Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Who are you?” Keith asks, the first words he’s ever said to Lance.

But this is not the first time Lance has heard them. Or, well, technically it's the first time he’s heard them out loud by someone other than himself, repeating the words over and over again to his friends. He’s always hoped for more exciting words, but this is what he’d been stuck with, staring him in the face anytime he looked at his arm.

And now those words, those words that he’s spent his life thinking about, are being said out loud. By Keith. But you know what, that’s not even the worst part! Okay, Keith is his soulmate. Whatever, he can deal with that. The guy’s kind of (really) cute and kind of cool, even if Lance would never admit that out loud. What he can’t deal with is the fact that Keith doesn't know who he is! How the hell does Keith not know who he is? They’ve been rivals since at least sophomore year! Keith and Lance, neck and neck!

That’s what he tries to tell Keith, but what comes out instead is, “You’re not my soulmate.”

And technically, it could be true. Just because Keith said those words to him, doesn't mean anyone else wouldn’t. ‘Who are you’ is a pretty common thing to ask someone! Except, Lance knows that's not true, because he’s listened to people talk about what it’s like meeting their soulmate, and they all say one thing; they knew. Some people get nothing more than ‘hi’ written on their arm, but they know when it's their soulmate saying those words.

Lance never understood what they were talking about until now, because he’s got this feeling in his gut, or maybe it's more like his entire body, that knows Keith is the one. Keith, who doesn’t even know who he is, is his soulmate.

He pulls up the sleeve of his jacket to make sure, to confirm the inevitable, and sure enough, the words that have been on his skin since he was a child have disappeared. That’s what happens when a person meets their soulmate. Which means that Keith is his soulmate.

Keith is his soulmate. There’s no getting out of this one; the universe doesn’t do refunds on soulmates. He could do worse, he supposes, as he raises his eyes to meet Keith’s, who’s looking at him with too many emotions for Lance to decipher. Keith’s forehead crinkles, and Lance remembers what he’d said.

You’re not my soulmate.

Lance breaks into an amused grin, and then he laughs, he actually laughs, because he can’t imagine having the words ‘you're not my soulmate’ written on his arm since childhood. It definitely would have been more exciting than ‘who are you?’

The wrinkles on Keith’s forehead deepen, confusion spreading across his face, and Lance has to work to stifle his laughter. “Oh my god,” He manages between laughs, “You’ve had those words on your arm since you were a kid.” He’s shaking his head, unable to contain a smile. Keith is looking at him like he’s crazy, and all that accomplishes is making Lance laugh harder. “Dude, come on. The first words your soulmate says to you are ‘I’m not your soulmate.’ That’s pretty hilarious.”

Keith’s eyes widen in front him, like the reality of their situation is only now hitting him. “Holy shit,” he says, and Lance can’t disagree with that.

Lance nods. “Yeah, we’re soulmates. This isn’t what I was expecting either, but hey—do you really not know who I am? We’re in the same class! You can’t not know who I am.”

“I know who you are,” Keith says, and oh. Well, that makes Lance feel kind of better.

“Then why’d you ask who I was?” Lance asks, tilting his head skeptically.

“You bumped into me!” Keith snaps, defensive. “I couldn’t see who you were!”

A grin spreads across Lance’s face. So Keith does know who he is. Now this is something he can work with.

“So what do you know about me?” Lance asks, smirking.

Keith crosses his arms over his chest. “I know you’re a cargo pilot.”

Lance gapes at him, mostly for effect. “Wow, rude. And anyway, your information is outdated. I’m a fighter pilot as of yesterday.”

Keith doesn’t look as surprised as Lance had expected. “Oh,” Keith says. “Uh, congrats I guess.” It’s awkward, but it sounds like he’s trying to be nice, which isn’t something Lance is used too. He supposes that’s not so strange, considering this is their first real conversation.

Lance is used to watching Keith from the distance, always feeling like he was one step behind.

“Thanks,” Lance says back, because he’s capable of being nice, too. His voice is full of pride. He’s been waiting forever to be moved to fighter class, and now it’s actually happening. “You better watch your back, Keith. I’ll totally kick your ass.” Lance warns, unable to stop the words from leaving his mouth.

Keith seems unconvinced. “Good luck with that.”

“Don’t think that just because we’re soulmates I’m gonna go easy on you.”

“I’m not going to go easy either,” Keith tells him, voice firm.

“Good.”

“Yeah, good.”

Lance crosses his arms over his chest, and then he huffs, turning around and walking in the opposite direction, leaving Keith behind.

Keith, who by some inconceivable means, happens to be his soulmate. Well, whatever. There’s no point in fighting whatever the universe has planned, but that doesn’t mean he has to be head over heels for the guy.

He’s here to compete with him, not fall in love with him. The whole soulmate thing will have to wait.

“You’re kidding, right?” Hunk asks, and then he groans. “Oh my god, you’re not kidding. Of course you’re not kidding! You met your soulmate and you basically declared war on him.”

Lance scowls, tossing the ball in his hands towards the ceiling, catching it when it falls down. “I did not declare war on him, I just said I’m not gonna go easy on him.”

“You could have, oh, I don’t know, gotten to know him instead?” Hunk suggests, incredulous. “But nope. And then you walked off on him! You didn’t even try and have a conversation.”

Lance rolls his eyes. “It’s not like it’s the last chance I’ll have to talk to him. We're soulmates, aren’t we? That means we have like, forever or something.” He moans in anguish at the thought. Forever with Keith. Ugh.

“Is it really that bad?” Hunk asks at the same time Lance throws the ball up again, “Having Keith as a soulmate?”

Lance catches the ball, and then he turns on his side, resting his head in his hand. “I don’t know,” Lance says, sighing quietly. “I don’t, like, hate the idea. It’s just, ugh, he’s so annoying. He’s so good at everything and it gets on my nerves. And sometimes I think he doesn’t even know how good he is, and that’s even more annoying.”

Lance has been competing with Keith since his first year at the Garrison, but no matter how hard he tries, catching up to him feels like a lost cause. Lost or not, Lance refuses to give up.

“So what? Your plan’s to beat him and then fall in love with him?”

Lance shrugs, which is kind of difficult in his current position. “Something like that.”

Hunk sighs. “That’s an awful plan.”

“Keith,” Lance greets, sliding into the seat next to Keith, who looks surprised to see him. “We have a simulator test after lunch, I just wanted to let you know that my team is gonna crush yours.”

Keith’s expression changes from confused to smug in a matter of seconds. “I doubt anyone who just upgraded from cargo pilot has any chance of beating me.”

Lance puts a hand over his chest, dramatic. “Wow, attacking a fresh wound? Low blow, Keith. Low blow.”

Keith rolls his eyes.

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter if I was a cargo pilot. I’m still gonna beat you.”

“Have fun trying.”

“I will,” Lance says, standing up abruptly, walking off towards Hunk before Keith has a chance to get in the last word.

Lance, to his disappointment, does not in fact crush Keith.

But that’s not even the worst part. The worst part is that Iverson uses his team as an example of what everyone else shouldn't do.

Lance’s face is hot with embarrassment, and he feels stupid for having messed up. Iverson only deepens his frustration, pinpointing Lance.

“You,” he says, pointing, voice stern. “You’d better be more careful from now on. You just got moved to fighter pilot. Don’t think that can't be undone.”

“I’ll be more careful,” Lance mumbles.

“What was that, cadet?” Iverson demands.

Lance resists the urge to groan out loud, or roll his eyes, or do anything that would piss Iverson off. “I’ll be more careful,” Lance says again, louder this time, “Sir,” he adds for good measure.

“You’re dismissed,” Iverson tells them. “Watch the other pilots. You might learn something.”

“He’s such an asshole,” Hunk says when they’re out of hearing range, standing back with the rest of the class to watch the next simulation.

“Tell me about it,” Lance mutters, sighing as he slumps over the railing, letting his chin rest in his hand.

The simulation screen turns on, and, oh, of flipping course it’s Keith’s turn. Lance groans, and Hunk pats his head in an attempt to be supportive. “Maybe he won’t be that good,” Hunk comforts, but he doesn’t sound convincing.

Lance laughs dryly. “Yeah, and maybe Iverson isn’t an asshole.”

As expected, Iverson is an asshole, and Keith doesn’t suck. He definitely doesn’t suck. If it didn’t frustrate him so much, he might actually enjoy watching Keith fly, but he can’t help but get aggravated. It’s like Keith was born to be a pilot. People like Lance never stood a chance against him.

He flies effortlessly, dodging everything that comes his way, and Lance hates it. Even more, he hates that he can’t tear his eyes away. Keith is kind of mesmerizing, which only makes him more annoying. Stupid Keith. Stupid training simulation. Stupid universe for pairing them together.

“Do you think the universe ever gets it wrong?” Lance mumbles, pouting.

“What do you mean?” Hunk asks, confused.

“Like soulmates,” Lance clarifies, and then repeats, “Do you think the universe ever gets it wrong?”

“Uh, I don’t think so,” Hunk says as Keith dodges an attack on the simulation screen, and Lance sighs.

“That’s too bad.”

Keith gets a perfect score, and he comes out of the simulation wearing a smug smile, and then, to Lance’s disbelief, that smug smile gets directed at him. Okay, it really shouldn’t have been that surprising, Lance had literally just told him he was going to beat him, but it’s still weird to have Keith’s attention focused on him, especially when he’s not the one initiating it.

And then, to his horror, Keith is walking in his direction, that smug expression unwavering. “What was that about beating me?” Keith asks as he closes the distance between them, and Lance glares.

“This isn’t over,” he informs before he spins around, storming off in the opposite direction. He’s been doing a lot of that lately.

He hears Hunk sputter out something to Keith, but he’s not really paying attention to what, and then there’s footsteps behind him, and Hunk is telling him to slow down.

He slows down enough for Hunk to catch up.

“He looked kind of sad,” Hunk says, and for a moment Lance feels guilty, and then he realizes how ridiculous that sounds. Why would Keith be sad? It’s not like he cares what Lance thinks. Hunk was probably reading him wrong. Or maybe he was sad he didn’t get a chance to brag.

The next few days are Keithless. Lance doesn’t declare any more wars, and Keith doesn't boast about any other simulation successes, even though the opportunity presents itself.

They’re not exactly ignoring each other, they’re just… not talking. Like how they didn’t talk before the whole ‘hey we’re soulmates!’ thing.

And really, they’ve only had three conversations since then, so Lance isn’t sure why he feels weird about the two of them not talking.

It’s almost like he wants to talk to Keith, but that’s just. Nope. Absolutely not. He does not want to talk to Keith. If anything, Keith’s the one who wants to talk to him.

Maybe that’s what’s going on. Maybe Keith wants to talk to him, and Lance is feeling that through some weird soulmate connection. He’s heard that’s a thing, soulmates experiencing each other’s emotions.

Well, if Keith wants to talk to Lance, he’s gonna have to be the one to start that conversation.

To Lance’s surprise, four days after the last time they spoke, which is only one day more than the first time they spoke, Keith breaks the weird silence between them.

Lance is in a pretty good mood when it happens. They’re working on strategy scenarios in class, which happens to be something he excels at.

At the end of class, he hears someone clear their throat from behind him, and when he turns around he finds what appears to be a nervous Keith.

Keith actually looks nervous. And oh, no, nope, no, no, no. Lance does not need his mind to tell him he looks cute. Keith is attractive, sure, he’s not about to deny that, but cute is such an affectionate term. Too affectionate for someone he views as a rival.

“Hey Lance,” Keith says, and Lance waits for more, but nothing else comes.

“Hey Keith,” Lance mimics, giving him a curious look.

“What you said in class today,” Keith starts, looking anywhere but Lance. “That was really smart. Anyway, I have to get to my next class, so I guess I’ll see you later.”

Keith turns around in a hurry, heading for the door. Before Lance has a chance to think better of it, he’s collecting his things and rushing out follow him.

“Hey, hold up!” Lance calls once he’s in the hall. Keith stops to look at him. “You can’t just compliment a guy and then walk off. That’s rude.”

Keith looks slightly distressed, and, ugh, it really is cute. “I didn’t think you wanted to talk to me.”

“Well, I kinda didn’t,” Lance admits, and now Keith looks annoyed.

“I give up,” Keith declares, exasperated, throwing his arms up in defeat.

Lance rolls his eyes, resisting the urge to smile. Apparently he isn’t the only dramatic one between them. “I thought you were an arrogant ass,” Lance explains, and Keith gapes at him. “But what you just said, that was nice. And you didn’t have to say it.”

“What made you think I was an arrogant ass?!” Keith asks, clearly frustrated.

“You’re always showing off!” Lance accuses, flinging his arms out to his sides for emphasis. “It’s like, yeah, we get it, you’re Keith, the best pilot in our class. As if everyone didn’t already know that.”

Some of the frustration leaves his face. “I’m not trying to show off,” Keith tells him, and then he has to go an ruin it. “I can’t help it if I’m a good pilot.”

“Ugh,” Lance groans. “That makes it even worse.”

“How does that make it worse? ”

“You’re the best pilot and it’s like you don’t even have to try.”

Keith pauses. “You really think I’m the best pilot?”

Lance rolls his eyes, as if it’s a ridiculous question. “Obviously, Keith. Everybody knows that.”

“But I wasn’t asking about everybody,” Keith says. “I was asking about you.”

Keith is being serious right now, Lance realizes. He really wants to know what Lance thinks. Just Lance. “Yeah. I really think you’re the best pilot.”

It’s annoying to admit out loud, especially to Keith of all people, but the way his face softens makes it a little less annoying. Only a little.

“Thanks,” Keith says, and the atmosphere around them changes.

“You’re welcome, I guess.”

Their frustration has disintegrated, awkwardness left in it’s place.

“I’m not an arrogant ass,” Keith blurts out suddenly, like this is something he needs Lance to know.

The corner of Lance’s lip pulls up. “That’s exactly what an arrogant ass would say.”

Keith opens his mouth to say something, but he never gets a chance, because suddenly they’re both getting yelled at by a teacher and told to go to their next class.

Apparently they’d both missed the bell.

Oops.

Lance has a problem, and his problem’s name is Keith.

Because, well, Lance is so used to disliking him, and now he might actually be a nice guy. It’s messing with Lance’s mind, making him want to actually spend time with Keith, even get to know him.

Hunk fails to see what the problem is.

“I just don’t understand why it’s bad thing that you’re crushing on your soulmate.”

“I do not have a crush on Keith!” Lance objects, a mix of mortification and offense in his tone. “What gave you that idea!?”

Hunk stares at him, like he can’t believe they’re seriously having this conversation. “Dude, I don’t know, maybe the fact that you’ve been obsessed with him sin—”

“I’ve never been obsessed with Keith!” Lance interrupts. “He just gets on my nerves easily, and it’s not good to have pent up frustration, so naturally, I complain about him to you. That’s like, the farthest thing from obsessed.”

“Okay, fine,” Hunk relents. “You’re not obsessed with him. But you still have a crush on him.”

“I don’t have a crush on him,” Lance repeats, but Hunk isn’t buying it.

“You’re the one that told me you guys had a nice conversation yesterday.”

“I have nice conversations with you all the time! That doesn’t mean I want to date you!”

Hunk’s face drops jokingly. “Aw man, really? I really thought we had something special here.”

“We have eternal love and friendship,” Lance deadpans.

Hunk shakes his head, laughing. “Man, are you really not going to admit that you have a crush on Keith?”

“There’s nothing to admit,” Lance insists, making the mistake of not stopping there. “We had one okay conversation, but I’m still not entirely convinced that he isn’t an arrogant ass, you know. And who cares if he might actually be kind of cool and not a total jerk? I know lots of kind of cool people that aren't jerks and I don’t have a crush on any of them.”

