Chapter 1: 02. Musician: Here Come the Vultures - Scarlet
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Like a flower, grows on intentionally towards the sun
~~*~~ Present day ~~*~~
Songwriting was always an interesting process for Lance. Sometimes, he’d get a chord stuck in his head until he sat down with his guitar and played with it until it became a melody he could build off of. Sometimes, lyrics would just come to him. He’d open his songwriting journal and write whatever words came to mind, letting them build off each other until he had something. And the title almost always came as nearly an afterthought. This song was a little different. He’d already named it – or, he should say – it had been named years ago. Scarlet was an ongoing project, one that he'd been picking at since high school five years ago. It started as a coping mechanism the day he nearly lost Keith forever. He would never forget where he was when he got a call from Shiro that afternoon.
~~*~~ Five years earlier ~~*~~
Lance was sitting at his desk, fighting his way through Trig homework, when his phone buzzed. Welcoming the break, he checked to see who was calling. While Shiro calling him wasn’t impossible, he usually chose to be a lazy 19-year-old and filter messages through Keith. There were a few reasons Shiro could be calling, but none of them eased the sudden twisting in his stomach – the feeling that something was very wrong. Still, he tried to ignore the feeling, answering the buzzing like he didn’t feel like he might throw up at any second.
“Hey, Shiro. What’s up?” Lance silently congratulated himself on not sounding panicked.
“You need to get to the hospital as soon as possible. I’m so sorry, Lance. It’s Keith,” Shiro said without greeting in the softest voice Lance had ever heard out of him.
They all knew about Keith’s depression and anxiety. That they stemmed from the daily harassment he dealt with as an Omega. Though they all tried to protect him from it, Lance and Aiko, or Acxa as she now preferred, shouldered most of the responsibility for that, sometimes even physically shielding him from his tormentors. That day hadn’t been any different from any other. Lance and Keith had all their classes together, so he knew that nothing had happened out of the ordinary. But he also knew that Keith sometimes held things in when he shouldn’t. Lance was desperately hoping it wasn’t that bad, that Keith would be waiting for him in the Emergency Room, hurt but ok.
“Ok. On my way.”
“Meet me at the ER.”
“I’ll be right there.”
When Lance got downstairs, his mother Sofía was coming out of the kitchen, wondering which of her children still at home was thundering down the stairs. {Leandro, where are you going in such a hurry?} she asked when she saw him.
He didn’t stop, snatching his keys off the table by the door and shoving his feet into his sneakers. {Shiro just called. I have to meet him at the hospital. It’s Keith. I don’t know anything more than that. I’ll call you when I do.} He didn’t risk looking back at what he knew was his mother standing in the middle of the hall with a horrified look on her kind and gentle face.
Lance’s driving that afternoon was far faster and more reckless than he would ever admit to, but he made it to the hospital in record time. The parking garage gate was too slow for him and he very nearly forgot the ticket in the car. He found Shiro waiting for him outside the walk-in entrance to the Emergency Room. Lance was trying not to notice what looked like blood on Shiro’s half-open white button-down. Seeing Lance racing up to him made the dam break. He wrapped the younger Alpha in a crushing hug. Lance could feel his breath shuddering through his broad chest.
“What happened?” Lance whispered.
“Mum and Acxa were still out when I got home. The house was too quiet. I didn’t think he was with you, so I went looking for him. And I – I found him – in – in the bathroom. The – the tub was full, and there was so, so much blood. I was afraid he was already gone. I called 911 and they’ve got him in surgery now, but we still don’t know if he’ll make it.”
Lance pulled back, looking Shiro in his tear-stained face. “Keith’s a fighter. I have to believe he’ll be ok, and so do you. He’ll make it. I promised to bond with him someday, and I don’t break my promises. I’m never giving up on him.”
Shiro sniffled, nodding. “Yeah, you’re right. And I know that. I know you didn’t see it, but it was bad. I – I really thought we were gonna lose him. I can’t. He’s my baby brother. I can’t lose him.”
Lance pulled Shiro back in. “Yeah. I know. He means more to me than anyone ever has. I really meant it, y’know. I’m bonding with him someday. I love him too much to let him go.”
“I guess he’ll just have to make it then,” Shiro said, making an attempt a humor. Lance just held him a few seconds longer, needing the support as much as the older Alpha did.
Shiro led him through the waiting room and past the electronically activated doors the nurse opened when she saw them coming. He continued through the maze of exam rooms to a small waiting room. Krolia and Acxa were already there, mother and daughter leaning on each other for support while they waited. Lance immediately dropped into the open seat on Acxa’s other side.
“I promised I’d have him. I said I would, and I didn’t,” Acxa said quietly, her voice raw from her tears. She let Lance pull her away from her mother into a gentle hug.
“You have been there for him. And so have I, but you know him. He bottles things up sometimes, and there’s nothing we can do about it but wait for him to be ready to tell us.”
“How are you so calm?”
Lance laughed without humor. “I'm not. I just don’t think it’s fully hit me yet. And you didn’t see me drive over here, not that I will ever admit to driving the way I totally didn’t.”
Acxa breathed a laugh. It wasn’t much, but it was all Lance could hope for. They waited another three hours before the surgeon – judging from his ID badge – walked in.
“Mrs. Ko-gain?” he asked, making his way over. Even Lance cringed at that.
“Kogane,” Krolia gently corrected without thinking, “And it’s Miss, but yes, I’m his mother. How is he?”
“He'll pull through. He needed a small blood transfusion, but we were able to stabilize him. He’s resting now and should wake up in a few hours. I’m strongly recommending family only right now.”
They all knew the last comment was directed at Lance. Krolia reached behind her daughter to gently squeeze his shoulder. “He is family,” she said, challenging the surgeon to argue.
He considered for a moment, thinking about whether it was worth it to fight her over allowing Lance up to Keith’s room, but ultimately decided that it wasn’t, because he knew better by now. He sighed softly, relenting.
“Take the South elevators to the sixth floor. Room 657,” he said, then added directly to Lance, “But just so you know, they may not let you in. By hospital rules, being her boyfriend doesn’t make you family.”
Lance glared at him as he stood with Keith’s mother and siblings. “Not hers. His. I love Kei – Akira – more than you could probably understand. I’ve been there for him through bad patches before, and I’m not abandoning him now.”
The Beta surgeon had nothing to say to the declaration from a 17-year-old Alpha. Especially not when he realized that all three teens in the waiting room were Alphas, fully backed by the patient’s Omega mother. He had long learned not to argue with Omega mothers when it came to things like this. He led them out of the waiting room, parting ways where the corridor split.
The elevator was empty when they stepped inside. Acxa leaned into her brother, still in shock over what her twin had done. Lance stared at the floor, his musician brain kicking in. Something about the soft ding of the elevator made him think, and now he had the same three notes running on a loop with only minor variations. His train of thought was interrupted by Krolia’s hand on his arm. He looked up and quickly found himself wrapped in a warm, maternal hug.
“Thank you for being here,” she said just above a whisper.
“I couldn’t be anywhere else,” he answered in the same hushed tone.
I grow towards the one that hurts me most
Usually, if his train of thought was disrupted, he’d lose whatever embryonic melody was taking shape, but those three notes were still playing on repeat. They were still running when they reached the closed door of room 657 with “Kogane, Akira” hand-written on a slip of paper behind the plastic under the room number. They all hesitated, afraid of what was inside. Lance’s need to see his boyfriend breathing broke through first, and he led the way into the single occupancy room.
The shades were open, indirect daylight streaming in and illuminating the spartan hospital room. Keith lay in the bed that was pressed against the eastern wall. He looked small and fragile and deathly pale, practically blending in with the white sheets, both wrists wrapped in gauze halfway up his forearms and an IV in the back of his right hand. Lance sank into the closest chair by the bed, afraid to touch his sleeping boyfriend. He barely noticed Krolia, Shiro, and Acxa following him in. They sat in silence, watching Keith sleep. He knew they were all thinking the same thing. Why? What was it that finally broke him? What was the thing that pushed him to do what he did? Those were questions only Keith could answer, but none of them would push for those answers until he was ready.
Eventually, Acxa decided that sitting around wasn’t helping things any and she still had homework. She figured it would help distract her from her twin’s condition. She slid down from the extra deep windowsill and stretched, letting her arms drop.
“I’m going to go grab my backpack,” she announced to the room.
Lance pulled his keys from his pocket and tossed them to her. “Could you get my music bag while you’re there, please?” he asked. Those three notes were still running through his head and he felt like he might crack if he didn’t start writing.
“Sure. What do you drive again?”
“The Mitsubishi.”
Acxa rolled her eyes, remembering. “Oh, right. You have the Lancer.”
He noticed the emphasis she put on the name of his car’s model and cracked a half smile. “Damn right it is. I’m on the third level by the elevator.”
“Ok. Back in a bit.”
Keith still hadn’t woken by the time Acxa returned. She dropped her backpack to the floor where it landed with a solid thud, but handed Lance both his canvas messenger bag and the guitar case he hadn’t explicitly asked for but that she knew he’d want. Once he’d written out the trio of notes circling his brain, he pulled out the sky blue-stained acoustic guitar his parents had gotten him for his 16th birthday. He played around with the notes, building on the music, writing, erasing, rewriting, and playing the revisions until he had a base he was happy with. It led into a more complex melody and he knew as soon as he played it that it would be the music to put words to. When he replaced his guitar with his lyrics journal, the first word at the top of the page he knew would be the finished song’s title. Scarlet. That one word sparked something and he started writing. He was halfway through the chorus when he noticed Keith’s scent increasing in olfactory volume. He dropped both journal and pencil when he looked over to see violet eyes watching him. Beautiful violet eyes that were quickly filling with tears.
“I'm so sorry,” Keith whispered, “I – I just…”
Lance rushed to turn the chair and pull himself closer. “No, cariño, it’s not your fault. It’s not, and I don’t blame you. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together, ok?”
He nodded, sniffling. “Who – who was it that –”
“I did,” Shiro said, dragging his chair closer while Acxa abandoned her homework in favor of perching on the end of the bed. “I was afraid I was too late, but I wasn’t giving up on you. I won’t give up on you.”
“None of us will. Whatever you need from us to get better,” Acxa added.
Keith bit his lip, trying to stem the flow, but couldn’t, his tears falling freely. He tried to lift a hand to wipe them away and hissed in pain at the slight shift. Lance grabbed a tissue from the box on the table, taking care of it as gently as possible. The attending doctor had come in while they were talking and was having a quiet discussion with Krolia. Collectively, they looked over when she raised her voice above their hushed tones.
“Absolutely not,” she snapped, “I will do no such thing. When my son is ready to be released, he will be coming home to myself and his siblings.”
Lance, Keith, Shiro, and Acxa all looked at each other as the doctor continued in the same quiet tone that was too soft for them to make out. They knew immediately what Krolia was objecting to.
“They want to lock me up,” Keith said with a tremor in his voice.
“Keith, mi cuervo, look at me. It’s not going to happen. You’re going home as soon as you’re healed up enough. And if you need me to stay with you for a few days, you know I will. No one’s locking you up,” Lance said, taking his boyfriend’s face in his hands, his thumb brushing across a pale cheekbone.
By the end of Krolia’s conversation with the doctor, she agreed to a 72-hour observation, but no more than that. She said she would be calling his therapist and working things out with them. By that point, visiting hours were past over, and they had to leave for the night. Lance was the last out the door, Keith’s family letting them have a moment in private.
“Hey,” Lance said, “I love you. You know that, right?”
Keith nodded, fighting tears again.
“I’m not going to school tomorrow. I’ll come by like twelve, ok?”
“Yeah. Lance? I love you too. And I’m so so sorry.”
“No. You have nothing to be sorry for. That’s your depression talking. Do you – do you mind if I tell Hunk and Pidge? I won’t if you don’t want me to, but they’ll be worried. Matt too.”
Keith thought it over before deciding. “Yeah, it’s ok. I don’t think I'm up to seeing them yet, but I don’t want them to not know. I’m – I’m not ready to talk about why yet, either.”
“And that’s ok. Tell me when you can. I have to get home, but I’ll see you tomorrow. Gotta fill in Mamá on what’s going on. Expect to be overfed for the foreseeable future. You know that’s her solution for everything.”
Keith cracked the tiniest smile. “Yeah, I know. Tell her I love her.”
“Yeah, she loves you too. Love you, cariño. So much.” Lance pressed a gentle kiss to Keith’s lips, happy that it was returned and that his beloved boyfriend wasn’t so far gone that he couldn’t bring himself to.
When Keith was alone in the dark of his room, he finally let the tears out, crying himself to sleep.
And like a razor follows upon command
Lance wasn’t much better. He had held it in all afternoon and evening, not even realizing he’d skipped dinner until he got home and his mother asked if he’d eaten. She sat with him in the kitchen, listening to everything he could tell her about what had happened. How Shiro had found Keith in the bathroom, how Keith had needed a small blood transfusion but was relatively ok, how Krolia had firmly put her foot down about both Lance being allowed in Keith’s room and about the doctor wanting to institutionalize him. He finished by telling his mother that he wasn’t up to going to school the next day and she agreed that he wasn’t in the right state of mind to and that she’d call in the next morning. She sent him off to bed after that, but he had one last thing he needed to do. Once he was settled into bed, he opened a new group chat with Hunk, Pidge, and Matt.
LeoLeandro has created We Need to Talk
LeoLeandro has added Lemon_Cupcake, SmolBirb, and Mattimeo
LeoLeandro: hey guys
SmolBirb: Lance? What’s going on? Why aren’t Keith and Shiro here?
LeoLeandro: they already know
Lemon_Cupcake: oh no. did something happen between you and Keith?
LeoLeandro: no
LeoLeandro: we’re fine, Hunk
LeoLeandro: I think it’s safe to say that I love him more than ever, but we knew you guys would be worried if I didn’t tell you
Mattimeo: Lance, what’s going on? I tried texting Shiro about band practice and he’s not answering
LeoLeandro: yeah, he probably won’t. he’s not really in a good place right now.
SmolBirb: why? Lance, you're making me nervous
LeoLeandro: ok, I need you guys sitting down for this one
LeoLeandro: I’m not going to be in school tomorrow at least. Probably not until Monday. I don’t know when Keith’s going to be back. I’ve been at the hospital all afternoon. I just got back. Keith… fuck this is hard. Keith attempted suicide today. He’s not up to talking about it yet. Shiro found him in the bathroom. Keith needed a small blood transfusion but he’s ok. physically anyway. today’s…Wednesday…? he’s going to be staying in the hospital until Saturday afternoon and then coming home. I’ll be with him tomorrow, but he said that he’s not up for people right now. I’ll keep you updated when I know anything.
SmolBirb: oh…oh my fucking god…I… I can’t… I…
Mattimeo: fuck. fuck everything.
Mattimeo: Katie, I can hear you from my room. I'm coming in, ok?
SmolBirb: yeha plz cnat tyep
Mattimeo: ok. be right there
Mattimeo: Katie’s bawling. We’ll talk to you guys later
LeoLeandro: Hunk? you still there?
Lemon_Cupcake: …yeah. yeah I’m still here. I just… we all knew his depression’s bad, but… how did we not see this coming? we’re supposed to be his friends. how did we miss this? I feel like we failed him. did we, Lance? did we fail him as his best friends?
LeoLeandro: we didn’t see it – fuck, I didn’t even see it – because he didn’t want us to. I knew something was upsetting him more than usual, but I didn’t even know it was this bad. he bottles shit up and won’t talk about it. he’s been working on that in therapy, and it’s getting better, but I still know that there are times when I just have to wait for him to be ready to talk.
LeoLeandro: Hunk, I almost lost him today. he’s the fucking love of my life and I almost lost him. you know what the first thing he said to me was when he woke up? he fucking apologized. he has NOTHING to be sorry for. If anything, I do. for not being able to see how much he was hurting. for not being a better boyfriend. a better alpha. you know we’re planning on bonding someday, but how can I if I'm just gonna fuck it up? he’s apologizing to me, but I'm the one that fucked up. I let him down, and I won’t blame him if he wants to break up when he’s better.
Lemon_Cupcake: HEY. No. Don’t you dare, Lance. You didn’t fuck up. You said yourself that he bottles shit up and only lets us see what he wants us to. You can not blame yourself for that. You’re better at reading him than any of the rest of us, and you didn’t see this coming because he didn’t want you to. I’m not saying that he was planning to do something like this. I'm not. I know he wasn’t. I still think I let him down as a friend, but that’s more because we’ve been busy with senior year ending in a couple months, prom and graduation coming, band practice, getting our demos sent out. We’ve been doing a lot. I mean, we all almost forgot Pidge’s birthday. She turned 16 and we almost forgot. You can’t blame yourself. You’re not a bad alpha or a bad boyfriend. You're a really, really good one. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have dropped everything to sit in a hospital for several hours just to be there when he woke up. You wouldn’t be taking the next 2 days off from school to be with him. And Keith loves you, man. Literally everyone can see it. You guys are Garrison High’s power couple, even with the shit he gets for being an omega. He’s not breaking up with you. I mean it, Lance. You’re a really fucking good alpha. You always have been. Get some sleep. You need it. I’ll probably be up for a while stress baking if you need to talk more, but you should sleep. Keith’s gonna need to rely on you. We’re all here for you too. Pidge’s gonna need some time to calm down, but she’ll be there. No one’s giving up on anyone. We love you guys. Now go to bed. Love you, Lance. You're the brother I never got to have.
Lance was afraid Hunk was agreeing with his silence, but when the massive message popped up, Lance had to read it slowly, barely able to see the screen through his tears. He knew Hunk wasn’t just trying to soothe his ego, his best friend was telling him what he needed to hear. Hunk always knew how to calm him down, put his problems in perspective, cheer him up when he needed it. And he really needed it then. Still barely able to see his screen, he sent one last message before putting his phone down for the night.
LeoLeandro: love you too, Hunk. g’night. and thanks. I needed that
Lemon_Cupcake: I know you did. Night, buddy.
Lance lay in bed thinking over what Hunk had said. About him being a good boyfriend and a good Alpha, and how he’d done everything he could for Keith, and basically to just be there for him now. It did make him feel better, even if it was only a little. Hunk didn’t lie about things like that. It still didn’t stop Lance from crying himself to sleep holding on to the sweater Keith had left behind only a few days earlier. The scent of a deep forest, sweet spices, and woodsmoke mixed with the sugared violet that marked Keith as an Omega was reassuring, reminding Lance that Keith was still there. And Lance would always be there for him, too.
Follows a guiding hand that's made to push the blade
Keith was sitting up in bed when Lance got there just after noon the next day. He was staring out the window, fingers gingerly picking at the rough hospital blanket, but looked over when the door opened. He cracked a small smile when he saw his boyfriend. It looked like Lance was planning on moving in. He squeezed his way through the doorway carrying one of Keith’s overnight bags, his own music bag and guitar case, and two decently sized insulated bags. One carried the warm floral scents of Lance’s mother Sofía and her always incredible home cooking, and the other had Hunk’s brightly subtle herbal scent that was nearly overpowered by the sheer amount of sugar and chocolate. Keith hadn’t expected any less from either of them.
“Hey, cuervo. How’s today been?” Lance asked softly.
He distributed everything he’d brought in, leaving his music bag and guitar case in the chair and insulated bags on the bed table, and dropping the overnight bag on the floor. That one he went through, pulling out a soft, fluffy blanket. Midnight blue and dotted with metallic silver and gold constellations, it was Keith’s favorite of Lance’s blankets to snuggle with him under. He let his boyfriend take the scratchy hospital blanket and replace it with the one he brought. It instantly surrounded him with his beloved Alpha’s scent – ocean breezes, midnight bonfires, and the sweet earthy spice of redwoods. It smelled like home.
“Ok,” he said, “They don’t want me using my hands for much right now. Don’t want the stitches to pull.” Keith paused, staring at his hands. “I know…I know you don’t want me to apologize, but I should have told you how bad it was getting. It just didn’t feel like you could do anything to help. And I still don’t know that there is. School’s not gonna do anything about it.”
Lance sat on the bed, carefully taking Keith’s hands in his own. “Wait, what do you mean school won’t do anything?”
Keith sighed. “It was always when you weren’t there. Like if you left the room for a minute for anything. That was…that was when he’d do it.”
“Who? When who would do it?” Lance asked carefully. He was afraid he knew the answer already.
Keith hesitated. “…Griffin.”
