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The sun had just started to dip below the horizon when Keith’s ship crash-landed, messy and forced, right in front of the McClain house. Lance bolted outside the second he saw it, like the wind itself was pushing him forward, and found Keith with a head wound and another one on his right shoulder. He was bleeding more than Lance had ever seen him bleed. For a few seconds, panic took over. It felt like Keith might just collapse right on top of him, but Keith was smiling. The idiot was actually smiling. Lance rushed him inside so he could get a better look at how bad things were. On the way in, Keith looked like he wanted to say something, but he was too weak to do more than mumble incoherently.
“Stop talking,” Lance snapped, a bit harsher than he meant to. Keith actually listened, probably because he didn’t have the strength not to.
By the time Lance had cleaned up all the blood and could really see what he was dealing with, it was already night. The head wound wasn’t that deep; Keith was more out of it from the hit than from blood loss, just like Lance had thought at first. The shoulder injury was worse, but still nothing that bandages and some rehab wouldn’t fix. Lance felt relieved, really relieved, even if it didn’t show on his face. The thing was, he was also annoyed. He had no idea what kind of dangerous crap Keith had been getting himself into, or why he’d show up bleeding out at his door without saying a word. But this wasn’t the moment to argue. There were wounds to clean and a whole night ahead to figure out what he’d say tomorrow. Keith, apparently, had other plans.
“Are you mad?” he asked softly, looking up at him with the most ridiculous puppy eyes Lance had ever seen.
“You showed up at my house covered in blood after disappearing for weeks. What do you think?” Lance refused to give in to that look.
“I just… needed to see you.” He sounded like he wanted to say more, but his brain clearly wasn’t cooperating. Lance didn’t even want to think about how long he’d gone without sleep before whatever mission had left him like this.
“To see me?” Lance shot back, voice edged with sarcasm. Always putting others before himself, so damn annoying. “I’d say what you needed was a pod, Keith. Seriously, do you even realize how much you scared me?”
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to. I needed to see you, Lance,” he mumbled again. At this point, Lance couldn’t tell if it was the blood loss or if he’d accidentally given him something stronger than a painkiller.
“Just shut up and let me finish bandaging your damn shoulder, Kogane.” He was more worried than mad, but he tried not to show it. Lance could’ve sworn Keith let out a quiet laugh. He’d just scared him half to death, and he was laughing.
“I missed you so much…” Before Lance could react, something warm wrapped around his waist. Keith’s free arm pulled him in with way more strength than someone in his condition should have. “Don’t leave me, Lance.” That hit something deep, and Lance wasn’t ready for it.
“I think that’s supposed to be my line,” he muttered, letting out a long, tired sigh. “You disappear for god knows how long, you stop replying for weeks, and then show up bleeding out at my door. You’re gonna kill me, Keith.”
“No, no. Lance, you can’t die.” Keith tightened his hold and buried his face against him. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” His voice broke into a soft sob, and that immediately set off alarms in Lance’s head. Something wasn’t right.
“Hey, I’m not mad, just worried. You scared the hell out of me, Keith. I thought you were gonna pass out any second. I’m still not convinced you won’t.” He tilted Keith’s chin up so he’d look at him. Keith’s eyes looked… fragile. Way more than usual. “Keith?” He blinked, like Lance’s voice pulled him back.
“Lance.”
“I’m right here.” Lance finished tying the bandage and crouched down in front of him, meeting his eyes. The deep indigo that once looked like it held entire galaxies now seemed dim, almost gone. “What’s wrong, Keith?”
“I needed to see you,” he repeated. That was starting to worry him. Lance was pretty sure it had to be some kind of concussion.
“You already said that, mullet. What was so important you had to come here before going to a healing pod?” Lance didn’t look away, but Keith kept glancing around the room like the words were stuck in his throat. After a moment, his eyes landed back on Lance’s, full of something like longing… and something heavier.
“I couldn’t stay there,” he said quietly. Lance leaned in to hear him. “I didn’t want to.”
“You’re not making this any clearer.” Without thinking, Lance brushed some hair away from his face. Had his eyes always looked this intense? “Commander Kogane, Blade of Marmora, top pilot of his class... what, you got tired of space?”
“Yeah.” He said it so firmly Lance actually held his breath. “I can’t keep doing it.”
“But Keith… I thought that was your thing. You always talked about fixing the universe like it was everything to you, with a lot of passion.” While Keith avoided his gaze, Lance carefully wiped dried blood from his face. “Did you talk to your mom about this?”
“Krolia doesn’t know I’m here.” Lance froze.
“She doesn’t know you’re hurt and at my place? Are you insane?” He turned to grab his phone, but Keith grabbed his wrist and held on.
“Lance, don’t go. Please.” There were tints of fear in his voice now.
“I’m not going anywhere. I just want to call your mama.” He knelt back down, and this time Keith looked straight at him.
“My mother doesn’t need to know I’m here,” he said firmly, tightening his grip. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? It feels like you’re not telling me something, Keith, and it’s starting to freak me out.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.” He guided Lance’s hand to his chest and placed it on top of his heart. “I’m fine.”
“Your heart’s racing like crazy.” The closeness caught Lance off guard, a faint blush creeping up his face.
“For a second up there, I thought I’d never see you again.” His voice was shaky, but he pressed Lance’s hand tighter against his chest. “And I realized I can’t keep doing this. Not without you.” Lance’s breath hitched. This didn’t feel real.
“What do you mean?”
“I need you, Lance. I need to know you’re okay, that you’re here. You’re the first person I think about before every mission, and the last one before I fall asleep. Doing this without you is so hard. You’re my right hand, my left, my heart, my whole world.”
“Keith…?” Lance stared at him. “What are you saying?”
“I’m in love with you. Completely, hopelessly in love with you.” There was no way this was real. The way his voice sounded... it had to be a dream. The words just hung there while Lance looked around, stunned.
“That’s not possible…” he whispered.
“I should’ve told you years ago. I’m sorry. I couldn’t just… take you. Even if that’s what I wanted. It wasn’t what you wanted, or needed.”
“Not what I wanted?” Lance felt his throat tighten. “All I ever wanted was for you to see me, Keith. That was enough.”
“For me to see you? Lance… I’ve never stopped seeing you.” He let go of his wrist and cupped his face. “I see you.” And that was it. Lance broke down, quiet sobs spilling out as he leaned into his hand, like he’d been waiting his whole life to hear that. “Hey, don’t cry. I’m here.”
“Are you serious, Keith?” Lance swallowed, trying to steady himself. “We’ve been through so much already…”
“I’ve never been more serious.” He took his hands again and smiled softly. “If I go back out there without you, none of it is gonna mean anything.”
“Keith… I don’t know if I’m ready.”
“That’s okay. It doesn’t have to be now.” His smile was warm, patient. “I’ll stay with you until you are.”
“…That actually sounds really nice.” They both stood up, still smiling, and pulled each other into a hug.
Maybe it was too soon to go back to the stars, maybe it wasn’t. But for the first time in a while, Lance was willing to think about it. New beginnings were never easy, but Keith had always had this way of pushing him to be better, no matter what the situation was. Maybe it had always been written in the stars that they’d end up here. Together.