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"You wanna get space-married?"
The question comes so seemingly out of nowhere that Keith nearly falls off the couch in surprise.
"I... you... what?"
Lance raises an eyebrow at him, clearly amused at the nonplussed look on Keith's face and his consequent... eloquence. "Do you," Lance drawls in an exaggeratedly slow fashion, "want... to get... space-married?"
"Lance, what the hell is 'space-married'?"
"You know, like married but IN SPACE."
Keith almost continues his hopelessly baffled line of inquiry, but one look at Lance's face tells him he's not going to get much more explanation than this.
Keith sighs.
"Fine. Let's get space-married or whatever."
Lance whoops and jumps off the couch, causing Keith to nearly topple off it a second time. "HunkandAlluraasbridesmaidsShiroandPidgeasgroomsmenCoranofficiatesWATERWORLDHONEYMOON!"
Keith stares at him, mouth open in shock.
He may be having serious regrets at this present moment.
And they somehow do end up with a huge party out of the deal, and Lance starts introducing Keith as his "space husband" (to raised eyebrows/alien equivalents everywhere, and Keith somehow never stops being embarrassed) and the Paladin family, once over their initial shock and then amusement, takes it completely into stride.
But somewhere, at the back of his mind, somewhere Keith has come to think of "space-married" as "temporary."
Maybe like those Vegas weddings he's heard about - something born of impulse in a time of heightened emotions or extenuating circumstances, never meant to last as an eternal flame but rather more like a sparkler burning bright on a festive occasion, only to eventually glimmer out and fade in the end.
He tells himself that over and over in the beginning, but time has a way of lowering your guard, time has a way of making what was once out of place completely normal and at home in your mind, and eventually he maybe forgets, a little. Eventually maybe he comes to think of Lance as his space husband, too.
And then, all too soon - completely strange as that is to say - all too soon it seems, they're back on earth, and "temporary" comes crashing down all around him in his mind once again.
They're on earth now.
They're on earth.
They're not in space.
And that means--
Well. Keith refuses to think about it as hard as he's ever refused to think about anything that threatens to put holes in his heart he might not survive.
And he fights it off and he ignores and he pretends until--
"You wanna get earth-married?"
Keith nearly falls off his bike (thankfully, they're parked, enjoying the view of the sunset together for a handful of stolen minutes).
"I... you... WHAT?"
Lance laughs, and squeezes him, and rests his chin on Keith's shoulder. "If that ain't déjà vu, I donno what is. I said, d'you wanna get earth-married?"
And Keith turns and stares and stares and stares and then he does knock Lance off the bike because if he has to feel like his world is turning upside down then someone should have their balance upturned right along with him (especially since Keith refuses to be seen crying right now.)
"Idiot," he says, laughing at Lance's yelp of protest as they collapse to the ground in a heap. "Yeah. Yeah, I do. Let's get earth-married, Lance."
And they do.