Fucking James Griffin. Of course it was. And that was why the people in charge of Garrison High School wouldn’t do anything. He was the principal’s kid and no teacher would discipline him. He got away with everything. Up to and including bullying the school’s male Omegas. He seemed to especially like tormenting Keith. Lance always thought a good part of his shit attitude came from the fact that he was a Beta with an overinflated ego. It almost made him worse than the asshole Alphas.
“Cariño, this can’t keep going on. I don’t need to know what he said to you if you don’t want to tell me, but this has to stop. We’ll go to the superintendent if we have to. But I am not going to let him hurt you again. Now,” he said, kissing Keith’s fingers, “Mami made all your favorites, and I also know that Hunk made those brownie cookies you love so much, and I have my laptop with me. We don’t have to talk about any of this right now. So I propose snuggles, movies, and snacks for the foreseeable future. And then you can help me with this new song I started writing last night. How’s that sound?”
“It sounds like I have an amazing Alpha I love more than anything.”
Lance came back the next two days and drove Keith home Saturday afternoon when he was discharged. He stayed the rest of the weekend, and went back to school on Monday to a litany of questions from both Hunk and Pidge. Lance answered what he could, respecting Keith’s wishes to keep some details private. The Omega in question stayed home for the next week, finishing what homework he could with the limited use of his hands. When he went back to school the following Monday, neither Lance nor their friends would leave him alone with Griffin for anything. It didn’t stop said Beta, however.
Lance and Keith were flanked by Hunk, Pidge, and two of their “newer” – as in, met them in high school – friends Rolo and Nyma while walking to the cafeteria for lunch. Griffin was alone, his old crew distancing themselves from him even more when the rumors started spreading that Keith’s absence was somehow connected to him. But it still didn’t stop him from intercepting the group. Lance kept his eyes on Griffin, not trusting him in the least, and holding Keith firmly beside him. Their friends watched the crowd, keeping an eye on anyone around who would witness whatever it was Griffin would do.
They saw James’ old crew scattered through the students, either with other friends or alone. They spotted Ina with Olia, both girls in the robotics club, Nadia walking with Florona talking about the swim team they were both on, and Ryan was alone, the A/V club president keeping his own watch on Griffin. All three of them were acutely aware of James and his closing in on the other group. They had been hearing the rumors that Keith hadn’t really been “sick” and that Griffin had something to do with it. Everyone had their suspicions, particularly when Keith came back to school wearing long sleeves he refused to pull up at any time. The more hushed rumors mentioned cutting and suicide, but no one knew for certain.
With a self-satisfied grin plastered on his face, Griffin sauntered up to them. Lance held on to Keith more tightly, tucking his Omega boyfriend against his side. Alpha watched Beta, waiting to see what he’d do.
“Aw, heard you were sick, Kogane," Griffin said, sickeningly patronizing. He then turned his attention to Lance. "Better keep a shorter leash on your Omega, McClain. Never can tell where they’ve been. Wouldn’t want to catch whatever he’s picked up.”
Lance had never seen red that fast in his life. Rage and Alpha instincts took over and James was on the floor before anyone could stop him. They all heard the solid crack of Griffin’s nose breaking and watched him drop, too stunned to scream. Hunk pulled him away, but Lance was barely aware of it. It wasn’t until Keith’s fingers wrapped around his, gently holding his potentially injured hand that his vision cleared and he realized that everyone in the corridor had stopped. He was painfully aware that he might end up suspended for punching Griffin, but he wasn’t at all sorry. Protecting Keith was more than worth whatever punishment Principal Griffin could give him.
Iverson, the physics teacher, pushed his way through the crowd. “What’s going on here?” he demanded.
“That asshole fucking hit me!” James screeched from behind his hand.
Iverson looked around Lance’s group. “What happened?”
They were surprised at his tone. It was gentler than they were expecting, although they knew that he held no love for his boss.
Pidge spoke up first. “We were on our way to lunch and James walked up and basically accused Keith of being a slut and told Lance to ‘keep a shorter leash on your Omega’.”
“This true, Mr. Griffin? You accuse Mr. Kogane?”
“It’s not an accusation if that’s what he is,” James spat, still holding his freely bleeding nose.
“That’s enough. Go to the nurse. Have Mr. Rizavi take a look at it and wait for me there,” Iverson instructed, dismissing Griffin.
It was going to be unfortunate for James when he got there. Nadia’s mother was the school nurse, and he’d already heard all about the behavior of his daughter’s former friend. He’d be professional, but not at all sympathetic.
Iverson turned his attention to Lance. “And what about you, Mr. McClain? Anything you need to tell me about what happened here?”
“Only that I'm sorry I let my Alpha instincts take control. I shouldn’t let them influence me so much. But other than that, no, sir.”
Iverson noted that Lance hadn’t apologized for having hit Griffin to begin with. Privately, he thought the little shit deserved it. Looking around the corridor, where the students were still mostly gathered, he saw Griffin’s old friend group still lingering.
“Anyone see or hear anything they want me to know about?” he asked.
Nadia, Ina, and Ryan all stepped forward, Olia and Florona right behind them.
“Yeah, we did,” Nadia said.
“James, did, in fact, accuse Keith of promiscuity,” Ina added.
“He did. We all heard it. And, man, I’ve never seen anyone move like that in person. But Lance was just defending Keith. It was totally justified,” Ryan said.
Neither Florona nor Olia had anything more to add, but they were both in agreement with everything Nadia, Ina, and Ryan had said. Once they had given their accounts, a few more students stepped forward, giving more or less the same story. Everyone agreed that Lance was defending Keith and that Griffin had been way out of line. Iverson sent Lance off to Mr. Rizavi as well, his friends following. Ryan volunteered to go along to help keep the peace.
The two boys were kept separate, and Lance was surprised to learn that he hadn’t broken his hand punching Griffin and got away with only bruised knuckles. While he was sitting with an ice pack, Mr. Rizavi got a call. It was brief, and when he hung up, he told everyone to stay, Lance and Griffin especially. They were all expecting Griffin’s father to come in, believe whatever sob story James fed him, and for Lance to end up in some seriously deep shit. What they were not expecting was Dr. Ellen Sanda, Superintendent of Arus Public Schools to walk in.
She looked the gathered students over, her emotionless stare hardening slightly when she got to Griffin. “I don’t appreciate being told about students being harassed, verbally or otherwise,” she said with a voice like steel, “And I don’t approve of physical altercations as a result of that harassment.”
Lance winced at that, knowing there was no way he was getting out of trouble.
“I’ve heard from your physics teacher Mr. Iverson, but I would like the story from someone who was there, and Mr. Griffin, this does not mean you. Mr. Lotulelei, can you tell me what happened?”
Hunk shifted nervously. “We – me, Pidge, Lance, Keith, Nyma, and Rolo – we were on our way to the cafeteria for our lunch period. We were kinda afraid something like this might happen.”
“You were expecting an assault of some kind?”
He nodded. “Yeah. This wasn’t the first time by a lot, and after Keith being out of school for a week and a half, we knew it’d be coming.”
“Interesting. Please, continue.”
“So, we were going to lunch, and James just walked up and said, y’know, what he said,”
“And what was it he said?” she asked, having already heard the short version.
Hunk couldn’t bring himself to say it. he hated the idea of slut-shaming at the best of times, but especially when it was about one of his best friends and especially when it wasn’t true, even if he did believe in that kind of purity, which he didn’t.
Pidge had no such qualms. “He was patronizing at first about Keith having been out of school, and then said to Lance, and I quote, ‘Better keep a shorter leash on your Omega, McClain. Never can tell where they’ve been. Wouldn’t want to catch whatever he’s picked up’.”
Sanda’s steel gaze returned to Griffin, who was growing paler by the second. He knew he was screwed. This wasn’t his father and he couldn’t spin the events to make himself the victim.
“You really said that, Mr. Griffin?” she asked, anger rippling beneath the surface of her flat tone.
“No, not exactly. That’s not exactly what I said –” he stopped, realizing that everyone in the room was staring at him, “I – yeah, I did.”
“I see. And you hit him, Mr. Ávila-McClain?”
“Yes, ma’am. I let my Alpha instincts get the better of me, and I shouldn’t have,” Lance said, seeing no point in denying it.
“Thank you for admitting the truth,” she said, gentler than she had been with Griffin. “As it stands, I need both of you boys to understand that your actions have consequences. Mr. Ávila-McClain, you are to report to Mr. Iverson for detention this afternoon. Mr. Griffin, you are suspended for the week and banned from prom. You may return to school next Monday. If I hear of anything like this happening again, you may find yourself banned from graduation. Am I understood?”
“I – yes, ma’am.”
“Good. And I will be having a discussion with your father. And you, Mr. Ávila-McClain, am I understood?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Very well. I don’t want to hear about another incident again. You’re dismissed.”
Griffin left almost immediately for the Emergency Room to have his broken nose set, swearing that he’d get his suspension and prom ban thrown out - he didn't. Seniors were allowed off campus for lunch, and the group decided to go for a coffee run since they’d already missed most of their lunch period. At the end of the day, Lance dutifully reported to Iverson’s classroom, having left Keith with Hunk and Pidge. But Iverson mysteriously had an “emergency” appointment that he couldn’t possibly miss and dismissed Lance as soon as he’d walked in.
Keith’s therapy got more intense after he was released from the hospital, and there was a lot of hard work, but Lance was there every step of the way. He was still in therapy when Oriande offered them a contract only a few months later, but launching their professional career in music certainly helped with his depression.
And like whenever you want a safe return
Lance never stopped working on Scarlet, picking at it over the next five years. He made a promise to Keith and himself that nothing like that would ever happen again.
I'll be here with open arms to keep you safe from harm
It was a promise he would never break.
~~*~~ Present day ~~*~~
Sitting in their penthouse apartment, Lance shook his head, clearing the high school memories, and went back to the sheet music in his hand, finishing with transcribing the lyrics that he finally felt were complete. He jumped when Keith padded up behind him and wrapped his arms around his fiancé’s shoulders.
“Whatcha working on?” he mumbled into Lance’s neck.
“Scarlet,” he answered, leaning back. Keith had always known it existed, but Lance hadn’t ever shown it to him beyond playing what little he had of the melody that afternoon in the hospital. “I think it’s finally done. I know we’re just about done recording, but I think I want it on the album.”
Keith reached out, making grabby hands at the sheet music. Lance passed it back and Keith stood, reading it over while pacing their living room. After a few seconds, he started humming the music under his breath. But Lance could see him studying the lyrics, knowing what it was that made his Alpha start writing the song to begin with. He also saw Lance’s notes, like changing it from an acoustic guitar piece to feeling that it would be better suited for a piano, adding strings, giving it severely stripped-down drums. Keith nodded along with the notes and lyrics, understanding what Lance was saying.
Keith finished reading over the music and lyrics and looked up. Lance could see, feel, and smell the rush of emotion coming from his fiancé. “Yeah,” Keith said softly, “Let’s do it.”
Notes:
Greetings, critters! The bones of this have been floating around my notes since the beginning, and Julance was the perfect place to make it a one shot companion. Chapter 3 will be focusing on the virtual mini-concert and Scarlet features importantly in it, so kinda a spoiler, but not really because this is the full history and the chapter is a little different. But anyway, welcome to the shitshow and Happy Julance!
I absolutely love feedback and comments are always welcome!
Come yell at me on Tumblr
~Corvus
Chapter 2: 03. Blue Paladin: Dormiveglia - Lance's Bow
Summary:
03. Blue Paladin: Dormiveglia, that precious space – Lance’s Bow
Rating: T
Tags: Omegaverse, ABO dynamics, Alpha Keith, Omega Lance, Alpha Hunk, Omega Pidge, not canon compliant, Archer Lance, mutual piningWhile exploring the Avhenal capital of Aerel, Lance makes an interesting discovery with the local weaponry and decides to test it out for himself.
I debated writing this scene into the main story, but ultimately decided not to, although I should have. Not only is it an excuse to give Lance a bow – Archer Lance? Yes, please – it also expands a little on his budding relationship with Keith. So, here it is now. This one will really only make sense if you’ve read Dormiveglia, but as a warning if you haven’t, it is kind of an angstfest.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Lance, Keith, Hunk, and Pidge wandered through the main streets of Aerel, taking in the beauty of the city. It looked and felt like they had stepped back in time and through a portal to a fairy tale world. The buildings were constructed of the same golden stone as the bridge and castle, and the air felt like it was tinged with the same corals and pinks and lavenders as the sky and natural surroundings. Hunk wandered off first, following his nose to a small takeout only restaurant. When he got there, he realized that as much as it felt like a fairy tale, the Avhenals had pretty advanced tech, it just blended in to the environment as opposed to standing out from it.
“Oh! Pidge! You have got to see this tech!” he yelled, calling her over.
She instantly perked up at the mention of tech, taking off.
“Thank you, Yellow Paladin, for your interest,” the restaurant owner said. He was the picture of pleasantness and civility, but his attitude changed once Pidge arrived and he realized she was an Omega. “Ah! Green Paladin, you are interested in our technology as well? Come, both of you, what I have is a bit more basic, but it suits me well enough. And if I may, Green Paladin, perhaps offer you and the Yellow Paladin our cuisine? Our foods here on Avhen are simple but flavorful…”
Lance and Keith missed the rest of the conversation as Pidge and Hunk were ushered into the small building. Lance turned to Keith, amusement written across his face. “What in the fuck was that?” he asked, barely contained laughter bubbling through. The sparkle of laughter echoed in Keith’s violet eyes made Lance’s breath catch.
Fuck me, he’s pretty. Lance was fully prepared to blame the environment for the sudden thought, but even he knew it was a weak excuse. He was now fully, painfully aware of his feelings for Keith, and he couldn’t blame the planet, even if it was romantically perfect. He was shaken from his thoughts when he realized Keith was speaking.
“I have no idea. I mean, they do treat Omegas very differently here.”
“And it’s still weirding me out a little. Although, my Mamá’s an Omega, and all this kinda reminds me of how she and my Papá raised us all to view and treat Omegas.”
“Is that why you’ve always been so self-confident?” Keith asked as they continued walking.
Lance barked a laugh. “I mean, maybe? But most of that is actually just a front. If I act like that, I’ve found it tends to make most Alphas leave me alone. You guys generally don’t seem to like us Omegas to be too self-confident. I mean – not you…personally. Just…y’know…Alphas…in general. …That did not come out the way I meant it to.”
Keith forcibly stifled the laugh that threatened to roll up his chest. “I know, Lance. It’s ok. I don’t understand the idea that Omegas have to be quiet and subservient. You’re people just like anyone else, not some kind of pet that’s only supposed to want to keep having pups forever.”
Lance looked down, a small smile on his lips. It was the second time that day Keith had said that Omegas are people first. It wasn’t something he heard often. And it made him think. Maybe he did have a chance. Maybe Keith did feel something for him. But it wasn’t the time for that. They were meeting up that night to talk about whatever was going on with Keith. Whatever it was, he wanted to talk to Lance about it, and the thought sparked something in him, made his fingertips tingle, gave him the tiniest shred of hope. Lance tucked it away and made himself not think about it until the two of them could talk that night.
He gently bumped Keith’s shoulder. “You’re gonna make a really good mate someday. Your Omega’s not gonna know what hit him.”
Lance wasn’t sure what to make of the expression on Keith’s face. If he didn’t know better, he would call it fondness, maybe even affection. There was something in it that was pointedly directed at Lance, and he didn’t think Keith was even aware he was doing it. He decided to tuck that one away as well, and looked away, realizing where they’d wandered into.
They had found their way to an open-air market. And just to their left was a sizable display of blades. Most were small, about the size of Keith’s knife and a little larger, no longer than Lance’s forearm. He nudged Keith again, pointing them out.
“Man, that’s like knife heaven,” Lance said.
Keith whipped around and made straight for them. He stood in front of the main display, looking over the various shapes and sizes of the blades and desperately wanting to know what they felt like in his hands. Lance shook his head with a soft laugh, following along. He knew Keith had begun something of a tradition of picking up a new blade on every planet they visited. His room on the castle was beginning to look like a mediaeval armory.
Lance watched as Keith tested various weapons under the enthusiastic supervision of the shop’s Alpha owner. They discussed materials and balance, hilt shapes and grip. Lance was zoning out, their conversation involving terms that flew right by him. He snapped out of his daze when he realized Keith was staring at him pointedly.
“What?”
“I said that I'm done here,” Keith motioned at the shop, “Hul’s wrapping the dagger I got.”
“Like the giant ass knife thing?”
Lance looked over and saw the Avhenal shopkeeper lay the slightly curved and finely crafted blade on a length of soft cloth before finding its delicately tooled leather sheath.
Keith nodded. “It’s about fourteen inches, yeah. Different from what I'm used to since it’s in between my knife and Bayard. It’ll be fun to train with it. But I think we should take a look next door.”
“Why? What’s next door?” Lance asked, following Keith’s line of sight.
At the next shop over, both walls of the front half of the space were covered in both short and long bows, flanking a center display of more intricate models. The back half was set up as a firing range with a variety of targets to test the bows on. One thing Lance noticed was the lack of arrows for the weapons. He figured it was probably for safety and didn’t think about it. Lance made his way over while Keith was finishing up talking with Hul. The girl minding the front end of the shop came to the center display when Lance walked up. He noticed that she was an Omega and that she was delighted at the fact that the Blue Paladin of Voltron was as well.
“Greetings, Blue Paladin! I am Inda. Are you familiar with the bowshot?”
“I’ve used bows before. Something tells me these are a little different from what I'm used to, though.”
“You should try it out,” Keith said from behind, making him jump.
“Holyshitwhendidyougethere?” Lance said all at once.
Keith laughed softly. “Just now. But seriously, you should. I’d be shit at it, but that’s what we’ve got our sharpshooter for, isn’t it?”
Lance was stunned. Keith just flirted with him. If he hadn’t been there for it, he wouldn’t have believed it had happened. Lance couldn’t even bring himself to fire back with a cocky response. But he recovered quickly and managed a, “Yeah, I guess so, Samurai. Yeah, ok. I’m a little out of practice, but let’s do it.”
Inda lit up. “Excellent! May I suggest this one, Blue Paladin? Its curvature makes it a near-perfect midrange weapon.”
The bow she plucked from the central display resembled a recurve bow from Earth, but looked as if it were wrought from a single length of the intricately carved silver wood. When Lance took it from her, it was as light as it appeared. She led him and Keith around to the target range and then stepped back.
“A question first,” Inda said, “You said that you have used a bow before. Does that differ much from the bowshot?”
Lance looked the bow over. It looked the same as an Earth recurve short bow more or less, except for the smoother construction and one other detail he’d missed. Just above the grip was a 2cm diameter lens. That was certainly different from an Earth bow.
“Not really. They’re basically the same, except for this.” Lance indicated the lens.
“Oh. Your bows do not have an energy amplifier for the bolts?”
Lance was now confused. “No? Ours are pretty ancient weapons. They use an arrow fired with the bowstring.”
“Oh! Yes, ours used to be much the same way, but they use an energy bolt now. Here, I will demonstrate first.”
Inda picked up a bowshot that was tucked away from the inventory. Holding it in exactly the way Lance expected for an Earth bow, Inda pointed it at one of the closer targets, drawing the string. She took a few seconds to aim, and released the string. When she did, a thin bolt of silver energy shot out of the lens, hitting the target dead on. Lance was impressed. Both with Inda’s skill and the deceptive technology of the bowshot. He stepped up to the line marked on the ground and scanned the targets, settling on the farthest one. It had been a couple years since he’d taken his old shortbow out to the targets they had set up on the family farm back home, and he knew he was rusty. But he was still an excellent shot, even better now than he was then. Lance took a breath, steadying the bowshot in his hands. Another breath, sighting the target. Another breath, drawing the bowstring. A last breath, held. He released the bowstring, never losing sight of the target. The silver bolt felt like it was moving in slow motion as it flew toward the target. It pierced through the exact center of the target and he felt his held breath leave him all at once.
Lance caught the sandalwood, cinnamon, and wood smoke scent laced with the bright notes of fresh coffee at the same time as he heard Keith whisper an awed, “Fuck.”
He smiled to himself at that. First Keith was flirting with him, and now this. Even if he wanted to, Lance couldn’t really deny what he was picking up from the Alpha. It looked more and more like Keith really did feel something for him. Lance was firmly refusing to listen to the self-doubt that told him he was reading too far into it, especially not when his Omega was preening under the reaction of the Alpha it wanted. He didn’t realize that his own floral, spiced, pipe smoke scent had risen along with a thread of rich cocoa. Idra came back with the disposable face of the target, gushing about Lance’s impressive marksmanship, but he didn’t really hear her. He turned, seeing the impressed look on Keith’s face for himself. He was vaguely aware of Idra taking the bowshot from him, saying something about wrapping it up and having it sent to the palace. He might have said something in return, but his focus – and his Omega’s – was on the Alpha in front of him. There was no denying the fondness in those beautiful violet eyes this time.