“Lance,” Hunk says evenly, “Those people aren't your soulmate.”

“Just because Keith’s my soulmate, doesn’t mean I have to have a crush on him.”

Hunk sighs loudly. “You’re a lost cause.”

A silence passes between them, and then Lance is digging himself into a bigger hole. “I’m not saying I have a crush on him, I’m just saying like, maybe the universe has a plan after all.”

Hunk is still looking at Lance like he has three heads, but now his expression has softened. “You’re such a romantic, Lance,” he says, only half joking.

“Do you want to meet Keith?”

“Huh?”

“Do you want to meet Keith?”

“Yeah? I mean, dude, obviously.”

“Cool,” Lance says, grabbing onto Hunk’s arm and guiding him to the other side of the cafeteria. Keith is easy to find, because he always sits in the same exact spot. (It’s not like Lance had ever looked for him before; he was just hard to miss with his stupid mullet and all.)

Lance lets go of Hunk once they reach the table, sitting down across from Keith, who’s now staring at him, eyes slightly wide.

Keith notices that Lance isn’t alone, his gaze drifting to Hunk before it moves between them, clearly at a loss for what to say.

“This is Hunk,” Lance introduces, adding, “If you want to be my soulmate, you need to have his blessing.”

Hunk elbows Lance, and then turns his attention to Keith. “He’s joking—”

“I am not,” Lance objects. “If you don’t approve of him, then why should I trust him with my heart?”

Hunk rolls his eyes. “ Fine. Keith, you have my blessing,” he pauses before adding, “But if you hurt him, I’ll…”

“You’ll crush him,” Lance offers.

Hunk nods. “Yeah, I’ll crush you.”

Keith blinks, probably overwhelmed by the sudden and unexpected intrusion. Lance can’t say he blames him.

“Um,” Keith starts, looking between them once more before his gaze settles on Lance. “I don’t plan on hurting him,” Keith tells Hunk, a small smile tugging at his lips now. “I would like to get to know him, though.”

Hunk beams, clearly enthused by that response. Lance isn’t as easily impressed.

“We might be able to arrange something,” Lance says, and that seems to be a good enough response for Keith, who’s smile grows.

Lance spends the rest of lunch picking at his food, while Hunk won’t stop asking Keith questions.

“What’s your favorite color? [Red.] What’s your zodiac sign? [Scorpio.] Why do your eyes look purple in this lighting? [I don’t know.]”

“Where did you learn how to fly?”

“At the Garrison.”

“Dude, you’re a natural. That’s awesome. Sometimes I wish I knew how to fly, but I’m pretty sure I’d throw up.”

They talk through the entirety of lunch, and it’s clear that Lance isn’t going to have to worry about his best friend and his soulmate getting along.

He’s pretty sure Hunk already gets along with Keith better than he does.

Lance makes a decision, while he’s staring blankly at his textbook, the words blurring together.

He’s going to ask Keith out.

Lance catches Keith after class the next day, leaning against the wall as he waits for him to exit the room.

“Hey there,” Lance says, grinning. Keith jumps, and Lance’s grin widens. He pushes himself off the wall, moving so that he’s standing at Keith’s side.

They walk in step together, maneuvering away from the crowded hall. “Waiting for me after class?” Keith asks, smirking. “How sweet.”

“I know, right?” Lance shoots back, not letting Keith win. “I’m the whole package, baby.”

Keith narrows his eyes at him. “Did you really just call me baby?”

“Would you prefer babe? Or honey? Or maybe sweetheart?” Lance asks playfully, and wow, Keith actually flushes. He ignores the way that lifts his mood in favor of poking fun at Keith. “Oh my god, you’re blushing.”

“No, I’m not,” Keith says insistently, scowling. He’s never seen someone scowl and blush at the same time before.

“You totally are, but don’t worry. It’s cute.”

“Would you shut up already?” Keith asks, but there’s no bite to it, and Lance is pretty sure his blush has deepened.

Lance shrugs casually. “I mean, I was gonna ask you out on a date, but sure, I can shut up instead.”

He bites the inside of his lip to keep himself from grinning as he watches Keith’s expression morph into shock.

“You— what?” Keith stumbles to get out, making no efforts to hide his surprise.

“We’re soulmates, Keith,” Lance says, somewhat dramatically. “Am I not allowed to ask my own soulmate on a date?”

“Are you messing with me?”

Alright, that wasn’t the exact response he’d expected. Lance shakes his head, getting more serious. “I’m not messing with you, Keith. You said you wanted to get to know me, right? Well, this is my way of saying I want to get to know you, too.”

Keith stands there for a moment, processing, and then he’s smiling, the surprise wearing off. “Okay. Yeah, okay. Let’s go on a date.”

Lance can’t help it, he grins. Keith looks excited, and that makes him excited, and wow, they’re really gonna do this.

“What are you doing tomorrow night?” Lance asks.

“...Going on a date with you?”

Lance nods. “Hell yeah you are.”

Keith makes a failed attempt at stopping his smile from growing. “What are we gonna do? The Garrison isn’t exactly the best place for a date.”

Lance waves a hand. “Leave the romance to me, Keith. I’ll give you a date you never forget.”

Keith raises an eyebrow, curious, but he doesn’t push for details. “Is that a promise?”

Lance drops a hand on Keith’s shoulder, who stares at it, not having expected the physical contact. “Yeah, and so is this; you’re gonna wanna go on a hundred dates with me after tomorrow night.”

Keith laughs, shaking his head in amusement. “Let’s get through the first one before we talk about a hundred more.”

Lance isn’t nervous. He’s not. What reason does he have to be nervous, anyway? So he’s going on a date with Keith. Big deal. It’s just Keith. Just Keith, his rival, his soulmate. But he’s not nervous. He repeats that to himself, ignoring the uneven beating of his heart telling him the exact opposite.

“Dude, you’re not looking too great,” Hunk tells him, and Lance spins around so he’s facing his friend.

“I always look great,” Lance says, mocking offense.

Hunk grins mischievously. “I bet that’s what Keith thinks, too.”

“Oh my god,” Lance breaths, “I can’t believe you just said that.”

Hunk is giggling, looking absolutely thrilled with himself, and Lance sighs dramatically, dropping onto his bed with his arms stretched out.

He has ten minutes until Keith shows up at his door, which means he has ten minutes not to be nervous.

Besides, if Keith is his soulmate, the world has already planned for them to fall in love. He has this in the bag.

Keith shows up right on time, knocking at his door at the exact time Lance told him to be there.

Lance jumps from his bed, looking in Hunk’s direction, who gives him a thumbs up, before he swings the door open. Keith is standing there, hands in the pockets of his black jeans, like he’s not entirely sure what he’s doing here.

Don’t be nervous, Lance reminds himself, putting his hand against the door frame and leaning his weight into it. “Hey there.”

“Hey,” Keith says, removing his hands from his pockets. He lifts one half way like he’s going to wave, but instead he lets it fall to his side. “Uh, isn’t it a little late to be going on a date? I know you said you had a plan but curfew is in fifteen minutes, so…”

Lance grins, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “That’s the point, Keith.”

Keith’s eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. “Huh?”

“We’re sneaking out.”

“We’re… sneaking out,” Keith repeats, after a pause, “That’s a horrible idea.”

“Actually, it’s an awesome idea,” Lance says, and then he grins. “Unless you’re scared.”

Keith rises to the bait. “I’m not scared.”

And that’s how they end up pressed against a wall, shoulder to shoulder, hoping the guard doesn’t turn the corner.

Lance catches Keith’s eye. “I’m gonna look,” he whispers, inching over so he can peer around the wall.

The guard is standing with his back to them, and Lance takes that their chance. He grabs hold of Keith’s hand, pulling him around the corner, rushing as quietly as they can down the hall.

When they make it to safety, Lance is grinning, his heart beating fast in his chest with adrenaline. “I’m amazing. Tell me I’m amazing, Keith.”

“We almost got caught!” Keith whisper shouts, but it looks like he’s resisting the urge to smile.

“But we didn’t get caught,” Lance points out, adding, “because of me.”

His heart is returning to a normal pace, and that’s when he realizes that he hasn’t let go of Keith’s hand. He’s not sure how he hadn’t noticed until now.

It’s too late to drop it without making it weird, and if Keith hasn’t let go, then why should he? It’s not like he minds holding Keith’s hand. It’s warm. Kind of sweaty, but that’s how hands are.

“So what now?” Keith asks, glancing down at their hands, and then quickly back up. Lance waits for him to pull his hand away, but he doesn’t, and it takes Lance a moment to process the question because his heart is tingling, and he can’t believe Keith is the one making him feel this way.

Stupid universe and it’s stupid plans.

Lance lets out a breath. “Now you fall in love with me.”

Keith makes a face, attempting to look unamused, but the smile peeking up at the corner of his mouth tells a different story. “Haha,” Keith says blankly. “You’re hilarious.”

Lance tilts his head to the side, lifting his arm and rolling his hand out, the one that isn’t holding Keith’s hand. “What can I say? It’s part of my charm.”

“Your nonexistent charm?”

Keith is smirking, visibly proud of himself, and Lance hates to admit that smug is a good look on him. How irritating.

“Just wait, Keith, my man. You won’t be saying that for long.”

Before Keith has a chance to say anything else, Lance is moving, tugging him along. Turns out holding hands can come in handy. He’ll have to keep that in mind for next time.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

“Are you really not gonna tell me?”

“Patience, Keith.”

They stop at a door, and Lance shoves his free hand in his pocket, pulling out a bobby pin.

He drops Keith’s hand, turning his back to Keith, so that he’s facing the door. He tries not to mourn the loss of Keith’s hand too much. The whole soulmate thing probably means hand holding is something the future holds for them.

“What are you doing? ”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Lance throws back, using the bobby pin to pick the lock.

“That’s not gonna work,” Keith tries to tell him, and Lance is offended by Keith’s complete lack of faith in him. Oh well, it only makes it more satisfying when the door opens.

He turns to face Keith again, who’s now gaping at him. “Did you seriously just pick a Garrison lock with a bobby pin?”

Lance shrugs, like it’s no big deal. “Impressed?”

“Yeah,” Keith admits, not missing a beat.

“In love with me yet?” Lance jokes, feeling on top of his game.

Lance expects to be shot down, expects some smartass response, since Keith seems to be great at those.

Instead, what comes out of Keith’s mouth is, “Getting closer,” accompanied by a small smile.

A smartass comment would have been much easier to handle. But this— this has his cheeks turning red. This has him at a loss for words.

So, he settles on saying nothing, spinning around in hopes that Keith won’t notice the way his face has colored. He heads up the stairs, only sparing a glance behind to make sure Keith closes the door. He does.

There’s a jump to his step as he makes his way up, like he’s trying to dispel the remainder of his nerves.

When he gets to the top of the stairs, there’s another door, and Lance grabs the bobby pin for the second time and gets to work, feeling Keith’s presence behind him.

It takes him longer than it usually does when he’s alone, because Keith is really close to him, and he’s having a hard time focusing on anything else.

The door finally opens, and Lance turns to grin at Keith. “Alright. Close your eyes.”

Keith gives him a skeptical look. “I don’t trust you.”

Lance sighs loudly. “Keeeith, I’m not gonna kill you on our first date.”

Keith glares, but it lacks its usual intensity, mostly apprehensive. “I didn’t think you were going to kill me. I just don’t want to trip or something.”

“I won’t let you trip,” Lance assures him. “Here, grab my hand.”

Keith eyes him suspiciously, but he looks like he’s considering it, and then he grabs hold of Lance’s hand and closes his eyes.

Lance ignores the warm tingling in his chest as he walks through the door, which closes on it’s own behind them.

“So if you’re not going to kill me on our first date, does that mean you’re saving it for our second?” Keith asks, eyes still closed.

Lance’s smile is fonder than it has any right to be. “I was thinking the third.”

They walk for about thirty more seconds before Lance stops.

“Can I open my eyes now?”

Lance nods, even though it’s pointless. “Yeah,” he says, watching Keith’s reaction as he catches the view in front of them.

It’s nothing spectacular by any means, but Lance has always thought it looked cool, standing up here, away from everything else. This is where he comes, when he needs an escape from the Garrison, from his own feelings.

He tries not to think about what it means that he brought Keith here.

“Wow,” Keith breaths, and Lance finds himself smiling, watching Keith take in the view.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?”

Keith nods, looking out over the expanse. “How did you find this place?” He asks, his eyes making their way to Lance, who feels his heart stir in his chest.

“I got bored one day,” Lance says, “so I decided to go exploring. I found the door, and it brought me here.” Lance shrugs like exploring the Garrison after hours is the easiest thing in the world.

“How often do you come out here?” Keith questions, sounding genuinely curious.

“Once a week, probably.” He watches Keith’s eyes return to the deserts, and he adds, “It helps me relax.”

Keith nods, understanding. “Thanks for showing me.”

Lance grins at the same time Keith’s gaze rests back on him. “I promised a date you’d never forget, didn’t I?”

“So far so good,” Keith tells him, the corner of his lip lifted in a small smile.

Lance’s stomach does the ridiculous tingly thing, and he thinks he may be blushing now, but he doesn’t let that stop him from showing off. “I have another surprise.”

Keith looks surprised at the mere mention of a surprise, which turns the tingling to a feeling of satisfaction. “So are you gonna tell me or are you just gonna leave me hanging?”

Lance’s grin grows as he tilts his head towards the ground, where a collection of planets and two pillows currently lies.

Keith’s eyes widen, and Lance’s satisfaction multiples.

“You…” Keith trails off.

“Are amazing? Awesome? The coolest soulmate ever? Yeah, I know.”

Keith throws him a glare, but it’s half assed and probably the softest glare Lance has ever seen.

“I can’t believe you did this,” Keith settles on, staring at the blankets that Lance worked hard to sneak up here.

“Well, you’d better believe it,” Lance says, letting go of Keith’s hand so he can sprawl out on the blankets. It’s not as comfortable as his bed, but with a concrete floor, there’s not much he can do about that. All in all, it’s not too bad.

Lance pats the spot next to him, and for a moment, Keith stands still, staring, and then he’s making his way to the ground, laying on his side so he can look at Lance, who mirrors his position.

“So,” Lance starts, not taking his eyes off Keith. “You said you wanted to get to know me. What do you want to know?”

Keith takes a moment to think about it before asking, “What made you want to come to the Garrison?”

Lance falls to his back, breaking eye contact in favor of staring up at the sky. Keith stays on his side, watching Lance.

“I’ve always been interested in exploration,” Lance tells him, looking at the stars. “When I was a kid, I was always outside. We lived near a beach, so I’d beg my older siblings to take me. If they didn’t keep an eye on me, I’d wander off. I just wanted to see everything. There’s so much out there, you know, and we barely see any of it.”

Lance pauses, the stars above him shining. “My mom took me to the park one time, when I was ten. We ended up finding a hurt bird, and I wanted so badly to help it. My mom told me not to touch it. She said there was nothing I could do. We walked off, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Looking back, my mom was probably right. There probably wasn’t anything I could do. But I don’t know, it made me want to do something. It was like a push forward, if that makes sense. I couldn’t help that bird, but there were still people out there I could help.”

Lance lets out a breath, the memories of his mom getting to him. The hardest part about coming to the Garrison was having to leave his family, but he knows they’re proud of him, and he’s not going to be gone forever.

“I guess I just felt inspired to make a difference. I wanted to leave a positive influence on the world, and I wanted to keep exploring. Here, I can do both.”

