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Chapter Text

Lance watches Allura and Coran come out of the thick doors of the meeting room, whispering to each other with concerned faces. He tries his hardest to focus and decode their words and facial expressions, it’s hard when you’re an empty-headed 10-year-old. What do adults like them even talk about? His thoughts are thrown off by a ball coming to his head, which he catches with surprising ease, like a leaf falling from a tree. His attention now focuses on his best friend, Hunk, who’s staring at him with awe.

“Wow, Lance! I thought you would get concussed!” Lance laughs, unaware of whatever ‘concussed’ means, Hunk must’ve made it up.

“Oh please, you haven’t seen the extent of my superpower,” Hunk’s mouth is wide open, eyes pleading with Lance to see what the extent is. This makes Lance’s cocky grin even bigger as he rolls his sleeves up. 

The boy points to an open window visible from the courtyard, “You see where Pidge is?” Hunk nods, looking at the stationary girl talking to her brother, “I can throw this ball and it will land directly above her head! No injuries!” 

Hunk doesn’t have to say another word before Lance takes a step back, prepared to throw the ball like a world-class batter. He runs up, dramatically screaming as he throws the ball, bound for Pidge's head.

– 

“The Galra are getting too powerful, I’m sorry, Princess, but I see where the council is coming from!” Coran says, trying to reason with Allura. However, he can’t deny that Allura should not deal with adult topics such as marriage at 14. Allura looks down at the floor as they walk through the hallway, humming solemnly to herself as if to self-comfort.

“Is there a ‘prince’ who’s not 3 years older than me?” Allura grumbles.

“They have another son - Shiro’s half-brother - Keith, but he is the same age as Lance,” Coran is startled by Allura’s heavy groan as she presses her hands to her face in a dramatic sense. The next few doboshes are filled with a ringing silence and a deep knot in Coran’s throat. How is he supposed to tell this young princess that marriage to the ‘Prince of Marmora’ can help Altea protect themselves from the Galra? That the Blade of Marmora will only help them if one of their own is tied down to an Altean? 

Coran hears two voices, one younger and a teenage voice, ring through the hallway. Allura’s ears perk up as she looks at the pair in front of them, Pidge and Matt. Coran recognises them from the rescue group a few years ago, by their rounded ears. She runs over with a smile to the two humans and honestly, Coran is relieved. For a second, all seems peaceful until he watches everything happen in slow motion. A small ball, all too familiar to him, comes flying through the open window, bound for the princess and Pidge. It lands right in the middle of Allura’s head -just above Pidge’s head- and she screams due to the force of the hit. The siblings console her as Coran massages her forehead. After a minute of agony, her feelings are replaced with annoyance as she looks outside to the courtyard. 

“Lance you will not get away with this!” Allura shouts at her younger brother standing sheepishly behind a tree from the top of her lungs. Pidge scoffs once she sees Hunk standing next to Lance with tears streaming down his face, profusely apologising to the princess. 

“Sometimes you can’t help but wonder if that boy needs a little push in the right direction,” Coran mutters, Allura’s eyes grow wide with an idea.

– 

Shiro stares at his younger brother with concern, should kids be allowed to play with a sharp blade? He’s not at all prepared to babysit Keith, the kid is so quiet it’s unsettling. But Krolia and Kolivan left in such a haste that it left Shiro to supervise Keith in the Blade’s headquarters. As much as he loves his brother, everyone else is on different planets fighting against the Galra while he has to babysit a 10-year-old stabbing his toys with a blade. He can’t help but feel like he’s been given the shorter end of the stick. He tries not to overthink it, though. On the brighter side, Keith looks interested in the anatomical side of stabbing and not the pure violence, a bright future, Shiro’s sure.

“Keith,” He says, the boy looks up immediately, “Do you want dinner?” Keith looks to the ceiling, thinking for a moment, before nodding and grabbing Shiro’s hand. 

Shiro has to bend his knees so that Keith can hold on to his hand, the blade in the other hand, as they silently walk to the kitchen. Shiro finds some oddly fresh goo on the countertop, handing it to Keith, who looks slightly disgusted. 

Shiro sighs, “C’mon, it’s not as good as Earth food but it’s nutritious,” 

The mention of Earth makes Keith look down with a disappointed expression, and Shiro gets him. Getting swept up in space by Krolia wasn’t on their bingo cards 5 years ago, but life works in odd ways. Distasteful food and Earth aside, Keith eats the goo without a thought behind his eyes. The blade sits on the countertop in between the brothers, and Shiro can’t help but curiously pick it up. Keith doesn’t mind Shiro inspecting it, the glowing purple and its sharpness. It’s a perfect blade, fit for battles and things Krolia has taught Shiro. He starts slicing the air in a quick and precise manner, the way he’s been taught for all these years. He imagines a Galran soldier in front of him, ready to fight, maybe even Zarkon himself. He starts slicing and stabbing the air in a dramatised way, he knows Keith is watching curiously. He shuffles his feet back and forth, adding in sound effects like ‘woosh’ and ‘psh’ when hitting the air, making Keith laugh. He turns the blade on himself, pushing it through his side, which isn’t facing Keith, dramatically falling.

“You’re good, at fighting, not acting,” Keith giggles, pushing the empty bowl of food goo away. Shiro gets up from his position on the floor, rubbing the back of his neck, he must’ve hit it somewhere. He sets the bowl in the sink, looking at Keith, wondering what a kid like him would love to do.

“You want to go to the flight sim?” And Keith’s smile grows brighter.

– 

The simulation’s model is a simple fighter jet, Shiro has gotten used to it in the past year, but to Keith, it’s like Christmas morning for him. Shiro sits in the pilot’s seat as Keith sits down on the kid’s seat added by Krolia a few months ago. He starts the sim and suddenly they’re in space, he hears a distant laser and when he turns around there is a huge Galra ship coming at them. He turns to Keith, who is observing, a firm grip on his blade.

“You ready?” Keith nods.

Shiro pushes the levers, accelerating the engine and blasting through the galaxy. He dodges multiple asteroids with relative ease, twisting and turning in a methodic way that is still enjoyable for the kid sitting next to him. Once there are no asteroids, Shiro knows this is the part where he has to blast a few ships. Keith knows this too, after doing a few sims with Shiro as he waits for the day he can fly too. 

“How long do you think it will take to take down the ships?” Shiro asks, looking at Keith intently.

“5 minutes,”

“Deal.”

Shiro completes it on 4 minutes, which is no surprise since his high score is 2 minutes, but Keith is super impressed. He had screamed in joy as Shiro dipped below the fleet and shot them, high-fiving Shiro whenever he took a ship down. The simulation gives him an automated congratulations, before shutting down and reflecting the cold walls instead of the galaxies. Shiro turns around to help Keith down, but the boy is sleeping peacefully, holding the blade like a stuffed toy. He carries Keith out of the simulator and goes down the hallways with the boy’s soft grasp on Shiro’s neck, the blade threatening to stab anyone behind them. They get to Keith’s room, a small room with space-themed walls and a rocket bed. He tucks Keith in and whispers a fond ‘good night’ before gently closing the door behind him. 

Shiro hears two familiar voices going down the hallway, he sees the two Galrans -Krolia and Kolivan- walking his way. They stop talking once they see him, Shiro nods at them and Kolivan nods back. 

Krolia walks to him with open arms, “Good evening, my boy,” Shiro returns the hug, a knot tightening in his stomach.

“Where have you been?” Shiro asks, Krolia’s smile drops as she turns to Kolivan, who sighs.

“We had a meeting with the Altean Council,” Oh, so that’s what it’s about, Shiro thinks, his face dropping. Krolia gives him a concerned look, resembling a mother, Shiro’s breath hitches.

“It’s okay, duty calls,” He gives them a small smile, even if everyone knows that he hates being betrothed to the Altean princess. It almost feels like they’re trying to take him away from the place he’s been starting to call home, away from Keith, the only family he has. But it goes unsaid, he looks to Krolia and Kolivan, who have a different expression now. Shiro raises a brow and the pair knows it’s time to tell him.

“You won’t be marrying Princess Allura,” Shiro sighs a breath of relief, almost as if his worries have disappeared. But a new worry starts to creep in.

“What happened to the alliance?” He asks, Krolia dips her head, almost embarrassed.

“It’s Keith,” She says, almost whispering, “Keith will be marrying Prince Lance of Altea,”

Shiro’s jaw hits the floor.

–

“Lance?” Allura knocks on her brother’s door, waiting for some kind of answer, she stares at Coran with concern. There's a grumble from the other side of the door, the two take a deep breath before cautiously walking in. 

Lance is leaning against the plush blue bed, throwing that same ball up and catching it once it falls. He looks so tranquil as he repeatedly throws the ball up and down, it calms Allura down a little. 

