Earth Girls Are Easy

by winterkeep

Summary:

At one point, Pidge sat up on her elbows, a devious glint in her eye. She pointed at Keith and, with scary clarity considering she had been almost asleep a second before, asked, “Keith. Truth or dare.”

Even Keith seemed a little afraid. “Truth.”

Smart man.

“Truth…who was your first kiss?” she asked, undeterred, before flopping back onto the floor with a grin.

Keith looked murderous. “Uh…I haven’t.”

“Huh?” Lance clarified, elegantly.

“I haven’t had my first kiss yet,” Keith mumbled.

“What?! But you were so cool at the Garrison!” Lance protested, suddenly feeling very sober, “And you’ve got that whole hot bad boy, brooding thing going!” okay, maybe not so sober.

Or: Paladin team bonding, Keith is a nerd™, and Lance falls in love.

Notes:

Hi!! Follow me on tumblr @blobfish-whisperer and say hi!

Chapter 1: Can't hold on any longer

Lance could only take so much. 

 

He thought that he was adjusting to being thrown into space and subsequently an intergalactic war as well as anyone could. He was getting used to the food goo and the lack of personal space and the absolute insanity that was his life.

 

But he had his limits, okay?

 

Lance knew this because he’d reached his limit, and it was all Keith’s fault.

 

It had started a couple months before. They were at an outdoor market while visiting a planet in the Alumoi Quadrant, and Lance was looking for Keith. They were supposed to be leaving, and the red paladin was nowhere to be found, which made Lance realize that he hadn’t seen him for quite a while, actually. 

 

It wasn’t unusual for Keith to sneak away from the group when he felt like he wanted some alone time. Lance, the social creature that he was, had been initially offended by this until he realized it wasn’t anything personal, it was just a Keith thing. Still, he was usually pretty good about not straying far enough that they couldn’t find him and he was never late to the rendezvous. So call Lance paranoid, but he was a little bit nervous when they couldn’t find him right away. 

 

Okay, he was freaking out.

 

“What if he got eaten by a giant alien insect?? Or abducted, like in that Liam Neeson movie?” Lance ranted through his communicator to Hunk. Keith, of course, had left his helmet behind, stating the hot weather as an excuse. Lance was going to have to get a leash for him. “I have only a very specific set of skills, Hunk!!”

 

“He probably just lost track of time,” Hunk reassured him over the comm. Lance wasn’t convinced.

 

It was a big market, which was a big part of the problem. It sprawled several square miles of desert. It was brutally hot, with the planet orbiting three suns. Lance felt like he was trapped in his sister’s Easy Bake Oven. 

 

He was slowly making his way down the row of stalls, interrogating people as he went. Have you seen this man? Yea high, horrible haircut, perpetual scowl? Typical to Lance's luck, it seemed no one had. 

 

Lance was about to admit defeat when he spotted a shop that looked promising. It appeared to be selling knives, which seemed right up Keith’s alley. It was manned by a four-armed alien with pale green skin and a long white beard. Two of his hands were engaged in sharpening a long blade that reminded Lance of a samurai sword while his other hands were busy ringing up a customer. Lance got in line behind him, tapping his foot impatiently.

 

“Next!” the alien growled, indicating to Lance. He scowled when he noticed that Lance wasn’t holding any product. “No knife for you? Didn’t find any that you like? You’re too good for my knives?!” the alien pressed, voice raising in intensity with each question. Lance, defender of the universe, pilot of the legendary blue lion, cowered. It was a big sword, okay? He’d done a really good sharpening it.

 

“N-no! I mean, yes, they all look really cool, but I’m more of a gun guy! I’m actually looking for my friend. Have you seen him? He’s my species but he’s got black hair and he’s wearing a red jacket.” Lance stuttered.

 

The alien harrumphed, but eased up, to Lance’s relief. “Yes. He came by a rytag ago. Didn’t buy anything, either, and went into that shop over there.” he pointed to the shop across the way with the point of his knife. 

 

Lance thanked him profusely and scurried out of the tent before he could do something to make him angry again. The stall he had indicated was a little bit larger. It was an unassuming canvas tent with a sign in the front that indicated it sold books. The inside reminded Lance of antique bookstores back on Earth. It was cramped, humid, and the shelves created a disorienting maze. Luckily, he didn’t have to wander far. 

 

Keith was sitting in the middle of a row, surrounded by a pile of books with one in his lap. He was too distracted to notice Lance’s entrance, jumping in surprise when Lance sat down next to him with a heavy sigh of relief.

 

“Lance!” Keith yelped, snapping shut his book, “What’re you doing here? I mean, how did you find me?”

 

A weird mix of emotions contorted Keith’s face. He seemed almost…embarrassed. Like a kid caught in the cookie jar. It was hard to tell since it was already so hot, but Lance thought he was blushing.

 

“We’ve been looking for you for forever. You didn’t come back to the rendezvous on time.”

 

Oh man, Keith was definitely blushing. 

 

“Sorry, I guess I just lost track of time.”

 

“I can see that. I didn’t know you liked to read,” 

 

Keith ducked his head, “There aren’t a lot of books back on the castle.”

 

Lance had to take his word for it. He wasn’t a big reader, between his ADHD, dyslexia, and English not being his first language. He had never really enjoyed it. The most he’d read was when he was studying for school, and that had been physically painful reading about quantum physics and hydraulics. It was one of the reasons he’d been held back as a cargo pilot. He’d never taken Keith for much of a reader, either. The red paladin spent most of his free time on the training deck, with Shiro, or, more and more recently, with the other paladins goofing off. Reading seemed very adverse to Keith’s bad-boy persona, but then, Lance was discovering more and more these days that there was a lot he didn’t know about Keith.

 

“That’s cool. Did you find anything good?”

 

Keith seemed to hesitate before answering. “I guess. We can get going, though. It’s not a big deal. It’s kind of lame, anyways.”

 

Oh. Oh . Lance was starting to understand Keith’s awkwardness, why he seemed so embarrassed to be caught in the bookstore. He thought Lance was going to call him a nerd! He totally was going to, but Keith seemed pretty genuine, so he held off. 

 

Lance knocked their shoulders together. “Man, you know that we’re all nerds, right? I mean, we basically play D&D three times a week, Pidge is some kind of evil tech genius and Hunk can name all the parts of a hydraulic press better than I can say my ABCs. Coran is like a walking encyclopedia, and even Allura geeks out about stuff. We’re not going to judge you because you like to read.”

 

“And you?” Keith asked, one thick brow raised in suspicion and a little bit of humor.

