Chapter Text
Swirling the glass in his hand he watched as the ice cube spun helplessly, mirroring exactly how he felt. For the past three years, since the second they’d gotten back on the earth’s soil, he’d been in a daze. While he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, he was able to understand why. For years he, and his friends, had been trapped in space on the other side of the universe with no way to prepare for what they would be put through. Fighting a war that was centuries old, a war that had nothing to do with any of them, yet they were forced to fight because if they didn’t then the entire universe would be at stake.
Pretty heavy for a group of teenagers.
Letting out a sigh he took a sip of his drink, wincing slightly at the strong taste. As much as he hated the way it burned down his throat and to his stomach he couldn’t ignore the way it made him relax, the way it made him numb.
Leaning back on the couch he’d decided to take over he closed his eyes, ignoring the way the alcohol was going straight to his stomach. Why was he drinking again? What had triggered it? His brows furrowed as he struggled to remember. With so much alcohol in his system he couldn’t seem to think clearly. One moment he had been sleeping peacefully the next he’d woken up in a cold sweat, clutching at his chest as the scar that laced it ached.
A nightmare. He’d had a nightmare.
The nightmare? He’d died. Except this particular nightmare was a memory. He’d been fighting one moment, easily hitting his opponents, the next he felt his chest burning. Looking down he’d realized there was a hole in his chest, inches from where his heart was. Gasping loudly he dropped to the floor, his gun held loosely as his other hand was placed over the hole. The world slowed down, his heartbeat was loud in his ears, his body felt cold. He was dying.
“LANCE!” Blinking a couple of times, like he was trying to get himself out of a daze, he looked around to pinpoint where the voice had come from. Before he had time to figure it out there was suddenly a face in front of his, gray eyes looking at him frantically. Keith. “Lance, holy shit!” Hands were pulling his hand away from his chest, holding onto it as a gasp sounded. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” He winced, closing his eyes and trying to move away from the voice that was now ringing in his ears. “Lance,” peeking an eye open he saw those gray eyes again, becoming more frantic by the second. Before he could register what was happening he was scooped up into a pair of arms. The only reason he knew he was moving was due to the coolness of the air that was hitting him in the face.
A groan escaped him from the movement, his head moving so he could hit his face in the chest of his rescuer. “You’re gonna be fine, Lance.” He knew that was a lie. “We’re gonna put you in the pod Allura showed us and you’re gonna be fixed before you know it.” Fixed? What was he? A machine that had malfunctioned? Well, maybe he was.
Before too long their pace slowed and he was gently set down on the ground, his body propped up against the way before quick footsteps ran off. “Okay, Allura showed me how to use this in case of an emergency.” He heard buttons being hit, the buzzing of a machine slowly turning on, the heavy, panicked, breathing of the usually cool headed man.
“Okay, Lance.” He jolted a little bit as he picked up again. Had he drifted off? He swore Keith had just been at the machine, now he was holding him again, rushing him towards a pod that they’d been shown once. It was the healing pod.
It opened up, fog rolling out of it in an almost ominous way. Though Keith didn’t seem to notice as he gently laid Lance into it, holding the back of his head so it wouldn’t hit down hard. “You’re gonna be fine.” Though he was trying to be reassuring, Lance couldn't ignore the panic that was lingering in his voice. He didn’t know. He peeked through squinted eyes as the man backed away little, hitting a button on the machine before backing away more.
“I don’t know how long you’re gonna be in there, but I know as long as you’re in there you’ll be safe,” he pulled his bayard from his hip, his sword appearing out of nowhere. He was slowly backing up, his eyes staying focused on Lance. “Once this is finished I’ll come back, okay?” He seemed to hesitate for a moment, his mouth open before he abruptly closed it, along with his eyes. Lance didn’t have time to ponder what he was going to say before he ran away and the world started to slip away as the pod began to work faster, forcing him into a slumber. Though it didn’t really need to force it, he’d been feeling sleepy from the second he’d realized he’d been shot. Closing his eyes he let the quiet hum of the pod help him drift off. Not knowing if he would wake up once he did.
