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Keith woke up a bit too warm for comfort, but looking at the sleeping face beside him made it totally worth it. Lance was curled up on his side, shirt shucked up a bit, revealing his toned abdomen. His face was completely lax in sleep, mouth slightly ajar and soft breaths tumbling from his lips. His arm was wrapped around Keith’s waist, and when the Red Paladin tried to shift, it tightened ever so slightly.
Keith smiled down at his lover, lying back down and resting his head on his arm, content to just revel in the peaceful moment. Every morning since they had come together was like this now, waking cocooned in blankets and wrapped around each other with nothing but each other in the silent peace. However, Keith knew the moment Lance woke there would be movement and noise and the peaceful silence would be broken, but that was okay. He only needed this only for a few minutes.
Keith’s had slowly been drifting back to sleep when Lance finally woke up, blinking himself awake and yawning hugely. Keith expected Lance to begin talking the moment he woke, but was pleasantly surprised when all Lance did was smile at him and place a gentle kiss on his lips.
“Wow, I’m surprised,” Keith murmured against his lips, “usually you start making a bunch of noise the moment you wake up.”
“Well, today’s special, so I thought I’d greet you nicely,” Lance winked, voice slurred with the leftovers of sleep.
“So you’re only nice to me on our anniversary?” Keith shifted away from his boyfriend, moving instead to lean his head on the other’s shoulder.
“I’m nice to you all the time,” Lance huffed, pressing another kiss to Keith’s hair, “however, today I’m going to be extra nice. I hope you’re ready for a romantic adventure, because I have a lot planned for today.” Keith pushed himself onto his elbows, looking down at Lance with a furrowed brow.
“What do you mean?” Lance reached up and began twirling a lock of Keith’s hair around his finger, before scratching his nails along Keith’s scalp.
“I meant exactly what I said. I’m going to shower you with so much love, you’re not going to know what to do with yourself,” Lance smirked, “and to start it off: a romantic bath.”
“What does that even mean?” Keith muttered, leaning into his lover’s touch.
“You’ll see,” Lance grinned, before launching himself from the bed and grabbing at Keith.
“Hey! Put me down! Lance!” Keith struggled as he was lifted from his warm cocoon and carried into the connected bathroom. Lance placed him on the edge of the bathtub and reached for the water knobs, twisting them so that warm water began pouring out of the spout.
“You really don’t have to do all of this,” Keith murmured, pulling at the hem of his sleep shirt. Lance turned to look at him, his earlier, mischievous look replaced by something much softer and more tender.
“Of course I don’t have to. But I want to,” he shrugged, before turning fully to Keith, “now take of your clothes, Pretty Boy. You can’t bathe with your clothes on like some heathen.” after one more moment of hesitation, Keith shucked his shirt of and shimmied out of his boxers, standing in front of Lance and waiting for the other to do the same. Lance was out of his clothes just as quickly, before he reached beneath his counter and pulled out a basket and a wrapped, pink ball.
“What are those?” Keith asked, raising a suspicious brow as he looked at the items.
“Stop asking so many questions,” Lance chided, before turning to the bath, unwrapping the ball, and dropping it in. The ball began to fizz, slowly spreading a pink cloud through the water. Keith sniffed the air and picked up the gentle scent of roses. “You actually found a bath bomb? In space?”
“Never doubt my abilities,” Lance shot back, before reaching into the basket and tossing a handful of its contents into the water.
“Rose petals?” Keith couldn’t fight the smile that pulled at his lips, “You are such a dork.”
“You love it,” Lance grinned back, before turning away from Keith and slipping into the water, “come on in, the water is nice.” Keith carefully put one foot in the water, shivering as the warm water licked at his calf, before kneeling down and easing himself in between Lance’s legs, leaning back against his chest. He sighed as the water wrapped around his body, easing his muscles and soothing the aches of sleep.
“This is really nice,” Keith couldn’t help but admit, leaning his head back against Lance’s shoulder.