Keith doesn’t react right away, and Lance forces himself to pull his gaze from the stars, nervous jitters collecting in his stomach. Keith could easily make fun of him right now, but when Lance meets his eyes, there’s a gentleness to them.

“Lance,” Keith says, and he sounds completely serious. “I admire you.”

Lance’s cheeks flush, and he has to avert his eyes for a moment, his heart loud in his chest. Keith admires him. What the hell! He searches his brain for some smartass response, but he comes up empty.

For better or worse, Keith apparently isn't done talking. “I’ve thought you were cool for a while now, but we never talked. I thought about trying to talk to you, but I wasn’t sure what I would say, so I tried to ignore you instead. But you’re kind of ridiculous, and you’re loud, and you have good ideas. It’s hard not to notice you.”

Lance swallows, feeling like there's a lump in his throat. “You think I’m cool,” He manages to get out, after some awkward staring. Keith starts to nod, but Lance is jumping to his knees, absolutely thrilled . “ You think I’m cool! You, Keith Kogane, best pilot in our class, think I’m cool. Do you know how long I spent angrily staring at you in class because you were just so freaking good that it was impossible to catch up to you?”

Keith looks overwhelmed with Lance’s sudden energy, but Lance is smiling so wide his face is starting to hurt. “This is hilarious. While I was jealous of you, you were thinking about how cool I am.” Lance’s eyes widen, a realization. “Wait. What about our rivalry?”

Keith stares at him, and then he’s laughing, shaking his head. “Lance, we’ve never had a rivalry. I was never trying to compete with you. Or, well, I wasn’t—until you told me you were going to beat me.”

Lance’s eyes light up. “So you are my rival then.”

Something between amusement and admiration fills Keith’s face. “If that’s what you want.”

“I want to beat you.”

“Why?”

“Because…” Lance trails off. A few days ago, he would have said because you’re the best . But now, he doesn’t think he cares as much about that. It’s still a factor, but it’s not what’s driving him. “Because it’s fun.”

Keith grins, wide and dangerous. “You’re on.”

It’s then, side by side under the stars, that the universe’s plan for them starts to unravel.

When Lance tip toes back into his room at three in the morning, the first thing he does is drop the blankets and pillows he’d taken up to the roof back on his bed. The second thing he does is poke Hunk until he wakes up with a jolt.

“Lance?” Hunk mumbles, voice groggy with sleep.

“Yeah, I need to talk to you.”

“Right now? ”

“Yeah, can I get in your bed?”

Lance is buzzing with left over energy, and right now he needs to talk to his best friend. Even if it is three in the morning.

Hunk groans, but he rolls over, leaving room for Lance, who crawls into the bed next to him.

“Your date with Keith either went really well or really bad,” Hunk says, sounding slightly more awake now.

Lance lets out a loud, content sigh. “Hunk, oh my god. The universe definitely doesn't make mistakes. Hunk. I hate him, Hunk. He’s so cool, I hate him.”

“It sounds like you like him.”

“Yeah, ” Lance says, not even trying to deny it. He likes Keith. He really likes Keith.

They wake up four hours later, warm and comfortable, and Lance doesn’t want to get out of bed.

He clings to Hunk’s side. “Let’s skip breakfast,” Lance suggests, but he knows it’s a lost battle even as he says it. There is no skipping any meal when it comes to Hunk.

“No way,” Hunk says, rolling out of bed, leaving an empty space next to Lance, who already misses the warmth of Hunk next to him.

Despite his disappointment, he follows suit, getting out of bed and dressed for the day.

When they’re sitting in the cafeteria, trays in front of them, Lance finds himself scanning the room, in search of that familiar mullet.  

“Looking for Keith?” Hunk asks, wearing a knowing grin.

“Maybe.”

“Do you even remember what you said last night?”

Lance pouts, letting his head fall into his hands, covering his face. “Don’t remind me.”

Hunk, of course, does the opposite. “He’s so cool, Hunk, I hate him,” Hunk mimics in his best Lance impression, which is surprisingly good.

“Aren’t you supposed to be my best friend?” Lance says, removing his hands from his face.

“Yep,” Hunk confirms proudly. “And that’s why I have to make fun of you.” He softens. “But I’m really happy for you, dude. I’m glad your date went well. You said you were gonna take him to the roof? How’d that go?”

“I totally stole his heart,” Lance boasts, before getting more serious. “It was… really nice. We talked a lot. Turns out he’s not as much of an asshole as I thought he was. He called me cool.”

He tries to sound casual as he says the last part, but Hunk sees right through him. He always does.

“Dude, you’re totally in love with him!” Hunk exclaims, a little too loud.

Lance rolls his eyes. “I’m not in love with him,” before Hunk can object, he repeats, “ I’m not . I like him, but I’m not in love with him. I can’t just fall in love with someone after one date. I don’t think that’s how love works.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Hunk agrees, taking a sip of his orange juice.

Despite being in the same class for almost three years, Lance is starting to think the only thing he’s known about Keith all this time is that he’s a good pilot.

Everything else has just been an assumption.

But that’s changing. He’s getting to know Keith, not just Keith, the best pilot in their class. He never realized there’d be such a big difference between the two.

“Ready to get your ass kicked?” Lance whispers, showing up behind Keith, hands on the back of his chair.

Keith turns so he’s facing Lance, raising an eyebrow. “What are you going to kick my ass at? We’re not doing simulations until later.”

“Oh, I know,” Lance says, confident as ever. “I’m gonna kick your ass at strategy. We’re doing mock missions today.”

Keith’s face drops slightly, probably realizing Lance has the upper hand here, but he doesn't turn down the challenge. “Better be on top of your game today.”

“Oh Keith,” Lance says dramatically, running his hand over the back of the chair until it falls off, and he brings it back to his side. “I’m always on top of my game.”

With that, he disappears to the other side of the classroom, taking his own seat.

He does in fact kick Keith’s ass at strategy, which really isn’t a surprise to either of them. Keith promises to beat him next time, but with his ‘attack first, think later’ mindset, Lance doesn’t think he stands a chance.

Keith gets him back during simulations, but regardless of the defeat, Lance is buzzing when he gets out of the simulator. Keith may have beat him, but it’s the best Lance has ever flown.

He’s improving, and it feels so, so good. It also feels good when Keith approaches him, smile reaching his eyes, and tells him, “Looks like I’ve got a worthy rival.”

There’s a fire burning in his heart.

They’re laying on the roof for the second time, hands intertwined between them, and although it’s chilly outside, Lance’s entire body feels warm. That seems to be the result of spending time with Keith.

“You’re joking, right?” Keith asks, a lightness to his voice. “You’re not seriously telling me you don’t believe in aliens.”

Lance shrugs. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

Keith is looking at him like he’s from another planet, which is kinda funny, considering their current conversation. “How do you not believe in aliens? ”

“It’s just not realistic, Keith,” Lance tries to reason, but Keith isn’t having it.

“Not realistic—look up there!” Keith nearly shouts, his arms shooting up to gesture at the sky. “There’s so much out there that we don’t know about. If anything, it’s not realistic to believe we’re the only ones out there.”

Lance laughs, soft and amused. He’s never seen Keith get this worked up about something that isn’t training related, and it’s a nice side to him.

“I still don’t believe in aliens,” Lance says.

Keith glances from Lance, and then back up to the sky. “Universe, I need a new soulmate. This isn’t going to work out.”

Lance gasps, gently nudging Keith’s side. “I can’t believe you’d choose the aliens over me! I’m your soulmate!”

“Not anymore,” Keith tells him, attempting to look serious. “The aliens are my soulmates now.”

“Oh yeah? All zero of them?”

It’s Keith’s turn to nudge him now. “Just because you can’t see them, doesn’t mean they’re not out there.”

Lance rolls his eyes, his cheeks hurting from smiling. It’s weird to think that the words ‘arrogant’ and ‘ass’ were words Lance used to associate with Keith, especially when he’s lying next to him, hand in his, defending the existence of aliens.

Lance may not believe in aliens, but the fact that Keith does makes his heart twist in all sorts of ways.

Despite the cafeteria being crowded, Lance’s eyes automatically go to Keith when they enter the room. He’s in the same spot he always is, alone. Nothing new there.

“Hunk,” Lance says, a slight pout to his voice. “Let’s eat with Keith today. He looks lonely.”

Hunk snorts. “You just miss him.”

“Or maybe I’m a nice person who doesn't like to see people look lonely!” Lance argues, even though Hunk is, as much as he hates to admit it, completely right. Hunk usually is.

“Suuure,” Hunk says, unconvinced.

They head to the lunch line, finding other things to talk about as they wait. One of the many, many things that Lance loves about Hunk is that it’s always been easy to talk to him. From the moment they met, there was never any forced conversation.

“Alright,” Hunk starts when they’ve got their lunch trays. “Where’s your boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend, he’s my soulmate,” Lance corrects, because even though they’re apparently destined to spend forever together, they’re not boyfriends.

“And he’s over there.” Lance points a few tables down, making his way in that direction, Hunk following at his side.

“Do you want him to be your boyfriend?” Hunk asks curiously.

“I—wha—why does it even matter?” Lance stumbles over his words, caught off guard by the question. “We’re soulmates. Isn’t that like, the ultimate commitment? Do we need to be boyfriends and soulmates?”

“Well, not necessarily,” Hunk points out. “Some people don’t exclusively commit to their soulmate. And some people feel like they’re platonic soulmates, and some people ch—”

“Okay, I get your point,” Lance interrupts as they approach Keith, who’s now staring up at them, his drink halfway to his mouth.

“Hey Keith!” Hunk greets, warm and welcoming as he takes a seat, setting his tray on the table. Lance slides in next to him.

“Um. Hey,” Keith says, looking between them, like he’s trying to find some hidden secret.

“Dude,” Lance starts with a laugh. “You can stop looking at us like that, we’re not here to kidnap you or something. You always eat alone, so we thought,” Lance shrugs, as if that’s enough of an explanation.

“You don’t have to sit with me because you feel bad for me,” Keith mumbles, finally bringing his drink to his mouth instead of awkwardly holding it in the air. “I don’t mind being alone.”

Lance shrugs casually. “If that’s how you feel, we can leave, but,” he looks Keith in the eye, the corner of his lip pulled up, “I’m here because I want to be here.”

Keith’s cheeks turn a light shade of red, and he averts his gaze so that he’s staring intently at his tray, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. “I never said I didn’t want you here.”

For as cool and collected as Lance is trying to act, his heart is totally betraying him, beating excitedly in his chest. He bites back a smile, eyes falling to his own tray.

“So,” Hunk starts between bites, “now that we’ve established you both want to be here, how are you, Keith?”

Keith looks taken aback by the question, as if it’s not something he’s asked often. “Uh… I’m good, I guess.” He shrugs a shoulder, like he’s not entirely sure.

Lance grins. “Of course you’re good, you’re with me.”

Keith looks flustered for a moment, and Lance is pretty satisfied with himself, and then Keith has to go and ruin it with two simple, tiny words. “It’s true.”

Now Lance is the flustered one, but before he has a chance to embarrass himself, Hunk comes to his rescue without even realizing it, elbowing his side lightly.

“I know you like Keith, but stop flirting for ten minutes so I can talk to him.”

Lance sneaks a glance at Keith to see that the tips of his ears have gone red, but he’s fairly certain that his have as well.

“Alright, alright. I promise no more flirting,” he says, resisting the urge to add ‘but I can’t make any promises for Keith.’

“So,” Hunk turns his attention to Keith. “Are you a dog or a cat person?”

Keith seems at a loss for words, not having expected such a random question.

“Personally, I'm more of a dog person, so is Lance, but I love cats too, and birds, oh, and bunnies.”

Lance laughs, smiling at his best friend, who’s still looking at Keith, awaiting an answer.

“I’m more of a cat person, I think,” Keith tells them, and even though it’s only a small fact about Keith, Lance is excited about the new information, about getting to know him, even the things that seem meaningless, because they’re apart of what make Keith, Keith.

Hunk spends the rest of lunch telling Keith all about his animals back home, and Keith listens, not showing any signs of disinterest.

There’s a warm feeling settling in his stomach as he watches them interact, his best friend and his soulmate.

Keith falls naturally into the rotation of Lance’s life, as if he was made to be there, and Lance supposes he kind of was, them being soulmates and all.

The days push forward, and Lance spends them training. He spends them in class, always attempting to one up Keith. He spends them in the simulator, better every time.

As far as pilots go, he’s still no Keith, but he’s worked his way up the ladder, far away from cargo pilot.

He used to want more than anything to be the best pilot, and he still wants that, still works for it, but lately, the idea of coming second doesn’t hurt half as much. He’s starting to realize his skill as a pilot don’t define him. There are a lot of other things that will make him a great explorer; flying doesn't have to be everything.

That doesn’t mean he isn't giving it everything he has. He hasn’t given up, and he’s not about to back down. Not now, and not forever. Being okay with second doesn't mean he can’t keep fighting for first.

The days push forward, and Lance becomes more and more used to Keith’s presence. He’s everywhere, these days. If they’re not in class together, they’re eating together, or studying together, or doing something together.

Lance was worried at first, that maybe Hunk would get tired of Keith hanging around so much, but that hasn’t happened, and from the way the two get along, Lance doubts it’ll happen in the future.

It’s strange to think that tomorrow will mark one month since Lance crashed into Keith, one small trip setting so much in motion.

And Lance, ever the romantic, has big plans for the one month anniversary of their soulmate discovery.

“Do you know what tomorrow is?” Lance asks Keith at dinner, biting back a grin.

He expects Keith to shrug and ask what, but instead the corner of his lip pulls up. “It’s a month since you ran into me.”

Lance sits there with his mouth open for a few seconds, the worlds, ‘it’s our soulmateiversary!’ dead on his tongue.

“You remembered?”

“Of course I remembered,” Keith says, voice soft, and then he’s straightening up, like he hadn’t intended for it to come out with so much care. “How could I forget you laughing your ass off after finding out I was your soulmate?” he adds for good measure.

“Dude!” Lance exclaims, laughing at the memory. “You had the words ‘you’re not my soulmate’ on your arm. It’s funny.” He nudges Hunk, who’s in the middle of biting down on a cheeseburger. “Back me up here, Hunk.”

“It is kinda funny,” Hunk says through a mouthful of food, and Lance gives Keith a ‘told you so’ look.

Keith rolls his eyes in defeat, and Lance barely catches the hurt expression that passes over his face. It’s barely there, hidden by an amused smile, and then it’s gone.

Lance makes a note to ask about it later, when they’re alone.

“Anyway,” Lance starts, “there’s a reason I brought this up.” He meets Keith’s eye as he says, “You and me, tomorrow night. Roof of Galaxy Garrison. Is it a date?”

Keith’s entire face softens. “Will it be as memorable as the first?”

Lance raises his eyebrows, lip pulled up in a half smirk. “It’s always memorable when you’re with me, baby.”

Keith snorts, shaking his head, but his smile reaches his eyes. “Then it’s a date.”

Lance skips lunch on the day of their soulmateiversary, using the time to move his blankets up to the roof. There’s a higher chance of getting caught doing it now rather than waiting for the night, but Lance wants it to be ready, and Keith’s worth the effort.

He’s not nervous like he was the first time they came up here, when everything was new and weird and his heart didn’t know how to chill the heck out.

He feels comfortable now, and yeah, his heart hasn’t exactly learned to calm down since then, but rather than beating from excessive nerves, it’s an even drum that feels a lot more like happiness.

They’re lying on the blankets now, both on their backs, staring up at the stars. It’s a view that Lance could never get sick of.