 

Lance puffed out his chest, “I make everything look cool. I’m so cool that you look up a picture of ice in the dictionary and it’s just me. I’m so cool the UN listed me as a potential solution to global warming. I’m so—” 

 

Keith shoved Lance away, laughing. Lance tried to feign offense, belied by his wide grin.

 

“Okay, okay, I get your point. Idiot.”

 

They bought Keith’s small mountain of books and began the long walk to the rendezvous. The group agreed with Lance’s proposal to make Keith wear a leash, but he talked them down with a promise to keep his communicator on him in the future. Traitors. 

 

That wasn’t Lance’s tipping point, though. That came about two weeks later. See, once Keith had opened up about secretly being a big nerd (which Lance did eventually tease him about), it became a common sight to find him sprawled about the castle with a book in his hands. Allura had even introduced him to the ship’s expansive library, glad to have someone to share her Altean romances with. Because that was another thing. Keith loved a good romance. This filled Lance with unimaginable delight. Not that he was judging, of course. He loved a good rom-com. When Harry Met Sally was his favorite movie. It was just not something he expected from Keith. Anyways, Keith had revealed himself as an avid reader. He would find any spot that was somewhat comfortable to sit in and read there. He’d been found on counters, in his lion, and once, memorably, under a table. He was like a cat.

 

That day, Lance was playing (beating) Pidge in the alien equivalent of Super Smash Bros. Keith was reading, curled up on the couch next to him. He was wearing a pair of stupidly thick glasses that Allura had given him, because apparently, Keith was a little bit far-sighted. Lance was getting a little distracted by the glasses. At first, he had laughed himself to stitches when Allura had forced them onto the red paladin. The sight of his red face and familiar scowl topped by the thickest, most Harry Potter-looking glasses Lance had ever seen was almost too much. 

 

Keith had his hair up in a low pony. It wasn’t quite long enough for it, and some strands had fallen out to line his face. He was wearing black jeans and a sweater. The long line of his pale neck was exposed. Lance thought he looked like a sexy librarian. 

 

Keith was deeply invested in his book. He must’ve liked what he was reading, because he snorted unattractively.

 

Only, it wasn’t unattractive. The whole image—the glasses, the hair, the sweater, the laughter—it was all so achingly soft. Lance felt himself flushing and he didn’t know why. All he could think to himself was one sentence: 

 

Sexy librarian. Sexy librarian. Sexylibrariansexylibrariansexylibrariansex—

 

Lance jumped to his feet with a strangled cry, startling Pidge and Keith.

 

“Where are you going?” Pidge cried after him as he all but ran out of the room.

 

Lance didn’t respond. Sexy librarian. He thought Keith looked like a sexy librarian. Not just a librarian: a sexy one. He thought Keith looked sexy! What was wrong with him?!

 

That was Lance’s tipping point. 

 

Lance had always been a little too aware of the red paladin, starting when they were in the Garrison. Back then, it had been Lance and his one-sided rivalry, never getting close enough to Keith’s level for the other boy to even know he existed, but always reaching anyways. He looked back on this period with no little shame, now knowing that where he thought Keith was aloof, rude, and egotistical, Keith was actually just shy, and lonely, too. He wished he could go back and try harder. He’d never told Keith that. He used to watch Keith fly in the simulator and burn with jealousy. Used to see the way he seemed to take the instructors’ praise the same way he’d take their criticism, so cool and disinterested, where Lance was desperate for even a crumb of approval. It drove him mad. 

 

Then they had been forced to work together for Voltron, and it hadn’t been easy. Lance had been so caught up by his old perception of Keith that he hadn’t been able to look past it and see the red paladin for who he really was. It hadn’t helped that Keith had risen to the bait. He was many things, but level-headed was not one of them. Still, they’d worked through it, and Lance was proud to say that Keith was one of his best friends. And now this-this whatever it was. Lance hesitated to even call it a crush. It was just some thoughts. Just some random, really gay thoughts. He could deal with that.

 

He couldn’t deal with it. He avoided Keith the entire week, unable to be in the same room with him without his mind going blank and screaming HOMOSEXUAL THOUGHTS! YOU ARE THINKING HOMOSEXUAL THOUGHTS! at a volume that made it hard to concentrate on anything else and made Lance look more than a little bit constipated. 

 

He knew he couldn’t avoid him forever, but he sure as hell was willing to try. Keith, of course, was less willing to follow this plan of action.

 

Keith cornered him when Lance was slinking his way to the kitchens, having avoided group dinner for the third night in a row, to Hunk’s dismay. Keith must’ve been waiting outside of his door for him to exit, knowing he hadn’t eaten. The fact that their rooms were across from the hall from each other didn’t make it easier for Lance to evade him.

 

“Why are you avoiding me,” Keith asked point blank, never one to pull punches. His arms were crossed over his chest, and while anger dominated his expression, Lance knew him well enough to see the hurt there, too.

 

Lance flushed. “Psshh, me? Avoiding you? Nahhhh, you’re crazy!”

 

“You moonwalked out of the living room when you saw me the other day. You made direct eye contact with me while doing it. And you haven’t been going to meals. And you haven’t—” Keith paused, seeming embarrassed. “You’ve been avoiding me. Why? Did I do something?”

 

Lance was an asshole. He hadn’t really thought about the effect his social ineptitude would have on his friend. Keith, who had only recently begun opening up to the paladins, who had only just begun spending time with them without being asked. Lance sucked. “I’m really sorry, man,” Lance apologized genuinely, “I’ve just been…going through something.”

 

Keith softened immediately. “Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“No!” Lance answered, a little too aggressively, “I mean, it’s really nothing. I’m over it now. Just had to get it out of my system.”

 

But as Lance watched Keith relax, took in his adorable red lion slippers and the crinkle between his brows, he knew he couldn’t have been further from the truth. The truth was, Lance was fucked. Probably had been for a long time. 

 

“Okay…well, Allura mentioned something about a movie night at dinner. Are you in?”

 

“Yeah, man. Sounds like fun,”

 

The team was already waiting for them, an Altean horror film loaded on the screen. Lance normally hated horror movies, but Altean films were not exactly peak cinema, and they ended up being more funny than scary. The only people who really got spooked were Allura and Coran, and it only made the experience even more enjoyable to see them cowered together, popcorn flying with every jump scare. It was a tight squeeze for all of them to fit on the couches, leading to a lot of elbow bumping and blanket sharing. This was, obviously, not helpful for Lance’s current predicament. He and Keith were forced into the corner of the couch, and Lance spent the entire movie trying and failing to ignore the comfortable press of Keith against his side, the sharp smell of his shampoo, their hands brushing every time they reached for the space-popcorn at the same time. It was so cliche. It was so perfectly agonizing. 