“Lance?” He holds the ball and glances at the two, “We need to talk,” Allura’s voice shakes a little as she sits down at the edge of Lance’s bed, Coran standing in between the two. Lance props himself up, elbows bent sitting casually, eyes flickering at Allura, then Coran, then back to Allura.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” He asks, juggling the ball subconsciously. Allura looks at Coran, silently pleading with him to break the news. He sighs, knowing it is his job as the only adult in the room.

“Prince, do you remember the Blade of Marmora?” His voice wobbles a bit, quickly clearing his throat.

Lance nods, “Allura’s gonna get married to the prince, right?” Allura coughs a little and Coran visibly tenses, which worries Lance a bit. Did he hit a nerve? What do they know that he doesn’t? The silence between the two makes him feel angry, what is it with adults and keeping secrets? 

“What is it?” He asks, trying to maintain his cool and composed expression, but his leg is shaking feverishly. “Did something happen to him?”

“No, Lance. I’m not marrying Shiro,” Allura sighs, if Coran is sweating an Olympic swimming pool he clearly will be no help.

Lance immediately sits up, eyes wide, thinking Shiro has been injured or dead. After all, everyone knows Lance was secretly admiring the boy when he came to visit Altea last year. To Lance, Shiro is the greatest soldier who could probably take down the Galra Empire with his bare hands.

“No way,” Lance says, hands covering his mouth, “What are we gonna do now?”

“He’s alive, Prince,” Lance mutters ‘I knew that’ but Coran’s words comfort him, his leg calming down.

“Why aren’t you marrying him? Are we not friends with them? Am I ever gonna see him again? I hope I don’t see that mullet kid…” Lance spews every question he can think of but the mention of Keith seems to make Allura and Coran freeze, Lance doesn’t care, though.

“You know Keith? Perfect,” Coran mutters, sighing a breath of relief.

Lance shoots another questioning glare, which makes Coran dramatically cover his mouth. Allura can’t take this anymore, tiptoeing around the subject of Lance’s marriage isn’t going to get them anywhere with a dense kid like him. She thinks for a brief moment, what would her father do? It’s selfish to rely on him when he’s no longer around, especially after she’s ‘ruined’ his wishes and dragged his dear son into this. But he would gently hold Lance’s hand and tell him in the most subtle but easy-to-understand way. Allura takes Lance’s hand and sighs before looking at him, dead in the eyes, her reflection bouncing off his curious blue eyes.

“Lance, we want you to marry Keith,” Before Lance can do anything dramatic she quickly explains herself, “Look, we’re still arranging things, but we want you two to meet every summer and have fun until… inevitably… you…”

“NO!! I’m not falling in love with that slimy mullet boy!” Lance yells, smacking Allura’s hand away and haphazardly burying himself in his blankets, kicking the two out of his bed.

“There’s no use, Princess,” Allura feels a hand on her shoulder and looks to Coran who is right, Lance will take a while to process this.

“Look, Lance, there’s no backing out. I need to be Altea’s future queen, Shiro needs to help the Blades and-”

“My life will be at the hands of the council, I’ll never be a pilot,” Lance whispers, his voice breaking, Allura knows he’s starting to cry.

She pats his shoulder, “Hey, you’ll be the best pilot. Keith knows a lot about fighting, he can teach you these things. I heard he’s training to be a swordsman,” Allura smiles, giving Lance a small kiss on the top of his head.

It makes Lance feel slightly better, he’s seen the Galran boy before, hugging Shiro’s leg tightly. But once Allura and Coran leave, a billion thoughts run through Lance’s head. Negative ideas swirling in his young brain. What could he do anyway? Fate seems to be in the council’s hands.

Chapter Text

i.

Lance can’t sleep, he’s twisting and turning trying to find the cold breeze on a warm Summer night. The thought of the morning is eating up his brain, like a parasite hiding in the mud. Without warning, his body shoots up. He scans the dark corners of his room, nothing in sight. He peeks through the peephole, but no one is in the hallways. Slowly, avoiding the creaking, he opens the door and walks down the hall to the kitchen. That’s when he hears something terrifying, a sigh. There shouldn’t be anyone out, especially with the increased security due to the Blade of Marmora visiting. Lance can hear a scrapping noise coming from the kitchen, he tries his best to stop the echo of his footsteps as he creeps into the kitchen, aiming to intimidate the strange creature in the kitchen.

But there’s no creature in the kitchen, instead, it’s the one and only Takashi Shirogane, eating his second bowl of food goo. Lance stares with his mouth agape, coming face-to-face with his idol, less than 5 metres away from him. Shiro gives him a smile, which makes Lance flush in embarrassment, he can’t be seen in his blue car-print pants!

He clears his throat, “What are you doing?” His attempts to sound older and mature are thrown out the window.

“I was hungry, Coran told me the kitchen is free to use at any hour,”

“I don’t think Coran meant eating at the crack of dawn,” 

Shiro laughs, a full and hearty laugh that seems too energetic for the early hour, Lance can see fondness in his eyes.

“What’s funny?” Lance asks, staring at his pyjamas.

“You remind me of him, Keith. You two will get along, I’m sure,” Lance frowns at the mention of Shiro’s brother, a constant reminder of the future set out for him. Shiro looks at Lance with pity in his eyes, it makes Lance feel sick. Allura had told him to keep a good face for the Blade of Marmora, yet here he is, frowning at the thought of Keith in front of his brother.

“He sounds great ,” Lance says passive-aggressively, walking back to his room in childish anger.

–

The Altean morning punches Keith in the guts, it blinds his eyes, he’ll never get used to this. Shiro loves Altean mornings, he says the sun here reminds him of Earth. Keith wouldn’t know, though, it’s been 7 years since he’s been to Earth. In the years with the Blades, he’s gotten used to the dark void that engulfs the headquarters 24/7. So when he opens his eyes, he doesn’t expect the bright rays of the sun screaming through the window. There’s a pretty view of the green fields that surround the castle and a view of Altea. His eyes go to the tanned boy running for a frisbee, he’s wearing a yellow shirt and green pants. Keith has seen the boy, Hunk, he thinks. They met when Keith first came to the castle years ago with Shiro, Hunk was baking with a few cooks and was startled to see Keith. Hunk catches the frisbee and throws it straight ahead. Keith’s eyes follow the frisbee until it’s caught by another tan boy with short brown hair, round ears like Shiro’s and blue Altean marks. Ironically, Keith has never met the prince, not face to face, at least. He’s seen Lance from afar, watching as the boy runs around fields and pranks castle guards. He looks insufferable , Keith can’t imagine spending his life with someone as reckless and loud as Lance.

“You’re awake,” Shiro says, closing the door behind him, Keith grumbles, still staring outside. Shiro looks out to the window as well and spots the Altean prince comforting Hunk, who scrapped his knee. He looks over to Keith and notices the empty expression on the boy’s face. Shiro knows better than anyone that arranged marriages aren’t easy to deal with, Keith must feel the pressure tenfold as a twelve-year-old boy. 

“You know, I saw Lance this morning,” Keith gives him a doubting stare, “I did, he had this car-print pyjama on, he’s a good kid,”

Keith hums absentmindedly, spinning his trusted blade on the windowsill. Shiro offers his hand to Keith, he knows what time it is. He lets his older brother guide him out of the room, leaving the blade behind. They walk down the wide halls of the Castle, Keith thinks it’s almost obnoxious to have halls this wide. He squints his eyes when the sunlight hits his face directly, how can Alteans see anything in the sun? Even with his blurred vision, he can see his mother talking to an Altean, she seems to be scaring them with her firm expression. Her face softens when she sees the two boys, nothing but a mother fond of her sons.

“Good morning, my boys,” She opens her arms for a hug that Keith immediately takes, running to his mother with open arms and burying his face into her neck. Shiro gives her a smaller hug and the three stay like that, enjoying the tender moment.

“Keith, my dear,” Krolia cups her son’s face with her hands, analysing every feature, memorising his little face, “Today’s a big day for you, remember: patience yields focus.”

Patience yields focus , Krolia has been telling Keith that saying for as long as he can remember, but the weight of her words still stands. His right hand subconsciously fiddles around with a missing blade, the thought of not having it around him makes him uneasy. He stares at the Alteans scattered around the castle, stopping in their tracks to bow at him and his family. It’s weird, they’re nowhere near royalty, especially compared to Allura and Lance. The closest they’ve ever gotten is being called the ‘Prince of the Blades’ which is probably the corniest thing Keith has ever heard. He passes by a young girl and her mother, staring at them cautiously. The closer he looks he notices that they’re looking at Krolia , with a look of fear in their eyes. A pit of anger forms in Keith’s gut, he knows how shitty he sounds, getting mad at people who are rightfully scared of the Galra. But when Keith gives them a strained smile, they smile back with genuine eyes, not the terrified stare they gave his mother. A part of him wants to scream, wants to ask them what makes him and his mum different, they’re both Galran, after all. Keith can’t help but wonder if this is what his life will be like once he marries Lance. If his life will be filled with judging stares and terrified glances. His feet started moving on autopilot long ago and it isn’t until Shiro taps his shoulder that he registers where they are, and who they’re facing. 

