could have gone in a pod for a bit.”

Lance just shakes his head and Keith notices a shiver run over him.

“I can’t stand the pods,” Lance says, “I know it sounds stupid, but sometimes I want to hurt and heal normally just to feel… normal. Everything here is so insane, I just want to feel more at home sometimes.”

Keith smiles softly. Lance has such a soft tone when he talks about home and it makes Keith almost jealous. He wishes he had a home to think of that way. Before he can stop himself, Keith is talking. He needs to get a filter.

“Want me to massage your shoulder?” Keith asks.

He curls in on himself when the words leave his mouth. Why did he have to ask that? He feels awkward and he wants to crawl out of his own skin. He’s about to stand up and walk away, but Lance takes a breath and turns to look at Keith.

“Yeah,” Lance says softly, “I’d like that.”

Keith feels a huge wave of relief and he’s more than glad when Lance turns his back to him. He’s sure his face is a gross colour of red. Keith can’t say he has a huge amount of experience with massaging injuries, but from dealing with his own muscle strains, he thinks he can do well enough. The atmosphere is calm and Keith easily finds a groove, working carefully to relax the muscles in Lance’s shoulder.

“You’re good at this,” Lance hums.

Keith looks over his shoulder at the window and he can see Lance in the reflection. His eyes are closed and there’s a soft smile on his face. It makes Keith’s heart flutter.

“Yeah?” Keith says, “I honestly don’t know what I’m doing.”

Lance chuckles and gently turns to face Keith.

“Your turn,” Lance says.

“What?” Keith says, eyes wide.

“I know your shoulders are tense, let me help,” Lance says softly.

Keith can’t say no, not when Lance is looking at him like that, like Keith is the only person in the world. Keith switches spots with Lance and tries to settle his hands somewhere in his lap where they don’t feel awkward. Lance starts by gently placing his hands on both of Keith’s shoulders, not yet putting too much pressure.

“Wow, you need to relax,” Lance says, “are you not sore?”

Keith shrugs, feeling Lance’s hands move with his shoulders. He’s never really thought much about his shoulders and neck being sore. He’s normally hurting somewhere else from training so much that he doesn’t pay attention to that.

“I guess I don’t pay attention to it,” Keith says, voice still soft.

Lance starts to gently massage Keith’s shoulders and Keith’s entire body immediately fills with tingles. He closes his eyes and lets himself relax into Lance’s hands. Normally, he would feel more awkward at the touch, feel out of place and uncomfortable. But he’s tired and it’s Lance and it feels so nice. As Lance continues to work his hands into the knots in his shoulders, Keith relaxes further. He’s sure he can stay awake, but then Lance’s hands start to be lighter and softer and he feels sleep caving in on his mind.

“Lance?” he whispers.

“Mhm,” Lance hums.

“M’ gonna fall asleep,” Keith says, stifling a yawn.

He feels so weird and pliable right now, it’s sort of intimidating. Lance could easily squeeze any secret out of him, could make him say anything he wanted.

“Your room is right there,” Lance says, “think you’ll make it?”

“Is your shoulder okay?” Keith asks, turning to face Lance.

“I’ll be okay,” Lance promises, “come on.”

He stands up and extends a hand to Keith. He takes it and stands up, once again stifling a yawn.

“I honestly don’t know how you’re still standing,” Lance says, “you were training for a while before I joined you.”

“I don’t know,” Keith admits, “I was about to sleep but I saw you.”

Lance smiles softly and pushes Keith softly towards his room.

“Thanks,” Lance mumbles, “day one was a success.”

“Yeah, I guess it was,” Keith says with a smile.

Chapter Text

When Keith wakes up, his entire body is warm and he has to force himself to open his eyes. After yesterday, Keith sort of misses his little home in the desert. Everything is pretty hectic on the castleship and it sometimes makes him miss the slow days searching for any sign of what he has now discovered was the blue lion. Yesterday was acts of service, Keith has no clue what Lance is going to do today. As much as he was reluctant to do this whole love language thing, Keith is sort of looking forward to it. He gets ready and heads down to join everyone else for breakfast, hiding his smile when he spots Lance there.

“Morning mullet,” Lance says.

Keith nods and sits down, taking the bowl of food goo that Coran slides to him.

“I know yesterday was a lot,” Shiro says, “so Allura and I went and found a nearby planet for us to have a sort of vacation on.”

Pidge perks up at that, adjusting her glasses as they slip down her nose.

“What kind of civilization do they have?” she asks curiously.

“Their most intelligent life form is similar to what Shiro calls crows from earth,” Allura says, “it’s a small planet with plenty of beaches.”

Lance nearly drops his spoon into his food, smiling around the green goo in his mouth.

“Beaches?” he says, a small chunk of goo flying from his mouth.

“Ew dude,” Hunk says, wiping it off of his chest.

Lance smiles sheepishly and swallows his food, all of his attention back to Allura.

“Beach?” Lance says.

“Yes,” Allura replies, “based on what we know, they are somewhat similar to those on earth.”

Keith hasn’t seen Lance this excited in a long time. He’s glad the team is getting a break, they deserve it.

“How long until we’re there?” Keith asks.

Sure he needs a break too, but he would also like to train before they relax for the day.

“About a varga,” Allura says.

“We’ll call you guys down when we get there,” Shiro says, “please take this day to rest, it’s been a long time since we’ve had the chance.”

They all nod and fall into easy conversation as they eat their breakfast. Keith can’t help but glance at Lance’s excited expression every now and then. When they’re done eating, Keith heads towards the training room, but he slows his pace when he hears footsteps behind him.

“Keith!” Lance says, “you’re training right?”

Keith turns to look at him, chuckling a bit when he sees some food goo has somehow made it to Lance’s forehead. He absently reaches out to wipe it off, ignoring the confused look on Lance’s face.

“How did you get food goo on your forehead?” Keith asks.

“That just means I was enjoying my food,” Lance huffs, “now answer my question.”

“Yes, I am training,” Keith says, “did you want to join.”

“Yeah, I’ll meet you in there in a second, I have to grab something,” Lance says.

He jogs past Keith towards his bedroom. Keith just shrugs to himself and makes his way into the room. He doesn’t want to start anything up until Lance gets there, so he just paces around the room, stretching out his arms. Soon after, Lance comes into the room with his hands behind his back. Keith eyes him suspiciously, raising an eyebrow when Lance stops in front of him.

“What are you hiding?” Keith asks.

Lance smiles and wobbles on his feet slightly. Keith has to admit, Lance’s shyness is sort of adorable.

“Close your eyes and put out your hands,” Lance says.

Keith squints at him for a second before he gives in with a sigh. He tucks his bayard into his belt and extends his hands, eyes closed softly. He feels leather dropped into his hands, but he doesn’t open his eyes until Lance tells him to. He looks down and feels that stupid blush creep up his neck and ears.

“I uh- I noticed that your gloves have gotten a bit beat up,” Lance says hesitantly, “I saw these when I went to that space mall with Coran a couple weeks ago.”

Keith smiles and gets a proper look at them. They’re eerily similar to his own, but these one’s have a red stripe going down the sides. He looks at his own and only really notices then how bad they’ve gotten. His nails have started to grow stronger and sharper and he has a tendency to scratch at his gloves when they’re in meetings.

“Thanks,” Keith says.

“Day two is gift giving,” Lance says, still seemingly nervous, “thought I would start things off.”

Keith doesn’t know what to say. He just slips his own gloves off and slides the news ones on.

“You’re still a dork for wearing fingerless gloves,” Lance says.

“I know you think they’re cool,” Keith says with a grin.

“Pidge was lying, I never said that!” Lance exclaims.

“Come on, we don’t have much time to train before we get to that planet,” Keith says.

Lance nods and they quickly begin to spar.

–

“Okay, I trust you guys not to get lost while we’re here, the planet is relatively small,” Shiro says, “that being said, buddy system. Although we’re fairly certain we’re safe here, the Galra have been a step ahead of us before.”

“Now that dad is done talking, can we have fun?” Lance asks.

“Lance, I cannot stress this enough, buddy system,” Shiro says.