“I’m glad you like it,” Lance pressed a kiss into Keith’s collarbone, gently pressing his cheek against his lover’s. They spent what felt like hours there, wrapped up in each other’s embrace and pressing their lips against whatever part of the other’s body they could find.
“What about the others? And training?” Keith questioned, eye drooping and voice soft. If he spent another minute like this, he was sure he would fall asleep.
“I asked them to schedule the training for later. I couldn’t convince Allura to cancel it entirely,” Lance pouted at that, “but she said she’d give us some time to enjoy ourselves before we had to ‘attend to our duties as Paladins of Voltron.’” Keith chuckled at Lance’s over exaggerated accent and wound his fingers through Lance’s.
“She’s right, you know?”
“Yeah I know,” Lance sighed, “but it would be nice to spend just one day alone.”
“Someday, when this is all over,” Keith assured him, kissing Lance soundly on the lips.
“When this is over, I want to introduce you to my family,” Lance told him. Keith couldn’t help but tense at this.
“Really?” Keith had never been introduced to any of his previous lover’s family. He was never around long enough for such a privilege.
“Totally. My mamá will love you. And if you let the kids play with your hair you will literally be worshipped for the rest of your life,” Lance told him, reaching for their bottle of shampoo and squirting some on his fingers, before massaging it into Keith’s hair. Keith couldn’t help but imagine the idea, sitting in the Sanchez household surrounded by Lance’s family. He tried to imagine what it would be like sitting on Lance’s couch, holding Lance’s hand, while listening to the sound of Lance’s family. His chest constricted with want that pounded so terribly he had to take in a deep breath to steady himself.
“I’d really like that,” he murmured back to Lance, who kissed his jaw and continued scrubbing at his hair.
After they had both cleaned themselves and Lance drained the bath, they stepped back into their room and dressed in light clothes, preparing themselves for their day of training.
“Paladins, please report to the training deck,” Allura’s anticipated voice rang through the intercom. Lance reached over and wrapped his hand around Keith’s before tugging him out the door and towards the armory.
***
It was fairly obvious how much Lance didn’t want to be training. He groaned every time they were instructed into drills, moaned each time they started a new training sequence, and grumbled every time they were ordered to take laps around the training deck. Keith couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his lover’s behavior, tossing the taller boy a water bottle during their break.
“Lance, calm down. We’ll have enough time to be together once we’re done training,” Keith assured the pouting teen.
“But I have so much planned,” Lance whined, “I want to be able to enjoy all of it for longer.” Keith shook his head fondly at his boyfriend, before turning toward Shiro who was calling them all back to the center of the room. Lance grumbled under his breath, but stood along with the others, setting his bottle down and following Keith back to their leader.
***
When Shiro announced the end of their training for the day, Lance had wasted no time in snatching Keith’s hand and dragging him out of the room and into the dining room, pushing Keith into a seat and disappearing into the kitchen. Keith watched him go in confusion, wondering just what the Blue Paladin had in store this time.
The lights flickering off and the inevitable wash of darkness was not what Keith was expecting.
“Lance?” he called, moving to follow the other into the kitchen. He was stopped however, when said teen reappeared, a trolley filled with silver dishes and candles following after him.
“Right here, love. Sit back down and relax,” Lance ushered Keith back to his seat, following close behind with all of his supplies. Once Keith was seated, Lance reached for the candles on the trolley, setting them up between the two’s usual space and lighting them with a lighter Keith had no idea was even on the ship.
Once the candles were in their places, Lance reached for the silver dishes and pulled the lids off, presenting Keith with...food goo. Keith couldn’t help but snort, watching as Lance placed the dish in front of him along with a spoon.
“What?” Lance questioned, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
“Nothing. It’s just that all of this is so fancy, and then there’s food goo,” Keith chuckled again, picking up his spoon and poking at the green mass.
“Wait until you try it. This is no ordinary food goo,” Lance smirked, taking his seat beside Keith. Keith shot Lance a look before dipping his spoon fully into the dish, lifting up a bite of the goo.
