Chapter Text
They’d won. The natives had lost hope decades ago but after months of organizing and skirmishing and inspiring, they’d fought with Voltron in a massive battle against some number of Galra fleets that Lance couldn’t remember because there was adrenaline running hot through his blood and exhaustion already tearing at his mind. It was the largest battle they’d ever won against the Galra empire and just in this moment, Lance felt a little bit invincible. This miserable, freezing planet, infested with Galra, was finally free of its long-time oppressors because they’d fucking won.
When he climbed out of his lion into the throng of cheering and hollering natives he didn’t think twice about running to Keith, who was openly smiling at locals. Lance knocked him to the ground in a flurry of ‘we fucking did it’ and ‘we’re fucking awesome,’ ignoring the celebrating crowd that surrounded them.
And Keith was actually laughing, staring up at Lance with pupils blown wide for a fraction of a second before Lance felt a hand at the back of his neck that roughly tugged him down into a frantic kiss.
Lance was drunk on victory and the feeling that, against all odds, Voltron could actually make a difference. All the lines and legends about Voltron saving the universe weren’t just stories told to children in order to ease the burden of Galra’s tyranny—they could be heroes.
He kissed Keith back, hands fisting in the fabric of his suit. Their teeth clacked together painfully and it wasn’t anything like the shy kisses behind his family’s diner that Lance had exchanged with his ex-girlfriend on earth. The girlfriend whose name he couldn’t remember because Keith made that soft moment that Lance had held onto for years seem unimportant.
Keith pulled back and Lance was drawn to the pretty redness of his lips, almost able to ignore the words passing through them.
But he’d caught those husky words that made his throat close and brought him crashing back down to reality. He wasn’t a hero or a god, he was just awkward, skinny Lance, wishing he’d never heard Keith say ‘I fucking love you.’
Keith knew he wasn’t always reasonable. His suspension—which the others termed ‘attitude problems’—had been justified. He tried to be calm and logical and thoughtful like Shiro; he’d even carved out time in his busy training schedule to meditate. He spent an hour each day at least doing the breathing exercises that Allura had taught him. He needed to be able to keep a cool head. If he couldn’t, he put himself and the rest of Voltron at risk.
He liked to think he was getting better. Lance didn’t get on his nerves as much and he was able to think his way through a problem rather than relying on raw instinct and skill. Shiro himself had said that Keith was really improving.
None of them expected that Keith would explode worse than they’d ever seen in the aftermath of what should have been a happy victory.
“What the fuck?!”
Lance, coward that he was, scrambled away from Keith, eyes darting around wildly as he strove not to meet Keith’s heated glare.
“I just said,” Lance murmured shakily, “I think we’re a little over-excited right now and we—
“Over-excited,” Keith repeated. “Do you really think I told you I loved you because I’m fucking hyped up on adrenaline or some shit? Are you fucking kidding me, Lance?”
Lance physically winced and Keith saw red. “Is that hard for you to hear? Do you really hate me so fucking much that you can’t even look at me?”
“I don’t hate you,” Lance hissed under his breath. He continued to glance around warily and Keith realized it wasn’t just about avoiding his own gaze—Lance was checking to see who was watching. The knowledge that Lance was embarrassed to have an audience for this particular fight made Keith even more furious. “I just,” and Lance had the gall to sigh, “I don’t feel the same, sorry.”
“You kissed me back. You—
“I made a mistake!” Lance yelled.
Keith was going to punch him. He couldn’t remember the last time he hit Lance seriously but his fist was flying towards Lance’s face when Shiro caught him by the arm. Even after all his training, Shiro with his mechanical arm could easily overpower him.
Shiro’s grip held painfully firm as Lance slowly stood up, nodded once at their leader, and slunk off. No more words for Keith, not even a glance. Clearly Shiro hadn’t heard the bulk of their argument or he would have let Keith punch the fucker.
Keith followed Lance’s figure through the crowd until it disappeared from sight and only then did he notice that Shiro had been talking to him the whole time.
“—expect this from you.” Shiro sounded disappointed and normally his fatherly tone would have made Keith feel ashamed, but he couldn’t find it in him today.
Keith yanked his arm away with his last shreds of anger, now giving way to exhaustion. “I just told Lance I loved him.”
Shiro gaped and flushed. “I didn’t—I, uh, I didn’t know you two were in that kind of a relationship.”
“We’re not.”
The full meaning of the situation seemed to hit Shiro. His face fell and he looked sincerely remorseful. “Keith I’m so sorry.”
Under the weight of Shiro’s pitying gaze, Keith felt himself lose what little hold he had on his emotions. Tears stung his eyes and he didn’t resist when Shiro reached out to hug him.
They’d freed a whole planet from the Galra empire and it was still one of the shittiest days of Keith’s life.