He jolted from his spot on the couch, the drink in his hand spilling a little as he sat up straight, looking around in a panic. Before too long he calmed down, realizing he’d fallen asleep. He’d had the same nightmare. Placing his hand on his chest she could feel the scar through his thin shirt as it continued to ache.
A noise distracted him from his thoughts, he looked around until his eyes landed on his phone, a familiar name on the screen. Letting out a groan he leaned forward, setting his glass on the coffee table before picking up the phone and accepting the call, placing it up to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Geez, Lance, 4 missed calls and that’s all you’ve got to say?” He frowned, half tempted to hang up. But before he could move the man on the other end continued. “I’ve been texting you for the past 20 minutes, I’m about 5 minutes away.”
“5 minutes away?”
“Yeah.”
“Care to explain what you mean by that?”
“I mean I’m 5 minutes away. From your house. Did you forget?”
“No!” He pursed his lips, wracking his brain for what the other man could be talking about but nothing came up. “Yes.”
A sigh escaped the other man as he heard an automated voice talking, “Damn, is your memory getting worse with old age?”
“You’re older than me.”
“By technicality only. Listen, I’m now about 2 minutes away, you don’t have the animals out do you?”
“Of course not, it’s..” he pulled the phone away for a moment, the screen read 11pm, “..11pm, why would I have them out?”
“Good. Make sure you’re decent, I’ll be there soon.”
And with that he hung up the call. Lance stared into the dark, confused on what the fuck was going on. But he didn’t have much time to be confused as bright lights suddenly flooded the room, signaling someone’s arrival. Keith’s arrival.
..huh?
He scrambled off the couch and to the front door, flinging it open just as Keith landed. Thankfully he didn’t land too close, but he still had to look away and cover his eyes from the debris that was kicked up. Before too long the lights went out and he heard a door opening. “Maybe your definition and my definition of decent is different,” the tone was a bit playful as he heard footsteps getting closer. His eyes took their time to readjust to the darkness. Just as they did he was suddenly looking into a pair of gray eyes.
“Keith?”
“Yes, Keith. The same Keith you were just on the phone with.” His arms were crossed against his chest, an eyebrow raised as he looked Lance up and down. “Maybe I should’ve given you more of a warning.”
Curious to what he meant he looked down, realizing he was in his pjs, which meant a thin shirt and a pair of boxers. He wasn’t really embarrassed to be seen like that by Keith, they’d lived in the same section of the castle for years, but more for being caught unprepared.
But what was he unprepared for? It wasn’t everyday Keith dropped by.
And then it hit him.
“Shit.”
“Yeah, shit.”
It was the week anniversary of their victory. Their victory of winning the war, of coming out alive, or getting back home. Running his hand through his hair, which he realized was tangled and probably looked awful, he let out a sigh. “Sorry, man. I was asleep.”
He heard sniffing, which caused him to back up. “And drinking.”
“And? I’m an adult, I can drink if I want to.”
“But you’ve never been much of a drinker.”
“Things can change with time.”
“True,” Keith stepped closer, stopping right in front of Lance. “So are you gonna let me in or am I sleeping in the barn with the animals?”
“Don’t you have a bed on your ship?”
“Yeah, but I’d prefer a real bed. The ship’s bed is way too hard.”
“Sounds awful, so sorry that you have put up with that.” There was an inclination of a bite in his words, it seemed like the alcohol was still in his system. “It’s not like you had a choice to sleep on a soft bed in a safe house rather than on a hard bed up in space.” And there it was, the venom to complete the bite. Before the older man could retort back he turned his back on him, opening his front door and motioning for him to follow.
They walked silently through his house, both ignoring the mostly empty bottle of alcohol on the coffee table. “I was busy today so I totally forgot to make your room, but the bed is made and the closet is mostly empty.” He pushed up a door opposite of his, stepping back so the older man could step inside. “I do hope it’s up to your standards.”
The older man scoffed, walking in and setting down a bag, one Lance had failed to notice, on the bed. “It’s great, thanks.” The air grew awkward the longer the silence went on. From the second Lance had woken up he’d begun to sober up, and it seems like he’d sobered up just enough to realize just how rude his words had been. Closing his eyes he leaned against the doorframe, wrapping his arms around himself.