“Oh for fuck’s sake! That’s where you two ended up!” Pidge yelled, stomping up to them, although there was no real heat behind her words or volume.
The spell of their heightened pheromones was broken, and they both snapped their attention to Pidge.
“Oh, uh, yeah,” Keith said, “We just kinda started walking and ended up here.”
Now that their scents had dissipated, Lance was beginning to wonder if he really had imagined the fondness, the affection, when Keith looked at him. Maybe he was reading too much into it. He decided that it wasn’t worth worrying about right then. He had a not-really-annoyed Pidge to deal with, and would be meeting up with Keith later that night anyway.
Hunk jogged up, slightly out of breath. “Pidge, you walk too fast when you’re annoyed. Anyway, we should probably start heading back to the palace.”
“Yeah,” Lance agreed, “Before Space Dad starts getting all worried and sends a search party after us.”
Keith snorted at that and it turned into a full laugh. Lance knew why. The Alpha was recalling the conversation they’d had earlier that day about Shiro being such a Dad. He found himself joining Keith, a laugh of his own bubbling up.
Lance didn’t really imagine the fond looks or the change in Keith’s scent, did he?
Notes:
Hey there, critters! I really should have included this the first time around, shouldn't I? Oops. I made the mistake of thinking it would be too long and not fit in with the flow of the story, so I left it out. I really did want to write this scene, though. So here it is now.
Let me know what you think of this inclusion!
Come yell at me on Tumblr
~Corvus
As a bonus: all the names (almost) of the Avhenal people and their home star system are taken from Irish and Welsh mythology as parts or anagrams of names (note that anagrams exclude some letters). If you think you know where the names came from, leave a comment and I'll tell you if you're right!
Chapter 3: 04. Allura & Lance: Something Old, Something New, Something Found, and Something Blue – Crystal Venom
Summary:
04. Allura & Lance: Something Old, Something New, Something Found, and Something Blue – Crystal Venom
Rating: T
Tags: Keith/Lance
Lance, Keith, Allura, Hunk, Pidge, Shiro, Adam, Coran, Alfor
Alpha Lance, Altean Lance, Omega Keith, Getting Together, First Kiss, Lance and Allura are siblings, Lance’s full name is Lanseryn, Adam lives!, Alpha Allura, Beta Hunk, Beta Pidge, Alpha Shiro, Beta Adam, Beta Coran
This is a new (side project) AU where Lance is Allura’s younger brother, and the original Blue Paladin, who was put in stasis with his sister and Coran. Red was the lion found on Earth and how the remaining four Paladins (and Adam!) found their way into space.
A rewrite of the last half of Crystal Venom – s.01, ep.09
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Lance was not having a good day. After getting bored waiting around for the memory extractor to start working on Sendak, Coran had recruited him to help clean the cryo pods. Which then proceeded to trap him inside and activate. Coran got him out, but he was done and left to wander the halls. Alone, he was left to his thoughts, and he couldn’t help but think about his childhood with Allura, a good part of which had happened right there in the castle. He worried the deep gold bands on his middle fingers out of habit. The bands connected to the ocean blue sleeves of his silk tunic. He really needed to go through his closet and find something a little less formal. Just as he was turning a corner, he caught sight of a figure at the end of the corridor.
“Hello? Coran?” he called, but there was no response.
The lights flickered and when they came back on, the figure was gone. But it must have been Coran, as Lance heard the man calling almost immediately after.
“Help! I’m trapped in the airlock!”
Lance took off running, but when he got to the airlock, it was empty. Then it, too, locked him inside like the cryo pod had done, and began counting down to opening onto the vacuum of space. It didn’t even register that the voice counting down was that of his own father and not the feminine one based on Coran’s grandmother. He couldn’t be sure anyone would hear him, but he did the only thing he could: pound on the glass and call for help. Keith came wheeling around the corner being actively chased by one of the training gladiators. He stopped with his back pressed to the airlock doors.
“What are you doing in there?” he demanded when he realized Lance was trapped.
“I’m gonna get blown out into space in a tick if you don’t get me out of here!” Lance yelled back, then pointed when he saw the gladiator going on the offensive. And then the airlock opened. Lance’s fingertips caught on a wall panel at the last second, leaving the prince holding on for dear life.
Keith looked from the training bot to the key pad and back, only barely able to block the gladiator’s swing. He pushed the robot away and hit the lock with the tip of his sword. The gladiator bot was blown through and out into space. Keith braced himself and reached for Lance, who was barely able to hold on, but once Keith had the Alpha’s hand, he was able to pull him back into the castle. The doors closed and sealed again, and the boys stayed where they were on the floor to catch their breath.
“What was that thing?!” Lance yelled after a few seconds.
“It was a training bot and it was trying to kill me!” Keith yelled back.
“I think the entire castle is trying to kill me!”
“Hey,” Keith said quietly, “Slow down. Are you ok?” It was one of the few times Keith actively used his Omega abilities, sending a wave of calming pheromones to the Altean beside him. He cared about Lance, more than, and in ways, that he didn’t think he was ready to admit aloud. He had been developing feelings for Lance ever since he realized that the prince’s flirty demeanor wasn’t his real self and that his actions were a far better indicator of how he really felt. He’d learned how to read the prince, and knew that he genuinely cared about the people around him, was smarter than he maybe let on, and probably wouldn’t admit aloud how attached he was to his older sister.
Lance didn’t know the names of any of the scents, but it reminded him of a rainy Spring afternoon. Soft florals, bright, green woods, the heat of a fire. It was Keith’s own unique scent mixed with petrichor, leather-bound books, a favorite fluffy blanket, the comfort of warm herbal tea. There was something about it that was more soothing to Lance than what he could remember of his own mother’s Omega scent. He reflexively took a deep cleansing breath, calming almost instantly. Maybe it was the heat of the moment that made him do it, the adrenaline of a near-death experience. The reminder that anything could happen at any time and that sitting on your feelings would only lead to “what if” instead of “what is”. The spark of attraction he felt when he first came out of the cryopod had only increased, slowly blossoming into something more over the last couple phoebs, and he didn’t feel like he could let it go anymore.
He took another breath, his senses clinging to the fading remains of that Omega calm. “I know this might seem like it’s coming out of nowhere and maybe not the right time, but when is the right time, really, especially for us?” Lance shifted, folding his long legs beneath himself to sit as properly as he could on the cold metal floor. He made sure Keith was looking at him before he continued. “Keith, I would – that is, I – Keith, may I have your permission to court you?”
Keith sat for a long minute. He had always assumed that if he ever did accept an Alpha’s proposal to court, it would be because he simply wasn’t as much of an asshole as the others. He hated that Omegas were treated only slightly better than a household pet on Earth. Out of all even remotely possible scenarios, a sweetly hesitant request from a very pretty alien prince in the middle of an ancient intergalactic war was nowhere on the list. Maybe on a childhood fantasy list, but not now. And yet it was happening. Alpha Prince Lanseryn of Altea, second in line to the throne, was asking his permission to court. Not just taking what he wanted, not pressuring him into accepting, he was asking. And really, how could Keith say no to that?
“Yes.”
Lance smiled, soft and sweet, and when he reached out, Keith allowed him to take his hand, gently kissing the Omega’s pale fingers. Unfortunately, that was when Coran found them.
“Ah, there you are! You had me worried, Lance. Is everything ok here?” he asked on seeing the two boys sitting on the floor.
“Well, we’re now down a training gladiator and I nearly got blown out into the void, but other than that we’re perfectly fine,” Lance answered. He and Keith shared a look. Not now, it said, not yet. They’d keep their courting to themselves at least until the castle had calmed down from whatever was going on.
“Have you seen Pidge or Hunk?” Keith asked, getting up.
“I haven’t, no. Perhaps we should look for them,” Coran answered.
Lance and Keith let him take the lead, slipping their hands together as they walked. They decided to check Pidge’s lab first when Lance remembered that she had said it was where she was going. The new pair kept their hands linked until just before they reached the Green Lion’s hangar. All three of them were surprised to find both Pidge and Hunk on the floor when they walked in.
“The quiznak are you guys doing on the floor while the castle’s trying to kill us all?” Lance asked.
“We weren’t on the floor a second ago,” Hunk countered, “Somehow the gravity turned itself off. We’ve been floating around in Zero-G.”
“Meanwhile I get trapped in both a cryopod and an airlock, which nearly vented me into space.”
“Yeah,” Keith added, “And one of the training gladiators went nuts and tried to kill me.”
Hunk looked like he genuinely might cry. “Before I got here, I went to the kitchen and got attacked by food! I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep tonight.”
Lance turned back to Coran. “Look, Coran, I know you think the castle’s not haunted, but we don’t actually know if everyone but us made it out before it locked itself for the next ten thousand decaphoebs.”
“Fuck that’s morbid,” Pidge said.
Coran considered Lance’s statement. “Hm, I suppose you could be correct, but it’s highly unlikely. No, I think Sendak’s crystal has corrupted the castle’s systems.”
“So we should get rid of it,” Hunk suggested.
“I don’t disagree Number Two, but it’s too late for the castle. The damage is done.”
Keith stepped up beside Lance. “Speaking of Sendak, has anyone seen Shiro or Adam?”
Lance snapped to look at his new Omega. “Oh no…”
When the five of them reached the detainment pods, Shiro was curled up on the floor, held in Adam’s lap. He was rambling only semi-coherently.
“I – I had to get him out of here. I – I – I couldn’t – he – he was talking to me. We can’t trust him. Not here.”
Adam continued carding his fingers through Shiro’s hair. “I don’t know what happened,” he told Coran and the other Paladins, “He was asking questions and the retrieval unit began responding, but then he started to panic. The next thing I knew, he’d punched the pod and then ejected it from the castle.”
Before anyone could respond, an alarm blared, a red symbol with an icon of the castle lighting up on the wall.
“That shouldn’t be happening,” Coran said staring at the icon in horror.
“Allura…” Lance breathed.
“What? What is it?” Keith asked.
“We’re starting a wormhole jump,” Coran answered.
They all took off running.
They found Allura at the castle’s controls on the bridge, still in her nightgown and robe. Lance had led the charge to find his sister, and was the first on the bridge.
“Allura, what’s going on?” he demanded.
She turned, an odd look on her face. “We’re going home to Altea. Father’s taking us.”
“Lura, no. Wake up!”
He led the charge once again, only to be shocked by the shield around the flight controls. Alfor’s angered face surrounded them, larger than life, on all the projected screens.
“Stay away from your sister!” he commanded.
“It’s the crystal,” Coran said softly, “It must have corrupted Alfor’s AI.”
The castle exited the wormhole and directly in the path of a giant star. They all knew that whatever the corrupted AI had in mind, it wouldn’t end well. But Allura was unconcerned, and they weren’t quite sure what she was seeing until she spoke.
“I can see Altea, Father. Lanseryn, look! It’s home.”
Pidge was staring at the screen in abject horror. “That star is about to explode, and we’ll be caught in it if we don’t get out now.”
“It isn’t, Lura! That’s not our home! It’s not real! Please, please wake up!” Lance yelled, pounding on the shield.
Allura suddenly stepped away from the controls, seeing something none of the rest of them could. She bent over, making a motion like she was picking a flower. “The juniberries are so beautiful!” she gasped.
Lance realized he needed to change tactics. “Allura, listen to me. Can you smell it? Where’s the scent?”
Allura looked up, startled at her brother’s words. “Are the flowers real?” she asked the AI.
“Of course they are. You can touch them, can’t you?” the AI responded.
“Allura, you know what juniberries smell like. Where’s its scent?” Lance tried again.
This time, Allura brought the ghost flower to her face, suddenly realizing that he was right. She snapped out of her daze, finally seeing the dying star in front of her. “That’s not our home. It’s not Altea.”
“No, that star is about to go supernova and wipe out the entire system and us along with it if we don’t get out of here! We need to change course before it goes!” Pidge yelled.
Allura turned back to the controls, but when she tried to take them, she was shocked and sent flying through the shield where she was caught by Lance. She buried her face in his shoulder, hurt by the AI’s betrayal. They both looked at the corrupted projection of their father, fear welling. The projection stepped up to the controls, turning the castle closer to the star.
“Father, please,” Lance begged.
“If we don’t leave now, we’ll all be killed,” Allura added, turning to face the AI.
“I am aware. That was always my plan. I couldn’t defeat Zarkon, and there is no hope for either of you. Ten thousand decaphoebs he’s had the universe in his grip. You cannot hope to defeat him.” The corrupted Alfor turned back to the controls, shutting out his children.
“No! We’re going to keep fighting!” Lance shouted, “As long as Voltron stands, there’s hope!”
“We’re here and Voltron has returned. We cannot allow Zarkon’s rule to continue,” Allura agreed.
“Voltron failed. But you both can come home. Don’t you want to see your mother again?” Corrupt Alfor asked.
It was a low blow. They both felt it, and Lance was once again comforting his sister. The AI’s projection doubled over, as if the program was in pain. It righted itself, and Alfor was there in front of them, uncorrupted.
“Allura, Lanseryn, my AI’s been corrupted. I can feel it. You must destroy my core!” The projection flickered, the corrupt program regaining control. “We can all walk the flower-carpeted fields together like we used to. I always loved seeing you two playing together.”
“I remember. We’ll see you soon,” Allura said, then turned to Coran, Adam, and the rest of the Paladins. “Lance and I need to manually destroy Father’s power core.”
Coran felt his heart break again at hearing that. “But, Princess, we’ll lose Alfor again. Forever.”
“We know, Coran. We have no choice,” Lance said.
“Paladins, I need you to slow the castle’s progress. It will be harder with only four Lions, but you must try. We only need enough time to destroy our father’s power core. Please! Hurry!”
Both Shiro and Keith shot looks at Adam and Lance, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time, before taking off after Hunk and Pidge for their Lions’ hangars.
“Adam, if you could give me a hand overriding system controls – we need to get those hangars open,” Coran said, running for his station.
Lance and Allura ran from the bridge, heading for the projection room. Inside, they brought up the control panel, the dual security ensuring that Alfor’s AI couldn’t be destroyed without both surviving Altean royals. Before they could input the command, Alfor appeared over the power core.
“Don’t do it!” the corrupted AI begged.
The image flickered, their father’s gentle face in front of them again. “Please. You both must survive. Do it for your future.”
“I’m so sorry, Papa,” Lance said, his voice tight.
In a last-ditch effort for survival, the corrupted AI filled the room with images from Alfor’s memories. Allura as an infant, a toddler playing with her father, meeting her baby brother for the first time and not quite knowing what to make of him, both of them playing together in a field carpeted in juniberries as their parents watched, trying to catch flutterbirds. It was almost too much. But the siblings felt their resolve harden, knowing what they had to do. Joining hands, they pushed their way through the projections, facing Alfor one more time.
“No!” the AI begged again, “You don’t have to do this!”
With the last of their resolve, Lance and Allura wrapped the projection of their father in a final embrace.
“We love you, Papa,” Lance whispered.
“We always will,” Allura added.
“Allura, Lanseryn, take care of each other. Goodbye, my children,” Alfor said.
The power core inside the projection shattered, and the siblings stepped back, watching the glittering shards of glass and particles of their father’s memories dissipating through the room. Allura broke down, throwing herself into her brother’s arms in tears. Lance couldn’t hold back any more than she could, wrapping his arms around his sister as his own tears fell. But they knew they had no time to mourn. The castle was still on course for the dying star and they needed to escape. They rushed to the bridge, not caring if anyone saw their tears. Allura took the castle’s flight controls while Lance threw himself into his seat, calling the Lions back. Allura guided the ship through the wormhole just in time, the star exploding right behind them.
Once they were safe, everyone gathered around Lance and Allura sitting and leaning against one another on the the flight control platform. They all expressed condolences on the loss of what remained of their father, while Keith met Lance’s gaze with the look of someone who’s experienced that kind of loss.
“Thank you,” Allura said, breaking Lance and Keith’s silent conversation, “But that wasn’t our father.”
“No, it wasn’t. Alfor was a wonderful father and a good man. That wasn’t him. We made a hard choice to continue fighting, but we will win this war,” Lance agreed, then turned extending a hand to his sister, “For Papa.”
~*~
Later that night, Lance knocked on Keith’s door, a small bundle of turquoise silk in his hand. When the door opened, Keith looked like he’d been crying. Lance slipped the silk into his pocket and stepped into the room, letting the door close behind himself. He gathered his Omega in his arms, Keith’s tears falling again.
“I thought I was ok with it. I really thought I’d gotten there. To where it didn’t hurt so much anymore,” he mumbled.
“What happened?” Lance asked softly.
“My father died when I was little. He was a firefighter and got caught in a house fire. I was six. I wanted to be there for you. I’ve had twelve years to process and it’s all still so fresh for you, especially after today. And here I am breaking down.”
Keith found himself directed to his bed and sat down, Lance sitting beside him. “I don’t think the grief of losing a parent has a time limit. You’re allowed to hurt. I don’t even know how long it’s going to take me. I thought that as long as we had the AI, it would be ok. Papa wouldn’t be here like he was, but there would be something. But we had to do it. Just like I have to do this.” He let go of Keith, retrieving the bundle from his pocket, and presented the aqua silk to him. “My first courting gift. I’d thought of it earlier, before we knew about the corruption. It feels even more appropriate now.”
Keith let the silk fall open in his hand. Inside, there was a finely detailed ear cuff in a more brilliant silver than Keith had ever seen, a beautiful deep aqua gem mounted in its center.
“Alteans start small,” Lance explained, “That – that was my father’s. I brought it with me from Altea. I’d always hoped to be able to pass it on like this. It made from Astraelite. It’s a metal only found near infant stars. Old Altean stories say that it holds a piece of the star’s quintessence – its life force. We only give it when courting when we have real hope for the future. It represents a wish for a lasting bond. The stone is a particularly richly colored Balmeran crystal. That one was cut from the same crystal as the ones in my circlet and Allura’s tiara.”
Keith picked the cuff out of the silk, leaving the square of fabric on his bed. He held the piece out to Lance. “Would you do it, please?” he asked.
Lance took it, sliding the jewel onto the cartilage in the middle of Keith’s ear. “It’s perfect,” he whispered, and leaned in, “May I?”
Keith nodded, closing the distance. Their lips met, chaste and gentle. It was sweet, simple. While it didn’t diminish the pain of losing his father all over again, he couldn’t have been happier in the moment. When they separated, Lance saw the pink blush dusting Keith’s nose and cheeks. His Omega was entirely too cute for his own good.
Lance pressed a soft kiss to Keith’s forehead. “You need rest. I’ll see you in the morning,” he said, getting up.
Keith caught his hand, pulling him back. “Stay? Just until I fall asleep? I don’t want to end up crying myself to sleep.”
Lance nodded, sitting back down. He waited until Keith was settled in before shifting up to the head of the bed. He sat there, idly playing with strands of silky black hair, humming an Altean lullaby his mother had sung to him as a child until Keith fell asleep. Lance leaned in, kissing his Omega’s hair before leaving him for the night. He found his way to Allura’s room, suspecting his sister was still up. She was, and readily let him in.
“I thought you might want some company tonight. I know I do,” he said, sitting on her bed.
“I could definitely use it,” Allura agreed.
“Quiznak, today’s been a mess,” he said, flopping backward, “But at least one good thing has come out of it.”
Allura settled herself into bed, pushing her little brother over. “And what’s that?” she asked.
He rolled onto one elbow, ocean blue and deep fuchsia meeting aqua and pink. “I gave Keith Papa’s cuff. The Astraelite one.”
Allura was stunned. She didn’t know Lance held feelings like that for Keith. “Lance, that’s wonderful,” she said, then hit him with a pillow, “And when exactly were you planning on telling me – your sister – about this?”
“Um…I just did?” he said with a wince, waiting for her to hit him again, which she did with a laugh.
“Lanseryn, you quiznakking ass! Ugh, I don’t believe you!” She smacked him again for good measure, laughing the whole time, but so was he.
“Hey, you remember that time Papa caught me with his broadsword?” he asked, rolling onto his back.
“Oh, gods, I do. You got in so much trouble for that. You never told me why you did it, though.”
“Because you’d snuck into the kitchens. It distracted our parents long enough for you to get away with it.”
“You got yourself in trouble to cover for me?”
“Yeah. I don’t like seeing you cry, Lura. I never have. Besides, it wasn’t that bad. Extra lessons and I wasn’t allowed to go riding for a phoeb. Quellie understood.”