 

On screen, the villain, which looked disturbingly like Cookie Monster, bit someone’s head off. The special effects were laughably gory and unrealistic. The Alteans in their group screamed in horror, holding onto each other for dear life. The paladins, excluding Lance, laughed at them. 

 

He felt a gentle touch on his thigh. “Are you okay?” Keith whispered, thick brows pinched in concern.

 

“Fine, fine. I’m just tired.” Lance lied. Keith’s hand was so warm. He wanted to take it in his, feel the callouses of his palm and trace them, feel its comforting weight. Oh god, what was wrong with him?!

 

Keith didn’t look convinced, but luckily left him alone. 

 

The other thing about Altean movies? They’re, like, three hours long. Minimum. Lance really hadn’t been sleeping well with everything that had been going on that week, and he couldn’t be blamed when he felt his eyes grow heavy. Keith elbowed him.

 

“Are you falling asleep?” he whispered with an amused huff.

 

Lance jerked awake and had the gall to be offended. “No!” he hissed. He grumbled and shifted into a more comfortable position. Keith grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and threw it over their laps. Lance yawned. Once. Twice.

 

“Oh my god, Lance, just let it happen,”

 

He was too tired to argue. “Fine, but if I drool on you, don’t say I didn’t warn you,”

 

Lance closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep. When he woke up some time later, the living room was dark, the other paladins having long since left. The blanket was pulled up high around his shoulders, a pillow cushioning his head. Hunk must’ve helped him out before he left. Lance smiled. He had great friends.

 

He blearily made the trek to his room, yawning the whole way. It didn’t take long for sleep to find him. When it did, he dreamt of his friends, happy and smiling. Black hair and a graceful neck thrown back in laughter. It was good.

