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Yesterday, the Paladins had done a pretty difficult mission. They had to go to the Balmera to get quintessence, but the Galra started attacking. Usually, Keith is good at fighting them off, but for some reason, he was distracted yesterday. He ended up damaging his lion pretty badly, and needed Pidge and Hunk to fix it up for him. The other just thought he was tired and needed to rest, but Lance realised that it wasn’t just that. Something was off about Keith.
They knew that the Galra wouldn’t attack for a while, (or at least that’s what they guessed would happen), so they decided that now was the best time to get some rest and maybe build some muscle. Pidge was going to do that, but she had other things to do—like fix Keith’s lion. Hunk also joined, because he was best at the mechanical parts, unlike Pidge, who was best at the technical parts.
Keith was already awake, sitting down on the floor, leaning against his lion’s leg with his arms wrapped around his legs. He looked exhausted—he had bags under his eyes, and his posture was slumped. Keith was also like this yesterday, and Lance was a little concerned. He thought that maybe it was him going through a phase, but if it was, he still wanted to help him through it. The doors to the red lion's engine-tower opened, revealing Pidge on the other side.
“Oh, hey Keith. You're here early.” She commented as she walked over to him, the doors shutting behind her. Keith just made an ‘mhm’ sound, not bothering to lift his head. Pidge cleared her throat and stopped, looking up at the lion. It had scratches on it, and some dents too. “So, you wanted me to try and fix it? I can try and see what’s wrong, but Hunk is better at fixing stuff.” She crossed her arms over her chest, watching Keith for a moment, before walking around the lion to get a better look at the damage.
Keith just sat there, waiting for Pidge to finish looking. When she came back, she walked over to where Keith was and tapped her wristband to call Hunk. “Hey, Hunk. I need your help with Keith’s lion if you’re free.” She said, hoping he would be free. Pidge kept her eyes on Keith, wondering why he was so… down today. The doors to Keith's engine-tower opened again, but it wasn’t Hunk like they expected—it was Lance.
“Hey guys!” Lance called out, louder than Keith would have liked, with him having a headache. Keith instantly lifted his head, his eyes locking onto Lance’s face. “Whatcha up to? Fixing Keith’s lion, since he crashed it yesterday?” Lance smirked at Pidge, then looked down at Keith. He had finally lifted his head, but he looked exhausted. Lance cleared his throat and leaned in closer to Pidge, whispering, “What’s up with him? He looks like he just woke up from… I dunno, death!”
Pidge rolled her eyes. “No idea… he’s been like this since yesterday.” She muttered, glancing at Lance. He already noticed that Keith had been acting weird since yesterday, but he thought he would feel better today. ‘Maybe it’s from crashing his lion.’ Lance thought to himself, narrowing his eyes at him. Keith, looking at Lance, saw that he was looking at him pretty intently. He pressed his forehead against his knees again to lower his head, his cheeks flushing lightly.
After a moment, Hunk joined them. Pidge and Hunk got to work on Keith’s lion, while Lance stood there awkwardly. Why did he go there? Was it to see Keith? Even Lance didn't know himself. He walked over to him and sat down next to him, lifting his knees up to his chest, just like Keith was. Slowly, he lifted his arm and wrapped it around Keith’s shoulder, pulling him closer. “You alright? You’ve been like this since yesterday.” Lance asked him quietly, watching how Keith tensed up.
Keith turned his head slightly, glancing at him through his bangs. Lance glanced at him too, smiling softly. “Yeah, fine. Just tired.” He muttered before burying his face back into his arms. Pidge peeked from the side of the lion, watching them both together. She showed no emotion on her face, but inside, she was jealous. She wanted to be the one that was sitting next to Keith. Hunk poked Pidge’s arm. “Help me with this.” He said. She stared for a moment longer before turning back to the lion.