“There are aliens up there,” Keith says, and Lance doesn't need to look at him to know he’s grinning.

He looks anyway, smiling at the sight.

Lance rolls onto his side, propping his elbow up so he can hold his head in his hand. “Maybe there are aliens here, too,” Lance says, indulging him. “Maybe you’re an alien.”

Keith tears his gaze from the sky, eyes settling on Lance as he moves to mirror his position. There’s the ghost of a smile on his his face, like he’s trying to conceal it, but isn’t entirely successful. “You discovered my secret,” Keith whispers.

“My alien soulmate,” Lance whispers back, his smile small, but his eyes bright.

Keith’s face is right there, and Lance has never wanted to kiss anyone more than he has in this moment. Makes sense, considering he’s never felt like this about anyone before, which also makes sense, because Keith is his soulmate.

His completely ridiculous, amazingly talented, somewhat awkward, alien enthusiast soulmate.

And Lance wouldn't have it any other way.

“Keith,” Lance murmurs, searching his eyes. “Can I kiss you?”

He watches Keith’s eyes widen slightly, and then he’s nodding, eyes sinking into Lance. “The aliens would be disappointed if you didn’t.”

Lance can’t help it, he starts laughing, shaking his head with a smile that shows his teeth. “Are the aliens watching us right now?” He asks, “‘Cause that’s kinda creepy.”

Keith, who’s smiling just as wide, tells him, “The aliens are always watching.”

“I hate you,” Lance says, with so much warmth in his voice.

“Just shut up and kiss me,” Keith whispers through a laugh.

So Lance does.

He kisses Keith.

He kisses Keith, and his heart might beat out of his chest because of it, but he wouldn’t mind, because Keith is kissing back, and it occurs to Lance that this isn’t a one time thing.

He pulls away suddenly, and Keith tries to follow him, but Lance is too fast.

“Wha—”

“Be my boyfriend.”

The confusion disappears from Keith’s face, replaced with yet another smile. It seems that’s all they do when they’re around each other.

“Okay.”

“My alien boyfriend soulmate.”

“Your soulmate alien boyfriend.”

“I’m gonna kiss you again.”

“Okay.”

Lance leans in, and Keith meets him halfway. His heart is so full, like it might burst at any moment, and he wants to hold onto this feeling.

He wants to hold onto Keith.

The kiss is slow and gentle. There’s no reason to be rushed when this is only the second kiss of what will eventually become many.

He pulls away, half tempted to lean back in, but they didn't come up here just so they could make out. As much as Lance likes kissing Keith, he also likes talking to him. It’s hard to do the two at the same time.

“Not to ruin the mood,” Lance starts, getting nervous. He doesn’t want to mess up what is so far an awesome date, but he has to ask. “Earlier when we were talking about your soulmate mark, you seemed upset for a second. I was wondering why.”

The question catches Keith by surprise. His gaze falls to the floor, and he lets out a sigh. “When I was little, I thought when I met my soulmate, they were going to hate me.”

Lance’s heart drops. He used to tell Hunk that he hated Keith all the time. It was out of frustration, and he never really meant it, but here’s Keith now, telling him he thought his soulmate would hate him, and even though Lance has never actually hated Keith, he used to tell himself he did.

“I’m sorry,” Lance says, and before he can get any further, Keith interrupts him.

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. And it doesn’t even matter anymore,” Keith pauses for the shortest of moments, “because you’re clearly in love with me.”

Lance doesn’t really know when like becomes love, but he does know he likes Keith a lot, so he doesn’t deny it.

“Oh?” Lance says, tone lighthearted. “I am? Thanks for letting me know.”

Keith shines, his happiness seeking through to his voice. “No problem.”

Lance sighs contently, scooting closer to Keith. “You’re too far away.”

Keith falls to his back, stretching out his arms. “Then do something about it.”

Lance’s heart stutters, and he moves towards Keith, positioning himself so that his head is resting on Keith’s shoulder, his arm around his chest. Once he’s settled, Keith wraps an arm around Lance’s back, moving his other arm to his stomach, close to Lance, who grabs his hand and intertwines their fingers.

“Better,” Lance says, giving Keith a gentle squeeze.

“I'm not used to being this close to someone,” Keith admits, and Lance glances up at him.

“Is it okay?” He asks, wanting to make sure they’re not doing something that makes Keith uncomfortable.

“It’s more than okay,” Keith tells him, eyes on the sky. “It’s—I like being close to you.”

“I like being close to you too.”

Keith smiles, still looking at the stars, and they fall into a comfortable silence.

The universe is a mystery, Lance thinks. One month and a day ago, the idea of being where he is now, curled up with Keith, his boyfriend, wouldn’t have even been something he’d have thought to consider.

The universe is a mystery, Lance thinks, but he owes it one heck of a favor for giving him Keith.

Keith, who pushes him to his furthest, who sees both his strengths and his weaknesses, who never backs down from a challenge.

They’re not rivals, Lance decides, and they probably never were. They’re a team.

Lance wants to tell Keith this, but Keith breaks the silence before he gets a chance.

“Hey Lance,” Keith starts, and Lance hums to show he’s listening. “What’s your family like?”

For the time being, he forgets anything else he’d wanted to say. “They’re great,” he tells Keith, excited that he wants to know about them.

“My mom’s an engineer like Hunk, and my dad’s a teacher. They’re both really smart.” Lance remembers being a kid, and having his parents tell him he could grow up to be anything he wanted to be, and it was those words that helped get him to the Garrison, their faith in him that inspired his own faith in himself.

Keith’s eyes stay on him as he talks, and he tells him about his siblings taking him to the beach, when his parents brought a puppy home, get togethers with his extended family. He keeps talking, and Keith keeps listening.

“I took care of my nephews and nieces a lot,” Lance says, smiling at the memory. “They called me Lancey Lance—or, well, I called myself that and they picked it up.”

The corner of Keith’s lip pulls up in amusement, his expression soft. “You used to call yourself Lancey Lance?”

“Used to?” Lance shakes his head, acting serious. “Oh no, Keith. I never stopped.”

Keith throws his head back against the pillow, laughing, before returning his eyes to Lance. “I can’t believe I’m dating someone that calls himself Lancey Lance,” Keith says, voice fond.

“We can be Lancey Lance and Keithy Keith.”

Keith shakes his head, smile growing. “You’re ridiculous.”

“You like it.”

“Yeah, I do.”

Lance hides his face in Keith’s chest, letting out a breath against his shirt. When he looks up, Keith is already looking at him, and Lance makes the split second decision lean forward and press a kiss to Keith’s nose.

Keith’s eyes go wide, a blush almost immediately making it’s way to his face.

Lance grins. “You’re cute.”

Keith glances away. “Shut up,” he says, trying not to smile. His blush darkens.

Lance rests his head on Keith’s chest, tightening his arm around Keith as get gets comfortable. “What about your family?” He asks curiously. He’s never heard Keith say anything about them.

Keith is quiet, and after a few moments met with silence, Lance is about to look up, try and gauge Keith’s reaction, but before he does, Keith speaks up.

“My dad left when I was a kid,” Keith says, his tone neutral, and Lance’s heart drop. He moves his head so he can see Keith as he talks. “And I don’t know anything about my mom. I moved from foster homes until I came here. It’s the longest I’ve been anywhere.”

“I’m so—” Lance starts to say, but Keith cuts him off.

“Don’t apologize. It—I’m okay now. I spent a lot of time being angry, but then I came here, and I met Shiro, and—”

“Wait, you know Shiro?” Lance interrupts, because that guy is like, his hero.

Keith smiles, barely noticeable. “I met him when I came here. I wasn't in a good place. I got in trouble a lot, but Shiro was there for me. He believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. He’s the only person who never gave up on me.”

Lance has never talked to Shiro, but he knows of him, everyone knows of him, and Lance has always admired him. Now, listening to Keith, his admiration grows. “I’m really glad you had him,” Lance tells him, all playfulness gone.

“So am I,” Keith says quietly, catching Lance’s eye. “When he gets back, I want you to meet him.”

Lance nods, his face giving away his eagerness. “Yeah, yes, I’d really like that.” He smiles, not breaking their eye contact. “I want you to meet my family. We have family get togethers a lot. I’ll take you one day.”

Keith’s smile reaches his eyes. “I’d really like that.”

“I really like you.”

Keith searches his eyes, leaning forward slightly, and then he pauses, like he wants to make sure this is okay. Lance answers him by leaning in the rest of the way, until their lips are touching.

When they pull away, they spend the rest of the night talking, until their eyes feel heavy, and their words are interrupted by yawns. Lance isn’t sure what time it is, but he knows it's late. He knows the smart thing to do would be to unwrap himself from Keith, pick up the blankets, and go back to their rooms before morning.

So, despite what he wants to do, he mumbles, “We should get up.”

“Yeah,” Keith agrees, his eyes closed.

“Okay,” Lance says, not moving, his own eyes falling shut. He plans to get up, but Keith isn’t moving, and he’s comfortable, and before he knows it he’s drifting off to sleep.

He wakes up with Keith’s head on the edge of his shoulder, curled to his side. There’s a warmth in his stomach, but Lance doesn't have time to focus on that because they fell asleep on the Garrison roof and now it’s morning.

He pokes Keith’s face a few times, trying to get him awake, and on the fourth poke Keith’s eyes dart open, and he shoots up, on his feet in a matter of seconds.

Well, that’s one way to wake up.

Lance stares at him, sitting up in the pile of blankets. “Morning.”

“What time is it?”

Lance leans over, grabbing his phone. “7:30.”

“We have fifteen minutes of breakfast left.”

Lance forces himself up, away from the warmth of the blankets. “Guess that means we should get going.”

Keith pauses, before the corner of his lip pulls up. “It doesn't take that long to get back.”

“Yeah?” Lance asks, wearing a lopsided grin.

“Yeah,” Keith says, and then, impatiently, “Come here.”

Lance doesn’t have to be told twice. He closes the distance between them, and Keith holds out his hand, which Lance gladly takes.

“I had a lot of fun last night,” Keith tells him, rubbing Lance’s hand with his thumb. It turns Lance’s insides into mush.

“I’ve had a lot of fun the past thirty two days,” Lance says, leaning forward to press a quick kiss to Keith’s lips.

“You’re cheesy.”

“What can I say? You bring out my cheese.”

Keith exhales a laugh, dropping his head against Lance’s chest. “We need to go.”

Lance nods, giving Keith’s hand a squeeze before he lets go. Unfortunately, he needs both hands to carry blankets back to his room.

As soon as they walk through the door, Lance is attacked with a hug, Hunk’s arm thrown around him. The blankets he’d been holding fall to the floor, and Lance, despite being full of confusion, hugs his friend back.

“What’s up buddy?” He asks, half amused, half worried.

Hunk’s hands find their way to Lance’s shoulders as he pulls away from the hug. “Dude! You were gone all night! I was scared that you got caught trying to come back and got kicked out or something! You didn’t respond when I texted you.”

“I’m so sorry, man,” Lance apologizes, throwing his arms back around Hunk. “Dude, I totally suck. I’m sorry I made you worry.” He knows Hunk worries, and it’s not an outrageous jump to think they’d get kicked out if they were caught sneaking around.

Hunk shakes his head, letting out a relieved sigh. “ It’s okay , just text me next time you decide to fall asleep on a roof.”

Lance laughs, a smile making it’s way to his face. “I’ll even send you a selfie.”

Keith clears his throat awkwardly. “Not to break up the moment, but class starts in three minutes.”

Touch becomes a normal part of their relationship. Whether it be standing shoulder to shoulder while they watch their classmates in the simulator, or cuddling when they’re alone in their room, or playing footsie under the table as they eat, they always seem to be touching in one way or another.

Keith isn’t too big on the whole ‘public displays of affection’ thing, so fortunately for their classmates, no one has to watch them make out in the middle of the hallway. The most they’ve done in public is hold hands, minus the one time Lance got overly excited after a particularly good training session and flung his arms around an unsuspecting Keith, who responded with a hesitant hug back.

In their rooms, however, they’re almost always sprawled across each other. Sometimes that means Lance has his feet in Keith’s lap, other times it means they’ve managed to tangle themselves together on Lance’s small bed.

Since Keith isn’t a big fan of his roommate, they spend most of their time in Lance’s room, and Hunk, being the best roommate in the world, has yet to complain about their overly affectionate habits when Keith joins them in their room. More than anything, he seems happy for Lance.

And Lance, well, he’s pretty darn happy himself.

Lance is laughing so hard he can’t breath, squirming and kicking under Keith’s hands, which are currently attacking his sides. He never should have told Keith he was ticklish.

“Stop,” he breathes through a laugh, grabbing Keith’s hands and trying to maneuver them away.

Keith turns Lance’s attempt at the upper hand around on him, getting ahold of Lance’s wrists and pinning them against the pillow.

His hold relaxes, and Lance could easily get free if he wanted to. He doesn’t.

“That’ll teach you not to make fun of aliens,” Keith says, trying to keep his expression stern, but Lance can tell he’s fighting off a smile.

“And this,” Lance starts slowly, lunging forward and grabbing hold of Keith, spinning them so that now he’s the one hovering over Keith, “is for tickling me.” Lance’s hands go to Keith’s sides for sweet revenge , but nothing happens, and one look at Keith's smug face gives him all the answers he needs.

“You’re not ticklish.”

“I win.”

Before Lance gets a chance to respond, there’s a voice from the other side of the room. Hunk’s voice.

“Okay, you guys know I love you, but it’s impossible to study when Lance sounds like he’s dying.”

Lance gasps dramatically. “It’s called laughing, Hunk!”

“Laughing or dying, can you please be quiet for like, an hour?” Hunk asks, and there’s no way in the world Lance could say no to him.

“We won’t make a sound,” Lance promises.

“I’ll duck tape his mouth if he tries to talk,” Keith says, and Lance opens his mouth to argue, but Keith puts a finger over his mouth, and Lance shuts it. For Hunk.

Hunk shakes his head, laughing at their ridiculousness.

“I’ll get you next time,” Lance whispers, and then they spend the next hour silently studying.

Lance is on fire. He’s dodging every attack that comes his way, maneuvering through every obstacle while still managing to pick up speed. This is the best he’s ever done in the simulator, he knows that without looking at his scores.

Hunk is at his side, his teammate, his trusted engineer, and Lance thinks this is what is feels like to be on top of the world, to be invincible.

The simulation ends, and for once Iverson isn’t reprimanding him the moment he steps out. Lance even gets a small, “Good work, cadet,” for his awesome performance.

He turns to Hunk, smile so bright it could compete with the sun, and throws his arms around his friend. He couldn’t have done this without Hunk. “Did you see that?! I mean, of course you saw it, you were there, but holy moly! We did that, Hunk! We were amazing!”

Hunk is nodding eagerly, squeezing Lance in his arms, sharing his enthusiasm. “I kind of thought I was gonna throw up there at first, but then I didn’t, and you! You kept dodging those attacks! You were unstoppable!”

Lance shakes his head, grin too big for his face. “ We were unstoppable.”

Hunk’s nodding continues, and then something catches his eye, and he stops, pointing behind Lance.

Lance whirls around to see Keith standing, now in front of him, and somehow, Lance’s grin gets bigger. His cheeks are aching, but it's a feeling Lance wouldn’t change for the world.

Keith is looking at him, overwhelming pride in his expression, and Lance lunges forward, wrapping his arms around Keith, who is quick to reciprocate the hug.

“You were amazing,” Keith tells him, the pride seeping into his voice. Lance sinks into the hug, holding onto this moment, this feeling of invisibility, this victory.