 

~~~

 

Lance was determined to be a better friend to Keith. He wasn’t going to let some silly, barely-there (read: all-consuming and world-ending) crush ruin their hard-won friendship. So, he implemented emergency protocol, re: paladin bonding time. The next night, Lance broke into his secret stash of alien alcohol and set up the game room for maximum awesomeness, with snacks, video games, and Earth music from Pidge’s iPod. He thought he’d done a pretty good job, if he had to say so himself. And he did. He gathered his friends, minus Shiro and Coran, and prepared to get his party on. Keith was the last one to arrive. Despite the late hour, he was still dressed, wearing his iconic black jeans and a Voltron merch shirt. Lance hated that shirt because it made him look like a bad James Bond villain. Of course, this meant that Keith wore it as much as possible. 

 

Keith looked surprised to see Allura there. “Oh, hey, princess,” he said, looking between her and the alcohol and the clock which revealed the late hour. 

 

Allura took a shot in response. “I am not a narc,” she declared primly. Pidge howled with laughter.

 

Keith grinned at that. Lance slid over and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, handing him a drink. “Welcome to la sala de fiestas,” he crooned, ignoring how his heart skipped a beat as Keith directed his easy smile to him, “The ultimate Voltron party begins now .”

 

They spent the next hour getting fantastically drunk. Lance was delighted to find that Keith was a lightweight, swaying on his feet after only a couple of shots. Allura, by contrast, out-drank all of them, the only sign of her being even a little intoxicated the dusting of pink on her cheeks. They tried to play drinking games but they, nerds that they were, didn’t know any. They made them up based on what they’d seen in movies and what seemed fun at that time. They ended up playing beer pong, only the shot was made from increasingly ridiculous positions. Lance was, of course, dominating. He had to switch to a lighter drink because he was making too many shots. The game had turned more into a challenge for the paladins to find a shot Lance couldn’t make. He was currently perched on Hunk’s shoulders, the yellow paladin spinning them around as Lance held on for dear life. The cup was across the room, planted firmly on Rover II’s back as the robot scurried in a straight line back and forth. Hunk stopped spinning, and Lance took a second to right himself. Pursed his lips. Anticipated the shot.

 

Swish.

 

The room went wild. 

 

A little while later, they migrated over to the video game setup. Lance had brought up their whole collection. He immediately reached for the one he’d been eyeing all night.

 

“Keith. Keith. Keefers. Guapo. Play Just Dance with me.” he begged with wide, pleading eyes. 

 

Keith didn’t stand a chance against Lance’s puppy eyes. No one did. Even Irveson had caved, once. 

 

“Fine.”

 

It wasn’t exactly like Just Dance. The music was all alien hits that ranged from passable to rip-your-ears-off awful and the moves were unfamiliar and acrobatic. It was like Just Dance, fight for your life version. Lance loved it.

 

They were made sloppy by their drunkenness, which made the whole thing a million times better. Keith’s mouth was pursed in concentration. He looked like he was battling the gladiator, not trying to beat Lance in a video game. Their friends cheered them on from the couch, and Allura forced Hunk from his seat to dance along with the music. Pidge, who definitely did not know the words, drunkenly sang along. 

 

Neither of them were doing well, but Lance at least didn't have negative points like his competition. They were both breathing hard from the exertion. The screen indicated that they do an elaborate twirl, and they did, crashing into each other and dissolving into giggles before pushing each other off and finishing the song with a flourish. They collapsed to the floor, sweaty and laughing so hard that Lance was doubled over, hands pressed into the stitches in his side.

 

Their friends gave them a round of applause, and Lance bowed theatrically. Keith was sprawled out on the floor, flushed with exertion and laughter. He looked beautiful. 

 

The room went silent for a second before bursting into jeers. Keith’s face flushed red, his eyes wide. To his horror, Lance realized he had spoken aloud. 

 

“Lance, what the fuck!” Pidge wheezed with laughter.

 

Lance felt like his face was on fire. “What!” he squeaked, “I can’t tell my buddies they look good? What kind of toxic masculinity is this?” he protested. “I tell Hunk he’s sexy like five times a day.”

 

Hunk nodded solemnly. “It’s true. I told him to stop, but he doesn’t.”

 

“Because you deserve to hear it!”

 

Luckily, his friends moved on. Pidge and Allura took a turn with the game, and Lance was not surprised to see that Allura was an expert. Apparently, it was possible to get a score in the thousands, which made Lance a little less proud of his 300 points. 

 

Exhausted from their efforts and drinking, they collapsed haphazardly on the couch. 

 

“Lance,” Pidge spoke up suddenly from her place on the floor, her hands idly tinkering with Rover II’s mechanics. “Truth or dare.”

 

Lance groaned. “I’m too drunk to get off this couch. Truth.”

 

Pidge hummed consideringly. “What’s the worst thing you did and got away with at the Garrison?”

 

Lance thought for a second and then barked a laugh. “I once had a possum living under my bed for, like, a week. They never found out, but Hunk made me get rid of it.”

 

“It was unsanitary!”

 

Lance shook his head sadly. “RIP Pedro, you are missed. Hunk, truth or dare.”

 

“Truth.”

 

“What’s the worst thing you’ve eaten since we got to space?”

 

Hunk screwed up his face in disgust. “Farkoh-99. I’m not opposed to eating bugs, but the raw plate of worms and beetles?” he looked a little green just thinking about it. The other paladins groaned appreciatively. 

 

The game continued like that for some time. Allura demonstrated her ability to lift her leg behind her head, Keith did a cool knife trick that had Lance's brain out of commission for several minutes, and Lance proved that he could do a split. They learned that Pidge had hacked the Garrison and had read Hunk and Lance’s records, to their horror and great interest, but she cruelly refused to say what she’d found. Keith revealed that the worst thing he’d ever eaten living in the desert was a scorpion, and only because he was curious. 

 

At one point, Pidge sat up on her elbows, a devious glint in her eye. She pointed at Keith and, with scary clarity considering she had been almost asleep a second before, asked, “Keith. Truth or dare.”

 

Even Keith seemed a little afraid. “Truth.”

 

Smart man. 

 

“Truth…who was your first kiss?” she asked, undeterred, before flopping back onto the floor with a grin. 

 

Keith looked murderous. “Uh…I haven’t.”

 

“Huh?” Lance clarified, elegantly.

 

“I haven’t had my first kiss yet,” Keith mumbled.

 

“What?! But you were so cool at the Garrison!” Lance protested, suddenly feeling very sober, “And you’ve got that whole hot bad boy, brooding thing going!” okay, maybe not so sober.

 

Keith scowled even deeper and pointedly ignored him. “Lance, truth or dare.”

 

“Dare,” he answered automatically.

 

“I dare you to go touch Rover II.”

 

“Don’t even think about it,” Pidge hissed threateningly. Lance was genuinely afraid, but he wasn’t one to defy the laws of truth or dare. He chased Pidge around the room, aiming for the robot, until the smaller paladin activated their bayard and trapped him in a net. He had to beg and promise to give up for her to release him, and by then, Keith’s admission was almost forgotten. 

 

Almost.

Chapter 2: And now I'm falling for you

Summary:

Let the sexy times BEGIN!

The truth or dare game continues, political scandal abounds! Hunk is a saint, Shiro deserves a pay raise.

