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He’d practically thrown the script in the bin when he’d read it. He scowled down at it, daring it to remain. Was it too late to quit? They could cast someone else, right?
“Lance, you good?” That was Allura, producer and actor of the newest film from Altea Studios. She was beautiful, of course, and happily married.
“Peachy,” he said, trying to fight the urge to roll the script up. Burn it.
Allura had worked with Lance on another project. She knew who he was, more than just an actor. “It’s a good script, Lance.”
“I’m not that good of an actor, ‘Lura.”
She rolled her eyes, moving closer to pat his shoulder. “Maybe you’ll find some common ground.”
“Yeah, and maybe pigs will fly.”
He didn’t quit, despite his best efforts. He scowled as he arrived on set for the first shoot. He was fitted into wardrobe and ushered to the first set of the day.
Keith Kogane was already there, smiling and talking to one of the other actors, Pidge Holt. Lance’s fists clenched. The nerve of this man. Keith was an up-and-coming actor who’d take the world by storm in his debut production. Since then, he’d been in everything.
Lance had the misfortune of working with him on a different project. He’d had a minor role for that film, that would lead to a more prominent role in the future.
Keith was good, Lance would give him that. But he was damn cocky. He was the sort of person Lance refused to become. He’d worked his ass off to get here, but Keith knew Takashi Shirogane. Director, producer, Shiro was one to impress. And Keith’s brother.
Allura walked on set with a beaming smile. “Places, people.” She looked pointedly to Lance, who rolled his eyes. He spared no glance to Keith, who was too busy moving to his own mark.
This would be a long shoot.
He groaned. Every muscle ached. He just had to decide he wanted to be an action actor. At least he wasn’t the only one feeling it. The others all looked like they could sleep for a week.
Except for Keith. That mullet wielding nuisance looked like he could go another ten takes. Lance wanted to punch him for real, none of that slap stick camera nonsense he’d been stuck with.
Keith looked sweaty, but relaxed. Peaceful. He sat on the couch beside Pidge, who was practically asleep. They were waiting to see if they needed to do another take.
Lance wanted to sleep, but he didn’t always get what he wanted. No, in this instance, he got Keith Kogane as a co-star. And, to make matters so much worse, that wasn’t all he was.
They were getting closer to the end of filming, which was when they’d saved the scene for shooting. Lance was dreading it. He’d already had so many scenes with just Keith, but there was one he was dreading the most.
“One more take, five minutes please,” Allura called, clear and precise through the noises on set.
The team all groaned, except for Keith. Fresh as a daisy, he stood. Lance watched him, a deep glare on his features. Keith noticed, for perhaps the first time. Or, perhaps he simply didn’t care.
“Oi, what is your problem, McClain?” Keith demanded, squaring his shoulders and covering the ground to Lance.
Close up, Keith was quite pretty. Annoyingly so. Lance refused to be distracted by the purple hue of his eyes, or how strong his arms looked. He could so easily pick up Lance and throw him down. He swallowed, shaking his head slightly.
“You are,” he said, once he remembered how. “You and your comfort levels.”
Keith scoffed, jabbing a finger at Lance’s chest. “Jealous that I’m a better actor then you?”
“You wish.” Lance spat. He’d love to see Keith play anything other than an action hero with a tragic past. Lance had scope, his years of experience adding only to strength and skills. Keith did not have that.
“Shove off,” Keith snapped, taking a step back.
“That’s enough, you two,” Allura’s sharp tone snapped Lance to attention. “You are supposed to be a team, act like it.”
Lance grumbled, moving towards the set. “He started it.”
“How? You were the one glaring at me.”
“Boys!”
“Coming, Allura.”
Keith wasn’t half bad to kiss. He was actually very good. Lance had had his fair share of romantic subplots, he’d even starred in a teenage rom-com many years prior. He’d kissed all sorts of people for the screen.
Something about kissing Keith was different. More charged. Lance was shocked to find he hadn’t hated it as much as he’d anticipated. The scene had been far easier to film then thought.
“Cut,” Allura called, watching the playback. Lance stepped away from Keith, trying not to miss the heat that radiated from him. Allura shook her head, talking to the camera man and pointing something out.
“Once more, please. That was almost perfect.” Allura walked closer, positioning Keith beside Lance. “More feeling, please. And Lance, I need for you to look a bit more lost, please. This is the angsty confession scene, you two need to sell it. Rivals to lovers. You’ve at least got the rivals part down.”
Lance nodded, turning back to Keith. He blinked at the expression on the other’s face. Keith looked concerned. He bit his lip, not meeting Lance’s eyes. Despite it all, Lance needed to prove he wasn’t a total asshole. He glanced skywards, then back at Keith.
“You good, man?”
Keith startled at the question. He nodded, far too fast to be convincing. For such a good actor with the cameras on, he was a terrible actor without then. “Yeah, fine, sorry. This is a bit new to me.”
“Never kissed someone so handsome?”
A small smile danced over Keith’s lips. “Wouldn’t classify you as that,” he looked briefly back to the cameras. “Just, I mean. I want to get it right, but I don’t have a lot of experience with romance.”