It’s short lived, however, as a voice over the loudspeakers breaks the moment, setting everything else on a downward spiral.

“Cadets,” starts the voice, in a very official, very serious tone. “We have been informed that the three officers on the Kerberos mission have gone missing.”

Lance’s heart drops to his stomach, but what’s worse is the way Keith’s entire face falls. Shiro was one of those people. Shiro is missing. The only person who never gave up on Keith. Lance tries to catch his eye, but Keith is staring intently at the wall, and wherever his mind is right now, Lance can't reach him.

“Please do not worry, as we are doing everything we can to find them and bring them home safely. We ask that you continue your day as scheduled.”

The words all blur together, Lance barely processing them. He puts a hand on Keith’s shoulder, gentle, a gesture that he hopes is comforting. The Garrison is looking for them. Shiro will be okay. He’s going to be okay.

“Keith,” Lance tries, and it’s enough to get Keith to blink, finally meeting Lance’s eye. He looks afraid, and Lance would do anything to fix it, but he can't bring Shiro back. He does the only thing he can do, which is talk to Keith. “It’s going to be okay,” he says, his grip on Keith’s shoulder tightening. Keith’s eyes flash to Lance’s hand before returning to his face. “You heard them, right? They’re looking for him. They’re not gonna stop until they find him. It’s going to be okay.”

Keith nods, but it doesn’t look for a second like he actually believes that. “Yeah,” he says, most of the emotion gone from his voice. “Yeah, they’ll find him.” Keith grabs hold of Lance’s hand, the one that isn’t currently on his shoulder. “I’m gonna head back to my room for a bit, okay?” Lance nods. “If Iverson asks where I am just tell him I got sick or something.”

“Okay,” Lance agrees, because there’s not much else he can say in this situation. Keith needs time to himself to work through his emotions, and Lance isn’t about to stand in the way of that. He leans forward, placing a quick kiss to Keith’s forehead. “I’ll see you at lunch?”

Keith nods, and then Lance is watching him walk away, a helpless feeling settling in his gut.

Lance doesn’t see him at lunch, or dinner, or in the hallway or in any of their classes. He texts him multiple times throughout the day, but they all go without a response.

“I’m going to his room, Hunk,” Lance says, imagining what Keith might be feeling right now. “I need to make sure he’s okay. I can’t leave him alone like this.”

“Maybe being alone is what he needs right now,” Hunk tells him, and Lance hates that he’s right. Lance wants to be there for him, wants to do something, anything, but right now, all he can do is wait. Shiro was like family to Keith, and he’s missing. There’s nothing Lance can do to make that better.

“I’m going to his room first thing tomorrow,” Lance declares, final. “And I’m sending him another text right now, you can’t talk me out of that.”

Before Hunk even has time to try and dissuade him, Lance is intensely tapping against his phone, pressing send after a quick read through.

To: alien boyfriend soulmate <3

> i’m here if you need to talk. i’m gonna stop by your room tomorrow morning.

He doesn’t get a response, but he didn’t expect one.

Lance, true to his word, heads to Keith’s room during breakfast. He stops by the cafeteria first to grab Keith a muffin, because he’s pretty sure Keith hasn’t eaten anything since yesterday morning.

He knocks on the door, caught completely off guard when it swings open, and Keith pulls him inside. “Lance, hey, sorry I haven’t responded to any of your texts, I’ve been busy.”

Lance stares around the room, wide eyed. There are papers everywhere. Hanging on the walls, sprawled out on the floor, laying across Keith’s bed.

His eyes return to Keith, concerned. “What’s going on, Keith?” He asks hesitantly, knowing he’s not going to like the answer.

“I snuck into the office last night and copied all the files they had about the Kerberos mission,” Keith explains, pacing around the room, picking up one of the papers off the ground and shoving it towards Lance. “This one, it’s a transcript of a conversation they had with Shiro and his team shortly before they went missing, if we look through everything, maybe we’ll be able to find Shiro, maybe—”

“The Garrison is already loo—”

“It doesn’t matter!” Keith yells, and it’s the first time Lance has seen him get angry. He’s seen grumpy Keith from the distance ever since he was a freshman, but this is new for him. “I have to do something, Lance. I can’t sit here while Shiro is missing!”

Yeah, Lance thinks, he knows how that feels, but he doesn't know what there is that they can do.

“What are we supposed to do, Keith?” Lance asks, keeping his tone gentle.

Keith deflates slightly, the anger disappearing. “Read through all these files, and then we’ll figure something out.”

Lance nods, remembering the muffin in his hand. “Eat this first,” he says, holding it out. “It’s been a day since you’ve eaten anything.”

Keith takes it, calmer now. “Thank you.”

Lance smiles, but it’s missing his usual enthusiasm. “Anything for my alien soulmate boyfriend.”

They spend all of their free time reading through the files, and by the third day, Lance knows it’s hopeless. Whatever happened, they’re not going to find the answer in these papers.

He wants to tell Keith, but right now, his dedication to these files is the only thing keeping him from spinning out of control. It’s the only thing keep his pain at bay. So Lance keeps reading, and re reading, trying to find something from a whole bunch of nothing.

By day five, Keith is ready to admit the inevitable.

“This is useless!” Keith shouts suddenly, throwing his stack of papers to the side. They’re sitting on the roof, far away from anyone else.

There’s not a lot Lance can say right now that would make him feel better, because he’s been waiting for Keith to come to this realization, and now that he has, Keith needs to accept there’s nothing he can do.

As hard as it is, this is out of his control.

“The Garrison will find him,” Lance tells Keith, but the words don’t hold any weight.

Keith picks up a few of the papers next to him, balling his hands into fists, crumpling the paper. Lance watches the exact moment all the pain that Keith had been trying to keep out comes crashing in, and it breaks his heart.

There’s no more anger anymore, no more frustration, or desperation. Keith just looks sad, and lost, and lonely.

Lance doesn’t say anything. Instead, he throws his arms around Keith, hoping he understands that he’s here. He’s here, and he’s not going anywhere.

Keith buries his face into Lance’s chest, and then he’s crying, his muffled sobs the only noise between them. Lance runs a hand through Keith’s hair, holding him tightly.

They stay like that for a while, and eventually Keith is all out of tears, all out of energy to feel anything at all. He stays hidden in Lance’s chest, mumbling into his shirt. “I can’t give up on him.”

“I know, I know,” Lance says, rubbing circles into Keith’s back. “You’re not giving up on him, but he’d want you to take care of yourself, yeah?”

Keith nods, his head moving against Lance’s chest. “Yeah.”

Lance tightens his hold, giving Keith what he hopes is a comforting squeeze. “I’m here for you, Keith. Whatever you need.”

Keith pulls away slightly, his head leaving the safety of Lance’s chest. He looks like a mess, with bloodshot eyes and tear stained cheeks. “Right now I need to sleep.”

“Okay,” agrees, extending his hand to Keith’s cheek, gently rubbing circles with his thumb.

Keith sinks into the touch, and for the first time since they got the news about the Kerberos mission, he feels like things will be alright.

Turns out, sometimes his feelings are wrong.

It doesn't take much to catch onto the fact that Keith is avoiding him.

He doesn't sit with them at breakfast, and when Lance tries to talk to him in class, he keeps saying he’s busy. He needs to focus. He doesn’t have time to talk right now.

Lance is trying not to take it personally, he knows Keith is having a hard time, but he doesn’t want to be pushed away, especially not when Keith needs someone, because as much as he’s trying to act like he doesn’t, Lance sees right through it.

But there’s more than Keith shutting Lance out. He’s talking back to his teachers, being more aggressive during training, scowling at anyone who looks his way.

Currently, he’s sitting on the other end of the classroom, staring at his book like it’s personally wronged him. Lance has tried talking to him, tried simply being with him, tried giving him space.

All of his efforts are futile, and Lance is starting to get seriously worried. How is he supposed to help someone that doesn't want to be helped?

Lance drops his head into his pillow, exhausted and frustrated. “I’m worried about him, Hunk. I don’t know how to help him.”

Two weeks have passed since Shiro went missing, and there still hasn’t been any news.

Keith won’t talk to him or anyone else, all he does anymore is train and hide out in his room. At least, that’s where Lance assumes he’s hiding. He wouldn’t know for sure.

“I don’t think we can help him,” Hunk says, and it sucks. It really freaking sucks.

He misses Keith, misses making him smile, misses laying in bed with him after class, misses sitting up on the roof, alone together. He misses Keith, and it hurts, and he feels bad that he’s hurting because Keith is the one with a reason to hurt, not him.

“I hate this,” Lance says, rolling onto his side, curling himself around his blanket. “I hate being pushed away. I hate feeling like he doesn’t want to talk to me. I hate that he won’t let me be there for him.”

Hunk sighs. “Come here, Lance. I think you need a hug.”

Lance looks at his friend, and then he gets up, sliding into the other bed with Hunk, arms wrapping around him.

“I miss him so much,” Lance whispers, and Hunk pats his back supportively. “I know. I miss him, too. He probably just needs to figure this out on his own. He’ll come talk to you when he’s ready.”

Lance nods, and they’re silent for a moment, until Lance asks, “Is it bad to feel mad at him?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” Lance starts, struggling to put his thoughts into words. “Like, I know he’s going through a hard time, but it’s not fair that he’s pushing me away, you know? I haven’t talked to him all week, and I just, I’m his soulmate. I’m his friend. ”

“You have a right to be upset,” Hunk tells him, and if feels like a small relief, like maybe he doesn't have to feel so guilty just for feeling. “You should try and talk to him again.”

Lance nods. Yeah. Yeah, that’s what he should do. It’s been a week. Keith can’t shut him out forever.

He’s nervous. It’s like their first date except way, way worse. Everything about their relationship has felt so natural, and now it’s messy, and he’s scared, and it’s like they’re a million miles apart.

He lets out a breath, raising his hand to the door and knocking before he can back down. He needs to at least try and get Keith to talk to him, to hear him.

He stands awkwardly, waiting. There’s quiet movement from inside and then he’s standing face to face with Keith’s roommate. “Um,” Lance starts, making a half ass attempt at a wave. “Hey. I was hoping to talk to Ke—”

Keith’s roommate gives his head a shake as he huffs out, something between amused and annoyed. “Room’s all yours,” he says, stepping out of the way. “Good luck.”

With that, he’s left to stand in the doorway, eyes landing on Keith, who’s sitting cross legged on his bed, looking at some papers. Lance closes the door, not wasting anymore time standing around.

“Hey Keith,” Lance says, stepping further into the room.

Keith’s head shoots up, and for a short moment, his expression softens, the kind of look Lance is used to receiving from him, and then it returns to the cold distant one he’s been getting recently.

He hates it, he hates it, he hates it.

“Sorry, I’ve been busy,” Keith says, and Lance would be overjoyed if it were that simple.

Lance swallows, taking a seat at the end of Keith’s bed. They need to talk, even if it’s hard. “You haven't just been busy. You’ve been ignoring me.”

Keith’s face drops slightly, and Lance can see the guilt hidden in his features. That’s a good sign, right?

“I’m sorry,” Keith says weakly, avoiding eye contact. “I don’t know what to say to you.”

Lance tries to hide the hurt from his expression, but he's pretty sure he fails. “You should just say what you’re thinking.”

Keith is silent, his fists balled together at his sides. Lance waits, and he waits, and finally, what he gets causes his stomach to drop. “Why? So you can tell me that the Garrison will find him again? So you call tell me there’s nothing I can do?” Keith shakes his head quickly. “No. No, I have to find him. I’m not going to stop until I find him.”

“But what if there’s nothing to find?” Lance asks before he has a chance to think it through. He knows it’s the wrong thing to say before he says it. He knows he’s made things worse the second he sees the anger on Keith’s face. There’s sadness there, too, but Keith’s anger is acting as a smoke screen.

“You should go.” His voice is colder than Lance has ever heard it.

Lance stands from the bed, needing to move, needing to let out all the things he’s been holding in. “You can’t just shut me out, Keith!”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Keith tells him, all emotion gone from his voice. “I’m going to find Shiro, and I don’t need you around telling me there’s nothing I can do.”

“I’m not saying that!” Lance argues, growing more and more frustrated. “I’m just saying that you should be realistic—”

“I’m not giving up on him!” Keith shouts, and now he’s standing too.

“I’m not telling you to give up on him!” Lance shouts back. He feels like he’s going to cry, but no tears fall.

“I don’t need you, okay? I don’t need anyone.”

“Don’t say that, Keith.”

"But it’s true.”

“I’m your boyfriend, I’m—I’m your friend. Don’t shut me out like this.”

Lance can hear the desperation in his own voice, and now there are tears forming in his eyes, getting ready to fall.

Keith doesn't say anything, just stands there with his arms crossed over his chest, unwavering.

Lance feels the first tear fall, and he is not about to cry in front of Keith after being told that he’s not needed. He storms for the exit, slamming the door behind him as hard as he can.

He feels like he’s going to be sick. Keith doesn’t need him. After everything they’ve been through, Keith doesn’t need him.

His soulmate doesn't need him.

Lance’s heart is on the floor, and he isn’t sure how in the world he’s supposed to pick it up.

Apparently the universe can get it wrong.

Hunk, being the great friend that he is, starts hovering around Lance, clearly worried.

Lance appreciates the concern, but he’s fine. He cried it out, and now he can get on with his life, forget Keith was ever a part of it.

Besides, Hunk doesn't have a soulmate and he's perfectly happy, so why should Lance be any different? They have each other and that’s what matters. Unlike with Keith, nothing can come between them.

“So like,” Hunk starts a few days after his fight with Keith, “Did you guys break up?”

“I… don’t know,” Lance answers honestly, because they’d never actually said they were breaking up, but it felt final. “I think so.”

“So it’s really over then?” Hunk asks, like he can’t believe that’s true. “You guys are just going to ignore each other forever?”

Lance shrugs. He’s been trying not to think about it. “I guess so.”

Hunk considers that, before disagreeing. “I think you’ll work it out. He’s your soulmate .”

Lance doesn’t want to be talking about this. “Not everyone ends up with their soulmates.”

“Lance…”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Hunk, thankfully, leaves it at that, although the keeps throwing concerned looks Lance’s way, but those at least he can deal with.

It’s hard to ignore Keith when he’s constantly getting in trouble during class. If it’s not for showing up late, it’s for talking back. If it’s not for talking back, it’s for not paying attention. It’s always something, and it’s really putting a nail in Lance’s plan to pretend he doesn't exist.

He’s never been good at ignoring Keith. Not in freshman year, and not now. No matter how hard he tries, his eyes always drift to that stupid mullet, that stupid mullet that he swore he would beat, and instead… instead he—

It’s infuriating.

What’s even more infuriating is that despite everything, mostly he just misses Keith.

It would be easier if anger was all he felt. But nope, every time he looks at Keith his heart has to twist uncomfortably, and his mind replays every moment they’ve shared, making him relive some of his best memories that he’ll never get back.

And still, despite how badly he’s hurting, he wouldn’t take any of it back.

Lance drops his head to his desk, but it doesn't stay there for long because of course, the next second the teacher is telling Keith not to doze off in class.

Lance can’t stand that his first reaction is to worry about Keith not getting enough sleep.

“I’m tired,” Lance whines, draping himself over Hunk’s side. He hasn’t been sleeping well, his brain not having the common courtesy to shut the heck up.

Hunk gives him a few pats. “I don’t know what to tell you, buddy.”

Lance groans, wrapping his arms around Hunk’s shoulders. “I’m going to take a nap right here, don’t move.”