Lance lifted his hand and stroked Keith’s hair, and his eyes snapping open beneath his arms. He was… touching his hair. “Uh, wanna go somewhere else? I mean, it’s not very interesting sitting here, is it?” Lance asked, a nervous smile on his face. Slowly, Keith lifted his head, looking at Lance with a grateful but tired smile. “Sure, you’re right.” He pulled his arm from around Keith’s shoulders and stood up, holding his hand out to him. He took Lance’s hand and stood up, calling out to Pidge, “We’ll be somewhere around the ship, Pidge—and thanks, Hunk.”
Pidge and Hunk peered from behind the lion, putting their thumbs up at him. Keith turned his head and started to walk away with Lance. ‘Why’d Lance have to come? I could’ve had, I don’t know, a small chance with Keith, alone.’ Pidge bit her lip, trying to ignore her desires and focus on the task at hand. In the hallway, Lance and Keith were walking together, closer than usual. Their shoulders were nearly touching. Lance cleared his throat to get Keith’s attention and glanced at him from the corner of his eye, but Keith just kept his eyes on the ground. He gently nudged his shoulder with his own.
Keith looked like he was spaced out, before he blinked a few times and looked at Lance. “Huh? Did you say something?” Keith asked, his voice quiet. Lance shook his head, smirking at him. “Nah. I was just trying to get your attention ‘cause you were spacing out.” He told him. Keith nodded and smiled at him for a moment before looking back at the ground. After a while, Lance stopped in front of the doors to the lounge and grabbed Keith’s wrist, speaking up. “Let’s sit in here for a while. I don’t think anyone will come in, so your head won’t hurt as much.”
He pulled Keith inside, still looking slightly spaced out, but also relieved. Keith raised an eyebrow, asking Lance, “How did you know I have a headache?” He asked him. Lance shrugged, letting go of Keith’s wrist and jumping down onto the sofa with a thud. “I just guessed, since you looked pretty down when I came in.” Lance stretched his arms above his head, his head tilted back against the back of the sofa. Keith stood there, looking down at him. They locked eyes for a moment before Lance looked away, a small smile on his face he couldn’t hide.
Keith swung his legs down onto the sofa and sat down next to him, slumping down comfortably. “Lance, why haven’t you asked Allura out? I mean, you clearly like her.” Keith asked him, turning his head to face him. Lance just stared at him, his eyes slightly wide, before he finally answered. “Uh, I just—I don’t know, I guess I don’t think now’s the right time, you know?” He laughed sheepishly, his eyes darting away nervously. ‘Quiznak, I didn’t think he cared about me and Allura’s relationship…’ Lance internally sighed, hoping Keith wouldn’t notice anything else odd about him.
For a while, they sat in silence. It was peaceful, just the two of them sitting together—no loud Hunk, or joyful Coran. Lance broke the silence by speaking. “So, uh, why have you been acting like that—really upset and stuff? I kinda couldn’t help but notice.” He crossed his legs, placing his arms on the back of the sofa. Keith shifted slightly on the sofa to face Lance and doubled over, his hand reaching down to clutch his side. A strained groan escaped his lips as he bit his lip. “Keith? What’s wrong?” Lance tilted his head, a concerned look on his face.
“Ugh…” Keith clutched at his shirt tightly, continuing to bite his lip as he sat up straight again. His face was scrunched up and contorted with pain, but he tried to hide it by turning his face away. “N-Nothing. Just a stomach ache.” He lied, his voice cracking. Lance lifted his hand and gently grasped Keith’s chin, turning his face towards his again. Keith’s eyes widened, but he obeyed and turned his head. “A stomach ache isn’t in your side, Keith…” Lance replied softly, his fingers tracing Keith’s jaw before he lowered his hand.
Keith swallowed before speaking. Lance clearly wasn’t convinced by his lie, and if he tried to lie again, it would just make it more obvious that he wasn’t telling the truth at all. He opened his mouth to speak, but paused, seeming conflicted. “When I crashed my lion, I… just hit my side, that’s all. It‘ll go soon.” Keith said the last part quickly, not wanting to make a big deal out of it—but Lance wasn’t having it. “Don’t make it sound like nothing. Let me have a look at it,” Lance commanded firmly but generously. “Please.”