Allura insisted on training the next morning, because she was seemingly immune to hangovers. The paladins gathered in the training room. Lance felt like something that had been scraped off the side of the road. His only saving grace had been his skincare routine, which meant he looked better than he felt. Keith, of course, looked unfairly good, his hair pulled back in a low pony and his arms crossed over his chest. The only signs that he was feeling as bad as the rest of them were the paleness of his skin and the deep bags under his eyes. Pidge looked like she had fought fifteen rounds with a Yupper and had not been successful. Hunk looked like he could barely hold himself up. 

 

Shiro was as chipper as usual, eyeing them with no little bit of suspicion as he forced them to stretch and run laps around the room. Lance felt like he was sweating pure alcohol. 

 

To make matters even worse, they were training on hand-to-hand, which Lance hated. There was a reason he worked with long-range weapons. Allura broke them off into pairs with she and Shiro demonstrating. Lance was paired with Keith, who looked a little too eager at the idea of punching him. He voiced this thought, and Keith rolled his eyes. Lance did not miss the lack of a denial. 

 

They started with some basic moves, blocks and punches aimed at the bags. Lance had to admit that he felt better as the training went on, though still sluggish and tired. 

 

“Don’t tuck your thumb in,” Keith instructed. He grabbed Lance’s hand and gently pried apart his fingers. Lance let him, because he was weak for Keith. The red paladin folded his hand into a fist with his thumb tucked safely on the outside. “And right now you’re trying to have your force come from lunging into the hit. That’s why you get knocked off balance so easily when we train. It’s all in the hips.” Keith demonstrated a jab at the bag, twisting into it. He indicated for Lance to do the same, and he did, feeling stupid. Keith shook his head, placing one hand on Lance’s hip. Lance’s mouth went dry. “Plant your feet. Raise your fists. Whatever fist you're punching with, swing that hip forward.” he manipulated Lance’s hips in time with his explanation and stepped back. Lance felt the absence of his gentle touch keenly.

 

He punched the bag again based on how Keith had shown him, and the other boy grinned in approval. 

 

"Perfect," 

 

“Thanks,” Lance said, voice a rasp. 

 

They moved away from the bags a couple of minutes later to work on sparring. Lance liked sparring with Keith because he wasn’t afraid to fight dirty and didn’t act like Lance was cheating when he did the same. Plus, Pidge wasn’t afraid to bite her way out of a hold, despite Shiro’s repeated admonishments to not do so. Lance wasn’t entirely convinced that Keith was the alien out of their group. He often wanted to find Matt just so he could confirm that Pidge actually had been raised by a human family and not a pack of wolves.

 

Lance was proud to see that Keith was breathing as heavily as he was. It used to be Keith would pin him in under a minute with no effort which, hot, but not exactly good for his ego. They’d all improved a lot, though, and now they knew each other's tricks. 

 

Keith managed to pin Lance after a couple of minutes of brawling. They were both flushed with exertion, panting heavily. Lance stopped struggling as an idea formed in his oxygen-deficient mind.

 

“Hey, Keith? Are you an astronaut?” he paused for dramatic effect, meeting Keith’s confused gaze with a Cheshire grin. “Cause that ass is out of this world.” he crooned. 

 

Keith’s grip on his slackened in surprise. Lance took the opportunity to flip their hold and pin Keith underneath him with a victorious cry. The red paladin came to life underneath him, spluttering angrily, but it was too late. Lance didn’t relinquish his grip until Keith, reluctantly, tapped out. 

 

“Is that a knife in your pants, or are you just happy to see me?” Lance snickered.

 

Keith was deadpan. “It’s a knife.”

 

Lance believed him and carefully crawled a safe distance away before collapsing with exhaustion. 

 

“Good job, paladins!” Allura praised, not a drop of sweat visible from her fight with Shiro, who looked like he'd just finished a marathon, “Now, switch partners!”

 

They were released a few hours later. After showering, they all trudged to their various corners of the castle, Keith and Lance keeping pace as they made their way to their rooms. Keith briefly ducked into his to grab his book, and Lance was unsurprised when he came back out and followed Lance into his room. It was a routine that they had fallen into over the last month to hang out after training. Sometimes they played video games, sometimes gossiped, and sometimes, like today, they just sat quietly. Lance ducked into his bathroom and applied a face mask, returning to his room to plop next to Keith on his bed. The other boy snickered at the lime green goop, but wisely said no more.

 

“Whatcha reading?”

 

Keith showed him the page he was on, and Lance squinted, the words stringing together. He shook his head, too tired to decipher them. Keith shrugged. “It’s a mystery. I picked it up at the last space mall. It’s about a royal family whose princess has gone missing and now the prince has to deal with threats on his life and trying to find her when everyone thinks she’s dead.”

 

“Sounds heavy,”

 

“It is, a bit, but I like it.”

 

They sat in silence for a while, until Lance ruined it by saying, 

 

“How come you’ve never had your first kiss?”

 

Keith let out a strangled sound at that, covering his face with the book. “ Why, Lance?” he begged.

 

“C’mon!! I’m just curious! You had so many people throwing themselves at you at the Garrison, I just find it hard to believe.”

 

He picked the book up off of Keith’s face and was unsurprised to be met by a scowl and red cheeks. He bit back a grin at the sight. Keith snatched the book out of his hands and cradled it protectively against his chest.

 

“Are you still drunk? No one was throwing themselves at me. No one liked me at the Garrison.”

 

I liked you, was Lance’s immediate thought, but that wasn’t true. He was a bit creepily obsessed with Keith, but in an imagined rivalry way, definitely not in a friendly one.

 

“That’s not true,” Lance protested, trying to remember all the times he’d seen girls approach Keith. To his surprise, he couldn’t think of a specific example. There must’ve been one, though, because he remembered Keith being very popular at the Garrison. “But still, why not? There was, like, fifteen years before the Garrison.”

 

Keith sighed, like he knew he wasn’t going to avoid Lance’s incessant questioning. After a moment, he spoke, his voice soft like a confessional. “It’s hard enough to be Korean, an orphan, and have discipline issues. I didn’t need to add being gay to the list.” 

 

Oh. Lance suddenly felt bad for his badgering. “I get that. I mean, as much as I can. It helped that I had Hunk who I could rant to and lean on, but it was hard at the Garrison being Cuban, having English be my second language, and having a learning disability. And then, you know, being bi.”

 

Keith turned his head, finally meeting Lance’s eyes. “It was like, no matter how good I was, they always found something wrong. I could never be good enough, not being who I was. Not just at the Garrison, my whole life.”

 

Lance ached for him. “You’re good enough, Keith. For me. For all of us.”

 

“Thanks, Lance. You, too.”

 

The timer rang, indicating that it was time for Lance to rinse off his mask. He did so and made sure to moisturize, taking his time to fix the effects of the last night. He made his way back over to the bed. Keith hadn’t resumed his book, a curious furrow in his brow.

 

“Your face is gonna get stuck like that,” Lance remarked, to the other boy’s annoyance.

 

“Lance; truth or dare?”

 

Lance, coward, replied, “Truth?”

 

“What was your first kiss like?”

 

“Oh. Ugh, it was awful.” Lance laughed in embarrassment, remembering. “It was Jenny Shayborn in the eighth grade. She was my date to the winter carnival dance. We both had braces and neither of us knew what we were doing so we ended up using, like, way too much tongue and she ended up leaving me to dance with James Danahough.” Keith grinned at that, to Lance’s relief. “I was so excited, too! My parents have this epic love story and all of my cousins and siblings do, too. Their first kisses had been hyped up so much, and then mine was that. I thought I was doomed.”

 