Allura shifted onto her side. “You loved that calten. And she let you do almost whatever you wanted to her.”
Lance giggled, remembering Quellie, a feline riding beast with sparkling fur in aquas and blues. “She was amazing.”
The siblings talked about Altea, bringing up stories from their childhood, laughing until they both fell asleep in Allura’s bed in the small hours of the morning. They may have lost their father again, but they still had each other, and it was more than enough.
Notes:
Greetings, critters! This is a side project I've only started picking at. I have pieces planned, but the AU doesn't really start to pick up until the Quantum Abyss (I know, s06 wasn't that great overall, but rewrites!, and the main part of the AU is post-"canon"). I have another one shot for this AU coming up this month as well. But when I saw this prompt, I immediately thought of this AU and this particular episode. It happens to be my favorite episode, even if it is sad.
Tumblr. Yelling. Ngl, it's mostly VLD art, memes, and writing prompts. I am an easily amused Raven Fae
~Corvus
Chapter 4: 06. Catboy - mafia/assassin au - Blue Lion
Summary:
06. Catboy – mafia/assassin au - Blue Lion
Rating: E
Graphic Descriptions of Violence
Tags: Keith/Lance
Keith, Lance
Catboy Lance, Assassin Lance, Crime Boss Keith, Organized Crime au, Keith is Akira in public, Omega Lance, Alpha Keith, Referenced Alpha Krolia, Established relationship, Keith is 30, Lance is 28, Lance wears skirts and heels, fight me, Open Ending, Nudity, Sensuality, Referenced and implied sexual content, But as always Smut-free
In a world where catboys (and girls) are kept like pets and not afforded much, if any, autonomy, Lance, the “pet” of assassin-turned-crime boss Akira Kogane, is always dismissed as nothing more than a pretty decoration. It’s a carefully maintained illusion. No one but Keith knows that Lance is also the Blue Lion, the deadliest assassin the city has ever seen. Never underestimate a cat.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“You should go get ready for the party,” Keith said, sliding a hand up a smooth caramel thigh and under the short, semi-sheer, gold silk robe Lance was wearing. “Remember it’s black tie tonight. We don’t want to be late.”
Lance cocked a perfect eyebrow. “You sure about that? Considering where that hand is going.”
Keith smacked his ass lightly. “Yes, I'm sure, smartass. It’s my party I'm throwing for no good fucking reason. At least on the surface. But that doesn’t mean we’re allowed to be late. I’m technically a socialite and should behave like one.”
Lance rolled his eyes at the last bit, his velvet ears twisting. He was more than aware that his Alpha boyfriend sat among the city’s elite. He was also aware that, even though the Kogane family was old money, they had a very heavy hand in the underworld of Altea. None of that bothered him. How could it when his own name was whispered in fear among the organized crime families. Not that anyone besides Keith knew that Lance was also the city’s deadliest assassin, codenamed Blue Lion. No one would believe it anyway. He was a Fellinus, colloquially referred to as – in his case – a catboy. Not that anyone who ever saw him in his role as Blue Lion ever lived to tell anyone.
Fellinae, despite being just as intelligent as humans – although Lance would argue that point, humans had a habit of being painfully stupid in his opinion – were treated like pets. Fellinae weren’t considered people by government standards, and had very few rights and generally even less autonomy. Lance was one of the extreme few who were well-cared for and treated like his own person. He was in an even smaller minority being an Omega Fellinus. Omegas were more highly prized than any other dynamic, the misconception that Omegas – human or Fellinus – were more docile, yet somehow also sex-ravenous, continuing to prevail. Keith had never held that view and it was only reinforced when he met Lance one night three years earlier.
~*~
Keith had been at one of his clubs and heard a fight break out near the back rooms. He decided to check it out himself, still more than capable of defending himself after his years as an assassin. From the sounds, he was expecting to find a patron harassing one of the girls. The harassing patron was right at least. But he wasn’t trying to feel up one of Keith’s girls. Instead, the person pressed against the painted cinderblock wall was a Fellinus. A male Fellinus and Keith could smell the Omega on him from 30 feet away. The patron was an Alpha and far more intoxicated than he allowed in his clubs. He filed that away for later – he was going to be having a word with the bartenders. The first thing, beside his species and Omega status, that Keith noticed about the Fellinus – Lance, as he would soon learn – was that he was pissed. The Alpha patron wasn’t paying attention, but Keith saw Lance’s tail twitching, the chocolate fur bristling, and his ears pressed flat. He also realized that the Omega had his claws extended and flexing against the wall.
“Aw, come on, kitty,” the drunk Alpha slurred, “Y’know y’wann it.”
“I really don’t,” Lance growled, “And I'm not going to say it again.”
If Keith was one of those kinds of Alphas, he would have said that Lance was “asking for it” with what he was wearing. Royal blue and deep gold softly shimmered in the low lighting of the corridor, leaving swaths of glowing caramel skin on display. Even if he wasn’t an unfortunately typical Alpha, Keith couldn’t help but trace over the tight, royal, cropped top – and equally tight abs – and down to the hem of the blue and gold mini skirt, eyes trailing over the length of elegantly muscled legs all the way to the four-inch-heeled gold sandals. He snapped his gaze back up when he heard Lance growl again. The drunk Alpha was pushing farther into his space, pressing himself up against Lance, who was looking less and less impressed with him. The drunk Alpha made his last mistake when he decided to take matters into his own hands – literally. One hand snaked up the side of the blue skirt and around. He only got one squeeze in before Lance snarled and shoved the drunk off him, grabbing and twisting one arm behind the Alpha’s back and pressing his knee into his back. The drunk Alpha dropped to the floor, trying to decide whether he wanted to shout in pain or verbally assault the Fellinus.
Ultimately, he decided on assault. “You fucking bitch! How fucking dare you! An Omega fucktoy like you has no right to refuse me!”
Keith could see that this Alpha was just getting started on his rant and that Lance had zero patience left. He decided to step in before he needed to get someone in to clean up the blood. “I believe you were told to fuck off,” he said to the Alpha, his voice dead calm.
The drunk Alpha looked up as best he could. “And who the fuck are you? Oh, what, this your slut? I didn’t smell any pansy-ass Alphas on him. Guess that means I can do whatever I want.”
“You talk quite a lot for someone in your position.” Keith whistled, and two burly Alpha security guards came out of nowhere. “Get him the fuck out of here.” He looked up, meeting Lance’s livid gaze. “Please, if you could let him go. Security will take care of him.”
The Fellinus gave the drunk Alpha’s arm one last twist before releasing him. He growled again as the Alpha stumbled away and toward Keith.
“The fuck do you think you are?” the Alpha demanded of Keith, “You have any idea who I am?”
“You look like just another drunk asshole to me. One who’s getting himself banned from this club.”
The drunk Alpha was even angrier. “You can’t do that! I know the owner of this place! I’ll –”
“You’ll what?” Keith asked lowly, leaning in. “Get me fired? Wait outside so you can fuck me up? What? What is it you think you can do?”
“You don’t know who you just fucked with, buddy. Better watch your back.”
Keith laughed. “Oh fuck me, I haven’t heard that kind of shit in a while. Maybe I’ll let you back in as a comedy act.” He let his laughter die before brushing invisible dust off the drunk’s shoulder. “So, tell me. If you know the owner, why are you assaulting a Fellinus who hasn’t doesn’t done shit to you that you didn’t deserve? If you know him so well, you have to know that he doesn’t tolerate that kind of bullshit.”
Lance started. He knew that Club Naxzela was relatively safe; it was why he’d gone there to begin with. But still, to hear a human Alpha stand up for him was surprising.
The drunk stepped back, bringing himself to his not-so-substantial height. “Heh, that’s what I thought. You really don’t know the boss at all, do ya? Kogane doesn’t give a fuck what we do with Omega catboy bitches. Yeah, that Kogane. Scared yet? You should be.”
Keith raised a single, unamused eyebrow. “Are you shitting me?” he asked, his tone flat, “Just so you are fully aware, I knew who you were the second I set foot in this hallway. You are nothing. The fact that you don’t even recognize me tells me everything I need to know. Another sound and no one will ever find you.”
The drunk sobered immediately. His eyes went wide, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. He finally took in Keith’s whole appearance. The collarless garnet silk dress shirt, its top button open, that shifted subtly between deep red and black skimming over a lean, tightly muscled torso, the tailored black jacket, the quiet flash of ruby and black diamond cufflinks that looked like they cost more than the Alpha’s house. He noticed the jet-black ponytail, porcelain pale skin, and piercing violet eyes. And realized just who he was standing in front of.
“That’s right. I tested you, and you failed spectacularly. You’re out.”
“No. No, please –”
“Oh yes. Actually, I’m feeling a bit generous. Let me call you a ride home.” Keith pulled his phone out, quickly making a call. “Naxzela. Five minutes. Take care of it.”
Even Lance could understand what that meant. That Alpha had just fucked up for the last time. The two security guards escorted him deeper into the club’s back rooms and away from the front. Keith didn’t relax until they were well out of sight. He turned to Lance.
“Are you all right? I apologize. None of that should have happened. I don’t tolerate that kind of behavior at all.” He extended a hand. “Akira Kogane.”
Lance stepped forward, accepting Keith’s hand. “I, um, I’m fine, thanks. Lance. Lance Serrano.” Lance wasn’t one to pay much attention to things like the society pages, but even he knew the Kogane name. The family owned almost half of Altea, and was long-rumored to be in organized crime. It looked like they weren’t just rumors. But he couldn’t help but trust the Alpha.
“Please, tell me what I can do to make up for that…encounter.”
Lance wanted to tell him that it was ok, that he'd dealt with worse, but it really didn’t feel like the thing to do. “I was about to get a drink, if you’d like to accompany me,” he suggested.
Keith was finally able to see Lance’s eyes properly. Sapphire blue, with the sharply slit pupils that marked most Fellinae’s eyes. Lance was stunningly beautiful. Keith smiled for real that time, unlike the way he’d interacted with the drunk Alpha. “Absolutely.”
Then it was six months later and Lance had moved into Keith’s family mansion. He’d learned a few things about the Alpha that first night. That the rumors of the Kogane crime syndicate were true, that he hated how Omegas and Fellinae were treated by society and the government, that he preferred to be called Keith in private, and that he was a phenomenal kisser and even better lay. Keith learned a few things about Lance that night as well. That he was resourceful, managing to live on his own and had even gotten himself into martial arts classes, that he had a definite taste for top shelf liquors and fine wines, and that he gave just as good as he got in bed, if not better. Keith also soon learned that Lance was a damn good shot, could more than hold his own in hand-to-hand combat, and wasn’t at all squeamish when it came to blood.
Those three things had given Keith an idea. One that he brought up with Lance one night.
“I have something of a proposition for you,” he said, while relaxing in their private hot tub.
“Oh? And what’s that?” Lance asked in return. He slipped out of his tiny silk robe, dropping it by the door, and leaving him to walk across the room totally nude. He loved watching Keith track his movements, and the Alpha knew it.
Keith shook his head, forcing himself to look away from the lines, curves, and planes of his Omega’s stunning body. “I need an assassin. I know, I have entire teams of hitmen and wetworks at my disposal, but I need someone a little different. Someone quick and quiet. Get in, get the job done, and get out without raising suspicion.”
“And you want me for that? A Fellinus? I’ll stand out, mi amor.”
“I have something of a confession,” Keith said, “A few things, actually.”
Lance slipped into the water beside his Alpha, bringing his champagne flute with him. “A confession? If this is about the dealer that double-crossed us last week, I already know about it. You did what you had to; you always do.”
Keith laughed softly, shaking his head. “No, love, it’s not about that. Although I did find out that not only was he leaking information, he was also undercutting me. Won’t be doing that again.” He paused, sighing. “No, this is more personal. I was the top assassin in the company starting when I was sixteen. But my father used to be our best in that particular line before me. Something happened with her – no one will tell me what it was – and she had to go into hiding. I'm pretty sure that my mother retired so he could be with her. And, I mean, she left not long after I was born because of whatever it was that happened. But my confession…well, it’s not something I've ever told anyone. Ever. The only people who know are my parents and the family physician. My father…is a Fellinus. I’m a half-breed. My traits are subtle. Sharper senses, my pupils go slitted under extreme stress, and I actually have claws that extend when I’m physically threatened. Those last parts I’ve learned to control, but it’s still there. But all this is how I know that it’s possible. That you could be one of the best assassins this city has ever seen.”
Lance sat in the heated water for a few minutes, thinking over what his lover had just told him. He knew that human-Fellinus hybrids were certainly possible, but they were virtually unheard of, and if they did happen, it was because a human (Alpha, usually) had gotten their Omega Fellinus pet pregnant and didn’t force them to abort. In all his 26 years, he’d never heard of it happening the other way around. And even though Keith hadn’t expressly said so, Lance understood that there was a real relationship between his parents. It certainly explained his treatment of Fellinae. It also confused the shit out of him. What wasn’t confusing was Keith’s faith in him.
“That’s a lot to unwrap, mi amor. I think I always dismissed that Fellinus scent on you as being from me, but you being half makes more sense. I know I can’t go out untested, but I want to do it. You treat me like I’m not something the government can’t even be bothered to acknowledge as an entire person.” He set his now empty glass on the tub’s edge and shifted, straddling Keith’s lap. “You treat me like I matter. I want to do this for you.” He wasn’t sure when he had become inured to the reality of Keith’s professional life, but somewhere along the line, he had, and the idea of officially joining the Kogane crime family for the express purpose of killing left him unfeeling for his future victims but also excited, knowing how much trust Keith had in him.
“We’ll start first thing tomorrow,” Keith said, one hand cupping his Omega’s face, the other wrapping around his slender waist, “But for tonight…”
Lance laughed as Keith playfully nipped at his neck and pulled him closer.
The training course was brutal. Lance needed to learn the basics of parkour, although Keith ran through the course with him when he could, and helped him improve as they went. He also needed to know how to use a variety of weapons, how to hack basic security systems (although that was something that was usually handled remotely), and how to avoid detection. The next six weeks left him exhausted. But by the end of it, he not only felt he knew what he needed, but was in the best shape of his life. Keith agreed with the assessment.
“I know I said so earlier, but your progress has been in incredible. I think you’re ready,” he said when they were tangled in bed together that night and basking in their post-coital afterglow. “There’s just one more thing before your first mission.”
“Hmm?” Lance hummed, a thoroughly feline curl to his voice, “What’s that?”
Keith pulled his Omega in closer and pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head, but his voice was serious. “You have the physical aspects down, and I’m confident you could hack your way into most commonly used security systems.”
“But I've never killed before,” Lance interrupted, “What if I told you that I have? I didn’t have a choice then, it was a matter of survival, but I did it. I didn’t regret it then, and I don’t now.”
Keith shifted beneath him, rolling onto an elbow to face his lover. “When was this? I – what happened?”
“I was walking home one night – it was about a year before we met – and I realized I was being followed. I was bartending then, so I got out late – two, sometimes three AM. I liked the place. It was quiet most of the time, we didn’t have much of a problem with fights breaking out. But there was this one guy that I noticed kept staring at me one night. We cut him off around midnight, but he stayed. Just kept watching me. And yeah, it made me nervous, but when I didn’t see him at closing, I figured he’d gone home. And then when I was almost halfway to my apartment, I realized that there was someone following me. And it was him. When he saw me speed up and take a turn, he came after me. Dragged me into an alley. He must have gone to another bar after he left because he reeked like horny Alpha and cheap booze. I was trying to push him off when he pulled a knife. We fought for it and I won. Stabbed him until he stopped moving. I kept the knife, but burned my clothes from that night and took the longest shower of my entire life. When I finally was able to calm down, I realized that I didn’t feel guilty about having killed him, only scared for my own safety at the time. When his body was found a day later, it was written off as a drug deal gone wrong. That was the incident that made me start martial arts classes.”
“I am so sorry you had to do that, even if does mean one less garbage Alpha. And you won’t ever have to worry about it happening ever again. I trust you, you know I do, but I just need to make sure you can do this.”
Lance nodded his agreement. “I know. When I killed that Alpha, it was out of panic. This is different. But it’s still survival: them or us.”
Keith pulled Lance back down, lightly running his hand up and down satin skin. “You understand.”
The chance for a test would come sooner than they expected. Keith stopped Lance before entering the nondescript room. He wondered about Lance’s wardrobe choices that day, but his Omega looked amazing, so he didn’t question it too hard. The warm sky blue, silk tank top and rose-gold flouncy mini skirt with Lance’s favorite strappy stilettos seemed an odd choice of clothes to wear to a killing, but whatever made him happy.
“He’s tied down. He can’t hurt you.”
Lance gave his Alpha a sweet smile. “I know. I'm not worried about him. What’s he done to piss you off this much?”
“So, you know that I operate on a three-strike escalation of warning. This dipshit tried to muscle his way into our territory – dealing. We warned him off, let him know that he was trespassing on Kogane property and to fuck off. He didn’t listen. We warned him again, this time roughing him up a little. Still didn’t listen. So we gave him another beating and this time we cleared out his stock. But this absolute asswipe is still here. And now we need to make an example of him to anyone else with his bright idea.”
“Yeah, I don’t think he’s ever gonna learn,” Lance said.
Keith’s lips twisted in an amused half-smile as he unlocked the door. Inside the nearly empty room, the poor dumbass Beta sat restrained to the metal chair in the middle of it. Just to the left of the door and against the wall was a long table covered in all manner of weaponry. Lance’s sharp senses could just make out the ingrained blood stains on the walls and floor. If he’d looked up, he would have seen a few splatters on the ceiling as well. The Beta scoffed when they walked in, trying to make himself seem like he was tougher than he really was.
“The fuck is this shit?” he asked, attempting a bored tone, “Some weak bitch and his catboy whore? The fuck you gonna do, talk me to death?”
“You don’t seem to understand your situation,” Keith said calmly, “I am tired of you overstaying your welcome – something you never had to begin with. We warned you, politely the first time, and you chose not to listen. The second time, we showed you that we were serious, and yet you still stayed. The last time, we reminded you of our seriousness, taking a sub-quality payment from you with us. You haven’t seemed to have gotten the message. You. Do not. Trespass. On Kogane. Property. Of course, it no longer matters. Your business is destroyed, and your life is now in my hands. Or, I should say, in his hands.”
Lance was almost vibrating with excitement. Listening to Keith in his professional capacity was always such a huge turn-on. His Alpha was so getting laid later. But for now, he had a job to do. Lance made sure to meet the Beta’s eyes before backing away to the table, making a show of running his fingers over the variety of implements. There was a 9mm pistol among the weapons, and Lance was certainly a good shot, but during his training, he realized that he had something of a connection to knives. He supposed, in hindsight, that it had to be because the first time he’d ever killed was by knife. Not far from the pistol lay a double-edged blade, black-handled and about half as long as his forearm. Perfect. He picked it up, letting it dangle from his fingertips and casually sauntered over to the bound prisoner.
“You know what to do with that, sweetheart?” the Beta taunted.
Lance’s blue eyes hardened. He gave the knife a light toss, gasping it by the hilt. And in a smooth, quick motion, impaled the Beta’s hand to the arm of the chair. “I don’t know. What do you think?” he asked.
The Beta screamed. “What the fuck, you psychotic bitch?!”
“Y’know,” Lance answered silkily, “That’s what we were wondering about you. Hm. What should we do with this trash, babe?”
Keith stepped back, allowing Lance to have the stage. “Take it out.”
Lance pulled the knife out, not caring if inflicted more damage. The Beta screamed again.
“Yeah, that’s gonna be a problem. My sensitive hearing and all,” he said, indicating his ears with the bloody blade. Lance plunged the knife into the Beta’s throat and twisted, leaving it in the wound, and turned back to Keith. “Any preferences, mi amor?”
“Not too messy, please. We’re dumping him in the river later. Don’t need the body half-eaten when it turns up.”
“Yeah, I mean, how else are we supposed to send that message to anyone else stupid enough to do what this asshole did?” He turned back to the Beta, yanking the knife out, blood pouring from the wound. “Adios, puta,” Lance said quietly before slashing his throat, leaving him to bleed out.
The pair waited, making sure he was dead before they left. The clean up crew was already waiting in the corridor, confused about their boss bringing his pet along for something like that, but they knew better than to question him. They went to work, not paying attention to Keith tightly wrapping an arm around Lance’s waist.
“Beautiful work, love. A little brutal, but wonderfully done,” Keith whispered.
“He insulted me. Twice. He deserved it,” Lance shot back.
Keith just chuckled.