“Sorry, man, that was uncalled for.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not. I had no reason to say that.” Opening his eyes he watched as the older man started to fill the closet with his clothes, though there weren’t many. “I just.. I’m not feeling the greatest, and despite our planning, you caught me off guard.” He rubbed at his arm a little, unsure how to derail the awkwardness. “It’s good to see you, Keith.” He offered a soft smile to the man, but his back remained towards him.
“Yeah.”
Well this was familiar. When they first had gotten stranded in space their interactions were just like this. Fuck. Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat he continued to stumble through his words, “Did you have a safe flight?”
“Yeah.”
“See anything cool on the way here?”
“Not really.”
“Talk to any of the others?”
“Not yet.”
Well, this was well deserved. Sighing in defeat he pulled away from the doorframe, keeping his arms wrapped around him as if though the self embrace was enough to save him from the awkwardness of the conversation. “Well, have a good night, Keith.” There wasn’t an answer as he closed the door and walked back downstairs, going to clean up the mess he’d made in the living room.
Hopefully things weren’t as awkward in the morning.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Things were even more awkward. Keith had woken up early and Lance had barely slept so he heard every moment that was made. When he finally pulled himself out of bed to go downstairs to the kitchen Keith was already in there, eating something he didn’t recognize, not giving Lance a second of his time. Walking past the older man he made his way towards the coffee machine, starting his normal routine.
“Do you want some coffee?”
Silence.
“I’ll make enough for the both of us.”
Starting the machine he leaned against the counter, his arms wrapped around himself again, eyes glued to the floor. What was he supposed to say to Keith after last night? He’d come out swinging from left field and then tried to recover without much of a plan. Why did he do that? He couldn’t just blame the alcohol, he had been sober enough to know better, and yet he’d done it. The silence lingered until the coffee machine let out a ding, signaling it was ready.
“You still like your coffee with milk?” All he got was a grunt in return, but he took it as a yes. After pouring the coffee into a mug he made his way to the fridge and grabbed the milk, working on autopilot as he added it in the coffee, mixing it together with a spoon. After putting the milk away he grabbed it, took a deep breath, and turned around, holding it out in front of him. “A peace offering.”
He watched as the older man glanced at him, though it was more like a glare, before sighing, his expression softening as he reached out and took the mug. “Thanks.” Satisfied with that interaction Lance turned away to get himself a cup of coffee, adding cream and sugar. After taking his first sip he felt a little bit, though his actions from last night were creeping up on him, starting with a headache.
“I’ll call the others once I wake up a little more, then we can make concrete plans on what to do today, and then make plans for the rest of the week.” Taking another sip he watched as the other man looked confused. “What?”
“Didn’t you check the group chat?”
“No. I kinda just woke up, laid in bed, and then came downstairs. Why? Did something happen?”
“Yeah, everyone canceled.”
He about spit out his coffee at Keith’s words, looking at him in disbelief. “Everyone?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Wha.. why?”
“They all had stuff going on.”
“Stuff more important?”
“Well, yeah, they’ve all got lives of their own.”
“But we’ve been doing this for three years, no one has missed it.”
“Things can change with time.”
He was slapped in the face with his own words. He quietly took another sip of coffee, trying to come to terms with what he’d been told. “Did they at least say why?”
“If you read the group chat you’d know why.” He watched as Keith took another sip of his coffee, his gray eyes never leaving Lance’s eyes. “But yeah, they did. Adam and Shiro are planning a family trip, they’re taking the girls on a road trip.” He paused, as if giving Lance time to process. “Pidge and Matt are on the brink of a breakthrough with their newest invention, they said they can’t just step away now. Hunk and Shay had conflicting schedules, so they decided to go with the other option, though they did promise to visit once it was over.”
He nodded his head, not really accepting what Keith was saying, but at least acknowledging what he was saying. “Though they all still urged me to come,” he swirled his coffee for a moment, pursing his lips into a tight line. “Though I’m not sure if it was the best option,” he was focusing his gaze on his coffee, “I agreed to come because I didn’t want you to be alone during this hard time, but after tonight I’m curious if you even want anyone here.”