“Princess Allura, Prince Lance,” Krolia and Shiro bow, Keith follows shortly after, looking up to sneak a glance at the siblings. Allura is smiling at them warmly, a stark contrast to her people, Keith can’t help but scoff at the princess’ perfect demeanour. His gaze shifts to Lance once he stands upright, it’s the first time Keith has seen the Altean prince up close since he came to Altea a few years ago with Shiro. He’s rather… cute if Keith is being honest, Lance has short brown hair with baby hairs at the top of his forehead. He has these dark blue eyes that seem to sparkle like a lake in the Altean sun. His ears are peculiar, rounded like Shiro’s, like human ears. He still has the Altean mark under his eyes, it interests Keith, how an ‘Altean’ like Lance has human ears. 

“Welcome to Altea,” Allura greets with a smile, bowing her head, “We hope Prince Keith will enjoy his stay here,” That corny nickname, seriously?

“Keith is fine,” He mutters, earning a warning stare from Shiro. Lance scoffs at Keith and Allura giggles, punching Lance’s shoulder lightly before whispering something to  Lance. His round ears turn pink, which makes it hard for Keith not to laugh.

–

Lance looks at how Keith’s eyes trail up while he’s bowing staring at Allura and Lance, like he’s psychoanalysing them. It sends a chill down Lance’s spine. When the boy stands upright Lance takes a closer look. The first thing he notices is how… Non-Galra Keith looks. Keith has the sharp ears that Krolia has, the small fangs hanging out of his mouth and a stern stare. Now that he looks closer, Keith’s clothing style is weird, the cropped red jacket he wears is the only colour his outfit has, aside from those horrendous boots. He looks down at Keith’s hands, he’s wearing these weird fingerless gloves that an emo would wear. Seems fitting for a kid raised in the Blades, Lance thinks. Keith’s fingers are sharp, another Galra trait he has, his right hand won’t stop moving, almost as if something should be there.

Allura greets the three with her diplomatic smile, it’s hard for Lance to keep his composure when she calls Keith a prince. How corny , he thinks.

“Keith is fine,” The boy says quietly, it doesn’t go unnoticed by anyone though, it makes Lance scoff out of the sheer boredom Keith is embodying. 

“Go on Lance,” Allura whispers in his ear, Lance knows exactly what she’s talking about. He groans loudly which earns him another punch from her.

Lance lazily walks over to Keith, who backs up slightly. The frown on Lance’s face can’t be erased as he looks at Keith’s bored eyes.

“Hello… Keith , I’m very pleased to meet you,” He grumbles.

“Pleased to meet you… Prince Lance,” Keith mutters with the same enthusiasm as Lance, bowing down dramatically. Lance hums, walking back to Allura who gives him a death stare, urging him to show an ounce of respect to the boy.

Lance walks back to Keith who has a deadly scowl on his face, unnoticed by Krolia and Shiro. Lance grabs the boy’s hand with shaking fingers, hoping that the scowl on Keith’s face won’t shoot lasers at him. He looks at the boy’s hand resting on his hand and hesitantly kisses Keith’s fingers. Lance shoots up, dramatically wiping his hand over his mouth like he had eaten dirt. I can’t believe I’m stuck with him all summer , Lance thinks, staring at Keith’s dangerous scowl. How does the Blade of Marmora raise kids, anyway? Lance can bet that the boy knows nothing about intergalactic fighting and flying. After all, why would Keith use a sword? Guns are clearly the way to go. Hopefully, he’ll get chicken pox before any chance of talking to Keith, who is walking back to his mother. Lance turns around, aiming to turn to Allura and say ‘Well, we tried and it didn’t work,’. The glare Allura sends almost disintegrates Lance on the spot. 

“So happy you could come,” Lance says through gritted teeth, turning his back to Allura and Coran.

“So happy to be here,” Keith responds, turning around with the same energy as Lance. The urge to run out and pretend like this is one bad dream is strong . But, he musters up all of his remaining respect to smile at Keith and turn around before he can’t take it anymore.

“This isn’t my idea of fun!”

–

“So, what’s that?” Keith asks, not caring for an answer. Lance’s eyes follow Keith’s pointed finger, and after looking at the array of flowers, smiles ear-to-ear.

“It’s a garden that me and Allura made. It was mostly me, though, I put in more effort than her, see?” Lance points to one half of the garden, “If you look, it’s clearly better,”

The prince goes on and on about the various ‘reasons’ his side of a patch of flowers is better than his sister’s. Quite frankly, Keith couldn’t care less about which side is more aesthetically pleasing. He’s so conceited , Keith thinks, how can he ever learn to tolerate a boy like Lance? 

“Plus, the junniberries on her side don’t even compliment-”

“I don't care.” Keith says bluntly, walking past the shocked prince.

So far, this tour has been nothing but Lance shamelessly bragging and asking Keith absurd questions about flying and swords. If it isn’t dim questions asking how he’s lived without the sun for decaphoebes, it’s Lance making fun of his mullet. All Keith wants to do is find Shiro and take him to that training deck Coran mentioned to the boys before letting them roam around. If anything, Keith will perform better with the added motivation if he imagines Lance’s face on the sentries. He doesn’t even realise his feet going faster once he spots Shiro and Allura at the bottom of the grand stairs.

“Hey! Wait up!” Lance shouts from the top of the stairs. Keith stops when he thinks of a great idea and watches the boy run down. Just as Lance passes by, Keith sticks his foot out, just enough to make the boy tumble down the stairs. Keith doesn’t expect the prince to take his hand, dragging them down. Keith comes to two conclusions: Lance is an airhead who only thinks about himself, and he will never fall in love with the Prince of Altea.

Shiro stands in shock, watching the two boys argue about who caused the bruises on their arms. This alliance won’t come easy if they’re constantly trying to enrage each other. 

ii.

“Really, a sword?” Lance scoffs, watching as Keith’s blade becomes a sword at the touch of his hand. It’s so cool, Lance can’t help but feel jealous.

“So?” He asks, raising a brow, “It gets you farther than a gun,” He adds smugly.

“Look, samurai , shooting is far more effective than getting up close and personal with the enemy,”

Keith scoffs, pointing the sword at Lance’s chestplate. “And what if they are up close and personal? What are you gonna do?”

“Blast them, obviously. If they’re close enough I’ll hit them with the gun,” Lance answers, as if he’s done it before.

“You wouldn’t survive five minutes carrying something as huge as that,” Normally, it’s a perfect time for Lance to make some suggestive joke and get hit by Keith’s fist. But he freezes a little at the mention of Earth time.

“How do you know that?” Keith stares at him, unimpressed by his ‘joke’, “Minutes, I mean. That’s an Earth thing… Are you-” 

Keith’s eyes widen, and his sword grip tightens, “What do you know about Earth?”

Lance realises his mistake, if they talk any further Keith will uncover things Lance is not ready to share with anyone, not even Hunk! And certainly not Keith. 

“Nothing. Whatever.” Lance turns on his helmet’s comms before Keith pushes the topic, “Allura, start the sim,”

Walls resembling the inside of a Galran ship come up around the pair, holograms that turn into hard walls within seconds. Before Keith can question Lance’s behaviour, a sentry runs towards them, abruptly stopped by a swing of Keith’s sword. It’s the same simulation that they’ve done since they were 12, watching each other’s backs as they try to get out of the building. And for two agonising summers, they’ve failed due to their bickering and lack of trust. 

“Lance watch your six!” Like second nature, Lance turns around to blast 3 sentries. Silently priding himself on the close save.

They move like it’s muscle memory, remembering the pathway and the hidden sentries. Lance peaks from the corners counting the amount of sentries before Keith comes in running, with Lance shooting up a storm behind him. And on cue, he pivots on his heel and shoots three sentries from behind, grinning like a madman.

“Hey, Keith, pick up the pace, that’s 20 sentries on my end. It’s hard carrying the team,” Lance says, turning around to see Keith take his sword out of two sentries stacked on top of each other.

“...And that’s 25. Sorry, what were you saying?” Keith asks slyly.

“Nothing, have fun with your murder spree,” 

Keith doesn’t push him, probably because there are 5 sentries running up to the young Blade. As calmly and confidently as last summer, he turns around swinging his sword through 2 of them. Stabbing another right on the head so roughly that the sword seems stuck to the wall. Once he takes the sword off the wall, the force of his elbow hits the other two as he turns around to slice the remaining sentries. Lance is left jaw dropped, when did Keith get good at sword fighting? It’s only been a year since they were 13 years old and getting used to their chosen weapons. The thought has been nagging Lance since Keith arrived for the summer. Suddenly, he has the same skill as a regular Altean soldier, it’s annoying! Lance rushes to Keith’s side and peaks over the corner, sighing at the realisation.