Lance’s first mission went perfectly. Fitted in an armored black bodysuit with built-in communications, he slipped into the high-rise apartment. The apartment’s only resident was an upper manager in one of Keith’s companies. Unlike many, if not most, of the employees of that particular business, this manager was also part of The Company. He had once been a solid member, put in place within the subsidiary to keep an extra eye on it. But then there were a few discrepancies in accounting, and then an issue with a server malfunction that leaked private information. An investigation proved that the “malfunction” had been staged to cover his tracks. The last straw came when he was seen in public – romantically – with a member of a rival family. Keith was livid and said that he would see to it personally, and gave Lance his first mission.
With the security system temporarily disarmed, he moved through the apartment, silent and unnoticed. The manager was sound asleep and didn’t so much as shift when Lance entered. Slowly and silently drawing his knife – the one he’d used on the Beta not long before, although he’d taken to keeping the one he’d taken from that Alpha on himself as well – he crept over to the manager’s sleeping form. The suit had built-in scent blockers and Lance knew he’d been completely silent, yet something had woken the manager. He gasped in surprise and Lance darted across the room, clamping a hand over his mouth.
“Not a sound,” he whispered, “And I won’t have to make a mess of you.”
The manager nodded, more afraid of the knife than shocked that it was a Fellinus wielding it.
“Good.”
He made quick work of the traitor, his knife cutting deep as he slashed the man’s throat. He knew it was safe when the attempt at a scream became nothing but air, vocal cords severed. Lance kept his hand over the manager’s mouth until his movements slowed and the struggling stopped. And then, as quickly as he’d come, he removed the hacking lock on the security system and left the way he’d come through the fire escape.
“Mission complete,” he murmured into the onboard comms.
“Perfect. You know where to meet me,” replied the silky voice of his Alpha.
Lance ducked into a hole-in-the-wall hotel a few streets over, keeping to the shadows the entire time. The hotel was another that relied on the Kogane family for protection and part of their deal was that they would always be available for company members. Lance quickly changed out of the bodysuit in the ground floor room with its own back exit, which he made full use of. The bodysuit was left in a nondescript carry-on bag to be picked up by one of the lieutenants the next day. He stepped out of the back door once again dressed in the glittering cocktail-length skirt with its thigh high slit and spike heels and into the alley, where Keith was waiting for him in his personal gloss-black sedan. When they returned to the mansion, security let them in without question, the garage attendant they were paying to stay later than usual asking them if they’d had a good night out.
It wasn’t long before the other families started noticing the signature change in the high-profile Kogane hits. The executions were quick and clean, aside from the blood from the slashed throats, the cuts always deep enough to sever vocal cords and scratch the spines of the victims. No one was quite sure where they heard it first, but soon, the crime families of Altea lived in fear of the Blue Lion. The Kogane family itself wasn’t immune, and if anyone noticed that the hits coincided with their boss taking his pet for a night out, they never talked about it.
~*~
And now, two years after that first successful hit, and three years since that first night in the back of Club Naxzela, Lance and Keith were preparing for what looked like a society party. It was a cover for a high-profile meeting between members of rival families, one that Keith had called as he was allied with each of the other three families even if they weren’t all allied with each other. They knew to expect some push back from Lance being allowed in the meeting room, but they’d get over it. The pet segregation line was one Keith preferred playing jump rope with, but there were things even he wouldn’t do. Lance would be allowed in the room for the duration of the meeting, but not given a place at the table. Not even bonded mates were extended that privilege, and mates almost never attended meetings, instead continuing with the parties alongside the pets.
Lance went to his large walk-in closet, running his fingers across the wall of formalwear. “I’m thinking the blood red dress for tonight,” he called.
Keith appeared in the doorway, his crisp white shirt unbuttoned. “Which one?”
Lance walked his fingers back through the dresses. “This one,” he said, pulling out a backless, double-spaghetti strap, floor-length gown in garnet velvet. It’s A-line, drop-waisted skirt was attached to the wide, deep V-necked bodice and overlapped at the hip, creating a deep slit.
Keith walked in, slipping his hands around his Omega. “If I end up fucking you in that thing tonight, it’ll be entirely your fault.”
“Fuck, I hope so,” Lance said, wrapping his arms around his Alpha’s neck.
The pair knew the instant almost all eyes in the ballroom were on them. They scanned the crowd, noting some over others. They both easily picked out those from other crime families, or those that had been absorbed by larger families. Holt, Garrett, Shirogane – they had all been “adopted” by the Kogane company years ago, all three families working with the more powerful one. The Kings were there for the meeting, a long-standing ally of the Koganes. Their friendship ran deep, and there wasn’t much that could break it. The Kings, like the Koganes, were effectively royalty in Altea. The more reclusive Komars were there for the meeting as well, the family’s scion tagging along, even if he was more interested in parties and high living, always escorted by his harem of four half-breed Fellinae. Felicity Ryner was there for the meeting as well, representing her family. She had first forged an alliance with Keith’s mother, and he was careful to maintain it.
Ryner and King were cordial, but not strictly allied, and neither of them were allied in any way with the Komars. Keith had only kept that relationship out of necessity; he didn’t like them any more than anyone else. They had been moving in ways that raised suspicion more recently, and that needed to be addressed. But appearances needed to be maintained, and Keith dove into the crowd, Lance firmly on his arm. They both knew that, if necessary, the Blue Lion would keep the peace. He always would.
Notes:
Hey there, critters! I wanted to try something a little different with this one and ended up going the mafia/organized crime route. This was actually a lot of fun to write and I may be coming back to it in the future, especially with the open ending.
Let me know what you think and if you'd like to see more of this au!
Come visit my corner of Tumblr
~Corvus
Chapter 5: 07. AU of choice – Cyberpunk – What Could Go Wrong?
Summary:
07. AU of choice – Cyberpunk – What Could Go Wrong?
Rating – M
Talk of Rape/Non-con
Tags: pre Keith/Lance
Lance, Rolo, Florona
Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Omegaverse, Alpha Lance, Omega Keith, Gay Keith, Pre-relationship, Alcohol, Human trafficking, References to rape/non-con, Codenames, Assumed/professional names, There are things borrowed from Shadowrun, Mostly terminology, Lance is 24
Lance has been a runner for the last 8 years. When he hears that male Omegas are disappearing into a trafficking ring, he jumps at the chance to help. But first, he needs to meet with his new fixer.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Unilu was an old neighborhood. One that didn’t care where you came from or where you were going. Didn’t care about dynamics. Didn’t care about where your money came from. The density of the buildings made the area dark even in the middle of the day. The stories said that Altea had been a beautiful city, light and free. That was impossible to see anymore. Daibazaal Industries had taken over long ago, running the nanny-state government from boardrooms.
This was the world Lance McClain navigated through on his way to a bar called Baku’s Den. He was supposed to be meeting up with Florona, a girl he’d been put in contact with. She had connections to a job he was interested in. Omega trafficking wasn’t an uncommon practice, but it was usually female Omegas that were targeted. Some bullshit about delicate beauty and submission he didn’t believe in. Lance’s mother was an Omega, wherever she was. He hoped she was safe; he hadn’t seen her in 8 years. But this trafficking ring was pretty new, and dealing exclusively in male Omegas. Lance had a feeling he knew why.
The Daibazaal state had mandated sterilization for all Betas and some female Omegas. Male Omegas were safe from the invasive procedure. The official reason was that there was a population issue and the city was over-crowded, and that, although unfortunate, it was necessary for even resource distribution, and the statistics showed that male Omegas were far less likely to have children. It was total bullshit. The birth rate had been dropping steadily for years. Some once-thriving neighborhoods had become ghost towns. The only reason a place like Unilu was still holding on was because they looked the other way on most things, becoming a haven of sorts for people like Lance. The Alpha had always had an innate talent for firearms of all types. It was a talent he’d honed into a finely-sharpened skill. One that he used to chip away at Daibazaal and the atrocities they allowed to go unaddressed, like this trafficking ring.
He’d left his hoverbike a few blocks away, making his way to Baku’s Den on foot. He stiffened when he caught the scent of someone coming up beside him, but relaxed when he realized he knew the Beta. It was another runner who went by Rolo. Lance and Rolo had first met when Rolo and his girlfriend Nyma took off with Lance’s hoverbike. He’d gotten it back from the Beta pair and their cyber-terrier Beezer, and they’d eventually become friends of a sort.
Rolo casually sauntered up beside the Alpha. “So, where ya headed?” he asked.
“Just drinks with a girl,” Lance answered. Meeting a contact, was the translation.
The Beta understood. “She pretty?” One of your usual contacts?
“Don’t know. Blind date a friend set up.” No, but I trust the one who set up the meeting.
“Well, good luck with that. Never can tell with some girls. Gimme a call if you need an excuse.” Watch your back. Call if you need backup.
Lance chuckled at the surface sentiment. “Sure. Thanks, man.” Will do.
“Well, I better take Beezer for a walk. Gettin’ late.” Doing a hacking run tonight, but I’ll be nearby.
“Have fun with that. Watch out for any stray cats.” Good luck. Keep an eye out for security bots.
“Eh, they’re easy to scare off.” I can get around them.
By then, they’d reached the block Baku’s Den was on. Lance nodded toward it, Rolo understanding that this was where his meeting was taking place. They parted ways, Lance headed for the bar, and Rolo disappeared around the corner. The sign hologram on the dark grey concrete building sat over the heavy steel door. The sign read Baku’s Den in a stylized typeface with a three-jawed serpent weaving through the letters. The serpent flew – swam? – through the bar’s name on a continual loop, executing a barrel roll around the name every third loop.
The interior looked very much like most other bars Lance had been to, whether meeting fixers or just relaxing. A dark concrete floor was easy to clean (and hide ingrained blood stains) after the inevitable bar fights. Dim lighting was both a blessing and a curse since it kept things more intimate, but it was also harder to spot a weapon. Booths were the same way. Made things more private, but also gave someone the chance to ambush a target. Lance’s cursory sweep was more tactical than he let show. He noted all exit points, where was best for cover, who looked the most dangerous. He also spotted his contact.
Florona sat at the edge of the booth in the back corner. She had closely cut maroon hair except for a white swath down the middle that was cut longer and swept to one side. Her gloss black cybernetic eyes had no visible sclera or iris, but he knew she was looking at him. He could see her brown leather jacket with dark red accents and skin-tight burgundy pants and heavy boots. It was also a pretty safe guess that she was armed. Just as it was a near certainty that Florona wasn’t her real name.
Lance McClain certainly wasn’t his. But when he was separated from his family at 16, he left Leandro Dávila behind. He made a new identity for himself, one that let him not stand out at all, one that let him hide. He wasn’t even sure if there was anything left of Leandro in him. Leandro had been a hopeful, optimistic child. Lance was hardened by years of fighting, jaded by harsh reality. Leandro would have been afraid of Lance. It was a smart thing to be.
Some people, like Florona, wore their cybernetics for the world to see. Implants and attachments that were blatantly obvious. Rarer were those like Lance. He’d lost his eyes after a run gone wrong. The crew he was with sold him out when they thought the other side would pay better for it. They blinded him, but even without sight, he was still able to take them out and escape. He’d called his fixer, who got him help. His cybernetics looked natural, as close to his original blue as they could get. But they were fully functional cyberware. Top of the line a few years back. Night vision, infrared, zooming, even the ability to limit the amount of light received – all linked in. By blinding him, his old crew made sure he would never be blinded again. Not too long after that, he lost his left hand. That run was successful, but Lance had gotten caught in crossfire and an unlucky shot blew out his wrist, shredding tendons and splintering bone. The new one was indistinguishable from his right, the artificial skin blending seamlessly with the organic.
Lance had no choice but to slide into the booth facing away from the door, forcing him to trust Florona with his personal safety. He nodded to her, careful not to say a word until he was seated. “Florona.” It was a statement, a greeting, a question, a confirmation.
“McClain,” she returned, “Or would you prefer Sharpshooter?”
He put on the illusion of relaxing, something he never truly did. “Lance is fine,” he said casually.
Florona’s lips twitched with an amused huff. “Alright, Lance. I’m going to order us drinks while we wait,” she said, signaling to the aqua-haired waitress.
“Waiting for what?” This wasn’t what Lance was expecting, and now he was getting nervous.
“Your partner.”
“Partner? That’s news to me. What can you tell me about them?”
The waitress came over, waiting for what she was sure would be Florona’s usual order. “Nunvil,” Florona said – no surprises there. “And bring the bottle.”
Lance whistled low. “You go hard.”
Florona raised a perfect eyebrow. “And you don’t?”
“Never said I didn’t. So, what about this partner?”
She leaned back, throwing an arm over the back of the booth. “Best fuckin’ swordsman I’ve ever seen. Stealth type. He’s got this one blade – let’s just say I never want to be on the wrong side of it.”
The waitress returned setting unopened bottle and a pair of glasses on the table. When she left, Florona made a show of breaking the seal on the bottle. She poured both glasses, and Lance idly played with the rim of his.
“What’s so special about this blade?” he asked. He was genuinely curious, but made sure she didn’t know that.
“Ultraviolet hard-light. Keeps it maglocked to a sheath on his back. Bio-activated so no one but him can use it. I got to see what happens when someone tried to take it once. Wasn’t pretty. New guy tried to hit on him. Pretty forcefully, but he didn’t know what he was in for.”
Interesting information. This mysterious partner of his was a known factor here. Lance wasn’t sure if Florona had mentioned that part to remind him that he was an outsider in Unilu or if she just considered it part of the story.
“I should tell you what to expect from him before he gets here. You're an Alpha, and he may take offense to that. He’s an Omega, and a lifetime of bad experiences makes him resent Alphas on sight.”
“That’s fair,” he said, and finally picked up his glass. He actually enjoyed the silky burn as it went down. “Anything else I should know?”
“Don’t piss him off. He’s not likely to actually kill you, but the threat will be there.”
“Anything else that’s not vague and threatening?” Lance asked, draining his glass.
“Mm, nope.” Florona refilled both their glasses, and Lance saw the tiniest movement of her looking to the bar. “Except that he’s coming over. Better get ready, he’s an experience.”
Notes:
Greetings, supernatural creatures! I've been sitting on this for so long, but I didn't feel it was quite ready. Honestly, I'm still not sure I do, and this is only half of the first chapter of a prequel to the main story. It's not Leakira, but I love cyberpunk (like, an absurd amount) and wanted to do this. I know I say it a lot in the end notes, but I really do want to know if this is something y'all are interested in reading more of. (Of course, I always like to hear thoughts on my writing :) )
Come visit my hoard of shinies on Tumblr
~Corvus
Chapter 6: 12. Fashion – Dripping in Gold
Summary:
12. Fashion – Dripping in Gold
Rating: T
Tags: Keith/Lance
Keith, Lance, Allura, Shiro, Shay, Hunk, Pidge, Romelle, Adam, Coran, Rachel
Alpha Lance, Omega Keith, Both of them are gnc, Model Lance, Model Keith, Lance is also non-binary, Still uses he/him pronouns, Korean Keith, Cuban Lance, Established relationship, Keith is lactose intolerant, Lance is a good boyfriend, they’re both 22, Keith and Shiro are cousins by marriage, MUA Shiro, Stylist Shay, Lead Technician Hunk, Photographer Matt, Photographer Pidge, Fashion reporter Adam, PA Romelle, Agent Allura, Designer Coran, Hairstylist Rachel, PR Veronica, background Adashi, background Romellura, background Hunay, Lance and Keith both in heels, gimme, “fashion” is going to be whatever I want, Also there was nothing for LA in the 2021 Fashion Week schedule, so there is now, I did waaay too much research for their clothes, title is from Crave You (Flight Facilities – Adventure Club remix)
12. Fashion – prepping for the runway and Fashion Week with an exclusive, last-minute photoshoot
Notes:
Group Chat:
Keith – RoyalRuby
Lance – αEnby
Shiro – Mwah
Matt – Mattographer
Pidge – Pixelated
Shay – Fashaynista
Hunk – TheGoldenTechie
Rachel - GlamFairy
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“I am so sorry for this, and I know Fashion Week is in, well, a week, but you know how Coran can be,” Allura said from behind her desk.
Across from her sat the two faces of the Coran Wimbledon-Smythe fashion house Oriande, specifically, the couture formal and ready-to-wear lines. When it had come to finding the model to project the image of the designer to the world, Altea Modelling Agency had provided them with a conundrum. Allura, as their agent, had given two portfolios for consideration, and the man himself couldn’t decide between them and ended up hiring them both. Coran wanted something that wasn’t the usual body types associated with male models, something that would look good on both the runway and in print. What he got was Lance Montilla-Herrera and Keith Kae. The Alpha and Omega had been dating for years, and were almost the polar opposite of what people generally expected. Lance was tall and lean, but defined, more than a model typically was, but less than was expected of an Alpha. He was also openly non-binary and gender nonconforming, and didn’t at all shy away from things considered traditionally feminine. Keith also didn’t follow strict gender lines with his primary sex, but it was more accepted, and even expected in certain circles, for his secondary sex. But he was also far more defined than what was usually seen in “typically” slender-yet-curvy male Omegas. It made them an interesting pair, and exactly what Coran was looking for.
“He wants us for a last-minute shoot, doesn’t he?” Keith asked.
“If I could have talked him out of it, I would have, but he’s insisting on another promo shoot. We’ll work it around your final fittings, events, and parties.”
Lance sighed. “Well, it could be worse. He could have decided to scrap the original promo shots and want us to redo it all now.”
Keith pointed at his boyfriend, agreeing.
It was Allura’s turn to sigh. “Oh, I know. He actually loves the original shots; he just wants a few extras. I’ll text you the shoot details as soon as I have them. Better enjoy what time off you two have left before it gets insane around here.”
“I do believe she’s kicking us out,” Keith said.
“I am,” Allura concurred.
Lance rose, extending a hand. “Coffee?” he suggested.
“I could definitely use one of those,” Keith said, accepting the assistance.
That day, his outfit made sure his Alpha couldn’t keep his hands to himself. The long-sleeved, tight black crop top also had a wide slash cutout across his chest and wide, crossed straps sitting just above his natural waist. The bottom of the cutout at the front of his cropped red hoodie came just to the bottom of the wide slash of his top, but his favorite part of the sweatshirt was the the pair of silver chains that cascaded down each side from the center of the front and back. The chains grazed the hips of the sinfully low-rise matte black stretch-leather pants that clung to every last Omega curve. He finished off his outfit with his favorite black 4” heeled lace-up boots with two studded buckle straps at the ankle. Keith was a bit of an oddity as a model, especially one in his position. He cared less about what the absolute latest trend was and more about what worked for his body. He had even been known to commission remakes of favorite pieces no longer available.
Lance didn’t quite go as far as having favorites remade (usually), but he’d learned from Keith over the years, and dressed more to his shape than keeping directly on top of the newest thing. Where Keith’s outfit was tight and curve-hugging, Lance’s was softer. A soft turquoise cropped hoodie floated over his ribcage and the black tee he’d layered under it. The tee met the waistband of an aqua-to-teal tie-dyed maxi skirt that swirled around his ankles and the black suede boots with their 4.5” heel that made sure he’d maintain the height difference between himself and his boyfriend. It was a point of pride for the Alpha, despite loving the fact that his Omega boyfriend was only barely shorter than him.
Allura barely noticed them leaving her office, already sending emails to Oriande. Her assistant – and girlfriend – Romelle at least noticed that their meeting was over. She waved them over, dropping the file folders of headshots and bios on her desk.
“So, what happened?” she asked.
“Apparently Coran wants another promo shoot. A second promo shoot. Like we don’t already have enough to do this week,” Lance said.
Romelle made a face. “Oh. I'm sorry,” she commiserated, “Well, I’d best get back to work. New models’ files to go over.”
Keith was making good use of the full length, freestanding mirror in Romelle’s outer office touching up his ruby-tinted lip gloss. He perked up at her statement. “Ooh, fresh meat,” he said, rejoining Lance, who just laughed.
“No intimidating the new blood,” Romelle told him, pointing with the top file.
“Rude. We are professionals,” Lance scoffed with a grin. He lightly smacked his boyfriend’s leather-clad ass. “But we should get going. We have a date with caffeine.”
“I need some of that. Bring me back one!” Romelle called after them as they walked out into the reception area.