He was not prepared for the spice.
“Holy--how did you get food goo to taste like buldak?” Keith demanded, digging in and taking another bite. Lance chuckled, taking a bit of his own and humming victoriously.
“I had to get some help from Hunk and we had to con Allura into stopping at that super green planet. Jugher? Jugar? Anyway, Pidge researched a bit and found that, that planet is one of the biggest exporters of spices and while you and Shiro were looking for that ‘distress beacon’ Hunk and I were trying to find spices that would make the food goo taste like buldak.”
“That’s why we couldn’t find the distress beacon? Because it was fake?” Keith couldn’t get himself to be genuinely mad, though. Lance had gone through so much trouble, going so far as to stop at a foreign planet, just to make Keith’s favorite dish for him.
“Before you start yelling at me,” Lance held his hands up, “It was partially Shiro’s idea. He came up with the distress beacon idea and was the one to volunteer to take you to find it and--” Keith silenced Lance with a firm kiss, gently nipping at Lance’s lower lip.
“I’m not mad, you idiot. How could I be mad when you’re going so far out of your way to make me happy?” Keith murmured, kissing him again. Lance smiled into the kiss before pulling back and picking up another spoon full of buldak-goo.
“Okay that’s--” Lance cleared his throat, a flush spreading up his cheeks, “that’s good. Now hurry up and eat so we can move on to the next step of my anniversary grand-master plan.”
***
The next step of Lance’s anniversary grand-master plan took place in their room. Lance ordered Keith to stay on their bed as he disappeared out of the room with promises to be back quickly. Keith laid back on their bed, swinging his leg back and forth over the side and trying to comprehend everything that had happened so far.
Lance had done so much for him. He had somehow found rose petals, a bath bomb, and created buldak food goo all for him. It was all so unnecessarily nice that Keith had no idea what to do with himself. All month Keith had been chewing his lip in worry
that Lance wouldn’t like his own gift. Now, he was extremely worried. Keith hadn’t thought to plan a special dinner or anything for Lance. All he had was the box hidden beneath their bed he had firmly told Lance not to touch.
His thoughts were abruptly cut off when Lance reentered the room, hands hidden behind his back as he shuffled into an easy line of sight. Keith sat up immediately, trying to peer around Lance’s back to see what he had hidden. Before Keith could say anything, Lance folded in on himself, crossing his legs and plopping to the ground.
Then, he pulled a ukulele out from behind his back.
“Where did you find a ukulele in space?” Keith demanded, eyes wide with disbelief as he took in the tiny instrument.
“Hunk and Pidge helped me build it,” Lance replied, flushing a gentle pink, “the Blue Lion was Pidge's idea.” The ukulele was a bit rough around the edges, but when Lance experimentally strummed it, it sounded perfect. It’s body was smoothed and a giant, Blue Lion was painted over the soundhole, it’s claws reaching up the ukulele’s neck before ending at the nut.
Lance ran his fingers over the frets, eyes darting around a bit nervously, before finally landing on Keith. Keith smiled gently at him, slipping off the bed and perching on the floor in front of Lance, reaching out and placing his hand on top of Lance’s. Lance seemed to stop for a moment, before taking a deep breath and grinning up at his boyfriend. Once he seemed ready, Keith pulled away and leaned up against the bed, gluing his eyes to his boyfriend’s form.
Lance strummed the ukulele one more time, before he moved his fingers into position.
Then, he began to sing.
“Wise men say
Only fools rush in
But I can't help falling in love with you
Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin
If I can't help falling in love with you?
Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand,
Take my whole life, too
For I can't help falling in love with you
Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand,
Take my whole life, too
For I can't help falling in love with you
For I can't help falling in love with you”
The silence felt like it was ringing when Lance’s voice tapered off. For a while, Keith just stared at Lance and Lance just stared at his hands. Then, Keith’s arms were wrapped around Lance’s neck and his mouth was firmly planted against Lance’s. Lance grunted at the impact, but quickly sunk into the kiss, licking across Keith’s lower lip before slipping his tongue into the Red Paladin’s mouth. Keith pulled Lance closer, groaning into the kiss and trying to somehow, someway, get Lance even closer. The need for air forced them apart, the duo pressing their foreheads together and panting raggedly.