“It’s the last stage,” He mumbles, annoyed and slightly worried at the implications.

Keith nods, “The plan’s never failed,” He says, patting Lance on the shoulder before running off to a passage above the group of sentries. 

“Hey!” Lance shouts, his voice wobbling ever so slightly, puberty , he thinks.

The tick the sentries look his way Keith jumps down and takes them down with his bare hands. At this point, he has to be showing off. As Lance stands back, he looks closer at the Galran boy. And that’s the interesting part: Galran. Keith is Galran, right? The purple, furry, unrealistically tall, Galran. Yet… He looks so human. His skin texture is the same as humans and Alteans, his eyes aren’t yellow and he’s shorter than Lance. Not to mention he knows Earth, how does he know about units of time on Earth? Unless Keith knows more about Earth than he’s letting on.

“Lance, watch out!”

Out of instinct, Lance turns around and finds a sentry up close, gun in hand. Before Lance can adjust his aim, the gun goes off, sending him to the floor with a huge force. The sim glitches and completely disappears with an automated voice announcing: ‘Simulation Failed’.

I was so close , Lance sighs covering his helmet in his hands. He had it, the sentry was right in front of him. He could’ve hit it with his bare hands! Instead, he embarrassed himself and probably pissed off Keith in the process. 

“That was… better than before,” Keith mutters, walking towards the exit.

“Better? No, it wasn’t.” Lance scoffs, throwing his helmet on the ground. Keith gives him a confused stare, or is it a stare of pity? Either way, Lance knows he’s spoken before he’s thought. He stares at Keith, a few metres away from him, seemingly unbothered. Why should he be bothered? After all, the boy is a prodigy, he doesn’t have to work to get good at fighting or flying. Everything Keith does is the standard that Lance has to work twice as hard to reach. 

“I’m going, taking a break from this stupid thing,” Lance sighs bitterly, standing up in an embarrassed flush.

“Stupid thing? You did good out there, really,” Keith responds defensively, it surprises Lance a little.

“I did good? You call ‘getting distracted and getting my ass blasted by a dumb sentry’ good ?” Lance laughs at how Keith can’t see past his personal victory to care about how Lance has messed up.

“It’s the farthest we’ve ever gone!” Keith sighs extending his arms.

“We failed, Keith. I failed.” The last part comes out as a shaky whisper. “I’m going. Go kiss Shiro’s ass for all I care,”

Lance walks past Keith hurriedly, avoiding any way to meet the boy anywhere for the rest of the day. Away from that dumb boy who can do everything better than him.

–

This past week has been… awkward, to say the least. It hadn’t even been a day since Keith arrived, Lance came running to Hunk, begging to help him avoid the Blade for the whole summer. Initially, Hunk was hesitant, but after seeing the panic and puppy dog eyes he agreed without too much pushing. Now his summer is spent covering for Lance as the prince hides in his room with the slipperies. It worked for three days until Allura snuck into Lance’s room and found him eating one of Hunk’s cupcakes, perfectly healthy. The recent days have been running across the hall when they see Shiro, Krolia or Keith. Hiding in the kitchen as Hunk bakes more emotional support cupcakes for his best friend.

Hunk hums quietly to himself as he takes the Altean cupcakes out of the oven. He had learnt this recipe years ago from his parents, it’s almost exactly like Earth cupcakes but more gooey and green. Otherwise, it’s the same thing! He hums the Altean song playing from a small device he’s had since he was a child. The song switches as he’s icing some green frosting on the cupcakes. Hunk and Lance gasp at the realisation of the song, Earth music, there’s very few in Hunk’s device. Not just Earth music, it’s dancing queen. The intro hits, the synth and shakers setting the mood as they start vocalising like it’s their concert.

“You can dance~ you can jive, having the time of your life~” Hunk adds some more frosting into the piping bag, enjoying his karaoke session. 

Lance joins in, holding a whisk as a mic, “Oooh ooh oooh~ see that girl, watch that scene, di-”

“... digging the dancing queen…” A voice hums quietly from the hallway. Hunk almost jumps at the sound of another person, stopping the music immediately. He and Lance glance at each other, asking the same question: How does another person know ABBA? As far as Hunk knows, only Lance and Matt listen to the Earthen music group with him… unless-

“Oh… uh, hi?” Hunk mutters, looking at the familiar boy peaking into the kitchen, Keith . Lance panics, ducking down behind the countertop, but the damage has been done.

“I thought you died,” Keith scoffs, his flustered face replaced by a frown.

“I bet you wanted that, mullet.” Lance sighs defeatedly, getting up from his hiding spot.

“You know me too well,” He responds, deadpan, “Allura’s gonna kill you,” 

Lance scoffs, a part of him is happy to end this cat-and-mouse chase, but now he has to work with Keith and come face to face with everything he can’t be. It’s ironic, he’s ranted to Hunk so many times about how annoying and cold Keith is, but he isn’t any better than him. In reality, Lance looks like a petty boy who can’t come to terms with his lack of success, especially when paired up with a guy who can do everything . He looks at Keith for a few unspoken ticks, he notices how the dark circles under his eyes have gotten bigger. Eventually, the boy realises he won’t get a word out of the Altean prince and turns to leave.

“Wait,” Hunk says, catching Keith’s attention, “How do you know that?”

“She’s been ranting to everyone in the castle,” He responds.

“No not that ,” Hunk sighs, Keith raises a brow, “The song. ABBA. How do you know the lyrics?”

Keith flushes red immediately, “Shiro knows it. Goodbye.” He turns around but Hunk acts quicker.

Lance watches as his best friend signals for him to start the song again, which he does with a confused stare. Sure enough, the song starts from where they left off, ‘Friday night and the lights are low’. Hunk grabs Keith’s shoulder and holds out the piping bag in front of the boy's mouth. Lance can barely contain his laughter as Keith sheepishly hums the next lyric, earning a disapproving shake from Hunk. 

“Where they play the right music,” Hunk sings, using the piping bag as his mic.

“Getting in the swing,” Lance runs up, using his whisk as his own mic. The two point the microphones at Keith, who looks at them, and then at the utensils.

“You come to look for a king…” He sighs, but it’s enough to satisfy Hunk and Lance.

They take turns singing lyric-by-lyric in the same order: Hunk, Lance and Keith. With every lyric, Keith’s smile grows wider and the flush starts to disappear, smiling as he sings. Once the chorus hits, all three of them are singing their hearts out without a care in the world. After the chorus, Keith’s expression falls, turning into a sombre look, before smiling at the two boys and leaving abruptly. Lance and Hunk don’t mind, they continue humming and icing the cupcakes as an Altean song starts. The thoughts creep up Lance’s mind, the same thoughts he had a week prior when Keith used Earth’s measurement of time. He wonders just how much he knows about Keith, and what he’s hiding. And how does Shiro know Earth tunes? 

“You know what? Keith is horrible at singing,” Hunk laughs, “I never thought I’d say it, but you’re so much better,”

If Lance had heard that a week ago, if he had heard that praise last summer or the summer before, he would’ve loved it. Carried it as if the gods themselves complimented him. Prided himself in being better than Keith. Instead, he smiles, not caring if he’s good at singing. There’s definitely more to Keith than an emo Galran boy, maybe Lance should find more. They don’t have to be lovers like they’re expected to be, friends could be enough. Dodging him and making fun of his mullet won’t help the alliance. Silently, Lance thinks of ways he could befriend the boy next summer, while eating one of the cupcakes behind Hunk’s back.

Chapter Text

iii.

It’s easy to get lost in the Castle of Lions. There are so many twists and turns, random airlocks in the hallways and a billion ways to enter the courtyard. It’s even easier to hide in the hidden closets and rooms that aren’t noticeable at first glance. It comforts Keith, in the sense that if he tries hard enough, no one will find him. The morning replays in his head again and again, the memory of Shiro waking him up with a look so vulnerable and pitiful will forever be burned into his eyes. His older brother’s words repeat like a broken record over and over again. 

“ Krolia is missing. ”

Before Keith and Shiro left for Altea, Krolia left for Daibazaal due to a group of Galrans trying to flee the planet. Keith has been on edge ever since he came to Altea, waiting for the day he can come back to the headquarters and find Krolia with her warm smile. And now, with what Shiro had told him, he feels sick to his stomach. Keith had asked to go home and begged Shiro to convince the council to let them leave and come back for the next summer, maybe even winter. But Shiro had told him it wouldn’t be a good look on the council, people would think the alliance was over. 

“Stupid fucking marriage,” Keith groans, covering his face with his hands.