Lance waved an acknowledgement. They both spotted the three new models immediately. Just a touch overdone, trying to show off their makeup skills and fashion sense. The new models watched them cross reception, recognizing them instantly, awed and starstruck. Everyone knew who the faces for the major designers were, and Lance and Keith were no exception; they were Altea’s highest profile models. But the pair also knew that this trio of fresh faces hadn’t quite made it in the door yet. Romelle was reviewing their portfolios and the notes from the first round of auditions and interviews. They would then meet with Allura for the second round, and she would determine if any of these three were good enough to represent and be represented by Altea Modelling Agency, and Allura was a harsh critic. Altea was the agency models graduated to after gaining experience in the industry. Not even Lance and Keith had started there. Their early days in fashion modeling had been with the Galaxy agency, generally referred to as The Garrison due to their strict rules and the fact that their building looked like a military installation.
Keith was almost immediately regretting his decision to walk with Lance to Lionscastle, their favorite local coffee chain, through the fashion industry-crowded streets. A stiff February breeze blew through the buildings, chilling his exposed skin. Lance took amused pity on him, wrapping a warm arm around his Omega. The coffeeshop was its usual level of busy, and the pair slipped inside, Keith quietly reveling in the shop’s warmth. When they got to the front of the line and the perky brunette barista, they ordered Lance’s nonfat caramel latte and a soy cinnamon mocha for Keith. Lora, as the flowing bright pink script on her black nametag said, took everything down with friendly efficiency, attaching the sticky note order slips to their white-and-aqua ceramic mugs and sending them down the line. Keith went to claim seats for them while Lance waited at the end of the espresso bar. He looked up when he heard one of the baristas, a blonde girl, scoff.
“Ugh. Nonfat and soy? Seriously? Gotta be more of those skinny models again.”
The barista next to her didn’t look up from the drink he was making, but Lance heard him say quietly, “You really gotta stop. Just make what was ordered, please.”
The first barista grumbled something, and Lance was almost certain he heard something about regular dairy for them both. This was something he was not going to stand for. He stepped closer, getting the attention of the male barista.
“Did she just say something about regular milk for those two orders?” he asked.
“Did she? Shit.” He turned back to see the girl doing exactly that. “I thought I told you to stop. Remake those.”
She looked up, startled. “No. Why should I? What, one of these yours?” She looked Lance over disapprovingly.
“Probably, but even if they aren’t it’s none of your business why anyone orders what they do. I grew up on nonfat because of a sibling with a mild sensitivity to milk fat, so it’s just what I'm used to. But that soy is more important. My boyfriend is lactose intolerant. I don’t need him getting sick because you think it doesn’t matter.”
Lora stepped away from the front, coming over to see what was going on. “Everything ok?” she asked.
The male barista just sighed, going back to the espresso bar he was working from. Lora’s brow furrowed, and she looked from her coworker to Lance.
“Not really,” Lance said, “Not a problem with him, it was the girl. I’m pretty sure it’s our order. She decided that she could just use whatever your standard is, because we had to be, as she put it ‘those skinny models again’.”
Lora groaned and turned around. “Steffi, go take your break. I’ll take over for you.”
Steffi started again, but looked angry this time, and disappeared into the back room without a word. Lora remade Lance and Keith’s order, correctly this time, and brought them over herself. “I'm sorry about her,” she apologized, “She’s done this before and is already on thin ice.”
“Well, she was right about one thing. My boyfriend and I are models. I wouldn’t have cared too much about mine, but he’s lactose intolerant, model or not. It’s a question of when, not if, he’d get sick from it.”
“I am so sorry for her,” Lora apologized again.
“It’s not your fault, don’t worry about it.”
“What was all that?” Keith asked when Lance came over, accepting his steaming mug.
Lance sighed, settling into the other seat at the table. “One of the baristas decided that because we’re apparently just ‘skinny models’ that we didn’t need what we’d ordered and that their normal dairy milk was perfectly acceptable. I told her that it was more of a preference for me, y’know, cuz of Marco, but that you're lactose intolerant and it wasn’t some weird diet.”
“What the fuck is wrong with some people? Anyway, I got the time and location text from Allura. I don’t fucking know how, but Coran managed to get the Krell Estate for the shoot. I’m convinced he just knows literally everyone. Also, turns out it is a reshoot. Something happened somewhere and the files for the original shots for the formalwear line got corrupted. So Coran’s using it as an excuse to pull out a last-minute addition to the lineup. Allura said that it’s being kept under wraps, so I have no idea what we’re in for until we get there.”
“And when is this?”
Keith let himself savor the swirl of flavors and warmth of his drink, still shaking off the last of the chill from outside. “Tonight. We need to be there for hair and makeup at three. Also, your phone’s been blowing up.” He retrieved the offending device from his tiny black leather backpack and handed it over.
The lock screen told Lance that they were all texts from both of his sisters. There were far more from Rachel than Veronica, but there were still several from his oldest sister. Veronica was giving her usual warnings about not spilling secrets where anyone might hear them, especially with how close Fashion Week was from its official start in a few days. But she had a unique position as both having Lance for a little brother, supermodel and face of Oriande, and being the Public Relations director for the brand. Mostly what it meant for him was more personal warnings about industry secrets, even if it was nothing he hadn’t heard a million times already.
Rachel’s texts were a little more frantic. The younger of Lance’s two sisters was a professional hairstylist, working exclusively in the fashion industry on photo shoots and video spots. She had, going by the contextless messages she had spammed him with, been called in to handle the shoot that night. It wouldn’t be the first time she had to deal with something like that. Emergencies happened. Her issue was that she had been called in at the last minute to deal with a shoot of that magnitude alone. She decided that it meant that she would be inviting herself over earlier than their 3pm start time. She said that she would be at his and Keith’s apartment at 12 and they had better be there. He checked the time before turning his screen off. It was already 10:50.
“Ok, so, part of that was just Ronnie and her usual ‘No spilling trade secrets’ shit. Nothing we haven’t heard before. The rest of it was all Rachel having a fit about the shoot. She got called in, but because it’s last-minute, and Coran wants it kept quiet, she’s gonna be alone tonight. This also means that, in true Rachel Montilla-Herrera fashion, she’s coming over to our place at noon.”
“Of course she is,” Keith said, “Probably wants to get started on me first.”
Lance was about to respond when his phone dinged with another notification.
“It’s Rachel again. She’s bringing Shay to get nails done. Guess Coran wants something specific.”
“Well, I guess we should head back home then,” Keith said, finishing his latte.
“Hm,” Lance hummed in agreement, draining his own cup.
Another chilled ten minute walk back to Altea and they left the garage for the half hour drive back to their apartment. Keith opened the crew’s group chat to find out if anyone else had any idea as to what was going on. This was their group chat for the friends and family who worked in the fashion industry and that they were lucky enough to work with most of the time. If Rachel and Shay hade been called in, it was likely the others had too.
RoyalRuby > Fashion Squad
RoyalRuby: who’s on the shoot tonight
Mattographer: YO!
Mwah: me
Pixelated: I’ll be there
TheGoldenTechie: I’ll also be there
Fashaynista: I’ll be over in about 45 min with Rachel
GlamFairy: and you 2 had better be too
RoyalRuby: omw now
RoyalRuby: anyone know anything about it? all I know is what Allura told me. that the original shots got corrupted so we have to redo the formalwear
Pixelated: yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s bullshit and Coran just wants to do it over
Mwah: and he got the Krell Estate for the location
Fashaynista: I probably shouldn’t tell you guys this but I saw the outfits for the shoot already. Coran emailed them to me. I can’t say anything else, but they. Are. Fucking. Beautiful. You guys are going to look so good. trust me
αEnby: we always do. just got in. order in for lunch?
RoyalRuby: ooh. Indigo Seoul
Fashaynista: ohh, that sounds good
GlamFairy: I’m in. manito?
αEnby: I never say no to that. Princesa doesn’t allow it
RoyalRuby: damn right I don’t. but I also don’t say no to Café Viñales either
αEnby: ok, gonna go order lunch and shower
Lunch arrived at the same time as Shay and Rachel did. Lance buzzed them both in, the girls following the delivery guy to the penthouse door. Keith walked out of their bedroom when the front door closed, changed into a soft black French terry maxi skirt and dark grey zipped hoodie, and still towel drying his just past shoulder-length hair. It was 1pm by the time they finished with lunch, and Rachel dragged Keith to the lounge at the back of the open plan apartment. She was literally dragging him and he nearly tripped up the five short steps.
“Ok,” she said, wheeling the leather office chair over, “I got a rundown of what Coran wants, and we need to start with you. Lancito’s hair’s short enough that there isn’t much to do with him, but you – there’s a lot to do with you.”
Keith watched as Rachel started pulling out almost everything she’d brought, including hot rollers, more than one curling wand, a freakishly large box of hair pins in various sizes, a box of tiny black hair ties, and a startling number of hair products that rivalled his and Lance’s skincare routines put together. She laid it all out on one end of the table, Shay setting up on the other end with Lance. Rachel adjusted the office chair, and Keith sat, still staring at the sheer number of tools, accessories, and products she had brought. He was used to fussing when it came to his hair on photo shoots, but this was a lot even for him. He snapped to look over at the other end of the table when he heard Lance laughing softly.
“You ok, Princesa? You look like you're gonna have a stroke.”
“Have you seen all of this?” Keith squeaked. “There is no way we’re using all of that.”
“I know what Coran wants, so yeah, we probably are,” Rachel said, plugging the roller case in. She got started by making sure his hair was completely detangled and applying a light coating of heat protectant.
By the time the rollers were ready, Shay was finished with Lance’s mini manicure and base coat, and picked out a rich shade of softly metallic bronze. It was subtle against his skin, but like good makeup, it would enhance rather than distract. Rachel got to work on Keith’s hair, sectioning and rolling while Shay worked on Lance. They talked about the insanity Fashion Week would be and how exhausted they’d be by the end of it.
“Hey, at least you don’t have to go to all the parties and events like we do,” Lance said.
“No, we just have to make sure your asses look good,” Shay shot back.
“That’s just you,” Rachel said, referring to Shay’s primary job as a stylist, “I don’t have to worry about that, only their hair.”
“Hunk has one of the hardest jobs of the week, even more than us,” Keith mused, “As the Technical Lead, it’s on him if anything goes wrong on that end.”
“Yeah, good point. You guys and Shiro have to make us look good in person, Matt and Pidge have to make us look good in print, but for the shows, it’s all Hunk,” Lance agreed.
Shay finished with the bronze and turned the nail dryer on. “Hunk runs a really tight crew. I don’t think he’s ever had a major problem with a runway show.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way.”
The rollers would have to stay in for a while, so when Rachel was done, Keith and Lance switched places. After Keith’s mini manicure, Shay picked a rich gold for him. It wouldn’t be quite as subtle as Lance’s color was on him, but it also wouldn’t be a distraction from whatever it was that he would be wearing. Rachel was putting things away after checking the time and realizing they would have to leave for the Krell Estate soon. Shay was able to get Lance’s top coat done, but Keith’s would have to wait until they got to the shoot.
“You’d better be fucking careful,” she said, pointing at him.
“When have I not?” he defended himself.
Keith borrowed one of Lance’s oversized zippered hoodies, the giant hood covering the oh-so-fashionable rollers. They separated at the ground floor, Rachel and Shay heading off to Rachel’s car, Lance fully aware that he would be driving to the shoot so Keith could focus on not fucking up his hair and nails so Rachel and Shay wouldn’t murder him. The Montilla-Herrera siblings played car tag all the way to the Krell estate, Lance victoriously announcing his win over his sister when they parked. Keith laughed at his Alpha’s antics while Shay just shook her head with an amused smile and went off in search of her boyfriend.
The massive front doors of the mansion were wide open, the sounds of the chaos of a photoshoot being set up coming from inside. When they were about halfway to the doors, what looked like at least half of Hunk’s crew emerged with lighting and extension cords.
“Looks like we’re shooting outside then,” Lance said.
“S’too cold for this shit,” Keith grumbled. He was not at all looking forward to being out in the February chill in an evening gown. They didn’t know exactly what they would be wearing, but he never had his hair done like that if he wasn’t going to be the one in more feminine dress.
“Well, I’m going to assume Coran wants some sunset shots, so it won’t be for too long,” his Alpha reasoned.
“Fuck, I hope so.”
Once they got inside, Rachel dragged Keith off to where Coran directed them, Lance trailing along behind. Shay found Hunk moving road cases of equipment around with his crew, and he confirmed that Coran wanted some outdoor shots, but it looked like most of it would be in the ballroom. Knowing that there would be outdoor shots, she hurried off to find the dressing areas. One of the stylist assistants finished with Keith’s nails, leaving the top coat to dry while Rachel got started taking the rollers out. Keith watched her in the mirror, his hair turning into a fluffy mass of loose curls. It didn’t look like much then, it actually looked like a total mess, but he knew Rachel would work her magic and turn it into something literally runway-worthy. While she worked, Shiro came in, followed by his boyfriend Adam.
“Hey, Shiro. Adam? The fuck are you doing here?” he asked, hissing when Rachel pulled on the curl she was unwinding from the curler to put his head back back into place.
“Since this is all so last-minute, I volunteered to tag along as the set gopher,” Adam said, shrugging slightly, hands in his pockets.
“Not just an excuse to harass my cousin at work, then?” Keith glanced up, careful not to move this time.
“Listen here you little shit –” he started teasingly.
“Keith, where’s Lance? I should get started on one of you,” Shiro interrupted.
“Not a fucking clue. I got dragged over here as soon as we walked in. I didn’t see where he went,” Keith said.
Lance had wandered over to where Shay was looking over their outfits for the shoot. She was good, and made sure he couldn’t see anything before it was time. Part of the email Coran had sent told her to not let Lance see what Keith would be in. He wanted it to be a surprise for the Alpha so his reaction could be caught on camera. Shay had already seen the two gowns her Omega friend would be wearing, and knew Lance’s reaction would be priceless. His own outfits he was allowed to see. She brought the first out, a silk/wool blend black tux with a royal blue silk waistcoat and black crossover bowtie.
“Ooh, I like it,” he said, flipping through the hangars holding all of the suit’s components.
Shay hummed in agreement. “Yeah, blue’s a really good color on you. Just wait until you see the other one.”
Lance perked up. “There’s another one?”
“There is,” she confirmed, then pulled the other garment bag from the rack, unwrapping the second tux.
This one was silk velvet in a rich black, and pure decadence. It had the same style crossover tie in black, and a waistcoat in the same pattern as the blue but in a rich gold. Lance abandoned the first one on the rack and ran his fingers over the ridiculously soft fabric of the second. It felt unbelievably soft under his hands and he could only imagine what it would feel like wearing it. He was interrupted by Shiro walking in while talking with Adam.
“…so that’ll be your main job tonight,” Shiro was saying.
“Yeah, I think I manage that,” Adam responded with a chuckle.
“Hey, Shiro,” Lance said.
“You ready for me?” he asked in return, not waiting for an answer before turning to Shay. “I’m stealing him for makeup. I’ll give him back when I’m done.”
“Have fun with that. I’ve got to get Keith’s outfits set up,” she said, shooing them out of her workspace.
Lance followed Shiro to where he would be handling makeup for them both that night. Dropping into the chair, Lance sighed. They hadn’t even started shooting yet and he was already tired. It was just after 3 in the afternoon, but they had only found out about the shoot at 10:30 that morning and he and Keith had been going nonstop since then getting ready. Not to mention the incident at Lionscastle. He was sure it was going to have an impact on his skin. It then surprised him when Shiro barely bothered with concealer except for a very light touch. Once concealer, highlighter, contour, and foundation were done, Shiro surprised him again by pulling out one of his more dramatic eyeshadow palettes.
Lance’s brows furrowed in confusion. “That for me?”
“Yeah, Coran wants glam and drama. You’re not going to be quite as dramatic as Keith will, but he still wants it,” Shiro said, setting up his brushes.
As usual, Lance barely recognized himself when Shiro was done, finishing his work with setting spray. The highlighter and contour had altered his bone structure, making his cheekbones more defined and softening his sharp jawline. He had a barely there touch of finely glittering matte lipstick that matched his skin tone, the superfine glitter a dark gold. It was the same color family as the eyeshadow – shades of rich golds and bronze, a perfect hair’s breadth line of bronze eyeliner making his blue eyes look almost inhuman. The overall effect was that of a faery prince or forgotten god.
“Fuck, Shiro,” Lance breathed.
The other Alpha chuckled. “Good to know you like it. Adam, I’m done here, babe.”
Adam stood, slipping his phone in his pocket. “All right. Clothes time.”
Lance arched an eyebrow. “You my personal escort for the night?”
“Coran wants your unfiltered reaction to Keith on camera, so you’re not allowed to see him at all until then,” Shiro explained.
“Huh. Ok then,” he said and followed Adam back to Shay.
Shay gasped when he walked in. “Oh my god, Lance, you're so pretty!”
“Are you implying that I'm not always pretty?” he challenged playfully.
She just rolled her eyes and handed him the first garment bag. “Go get dressed.”
The blue and black tux fit like it was made for him. There was a distinct possibility that it had been, Coran had his measurements on file. Shay adjusted the crossover bowtie when he came out of the changing area, tucking the ends into the waistcoat. When she was done, he walked over to the full-length mirror, seeing the nearly finished product for the first time. It was perfect. The only thing missing was a visit to his sister, where she would put the finishing touches on the transformation he’d undergone. Lance was pretty sure he wouldn’t recognize himself when he saw end result in print. He’d just have to take it on faith that it was actually him. If he looked like this now, he couldn’t wait to see what Coran had in store for his Omega.
Shay and Rachel’s spaces were directly next to each other, so Lance wasn’t sure how he managed to not see Keith, but somehow he didn’t. Coran must have been really serious about them not seeing each other. Rachel sat him down, hooking her chin over her brother’s shoulder.
“You look unreal,” she said, “Like, you always look flawless for shoots, it’s kinda our job, but this is something else. I can’t wait to see what Shay and Shiro do with Keith. His hair’s perfect, if I do say so myself.”
Lance snorted. “You would. But yeah, this is – I don’t even know what this is. Coran really pulled out all the stops for this one.”
Rachel stood, retrieving a small jar of a weightless pomade. After thinly coating her hands with it, she ran it through his hair, finger combing the chocolate locks back. When she was satisfied with her work, she walked around to the front, artistically pulling out a couple strands, giving him an imperfectly-perfect look.
“Dammit, Rach, how the fuck are you so good at this?” he asked when she finished the styling off with hairspray and stepped out of the way of the mirror.
“I did go to school for this, y’know. That and hundreds of hours of experience with you and countless other models,” she reminded him.
Before Lance could respond, the man himself came bursting in.
“Oh! You’re finished! Excellent. Flawless as always. Although I expect no less from one of the faces of my brand,” Coran said without greeting.
“Hi, Coran,” Lance said, used to Coran’s flamboyant personality.
“So, we’ll be starting outside,” he continued, leading Lance away from the relative safety of his sister, “And I want you at the bottom of the stairs. Don’t hold back with your reactions. I want all of that on camera. This may be formalwear, but I want real emotions, real reactions. We’ll do the usual glamour shots as well, but I want your real relationship to shine through. Got all that?”
“I wake up to the most stunning, perfect boyfriend in the world every day. If Keith’s transformation is even a fraction of what you planned for me, I won’t be able to hold it in. I think he’s beautiful bare-faced, half asleep, and wearing only one of my old t-shirts in the morning. Everything else is a bonus.”
“I don’t think I've ever heard a model understand fashion that well before.” Coran’s voice was soft, the opposite of his earlier volume and enthusiasm. “Clothes, hair, makeup – they exist to enhance what’s already there. There’s a reason I wanted someone who didn’t fit the narrow guidelines of a typical supermodel for my new collection. I wanted to show that clothes aren’t only for one body type. You and Keith aren’t what’s generally expected of Alphas and Omegas. And as long as next week goes well, which I fully expect it to, you're both seasoned professionals, I think I’ll be extending your contracts as the faces of Oriande.”
Lance was stunned. The models chosen as the face of a label only lasted in that position for a season, maybe a year, to always show a fresh face. Coran was saying that he wanted Lance and Keith to continue to represent him and his label for longer than usual.
“I – I, um,” he stumbled.
“Ah, don’t worry about it now. You think on it, and let me know after next week.” Coran patted his arm, leaving him at the bottom the grand entrance.