Hunk laughs, ruffling Lance’s hair with his hand. Lance isn’t actually planning to take a nap, but if he were, it would have been interrupted by the loud voice breaking through the hall.

“Stop right there, cadet!”

Lance’s head shoots up, following the commotion, and oh… oh no.

In the middle of the hall is Keith, with Iverson a few feet away from him. Keith has a folder in his hand, and Lance’s stomach twists with fear.

If Keith got caught stealing Garrison documents…

“Hand over the file, cadet.” Iverson’s tone is stern and final.

Keith shakes his head, starts backing up, but he doesn’t make it far because two guards come in from behind, grabbing hold of his arms.

Lance feels his heart stop. This isn’t supposed to happen.

“You will be brought back to your room and given ten minutes to pack your things,” Iverson tells Keith, taking the file from his hands. Keith squirms in the hold, but there’s no use. “Once your things are packed, you will be escorted off the premises.”

Lance is staring at Keith, wide eyed and in shock, and then Keith turns and now he’s staring back. Lance is sure that everything he’s feeling shows on his face. Keith can’t leave. That's—that’s not how any of this is supposed to happen. Lance was finally starting to get used to ignoring him, he doesn't want to get used to him not being here.

Keith doesn't say goodbye. Instead, he averts his gaze, going slack in the guard's grip. Lance watches as he gets dragged away. Away from Lance, maybe forever.

And he didn’t even try and say goodbye.

Lance swallows, but it feels like there’s a lump on his throat.

He turns to Hunk, tears welling up in his eyes. There’s a hundred pound weight on his heart. “Still think we can work it out?”

Chapter Text

There are thirty seven marks on his wall. Thirty seven marks to represent thirty seven days. Thirty Seven days since he was kicked out of the Garrison. (Since he’s seen Lance.)

Thirty seven days spent in an abandoned shack, doing everything he could to find Shiro, and now it’s really about to happen; he’s going to save Shiro.

After days of tracking the weird energy, and listening in on Garrison conversations with the radio he stole while he was there, he’s going to see Shiro again.

That’s what he chooses to focus on. Not the fact that Shiro ended up right back at the Garrison, right where Keith was before he got kicked out, before he didn’t say goodbye to Lance, before he screwed everything up.

If he hadn’t spun out of control, if he hasn’t pushed Lance away, maybe he’d be going to save Shiro with Lance right now, from within the Garrison. Maybe he’d have the two people who’d never given up on him, instead of feeling an emptiness in his chest whenever he thinks about Lance. (Which is a lot.)

He’d spent all this time searching for Shiro, for the one person who never gave up on him, and it hadn’t occurred to him until too late that Lance hadn’t given up on him either.

In the end, Keith had been the one to give up.

Keith closes his eyes, letting out a breath. There’s no point in thinking about it, not right now. Right now, he has to save Shiro. He can dwell the rest later.

The guards are nothing. He gets through them without a problem, running to the table, to Shiro, his heart beating faster because this is real, after everything, Shiro’s right in front of him. He pulls out his knife, using it to cut the restraint, and then he lifts Shiro up, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

In the same moment, someone else walks through the door, and Shiro almost falls to the floor as a result.

He thinks his heart might’ve stopped beating. He doesn’t move, isn’t sure he could even if he tried, because standing in front of him is Lance. It’s like all the air has been sucked from his body and then slammed back into him all at once.

Lance is staring back, as if he’s seeing a ghost, and then there are two more people joining them in the room, and that seems to be enough to jumpstart Lance back into action. He strides forward, wrapping Shiro’s prosthetic arm around his shoulder, and Keith has to remind himself to breath.

“Oh my god,” Keith hears in a familiar voice. Hunk’s voice. “Keith is here. Lance, are you—”

Lance glares at his friend, and whatever Hunk was about to say dies on his tongue.

“Let’s just get out of here before more guards come,” Lance says, and Keith’s stomach becomes an absolute and complete  mess. Thirty seven days since he’s heard that voice, and now he’s hearing it again, and it sounds so unlike the Lance he’s used to. And then that voice, cold and distant, is being directed at him. “You are capable of moving, right?”

His body feels stuck in place, but he somehow manages to get out a muffled, “yes,” while pushing forward, towards the door.

He avoids looking at Lance, not trusting his reactions.

They make it back to his shack, and despite Lance being closer than he’s been in over a month, it feels like they’ve never been farther apart. Even before they found out they were soulmates, before they’d ever said a word to each other, they’ve never felt this far away from each other.

It’s his fault, Keith knows, and he deserves it.

When Shiro wakes up and realizes he’s safe, he heads outside. Keith gives him some time, resisting the urge to immediately follow. Shiro’s been through a lot. He probably needs a moment to breath on his own.

Keith lets what he guesses is five minutes pass before he gets up from the couch, glad to be escaping the small shack, which feels ten times smaller when it’s holding Lance on the opposite side, as far from Keith as he can get.

“Hey Shiro,” He starts as he approaches from behind, setting a hand on his shoulder. “It’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back,” Shiro says, and Keith could only imagine.

“What happened to you?” Keith asks softly, eyes not moving from Shiro.

“I can’t remember,” Shiro tells him, forehead scrunched together. “It’s—whenever I think about it, it’s all fuzzy. I remember the mission, and I remember getting captured, but everything after that is blurry. I was on an alien ship, and somehow I escaped. Shiro meets Keith’s eye. “How did you know to come find me when I crashed?”

Keith looks away, knowing Shiro isn’t going to like his answer. “When you went missing, I didn’t handle it well. I started stealing files from the Garrison—”

“Keith—”

Keith shakes his head. “I had to look for you, Shiro. I couldn’t do nothing.” He lifts his gaze from the ground, and instead of looking disappointed, Shiro just looks sad. “I got kicked out after I was caught stealing a file.”

He doesn't mention Lance, or how the news about Shiro going missing caused him to mess everything up with his soulmate. He’s not sure he could handle that conversation yet.

“After I got kicked out, I found this place. I was able to listen in on the Garrison with a radio I took from a guard, and when they found you, I heard it.” Keith pauses, because even though that’s how he found Shiro, that’s not all there is to it. “But there’s something I think you should see.”

Keith pulls the sheet from his board, everyone’s eyes now on him, including Lance’s. He keeps his attention on Shiro, not letting the way his heartbeat picks up phase him.

“What have you been working on?” Shiro asks, staring at the board.

“After I got kicked out of the Garrison… I was kind of lost,” he swallows, resisting the urge to look back at Lance. “I found myself drawn out to this place, it was like some energy was telling me to search. I thought that maybe it would help me find you, and then I found this area,” he points to the map pinned to his board. “It’s an outcropping of giant boulders and caves covered in these ancient markings, all telling a story about a blue lion. They all share clues leading to some arrival happening last night, and then you showed up.”

Shiro shares a look with Keith before turning to the rest of the group. “I should probably introduce myself.”

Keith’s stomach drops. He told Lance he wanted him to meet Shiro, but this isn’t what he had in mind. He thought he’d be introducing Lance as his soulmate, as his boyfriend, but now he’s not even the one making the introduction.

“Lance, right?” Shiro says, holding out his hand, and it feels all wrong, because instead of being at Lance’s side, he’s staring at the ground, purposefully avoiding eye contact with Lance, which isn’t that difficult when they’re both doing it.

Lance pauses before taking Shiro’s prosthetic arm, smiling lightly. Keith’s used to seeing smiles that take over his entire face, used to seeing those smiles directed at him.

“I’m Pidge,” he hears the guy he hasn’t met introduce himself, “And the nervous guy’s Hunk.” Pidge takes Shiro’s hand, and Keith makes the mistake of glancing at Lance, who was apparently already looking at him, because for a second, their eyes meet. Keith wants to say a hundred things, he wants to start apologizing right then and there, but instead their gazes dart anywhere else, like they’d caught on fire. He vaguely registers Pidge asking about the rest of the crew.

“I don’t know,” Shiro starts, and Keith finds himself staring at Hunk instead of listening to Shiro repeat what he’d already told him outside.

When he got kicked out, he didn’t just leave Lance behind, he left Hunk too.

Hunk’s eyes eventually meet his, going wide as if he hadn’t expected Keith to already be looking his way. Keith tries to look apologetic, and maybe it works, because something in Hunk’s expression changes, but then he’s looking away, pulling his attention to Shiro.

Fortunately, their conversation returns to the blue lion and the caves, allowing Keith to put his feelings on hold, focusing on the task at hand.

While they’re walking to the caves, Lance is on his own for the first time since he barged into the room to save Shiro, which Keith still isn’t sure how he even knew about.

Hunk and Pidge are nearby, but there’s enough distance that Keith could talk without being overheard.

He moves to take a step forward, but then he’s back at the Garrison, back in the guards hold, back to the last time he saw Lance.

There was so much he’d wanted to say, but he’d said nothing. He’d let the guards drag him away, let Lance watch him go.

His stomach feels uneasy, but he has things he needs to say, and he won’t let this be like the last time. Lance needs to know that he’s sorry, even if that doesn't change anything between them.

He lets out a breath, forcing his feet to move until he’s walking next to Lance, his heartbeat out of control. “I know that you don’t walk to talk to me,” he starts, his eyes on the path ahead. “But I need you to know that I’m sorry. For pushing you away. For not saying goodbye.” Keith’s heart is heavy in his chest, and despite his nerves, he brings himself to look at Lance. “I’m sorry for everything, Lance. I know that doesn't mean much, but I need you to know.”

Lance looks up then, meeting him with anger and at least ten other emotions Keith can’t read, at least not when they’re all mixed together. “You need me to know that you’re sorry, huh?” He lets out a laugh, but it's the farthest thing from funny. “Just like you didn’t need me before?” Lance shakes his head. “It’s always about what you need, Keith.”

Keith stops moving. It’s like his heart has dropped to the ground and is keeping him anchored in place. What hurts the most is that Lance is right.

Keith really, really messed up.

Shiro stops next to him, snapping him back to reality. “You alright, Keith?” He asks, dropping a concerned hand to his shoulder.

“Yeah,” Keith nods, forcing his feet to move. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

But he’s not fine, because he told Lance he didn’t need him, when what he should have been saying is that he loved him.

He loves Lance.

It’s the most obvious thing in the world when he thinks about it. The late nights spent on the Garrison roof, watching the stars, talking about everything and nothing. The way Lance pushed him to his best, a worthy opponent. How he felt on top of the world when they were together.

He loves Lance, and he might’ve ruined everything before ever getting a chance to tell him.

One ride in a giant mechanical later and they’re in a castle, waking up a princess that happens to be a ten thousand years old. Oh, and an alien.

It’s kind of ironic, Keith thinks, that he’s had so many conversations With Lance about aliens, and now that they’re meeting one, Keith can’t say anything about it.

At least, he can’t say what he wants to say, because what he wants is to nudge Lance’s shoulder and whisper about how he was right all along.

Instead, he crosses his arms over his chest and keeps his mouth shut. He lost all right to joke around with Lance when he pushed him away.  

“Hey Keith,” Shiro sounds serious as he approaches him. “Can I ask you something?”

Keith nods, not sure what he’s getting himself into. “Yeah, of course. What’s up?”

Shiro looks awkwardly from the castle walls to Keith. “I don’t want to pry into your personal life, but Lance… he doesn’t seem like you.” Keith’s face drops, his shoulders slumping. “Hunk doesn’t seem fond of you either, actually. Did something happen back at the Garrison?”

Keith doesn’t want to lie to Shiro, and if he’s being honest, having someone to talk to would be nice, so—

“Lance is my soulmate,” Keith says, because he has to start somewhere.

Shiro’s eyes go wide, clearly not having expected that. Yeah, Keith wouldn’t have either if he’d been in Shiro’s position, seeing how they interacted, like if they got too close they’d burn each other.

“He’s your soulmate,” Shiro repeats back slowly. “Alright, I’m guessing there’s a lot more to it then that.”

That’s all Keith needs to start talking.

“He ran into me one day, and that’s when we realized we were soulmates. The first words he said to me were, ‘you’re not my soulmate,’ and then he started laughing because he thought it was funny that I had those words on my arm.”

Keith remembers being stuck in shock while Lance was cracking up in front of him, having to catch his breath. With where they are now, it hurts to think about.

He remembers calling Lance a cargo pilot, because he was overwhelmed and it was easier than saying ‘I know who you are because every time you have an idea in class it’s really smart.’

“He told he was gonna kick my ass like, a minute after meeting me,” Keith continues, and Shiro looks horrified.

Keith shakes his head. “Not literally, he just wanted to beat me. He told me he wouldn’t go easy on me just because we were soulmates, and he never did.”

Hunk had been right, Keith was a natural when it came to flying. It’d always been something he was good at, something he could fall back on when he was stressed, but Lance made it fun in a way he’d never experienced before. Lance challenged him to be better than his best.

“Lance—he made me really happy. When you left for Kerberos, I got kind of lonely, and then he came into my life, and so did Hunk, and I don’t know. They made me feel like I belonged somewhere.”

Keith drops his eyes to the floor, crossing his arms over his chest. “He asked me to be his boyfriend after a month, and I said yes, and it was—I really liked him, Shiro.”

“What happened?” Shiro asks softly, sympathetically.

“You went missing,” Keith says, and Shiro’s face falls. “Stop, I know you’re going to try and blame yourself. It’s not your fault, Shiro. But when you went missing,” Keith shakes his head. “I just, you were the one person that was there for me when I really needed someone, and I was so scared that I lost you, and I just—I pushed Lance away. I said some things that I didn’t mean. And then I got kicked out, and I didn't say goodbye. I just left.”

Keith takes a breath, letting his arms fall back to his side. “I hurt him, Shiro. I really hurt him, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

Shiro doesn't respond right away, probably trying to think of something encouraging to say, and finally he asks, “You care about him a lot, right?”

“I—” Keith pauses. “I think I love him.”

He knows he loves him.

“Then you’ll figure something out, Keith,” Shiro tells him, putting a supportive hand on his shoulder. “I know you. You don’t give up on the things you care about. You didn’t give up on me.”

Keith catches Hunk in a moment of freedom from Allura’s bonding exercises.

He’s not sure how long they’re gonna have, so he doesn’t waste his time.

“Hunk—”

Hunk shakes his head. “Nope, don’t ask me about Lance. You’re lucky I’m not crushing you. If it wasn’t for the fact that we need you to form Voltron, I might consider it.”

Keith softens, because he’s missed Hunk, and even though he’s being threatened right now, it’s nice to talk to him.

“I wasn’t going to ask you about Lance,” Keith tells him, and Hunk perks up at that, curious.

“You weren’t? Then what do you want?”

“I wanted to apologize to you,” Keith says, catching Hunk off guard. “You guys were my friends, and instead of trusting you I pushed you away. I’m sorry.”

Hunk squints at him, like he’s trying to figure out what his game is. “I’m not gonna tell Lance you apologized to me. So don’t think you’re gonna earn Lance points with this move.”

“I don’t care if you tell him,” Keith says, “I just wanted you to know I’m sorry.”

He doesn’t wait for any kind of response, walking back to the other paladins, to Lance, who’s been doing a good job ignoring him since they arrived at the castle.

It doesn’t take long to become glaringly obvious that Keith and Lance are going to be a problem when it comes to forming Voltron.

They’re completely out of synch, and with Lance ignoring him, Keith isn’t sure how the hell they’re ever supposed to get in synch.

Keith is growing frustrated, but he’s not the only one. He can tell the entire team is irritated, tired from a long day and from their inability to work as a team.

“We’re going to try one more exercise for the day,” Allura tells them, and Keith feels relieved, until he finds out what the exercise is.