Lance glances around him and Keith feels his eyes settle on him. Lance grabs Keith’s arm and raises it with his.

“Buddy,” Lance exclaims.

“Can Hunk and I go look at that tree that’s glowing?” Pidge asks.

“Just don’t cause any harm or disruption to the ecosystem,” Allura says.

“Of course not,” Hunk says.

Soon enough, everyone is wandering off in their own directions, clearly all having different ideas of what a vacation is. Keith reluctantly follows Lance into the sunniest part of the beach. One thing Keith doesn’t like is the sun, especially now that his eyes are starting to take after his Galra genes. He much prefers the dark. Regardless, he was just planning to sit under a tree and brood, it’s probably better that someone is watching Lance. Knowing him, he would somehow get lost in the weird purple water cause he saw something similar to a fish.

“Why did you pick me as a buddy,” Keith says, “I hate the sun.”

“Because… you were the closest to me,” Lance offers.

Keith frowns and looks out at the water. The sand like ground at his feet sort of reminds him of his shack in the desert, and he tries to focus on that feeling. Tries to miss what was considered his home.

“Honestly, I just wanted to relax and sit by the water,” Lance says, “I knew you were the best choice for that.”

“Are you calling me boring?” Keith asks, crossing his arms.

Lance truly thinks about the comment and it makes Keith’s skin crawl. He was making a sarcastic joke and Lance looks like he’s trying to solve some riddle.

“No, not at all,” Lance says, “you just- despite your badass emo thing you have going, you have something calm about you. I like it.”

Lance shrugs and lays down a blanket he brought from the castle. He sits on it and motions for Keith to do the same. Keith hesitates, but ultimately sits down, enjoying the warmth the ground sends through him.

“So,” Keith says, “does this remind you of home?”

Lance takes a deep breath, leaning back on his hands as his eyes flutter shut.

“It definitely does, but it’s not the same,” Lance says, “it’s a weird sort of feeling, almost like when you get nausea on a rollercoaster.”

Keith doesn’t understand what he means at all, but he wants to. He normally wouldn’t prod, but it’s not like they have much else to do.

“What do you mean?” Keith asks.

“Well, it’s like, you’re having a lot of fun and your adrenaline is pumping, but you also feel sick and scared,” Lance says, “like if you were in a fight you know you’re unlikely to win, but you know you have to”

Keith gets it. He knows the feeling Lance is talking about. It’s a weird mix of emotions and Keith wishes he could help Lance feel just the good parts. He wishes he could understand what it’s like to miss home. To have a home to miss.

“Is there… how can I make it more of the fun and less of the nausea?” Keith asks.

Lance chuckles and turns to look at Keith.

“I think you being here helps,” Lance says honestly, “you guys are my new family. It’s like I have a piece of both of my homes in the same place.”

Keith’s heart flutters. He’s spent more time with Lance these past two days than he normally does. He never realized how well they get along when they’re not arguing. How much he enjoys Lance’s company. They’re quiet for a while after that. Lance just sits there, seemingly content just to listen to the water climb up and down the shore. Keith isn’t used to the calmness, but for Lance’s sake, he stays still, trying to distract himself with his own hands.

“Hey Keith?” Lance says softly.

“Yeah?” Keith replies.

“Allura said the water is safe, right?” Lance asks.

Keith looks out at the purple water and it makes him shiver. It moves and acts the way the ocean on earth does, but something about it is off putting.

“I think so,” Keith says.

“Come swim with me,” Lance says, eyes twinkling.

“Maybe I’ll stand at the edge for a bit,” Keith says, “make sure you’re okay in the water first.”

Lance smiles and pulls Keith to stand up with him. Keith huffs in surprise, but he follows Lance when he starts walking towards the water.

“If some giant alien attacks me, will you be my knight in shining armour?” Lance asks, shrugging out of his shirt.

Keith shrugs indifferently and Lance gasps, slapping a hand to his heart.

“Go in,” Keith says.

Lance complies and slowly walks into the water. Keith can hear him giggling, and the pure joy in his laughter makes Keith smile. Lance wads in and moves around the water like it’s where he’s meant to be. He looks so natural, so… beautiful. Keith has never really thought of Lance that way, but with his tan skin sparkling under the planet's sun, he’s mesmerizing. He only hears Shiro approaching him when he’s a few steps behind.

“Why aren’t you in there?” Shiro asks. ‘

Keith sucks in a breath and peels his eyes away from Lance. It takes a surprising amount of effort.

“I wanted to make sure it was safe,” Keith says.

“That’s sweet,” Shiro says, “Lance looks happy.”

“Yeah,” Keith says breathily, bringing his eyes back to Lance.

“Go in with him,” Shiro says, “I think he would really like the company.”

Keith looks at Shiro who gives him a reassuring nod.

“And where’s your buddy?” Keith asks, raising an eyebrow.

Shiro nods behind them and Keith spots Allura squatting down next to some squirrel-like creature. He smiles and turns back to Shiro. He reluctantly takes off his shirt and gloves and starts walking to the water. Immediately when Lance notices him, a grin spreads across his face. Keith almost doesn’t notice how cold the water is when their eyes meet.

“Keith, you gotta get over here,” Lance says, “the ground is so soft!”

Keith makes his way to Lance and lets the soft terrain flow through his toes. Compared to the cold metal of the castle, the ground feels heavenly. When he’s only a couple feet away from Lance, he feels a splash.

“Hey!” Keith says, “I will not hesitate to get out.”

Lance stops his next splash at that and carefully walks over to Keith. They’re nearly at chest level in the water, and Keith has to admit, it feels really nice. He can’t think of the last time he’s actually gone swimming.

“If you get my hair wet, I might kill you,” Keith says.

“Here,” Lance says, gliding past Keith to settle behind him.

Before he knows it, Lance is pulling his hair into a small ponytail, somehow securing it before coming around to face Keith. He reaches up and pulls a strand of hair out from the right side of his forehead.

“You should put your hair up more often,” Lance says, “looks good like this.”

Keith chokes on his breath and brings his dry hand up to feel his hair. Lance did a surprisingly good job of tying it up.

“Where did you get an elastic?” Keith asks.

“I found it in the pocket of the pants I was wearing when he found Blue,” Lance says, “I kept it as a sort of reminder of home, but you need it more than me.”

Keith smiles and he’s well aware of just how red he is. He really needs to get a hold of himself. There’s no reason for him to feel all shy around Lance. For the next while, they both just float around, splashing lightly at each other every now and then. Keith finds himself hitting rocks with his feet, picking them up and inspecting them. The ones he likes enough, he shoves into the pocket of his shorts. Eventually, they come back to the same spot and Lance looks the happiest he’s been in a while. Keith is about to show him the rocks, but suddenly arms are around him and he’s spinning in circles.

“Lance!” Keith says, but he realizes he’s laughing.

Lance sets him down and gives him the brightest smile.

“I’m just so happy right now,” Lance says, “sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Keith says, “I’m glad you are.”

“Are you having fun?” Lance asks.

“Yeah,” Keith says, “it’s actually really nice. It’s been awhile since I last swam.”

Lance grabs Keith’s arm and starts dragging him through the water towards something in the distance.

“Where are we going?” Keith asks.

“I found a rock and I want to sit on it,” Lance states.

Keith just shakes his head.

“You just can’t do things normally, huh?” Keith says.

Lance doesn’t say anything and Keith immediately worries that his words came off the wrong way.

“That was a compliment,” Keith says, “I like that about you.”

Lance relaxes at that and points ahead of them. The rock in question is a small, flat blue rock. It looks magical in the mist of the purple water. They both climb up onto it, slipping a few times here or there. They eventually settle in the middle and Keith decides to take the rocks from his pocket.

“I grabbed these for you,” Keith says, “they uh- they reminded me of you.”

Lance looks at him with soft eyes and takes the rocks carefully.

“That one is blue cause, duh,” Keith says, “and the gold one reminds me of your jokes and the pointy one is your motivation.”

“What about the other two?” Lance asks, voice soft.

“I don’t know, really, I just felt like I had to give them to you,” Keith says.