Well that hurt. But he deserved it. Holding his mug in both hands he shook his head, “I’m happy you decided to come, it’d be harder to be alone. As for last night, I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t fix anything, but I am. I had no reason to come at you like that, especially after you flew who knows how far to be here.” Straightening his stance he decided to man up, “I guess what you said kinda rubbed me the wrong way.” He knew that wasn’t the right thing to say after Keith started to glare at him again, so he backtracked a little bit.
“I mean, it wasn’t a bad thing to say. I know the beds on the castle weren’t the best, I know I was craving my bed at home every day. It just.. reminded me of the fact that you decided to leave. And to hear you complain about something that you chose to do kinda hurt? But it still isn’t an excuse to come at you like an angry teenager.” Just like he’d been when they’d been in space. Despite being often perceived as the happy go lucky boy of the castle he had just as much of a temper, being on edge from being stranded from home with no guarantee that they were going to make it back home.
“I guess I can see where you’re coming from,” he perked up a little bit, “But it was still a dick thing to say.” And he deflated.
“Yeah, sorry, man.”
“It’s whatever. You didn’t look too good when I showed up, so I guess I can let it go. It’s not the worst thing either of us have said to each other.” He took a loud slurp of his coffee, “What had you so shaken up anyways? Since you, you know, are in a safe house and everything?”
He was continuing to throw Lance’s words back at him, but Lance took it without flinching. “I had a nightmare,” he realized how childish it sounded as soon as it left his mouth, but it was the truth. He placed a hand over his chest and he saw Keith’s expression soften again, “It hit me pretty hard and shook me up pretty bad. It doesn’t help that I had it again after I fell asleep again.” He finished his own coffee, his hand lingering on his chest as he placed his mug in the sink.
“Your scar still hurting you?”
“Sometimes, though, it's just a dull ache from time to time. Though with every nightmare it’s consistent, but after I wake up it’s gone in a few hours.” Running a hand through his even more tangled hair he offered Keith a smile, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “It does usually start acting up more during this week though, don’t have a clue why though.” He let out a soft chuckle, though all he got in return was a nearly undetectable look of sorrow.
Clapping his hands together he pointed at Keith, “Well! How about we both get properly ready for the day and then we can head out and do something, hm? I can’t have you coming all the way out here for nothing.” Taking Keith’s mug from his hand he placed it in the sink and then quickly walking past him towards the stairs. “Feel free to use the shower if you haven’t already, I have one in my room. We can meet up in the living room when we’re both done.”
He ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs before Keith could say a word, not wanting the atmosphere to go back to being awkward. Besides, they were gonna be together for a while, there was plenty of time for it to be awkward.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Tell me again why we are clothes shopping.”
“Because you have exactly three outfits to your name and you are gonna be here for a week.”
“Three outfits are more than enough, especially when I’m living in the ship, and I technically have four.”
“Your galra outfit does not count.”
He heard a huff come from the older man, quietly protesting that it does too count, but he didn’t try and loudly bicker back, just letting Lance throw things into his already full arms. “I think this is enough,” he said proudly, stepping back to look at the mountain of clothes he had piled into the older man's arms.
“I think it’s more than enough, when am I ever going to wear half of these?”
“You need to think of the future, Keith. You’re going to come back to earth more than once a year, right? You need more than just a couple new outfits. Now, go!” He quickly went behind the man and placed his hands on his back, pushing him towards the fitting rooms. “I’ll be right outside when you’re done putting one on.”
“And how do I know what goes with what?”
“Just put together whatever you want, I may have picked the clothes but how you style them is completely up to you,” he paused for a moment, “Unless how you style them is completely ugly, then I might have a word or two of advice.”
“Lovely, I’m looking forward to it.” His tone was flat as he stepped into one of the rooms and closed the door behind him, locking it. Lance sat right outside, laying one leg on top of the other as he waited, looking around the shop. He could see many inspirations from the foreign cultures that had mingled in with earth’s cultures over the years. A lot of it was beautiful, some of it was confusing, and all of it looked expensive. Probably because, if it wasn’t, they were passing it off as authentic. Though he could tell just from looking at some of them that they were cheaply made, a quick cash grab.
“You know I haven’t worn a cropped jacket in years, right?” He hadn’t even noticed Keith had left the fitting room until he was right in front of him, pulling down on the sides of the cropped jacket he had picked out. Honestly he had picked it out mostly to tease the older man for his previous sense of style, not that his current sense of style was much different, but seeing it on him he couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic.