These halls remind him of his cruel fate: stuck at the prince’s side. His future won’t be blood-rushing and thrilling, instead, it will be spent in the meeting room. One day, he will memorise this maze and be forced to call it home. The longer he stares at the ceiling, the more eyes he can see. Eyes of the council, waiting for the day he takes Lance’s hand with a smile. The eyes of Shiro, hoping Keith will find the good in Altea, and his empty promises of taking down the Galra Empire together. He thinks of Krolia’s eyes, full of determination and confidence, after all, she had been an undercover Galran soldier before. Her eyes that met Keith’s through the window and reassured him she’d come back as soon as the summer ended. He’s been sitting on the cold hard floor of some random hallway, they all look the same anyway. When he hears footsteps he starts walking, as if nothing is bothering him, gives the person a small smile, and then collapses onto the floor when they’re out of sight. It works the first few times, only with castle workers trying to make a good impression on him. The next time it happens, Princess Allura spots him.

“Keith, what are you doing here? We’ve been looking for you all day.” She approaches him with a gentle voice, and talks to him cautiously, it makes him tense a bit. He considers telling Allura, and ask her to end the visit and let Keith go home. But if Shiro himself disagreed, why would the Princess of Altea agree?

“I got lost trying to find the training deck,” Keith lies, his voice sounds so tired.

Allura nods, “Well, I’ll take you there, Lance should be in there too,”

Is that supposed to make me feel better? Keith wonders. Every time they’ve trained together they’ve ended it in an argument or silent ‘hatred’. The last time they’d trained together, Keith tried to end things civilly, but Lance didn’t want any of that. He never does. It always stays the same: Lance and Keith ‘neck-and-neck’. For three years, the same bickering, name-calling, and whining. No matter how hard anyone tries, Lance will never try to act like he likes Keith. Normally, he would be fine with that, staying as ‘rivals’. But one day -whether they like it or not- they will have to marry. They will have to sit at each other’s side in Altea, away from all the action and flying. 

Sure enough, they find Lance in the training deck, wiping his face with a towel, muttering that ‘this much sweat will definitely cause a break out’. When his eyes lock in with Keith’s, he expects the prince to groan and comment on Keith’s disappearance (and his mullet). Instead, he smiles at him. Not a love-struck smile that the council wants. It’s a smile that feels so friendly and civil. The smile Lance gives to his friends and family, It’s oddly satisfying, one less problem Keith has to deal with. Allura smiles at the two, proud of their development and leaves with a mischievous smile.

“Dude, are you alright?” Lance asks, throwing his towel onto a growing pile of used towels. Keith doesn’t know why Lance is asking, is it his expression? Either way, Lance wouldn’t check up on him, usually.

“I’m fine,” He responds, turning away to put on his armour and helmet. Lance responds with a small ‘totally’ before grabbing that obnoxious gun.

Lance waits by shooting a few targets set up at the sidelines, silently wishing he won’t screw things up this time. It’s weird. Really weird. Not a single ‘mullet’ comment by Lance, instead calling him ‘dude’ as if he’s Hunk or Pidge. 

“That sword’s pretty cool,” Lance mutters. When Keith turns around, he’s expecting Lance to have a jealous scowl on his face. But Lance looks impressed, somewhat tranquil which is almost throwing Keith off. What is happening?

“Thanks?” Keith says, still confused by the random comment, “You ready?”

“Ready when you are, mullet,” Lance responds with a teasing smile, which calms Keith down a bit. The normal Lance isn’t gone forever.

At Keith’s command, the walls start coming up around the pair, the same purple shade and the same atmosphere. A sentry comes running down the hall, which doesn’t surprise Keith, he can do this routine with his eyes closed. He slices the sentry in half with a perfect, clean cut, nothing he hasn’t done in front of Lance.

“Nice one!” Lance exclaims as if Keith had taken down the whole ship. When Keith turns around to try and decipher the prince’s expression, Lance is already facing the other direction, shooting down three sentries. Keith can’t help but give Lance a pat on the back, which makes Lance slightly blush.

Their method stays the same, Lance peaks from the corner before Keith rushes in to take down the sentries, Lance covers his back by shooting the groups of sentries running from behind. ‘Same old, same old’ as the saying goes, but something feels different . There’s a sense of actual camaraderie, simple high-fives and light praises. It almost feels unnatural and it would feel forced if Lance wasn’t counting the amount of sentries he’s taken down.

“And that’s 23, high score! Hate to say it but I think I’m starting to beat you,” Lance snickers.

Keith laughs, “I got 23 too. It’s good to have old Lance back,” He gives him a questioning look, seemingly unaware of his abnormal civility.

Keith’s body works on autopilot as they continue, taking out sentries without looking in their direction. It’s not like he’s trying to brag about his abilities, it’s the simulation itself. The longer they stay in the simulation, his mind starts to drift to dangerous thoughts. My mother could be here . Krolia could be trapped in one of these ships. Yet, instead of finding ways to get her back, he’s stuck in Altea. Playing the role of an obedient son, made only for diplomatic relationships and a planned life. His brain is so focused on these thoughts that he doesn’t even notice Lance distracting the sentries. Keith jumps down from the platform he doesn’t remember climbing, and slices down the sentries. His thoughts wander back to his mother, what could she be doing? What if Zarkon took her? The thought sends a dangerous chill down his spine, he needs to find Krolia and take down the Galra Empire. Krolia is out there, stuck in a Galra ship, most Blades are fighting missions of their own. Keith can do it, he can find Krolia, if only he wasn’t stuck on some bright sunny planet. The walls fall and an automated voice says: ‘Congratulations,’.

“We did it!” Lance exclaims, taking off his helmet and running over to Keith. His arms extend for a hug, before dropping it and offering a simple high-five. Keith hugs him, anyway, which the prince takes with a smile. After all, they had just won the simulation. Keith doesn’t feel the wave of happiness and pride, though, his mind is so fogged up it refuses to focus on anything else. Not even Allura and Coran’s praises that Lance takes with ease and enjoyment.

“Where’s Shiro?” he asks as soon as he gets out of his armour. The three Alteans look at him curiously.

“What’s the matter?” Allura asks.

“Nothing. I need to see him,” 

Lance sighs, walking up to Keith with a towel “Dude, you’re so sweaty. At least wipe your face a bit, I don’t know how Galra puberty works but pimples are a piece of shit.” That gets Keith to loosen up a bit, before walking away, determined to find Shiro.

“What’s up with him?” He hears Lance say before the doors to the training deck close with a ‘thud’.

–

So far, this summer has been a huge improvement and success, at least for Lance. The summer is drawing to its end, only three days until Keith and Shiro have to return to the Blade of Marmora. Lance is running out of ways to keep Keith by his side, seriously, why is it so hard? That boy has been disappearing after training sessions and dinners, hiding in the comfort of his room. When Lance peaked into his room, he saw bags packed and ready. There hasn’t been an indication that Keith disliked his time with Lance this summer, they’re basically friends now. It’s starting to keep Lance up at night, after all, he hasn’t asked Keith any real questions, yet. 

“-ancee, Altea to Lance!” a voice rings, waving a hand over Lance’s face.

His vision starts to focus, “Oh, sorry, Pidge. Got a bit distracted,”

She hums, suspiciously looking at Lance as she continues typing on her computer. Lance knows that face: Pidge knows what he’s thinking. She probably has some sort of mind-reading lens on her glasses, either that or he’s way too obvious.

“You can tell me anything, you know,” She starts, giving him a slight smile, “I won’t be as much help as Hunk but-”

“No Pidge, you are a great friend!” Lance says, Pidge gives him a confused stare. Right, he didn’t think before he spoke, again. But something clicks in his brain, Pidge can help him with something. “Do you have cameras around the castle?”

Pidge is caught off guard by the subject change but smiles mischievously, “Why do you need that, Lance?”

Lance’s cheeks flush, “Nothing,” Her smile gets bigger and Lance cracks like a criminal, “Fine, I haven’t seen Keith today…”

“I KNEW IT!” Pidge exclaims, laughing at Lance’s red face. 

This is so unethical, Lance thinks. Using Pidge’s secret cameras to find Keith is a whole new level of desperation that Lance never knew existed. His palms get sweaty as he approaches the bridge of the castle, as he gets closer he can see a person sitting on the cold castle floor. He sees Keith’s eyes flicker to him before he buries his face into his hands. Lance is standing above the boy, unsure of what to do.

“What’s up, man?” He says, almost whispering as he crouches to Keith’s level. He tenses a bit, which makes Lance back up. There’s a moment of silence, it drives Lance crazy, thinking of reasons Keith can be acting so empty. “Hey, uh, is something bothering you?” No response, “Is it Coran? His lessons are a bit overwhelming…” Lance laughs, thinking of Keith’s face whenever Coran tries to tutor them. He doesn’t move though, Lance needs to think of something fast. “Homesick?” Keith tenses again, breathing sharply. Right , so Lance found a potential answer. Could it be because of Krolia? Lance has heard that she had gone back to Daibazaal before Keith came to Altea. 