He sucks in a breath of realization, but Lance doesn’t seem to notice, too distracted by the rocks. He remembers when he was with Pidge the one day when she was looking at Galra history. They saw something about how Galra gather tokens for those they love. He didn’t even realize he was grabbing the rocks until three were in his pocket. He didn’t realize he was getting them for Lance until he saw his smile again.

“Thank you,” Lance says, “these are cool.”

Keith nods and crosses his legs. He looks over at the shore and sees Hunk and Pidge looking at them. He waves softly and they wave back, whispering something to each other when Lance notices them.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Keith asks.

“Probably how jealous they are that we’re out here on this cool rock,” Lance says.

“Definitely,” Keith says, rolling his eyes.

“Come on, we should get back to them,” Lance says, “Hunk looks hungry.”

Lance shoves the rocks into his pocket and hops back into the water, looking up at Keith expectantly.

–

“Keith? What are you doing?” Pidge asks, walking into the kitchen.

Keith looks up from the rock he has in front of him. He grabbed one more rock for Lance on the way back, but he felt too awkward to give it to him. He needs time to process what all of this means. What Lance means to him. That’s why he’s up in the middle of the night staring at the thing.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Keith says.

“You never can,” Pidge comments, grabbing one of Hunk’s space cookies.

Keith just sighs, not looking up when she sits next to him.

“What’s wrong?” Pidge asks, “and what’s that?”

Keith opens his hand and shows the rock to Pidge. She looks back up at him unimpressed.

“Why does a rock have you even more emo than normal?” Pidge asks.

Keith can keep secrets, that’s sort of his thing, but Pidge is like a lie detector for him. She can somehow always read him like a book.

“It’s for Lance,” Keith says, “forgot to give it to him.”

“Weird,” Pidge says, taking a bite of the cookie.

“I know!” Keith says, “that’s the issue. I don’t know why I want to give it to him. I already gave him five.”

Pidge dismissively takes a bite of her cookie, then nearly chokes when she seems to have a moment of realization.

“Oh my god, you do have a crush on him!” Pidge says, “I knew it.”

“How did you come to that conclusion?” Keith asks.

He hasn’t even come to that conclusion yet, how the hell is Pidge already so sure.

“The whole gathering tokens thing,” Pidge says, “I should have known, you guys have always had some weird chemistry going on.”

“What do you-” Keith starts, but then it dawns on him, “you know I’m…”

“Part Galra?” Pidge finishes for him, “yeah? I’ve known ever since you got back from the Blades.”

Keith doesn’t know what to say. He has spent so long trying to keep this secret, yet Pidge has known the entire time.

“How did you- what is- what?” Keith sputters.

“Look, I don’t care that you’re part Galra, you’re still Keith or whatever,” Pidge says, “the important matter here is that you’re in love with Lance.”

“Am not!” Keith protests.

“Keith,” Pidge says.

Keith slumps his shoulders in defeat. Today has been quite the day.

“Can we maybe leave that word out of this?” Keith asks, “I didn’t even know I was attracted to him until this afternoon.”

“Wow,” Pidge says, “you are emotionally dense.”

“And you're a jerk,” Keith says.

Pidge smiles and takes the rock from Keith, rolling it around in her own hand.

“Give it to him,” Pidge says, handing it back to Keith.

“That would be weird,” Keith says, “I doubt he wants it.”

“You'll feel better if you do,” Pidge states.

“How do you know that I won't feel worse?” Keith asks.

“I've been studying Galra behavior and it's more than wanting to give tokens to people you love,” Pidge says, “it's needing to give it to them.”

“What, so I'll be more moody if I don't give it to him?” Keith asks.

“Exactly,” Pidge says.

They fall into a silence as Pidge continues to eat cookies. Keith just looks down at the rock as if it holds all the answers.

“Can you tell me more about Galra behavior?” Keith asks softly.

“Of course,” Pidge says, “I think your Galra side is going to be a huge asset for Voltron.”

“Don't tell anyone,” Keith says, “I'm uh- I'm not ready to tell them. To tell Allura.”

Pidge nods in understanding and stands up from the table.

“Get some sleep,” Pidge says, “come see me in Green's hangar tomorrow after dinner.”

Keith nods and watches Pidge walk away. He doesn't make his way back to his bedroom for another 30 minutes.

Chapter Text

“Good morning sunshine!” Lance says, opening Keith’s door.

Keith groans and rolls away from the door, pulling his blanket over his head. Despite his regular lack of sleep, Keith is still human and three hours of sleep is not enough.

“What do you want?” Keith grumbles.

“Allura wanted me to come wake you up,” Lance says.

“Five more minutes,” Keith says.

Suddenly, Lance is pouncing on the bed and Keith lets out a surprised huff.

“Keith, you’re going to get me in trouble,” Lance whines.

“Get off me,” Keith says, “you’re heavy.”

“Are you calling me fat?” Lance asks, sliding off of Keith’s bed.

Keith sits up and smooths down his hair, squinting at Lance.

“I forgot to give this to you yesterday,” Keith says, grabbing the rock off of his night stand.

Lance smiles and takes it, looking at it for a few seconds.

“Look,” Lance says, pulling a small chain out from under his shirt.

Around his neck is one of the small stones Keith gave to him yesterday.

“When did you have time for that?” Keith asks, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Allura helped me with it last night,” Lance says, “apparently she made a lot of jewelry when she was younger.”

Keith remembers his conversation with Pidge last night and immediately regrets it. He looks at Lance’s sleep ridden hair, his wide blue eyes and his heart melts.

“How do you have so much energy right now?” Keith asks.

“Oh come on, this is like- the opposite of what normally happens,” Lance says, “sometimes I’m getting up for a late night snack and you’re already awake training for the day.”

Keith groans. It’s true, but lately, he’s been needing more sleep.

“What language are we doing today?” Keith asks.

“Words of affirmation,” Lance says with a grin.

Keith groans and pushes his blankets off of him. He is definitely not looking forward to this. Compliments do nothing but make him feel really awkward. He doesn’t want to hear them and he doesn’t know what to do when he does hear them.

“Come on,” Lance says, “we have a busy day ahead of us.”

Lance essentially skips out of the room, and Keith falls back onto his bed with a huff when the door glides shut. What has he gotten himself into? When they finish breakfast, Allura shoves them all into the training room and they fight the different levels. They don’t get the chance to talk to each other more than yelling out commands. After two hours, Allura lets them go, but they have to promise that after lunch, they come back together for some team bonding. Everyone leaves the room, but Keith falls back. He still wants to train, he always wants to train.

“Mullet,” Lance says, “you coming?”

Keith shakes his head, pulling out his bayard.

“Man, you are crazy,” Lance says, “I don’t know if I’ve ever met someone as dedicated as you.”

Keith smiles and walks over to the corner of the room, starting up the training sequence.

“You were doing really well today,” Lance says, “your combat has gotten really good.”

“Are you going to be like this all day?” Keith asks, refusing to look at Lance directly.

“Oh you best believe I am buddy,” Lance says, “words of affirmation is my jam.”

Keith rolls his eyes and continues to fight off the low level bots he’s against. It’s more of a warmup than anything, they barely fight back, but it’s still work. It’s still practice.

“You weren’t too bad yourself, sharpshooter,” Keith says.

Lance doesn’t say anything, he just leans back against the wall and watches Keith expertly take out the holograms. Keith can feel the eyes on him, but he doesn’t let it distract him. He’s going to have to get used to having eyes on him when he’s fighting now that he’s sort of maybe, slightly in love with Lance. He ups the levels until his chest is heaving and finally takes a break when he hears a cheer from Lance.

“You’re actually amazing,” Lance says, “it looks like you were meant to swing that sword around.”

“You make it sound dorky,” Keith says, gulping down some water.

“Look, everything I say today is true, but don’t think I’m going to start being this nice to you,” Lance says, “but I’m actually jealous of you.”

“Jealous?” Keith chuckles.

“You look so natural when you’re in battle, your movements are so fluid,” Lance says, “I uh- I sort of look up to you.”

Keith chokes on his breath. He thought he could sort of numb himself to the compliments for the day, but he can’t just ignore that.