“Do you still think that?” Keith teased.

 

“No. Well, sometimes.” he answered honestly, “But it got better. Way better.” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Keith shoved him with a laugh. 

 

“You suck.”

 

“And swallow!”

 

He wasn’t even offended when Keith tried to smother him with a pillow for that. When they were finished, they both sat up and leaned against the wall, legs tangled comfortably. 

 

“Would you…I mean…” Keith began, flushing brighter than Lance had ever seen before trailing off. Lance poked his cheek with a finger, and Keith scowled. 

 

“What?” Lance pressed.

 

“It’s stupid. Nevermind.”

 

“Aw c’mon, Keefers,” Lance whined. 

 

“Wouldyoukissme?” Keith blurted. Lance was pretty sure his heart stopped in his chest. Keith groaned, misinterpreting the look on his face. “I just—it’s so stupid, I just want to get it over with.”

 

“Yeah, but don’t you want it to be with someone special?” Lance pressed.

 

If anything, Keith scowled deeper. “You’re someone.” he mumbled, like it was forced out of him, “Nevermind. It was a stupid idea.”

 

“Nonono! I’ll do it!” Lance said, a little too eagerly and very stupidly.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah, just,” Lance’s mind was racing. Was this ethical? Kissing your best friend who you have a secret crush on? He brushed it off. It wasn’t like that. It was just guys being dudes being very, very gay. He wiped his palms on his sweatpants. Keith was still very, very red, but he had softened a bit, biting his lip nervously. Lance wanted to kiss him. Was that so bad? Just one kiss, and he’d get it out of his system. One kiss, and he’d never need it again. It sounded like bullshit, even as he thought it. 

 

They were facing each other. It wouldn’t take much, just him leaning forward a couple of inches and a whole lot of courage. Lance licked his lips nervously and Keith’s eyes tracked the motion, sending a wave of heat rolling through Lance’s stomach. He raised his hand, gently pressing his thumb to Keith’s bottom lip. The red paladin’s breath hitched audibly, and Lance swallowed back a groan. 

 

“Just…tell me if it’s too much, okay?” Lance whispered. Keith nodded eagerly, and Lance closed the distance, carding his hand through Keith’s hair.

 

Keith’s lips were soft, hesitant. He tasted like the rehydration pouches they had all drunken, sort of fruity and sweet. Keith’s hands fluttered around Lance’s face before coming to settle around the back of his neck, gently pressing him deeper. It made Lance’s head spin. Keith was a little bit clumsy, his inexperience obvious, but it was still good. So, so good. Lance hummed into it, licking at the seam of Keith’s mouth. The other boy gasped into it, and they broke apart briefly for air before coming back together. 

 

When Lance had imagined kissing Keith, because of course he had, he’d pictured it to be as fiery and passionate as the red paladin himself. Pictured throwing him against a wall after battle, sweaty and adrenaline-fueled kisses making them breathless and dizzy.

 

This was so much better. This was Keith, soft and pliant. This was Keith, the nerd who loved to read romances and let alien children hang off of him and who laughed like the world hadn’t tried to destroy him, or maybe like it had and he’d come out of it anyways. This was the Keith who Lance stayed up all night talking to about nothing and everything, who loved food fights and coveted ice cream even though it hurt his stomach and fuck. Lance was in love with him. Lance was in love. 

 

Lance pulled away, kiss drunk. “Is this okay?” he asked, thumb brushing the crest of Keith’s cheek.

 

“Yes,” he answered, panting, “don’t stop,”

 

What was Lance supposed to do with that except kiss him deeper, gently pressing Keith into the bed and laying between his legs and-and oh, they were both hard, and they gasped as Lance involuntarily ground down into Keith’s lap. Lance’s higher faculties went out the window. He gently bit Keith’s lips and then licked the spot. Keith’s hand left Lance’s hair and ran the length of his back. It settled under Lance’s shirt, his fingers teasing the waistband of Lance’s sweats. Lance could feel him shaking, and thought that he might be, too. Slowly, eyes closed but brow set in determination, Keith wrapped one leg around the back of Lance’s thigh, bringing them both flush. 

 

“Don’t stop,” he repeated quietly, pleading.

 

Lance kissed him, running a gentle hand up the length of his side as he ground down, slow and teasing and merciless to them both. Their kisses became messy, both of them just panting into each other’s mouths as the pressure built. Lance realized that, if he didn’t act, they were both going to end up cumming in their pants like a bunch of teenagers, and while that sounded really fucking hot, Keith deserved better than that. Lance sat up abruptly in Keith’s lap, stripping off his shirt and flinging it to the floor before he could change his mind. He indicated for Keith to do the same, and he did. Lance bit his lip. They had both seen each other naked before, okay? They were teammates, after all, which meant that they all showered in a communal bathroom after training, and then there were those injuries where they had to take off each other’s clothes to get a better look. This was different. This was Keith, flushed from the neck up and wide-eyed, his lips dark with kisses. Lance knew that Keith had abs, had begrudged him for it. Now he gently ran his hand along them, along the fine hairs that trailed their way down to the waist of Keith’s pants. He leaned back down to kiss him deeply and then moved to his jaw, his neck, the hollow of his collarbone. He brushed his hand against Keith’s nipple experimentally, grinning wickedly at his reaction.

 

“Fuck, Lance,” Keith panted, hand coming up to grip Lance’s hair.

 

He lowered his mouth further, tongue gently swirling about the bud. Every gasp from Keith sent heat right to Lance’s dick. The red paladin squirmed beneath him, thrusting fruitlessly up as he searched for friction, any relief. 

 

Lance grinned and lifted his head. “That better not be a knife in your pocket this time,”

 

Keith scowled. “Lance?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Shut the fuck up.”

 

Gladly. 

 

Lance captured the other boy’s lips with his for a moment and snapped Keith’s waistband suggestively. They freed themselves of their pants, and yeah, that was definitely not a knife. 

 

He really was beautiful. 

 

“Can I fuck you?” Lance blurted.

 

Keith’s eyes went wide and for a second Lance was worried he’d put his foot in his mouth, and then Keith grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him in for a kiss. 

 

“Yeah, yes, do you-do you have stuff?” Keith panted.  Lance reached into his bedside drawer and pulled out condoms and lube. Keith arched a curious eyebrow. “Do I want to know?”

 

“Are you complaining?” Lance shot back. Keith just huffed in response. “Just…keep talking to me. I want to make it good. Want to make it so good for you, Keith.”

 

Keith groaned and they kissed, Keith arching into his chest as Lance wrapped a hand around the hard length of him, rubbing a thumb over the leaking slit. He broke away to coat his fingers in lube. Keith was soft and pliable beneath him, spreading his legs for Lance. Lance kissed the dip of his hip. He teasingly brushed Keith’s hole, grinning at the gasp it inspired. Keith wrapped his legs around Lance’s back for a better angle, and Lance slipped one finger inside, pushing forward to capture Keith’s lips once more. He went slow, not wanting hurt Keith, twisting his finger and trying to find his prostate, rewarded with a moan when he did, which he gratefully swallowed as he added another finger, and then another when Keith was finally gasping and squirming beneath him. Lance would’ve been glad to keep going, to watch Keith come undone with his fingers alone, but the other boy put a stop to that. 

 

“Lance,” Keith gritted out with a glare, “I wanted you inside me, like, yesterday,”

 