“Yeah, well, it suits you.” He stood up, reaching out and straightening the collar, gently pulling out the long hair that fell past the older man's shoulders. When had his hair gotten so long? Not that it was short when they were in space, but this was definitely new. “And it’s a nice color, red looks good on you.” It wasn’t the same shade of red he’d previously worn, more deep, wine toned. It paired well with Keith’s skin tone.
Taking a step back he took a moment to look over the rest of the outfit. Of course Keith had gone straight for the tighter pair of pants he had chosen, he didn’t really take Keith for a loose pants kind of guy, and a plain white shirt. It was simple, but it was Keith.
“I’m actually liking this whole outfit, do you feel like trying on a few more?”
“And how many is a ‘few more’ to you?”
“As many as I can get away with before you get bored of trying clothes on.”
An amused snort quietly escaped the older man as he took a moment to look at himself in the mirror before smiling and then disappearing into the fitting room again. After a couple of minutes Keith came out in another outfit. It was another simple outfit, a red shirt, the same tight black pants, but this time he had a bomber jacket in a faded black shade.
“Looks good.” He couldn’t help looking Keith up and down again, though he probably didn’t need to have done it multiple times. He was just admiring his ability to style the older man, that’s all. That’s all.
“I gotta admit, Lance, you know me well.” He pulled the sleeves of the bomber jacket all the way down his arm, twisting them so they were straight. “And they’re comfortable too. I was afraid they were gonna be scratchy or something, I can’t deal with scratchy clothes.”
“We lived together for years, Keith, how could I not know you?”
He couldn’t ignore the kind of smile that was on Keith’s face after he said that, but he didn’t comment on it. There was a good vibe in the atmosphere right now and he didn’t want to ruin it with pointless squabbling.
After a few more outfits Keith threw in the towel and he gathered up the outfits he liked, raising a brow as Lance pulled out his card. “What? You think I’m gonna drag you shopping and not pay? That’d be rude.” Grabbing Keith’s arm he tugged him up to the registers, grabbing the outfits from his hands and placing them on the counter. “I will make you carry the bags though,” he said as he held out the bags towards Keith. The older man just rolled his eyes as he grabbed the bags and followed Lance out of the shop, nodding towards the older woman who bid them goodbye.
“Anywhere you wanna go or do we actually just go out to get me a new wardrobe?”
“I was thinking we could window shop for a while and then maybe get some lunch? I didn’t realize how long we were there until I checked my phone at the registers.” With that he checked his phone again, noting that it was 10:45 and making a mental note to keep an eye out for lunch spots.
“How about we go there, then?” Looking up he saw Keith pointing towards a candy store, the pictures on the windows showing them some of the sweets were from earth while others were from other plants. “There’s this one candy I got on one of the planets I stopped on that was really good and it’d be great if I could find it again. It’d give me a good reason to stop by earth more often.”
“I’m offended, am I not a good enough reason?”
The words rolled off his tongue before he could stop himself and he quickly realized how much that sounded either egotistical, or flirtatious. Either way it was a bit of an odd thing to say. Though the laugh that left Keith eased Lance’s mind.
“I think you’ll like the candy.”
With that he walked past Lance into the candy shop, completing gliding past the question Lance had asked, which he was grateful for. Though he couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling of disappointment that he felt. And the confusion, why did he care?
Walking into the candy shop with Keith he looked around. A lot of these shops had been built after they had all gotten back to earth, with so many new beings coming to live on earth there were many new things to be sold. “What’s the name of the candy we are looking for?”
“I have no idea.”
“Well that really helps narrow down the search.”
“I know what the packaging looks like, but I don’t know what it’s called because it’s not in english and it’s not a language I learned. I was only on the planet for, like, two days.”
Keith’s eyes were focused on the shelves of candy, his pace slow and he looked over each one with concentration. Lance watched with amusement. He’d never taken Keith to have a sweet tooth, but thinking back on he did remember how Keith was usually first in line whenever Hunk baked something new. So there were still things he was learning about him.