“What do you mean?” Keith asks.

“Our whole stupid rivalry only started cause I admired you at the Garrison,” Lance says, “you’ve exceeded my expectations.”

“Oh,” is all Keith can mutter in response.

Despite his outside composure, he is absolutely melting on the inside. Lance’s words bounce around his mind and replay over and over. He knows it’s just for the whole love language thing, but it still makes his heart flutter.

“You should really eat something,” Lance says, “Allura doesn’t seem like she’s going to go easy on us today.”

“I’ll be there in a second,” Keith says.

“Look, I know I said the whole admiring thing, but you also don’t know when to stop,” Lance says, “no more training.”

Keith sighs, but reluctantly follows Lance out of the room. When they get there for lunch, everyone else is showered and cleaned up, him and Lance bringing a bit of a musty smell with them.

“You guys should shower,” Hunk says, “you stink.”

“You guys are ridiculous,” Pidge says.

“We’ve talked about over training,” Shiro says.

“Hey, lay off of him,” Lance says, “all the extra training is doing him well.”

Keith smiles and finds himself leaning slightly closer to Lance.

“Am I dreaming or something?” Hunk asks, “since when do you defend Keith?”

“Since I saw him beat the highest level of the training bots without breaking a sweat,” Lance says.

“Aw, you’re scared of him,” Pidge says, “that’s adorable.”

“I’m not scared of him!” Lance defends, “he just deserves some recognition sometimes.”

“Would you guys stop all the babbling and eat Hunk’s food?” Coran asks.

They all laugh and Lance and Keith join everyone at the table. Things are going well.

–

Keith has dealt with a lot of changes since his Galra puberty started, but this one is new. The teeth took a bit to get used too, the nails ripped a few blankets and the weird behaviours weren’t too hard to cover. But now, he looks over himself in the mirror, skin burning and eyes shaking. Little patches of his skin are purple and rough and his eyes have a slight yellow tint to them. His entire body feels like it’s on fire and he’s unable to put it out. The patches are small, the purple colour hardly noticeable, but more and more of them appear. Some fade away completely, some get darker. All he knows is that he needs to avoid everyone for a while, especially Lance. He also needs to find Pidge as soon as possible. She’s the only one who can explain this all to him. He slides on a shirt, ignoring how it burns his skin and makes his way out of his room. He’s supposed to wait until after dinner to see Pidge, but he sort of needs answers sooner rather than later.

“Keith?” Lance’s voice echoes.

Of course the universe couldn’t make things easy for him. He reflexively scratches his neck to cover the purple patch just under his ear. Lance looks like he just woke up from a nap.

“Hey,” Keith says.

Lance yawns and stretches his arms, revealing a sliver of skin at his waistline. Keith tries not to stare.

“What are you up to?” Lance asks.

“Just looking for Pidge actually,” Keith says honestly.

“Oh, she’s on a mission with Hunk,” Lance says, “didn’t Allura tell you?”

Keith thinks back and vaguely remembers Allura mentioning it. He groans and tries to think of a way to escape Lance.

“I uh- I guess I’ll just go back in here,” Keith says, stepping back into his room.

“Wait, I was actually coming to get you,” Lance says.

“Why?” Keith asks nervously.

“Remember that weird Altean chess board Coran found?” Lance says, “I was hoping we could try to play it.”

Keith grimaces out of Lance’s sight and panics slightly. He’s been wanting to try the game for a while and he wants to spend time with Lance. He wants to be close with Lance more than anything. He swallows and hugs his arms around himself.

“I- sure,” Keith says, “can I just grab a hoodie quickly?”

“Sure, I’ll be in the lounge,” Lance says.

Keith watches him walk away and looks down at his shaking hands. There is a particularly dark patch of purple on his wrist. When he walks into the lounge, Lance is setting up the board, humming to himself. Keith stays quiet, wanting to admire Lance for a moment. When he starts to feel like a creep, he takes another step forward and Lance looks up with a smile.

“I’ve never seen you wear that before,” Lance says, “purple looks nice on you.”

Keith flushes and pauses before walking to sit across from Lance.

“Thanks,” Keith mumbles.

Lance chuckles and Keith looks up to glare at him.

“Sorry it’s just- I’m not used to seeing you flustered,” Lance says, “you’re normally the badass cool guy.”

“I’m not flustered,” Keith stammers, “just not used to compliments.”

“Well, here’s another one,” Lance says, “you’re the person I trust the most on the team.”

Keith feels an equal amount of pain and joy at the statement. He would trust Lance with his life, but he’s sitting here in front of Lance keeping a huge secret from him.

“Lance,” Keith says, “I- I need to tell you something.”

Lance looks up at the softness of his tone and immediately has a look of concern on his face. Keith feels like he’s going to puke. He knows it will be a huge relief to tell him, but he knows Lance is going to be upset. It was more than a surprise that Pidge didn’t hate him for it.

“What’s wrong?” Lance asks softly.

Keith feels himself tear up and sniffles, wiping away his tears as they fall.

“When I was with the Blades they uh- fuck,” Keith says, “I’m part Galra Lance, my mom is Galra.”

Lance just sits there opposite of Keith. Keith can’t read his face, can’t see a single movement besides his shallow breathing.

“You’re what?” Lance whispers.

“I know, you’re gonna hate me and everyone else is and I’m sorry,” Keith says, “I understand if you guys don’t want me on Voltron.”

“You think that’s the problem?” Lance exclaims, “you think that because you have Galra blood in you that the team is just going to abandon you?”

Keith doesn’t know what to say, he doesn’t know what lance is trying say.

“I can’t believe this,” Lance says, “and after I told you I trusted you?”

Lance is tearing up now and Keith wants to reach out and wipe the tears.

“Lance,” Keith says.

“No, I’m not- I can’t have this conversation right now,” Lance says, “I can’t believe how- you’re being so selfish.”

“I’m sorry for being Galra,” Keith whispers.

“You don’t get it!” Lance exclaims, standing up, “I’m leaving.”

“Lance wait-” Keith starts.

“No, I need to be alone,” Lance says.

Keith can’t do anything but watch as Lance walks out of the room. He looks over at the game they never started and he cries. He cries for the first time in what feels like years.

–

For the rest of the day, Keith doesn’t see much of Lance. He tries to forget their conversation. He tries to forget how hurt Lance looked. He tries to forget that things are never going to be the same. He spends most of the day in the training room which is thankfully empty. Everyone seems to be busy enough, so for a while Keith almost forgets about everything. But when he walks into the kitchen to refuel so he can keep training, he’s mortified to see Lance and Shiro. They stop their conversation when he walks in and it makes his blood run cold.

“Sorry, I’ll just be a second,” Keith says.

He can feel eyes digging into his back, but he refuses to turn around. Lance must have told Shiro, there’s no other reason for it to be so tense in the room.

“Have you been training all day?” Shiro asks.

“Yeah, there’s nothing else to do,” Keith says, clearing his throat.

“Weren’t you going to play that chess game with Keith?” Shiro asks, looking at Lance, “that’s why you asked Coran where it was, no?”

Lance leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. Keith doesn’t know what to feel. He still can’t tell if Shiro knows or not. He can’t read the room at all and he just wants to escape.

“No,” Lance says plainly.

Keith gives Shiro a shrug and walks out of the room, clutching the alien protein bar in his hand. He squeezes it, ignoring the way it oozes through his fingers uncomfortably. He walks past the training room, straight for Pidge’s hangar. She better be back from that mission or Keith might do something really stupid. When he gets closer, he can hear Hunk and Pidge mumbling science mumbo-jumbo and he sucks in a breath. He chews the food violently, swallowing it down when he stops in front of them.

“Keith?” Hunk says, “what’s up buddy, you look… off.”

Keith smiles at Hunk and turns his attention to Pidge.

“We need to talk,” Keith says.

“Okay?” Pidge says, not yet making the connection.

“Alone,” Keith clarifies.

Hunk immediately gets the memo and sets his tools down, slowly backing out of the room before running down the hall. Pidge glares up at him, but Keith doesn’t care. He stands over Pidge, trying to piece together the words in his mind.