“I should sing to you more often,” Lance finally remarked, voice hoarse and breathy. Keith pushed at his shoulder roughly, rolling off the other’s lap and back onto the floor, but he couldn’t help but laugh softly. Lance shuffled closer, wrapping his arms around the other’s waist and pulling him onto his side, pressing his chest against Keith’s back. “If you react like this from the singing,” Lance said into Keith’s hair, “I can’t wait for tonight.”
Keith smiled back at Lance, but couldn’t help the painful clench of anxiety that gripped his heart. Was his gift really going to be good enough?
***
Keith spent the rest of the time between their lunch and secret dinner plans in his and Lance’s room, sprawled on his back and worrying at his lip. Lance had gone through so much trouble just for Keith, and Keith had gotten him one, insignificant thing. Keith couldn’t sing, didn’t know how to even go about creating a special lunch or dinner, and wouldn’t have even thought of a romantic bath. Yet Lance had done all of that and made it seem like it was the easiest thing in the world to do.
Keith sighed and rolled onto his side, rubbing at his forehead and wishing he had done more. But it was too late now. There was no way he could bring something meaningful together in just a couple hours. All he could hope was that Lance liked his gift and reassure Lance that, even though it was just this one thing, Keith loved him more than anything.
When the door whizzed open, Keith hurriedly turned over so that he could face his partner.
“Hey, babe, you almost ready for the final piece of our amazing, extra special, extra awesome anniversary?” Lance seemed so excited, so Keith forced down his doubt and got to his feet, moving toward Lance and grinning.
“I can’t wait to see what you’ve been bragging about these past four hours,” Keith agreed, taking the hand offered to him.
“Well first,” Lance paused them, “we need to change into appropriate attire.” Lance ushered Keith over to their closet, quickly disappeared inside, and returned with two pairs of sleep clothes.
“Sleep clothes?” Keith raised a brow, but took the offered dress anyway.
“You’ll see,” Lance assured, quickly striping and putting on the pyjamas. Keith followed
suit, slipping into a tank top and loose cotton pants, before reaching under their bed and taking the tightly wrapped gift into his arms. Lance looked at it with obvious curiosity, but didn’t ask. Instead, he took Keith’s hand and led him out of the room.
Lance guided him through the halls and up several flights of stairs, chattering the entire way and practically buzzing with excitement. Keith tried not to focus on the box clutched in his arms and forced himself not to picture Lance’s face when he saw it. He didn’t want to start thinking about whether or not he would be met with disappointment or happiness, so instead he focused on Lance’s face and the way his free hand jittered through the air as he talked.
“Okay, we’re here,” Lance stopped in front of a towering, double door with Altean glyphs etched into its surface.
“Lance, are you sure we should be here. Looks kinda..mysterious,” Keith commented, looking the door up and down.
“Of course I’m sure. I’ve been here before and cleared it with Allura. Trust me, babe, we have full clearance,” Lance reassured him, before pressing his palm against the door and waiting a few seconds. The glyphs brightened for a moment, before dying back into their normal, aquamarine hue, the doors sliding apart.
Keith was immediately met with the vast, never ending universe.
The room was a circular orb, built of nothing but glass (or whatever the Altean equivalent of glass was). Even the floor, which Lance strode confidently across, was completely translucent with nothing but the stars as the walkway. However, in the very center of the observatory, was one giant, incredibly fluffy blanket with a picnic basket perched in the center.
“I, uh, really hope you like this,” Lance chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as Keith stared at the blanket.