“Aye aye, cap’n,” Lance finally responded when his brain came back online. 

 

Lance slicked himself up and gently pushed into Keith and fuck it had been way, way too long. He resisted the urge to chase Keith’s heat and paused, letting him get used to the stretch. He waited until the other boy’s face relaxed and Keith nodded, palming at his lower back. He pulled back slightly and pushed in just as gently, continuing this pattern until Keith started pushing back, his nails scraping bluntly against Lance’s back. He upped the pace, panting with the effort of holding himself back and how goddamn good Keith felt around him. He changed the angle a bit, searching for the spot he’d found earlier, the punched-out sound that Keith made telling he’d found it. 

 

“Is that okay? Are you okay?” Lance asked.

 

“Yes, God, Lance, right there,”

 

Lance obliged, pressing his forehead to Keith’s and chasing the sounds of his pleasure. Keith’s hands dug almost painfully into his back. He wanted to say so many things. He wanted to tell Keith that he loved him, that he was so grateful for him, that he was beautiful. He kissed him instead, deep and filthy. 

 

“Lance, ah, I’m-I’m close,” Keith panted. Lance could feel his own release, building hot and tight in his stomach.

 

“Yeah, c’mon, Keith,” Lance wrapped a hand around Keith’s throbbing length, loving the weight of it in his palm. He wanted to watch him as he came undone. 

 

Keith came with a cry, Lance’s name sweet on his lips. He buried his face in Lance’s shoulder, shaking slightly from the aftershocks. Lance followed soon after, and gently rolled off and settled next to Keith in the bed. He couldn’t take his eyes off him. Keith turned his head to meet his eyes. 

 

“Hey, Keith?” Lance whispered, terrified of losing the moment. 

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Truth or dare?”

 

Keith narrowed his eyes suspiciously, a smile playing at his lips. “Dare.”

 

“I dare you to go get the damp towel.”

 

Lance laughed as Keith slapped him upside the head, avoiding another hit by scurrying into the bathroom and grabbing the towel himself. He threw it at Keith like he was aiming for a basketball hoop, earning a small laugh, and collapsed back in the bed. He did not miss the way Keith’s eyes raked over his body during the trip back. It made something grow warm and soft in his chest. It felt a little bit like hope. 

 

Lance ran his fingers through Keith’s hair, beaming as he all but melted into the touch, burrowing his face in Lance’s chest with a sigh. Lance felt like he was going to explode with happiness. 

 

They were interrupted, to Lance’s great displeasure, by a knock at the door. Luckily, it was locked.

 

“Um, guys? Are you in there? Allura wants us all the gather in the control room. We’re getting hailed.” Hunk called. 

 

Lance huffed unhappily as Keith, good little soldier he was, rolled out of bed and started to get dressed. Oh, how he hated to see him go, as the saying went. 

 

“Be right there, Hunkalicious!” Lance yelled back. 

 

He could hear Hunk’s weary sigh through the door, and grinned.

 

The other paladins were already waiting when they arrived. Lance hoped that the evidence of their deed wasn’t as obvious as he felt it was. They had checked each other before they’d left, but Lance felt like everyone knew regardless. Even worse was the urge to take Keith’s hand in his. Lance crossed his arms so he wouldn’t do anything stupid.

 

“Paladins. We’ve received a transmission from the nearby planet of Eryuk. They are inviting us to the coronation of their new queen, and the ball that they are hosting to celebrate! It should be very fun, and will be a great networking opportunity for all of us!”

 

Lance groaned inwardly, and one look at the other paladins confirmed that they all shared his sentiment. Alura was excited, though, and he knew that they would do anything that made her happy. 

 

“Sounds great, ‘Lura,” Lance lied good-naturedly, “when will we arrive?”

 

She beamed, “In half a varga! Plenty of time for you all to change into traditional Altean garb!”

 

Great. Amazing. Honestly, nothing could kill Lance’s mood. She could force him to wear a trashbag and dance the macarena, and he’d still grin his way through it, because he’d just had sex with Keith. Lance was a happy man indeed. 

 

Allura loved making them play dress-up, though she resented that phrasing. She got really into it, critiquing their hair and makeup and how they wore their clothes until they satisfied her vision. Lance had an inkling that the alert had actually come in some time before they were notified, because she already had their outfits picked out. She gave them jackets with high collars and gold trim. Their pants were light and comfortable, reminding Lance of slacks but much sharper. The detailing on each of their jackets varied slightly, and Lance couldn’t explain to a disgruntled Keith why he was wheezing in laughter at the sight of his, which looked dead similar to a red version of the one from The Black Parade. He still looked handsome, though, and Lance reassured him of this with a sly wink that left Keith almost as red as his jacket. 

 

Lance was always most grateful for his lion color when Allura dressed him, because blue was his definitely his color. His jacket was a rich midnight blue, the detailing coming together to form a V at his waist, tapering it even more and accentuating the broadness of his shoulders. He caught Keith checking out his ass, too, and promptly decided that he was never wearing anything else. 

 

By the time Allura was done fussing over them and had changed into a beautiful, trumpet-style pink dress, they were breaching the atmosphere. They landed in a field near the planet’s castle and walked the rest of the way. It was a pleasant night on the planet. The air was sweet with the smell of flowers and Lance could already smell the food from the party, which made his mouth water. It felt like a mild summer day on Earth, and Lance was suddenly homesick for family barbeques and get-togethers. 

 

Allura had explained that the coronation would take place at the end of the ball, at midnight, to signify the end of the era. It would be the birth of the new day and the birth of the new empire. It was very poetic, though all Lance heard was that he wouldn’t be in bed until very late that night. The party was already going by the time they arrived, and Lance followed his nose to the food. Keith and Hunk accompanied him while Shiro, Coran, and Allura went to schmooze. Pidge disappeared into the crowd, no doubt finding somewhere to either pass out or some tech to steal and take apart. The food was good and plentiful, to their relief. Lance ate something that looked like a mini-quiche but tasted like a fruit roll-up. Alien food was wonderful, sometimes. He ate another. 

 

The music wasn’t half-bad, either. Lance recognized some of the songs from their Just Dance, which made him feel very cultured, which reminded him of his uncle Juan talking about how he was ‘down with the kids’, which made him homesick so he grabbed Keith’s hand with an easy grin and started to drag him to the dance floor. 

 

“C’mon, samurai,” he teased, “show me your moves. I bet they’re out of this world.”

 

Keith rolled his eyes but let himself be led. As they found an empty area to dance, though, the song abruptly changed into something sweet and slow. Well, Lance wasn’t complaining. He bowed theatrically and offered Keith his hand, which he took with a scoff. 

 

“I’m not a very good dancer,” Keith admitted.

 

“Neither am I. It’s going to be great,”

 

It was. The song reminded Lance of one that his parents used to dance to in the kitchen when he was younger. It didn’t have any lyrics, so Lance added his own, mostly able to match them from his memory. Keith didn’t seem to mind when he fumbled for the words, burying his head into Lance’s shoulder with a sigh. They were swaying like kids at the prom, hardly the ballroom dancing occurring around them, but Lance thought that there could have been no better sight. 

 

“Te amo, desde el primer momento en que te vi y hace tiempo te buscaba t ya te imaginaba así. Te amo. Aunque no es tan fácil de decir, y defino lo que siento. Con estas palabras, te amo,” Lance sang. 

 