That much was obvious.
Still, a small part of him felt sorry for this man. He sighed. “Look, it’s not that much different from the rest of it. It’s not. A punch, a kiss, you just have to put yourself into it.”
Keith looked mildly surprised, but it was nothing compared to how Lance felt. He was giving advice to his rival now? Will wonders never cease?
“I don’t have experience to base it on,” Keith said. “I can fight.”
“No romantic partners?” Lance was shocked, though he was a better actor then Keith. He kept his voice neutral to mask his surprise.
Keith shook his head. “No.” With no further explanation offered, Lance sighed.
“Well, that would make it harder,” he agreed. “Why don’t you think of this differently then.” He could see Keith’s confusion, so he continued. “I mean, I’m seeing this scene as the natural character development for us. And it’s also something that, despite my feelings towards the actor himself, I’m excited by. The viewers, our fans, need this. A non-straight canon couple as the main characters in an action film, that hasn’t been done, Keith. So, yeah, maybe try to think about how it’s going to look, rather than it just a kiss.”
Keith’s mouth was open. “That’s – really good advice, actually.”
“I have my moments.”
A small, real smile graced Keith’s lip. “Ok, then. You ready?”
“I was born for this,” Lance said, tossing Keith a wink.
So, maybe Lance hated Keith a little less. Just a little. He was in no hurry to be a part of any project Keith was in, but he appreciated the talent.
And yeah, sue him. Keith was attractive and Lance had to press down the desire to kiss him again, for real.
Keith, with his adorable half smiles and strong arms, those purple eyes and impressive build. He was incredible. And he seemed to be pretty genuine too. Lance was almost feeling bad about how rude he’d been.
When the media release began, the main cast had gathered for the press tour. Lance hadn’t seen Keith for over three months now, but if anything, the man had grown even more attractive.
They answered a bunch of standard interview questions, signed some autographs, then were able to breathe. Lance loved his job, loved the fans, but it got to be a bit much sometimes. Having people watch his every move became intense.
Keith was sat in one of the lounge chairs on his phone. Lance hesitated by the door, then decided to just screw it. They’d done far more then sit next to each other in a quiet room.
“Got another film lined up?” Keith asked, startling Lance. He put his phone down, turning to his companion. The attention made Lance almost dizzy.
“Series, yeah.” Lance said, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Voltron.”
Keith’s eyes widened. “Oh, you got that part? Congrats, man.” And, wow. That was genuine.
“Did you audition for it?”
Keith nodded, looking away. Tapped at his phone. “For Black Paladin.”
Lance frowned. He looked Keith over, then shook his head. Voltron was about to become a live action series, and fans were beside themselves. Lance had heard he’d gotten the role only the day before, and he was stoked. He really hoped the fans would be pleased too.
“You strike me as more of the original Red Paladin,” Lance said, unable to hold his smile. “Hardheaded, impulsive, irritating. Yeah, Red.”
Keith cracked a short laugh. “You got Blue, didn’t you?”
He grinned, puffing his chest slightly. “Cool, calm collected, that’s me.”
“I’ll believe that when I see it, Sharpshooter.”
Lance laughed, relaxing into the chair. He would never believe anyone had they said he would willingly talk to Keith, that he would enjoy it. But there he was, unable to do anything but relax around his former rival.
“Will you go to the premier tomorrow?” Lance asked. He ignored the way his heartbeat in his chest, the hope that Keith would say yes.
“I think Allura might end us if we don’t,” Keith said, nodding.
“Good point.”
“There you are,” Pidge’s voice was a bit of a shock, but Lance recovered fast. “Come on, we’re back on.”
Lance felt completely at ease, waltzing back onto set and taking his seat beside Keith. He smiled to himself, then put on his press smile.
“So, was it a challenge, working together for the first time?” Bob, the interviewer, just had to ask. He was known for asking more probing questions.
“We’re professionals,” Pidge said with an easy grin. She jutted a thumb to Keith and Lance, who looked perfectly innocent. “Those two certainly kept things entertaining.”
Lance covered his heart with his hand, feigning wounded. “I’ll have you know we were perfectly professional, and it wasn’t our first project together.”
She raised an eyebrow and Lance coughed.
“Most of the time,” he amended.
Keith shook his head, watching Lance for a moment. “It all came together pretty naturally. I think the audience will see that we tried our best.”
His popularity went through the roof at the release of the film. Lance had never had such a prominent fan base, so strong and proud they loved the film, and they loved the relationship between Keith and Lance’s characters.
Lance was excited to work on his next project. He was excited mainly because he’d gotten a text confirming who the other actors would be. Keith’s name was on the list as the Red Paladin.
Blue’s love interest.
It was almost comical. Some big cosmic joke on Lance. He was forever destined to play the guy who fell for Keith.
The cast for Voltron was certainly different. Lance loved it. This was why he’d become an actor. He wanted to prove he could be someone, just a boy from Cuba, and now he was set to be in the biggest live action series of the year.
Working with Keith was becoming a perk, and Lance would love to have a chat with his past self. He’d changed so much since then, getting to know Keith making all the difference.