“What the fuck is this?” Keith asks, essentially shoving his arm in Pidge’s face.

Pidge pushes his arm back and sets her tools down. She looks at his arm and scrunches her eyebrows.

“I remember seeing something about this,” Pidge says, “come on.”

She leads them over to her computer and Keith has never been more grateful for Pidge in his life.

“Sorry, that was a bit abrasive,” Keith mumbles.

“It’s fine, I know your skin is probably burning,” Pidge says with a shrug, “that can’t be fun.”

“No, not at all,” Keith says.

Pidge types for a while, swiping through screens of notes and pictures until she finally seems to settle on a page.

“Okay,” she says, “ahhh… that’s what I thought.”

“What?” Keith asks desperately.

“You’re not going to like this answer at all,” Pidge says with a slight grimace.

“I don’t care, tell me,” Keith says, tapping his foot impatiently.

“Everything I know about Galra human hybrids comes from you,” Pidge says, “so I’m not sure how accurate this is.”

“Pidge,” Keith warns.

“We’ve established you’re in Galra puberty, this is part of it,” Pidge says, “the patches are normally just little rashes on Galra, sort of like acne.”

“Okay, this doesn’t sound too bad,” Keith says.

“Well, I’m not so certain what will happen with your skin. The parts that are that really deep purple,” Pidge pauses, “I don’t know if that purple will go away.”

Keith sighs. Most of the patches are along his arms and back, so he honestly doesn’t really care if he’s got random patches of purple on him.

“Oh also, rejection makes them worse,” Pidge says quickly, turning away from Keith.

“Hold on, what?” Keith says, “no, you need to explain what the fuck you just said.”

“You love Lance, right?” Pidge says, “well, I’m assuming you two had a fight cause that’s what Hunk heard from Shiro-”

“That- I can’t believe he would tell him,” Keith whispers.

“Tell him? Shiro has no clue you’re Galra,” Pidge says, “it’s still just me who knows.”

“And Lance,” Keith says.

Pidge sits up straight at that and starts typing something into her computer.

“What are you doing?” Keith asks.

“I’m guessing you told Lance and he’s mad and won’t talk to you,” Pidge says.

“Well yeah, but-” Keith starts.

“That counts as rejection,” Pidge says, “when a Galra is rejected by someone they’re in love with, it can take weeks for their chemistry to go back to normal. It’s why they’re so hesitant to care about each other.”

Keith doesn’t know what to say. When he figured out he was Galra, that he was going to experience changes, he thought maybe more body hair and some sharp teeth. He didn’t expect to be giving tokens to Lance and getting his body’s chemistry altered because of an argument.

“What happened between you guys?” Pidge asks.

Keith takes a deep breath. He doesn’t even quite know the answer. He’s been spending the whole day trying not to think about the answer.

“I don’t know,” Keith mumbles, “I told him and he was mad but I don’t- I couldn’t tell what he was mad about.”

“What do you mean?” Pidge says.

“I couldn’t read him,” Keith admits, “and I always can, but this time… this time I had no idea what to do or say.”

Pidge looks at him sympathetically. Keith doesn’t expect her to say anything, there isn’t much for her to say.

“Do you think the team is going to be mad at me?” Keith asks.

“I think the longer you keep a secret, the more likely they will be,” Pidge says, “Coran and Allura might need time with the idea, but none of us could ever hate you.”

“I think Lance might,” Keith says.

“No,” Pidge says, tone slightly angry.

Keith looks up at her with blurry eyes and sees something angry behind her glasses.

“There is not a single universe where Lance could ever hate you,” Pidge says, “you’re his family. And I know it’s hard for you to see it, but he really cares about you. Sometimes Hunk even gets jealous.”

Keith just stares at Pidge like she has said the most outrageous thing in the world. Honestly, she has.

“Look, I wasn’t there when you guys had this argument,” Pidge says, “but if there’s one thing I know, it’s that Lance would do anything to see you or anyone on this team smile. You need to talk to him.”

“I don’t know how,” Keith says, voice cracking.

Pidge frowns and scoots over, leaning her head on his shoulder. Keith would normally shy away from the contact, but something about it is grounding him. He takes a deep breath and focuses on the mop of hair connected to his shoulder.

“Why don’t we go do those repairs on Red,” Pidge says, “the ones you’ve been bugging me about for a while.”

“Sure,” Keith says.

“Promise me you’ll talk to him?” Pidge asks, sticking out a pinky.

“I’ll talk to him tomorrow,” Keith says, “I think he wants some space right now.”

Pidge nods and Keith locks their pinkies together. Keith may be many things, but he’s not someone who breaks promises. He’ll talk to Lance tomorrow. For now, they spend the next couple hours working on Red. Pidge seems to find a million things to work on and Keith is suddenly very aware of Red’s energy. She somehow knows to comfort him and when they finally decide to call it a night, his hands are no longer shaking and his skin isn’t burning as fiercely. When he gets to his room, more than ready to sleep the day away, he can hear footsteps coming down the hall. He should rush into his room, should avoid who he knows is behind him, but he can’t move. He turns and is met with Lance in his pajamas.

“Goodnight,” Lance says.

“Lance-” Keith starts.

“Goodnight,” Lance repeats.

“You look nice in blue,” Keith says.

“What are you trying to do, Keith?” Lance asks.

“It’s words of affirmation today,” Keith says, “I had to end the day off.”

“You can’t just- I’m tired,” Lance says, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He walks away before Keith can say anything else. Keith sits awake in his bed for a while before he falls asleep.

Chapter Text

“Keith? Can I talk to you?” Shiro asks, approaching him after breakfast.

“What’s up?” Keith asks.

Lance wasn’t at breakfast. Keith didn’t ask where he was. He couldn’t bring himself to ask about him. Lance wanted nothing to do with him, Keith should let him be. He ended up storming out of the kitchen when no one else seemed concerned about Lance’s whereabouts. He can’t stand when the team acts like Lance isn’t as mature as the rest of them.

“What was that about?” Shiro says, “it’s been months since you stormed out of breakfast.”

“Just feeling a bit antsy,” Keith says, “had to get moving.”

Shiro grabs his arm when Keith tries to walk away.

“What’s going on with you and Lance?” Shiro asks.

“Nothing!” Keith says, “we just had a small disagreement.”

“Really?” Shiro says.

“Yep,” Keith says, “now can I go train?”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but fix it,” Shiro says.

“Where’s Lance?” Keith asks.

“He’s on a solo mission,” Shiro says.

“A solo mission?” Keith says, “you let him go on a solo mission when you knew something was wrong?”

“He’s just on the planet we’ve been orbiting,” Shiro says, “we needed some plants for Coran’s farm.”

“I’m going down there,” Keith says.

“No you’re not,” Shiro says.

“You wanted me to fix this, didn’t you?” Keith exclaims.

“Yes, but it’s not a good idea to go down there,” Shiro says, “the population doesn’t want us down there.”

“Awesome! Send Lance down to a planet with creatures that don’t want us there,” Keith says.

“Don’t be like this,” Shiro says.

“Be like what? Be worried about my teammate?” Keith says, “your judgement isn’t the only one that matters.”

“Go train,” Shiro says.

“I’m going to get him,” Keith says.

“No,” Shiro says.

Keith is seething. He hasn’t been able to think of anything other than Lance since he woke up. He’s not going to let Shiro ruin his chances to fix whatever he has going on with Lance.

“I know you’re our leader,” Keith says, “but this is something I need to do.”

Shiro takes a deep breath and crosses his arms.

“Take a pod, not Red,” Shiro says.

Keith nods and runs towards the pods. He’s not going to let his friendship with Lance slip away. Forget what he was thinking this morning, Lance has had enough space. It doesn’t take him long to find Lance’s pod. He lands next to it as quietly as he can and slips out of it, sliding on his helmet. Within another few minutes, he locates Lance and finds him crouched by a tree, shoving some plants into his bag.

“Keith?” Lance says in shock, dropping a mushroom by his foot.

“We need to talk,” Keith says.

“I’m sort of busy,” Lance says, standing up.