“Aha!” He was jolted out of his thoughts as Keith held a piece of candy up in victory, grinning at Lance like a.. well, like a kid in a candy store. That stirred something up in Lance, but he wasn’t able to distinguish what it was. Surprise? Giddiness? He didn’t know. He just knew it was rare to see Keith so worked up over something like this.
“Is it that good?” He leaned in and looked at the candy questioningly.
“I’ll let you decide that,” grabbing another one he triumphantly walked up to the registers and paid for them. Walking back he placed one in Lance’s hand and opened the other, happily taking a bite. “I, for one, think it’s one of the best candies I’ve ever had, though I couldn’t tell you what’s in it, and honestly? I don’t think I want to know. Sometimes the best tasting stuff has the worst ingredients.”
With those words he hesitantly opened his piece of candy and took a small bite. He couldn’t even begin to explain the flavor, but all he knew is that he took a big ass bit next. Looking at Keith with wide eyes Keith just nodded at him and kept munching on his. “Do you think I should grab more? For the others?”
“Well, duh! I think Hunk would be so mad if we didn’t at least grab him one. He could probably even recreate the recipe after the first bite.” That made Keith’s eyes sparkle and it felt like seconds passed by with how fast Keith grabbed the two boxes on the shelves and paid for them.
“Think this is too many?”
“For the two of us? Yes. For everyone? No.” He nudged Keith’s side, “Nice find, man.”
After a little more window shopping, well, at least from Keith, Lance bought a few more bags worth of things, it was 1:05 and both of their stomachs were growling. “What are you in the mood for, man? I saw quite a few options, but I might as well give the guest of honor the choice.”
“No way! I’ll just have whatever you recommend, you live here.”
“Hmm.. then how about some rope vieja? It’s really good! My mama used to make it all the time when I was growing up!” Now it was Lance’s turn to be excited, practically bouncing where he stood. An amused expression appeared on Keith’s face.
“Sure, lead the way.”
“With pleasure.”
Without thinking he linked his arm with Keith’s and started pulling him with him, practically drooling at the thought of food.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Was everything to your satisfaction, gentleman?”
Lance couldn’t answer, too full from how much he had eaten. Sometimes his eyes were bigger than his stomach. “Yes, thank you.” He was grateful that Keith was with him, and was able to pace himself better than him. “Could we have the check?”
“Certiantly, sir.” He motioned between them, “And will it be together or separate?”
“Together.”
“Of course, give me a moment and I’ll be back.” With that the waiter vanished and they were alone.
“We could’ve split, man.”
“It’s fine, I got more money than I know what to do with right now. I love how many missions I’ve been on, but I don’t really have anything to spend the rewards on.”
“So you’re spending it on me? What a gentleman,” his tone was teasing as he held his hand against his chest in a flattered manner. Keith snorted and rolled his eyes.
“Only the best for you.”
Lance couldn’t help but laugh, but before he could banter back the waiter came back with the check, looking at both of them quickly. “You guys make a lovely couple.”
That about had Lance choking on air, looking up at the waiter with wide eyes, “We’re not a couple!” The waiter suddenly looked very embarrassed, bowing in apology as he set the check on the table and vanishing once again. “Geez, what gave him that idea?” He looked to Keith to back him up but was suddenly very aware of how quiet he had become, which wasn’t unusual, but he had been pretty chatty ever since they’d gotten the candy.
“Keith?”
“Hm?”
“That was really weird, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I mean, I get it, there’s, like, a 50/50 chance if he’s right or wrong, but why say it outloud if you’re not sure? It just makes the whole thing weird.”
“Mhm.”
“You good, man?”
Keith lifted his head and nodded, “Yeah, sorry, the food just isn’t really agreeing with me.”
“Fair enough, once you pay you wanna go back home?”
Keith didn’t verbally answer, just nodded his head. Once the waiter took the check and Keith’s card and came back, after another apology, they left. It stayed quiet between them as they went back home, making Lance wonder just how bad the food had hit him. He thought about making him something for his stomach, or suggesting a nap. But he didn’t want to seem suffocating, Keith was a grown man and could take care of himself. But Lance also had this weird urge to take care of him, seeing how off he was acting. Yeah, he’d do something for him when they got home and if Keith didn’t like it he could just let him know.