The Holt siblings were taking test shots of the doors and front of the building, Hunk’s crew adjusting the lighting at their direction and under Hunk’s close supervision. They were just finishing with their adjustments when the huge front doors opened. Matt and Pidge were already snapping away, wanting to capture the second Keith walked out and Lance’s reaction. Even if Coran hadn’t told Lance that his unfiltered reaction was what he wanted, he was going to get it anyway. The first gown of the shoot was liquid gold, the obscenely deep neckline of the low-backed bodice half-wrapping around Keith’s slim waist, the columnar skirt skimming over the curve of his hips, flowing down into the fishtail pooling around his feet. Accessories were at a minimum, a pair of lace-like gold cuffs the only jewelry. His soft black hair was up, falling in loose curls to his shoulders, normally fluffy fringe pinned back, hiding its existence. And if Lance had thought that his own makeup was pure magic, it was nothing compared to what Shiro had done with Keith. The main focus was on his violet eyes, eyeshadow in deep red and gold, a line of gold eyeliner at his bottom lash line and Shiro’s trademark razor sharp wings in black. The hint of gold eyeliner did for Keith what the bronze did for Lance – made the natural purple stand out, even against the red. It could have looked like a mess, but Shiro was better than that, the two shades brought together by the gold. The whole look pulled together by a touch of garnet lip stain. Lance felt like he was falling in love all over again, and it showed. And as awestruck as Lance was with Keith, Keith was just as stunned by Lance, the Omega’s eyes lighting up, parted lips widening slightly into a surprised smile.
Matt and Pidge continued capturing the moment, even as Lance ascended the steps to meet Keith halfway, extending a hand when he was just within reach. Keith accepted it, his touch soft, liquid skirt flowing down the stairs behind him. When they got to the bottom, Shay ran in, arranging the skirt’s fishtail before the Holts continued. After a few more pictures, Matt called for a change of backdrop. Hunk and his crew began moving the lighting, and Pidge snapped one more picture when Lance leaned in for a brief kiss, capturing the private moment. Soon it became too dark to continue, and the pair were whisked away inside to change for the ballroom portion of the shoot. Lance’s velvet second tux also fit like a glove, neither the texture of the velvet or shade of gold overpowering anything else.
Again, he was left to wait for Keith’s entrance. He genuinely wondered how Coran could possibly top the spaghetti-strapped liquid gold his Omega had been wrapped in before. And again, he didn’t have that long to wait. The ballroom also had an impressive staircase, this one descending from a balcony in one corner of the room. While Keith’s hair and makeup were the same, the gown was anything but. Where the other one had been fluid and sinuous, this one was structured. A tight, glittering gold bodice, high-necked with one long sleeve, the other arm bare save for the gold hand flower, flowed into a bodice and skirt that gathered across his tight abs, coming together across one hip. The skirt was a tight, floor-length pencil skirt, a hidden deep vent in the back making walking possible. That vent was hidden by the voluminous gold train, wrapping his hips and leaving only the front of the sparkling skirt exposed. He looked positively regal, every last inch the Princesa Lance called him.
This time, he let Keith descend the stairs unaided, waiting for him at the foot, Matt and Pidge capturing everything. Lance was well aware that he was wearing his emotions on the outside, and so was Keith. The look they shared was like seeing each other for the first time. Coran, the set crew, lighting and equipment, Matt and Pidge, none of them existed in that moment. As far as Lance was concerned, they were the only two in the world.
Notes:
Keith’s first outfit:
Crop top
Hoodie
Pants
BootsLance’s first outfit
Cropped hoodie
Skirt
BootsLance’s formalwear
Blue waistcoat
Gold waistcoat
Crossover tieKeith’s formalwear
First gown
Second gown
Eyeshadow (video)Greetings, my critters! This is late, and I am so sorry, but I got way too into researching their clothes and Keith's makeup than I probably (definitely) should have for a one shot. Oh well. Next one should be up on time. Magic au!!! I love magic aus.
Anyway, leave a comment to let me know if you like this one!
Come visit my nest-lair, I mean, my Tumblr
~Corvus
Chapter 7: 15. Paranormal/Magic - Curses
Summary:
15 Paranormal/Magic AU – Curses
Rating: T
Tags: Keith/Lance
Keith, Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Shiro, Shay, Matt, Adam, Allura
Omega Lance, Alpha Keith, Beta Pidge, Beta Hunk, Alpha Shiro, Beta Shay, Alpha Matt, Omega Adam, Omega Allura, background Adashi, Background Hunay, the Broganes are step-Broganes Magic AU, Writer Lance, Artist Keith, Mentioned mpreg, Referenced future mpreg, Bit of a cliffhanger maybe, Open ending, Kinda dialogue heavy, Getting together
Summary: On the morning of his 25th birthday, a small box appears at Lance’s front door. He had no way of knowing the chain of events that would unfold after that, or what it would mean not only for himself, but for everyone he loved
Group Chat
Lance (Elf Bard) – Leodan/NomdeLance
Keith (Tabaxi Ranger) – Shadow/ArtistofChaos
Pidge (Kenku Artificer) - Tinker
Hunk (Firbolg Cleric) – Ashwillow
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Lance had always been told he was special. His mother told him that, his grandmother, all three of his aunts. They all said the same thing. That he was different from others. That he had a spark in him that few others had. When he was little, he didn’t understand what it meant, dismissing it in the way only a child can. When he reached his teens, and they continued to tell him the same thing, he figured they possibly meant it academically. He'd always been a pretty good student. They hadn’t stopped when he got into college. And even now, just before his 25th birthday, they were still telling him that he had a rare gift. A spark. At that point, he had no idea what they could mean. He was still close to the tight-knit group of best friends he’d had in high school. And yeah, staying close to high school friends wasn’t too common, but it wasn’t something that warranted calling his knack for keeping good friends a spark. And the worst part was that they never elaborated when pressed. They just smiled and said that he’d understand one day.
When he woke on the morning of his birthday, there was a soft knock at his front door and a small, nondescript brown box sitting outside his apartment. It was wrapped in old, thick paper, still soft and pliant despite its apparent age. He almost opened it before catching the handwritten note on the box’s top.
Do not open until the hour of your birth.
For a reason he couldn’t explain, Lance wanted to see what was inside right then. But the note requested he wait, so he put the box away in the side board in his small dining room and tried to forget about it until the specified time. Unfortunately, the “hour of his birth” was 11:59 pm. Only one minute away from the next day. That meant that he had the entire day to wonder what was in that box. He tried not to think about it over breakfast, but he found his thoughts drifting back to it, and his family’s words. Maybe it had something to do with him being the first male Omega in the family in several generations. It wasn’t like male Omegas were any more rare than female Omegas, just that his family didn’t seem to produce any until him. Not for several generations, anyway. The last one they knew about had been almost 400 years earlier, when the de Nevarra line, his mother’s line, was still in Spain. He wasn’t sure if the women in his family didn’t know what had happened or if they just wouldn’t tell him, but he had no idea why there hadn’t been any more male Omegas in his mother’s line since then. And, as the first since the 1600s, he officially carried his ancestor’s name of Leandro.
Nursing his second cup of Irish breakfast tea, Lance finally checked his phone for the first time that day. As he expected, he had text notifications from siblings, cousins, and his three best friends. The texts from his cousins were a little generic, but the sentiment was still there. The ones he got from his four siblings were exactly what he expected, all sass and making fun of him for being a year older. Joke was on them, as he reminded them in the McClain-Nevarra sibling chat, since he was the youngest of them all. He saved the messages from his friends for last. They had named their group chat “Chaos isn’t an Alignment, it’s a Way of Life” in high school in honor of their weekly D&D game. Lance and his friends – Keith, Hunk, and Pidge – formed the chat to plot behind their DM’s back (Pidge’s older brother Matt), something they still did. Keith’s stepbrother Shiro played occasionally as well, along with Shiro’s boyfriend (now bonded mate) Adam, but they weren’t regular players like the rest of them.
Chaos isn’t an Alignment, it’s a Way of Life
Tinker: HBD!! don’t forget we’re coming over tonight
Ashwillow: Happy birthday, buddy! we’ll be there around 6
Shadow: Happy birthday, Lance. Shiro and Adam say so too. I have a – nm, I’ll dm you
Tinker: oh right. Matt says hbd too
ArtistofChaos > NomdeLance
ArtistofChaos: you mind if I head over a little early? like 4?
NomdeLance: course not. why? what’s up?
ArtistofChaos: I got hit with this idea for a painting, and it wouldn’t go away until I did something about it, and I have no clue where the inspiration came from, but it felt like you should have it. and I can’t even figure out a way to explain what it is, you just have to see it
NomdeLance: I, um – ok. you ok? this isn’t like you
ArtistofChaos: I think so? it’s just weird. you know how I work. usually with planning and notes and preliminary sketches before I even think about putting a brush to canvas or paper. but this one just happened. sketched directly onto the watercolor paper, cleaned up, and painted. all in one afternoon. I have never done that
NomdeLance: seriously. not even back in high school. I know my Mami wants to see me some time around 12, but I'm ahead of schedule on work, and I'm taking all of today off so I’ll be here
ArtistofChaos: ok :)
Lance typed out a response, but deleted it before he could hit send. He’d very nearly almost confessed his long-standing crush on one of his best friends. Seriously, who the fuck did he think he was kidding. That crush had long since developed into being completely in love. Not that he’d ever tell Keith that. He was calming himself down from his near-confession with a long sip of his tea when there was a soft knock at the door. By the time he crossed his living room and opened the front door for the second time that day, whoever had knocked was gone. Instead, a small envelope in the same aged paper as the box lay on the floor. It had no name, no address, either his or the sender’s. He brought it inside and into the kitchen, using the letter opener his mother insisted he have on the envelope. The once-folded paper inside was written in the same hand as the box, the only message a name, an address, and a single sentence.
Allura Oriande
137 Arus Lane
Go; it will be more than worth it.
Lance had a vague idea of where Arus Lane was. He knew it was close to Altea’s Old Wharf District, but not precisely where. Checking the time, he realized it was still relatively early, only 9 in the morning, and decided to go. It was an odd feeling. Something settling into his bones that this was where he needed to be. That whoever Allura Oriande was, they would know why he needed to be there. He took the time to clean up after breakfast and find his cat Blue to tell her that he’d be back. She chirped and purred, nuzzling his hand before curling up in the sun for a nap.
Through a combination of GPS and keeping a sharp eye out for street signs, Lance found 137 Arus Lane. He’d had to park around the corner as the street was barely wide enough for a single small car to pass through, let alone park. The narrow lane was more alley than street and paved in cobblestone, the tight, slightly curved row of colonial houses looking old enough to be authentic, and some of them probably were. 137 definitely looked old enough. When he stepped up to the door, it opened before he could knock. The woman in front of him, who he could only assume was Allura, was stunningly beautiful and didn’t look much older than him. She was barefoot and wearing a black, lightweight hippie skirt with a faded deep blue peasant top, the fluttering ends of the cinched sleeves barely brushing her dark forearms. But what struck him the most about her, besides her flawless skin only a few shades darker than his own, were three things: she had tailbone length, free flowing silvery white curls, held back by two strands twisted behind her head, the startling bright aqua of her eyes, and the odd, wide V-shaped pink tattoos on her cheekbones.
“Leandro,” Allura said without greeting or introduction, “I've been waiting for you. Please, come in.” Her accent also surprised him, the soft voice distinctly English. But her serene smile was genuine, and he instinctively felt safe with her, following her inside without hesitation.
The room she led him to was full of old wood and natural light. A curl of smoke rose from the incense stick left smoldering, its scent one that Lance couldn’t identify. She sat at a round table covered in black cloth, a violet velvet bag in its center, and motioned for him to take the seat opposite her. When he sat, she took the bag from the table and pulled out a deck of cards, slightly larger than a playing deck. The antique gold diamond pattern interspersed with blue, red, black, green, and a gold a slightly different shade from the background gave no indication of what the cards might be. She shuffled them without a word, then placed the deck in front of him.
“All I need is for you to cut the deck, and we may begin,” she said.
It felt like a ritual in and of itself, something crucial to the proceedings, although he understood none of it. But he did as she asked, lifting the top half of the deck, placing it on the table, and making the bottom half of the deck the top. She took it, laying the cards out face down in an intricate pattern. When she was done, she lay the rest of the deck, still face down, on top of the velvet bag on a tiny side table beside her that he hadn’t noticed before. Had it even been there? She turned the first card over, its face unlike anything he’d seen before. He knew what tarot cards looked like. He’d used them for reference in his latest short story, soon to be published, Keith kept a deck on hand for artistic reference for his paintings. But these weren’t any tarot cards he’d ever seen. Instead of the Major and Minor Arcana he knew, there were constellations, ones he’d also never seen. She looked at the card, an emotion flitting across her face that he couldn’t identify.
“I was not expecting this,” Allura said, the surprise evident in her voice. She looked up at him before continuing. “There are others around you. Others like you, although they do not know it. They will.”
He had no idea what she could be talking about, but waited, wondering what her unique cards would tell her. She turned the next one, this card featuring a mediaeval-style lion, a golden crown on its head.
“Family. Your ancestors, your blood, and the family you’ve made. You will have need of them all.”
She continued on in the same way, turning over cards and telling him things that were either cryptic like the first two cards, telling of circles and the “others like him”, or things he already knew about himself like the card featuring a sword crossed with a pink three-petaled lily that somehow told her that he was a writer. After Allura turned over the fifth card, she stopped. The image on the card was of a dirt road or path cutting through an empty field, the night sky an inky black. At the top of the image, a single bright, tightly interwoven 5-pointed star shone, illuminating the end of the path.
“There is someone around you. Someone you care for a great deal.” Her aqua eyes flicked up to meet his, a glint of understanding in them. “An Alpha.”
Lance shifted uncomfortably. No one knew how he really felt about Keith, so how did she?
“Not to worry. Your feelings are not unrequited,” she said and went back to the cards, turning the next one. It showed a carpet of wildflowers in full bloom against a midnight blue sky. “Oh. Oh I see.”
He couldn’t break his silence, feeling like his tongue was locked, but he burned with curiosity.
It seemed that Allura felt it and looked up, an amused sort of smile quirking her lips. “Well, I did say that your feelings for this Alpha are not unrequited. You’ll be carrying his child before a year is up.”
Lance tried to form a response, but couldn’t. There was no way. There was no way that not only did Keith feel the same way about him but that they would be together and expecting their first pup before his next birthday. That was far too much to wrap his head around. He focused again on the cards and her long fingers turning the next one over. A trio of deep red roses in an upturned triangle sat in the center. “And again. He loves you as much as you love him. He has for some time.”
As Lance tried to process what he was being told, Allura turned the next card. It depicted an hourglass, the sand held unmoving at the top, with a key laid horizontally beneath it. Her interpretation felt like the most direct one yet.
“This one,” she said, tapping the card with an elegant finger, “This is a tricky card. It can mean many things. But here, in combination with the others so far, it indicates that this is your time, and you will be the key to unlocking your companions’ traits.”
There was only one card left, and she froze when she turned it, the card slipping to the table. The woven gold pentagram in the center of the solid black background was bound in fine silver chains. Allura stared at it, as if willing the image to change. When it didn’t, she shook her head, coming back to herself.
“I'm sorry. I wasn’t expecting this. Although perhaps I should have. You – you will be the one to break the curse. I’m sorry, I can’t tell you any more than that. It’s not my story to tell. Just know that it is a very old curse, one that has existed for centuries without an answer. I’m sorry, Liliana will tell you more.”
Lance started. My mother? She knows my mother?
She nodded as if she’d heard his thought. “I do. You’ll be seeing her today. Tell her she needs to come see me. It’s been far too long. In fact, I believe she’s waiting for you.”
He checked his phone and found that he’d been there for nearly three hours. It felt like only minutes since he’d first arrived. And it was true that his Mamá had told him to be there at about noon, although he had no idea how Allura knew about this. She stood, extending her hands across the table. Lance rose as well, and let his hands settle into hers. A thoughtful look crossed her face and she smiled.
“You are a special one, aren’t you?” she said, more an observation than a question.
But there was that word again. Special. The one he’d been hearing all his life. And now he was hearing it again from a woman he’d only just met.
Allura let go of him, gently gesturing to the door across the room. “Now that we’ve met officially, I do hope I’ll be seeing you again. And please tell your mother to come by soon.”
Still feeling as though he couldn’t speak, he simply nodded hesitantly once, following her to the front door of the house. Before he crossed the threshold, Allura stopped him, pressing something into his hand. When he looked, there was an old key, small enough to fit within his palm, in a dark aged gold. Without thinking, he slipped it into the pocket of his jeans.
“You’ll need this later. Take care, Leandro. This is a big day for you.”
He stepped out into the narrow street, never hearing the door close behind him, but he knew when it had; he felt like his tongue had unlocked and he could finally speak again.
“What in the actual fuck was that?” he asked himself as he walked back to his car. Once there, he pulled up his mother’s number, dropping his phone in the center console while the call connected.
“Mijo, there you are. I was beginning to wonder if you forgot,” he heard his mother’s voice say.
“Yeah, I, um, this morning’s been weird. First there was a tiny box that said not to open it until tonight, then a letter with just a name and an address, and for whatever fucking reason, I went, and now I have a message for you to come here cuz she misses you.”
Liliana laughed, full and loud. “I’m sorry, it’s not funny, but it is. You met Allura. She can take some getting used to. But she’s right. It has been too long since I've seen her. I’m sure she still hasn’t aged a day.”
“She doesn’t look much older than me,” Lance said, slightly confused.
“She is. I don’t even know how old she really is. You know I don’t like you driving and talking, but you’re telling me everything when you get here. Her readings are always interesting.”
“Mami, you’re on speaker. It isn’t any different than if you were sitting beside me.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll see you when you get here.”
Lance sighed. “Ok. Bye, Mami.” He reached over, ending the call without taking his eyes off the road.
Twenty minutes later, he pulled into his parents’ driveway. Liliana was waiting for him in her favorite antique rocking chair on the front porch, but rose and met her youngest child at the steps when she saw him coming up the walkway. She barely had a chance to wrap him up in a hug before he was pulling away.
“She said something about a curse, that you knew about it, and that you’d tell me. What is going on? First the box, then the letter, which led me to Allura and that weird tarot reading, and now some curse that you apparently know about that I don’t,” he said, confusion pulling his brows together.
Liliana rubbed his arm. “Inside,” she said, “I wasn’t expecting her to tell you about that.”
She took her time making tea, his favorite soft lemon cookies already waiting. When she was done, she set the cup of black Earl Grey in front of him, settling down with her own honeyed chamomile beside him at the round kitchen table. She took a long sip of the scalding infusion before answering.
“It’s true that there’s a curse on our family. It was put on our ancestor and your namesake. No one quite knows the circumstances, only that, starting with him, the line was cursed to not produce any male Omegas until a very specific celestial alignment took place. And it finally did. At 11:59 pm, July 28th, 25 years ago today. But that was only part of the curse. The rest comes now. Or, it will tonight. You put that box somewhere safe, right?”
“Yeah. It’s in the side board in my dining room. Why? What’s in it?”
Liliana considered for a moment. “I…can’t tell you. But as long as it’s safe. Try to make sure your friends stay when you open it. It’s important.”
Lance looked at his mother sideways. “Yeah, Allura said something like that. That there were others around like me. Specifically around me. And that they didn’t know it yet.”
“It’s true. I saw it in them years ago. What else did Allura tell you?”
Lance thought about that question over his tea. Allura had told him more than a few things. “She knew that I’m a writer. Not really sure how, though. She said that I’ll need family. Didn’t say what for.” He squirmed again in his seat, feeling awkward about the three separate cards that concerned Keith and Lance’s feelings for him.
Liliana knew her son’s body language very well. “What is it, mijo? You’re doing that thing you do when you're uncomfortable with something.”
“She – she told me that there’s an Alpha around me that I like, and that I shouldn’t worry because it’s not unrequited.”
For the second time that day, his mother laughed. “You mean Keith? Oh, baby, I’ve known about you two for years. I’ve always wondered when one of you was going to say something.”
“What?! What do you mean you knew?” he yelled, nearly spitting his tea.
“You’re not subtle. And neither is he. You two just can’t see it. He loves you. And not just as a friend. What else did she say?”
Lance mumbled the part about him being pregnant within a year into his cup.
“I’m sorry, what was all that?”
“I said,” Lance sighed, “That in between telling me that Keith likes me too, that it was fine because I’d be pregnant before a year. That part has to be bullshit. There’s no way.”
Liliana hummed. “I don’t know. It could certainly happen. But you didn’t have your entire first reading from Allura all about your love life.”
“No. She said that I’m ‘the key to unlocking my friends’ traits’. She also said that I’d be the one to break the curse. What’s the other part of this thing anyway?”