“Take a break,” Keith says, “we’re talking.”

Lance tries to protest, but Keith drags him away from the tree towards a log he saw on the way there. He stops in front of it and sits down. Lance doesn’t sit right away, he just stares at Keith. When Keith doesn’t say anything, Lance sits down with a huff.

“I’m sorry,” Keith starts.

“Do you know what you’re apologizing for?” Lance asks.

Keith sucks in a breath. He hadn’t planned this conversation at all. He just wanted to talk to Lance, to fix things.

“I thought so,” Lance says, taking Keith’s silence as an answer.

“How can I fix this?” Keith asks desperately.

“You don’t even know why I’m mad,” Lance says.

“So tell me, please,” Keith begs, “I- I don’t want you to hate me.”

“Fuck,” Lance says, standing from the log “you’re making this so fucking difficult.”

“How?” Keith asks, more confused than before.

“I don’t give a fuck that you’re Galra, you’re still Keith, still part of the team,” Lance says.

“So what’s wrong then?” Keith asks, standing up.

“I thought we had trust,” Lance says, “I thought you could trust me.”

“I do,” Keith says, “I trust you with my life, Lance.”

“So then why didn’t you tell me?” Lance asks, “why did you know for so long without telling me?”

Their helmets are only inches apart now, both of them breathing heavily against the glass.

“I didn’t want you guys to hate me,” Keith says, “I didn’t want you guys to abandon me. I couldn’t- I can’t be alone again.”

Lance flinches at that, but Keith sees a thousand thoughts racing behind his eyes.

“That’s the problem!” Lance says, “I can’t believe you think so low of us that you think we’d abandon you for this.”

“I’m the enemy,” Keith says, voice slowly becoming weaker.

“This team is full of the most kind, selfless and brave people in the universe,” Lance says, “what possibly made you think they would just drop you like these past months have meant nothing?”

Keith doesn’t know what to say. He breathes heavily, trying his hardest not to clink their helmets together. He knows he’s crying, he knows he looks like shit, but he doesn’t care.

“It’s all I’ve ever known,” Keith says, “all I’ve ever known is people abandoning me for being myself, for being what I am.”

Lance’s face softens and lets his shoulders drop slightly.

“Keith, I want you to know that you can tell me anything,” Lance says, “we’re not the people in your past, we’re your family. Forever.”

Keith can’t hold it back anymore. Tears flow freely down his face, soaking the inside of his helmet. He falls forward into Lance’s arms who naturally catches him. He sits down, essentially cradling Keith in his arms. Lance rubs soothing circles on Keith’s back until he’s able to catch his breath again.

“I’m sorry,” Keith says.

Lance chuckles and Keith hears the familiar sound of his helmet coming off. Keith looks up and meets Lance’s eyes.

“We’re always going to be here for you,” Lance whispers.

Keith takes his own helmet off and moves to sit across from Lance.

“I do trust you, more than anything,” Keith says, “I trust you with my life, with everything.”

“I know,” Lance says softly.

“I need you Lance,” Keith says, “I need you so much it hurts and I can’t pretend like I don’t.”

Lance freezes and Keith is worried he said the wrong thing at first. He’s worried that his confession was poorly timed, that Lance is going to reject him and Keith is going to go through that chemical change Pidge was talking about worse than before. But suddenly, Lance is reaching forward, cupping Keith’s jaw gently. He crashes their lips together and Keith feels himself freeze for a moment. But when the warmth spreads from Lance’s lips into his own, he melts into it. He reaches forward and slides a hand up into Lance’s hair. The kiss feels like it’s long awaited, like it’s something that’s been supposed to happen for months now. Keith steps forward, pushing them back until Lance bumps into a tree. Lance makes a soft sound and it ignites something in Keith’s chest. He pulls back to take a breath, but Lance doesn’t let him get away for long, chasing his lips. Keith smiles into the kiss, letting one of his hands fall to rest on Lance’s hip. They finally pull back to breathe, and when they both open their eyes, a wide grin spreads onto Lance’s face.

“So-” Keith starts.

“Yeah, yeah,” Lance says, “I need you too.”

Keith feels his entire body flush impossibly more red and he drops his head forward to rest on Lance’s chest. Lance chuckles and tucks Keith’s hair behind his ear. Keith looks up and everything that just happens hits him again. He feels the tears rolling down his cheeks and he can’t help but chuckle at the concerned look on Lance’s face.

“Sorry, it’s just- I’ve never felt like this before,” Keith says, “it’s a lot.”

He leans forward more so their chests are pressed together and wraps his arms around Lance. He just wants to be as close to him as possible. Lance returns the hug and kisses the top of Keith’s head.

“You’re beautiful,” Lance says, “no matter what’s in your blood, no matter how sharp your teeth get.”

Keith just presses himself closer to Lance, hugging him as if letting him go will make him disappear.

“From now on, you can trust me with anything and everything,” Lance says, “I’ll be with you every step of the way, no matter what.”

“Thank you,” Keith says, “for- god for just being you.”

“I think we could call today physical touch,” Lance says.

“Mhm,” Keith hums.

Lance chuckles and starts drawing random designs on Keith’s back.

“I didn’t expect you to be so clingy,” Lance says.

“Me neither,” Keith admits, “you just… you're comfy.”

“We should probably get back to the ship,” Lance says, “I think we’re due for a movie night.”

“Can we just stay like this forever?” Keith asks.

“As much as I’m enjoying this hug, imagine how much nicer this would be on a couch,” Lance says.

Keith smiles and reluctantly pulls away from Lance. He wipes the tears from his face and giggles when Lance kisses the tip of his nose.

“This is so embarrassing,” Keith says.

“What is?” Lance asks softly.

“I just cried because I kissed you,” Keith says, “and I’m pretty sure I just fucking giggled.”

“It was adorable,” Lance says.

Keith groans, subconsciously reaching out for Lance’s hand.

“You know we have to take separate pods back to the ship,” Lance says, “will you survive without me?”

“Look, the only reason I’m like this right now is cause I have the enemy’s blood,” Keith says.

“But it’s still you,” Lance says softly, “and I like every part of you.”

Keith feels his knees go weak, but Lance is there to support him.

“Come on,” Lance says, “let's get back to the castle.”

The journey back to the castle sucks and Keith is going to have to grill Pidge on why he suddenly has separation anxiety with Lance. He’s sure it has something to do with the stupid patches of purple on his skin. Once both of the pods are secured, Keith calmly rushes out to find Lance. When he gets to Lance, he has a stupid smirk on his face.

“What?” Keith says.

“Come here,” Lance says, extending a hand.

Keith gives in and takes Lance’s hand. Lance pulls him in and kisses him softly. The kiss is much more gentle than their first one, it’s compassionate and communicates everything words couldn’t. When Lance pulls back, Keith feels slightly dazed.

“I don’t deserve you,” Keith whispers.

“You deserve everything good,” Lance says.

“Stop being cheesy, I’ll cry again,” Keith says.

They eventually make their way to the lounge and thankfully no one else is there. Keith has become accustomed to their group movie nights, but tonight, he wants Lance all to himself. He doesn’t care if it’s selfish, he’s never been happier. He sits on the couch, watching as Lance sets up the movie. He thoroughly enjoys watching Lance’s little movements, the way he moves so elegantly despite his long limbs. He comes back to the couch and settles next to Keith.

“Is this one okay?” he asks.

Keith looks at the screen and smiles. Lance picked his favourite movie.

“Did you know this was my favourite?” Keith asks.

Coran has only been able to locate a dozen of the Altean films from the castle and they’ve watched all of them. One of them is eerily similar to Star Trek and it quickly became Keith’s favourite.

“Of course,” Lance says, “I’ve seen you watch it multiple times.”

Keith smiles and slides into Lance’s open arms. Lance wraps a blanket around them and Keith settles into his chest. Keith really didn’t expect to enjoy being held so much, but he’s never felt warmer in his life than when he’s in Lance’s arms.

“This is nice,” Lance says.

“Yeah,” Keith says.

“So, what has our experiment revealed?” Lance asks, “which one is your love language?”