The music drew to a gradual close, but Lance held on, pressing a kiss to the top of Keith’s head. The moment seemed impossibly fragile. Lance couldn’t believe he was in it.

 

Of course, it was too good to go without being broken. 

 

Shots rang out, and they sprung apart, instinctively reaching for their bayards. They rushed towards the sound, which had already been far too close for comfort. At the pedestal where the future queen sat was the offender, a squat alien with sharp teeth and a gun that looked like something from back on Earth. 

 

“Down with the monarchy!” he howled dramatically, raising his gun to point it at the shaking woman.

 

None of the other paladins had gotten close enough yet. There was no time to think, just to act. Lance ran forward with a yell, bayard raised. Not his smartest moment, but anything to get the attention off the queen as the others rushed forward. The alien turned towards him, and Lance heard a bang and yelped as the shot impacted his shoulder. Luckily, the guy was a shit shot, and it wasn't the one he was holding his bayard with. Lance shot back, unfortunately used to fighting while injured, and took the alien out with a shot to his leg. Just enough to make him go down, not enough to kill him. The alien dropped to the floor with a cry, clutching his wounded appendage and dropping his gun in the process. Pidge tied him up with the rope from her bayard, and the crowd burst into applause. 

 

“Lance!” Keith skidded to a halt beside him, and Lance gratefully sank to a seat, wincing as he put pressure on his heavily bleeding wound. Damnit. Their lasers usually cauterized the wounds pretty well, but the alien's gun had used bullets. One look at his shoulder and he knew it was pretty fucked. Nothing that would kill him, unless they didn’t get the bleeding under control. Keith growled and tugged off his jacket to get at the thin shirt underneath, ripping it into a cravat. “Idiot. This is gonna hurt.”

 

Lance, momentarily distracted by the pleasant sight of Keith’s naked chest, didn’t have time to respond before the other boy was wrapping the cravat under his armpit and yanking it tight. He was right, of course. It hurt like a bitch. Lance, all too aware of their audience, bit back his cry of pain with gritted teeth. “Sorry, sorry,” Keith mumbled, “fuck, that’s barely stopping it. I wish I had a windlass,”

 

“Here,” Hunk interrupted suddenly, handing Keith a fork. It was made of a sturdy enough metal that it wouldn’t break. 

 

They finished patching his arm and helped Lance to his feet. The sudden change in position made him feel woozy and sick, but he swallowed it down. It wasn’t far to the castle. Behind him, he could hear the aliens explaining to Allura that they’d anticipated an attack on the crown that night and had left that helpful tidbit out so as to not cause panic. He didn’t catch Allura’s response, but he could guess that it was far from happy.

 

Hunk and Keith all but dragged Lance back to the castle, the rest of the team close behind. They deposited Lance on the couch while they got a suit ready, and Keith was helping him pull it on when they were interrupted by Pidge’s horrified gasp.

 

“IS THAT A HICKEY?” she cried, gesturing to Keith’s neck, made bare by the removal of his jacket.

 

Keith slapped a hand over the offending spot, shooting Lance a withering glare. Lance winced and smiled weakly in response. 

 

“Um…”

 

“Lance, did you give me a hickey?” Keith gritted out.

 

Now everyone was yelling.

 

“A HICKEY!!! EUGH, OH MY GOD—” Pidge gagged dramatically.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me, Lance?!?!?” Hunk whined.

 

“MY BROTHER!! MY BABY BROTHER!!” Shiro hollered, face red. 

 

Coran and Allura hurried into the room at the sound of the commotion.

 

“I don’t know why we’re yelling,” shouted the older Altean with glee, “but it is very fun!”

 

In their clamor for explanations, they all seemed to forget that Lance was, like, literally bleeding out. He swooned forward, his stomach turning unpleasantly. That was enough distraction for the time being, and Keith all but threw him in the pod, still glaring. Lance worried he might take out his bayard and stab him, too, for good measure, but he leaned forward and kissed him gently. 

 

The last thing he heard before he drifted to sleep was the yelling starting again. He smiled.

 

Lance wasn’t in the pod for very long. He was greeted by a pair of warm, strong arms that immediately helped him down and out onto the couch. He was always groggy when he got out of the pod, and so it took him a second to realize that he had been seated next to Keith. It took him another minute to see that all of their friends were lined up in front of them, various expressions coloring their faces from anger (Shiro) to delight (Hunk, Allura, and Coran) to disgust (Pidge, probably still caught up on the hickies). Keith’s head was in his hands, unwilling to meet any of them in the eyes. Lance wondered how long they’d been interrogating him for, and immediately pitied him.

 

“Keith. Lance. Explain.” Shiro gritted out. 

 

“Yeah! Are you guys dating now?” Hunk pressed, obviously torn between his excitement for them and his hurt that Lance hadn’t told him.

 

“No,” Lance said, at the same time Keith said “Yes.”

 

They looked at each other. Keith’s cheeks colored that pretty red that Lance loved. 

 

“Yes?” Lance repeated.

 

“I-I mean, I just thought—we don’t have to—”

 

“No!” Lance yelped, scrambling to take Keith’s hands in his, “I want to!”

 

Keith smiled, relieved. “Yeah?”

 

“Yes!”

 

Pidge gagged. Shiro seemed to share the sentiment. “My brother…” he muttered, shaking himself. 

 

“And the HICKIES?” Pidge asked, throwing her hands in the air. 

 

Lance grinned evilly, “Well, Pidgy, when two men love each other very much—”

 

It took Allura and Hunk to drag Shiro out of the room, screaming. Pidge and Coran followed, the former retching theatrically and the latter with a conspiratorial wink.

 

“He’s going to kill me!” Keith hissed, smacking Lance on the back of the head. 

 

“Ow! You’re like twenty years old, Keith!” Lance protested. 

 

“You know that Shiro has the delicate sensibilities of an old woman,”

 

Which, fair. 

 

“Sorry you had to deal with that.”

 

Keith sighed, sinking deeper into the couch. “They would not stop.” he peeked up at Lance from under his bangs, eyes tired. “Are you okay? How’s your shoulder?” Lance demonstrated just how fine his shoulder was by using his hand to tilt Keith’s chin, pressing their lips together softly. Keith melted into the touch, carding his fingers into Lance’s hair. They breathed together for a minute, and then Keith breathed, “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about the hickies, Lance. Really?”

 

“You weren’t complaining at the time!”

 

Keith huffed in annoyance and closed the distance again. This time, Lance broke the distance.

 

“So…boyfriends?”

 

Keith flushed. “I mean, yeah. If you want to.”

 

Lance grinned crookedly, “I dunno. What would that mean?” Keith’s eyebrows pinched together in confusion, and Lance took it upon himself to clarify. “As your boyfriend, do I get to do this?” he pressed a kiss to the corner of Keith’s mouth, pulling away with a laugh as the other boy chased his lips. “Or this?” he kissed Keith’s nose, and then the corner of his jaw. “This?” he squeezed his thigh and slid his hand high enough to make Keith gasp. “Oh, definitely, if I can do that.”

 

“Yes, yeah, you can do that,” Keith panted.

 

“Oh. Cool, then yeah, boyfriends. Also, I’m in love with you.”

 

“What?”

 

Lance kissed the dazed look off Keith’s lips with a grin.

 

“It’s your fault. I could only take so much before I fell in love with you, yanno.”

 

 

Notes:

1. The book Keith is reading is a fic idea I have and am excited about
2. Do you like my planet names they’re just random keyboard smashes formed into words that make sense phonetically
3. The song is Franco de Vita’s Te Amo, which I felt was very fitting for them
4. Thank you thank you thank you for reading. Let me know what you think!!