And then he’d gotten injured. It was a stupid mistake whilst he’d been training with weapons against Keith. He’d feigned instead of parried, and Keith had hit the blunt part of his sword to Lance’s side.
Two fractured ribs later, Keith couldn’t stop apologising. Lance didn’t even blame him. How could he? None of this was Keith’s fault.
And hey, it meant Keith was spending time with him.
“This would be a great time for those pods to be real,” Lance said, first day back on set. He wasn’t allowed to do any fighting scenes for a while, he there were many other scenes that could be completed.
Keith laughed, sounding strained. Still guilty then. “Yeah, that would be good. Glad to see you’re back on your feet.”
Lance’s heart, which he’d finally accepted had a soft spot for Keith, warmed. “Naw, did you miss me?”
“No,” Keith said, way too fast. “It was peaceful.”
Lance grinned. “Who needs peace?”
“Good to see you back,” Coran appeared, moving to clap Lance on the shoulder and then thinking better of it. Coran was both directing and acting in this film as an eccentric alien. It suited him perfectly.
“Thanks, Coran,” Lance said, grinning.
“I really am sorry,” Keith said.
“I know, and it’s ok. Just don’t do it again, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Lance stared down at his phone, a small smile on his face. Keith was sat beside him, watching something on his own phone. They had a small break, whilst filming continued without them.
“You ok?” Keith turned, watching Lance for a moment.
He nodded, thrusting his phone to Keith’s face. On the screen were two kids, both wearing grins that stretched their entire face. They were the young and precious nieces that Lance just adored.
“They yours?” Keith asked, tilting his head in confusion.
Lance laughed, shaking his head. “Oh, no. My brother’s kids. You know, they just watched out last film, and now they think they can fight too. They also seem to think I’ll bring you around, because they can’t fathom that you and I aren’t actually together.”
Keith’s eyes widened and he coughed. “They look like good kids.”
“You got family, Keith?”
“I’m adopted by Shiro’s family, my folks died when I was young. Or my dad did. Dunno about my mum.” He paused, clearing his head. “But, no. just me.”
Lance wanted to comfort him, but he wasn’t sure how. Instead, he looked back to his phone. “One day, I’m going to have my own kids. They’d be smarter than these ones, but I do love them very much.”
Keith chuffed a short laugh. “Acting is a strange job.”
“Good fun, though.”
They fell into silence for a moment. Lance found it strangely companionable.
“Hey, I’m sorry, about how I acted when we first met.”
Keith paused, eyes wide as he watched Lance.
“I was a jerk, I know. Jealous, I guess. I had to work so hard, you got it handed. I know it’s not true, now, of course. But, yeah. I’m not actually a jerk.”
Keith’s lips quirked to a curious smile. Lance found he wanted to make him smile so much more. He’d known for a while he had certain feelings towards this man, but he also knew there was no chance anything would change. Why would Keith ever want Lance, anyway? He could do so much better.
“I knew that,” Keith said, looking up at the set around them. He had a faint smile on his lips. “You were in a rom-com, many years ago. I watched an interview.”
Lance’s jaw dropped. “No, please.”
Keith laughed. “Oh, yeah. It was great. I watched the one with you and the dogs.”
Lance covered his face in his hands, trying to hide his growing horror.
“I knew when I saw who I was working with last time that you’d be a hoot. So, I knew you weren’t a jerk, Lance. I gave you time. Friends?”
Lance laughed, somewhat giddily. “Jealous arsehole, more like. But yeah. Ah.” He bit his lip, watching Keith. “Friends sounds good.”
“You know, I’m pretty sure friends don’t look forwards to kissing the other so much,” Keith said, pulling away as the director called cut.
Lance was beyond caring, smiling up at Keith. “What’s your point, Mullet?”
Keith merely laughed. “How about a date?”
“Boys, can we keep the romance to the set? We only have so much time!” Allura called, though she was grinning. “Glad to see you worked it out, though.”
Lance did blush, pulling away from Keith. “Sorry, ‘Lura.”
Keith watched with a small smile.
“Date sounds fantastic.”
“You two have now been in two projects as love interests, I’m sensing a theme.” The interview host, Nyma, said. It was only Keith and Lance who sat comfortable on the couch once Voltron’s third season had been released.
Lance laughed, looking to his partner with a full heart. This was it. After three years of dating, they were ready.
“We thought it was odd too, at first, but it works.” Keith said. “Our characters mean a lot to us.”
“Do we have a romance outside? Anyone jealous you get to kiss each other so often?”
Lance laughed. “We are actors by trade, any kisses on camera mean nothing. But I would think my boyfriend might care a little.”
Keith’s cheeks flamed as Lance knew they would. “Yeah, just a little.”
Nyma made a noise. “Oh, a boyfriend?”
Lance grinned, unable to stop himself. “Yeah, guess we didn’t escape the curse. I’m the Gwen to his Spiderman.”
Keith slapped his forehead. “I hate you.”
“You love me.”
“I can do both.”
Lance grinned as the audience went nuts. Yeah, Keith was his, and he was going to do his darndest to keep him. No curse here.