“Lance,” Keith began, finally looking up into the other’s eyes, “how could I not like this? You literally made us a picnic in the stars.” Lance’s eyes brightened and he gestured for Keith to join him on the blanket. Keith moved, although much more hesitantly, toward their space, kneeling down beside Lance. Lance pulled out two trays of Hunk’s specially made deserts they were only allowed to have once a week since the ingredients were difficult to find, handing Keith a spoon before reclining back to enjoy his own
“How did you find this place?” Keith asked, whispering in response to the vast quiet that surrounded them.
“Coran told me about it,” Lance responded, just as softly, “he found me near one of the windows in the hallway. I was trying to guess which direction Earth was, just thinking about everything. He showed me this place and pointed that way. That’s the direction he said Earth was, and then he told me that I was welcome to come here any time,” Lance pointed ahead of them, into the blanket of stars and planets. Keith followed his finger, looking with him and imagining the sand beneath his feet as he stood in the middle of the desert and the sound of the cicadas at night, when it was just him and the moon. Keith could see why Lance wanted to come here.
“Saying this is amazing would be an understatement, but I have no other word for it,” Keith admitted, turning back towards his partner. Lance shifted onto his side, so that his back was to the beauty of the galaxy and his eyes were on Keith.
“I know what you mean,” Lance murmured back, eyes shifting from Keith’s eyes, to his lips. They leaned forward together, lips meeting halfway and eyes shutting simultaneously. Lance gently pushed at Keith’s shoulder, moving to straddle the other as their kiss deepened. Yet, Lance didn’t speed up. The slide of their lips was slow and gradual, as if Lance had all the time in the world and wanted to spend every second of it with Keith.
When they parted, Keith couldn’t help but stare in awe at the sight of Lance haloed by the stars, lips red and cheeks darkened.
“Thank you,” Keith whispered to him, “for sharing this with me.”
“Who better to share it with than the person I love,” Lance replied, eyes darkening with his own words. Keith’s heart fluttered in his chest, choking and feeling like it was going to climb out of his throat.
“I love you too, you idiot,” Keith pressed his lips against Lance’s before the other could say anything else, melding their lips together and wishing they could just stay like this. No Zarkon, no Voltron, no galactic battles; just them and the universe. “I have my own present for you,” Keith told him when they parted for the second time.
“I’m so excited,” Lance cheered, “you haven’t even let me touch it.” Keith tried not to let the words daunt him, but he couldn’t help the slight shaking of his hands when he handed the box to Lance.
“Be careful. It’s a bit fragile,” Keith warned when Lance took into his lap. Lance unwrapped his present slowly, as if the wrapping paper itself was the present. Then, he stopped completely.
There, in his lap, sat the ocean.
Waves lapped at the beach contained within the the rectangular tank. A tiny shack was perched on the edge of the beach while fluffy, white clouds swirled above the water. The water tugged and pulled at the sand, leaving behind miniature little shells that were eventually swept back into the ocean, only to begin the process again. Lance stared at it as if it were the shiniest of gems in a bed of soot. Keith felt hope soar through his chest, but Lance’s lack of words made him hesitate.
“I’m sorry it’s not as elaborate as what you’ve done for me, but you’ve said how much you miss the ocean, and I figured it would be kinda cool if I could give you something like the oceans back home,” Keith rubbed at his arms as his words slowly trailed off. Lance continued to say nothing, just staring down at the cycling waves and miniature beach shack.
“Not as elaborate?” Lance finally looked up, and Keith was shocked to find tears misting over the other’s eyes, “Keith, you gave me the ocean. In a box. This is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me.” Lance gently sat the ocean scene down, before launching himself at Keith and hugging him so tightly Keith winced. “Thank you so, so, so much.” Keith wrapped his arms around his lover’s waist, burying his face in the worn sleeping shirt and holding Lance as he cried his thanks into his shoulder.
Around them, planets and stars swirled and glittered, while beside them the ocean swished and pulled at the sand beneath it. The night ended with Keith, fast asleep with his forehead against Lance’s back, while the other layed on his side, one arm wrapped around the glass tank and the other perfectly entwined with Keith’s.
Nothing, not even Zarkon, dared break the peace.