Having the other paladins in his mind right now does not sound like a good idea.

His mind’s been a complete mess. Lately he can’t even turn it off to go to sleep, and he’s a fall asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow kind of guy.

Keith closes his eyes, letting out an even breath. Think about Voltron. Think about Voltron. Think about Voltron.

He thinks about Lance.

Of course he thinks about Lance, because he can feel his thoughts.

Holy shit. He can feel Lance’s thoughts, and Lance is thinking about him.

There’s a lot of hurt and frustration, but with that there’s something else, something calmer…

The emotion hits Keith so suddenly that he almost breaks the mind meld right there. Lance cares about him .

It shouldn’t throw him off as much as it does. He knows as well as anyone that a person can’t just shut off caring for someone.

“Paladins, focus!” Coran yells, and Keith is trying .

“Yeah Keith , focus,” Lance snaps, frustrated, but it does absolutely nothing to help him focus. It does the exact opposite, actually, Keith’s mind flashing through their memories, which everyone can see.

Lance bumping into him, getting called an arrogant ass, sneaking through the Garrison halls at night, falling asleep on the roof, their first kiss—

Lance stands up abruptly, breaking the mind meld. Keith notices that Pidge looks somewhat relieved, but he doesn’t dwell on that, because most of his attention is on Lance, who’s storming out of the room.

Keith follows him before anyone has a chance to say anything, catching him in the hall, probably on the way to his room.

“Lance!” Keith calls, and Lance turns so quickly it catches him off guard.

The anger deflates from Lance’s body, his shoulders dropping, like he’s too tired to be mad.

“You still care about me,” Keith says.

Lance is looking at him like he’s stating the obvious. “That doesn’t change anything.”

“But—”

Lance throws his arms up in defeat. “The problem was never about me not caring, Keith.”

With that, he turns back around, and Keith is left watching him go.

Keith leaves Lance alone after that.

He hasn’t given up on fixing things between them, but Lance deserves more than a simple apology, and until Keith is ready to be completely honest, he’s giving Lance his space.

Training with the team is weird when two of the members aren't talking to each other, but they’ve been making it work.

…Kind of.

They still can’t form Voltron.

He’s training alone when Shiro approaches him, looking like they need to have a talk.

Keith monetarily pulls away from his punching bag. “You look serious.”

“We need to talk.”

Well, Keith saw that coming a million miles away. He shrugs a shoulder, which Shiro takes as his queue to continue.

“You and Lance—”

“We don’t need to talk about this,” Keith interrupts.

“Keith, it’s affecting our ability to form Voltron. I know this is hard, but you need to think about the team.”

Keith has been thinking about the team, and part of their team is Lance, and if Keith talks to him and manages to make things worse, that’ll make things worse for everyone.

“Give me some time, okay?” Keith asks, but that answer isn’t enough for Shiro.

“We don’t have ti—”

“Just trust me,” Keith begs. “I have a plan. Please, just trust me.”

Shiro levels his gaze with Keith’s, relenting after a moment of consideration. “Whatever you need to do, figure it out soon.”

Keith nods, turning back to his punching bag, only to turn back a few punches later because Shiro’s still hovering, like there’s more he needs to say.

“I know how important this is, don’t w—”

Shiro shakes his head. “I just want you to know that I’m here for you. If you need to talk about Lance, or anything. Don’t feel like you have to do any of this alone.”

Keith’s body relaxes, a smile making its way to his face. “Thank you.”

Keith has a plan.

He has a plan, but apparently, so does Allura.

“We could die!” Lance argues, and Keith nods in agreement, not capable of doing much else right now.

He’s going to have to be alone. On an alien planet. With Lance.

At one point in time, that would have been a dream come true.

Now? Not so much.

It’s not that he minds being alone with Lance, but he doesn't want Lance to feel forced to be around him. Keith’s plan involved Lance being able to leave whenever he wanted, and that wouldn’t be as easy on an alien planet.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Princess?” Shiro asks hesitantly.

“It’s an easy mission,” Allura assures them. “All you have to do is find the berries and come back.”

“The purple berries,” Keith says.

“That have healing properties,” Lance adds.

Allura nods. “Exactly!”

Keith’s eyes drift to Lance, who’s already looking at him, but instead of with the usual anger, there’s more apprehension than anything else.

Keith counts it as a win.

He can still go ahead with his plan, even if it’s not exactly how he’d imagined.

To say that the air between them is awkward would be putting it lightly.

This is the most alone they’ve been since… well, probably since their last time on the Garrison roof. When Keith cried in Lance’s arms.

Before Keith pushed him away.

Lance had been there, even when Keith hadn’t made it easy, but he’d let his fear get the best of him.

He’d wanted it to be true, he’d wanted to not need anyone, so that’s what he’d said, even though it was the farthest thing from the truth.

Keith chances a glance at Lance, who’s walking a few feet away from him. They’re supposed to talk. That’s what Allura expects them to do. That’s what Keith wants to do, but every time he opens his mouth to start, the words stay stuck in his throat.

He’s scared of baring everything, and having it not be enough.

But that’s the kind of thinking that got him here in the first place, and Lance deserves someone that fights for him.

So, despite everything that could go wrong, Keith pushes forward. “Lance,” he starts, grabbing his attention. There’s a pause to Lance’s step, and then he keeps moving, staying silent. “There are some things I want to say, and you don’t have to say anything, just listen—but if want to say something you can,” Keith quickly adds. “And if you want me to stop talking, I will.”

Lance doesn't say anything, and Keith takes that as an okay to go on. He wishes he could see Lance’s face right now, gauge his reactions, but Lance is walking in front of him, and Keith isn't really in the position to be wishing for anything.

“I was scared,” Keith says, ignoring the nerves swirling in his stomach. “I thought I was losing Shiro, and looking for him was the only thing keeping me from breaking down. I was putting everything into it, and I know you were trying to help, but every time you told me the Garrison was looking, it made me feel helpless.”

Keith pauses to let out a breath. “You were there for me, even though I wasn’t making it easy, and I just—I didn’t know how to let you help me. So I pushed you away.”

Lance’s walking has slowed slightly, the only indication that he’s listening. “I didn’t want to need anyone,” Keith tells him, “but it wasn't true. I’m used to being on my own, handling things on my own. That’s how it’s been most of my life. Shiro was the first person to change that, and then he went missing and I couldn’t help but think you were going to be next somehow.

You became such a big part of my life out of nowhere, and I was just… I was scared.” Keith deflates. “I’ve never cared about someone the way I care about you. I thought my soulmate would hate me, but you didn’t hate me. You made me happier than I knew I could be. Everything with you, it felt right.”

Before he has a chance to say anything else, Lance shoots around, tears in his eyes. “I don’t want to be mad at you, Keith,” he says, his voice breaking. “But you really hurt me.”

“I know,” Keith says, closing the distance between them, hesitantly grabbing Lance’s hand. Lance doesn’t pull away, so he wraps their fingers together. “I know, and I’m so sorry. When I got caught, I couldn’t even look at you,” Keith feels his own tears forming, blocking his vision. “I was so mad at myself for hurting you. I didn’t want to hurt you anymore, so I just, I let them pull me away.”

There are tears falling down Lance’s face, and Keith squeezes his hand. “I want to show you something,” he says, holding out his other hand.

Lance looks at him, completely lost.

And Keith, although he has no right, says to Lance, “Trust me.”

Lance takes Keith’s other hand.

Keith closes his eyes, letting his walls fall down, letting himself feel everything. The pain of Shiro going missing, his regret over hurting Lance, the happiness he felt when they were together, his love.

He lets it all out, hoping Lance will feel it.

He knows it’s possible, the ability to share emotions with a soulmate. He’s not sure if anyone’s ever done it on purpose, but he wants to do it now, wants to be open with Lance despite his fear.

Lance’s eyes go wide, and his grip on Keith’s hands tighten, and then a hundred new feelings are hitting him.

Lance’s feelings.

It’s like the mind meld, but a thousand times more intense. It’s like a wind of emotion, threatening to knock him down.

He feels everything.

When they found out they were soulmates, their first kiss, falling asleep on the roof, watching Keith get dragged away…

He feels it all as if he were reliving it as Lance, and then as quickly as it hit him, it’s gone, and he’s left gasping for air, as if he’d just been underwater.

Keith blinks, staring at Lance in shock. Lance stares back.

It’s like they’ve said a hundred things without saying anything, and now neither of them knows what to actually say.

Lance is the one to break the silence first.

“Man Keith, at least warn a guy next time.”

The corner of Lance’s mouth is pulled up in a ghost of a smile, and Keith has never been so grateful to see anyone smile, or almost smile, in his entire life because Lance is making a joke, and he’s not giving him that icy glare that Keith had almost gotten used to.

“I’m sorry,” Keith says again, and Lance’s smile grows slightly.

“I know. I felt it.”

“Are we… okay?” Keith asks cautiously.

Lance nods. “We’re okay.”

They’re far from where they used to be, but they’re okay, and that’s enough for Keith.

It’s still awkward between them, but it’s a breathable awkward, tentative smiles being thrown each other’s way.

When they get back to the castle with the berries, the only clue anyone needs to know they’re okay is that they’re no longer standing at least five feet away from each other.

The next time they try and form Voltron, it’s a success.

“We’re having a game night!” Hunk announces at dinner, holding his fork up in the air triumphantly. “We formed Voltron, we deserve to do something fun.”

“What did you have in mind?” Allura asks curiously.

“Me and Lance were able to remake a deck of cards, it obviously doesn't look as cool, but we can play a bunch of games with it, like go fish!”

“We can also play charades,” Lance adds. “We don’t need anything to play that.”

“I have no idea how to play either of those games,” Allura says, looking slightly lost, “but if you explain the rules, I would love to participate in a game night. I think it would be great bonding.”

“As do I!” Coran pipes in. “May I take part?”

Hunk nods eagerly, excited that his idea hasn’t been shot down. “Game night is a go!”

That’s how they end up sitting in a circle on the floor, makeshift cards in their hands, on their second round of go fish.

Allura won the first round, and she’d been so excited that despite losing, everyone else had shared her enthusiasm for the game.

“This is my round,” Lance announces. “I’m gonna crush all of you.” His gaze lands on Keith, who can’t help the upward pull of his lip.

Good luck , he mouths, knowing full well Lance will take it as a challenge.

Unsurprisingly, when Lance’s next turn comes, he’s being asked, “Keith. Any 8’s?”

Keith shakes his head. “Go fish.”

“I’ll get you next time,” Lance tells him, grabbing a new card from the pile in the middle.

In the end, Allura wins again.

“These human games are quite fun!” She exclaims, earning an enthusiastic gleam from Hunk. “What else can we play?”

“Charades!” Hunk says, jumping up. “We can either play on team or for fun.”

“Teams!” Lance shouts before anyone else has a chance. “I call Hunk and Allura.”

“Wow, thanks Lance,” Pidge jokes, picking herself up from the ground. Keith follows suit.

“Hunk is my best friend and Allura’s on a winning streak,” Lance says, ushering his team to the left side of the couch.

“That leaves Shiro, Pidge, Keith, and myself for the second team,” Coran says, heading to the right side of the couch with his team.

Keith ends up sitting near the middle of the couch, which has him closest to the opposing team, and not far from Hunk, who’s also near the middle.

As soon as Hunk notices, he leans over. “I’m glad I didn’t have to crush you,” he whispers.

“You could’ve,” Keith whispers back. “I would have deserved it.”

“I was hoping you would work it out,” Hunk says, leaning back and leaving Keith with a smile on his face.

The rest of the game night goes smoothly. Lance’s team wins twice before they decide to switch up teams, and after charades they try other games, until Shiro mentions it’s getting late and they should probably get some sleep. They’ve gotta be well rested to save the world.

“This was definitely a great way to bond,” Allura concludes, the night ending with everyone in high spirits.

“We can do it again sometime!” Hunk offers, getting him a smile from Allura.

Coran and Allura filter out, followed by the rest of the paladins, until Lance and Keith are the only ones left, sitting on opposite ends of the couch.

Lance stretches his legs out towards the middle. “Gonna congratulate me on my many wins?”

Keith moves to mirror Lance’s position, his feet almost reaching Lance’s at the middle. “Congratulations, Lance.”

Lance grins. “Thanks, Keith.”

Keith grins back. “But I think Allura won more than you.”

Lance gasps, grabbing the pillow from behind his back and throwing it at Keith. “Way to ruin a moment!”

Keith stops his grin from growing wider. “We were having a moment?”

Lance nods. “Until you ruined it.”

Keith wraps his arms around the pillow Lance threw his way. “That’s too bad.”

“Yeah,” Lance agrees, nudging Keith’s foot with his.

“Guess we’ll just have to have more moments,” Keith says, nudging Lance’s other foot.

“Guess so,” Lance agrees again, nudging both his feet.

It’s just a stupid game of footsie, but Keith’s heart is going out of control.

“I’m gonna try to sleep,” Lance says after a moment, and even though Keith would be more than happy to stay where they are right now, he knows they both need their rest.

“Yeah,” Keith nods, setting the pillow down on the couch as he gets up. “Me too.”

“Walk me to my room?”

Keith ducks his head in an attempt at hiding his smile. “Are you trying to spend extra time with me?”

“Maybe I’m scared of the castle,” Lance jokes, walking in the direction of his room.

“Oh yeah?” Keith asks, raising his eyebrows. “Scared of the ghosts?”

Lance shakes his head, sighing dramatically. “You can say it Keith, I know you’ve been dying to.”

Keith knows exactly what he’s talking about. “Say what?”

Lance lightly jabs his side. “Don’t play innocent with me.”

Keith smirks, but it quickly changes to a genuine grin. “I told you aliens were real.”

They stop, having reached Lance’s door. “Maybe I was right about you being an alien.”

Alien boyfriend soulmate , Keith immediately thinks, but instead says, “Maybe you were.”

They’re not ready to talk about boyfriends and soulmates yet, and Keith is perfectly okay with that.

“Goodnight, Keith.”

“Goodnight, Lance.”

Shiro sits next to him at breakfast the next morning, throwing him glances every few minutes.

Eventually, Keith gives in. “I know you want to say something.”

Shiro puts his hands up defensively, but he’s smiling. “I couldn’t help but notice you and Lance seemed to be getting along during game night.”

Keith shrugs casually. “Yeah.”

Shiro waits for more, and when he doesn't get anything else, he pushed forward with, “So the mission Allura had you guys go on? You guys were able to work everything out?”

Keith pauses, not sure if he should mention the weird mind meld-y type thing. He decides that breakfast probably isn’t the best place to bring it up. “We’re good, Shiro,” he says, and then adds, “I’m good.”

And he is. He may not be where he used to be with Lance, but they’re talking—they’re friends, and he has Shiro, and Hunk, and he’s even warming up to the others.

They’re in the middle of fucking space, and for the first time, Keith feels some semblance of belonging.

Lance would say it’s the aliens.

“Keith!” Hunk calls from the kitchen as Keith passes, bringing him to a halt.

He’s met with Pidge, Lance, and Hunk all staring at him expectantly.

“Uh,” he starts, somewhat nervous. “What’s up?”

“Want to help us make cookies?” Hunk asks, and well, that’s not what Keith had been expecting, though, he’s not quite sure what he’d been expecting in the first place.

“Do we even have the ingredients to make cookies?” Keith questions skeptically, but he joins them in the kitchen.

“We’re gonna use the space goo,” Pidge explains, and Keith’s face involuntarily goes sour at the thought.

Lance laughs, probably at Keith’s expression, before tapping the spot next to him, ushering Keith over. “You can help me roll the goo into balls.”

