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Keith wasn’t at dinner, which might have been a bit more distressing for the team if they weren’t jetting through space. At least everyone knew he hadn’t wandered off or been captured. Still, the castle echoed with the footsteps of its seven-member crew and having another empty seat at in the dining room that used to be used for banquets was a bit disheartening.
Lance picked at his food, bright green like jello but with the constancy of mashed potatoes. Not that it tasted like either of those things. Everyone else had no problem eating, and the sounds of silverware clanking against the plates didn’t aid in his hunger. What he would give for some of his mother’s cooking or his dad’s awkward conversations as he tried to keep up with the times. Coran’s grand explanation of Altea history but it wasn’t quite the same. Though right now no-one was talking, not even Coran.
Everyone slowly left the table, Pidge wanting to do work on some robotics, Sven and Allura going to do some tests on the ship, Shiro doing some head of Voltron type stuff, and Hunk offering to wash everything up. Even with his plate gone, Lance found himself still sitting, tapping his fingers on the table like he was still waiting for food. Though considering he hadn’t eaten it wouldn’t have been a terrible idea to get some food in him. “What am I doing?” He thought aloud. Not like sitting around would change anything.
With a huff, he got up and started for his room. At least that was the plan, but he reminded himself there wasn’t anything to do in his room. No games, no one to talk to, hell not even any books. It was hard to feel tired when all you did was stand around on a space ship waiting for the next battle, so sleep wasn’t even an option. Lance continued through the halls, sometimes hearing Pidge tapping away at the computer or Coran and Allura discussing something in the distance. But still no Keith. “Where is that guy?”
There was no way he could have gotten in trouble. Back at the academy if no one saw Keith they all knew he had gotten caught doing something. The talk varied between stealing and fighting some other classmates. It was usually the latter, but the guy did steal a motorbike and took a joyride off campus. A bunch of students watched from the towers as he was chased down by a combination of school officers and the police. Though from afar it was just watching a smaller dust cloud be chased by a much larger dust cloud. Still better than studying.
Rolling his shoulders back Lance looked for the mullet paladin. So this is what the school officers felt like back when Keith was in school. Huh. Opening the bay to the training facility, Lance saw a red lump in the back corner. It only took him a few steps in to recognize Keith. His head was against the wall and his mouth was open, chest slowly rising and falling. His bayard rested by his feet. Keith pursed his lips. “Show off.”
Who trained so hard they feel asleep right after? Even Shiro would find that excessive, and he’d probably warn Keith to be careful of pushing himself too hard. Give some speech about how they needed him to pilot the red lion and whatever. It was all true—and Keith would listen, but only if Shiro said it. Pidge? Nah. Hunk? Not likely. Lance? The universe would tear itself in half first.
Lance’s lips curled up into a devilish smile. He looked around the room, wondering if there was a pen or marker lying around. Sure it was the hyper-clean training facility from another planet (did Alteans even have pens?) but worth a shot. Lance slipped his hands into his pockets, watching Keith sleep. The guy was really out, and as unappealing as sleeping against a wall sounded he seemed rather comfortable. He has the same look as a little kid falling to sleep after a long day of playing.
Lance slipped off his jacket and carefully placed it over Keith’s body. Waking him would only piss the guy off. As bored as he was, Lance was never a fan of being chastised and boy would a tongue lashing from Keith really put him on edge. He turned to leave, taking about three steps before he heard a soft groan. Looking over his shoulder he saw Keith begin to stir. The boy opened his eyes, blinking a few times before there was any sort of light in his eyes. He looked down at the jacket around him, then at Lance, and back at the jacket.
“Lance did you just tuck me in?”
The room was a perfect temperature (the whole castle was) but Lance still felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of his neck. He scoffed, rubbing his neck. “No!”
“Oh…” Keith rubbed the collar of the jacket, the worn leather smooth against his skin.
Hand still on the back of his neck Lance waited for the guy to say something else. It was his jacket—no one else on the ship had anything like it. Not to mention there was no one else in here. But Keith just looked around the room, like he was trying to find the true culprit. Lance growled, “of course it was me! Who else would it have been?”
Keith shrugged. “Anyone else on the team. I don’t know.” The sleep having faded away Keith managed a smirk. “Maybe you lead your jacket out so much people forget to return it. Maybe Allura did it.”
Lance made his way back to Keith in long strides. He reached down to grab the jacket but Keith pulled it closer to his body. Lance frowned. “Oh come on man!”
“It is a nice jacket. I can see why you wear it all the time.”
“Yeah well, you never saw me wear it back at the academy.” His brows furrowed when he recalled Keith’s lack of memories surrounding Lance. The two were always neck and neck but apparently Keith hadn’t even noticed him.
Keith’s head tilted to the side. “Um, yeah, we had uniforms.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“You still upset over that rival thing?” The pair were paladins of Voltron now. Even ignoring the battles they’d already been through, neither of them were at the academy anymore.
“Yeah.” Lance flopped down next to Keith. “I spent forever trying to best you just once and I never did.”
You never even got close, Keith thought but kept his mouth shut.
“Then you get kicked out of school, and suddenly I don’t even have the chance to beat you anymore.”
Keith bit the inside of his lip. “Yeah… that… was a mistake.” Keith hadn’t had parents or friends growing up. The academy was all he had and well—you don’t really know what you had till you lose it. Outside no one cared how many simulations you’d aced. All they cared about was the record that came with your name.
“Then everyone starts talking about how I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you mess up—“
“Okay, okay!” Keith shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
Lance crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh, it’s gonna take a lot more than sorry to make up for all that nonsense!”
“… Alright.” Keith leaned over, his lips lightly touching Lance’s. His hand extended to Lance’s cheek, holding it like a fully bloomed rose. He lifted his chin higher, letting his lips press against Lance’s lips more. Keith opened his eyes just a touch. Lance’s cheeks were pink and his eyes were wide—but he made no attempts to pull away. Letting his eyes close, Keith pulled away, hand still lingering on Lance’s cheek. “There,” his hand pulled back, grabbing the jacket and holding it tight against his body. “We’re even.”
It was Lance’s turn to be quiet, looking around the room like he’d forgotten where he was. His eyes settled on Keith, still holding his jacket like a kid with his favorite toy. “You know I’m not gay, right?”
“Sure dude.” Keith stood up, throwing the jacket over his shoulders. He ruffled Lance’s choppy hair. “Sure.”