“We haven’t done quality time yet,” Keith says.

“I think we have that one covered,” Lance says, “we spend a lot of time together.”

“We do,” Keith says softly, “wow, we really do. How did I not know sooner?”

“Cause you’re an idiot?” Lance offers.

“I think I like all of them,” Keith says, “with you- I like all of them with you.”

“And you said I was cheesy,” Lance replies.

“Which one is your favourite?” Keith asks, “you always change depending on who you’re with to cater to them, but what’s yours?”

Lance smiles and finally starts the movie.

“Quality time,” Lance says, “I just like being around the people I love.”

“I think I do too,” Keith says, “it took meeting you to realize that.”

Lance kisses the top of Keith’s head and adjusts their position so they’re more comfortable.

“I think I could get used to this,” Lance whispers.

“Yeah,” Keith replies softly.

It doesn’t take him long to fall asleep in Lance’s arms, falling into the most peaceful sleep he’s had in a long time.

Chapter Text

It’s been a couple weeks since their first kiss and Keith has never been happier. Things have calmed down in his Galra puberty and his time with Lance is everything he could have asked for. Despite everything though, he still hasn’t told the team about being Galra and he’s not sure how. He doesn’t want them to react the same way Lance did initially, but the longer he keeps avoiding it, the worse it’s going to get. He’s training like he always does, when familiar footsteps come into the room. Lance doesn’t say a word until the level Keith is on powers down.

“Quit staring,” Keith says, walking over to Lance.

“I can’t help it,” Lance says, placing his hands around Keith’s waist, “you look so hot when you’re fighting.”

Keith smiles into a kiss, wrapping his arms around Lance’s neck.

“I’ve been thinking,” Lance says, resting their foreheads together.

“Oh no, that’s never good,” Keith teases.

“Don’t ruin the moment,” Lance says with a smile, “go shower and come meet me in the lounge.”

Keith nods and kisses Lance one more time before walking out of the room. Keith never really considered himself someone with many weaknesses. Sure, he gets a little insecure from time to time, but deep down he knows he can always get better at things, improve himself. But Lance… Lance is his weakness. Lance could ask him to shave his head and he’d probably do it. Once he’s all cleaned up, he walks over to the lounge. When he walks in, his heart stops for a moment and his skin burns. Lance had somehow found a string of lights to stick up around the room. The chess game they never got to play sits on the table and Lance is standing in the middle of the room with some alien flower in his hand.

“What’s all of this?” Keith asks.

“A date,” Lance says, “we deserve a real date.”

Keith smiles and walks over to Lance, taking the flower from him. He looks up at twinkling blue eyes and his entire heart feels full.

“Before we continue,” Lance says, shifting nervously on his feet, “I need to ask you something.”

“Anything,” Keith says breathily.

“Will you be my boyfriend?” Lance asks, “like, my real, really awesome and hot boyfriend?”

Keith chuckles and sets the flower down on the table so he can reach out and cup Lance’s face.

“I want nothing more,” Keith whispers.

Lance suddenly wraps his arms around Keith, lifting him off the ground and spins them in a circle. Keith laughs, hugging himself close to Lance. His cheeks hurt from smiling, but Lance doesn’t let him rest, quickly peppering his face in soft kisses. Keith’s not sure he’s ever felt this happy before.

“I’ve never dated anyone before,” Keith says, “I don’t even know if I’ve been into someone before.”

“I’d say I’m a good first,” Lance says with a smirk.

“And last,” Keith says.

“You sap,” Lance says, taking his hand, “let me beat you in this stupid game.”

“Just cause you’re my boyfriend now doesn’t mean I’m going easy on you,” Keith says as they sit down.

“I sure hope not,” Lance says, “a win doesn’t count if you’re not trying.”

They end up playing the game for an hour, arguing playfully almost the entire time. It only took them ten or so minutes to figure out the game, but Keith ends up pulling off the win. It leaves Lance pouting on his side of the table and Keith finds it insanely adorable.

“Don’t say it,” Lance grumbles.

“But you’re adorable,” Keith says.

“No,” Lance says.

Keith just chuckles and stands up, walking around the table to stand behind Lance.

“What are you doing?” Lance asks, not turning his head.

“Stand up,” Keith says softly.

Lance turns to look at him and stands. Keith tilts his head up at him and feels himself flush. He suddenly feels nervous to ask Lance his question.

“What’s up?” Lance asks, gently placing a hand on Keith’s hip to pull him closer.

“We can play music in here, right?” Keith says hesitantly.

“Yeah,” Lance whispers, “you wanna dance?”

Keith just nods and Lance smiles, bringing a hand up to his jaw.

“You’re adorable,” Lance says.

“That’s not fair,” Keith says with a pout.

“You were too nervous to ask me to dance,” Lance says, “that’s adorable.”

Keith leans his head forward to rest on Lance’s chest. Lance somehow starts up soft music and he sways them back and forth gently. Keith settles them into an intimate dancing position and Lance leads them in a dance. Keith really hadn’t expected things to be like this. He thought he’d always be fighting for control in their relationship, he thought he’d be the one who constantly held Lance and pampered him. But he’s the one who gets held the most, the one who gets pampered. He likes when Lance takes control. It’s a weird feeling to let someone else take the wheel, but Keith really likes it.

“Lance?” Keith says softly.

“Mhm?” Lance hums in response.

Keith can feel the hum vibrate through him and it sends a ray of warmth down his body.

“I need to tell the team, don’t I?” Keith whispers.

“Tell them whenever you’re ready, love,” Lance says.

His voice is so tender and sincere that Keith could cry right there.

“I’ll be right there with you,” Lance says, “always.”

Keith wills his tears away and leans impossibly more into Lance.

“This is crazy,” Keith mumbles.

“What is?” Lance replies.

“Being with you, feeling this way about you,” Keith says, “it’s like I can’t be close enough to you. I can’t stop thinking about you, it's all so much.”

Lance doesn’t say anything, he just continues to sway them and Keith can’t help but let the tears fall. He feels so warm and safe and he never wants to be alone again. He didn’t know what he was missing, who he was missing. It’s like he wants to crawl into Lance’s skin cause he just can’t get close enough to him. Lance gently lifts Keith’s chin and wipes a tear with his thumb. He leans down and kisses both of Keith’s cheeks and Keith is sure his heart is going to stop. It’s so tender, so caring, Keith isn’t used to the feeling.

“You know I’ve admired you since the start,” Lance says, “since you forgot who I was.”

Keith smiles with slight guilt and kisses Lance softly.

“Why were we rivals for so long?” Keith asks.

“Cause you’re good at everything and you look hot doing it,” Lance says simply.

Keith shakes his head and smiles.

–

Team meetings are normally only called by Shiro and Allura, so Keith isn’t shocked by the weird looks he gets as everyone files into the room. He watches Shiro carefully, trying to read the expression on his face. He trusts that neither Lance or Pidge have told anyone else, but he’s still cautious, still trying to read the room. Lance is a steady warmth next to him, but he doesn’t dare reach out for his hand. It’s been two weeks of them officially dating, but the team doesn’t know. The night before, they planned to tell the team about Keith’s Galra blood and hopefully bump down the confessions intensity by sharing their relationship as well.

“Thanks for joining me,” Keith says, looking at Lance briefly.

He looks at everyone and he can’t read any of their expressions. Pidge looks suspicious, and honestly Keith doesn’t know if she expects him to confess or if she’s suspicious about him and Lance. Either way, knowing she’s okay with it helps.

“Is everything okay?” Shiro asks, “you don’t normally call meetings.”

“Everything is fine,” Keith says, clearing his throat, “I just- there’s something I need to share with everyone.”

At that, Pidge seems to shift in her spot, seemingly caught up with what’s happening. She gives him a reassuring nod and he takes a deep breath. He still doesn’t speak right away, unsure of how exactly to say it. But when he looks at Lance, he’s certain.

“When I was with the Blade, they gave me some insight into my past,” Keith says.

“That’s wonderful,” Coran says.

“About that, the insight isn’t something I’m sure will be taken lightly,” Keith says.