“Well, you know that the 17th century was a big time for witch hunts. Something happened. It started slowly, earlier than that somewhere in the 15th century. Magic is real, but what it is now is a pale shadow of what it once was. Sometime in the 1400s, around the time the witch hunts started, magic began to fade. Some witches just lost their power, pups were born to witch parents with no connection to magic. It continued until the end of the 1600s, when it finally stopped, but the world – our world – was never the same. What’s left of magic has always been strongest in the Omegas of our family, which, of course, includes you. Usually whatever aptitude we have shows itself earlier than this, but when I asked Allura about it years ago, she told me not to worry, that your connection was there and that it would simply take more time than usual. It seems that it’s time now.”
Lance was left to absorb yet more impossible information while Liliana started lunch for them both. She had felt that the usual family gathering would be too much this year, and she was right. She watched Lance from across the kitchen as he mentally sifted through his day, and saw him processing everything he’d heard and seen. It was a lot, she knew that, and not exactly believable. Magic was real, there was a curse on the Nevarra family, Lance was the key to breaking it, and also somehow the catalyst to restoring magic to the world. Not to mention the part where his friends were somehow like him as well. And then there was the part about Keith. Of everything he’d experienced so far on his 25th birthday, that one was one he was having a particular problem wrapping his head around. Not once in the thirteen years he’d known Keith had he ever noticed anything like that, and even looking back on it now, he still couldn’t see it.
By the time he was finished with lunch with Liliana, he needed to get back to his apartment. He was halfway there when he remembered the key in his pocket. He’d wanted to ask his mother about it, but he wasn’t going to turn around. Whatever it was, he’d probably know sooner rather than later. It was 3pm when he finally walked through his front door, Blue there to greet him as though he'd abandoned her for a week to fend for herself. When he bent down to greet her, she slipped past his hands to bat at his pocket, right where the key was. He scooped her up, the pure white shorthair turning to purring liquid, and pulled the key out. It hadn’t changed at all since he’d gotten it from Allura, but now that he was in his sun-drenched apartment as opposed to the shadowy lane, he could see the thing much more clearly. Still in the same antique color he’d seen it before, it looked like it was actually a solid gold skeleton key, odd lines and swirls he hadn’t seen before carved into the shaft. Used to it, he didn’t pay any attention to Blue climbing his shirt to settle herself around his shoulders, he was too invested in the key. Without thinking, he wandered into the dining room, putting the key on the same shelf as the box.
There was still some time before Keith would be there, and Lance could never leave well enough alone, so he decided to go over the short story he’d written for an upcoming anthology before sending it off to his editor. He wouldn’t have done it at all, except that his literary agent had practically insisted, despite the fact that she knew he was in the middle of writing his third novel – thanks for that, Nyma. He let himself get lost in the over-fine-tuning of a 15,000-word short story, not realizing how much time had passed until there was a knock at the door. He closed his laptop and went to let Keith in.
“Hey, Lance,” Keith said as he came in carrying one of his larger portfolios. He started when Blue reached out with a perfectly white paw from her spot on Lance’s shoulders to bat at his hair. “Fuck. Sorry, Blue, didn’t even see you.” He dutifully greeted the queen of the house with head scritches, which she rewarded with her motorboat purr.
In the dining room, Keith laid the portfolio down, unzipping it all the way and flipping the top back. Past the broken in black leather and the heavy tissue paper lay the watercolor painting he’d tried to describe over text that morning. Lance gasped and nearly choked. Like everything else that came out of Keith’s studio, it was beautiful work, but that wasn’t the only thing that got that reaction from Lance. It was the subject matter. A field of wildflowers bisected by a dirt path that led to a rich night sky, a golden five-pointed star hung at the top of that sky, dripping liquid stardust onto an upturned triangle of three red roses between star and land, all bound by parchment-like ribbons of scrolls highlighted by antique shades of black, red, blue, green, and gold. Lance stood in shock, the combination of cards that told Allura of his potential love life laid out in front of him, painted by the object of his affection.
The reaction definitely didn’t go unnoticed.
“Lance? You ok?” Keith asked.
“I…uh…yeah. I, um, I'm fine. It’s beautiful, just like everything else you’ve done. I, um, I need to explain something, and you have to promise to hear me out,” Lance rambled.
Keith knew that if Lance had trouble verbalizing, it meant that it was especially important. “Ok. What’s going on, and what does it have to do with this?”
Lance led the way back to the living room, dropping onto one end of the couch, Blue abandoning him for her favorite windowsill. Keith stretched out on the other end and waited for Lance to start.
“Ok. So, I've had a really fucking weird day today. It started with finding this small box just outside my door with a note that says not to open it until the actual time I was born, so, just before midnight. Then, there was a letter, except that it only had a name and an address –”
“Please don’t tell me you went there,” Keith interrupted.
“I did go, but it’s not what you think, whatever that is. It was this woman. Beautiful, if a little weird. Anyway, she brings me to this room with incense going and a round table covered in a black cloth, and there’s this purple velvet bag in the middle. That turns out to be a deck of cards, but after she lays them all out, and then turns the first one over – they are nothing like the tarot cards we’ve seen. I don’t know what these are, but she can read them no problem.”
Despite his initial worry over his best friend going to see someone he’d never met, Lance now had his undivided attention. “So what did she say?” he asked.
“First, that I have others around me that are like me but they don’t know it yet. One weird card that had a sword crossed with a pink lily somehow told her that I'm a writer. She said that I would be the one to unlock the ‘traits’ of the people-around-like-me-but-don’t-know-it, that I’ll need my family – which included ancestors, my actual family, and I'm guessing you guys since she said that family included the one I've made. There was something about a circle. Oh, and apparently I’m breaking a curse.”
Keith blinked at him a few times before responding. “That sounds like a total load of bullshit.”
“Yeah, I thought so too at first. The writer thing was a little weird, kinda too accurate for someone I've never met, but part of what made me believe her was that I couldn’t speak the entire time I was there. Not like some rule or anything, I mean I literally couldn’t talk. It felt like my tongue was locked. But those weren’t the only things she said that made me believe her. I’m still not quite sure what to make of the other part, especially after your painting.”
“What does that have anything to do with it?”
“This is where I really need you to hear me out. Ok, in between all this, there were these three cards. The first one was an empty field and a night sky. The field had a road or path cutting through it with a five-pointed star in gold at the top. The next one was a field of wildflowers against a dark blue sky. The last one had three red roses in an upturned triangle.”
With every description, Keith progressed from a little weirded out, to stunned, to completely shocked. Lance had described all of the components of his painting, one he’d done three days earlier, well before Lance’s odd tarot reading.
“What did those three mean?” he asked, nervous about the answer.
Lance hesitated, picking at his jeans. “The – the first one she said that there was someone around me that I cared for…an Alpha. She then told me that the feeling was returned. The third card said that the Alpha cares about me as much as I do about them and that they have for a long time.”
Keith felt he was right to be nervous. It was all true. He’d been in love with Lance for years, but it never quite felt like the right time – high school graduation, college, getting themselves established in their careers. But the story wasn’t complete. “Wh-what about the second card?” he asked, hoping Lance wouldn’t pick up on his voice shaking.
“She told me that the Alpha loves me and that I’d – what did she say exactly? ‘I did say that your feelings for this Alpha are not unrequited. You’ll be carrying his child before a year is up.’”
Keith choked. “Wait what?!”
“Yeah, that’s what I said. But, that aside, I think you know who she was talking about.”
“Yeah, I think I do. How long?”
Lance breathed a laugh. “Years. Senior year of high school, I think is when I finally realized it? We were getting ready to graduate and go to college and it just didn’t seem like the time for something like that.”
Keith shook his head with a soft smile. “You mean to tell me we both have toxic exes we could have avoided if one of us had just said something?”
“We’re kinda dumb, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, maybe a little. So what now? I don’t think I can pretend we didn’t just have some kind of awkward teenage confession, and I don’t want to.”
“Neither do I. I think we’ve wasted enough time.”
They spent the next two hours talking about everything and nothing, about their years as best friends and how they never noticed the clear physical and emotional attraction the other had for them, about how they were past ready for something more than just being friends, all the while slowly inching towards each other, Lance eventually closing the gap to curl up on Keith’s lap. Lance had the Omega tendency to do those kinds of physical things anyway, and had certainly done them on multiple occasions to Keith in the past, which was why their friends didn’t think it odd when they let themselves in. Lance hadn’t remembered to lock the door after Keith arrived, and had no interest in getting up from where he was snuggled into his newly named boyfriend when Hunk knocked at a few minutes before 6, yelling that the door was open. Pidge had gotten a ride over from Hunk and Shay, and snorted when she saw them curled up on the couch together.
“You’re early,” she said to Keith while following the pair to the kitchen.
“Yeah, we had some things we needed to talk about,” Keith answered somewhat cryptically at the same time as Hunk passed the dining room table and the painting they’d all but forgotten.
“Keith! Is this one of yours?” he called.
“Oh, uh, yeah, it is,” he called back, just as unwilling to move as Lance was.
Pidge wheeled around, turning back toward the living room at the same time as Hunk found the painting. “Hang on. Neither one of you have gotten up yet. What’s going on that I don’t know about?” she asked accusatorily, “This have anything to do with your dm conversation this morning?”
“Sort of?”
“It’s a bit more than ‘sort of’,” Lance said with a laugh.
“The fuck does that mean?” Pidge demanded, pushing on her friends’ feet to make room for herself on the sofa.
“You want to tell her or should I?” Keith asked.
Pidge looked between her two friends, finally registering what was so different. She knew very well that Lance had no real concept of personal space and that he had a habit of draping himself across the nearest person, that was nothing new. Lance and Keith had been best friends before their group came together in high school and the Alpha was often Lance’s snuggle victim. So again, nothing new there. But their body language was different. Half a lifetime of familiarity was joined by a new layer of intimacy that settled over the pair like a favorite blanket. She immediately had an idea of what happened, or at least thought she did.
“Hang on, what’s going on?” Pidge asked, hedging her bets in case she was wrong and her friends being tangled together on the couch didn’t actually have any other meaning.
Lance wrapped an arm around Keith’s waist, snuggling closer. “We decided to stop being stupid, stop dancing around things we’ve kept in for years, and finally get together like we’ve been wanting to do forever.”
“Wait, seriously? I had no idea. But then, it’s not something I’ve ever really paid much attention to.”
“Yeah, seriously,” Keith said softly and for Lance alone at the same time as Pidge whipped around to yell “Hunk! Shay! Get in here!” across the apartment.
Their two other Beta friends walked in, both realizing what had happened with their Alpha and Omega friends far more quickly than Pidge had. Shay’s hands flew to her face but were unable to hide her wide smile.
“Oh my god, are you two…?” she asked.
Lance nodded against Keith’s chest with a smile that wrinkled his nose.
“That’s one prediction down,” Keith said.
All eyes were on him, Lance’s in understanding, but their friends’ in confusion.
“What does that mean?” Hunk asked.
“I, um, I think I should wait until the rest of the crew gets here. It’s something I need to explain to everyone and it’ll be easier to do it all at once.” He let the back of his hand fall to Keith’s chest. “Maybe text Shiro and let him know first so he can tell Adam?”
“Yeah, that’s not a bad idea,” Keith said, pulling his phone out.
Maybe it was being a little overly cautious, but neither one of them wanted to take chances with something like what Lance had to say. At ten weeks pregnant, Adam’s scent had changed a full month earlier, so they knew there was an extremely low chance of miscarriage, but Lance wanted to be safe. As another Omega, he knew he’d appreciate the warning.
Keith sent the text and got an almost immediate response from Adam apologizing for their being late, throwing Matt under the bus for it, and letting him know that they were quite literally around the corner and would be there in a few minutes.
Once Keith had relayed the message, Pidge returned to the conversation. “I get that whatever this is you want us all together first, but I need a little more to go on. What predictions? The fuck does that even mean?”
Lance sighed and sat up, although he stayed firmly in Keith’s personal space. “I don’t want to say too much before everyone gets here, but today has been fucking weird. I’ll explain more later, but I had this sort-of tarot reading from someone my mother knows. I’ve never met her before. Hell, I didn’t even know she existed until today, and my mother hasn’t seen her in years. But she knew about my career choices, which, sure, isn’t hard to find out. And neither is making an out-of-left-field call about my love life, but it wasn’t like a vague comment about finding someone someday. It was a little more specific than that. She knew that we’ve both been sitting on this for years. It’s what made me start to believe the more esoteric parts. And those were backed up later by my mother when I saw her. The rest of this is pretty out there and it’s why I want to wait to do it all at once.”
“Lance, I love you. You know I do. But I’m going to stay skeptical on anything esoteric.”
“I didn’t exactly believe it at first either, but we all know him better than that,” Keith said, sitting up, “Lance saves the fantasy for his books.”
“I – shit – I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean that –” Pidge stumbled.
Lance put a hand up to stop her. “It’s ok. I’m still having a little trouble believing it all.”
The last knock on the front door sounded, and Keith opened the door to Matt making a beeline for the living room and the safety of their friends. Behind the elder Holt were Adam and Shiro arguing.
“I swear to fuck, Takashi,” Adam was saying, “Any more out of you and I’m kicking you out for the night.”
“Well hi to you too,” Keith said, “You ready for this?”
“I am. Not so sure about your brother,” he answered as he passed.
When Shiro got to the door, Keith nearly choked at the overwhelming scent of protective Alpha. “Might want to tone that down a bit.”
“Not you too,” Shiro sighed.
“He’s fine. You know damn well what he’s like. If anything happens, you'll be the first to know. Being all Alpha aggressive is only going to set him off.”
Shiro took a moment out in the hall to compose himself before passing Keith, who closed and locked the door. Tonight was going to be interesting, even without Lance’s odd experiences. Everyone agreed that they didn’t want to weigh down dinner with the what Lance had to tell them. They managed to make it halfway through dessert – Shay’s chocolate caramel cake recipe that not even Hunk knew – before it started.
“There’s something different with you two,” Adam said from his spot at the table between Shiro and Keith. The comment was directed at both his brother-in-law and Lance.
“Maybe a little,” Keith admitted. He reached across the corner of the table to take Lance’s hand.
“Oh thank fuck. You two were as subtle as a brick and about as dense.”
“Y’know, in hindsight, it does make sense. But neither of you ever did anything out of character that way, and we never noticed,” Shay said.
“And that’s the best part. Neither did we,” Lance said, “But that does kinda lead into what I need to talk about.”
Once the dishes were cleared up everyone started moving toward the living room. Lance hung back, stopping in front of the sideboard. He retrieved the box, note, and key before turning to the earthy spiced scent of his boyfriend.
“Everything ok?” Keith asked.
Lance nodded. “Yeah, fine. Just getting these.” He held up the oddities he’d acquired throughout the day.
“As long as you’re ok.”
“Kinda nervous honestly. This is a lot to take in.”
“Well, I believe you, and I’ll be right there.”
Lance wrapped him in a tight hug, Keith sliding his arms around his boyfriend’s slim waist, but they were interrupted by Pidge.
“Don’t really mean to interrupt, but you have some explaining to do,” she said.
Lance dropped his head to Keith’s shoulder. “Yeah.”
They took the only open spots in the living room on the sofa between Pidge and Matt. Hunk and Shay were comfortably curled up together on the love seat by the window, Blue in her bed on the windowsill behind them. Shiro may have been in the oversized armchair, but Adam had claimed his Alpha’s lap for the night and didn’t look like he was interested in moving. Lance sighed and laid the three objects out on the coffee table.
“Ok. It started this morning when I was woken up by someone knocking on the door. When I got there, the hall was empty, except for this.” He nudged the still-wrapped box. “It specifically says not to open it until the actual time I was born, so I have no idea what’s in it. After breakfast, there was another knock and another empty hallway. This time it was a note. Just a name and an address and a single line telling me that it would be worth it. I almost didn’t go. But it felt important. I don’t know how to explain it but everything has felt deliberate today. Like what’s happened is what’s supposed to happen. So I went. It was a woman, and she basically fit every criterion for a modern witch novel. Anyway, she did this card reading. A lot of it didn’t make much sense, and they weren’t any kind of tarot cards I’ve ever seen, but she read them like a book. She saw our relationship being a viable option, from both sides. But there were other things she said. She talked about there being people around like me, and that meant you guys. She said that I’d need family, my own, and again, you. I’m the catalyst for unlocking your traits. And for breaking a curse.
“I was having a hard time believing it, but I called Mama on the way over to her. She confirmed all of it and filled in a few gaps. And you guys know her; she doesn’t lie. She told me that the reason there haven’t been any male Omegas in her side of the family in 400 years is because of a curse on the last one – the one I’m named after, actually – except that no one knows why he was cursed, just that it wouldn’t be broken until a specific celestial alignment. Which happened when I was born. This isn’t the curse I’m breaking, that’s already done. There’s another one. According to Mama, the reason magic isn’t “real” is because of something that happened sometime in the 15th century and continued for almost 200 years. Whatever it was, it made the world’s magic disappear. From what she said, it’s still there, but seriously diluted. That, apparently, is where I come in. And whatever it is that’s going to happen, it’ll be at 11:59 tonight, and I need all of you here for it. I really won’t blame you if you don’t believe me; it sounds like a rough sketch of one of my plot outlines.”
He hadn’t looked up from the contents of the coffee table for the duration of his word vomit, but did when he finished. All seven pairs of eyes were on him, staring like they didn’t doubt a word. No one spoke, but slowly began to look to each other, trading glances and expressions confirming that everyone was on the same page. Keith pulled Lance in, wrapping his arms around him. They all sat quietly, absorbing the info dump Lance had unleashed on them. After a while, he checked the time on the antique clock on the wall. 11:49. Only ten minutes before it would be time to finally open the box. He sat up, suddenly getting the feeling that they would need more floor space than they currently had. Keith, Matt, and Hunk all wordlessly assisted when Lance began pushing the table across the floor.
He picked up the box, fiddling with it until the designated time. At 11:58, Lance crossed the room again, standing in front of the table. Everyone stood, forming a circle in the center of the floor. Lance knew when the minute had on the clock shifted without seeing it. The dark string untied itself at a touch, falling to the floor. Creamy antique paper unfolded like a flower, exposing a carved wood and metal box with a keyhole, but no discernible lid or hinges. He picked up the key, its lines and swirls very faintly glowing in the low light of the room. It fit the keyhole perfectly and turned with an audible click. The carvings rearranged themselves to form a new pattern, one that unfurled to expose several circular pendants. They glowed brightly for a second before disappearing from the box only to reappear on every one of the eight people assembled. Each one shone in a different color. Blue, red, green, silver, gold, bronze, white, violet. Lance’s living room faded from view, their surroundings replaced with a stone chamber, a small circular plinth standing at about chest height for most of them. Its surface was covered in intricate lines, ending in points. They realized they were all standing directly in front of one of those points. Color chased the carved lines, mirroring the colors in the pendants. Those colors pooled at the tips of the points before being absorbed into the pendants. The group of friends and family watched each other take on their colors, their entire forms glowing.
Color rose from the plinth again, but in pink this time. The pink gathered in the points and rose, forming a swirling column. The column coalesced into a human form. Allura stood in the middle of the plinth in a gown of silvery white that spilled over the edges, her marks glowing. She held her arms outstretched at her sides, entire galaxies in her hands. The galaxies grew until they filled the room, stars taking on the eight colors of those gathered. Their light intensified until it was blinding, although it didn’t affect their sight at all. The galaxies burst from the room and into the walls. They felt the racing primal energy spreading not only in themselves but the entire world around them.
When Allura spoke, it was felt rather than heard.
“The curse is broken. Magic is restored. The old ways are new.” She turned, meeting everyone’s gaze. “And I have so much to teach you.”
Notes:
Greetings, critters! This marks the end of Julance 2021! I know, it’s nearly October, but this was giving me hell. I wanted to finish it, so here it is. A little explanation (+ everyone’s colors and Blue):
Allura is the goddess of magic. She was unable to break the curse herself because of its nature and the fact that it heavily suppressed her magic as well. It needed Lance to get the ball rolling.
The curses overlap, the second being something of a safety measure for the first, as the first was prophesied to be broken by a Nevarra male Omega. Allura couldn’t counter it on her own, and may have played a small part in ensuring that Lance was conceived and born at the right time.
Colors:
Lance – Blue
Keith – Red
Pidge – Green
Matt – Silver
Hunk – Gold
Shay – Bronze
Adam – White
Shiro – VioletAnd this is Blue
Also, as it turns out, I basically live on Tumblr. Come visit! CorvusRexWordpainter
Account Deleted on Chapter 1 Fri 02 Jul 2021 07:35AM UTC
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CorvusRex on Chapter 1 Fri 02 Jul 2021 07:14PM UTC
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Coopah on Chapter 1 Tue 23 Jan 2024 04:06AM UTC
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