“It’s nothing,” Keith mumbles, barely audible. He lifts his head but faces away from Lance, there’s no visible tears, that’s good. Naturally, Lance looks the other way, falling into an anxious silence. What would Lance do if he was homesick? He has an idea, though, it could go two ways: Keith loves it, or he hates it.

“I think I should show you something,” Lance stands up, and he feels Keith’s eyes following him.

A holographic map surrounds the two, stars and planets wrap around them different galaxies in the distance. It still takes Lance’s breath away, staring at the vast space and life around them. He turns to Keith, who is watching the stars, meteors and planets move around with his mouth agape. The blue light perfectly reflects against his violet eyes, like a galaxy swirling around in a dark void. Lance almost forgets about the map, instead, he stares at Keith’s priceless expression and the way his eyes move from planet to planet. 

Lance clears his throat, “We’re here,” He points to Altea behind Keith, and the boy turns around. Lance moves the map until he finds two black holes and a blue orb in the middle, “This is the Blade’s headquarters, right?” Keith’s back is turned to Lance, but he can tell he isn’t surprised at the distance, there’s still a wave of relief that washes over the atmosphere. Lance points to a planet above them, “And that’s Daibazaal, she’s not too far away,” Keith hums, looking at the Galran planet with furrowed brows.

Lance’s eyes drift to a familiar planet, one that he’s been staring at ever since Coran showed him this map. It sits perfectly in between two planets, blue swirling with white and green. There are still so many questions Lance has, yet, he’s never had any answers. Allura had always given him a sombre stare, before smiling at him and changing the subject. Coran had told him that there are a species called ‘humans’, almost 8 billion of them, that live on that tiny planet, Lance believed he could be one of them ever since. When he asked more questions, Coran dismissed him, saying he didn’t know that much, either.

“What are you looking at?” When Lance turns around, Keith is looking ahead, at the planet in question. It’s a topic Lance hasn’t shared with anyone . Yet, here he is, debating whether he should spill his guts to Keith, who has his own things going on.

Lance stares at the planet floating next to him, “It’s, uh, Erh-X009,” He responds sheepishly, reading the tag.

“ Earth ,” Keith mumbles in a trance, it doesn’t go unnoticed by Lance.

“You know it,” Lance whispers, getting Keith’s attention. Great. He’s bitten the bullet. “You know Earth. The measurement of time, their music,” Keith laughs weakly, “And you look so…” The last word goes unspoken by Lance, but they both know what he means.

“Human?” Keith says, amused at Lance’s hesitancy.

Human, “Y-yeah…” Lance whispers, face flushed with red. It’s over, Keith can read right through him now, he knows why Lance is so obsessed with Earth. He can feel the gaze on his round ears, to his Altean marks, and back to his ears. What would Keith do? Laugh at his face? Tell him to stop obsessing over some planet galaxies away? Try to convince Lance that Altea is his true home, the way Allura has? Lance shakes these thoughts out of his head as he waits for Keith to say something .

“I, uh, used to live on Earth, with Shiro… and… yeah,” Keith says slowly, Lance’s eyes widen. He wasn’t expecting that . “I figured you wanted to learn more about Earth, maybe I could help,” He gives Lance a strange smile, but it’s got a warm edge to it.

Lance immediately lies next to Keith, eager to learn more about that blue and green planet that he’s only heard of in textbooks and holographic maps. Keith tells him everything that Shiro’s remembered: the music, the sun, the people, minutes and hours, the food (Hunk would love the food, Lance thinks). It’s oddly comforting, listening to Keith talk. His voice is low and smooth like honey, like a warm hot chocolate on a winter day. His words flow effortlessly, despite not remembering his time on Earth well. Finally, Lance sits up, meeting Keith’s violet eyes for a moment.

“Why did you leave?” He asks, why would anyone leave a place like Earth?

Keith looks down, “My mom took us back to the blade,” The mention of Krolia makes Keith’s warm expression turn sombre again. His gaze turns back to Lance, “Why do you want to learn more about Earth? It’s not just for fun, is it?” Right , Lance had poked into Keith’s personal history for too long, now it’s his turn to dump all of his guts. But once he finds out, what would he do?

“Oh, I’m just curious, I’ve never seen a species that looks like us, you know?” Keith hums, not buying Lance’s explanation entirely. It hurts to lie to Keith even after all of their progress, but he doesn’t have to know everything . That conversation can come another time when he can fly to Earth and find out more about his heritage.

Keith sighs heavily, startling Lance. “I’m not coming next summer.” He says, facing the other way. Lance stands up, staring down at Keith who isn’t looking back.

“What? Why?” He asks.

“I need to help the Blade, it’s not confirmed yet, but…” Keith responds, looking up at Lance. 

“So Shiro doesn’t know?” Keith looks down at the floor, refusing to confirm it. Lance scoffs, “So that’s it? You’re just going to run away from your responsibility . Away from what everyone has set up,” A part of Lance feels jealous, the fact Keith can make a choice, to ditch this whole ‘alliance’ thing. While Lance has to listen to the council, obey their every whim, and ditch his dreams of getting out of this place. 

“Why are you so mad? If you know at least one thing that’s happened, you’d want to do the same thing!” Keith responds heatedly, his voice creeping up to a yell. “Can’t you just… try to say something to Allura? Shiro told me that if you-”

“No.” Lance laughs, surprised at Keith’s suggestion. “I’m not risking Altea’s safety just for you to… run off!” 

“I’m not running off!” Keith shouts. 

“Well, it looks like it!” Lance responds with the same anger. “I’m sorry you don’t get to help the Blade,” His tone is borderline mocking, “But this isn’t some summer vacation! There’s a war , Keith, and if this comes crashing down then-”

“Why should I care about this stupid place?!?” Keith asks, his voice ringing through the bridge of the castle. His words pierce through Lance like shattered glass. “I know there’s a war, yet I have to be here! Dealing with your dumb shit and hoping this will all stop!” Lance is jealous of Keith’s hope. The hope that they can somehow get out of this marriage and find another way. It died in him the moment Keith’s ship landed for the third time, instead, he transformed it into a hope that they could make this happen. Why can’t Keith do the same? 

“Are you gonna say something?” Keith asks, his voice is coarse and quiet, the same tone he had while smiling at Lance with stars in his eyes.

“Life will never let you have what you want. You’ll learn that the hard way.”

Keith stands up, staring at Lance in pure anger. “I should’ve known you’ll always be a selfish and jealous person.”

Lance watches as he walks off, surrounded by the holographic map that had once made them smile with each other. They may have started the summer as friends, but old habits die hard. Lance laughs at himself, he should’ve seen it coming. Of course, Keith would try to use him once they’ve stopped their one-sided rivalry.

Chapter Text

iv.

Nothing has been working in Keith’s favour since last summer. Shiro had noticed the way Lance wasn’t there to escort Keith to the ship. No one had been suspicious, not even Allura. Knowing that Keith wouldn’t say a thing, Shiro assumed they somehow pissed off Lance (which isn’t far from the truth). Which has convinced him to make Keith go back to Altea for the fifth summer. The thought of being in forced proximity to Lance makes Keith sick to his stomach. How does anyone expect Keith to learn to like a guy who can’t sympathise with anyone?

Two knocks come from Keith’s door, “Keith?”

His hands muffle his own screams, “I’m not going, Shiro!”

“We can’t keep Lance waiting!” He shouts from the other side of the door.

“Let him wait!” Keith responds, it could be a good lesson for Lance. “I haven’t even packed!”

“I’ll get the others to pack your things, you have clothes at the castle, anyway,” Keith groans, Shiro always has a solution for everything.

“I haven’t washed my hair,” Keith whines.

“I saw you brushing it in the bathroom before you ran off.” 

“I get airsick!!” He shouts hopelessly, running out of ideas.

–

The door to Lance’s room slides open as Allura walks in with Coran following closely behind. A laser shoots from across the room, hitting a poorly drawn picture of Keith. She turns to Lance, who’s on the bed lying on his stomach with a laser gun in hand. It makes Allura’s blood boil, she didn’t let Lance sit out for three whole quintants just for him to hold some sort of grudge! 

“Lance, my boy, they’ll be arriving soon!” Coran says, another laser shoots through Keith’s left eye. “Wonderful aim, Prince!”

“Is this the respect you're showing? What would the council think?” Allura says sternly, making Lance lower the laser gun.

He sits up, visibly irritated, “If you make me kiss his hand again I swear I’m gonna be sick.” 

There’s a large Altean tree that sits in between the castle and the landing airstrip. Whenever cargo ships came down, Lance would climb the tree and sit on the largest branch, watching the ships with curiosity and excitement in his bones. One day, he hopes he’ll be in the fleet of fighter pilots that fly into the blue sky, leaving a trail of clouds behind them. He can finally land on planets that he’s memorised from the maps, fight Galran soldiers and rescue those in need.