“What do you mean?” Shiro asks.

“My mother was… my mother was Galra,” Keith says, “I’m part Galra.”

The room is eerily silent. Keith doesn’t know where to look. He takes his chances and looks at Pidge, but it makes his stomach drop. Pidge is looking directly at Allura. Keith follows her gaze and is met with the most unreadable expression he’s ever seen on her face. He starts to panic. His eyes shift around the room briskly and everyone’s face only makes him feel worse.

“Also, Lance and I are dating!” Keith exclaims in a panic.

“What?” Hunk says.

Allura stands up briskly, not looking at anyone as she storms out of the room. Coran is quick to follow her and Keith just stands there, frozen. Shiro is looking at him with a strange, far off look, and he feels his chest caving in on itself. Lance is quick to grab his hand and the feeling keeps Keith from spiraling. Hunk is the first to move, and he walks over to Keith, stopping just in front of him. Keith is ready to be yelled at, but instead, a large pair of arms wrap around him tightly. Normally, he’d squirm out of the hold, but he just relaxes into Hunk’s arms, accepting the warmth and comfort they bring.

“I’m proud of you,” Hunk says, “that couldn’t have been easy to share.”

He lets go of the hug, but keeps his hands on Keith’s shoulders.

“Oh and if you break Lance’s heart, I’ll hunt you down,” Hunk says.

Keith smiles and nods, squeezing the hand holding Lance’s.

“Seriously though, I’m happy for you guys,” Hunk says, “now Lance can stop gushing about you in secret.”

“Hey!” Lance says.

Keith turns to look at him and smiles. He’s happy to know Lance talked about him. Pidge suddenly appears from around Hunk and leans into his side.

“You did the right thing,” Pidge says, “Allura will come around. She just needs some time.”

“What if she hates me?” Keith asks.

“She could never,” Hunk says, and Pidge nods in agreement.

“Thanks guys,” Keith says, “thanks for being my weird family.”

Hunk and Pidge smile at him, but the moment is disbanded when Shiro clears his throat behind them. His energy is stern and Keith feels his knees wobble slightly.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he says, “Keith, can we talk? Alone?”

Keith looks at the other two who are quick to clear out of the way. Lance’s hand tightens around his and it makes a small flutter of adoration spark in Keith’s heart.

“It’s okay,” Keith says, looking at Lance, “just wait in your room.”

Lance hesitates, but with a deep breath, lets go of Keith’s hand. Shiro smiles as Lance walks off and suddenly the room is theirs. Keith doesn’t know what to expect. Shiro has never had this look on his face before and it definitely can’t be good.

“First, I’m really glad you sorted things out with Lance,” Shiro says, “you guys are good for each other.”

Keith doesn’t know what to say or how to feel. He was expecting some sort of lecture, not this.

“I wish you would have told me sooner,” Shiro says.

“It wasn’t something I wanted to share,” Keith says, “being Galra is something I’m struggling to be proud of.”

“We’re here for you, Keith,” Shiro says, “no matter what blood you have.”

“I know that!” Keith says, “I know you’re my family and you’re here for me and you could never hate me.”

“Then what was stopping you?” Shiro asks.

“You saw what happened, Allura stormed out, the team is full of stupid tension,” Keith says, “I know you say you don’t care, but you’re still looking at me differently.”

“She’s going to be fine,” Shiro says, “it’s just going to take her some time.”

“Time is something we don’t exactly have right now,” Keith says, “the Galra are constantly on our tails and the entire universe is depending on us.”

“Keith, you have to know telling us was the right thing to do, okay?” Shiro says, a gentle hand landing on Keith’s shoulder.

“It doesn’t feel like that,” Keith mumbles.

“I just want you to know that you can talk to me about this kind of stuff,” Shiro says, “what kind of fake big brother would I be if you couldn’t?”

Keith chuckles and nods.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Keith says, “you know I’m not good at this whole… talking thing?”

Shiro smiles at him fondly and ruffles his hair.

“Go see your new boyfriend,” Shiro says, “sorry to separate you guys.”

Keith flushes at the mention of Lance and he feels like such an idiot.

“You really care about him, huh?” Shiro says.

“So much that it almost hurts,” Keith admits, “it’s- it’s nice.”

“Aw, Keithy is in love,” Shiro coos.

“Shut up,” Keith mumbles.

“Seriously, go find him,” Shiro says, “he looked like he wanted to kill me.”

“Turns out he’s really protective,” Keith says, scratching the back of his neck.

“I’m not surprised,” Shiro says, “I don’t think I’ve seen someone who cares about people as much as him.”

Keith smiles softly and hugs his arms around himself.

“Can you make sure Allura is okay?” Keith says, “I should probably keep my distance for a bit.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Shiro says, “just- be cautious around her for a bit.”

“Will do, dad,” Keith says.

With that, he walks out of the room. The second he’s out of Shiro’s sight, his shoulders tense slightly and he feels a darkness slide over him again. Shiro’s words did little to comfort him in the big picture. When he gets to Lance’s door, he hesitates. He doesn’t want to worry Lance, doesn’t want to dump his burdens on him, but he can’t help it. When the door slides open, he’s more than happy to fall into Lance’s arms.

“What was that about?” Lance asks, walking them over to the bed.

“Shiro was being a dad,” Keith grumbles, but he’s smiling slightly.

He’s glad he has someone who’s there to take care of him. He wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Shiro believing in him.

“How are you feeling?” Lance asks, “that was a lot.”

They’re sitting on Lance’s bed with their backs on the wall. Lance has an arm around Keith and is holding him against his chest. The sound of Lance’s heartbeat calms him down.

“I’m a little shaken,” Keith admits, “but I think everything is going to be fine.”

“You don’t have to be a tough guy around me,” Lance says softly, “tell me what’s up.”

“I’m really worried that Allura is going to be affected by this,” Keith says, “I don’t expect her to accept me with open arms right away, but I don’t want that to affect Voltron.”

“Allura is strong,” Lance says, “we both know that she won’t let her feelings affect the safety of the universe.”

“What if people die because of me?” Keith says, “what if she and Coran are off their game and it messes up a mission. It’ll be my fault.”

Lance lets out a small breath and kisses the top of Keith’s head. It’s something Lance has made a habit of to comfort Keith, and he can’t complain.

“Keith, that’s not going to happen,” Lance says, “no one is going to die because of you. Not because of what’s in your blood.”

“How can you be so sure?” Keith asks.

He knows it’s a shitty thing to say. He knows he’s putting unnecessary stress on Lance. But the words spill out of him easily.

“Because you’re Keith Kogane,” Lance says, “because you’re the most loyal person I know. Because when everyone else has lost their fight, you’re still going.”

Keith is consistently amazed with Lance. He always knows what to say, always knows how to be there for him. Keith lets his eyes close and snuggles into Lance’s chest, breathing in his familiar smell.

“Sorry,” Keith says, “I feel like you’ve had to comfort me nonstop for the last month.”

“Don’t apologize,” Lance says, “that’s what I’m here for.”

“But I want to be here for you,” Keith responds.

“And you will be when I need it,” Lance says, “but right now, you need support and I’m more than happy to do that for you.”

“I love you,” Keith says, the words slipping before he can stop himself.

He gasps and jumps back from Lance slightly. They’ve only been dating for two weeks, it feels way too early to say it. But Keith meant it with his entire heart. He thinks he’s always loved Lance. It just took him a really long time to realize it. Lance’s face softens at Keith’s reaction and he cups Keith’s jaw to pull their foreheads together.

“I love you too,” Lance says.

He kisses Keith gently, and despite how many times they’ve kissed, this one feels different. This one feels like a promise.

“I wish I knew you back at the Garrison,” Keith says, “you’re a lot more than you seem, McClain.”

Lance smiles and brushes their noses together.

“You never fail to surprise me,” Lance says, “who knew you were such a sap.”

“You’re the only reason I am,” Keith defends, “I didn’t know I was like this.”

Lance grins and connects their lips again, pushing Keith down so his back hits the mattress. Keith smiles into the kiss and his worries melt away. Afterall, when he feels this loved, there’s nothing that can stop him.