Unfortunately, there’s only one ship that arrives, it’s a ship Lance knows all too well. He watches from above as the hatch opens, Shiro walks out with a tired expression, talking to Allura and Coran. Lance can see his helpless sighs and apologies as Allura smiles at him and glances at Lance with a frustrated expression. Shiro turns to the ship, shouting Keith’s name so loudly that Lance can hear it clearly from the branch. Keith stands on the platform, arms crossed, talking back to Shiro. They argue and argue for ten doboshes, as Allura and Coran start walking over to Lance’s position on the tree. Eventually, Shiro runs up the platform, grabs Keith’s hand with his robotic arm and drags him behind Allura and Coran. As they get closer, Lance notices how Keith is wearing the Blade of Marmora suit, since when did he do that?

“Lance! Get down!” Allura shouts from the ground, looking at Lance with her hands on her hips. In response, he lies down, arms exaggeratedly extended, which pisses her off. “Come on, Lance! I don’t have enough time for this bullshit!” He laughs at her vulgar language and Coran’s raised brows.

“‘Bullshit’? How unroyal-like, Allura~” By now, Shiro has caught up with Keith reluctantly pulled by his arm. He isn’t staring at Lance, though, he looks at the ship as it closes and starts to ascend. Lance almost feels pity for Keith, after all, he’s the one who keeps coming to Altea. At a closer glance, Lance realises something horrifying, is Keith the same height as Shiro? His shoulders look broader too, did his hair grow? How much can a person change, anyway? 

“Keith, will you do the honours?” Allura smiles, handing a ball to Keith. He looks at Allura, then at Lance, and back to the ball with a smile. When he sits up, Keith throws the ball at his stomach, making him fall out of the tree and into Coran’s arms.

“You’re aim and force was magnificent! Lance could learn a thing or two from you!”

“Thank you, Coran.” Lance groans, refusing to make eye contact with the Galran boy.

–

There’s no denying Lance is the most athletic of the group, even if the bar is on the ground. Usually, they’d be forced to run around the field with some sort of ball, frisbee or something . Instead, Hunk and Pidge are staring at Lance, who’s stuck in the tree again, looking over at the open halls of the castle. When they turn to where Lance is facing, they see Keith talking to Allura and Shiro. He looks so calm, even smiling at the two as they walk around the sun-lit halls, no wonder Lance looks so jealous. After all, it’s almost been a phoeb since Keith came and they haven’t even had a conversation or one bonding experience. 

“Somebody’s jealous~” Pidge sing-songs, getting Lance’s attention.

He sits up, “What? Jealous? Nonono, I couldn’t care less about that slimy mullet. He can go fight the Galra for all I care!”

“I didn’t mention Keith,” Pidge hums, earning a high-five from Hunk. 

“It was implied,” Lance mutters, jumping down to the ground, “I’m going to the training deck,” 

Hunk and Pidge look at each other silently wondering if they should follow Lance. If he finds Keith he won’t hesitate to yell at the guy, maybe even throw a punch.

When they walk into the training deck they’re greeted by a line of sentries with poorly drawn pictures of Keith’s face. Pidge and Hunk look at each other in disbelief as Lance casually starts training as if those pictures are totally normal. Hunk can see the look on Pidge’s face, she wants him to say something. Lance shooting down the line of sentries in the middle of the heads is clearly not a great way to cope with jealousy and rivalry.

“So, are we gonna ignore Keith’s face on the sentry?” Hunk says, awkwardly standing with Pidge on the sidelines.

Lance shoots another sentry, smiling to himself, “I think it gives me motivation,” He shrugs.

“Seriously, Lance. There’s no way this is good for you!” Pidge exclaims.

“Or the alliance…” Hunk adds it makes Lance freeze for a moment. “Hey, what would Allura think? Her dear obedient brother betraying Altea,” 

Pidge quickly catches on, dramatically sighing, “Oh she would be devastated, she’ll have no choice but to marry-”

“Well, what can I do, anyway? Keith hates me too, y’know,” Lance turns around, frustrated by his friend’s persistence. Pidge and Hunk smile, like they’ve opened Pandora’s box.

–

Everyone’s staring - Lance knows for a fact. The cruel eyes of the Altean court are watching him intently, waiting for him to speak up. It feels odd eating dinner with the whole council, usually, it’s just him, Keith, Allura, Shiro and sometimes Coran. Hesitantly, he sneaks a glance at Keith. Despite being seated to Lance’s right, his face looks ahead, never meeting Lance’s gaze. Instead, he’s staring at Shiro from across the table. His eyes say it all - He hates it here. He wants nothing to do with Lance. 

“How’s your stay been, Keith?” Lance asks quietly, there’s no use though, since everyone had gone silent long ago. Keith does nothing to indicate he heard Lance, still staring at Shiro with those empty eyes. Suddenly, Keith groans impatiently, standing up with his arms crossed. At a closer look, he doesn’t look bad with the suit. It’s similar to the Altean armour in shape, but the shades of grey and black look insanely good on him. And Lance thinks that as a friend… or rival of Keith.

“I’m sick. Goodbye.” Keith says, abruptly turning around for the door before anyone can protest. Out of impulse, Lance gets up too, not even checking to see if his food is finished or cold. He looks straight ahead at Keith and walks with all of the casualty he can muster from the inner depths of his body. 

When the door closes behind them, the awkward air is replaced with bitterness and anger. There are so many things they haven’t said to each other since the start of the summer. Lance had planned it out with Pidge and Hunk several quintants ago—everything down to the exact words he’ll say. Yet, when he’s here, facing Keith - who isn’t even looking at him - his mind is like a broken record player. Are they just standing here until one person breaks the silence?

“We haven’t gone training together,” Lance says looking down at his shoes.

Keith turns around and raises a brow, “Are you gonna make me line up with a bunch of robots?” Lance jumps a little at the implication. 

“You saw that?” Keith’s hum is enough confirmation for him.

Great, there goes plan A , Lance thinks, his mind goes back to Hunk and Pidge, what was Plan B? They had made so many plans but he only remembered plan A, curse his selective memory. What would they do together that isn’t fighting or bickering, anyway? 

“Do you want to…” Lance tries to think of something , but Keith’s intimidating stare is distracting “Uh… Try the new sim?”

“I can do that myself.” 

Right, Keith’s a lone wolf at heart, no matter how many ‘bonding’ moments you throw at him. Suddenly, Lance remembers a festival happening in a village, Allura had mentioned it earlier today. There’s only one way to get there quickly since it’s surrounded by the ocean. Lance smiles ear-to-ear, the pieces are all falling together.

“Fly with me,” He says, it sounds like a command.

Keith looks at him for a few ticks, it feels like he’s scanning Lance for any sarcasm or jokes. It makes him tense a little, looking at Keith’s tired eyes. The sparkle he saw back at the holographic map is long gone, replaced by an empty void - a galaxy without stars. “If you come I won’t bother you for the rest of the summer,” Lance adds.

“Lead the way,” Keith sighs.

–

The night sky is always beautiful, but today, there are swirls of purple and white, mixed with the midnight. Lance can’t help but look in awe at the sky as he flies through thin clouds. He adjusts his helmet, checking his comms and camera.

“How long left?” Keith’s face appears at Lance’s side, wearing an identical red helmet - it suits him , Lance thinks.

He looks at the map, comparing the distance between the island and the two red circles. “Around 15 doboshes?” He says, looking up at Keith’s video camera.

“Are you ever sure about anything?”

“I’m sure about many things! Like how your mullet is disgusting, guns are better than swords, and you don’t look that bad in red!” Lance lists everything without thinking, again. His lips immediately close when he realises his last comment, looking at Keith with a slight blush. 

Keith clears his throat and Lance swears he sees a little bit of red on his cheeks, “ What is it with you and my mullet anyway, ”

Lance scoffs, opening his mouth to list every reason and a few insults. He’s stopped by the ship violently rocking side to side due to a few fireworks. He looks down and sees the flurry of warm light engulfing an island. It makes him smile, he’s never been here before, despite his pleas to Allura and Coran.

“We’re here! I think you owe me something for dealing with your brooding for a whole varga!” Lance smirks. Keith’s face pops up again, pouting with furrowed brows, Lance could get used to that.

“Shut up. Do they know we’re here?”

Lance blushes sheepishly, “No…”

“Lance!”

“Okay okay, they don’t know, but, these are the castle’s ships, they’ll be fine with us coming here for a varga or two,” 

Keith groans, “You better know what you’re doing,”

Once they land on a nearby field, Lance half expects people to look at them curiously, recognise him or even Keith. But they’re only greeted by the smiles of Altean farmers, who happily show them the way to the main city. The city is lit by the warm tint of the fairy lights framing the twisting sidewalks, there are many stalls with food goo and trinkets. Everything feels so homely, little kids running around catching bubbles, couples holding hands, friends laughing with each other. It’s a shame he’s spending the night with Keith, but there is hope that the atmosphere can warm him up, even if it’s just a little. 

“Oh shoot! They have carnival games!” Lance exclaims, running over to the water gun facing a bunch of ducks. Keith follows closely behind, peering over Lance’s shoulder, “Just so you know, my aim has been as clear as the castle’s lake,” 

“I saw a pig fly into the lake the other day.” Keith muses.

Lance laughs sarcastically, paying the stall owner a few cents. He bends down, at level with the first row of moving rubber ducks. He closes his right eye, adjusting the gun’s position and shoots down five ducks in a row. Alteans gather around, whispering amongst themselves as Lance shoots another three. He turns to face Keith, but the boy doesn’t seem to notice. He’s looking ahead at the ducks, arms crossed with a proud smile, muttering a few words. Lance focuses again, noticing the small group of children looking his way, eager to see his next move. Just before he shoots the remaining two, he turns to Keith, wondering what to do. 

“This one’s for you,” It’s cringe, Lance knows. But the blush that creeps up from Keith’s neck is priceless. His blush only gets worse once Lance pulls the trigger, not bothering to check if his aim is correct. it hits one duck, and as it folds, it engulfs the other duck that used to swim peacefully.

“Not bad, sharpshooter,” Keith says as the kids cheer behind them. 

Safe to say, Lance will definitely get that black and red teddy bear hanging at the corner of the stall. It’s huge, it’s probably the same size as Pidge, if not bigger. As Lance carries it around, it starts to remind him of Keith. He stops for a moment, taking the time to stare at the bear. Its black beady eyes stare back at Lance, it has the same amount of emotion as Keith, too. When he looks up, Keith is metres away at a darts game, picking up ten darts as the Altean stall owner explains the game. Keith already knows the basics, it’s obvious with the boredom in his eyes. However, when the Altean steps aside, his focus is only on the darts. Lance stands beside Keith, staring in awe as he effortlessly hits the bullseye. He only hums in satisfaction, before grabbing the next dart with his right hand, another bullseye. Lance can’t help but whistle as Keith gets four in a row, the stall owner stands there in shock. For the sixth dart, Keith picks it up with his left hand, prepares to throw it, and gets another perfect shot.

“Since when could you do that?!?” Lance stands there in shock. Keith looks at him as he throws another dart with the same hand, “ANOTHER bullseye?!?!?!” He exclaims. 

Keith smiles and throws the last two at the same time, this time it lands on the circle around the centre, “That was nothing,”

Keith picks a small brown bear with blue beady eyes holding a heart in the middle of its chest, Lance thinks it kind of looks like him. As they walk, their shoulders brush, it feels electric, as they fall into small conversations and banter. The type of civility that had crumbled like a house of cards last summer.

They end up at the field they had landed on as they walk together to a bench. Lance sits the black and red bear next to the small blue bear Keith had placed on one side of the bench. They sit together contently, close as if they’ve been friends since forever.

“Festival food is disgusting,” Keith mutters, holding out food goo on a skewer.

Lance gladly takes it, “For a guy in space you don’t appreciate food goo at all,”

“For Hunk’s best friend you seem to settle for the most unappetising food,” Keith groans, watching as Lance happily eats the goo.

For a moment, Lance wants to ask if Earth has festivals too, but for once, he bites his tongue. It’s rare for Keith to be talking to Lance like this, and the last time that happened he blew it by talking about sensitive topics. Instead, he looks at the teddy bears on the bench beside them.

“It looks like you,” Lance says, picking up the huge teddy bear. “Look at me! I’m Keith with an ugly mullet. Now stay away from me as I do emo things and brood about everything!” He lifts the bear’s small arms, waving it up and down and crossing its arms as he talks in a deep voice.

“I don’t sound like that, and I’m not emo!” Keith complains, grabbing the honey-coloured blue bear.

“Could’ve fooled me,” Lance laughs as Keith raises the bear to block his face.

“I’m Lance! I have an obsession with mullets because I could never grow my hair out. All I do is whine and make fun of everyone and I love disgusting food!” Keith’s voice raises to an ear-screeching pitch. He immediately starts coughing, which makes Lance laugh even more.

The world feels brighter despite the night sky, sitting here, talking and poking fun at each other feels so warm and comfortable. It’s almost as if nothing had happened, and that’s the problem for Keith. He inhales deeply before standing up, with the teddy bear wrapped in his arms. It feels wrong, being this close to Lance. He looks at the prince’s blue eyes, the warm light of the festival behind them reflecting like fireworks. His eyes trail to the bear lying on Lance’s lap, and back to the bear in his hands. This is what couples do , Keith thinks, blushing at the realisation.

“What’s up, man?” Lance asks, laughing a little, “You’re getting red,” 

Lance’s smile is contagious, it’s infecting Keith like a fungus. Lance is a fungus. Growing on Keith and sticking to him no matter the circumstances. And the worst part is that even after the last moments last summer, Keith could get used to Lance. In fact, he’s already getting familiar with Lance’s habits. The way he closes his right eye and sticks his tongue out a little when he aims his gun. The way he loves anything homemade and food goo-related, despite having the luxury of castle food. The way he laughs is imprinted into Keith’s mind and lives like a parasite. Keith’s face heats up as Lance stands up, placing a hand on Keith’s forehead. This can’t be happening , he thinks. The implications of his feelings send a shiver down his spine.

“We should go,” He says, stepping away from Lance.

Lance hums, “It’s getting late, you’re right,” Walking by Keith’s side. The mind is a very dangerous thing, It’s even more dangerous when it agrees with the heart. Right now, Keith’s mind and heart are betraying him. 

–

“I spy with my little eye something that starts with….” Lance’s face pops up beside Keith, looking around the sky.

“Are we seriously doing this?” Keith laughs.

“Yes,” Lance says as if it’s obvious, “I got it! Something that starts with… A!” He exclaims, looking up at something ahead. Keith hums for a moment looking around, there aren’t many things that are obvious at night. There are stars, clouds, and village huts.

“Uh… stars?” Keith asks, his mind is already blank.

Lance laughs, quieter than usual, “That doesn’t even start with a!”

“I thought it was a trick question!” He admits it’s embarrassing, but it sounds like something Lance would do. At least the Lance he knows.

“You were pretty close…” Lance lowers his voice, it rings through the comms in Keith’s helmet, doing laps in his brain. “Do you give up?” Keith groans, it’s confirmation for Lance.

His video comes up again, his smile ear-to-ear, “Look up,” Keith does exactly what he’s told, it’s almost embarrassing the way he doesn’t hesitate to look to the sky.

He looks at a constellation of stars, dancing around the sky like a ballroom in its loudest, prettiest moment. Synchronised and similar at first glance, but like the dancers in a ballroom, each star is different. There are stars of all sizes, some are brighter than others and they even move in different ways. It stretches from the east to the west, next to a nearby island. There's an aura of green, blue and purple swirling around the stars, a bright contrast to the clear night sky.

“The Alfor Constellation,” Lance whispers, his camera is off but Keith can feel his fond smile. His voice shakes a little,  “I’ve never seen it this close… Maybe that’s why Allura never let me come to this side,”

“Shouldn’t it be nice to be near this? Almost like a piece of him is near you…” Keith wonders, he’s no stranger to losing a parent, in fact, he’s well-versed in the experience. 

“It’s… oddly comforting, yeah,” Lance mumbles, “I don’t know, I just miss him sometimes,” It’s barely audible, if they didn’t have comms he wouldn’t have caught Lance’s shaky breath and sniffle.

“Hey, one day, we’ll stay in this village longer, and you can watch this constellation for as long as you want,” Keith doesn’t know why he’s promising a future with Lance. But his heart flutters when he sees Lance’s video pop up, it’s embarrassing.

“I thought we would never speak again? Did something change~?” His tone is teasing but he’s right, something did change. Keith is thinking these abnormal thoughts about a guy who probably still hates him. What’s worse is that he doesn’t mind it.

“Oh, and, I guess I owe you an apology,” Lance says.

Keith shakes his head, despite his video being turned off, “It was stupid of me to suggest running away,” But you weren't, is at the tip of Lance’s tongue, “I’ve found ways to help the Blade, anyway,” 

Lance hums, “Does it feel weird? Having the weight of the whole alliance on your shoulders?”

“I’m not exactly doing it alone…” Keith mutters, his cheeks slightly heat up at the confession. 

Lance laughs a bit, “I guess not… Hey, does this mean we’re friends?”

“Yeah?” Keith responds instantly like he’s been waiting for the moment Lance finally pushes this ‘rivalry’ aside. There are a few ticks of silence filled by the ring in the ship as they fly closer to the castle.

“Cool,” Lance says, his voice low, and a part of Keith’s heart starts to flutter.

“Race me.” Is all Keith hears before he sees Lance recklessly fly across the night sky. His smile becomes brighter as he pushes the levers and speeds up to the ship.