“That doesn’t really seem like a two person job,” Keith says, but he takes the spot next to Lance regardless.

“It is now,” Lance decides, and he’s about to hand Keith a glop of space goo when he catches sight of Keith’s hands. “Dude, you gotta take your gloves off for this.”

“Or,” Keith starts, leaning forward, “I could just do this.” He grabs the space goo from Lance’s hand, rolling it into a ball with his still gloved hands.

Lance stares in horror, which Keith guesses is only partly dramatised. “I hope those gloves are clean.”

“I clean them everyday,” Keith says, grabbing more space goo from the bowl while Lance gawks at him.

Keith rolls the goo into a ball, but instead of putting it on the pan with the next one, he grins mischievously, putting his hand against Lance’s cheek with the goo in his palm. “You have something on your face,” He tells Lance, dropping his hand from Lance’s cheek.

Lance’s eyes go wide, and for a moment it’s like he’s stuck in place, and then he’s shaking his head, sticking his hand into the bowl of goo and throwing a handful in Keith’s direction. “You’re going down, mullet man.”

“Don’t throw the cookies!” Hunk squawks, but it’s a lost cause that earns him space goo to the chest.

“Behind you!” He hears Lance call, giving him just enough time to turn and protect himself from the Gladiator’s attack.

Lance is at his side within seconds, tossing him a grin. “Nice job.”

“Not bad yourself,” Keith gets out between movements, concentrating on keeping Lance safe.

This is their third day in a row of doing this particular exercise. They’d tried it before, per Allura’s suggestion, when they weren’t talking, and that had resulted in both of them falling through the floor multiple times.

They’re fighting like two completely different people now, or rather, they’re fighting as if they were one.

Even Shiro had been impressed when he walked in on their training session yesterday.

Keith can’t help but feel this is how they’re supposed to be, fighting back to back so easily.

“How long was that?” Lance breaths once they’re done, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“Thirty two minutes,” Keith answers proudly.

Lance playfully jabs Keith’s side with his elbow. “You’re lucky you’ve got me watching your back.”

Keith has two options here.

1. Say that Lance is the lucky one for having Keith watching his back, or—

“I am pretty lucky, aren’t I?”

Keith watches the way Lance falters, his cheeks slightly redder than they were a few seconds ago.

Number two was definitely the way to go.

“The luckiest,” Lance says, regaining his composure. “Don’t forget it.”

“Hey Hunk!” Lance calls from the couch, “Come here, I need your opinion on something.”

Keith groans, dropping his head into one of the couch pillows. “This isn’t fair. He’s your best friend, of course he’s going to side with you.”

Lance gasps. “Did you hear that Hunk? He’s accusing you of favoritism!”

Hunk laughs, taking the spot between them on the couch. It makes Keith think of all the times they spent holed up in the Garrison dorms. “I promise to provide my unbiased opinion.”

Lance sticks his tongue out at Keith, which earns him a poke in the face from Hunk.

“Thank you, Hunk.”

“No problem, Keith.”

Lance pouts, but only for a moment. “So Keith and I were talking about how he’s totally an alien—”

Hunk nods, “Totally.”

“—So it got me thinking,” Lance says, his tone implying that whatever he’s about to say holds a great deal of significance. “Do you think Keith would look good with purple skin?”

“I hate you so much,” Keith mumbles, and then he turns to Hunk, who’s staring at him intently, like he’s taking the question seriously.

Finally, Hunk starts nodding. “I think Keith could pull off purple skin.”

“But do you think he’d look good ?”

Keith shakes his head, catching Lance’s eye, who looks back at him with a grin—and oh come on , now his own face is betraying him, his lip pulling up without his permission.

“I think Keith would look good with purple skin,” Hunk decides, and Keith hates them both.

“See! That’s exactly what I said!” Lance says, pointing his finger at Keith. “You can’t deny your alien good looks any longer.”

“This entire conversation is ridiculous,” Keith sighs, but there’s not a hint of distress to it.

After a successful mission to help free a planet from Zarkon’s grasps, team Voltron gets a party thrown in their honor.

Keith spends the first half of the party letting Shiro drag him around, learning more about the aliens they helped save.

He’s never really been one for parties, or extended social interaction, and while he’s grateful that for once they’re doing something that isn’t putting their lives at risk, he can only take so many comments about his hair.

Seriously, why are all these aliens asking him about his hair? They’re like Lance, except they actually like his mullet.

Keith tells himself not to mention that fact to Lance, because Lance would absolutely include it on the list of things that confirm Keith’s, but he knows he’ll bring it up eventually.

And by eventually, that probably (definitely) means sooner rather than later.

But for now, he needs a breath of fresh air.

Shiro follows him outside, the two of them resting their elbows against the railing, Keith drops his chin in his hand, letting out a breath.

“We saved a lot of people today,” Shiro says, breaking the silence.

“Yeah,” Keith says, looking up at the sky, at the same stars he used to stare at with Lance from the Garrison roof.

“What are you thinking about?” Shiro asks, and Keith can feel his eyes on him.

“The Garrison,” Keith admits. “Lance.”

“How are things going with him?”

“Good.”

Shiro waits for more, and this time, Keith decides to go easy on him. “He’s not trying to beat me anymore.”

It’s something Keith had noticed recently. While Lance was still Lance, competitive as always, whenever they were training, they were doing so as a team. When they won, they won together.

Shiro lets a quiet pass between them, and Keith can tell there’s something he wants to ask, and Keith, being the good friend that he is, decides to make it easier for him.

“What is it?”

“Wha—”

“What you want to ask me, what is it?”

A pause. “Have you told Lance you love him?”

Keith shakes his head. “He already knows.”

Shiro’s brows scrunch together in confusion. “If you didn’t—”

“When we went on the mission Allura sent us on,” Keith starts, because he’s been waiting for a good time to tell Shiro, and now seems like the best opportunity he’s going to get. “I had a plan, before that. You know how soulmates can share feelings?”

Shiro looks skeptical. “I know that sometimes soulmates can feel what the other person is feeling, if the emotion is strong enough.”

“I was gonna try and do that,” Keith explains, “so Lance could know what I was feeling, I wanted him to know that I trusted him, and that I meant it when I said I was sorry.”

Shiro’s eyes have widened slightly. “I’ve never heard of anyone sharing emotions on purpose.”

“I didn’t know if it was possible,” Keith confesses, “but I wanted to try. I was gonna take him to the room with the sky roof,” Keith can feel his face getting warm, “because we used to hang out on top of the Garrison a lot. And look at the stars. So I thought it would be—” he shrugs, struggling to come up with a word, “—symbolic, I guess. It’s cheesy.”

Shiro smiles fondly. “I think Lance would appreciate cheesy.”

Keith laughs softly, nodding. “That’s what I was hoping, but Allura’s mission kinda ruined that, but I still had to try, so…”

Shiro gives him a look that urges him on.

“I apologized, and then I took his hand and I shared my emotions with him,” he says, making it sound easy.

“That’s all?” Shiro asks, dubious.

Keith sighs. “I don’t know how to explain it. It was really intense. I felt his emotions too.”

Shiro takes a moment to process that information, before checking, “That’s how he knows you love him?”

Keith nods.

What he doesn't say is that Lance loves him too.

That’s not his information to share.

He spends the second half of the party hiding in a corner, away from the crowds of aliens, mingling among each other.

Surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, Lance still manages to find him.

He’s wearing a lopsided grin as he walks up to Keith, joining him on the bench Keith had claimed as his for the past half hour. At least, that’s about how much time he assumes has passed.

“You look lonely,” Lance says, scooting close enough that their legs are touching. It’s odd, almost, how familiar that touch is, and how calming Keith finds it.

“I think that’s just your excuse to hang out with me.”

Lance hums, nodding, his body rocking back and forth in accordance with his nods. “You caught me.”

Keith lightly bumps Lance’s leg with his own, which is really more of a push, since their legs are already touching. “Did you get bored of the party?”

“What there to get bored of?” Lance throws back, gesturing towards the middle of the room, the point with the biggest crowd. “I love parties.”

“Then why hide away with me?” Keith asks, eyes on Lance as he turns his head to face Keith.

“Because I was hanging out with all these aliens, but I had no idea where my favorite one was.”

There’s a strange buzzing in his chest. “I’m your favorite alien?”

Lance nods. “Don’t tell Allura.”

Keith smiles softly, and Lance smiles back, and for a second, Keith thinks Lance leans forward. Even if he was, it wouldn’t matter, because now he’s jumping up, extending his hand out to Keith.

“Do you want to,” he shrugs, throwing his other arm out to the side, “go for a walk? Outside.”

Keith takes Lance’s hand as he stands. “A walk sounds good.”

“Cool,” Lance says, leading them out of the party.

The air outside feels nice, but not as nice as Lance’s hand feels holding his, even with the sweat.

If he wasn’t used to these kinds of thoughts by now, he’d probably be more embarrassed, but being Lance’s soulmate has turned his mind cheesy.

“I got at least five compliments on my hair tonight,” Keith says casually.

Lance wiggles his eyebrows, swinging their still connected hands. “Should I be jealous?”

They’re charting on dangerous territory, Keith thinks, but he’s not sure that’s a bad thing.

“No,” Keith answers evenly, hoping his breathing sounds normal.

Lance is quiet for a second, and then he’s grinning. “You know, it must be an alien thing, liking mullets.”

Keith rolls his eyes. Predictable.

“Or maybe hating them is just a Lance thing.”

Lance gasps, stopping the swaying of their hands in favor of nudging Keith’s shoulder with his. It’s nice, being out here, separate from everything else, just being with Lance.

A comfortable silence passes over them, and Keith finds his mind drifting. He likes space, probably more than any of the other paladins, but they have more to go back to. Like Lance has his family. He can imagine what it’s like, not knowing if he’ll ever get to see them again.

That’s how he’d felt when Shiro went missing.

“Do you think we’ll ever go back?” Keith asks, watching Lance as they walk.

Lance face twists with uncertainty, and what Keith thinks is probably sadness, but then he’s smiling lightly, meeting Keith’s eye. “We’ll have to go back eventually. You have to meet my family.”

Keith’s words get caught in his throat, his heart beating faster than it was ten seconds ago.

Lance still wants him to meet his family.

Keith doesn’t know if they’ll ever make it back to earth, but for Lance, he hopes they do. And maybe for himself, too, because he wants to meet Lance’s family. He wants to go to one of the family get togethers Lance had talked so much about. He wants to feel like he belongs in Lance’s life, with the people he loves.

“I can’t wait to meet them,” Keith says, and Lance squeezes his hand lightly.

There’s a hundred things unsaid between them, but that’s okay, because they have all the time in the world to say them.

“I’m bored,” Lance whines, lying on the floor of the castle, staring up at the wall.

The thing about space is that it tends to be all or nothing. Either they’re fighting for their lives, or they’re waiting for their next battle to come.

And sometimes the waiting drags on.

“We can play a card game,” Keith suggests, lying on the couch. He’s still lot sure why Lance chose the floor.

But hey, they’re close enough that Keith’s arm is hanging off the couch, his fingers intertwined with Lance’s.

“We played card games all day yesterday. I want to do something else.”

That’s when Coran comes in and saves the day.

“We’re going swimming,” He announces, and Lance is on his feet within seconds, jumping up with more enthusiasm than he’s had all week.

“Are we stopping at a planet with water or something?” Lance asks, confused but excited.

Coran shakes his head. “The castle has a swimming pool!”

Lance’s eyes widen. “And you never told us before?!”

“Well, we were having some issues with it,” Coran explains, “but I saw that you were bored and decided to fix it up!”

“Coran, have I ever told you I loved you?”

Coran smiles widely. “Thank you, Lance. I’m quite fond of you too.”

Lance beams, and Keith can’t help the small smile that finds it’s way to his face as he gets up from the couch to track down the rest of the team.

Ten minutes later, they’re all standing next to a pool in a room they hadn’t known existed until today. It makes Keith wonder what else the castle is hiding.

Lance wastes absolutely no time, cannonballing into the water almost as soon as he sees the pool.

He pops back up shortly after, his hair dripping wet, and of course the first thing Keith thinks is cute .

“Come on guys!” Lance shouts, “What are you waiting for? The water’s great.” He falls onto his back, arms sprawled out as if to prove his point.

Hunk is the next one to jump in, landing right next to Lance, who swims to close the small distance between them, attaching himself to Hunk, legs wrapping around his waist and arms around his neck.

An amused smile tugs at Keith’s mouth, and after a shared glance with Pidge, they’re both jumping into the water.

Allura and Coran follow, and after experimentally wading his galra arm in the pool to make sure the water isn't going to break it or something, Shiro’s jumping in too.

“Let’s play chicken!” Lance suggests, still clinging to Hunk. “Hunk’s my partner!”

“Woo!” Hunk cheers, holding his hand up for Lance to high five.

“How do you play?” Allura asks curiously.

Lance lets go of Hunk, falling back into the water. “You play in teams,” Lance starts, looking at Hunk. “Since me and Hunk are a team, I’ll be on his shoulders. And then we try and knock down the other teams and the last team standing wins!”

Allura’s eyes widen in excitement. “I would love to play!”

Lance grins, but it quickly turns into a frown. “One of us can’t play, since there’s seven of us.”

“I’ll sit this one out!” Coran offers. “This game may be more interesting to watch.”

Lance shoots finger guns at Coran. “You’re the man, Coran.”

“Pidge!” Allura calls, “Do you want to be my teammate?”

Pidge looks absolutely thrilled at that idea. “Oh hell yeah! We’re gonna kick these guys asses!”

Allura smiles, laughing quietly. “We certainly are.”

Shiro swims up to Keith’s side. “Looks like we’re a team.”

It ends up being Hunk, Allura, and Shiro on the bottom, with Lance, Pidge, and Keith on their shoulders, ready to fight to the death.

The game involves way more screaming than is probably necessary, a few light hearted threats, and Lance succeeding to push Keith and Pidge into the water, earning victory for his team.

Pidge and Allura call rematch, leading them to play a few more rounds of chicken, until each team has won at least once, and then they’re all left to their own devices.

But Keith isn’t alone for long, because shortly after the game ends Lance swims up to him, a content smile on his face.

Keith is grateful for the pool, if only because it gives Lance something that likely reminds him of home.

“You look like you’re having fun,” Keith comments.

Lance’s smile widens into a grin. “I’d have more fun if you give me a piggyback ride.”

Keith shakes his head, but he turns around, allowing Lance to climb onto his back.

Lance’s arms wrap around Keith, resting on his chest, and then Lance is leaning in and placing a quick kiss to Keith’s cheek, leaving a blush in it’s place.

“You’re blushing,” Lance says proudly, poking his cheek.

“I’ll get you back later,” Keith warns, too fond to sound threatening.

Lance tightens his hold on Keith. “Can’t wait.”

Sometimes, it’s easy to forget they could die at literally any second.

And then they’re under attack, rushing to their lions, and it’s impossible to forget.

Today is one of the impossible days.

Keith’s heartbeat is a continuous strum in his ear as he dodges attack after attack, the team too preoccupied trying to keep themselves alive to form Voltron.

The attacks are coming from every direction, and Keith isn’t sure how many more hits Red can take.

“We need to form Voltron!” He calls to his other paladins, but it’s not like saying that is going to make any difference. They already know, but Keith’s frustrated, and he needs to say something .

“Thanks for that, captain obvious!” Lance shouts over the intercom, his breathing heavy.

“No prob—” Keith starts to say, but he gets cut off, one of the Galra’s strikes crashing into Red.

The last thing he hears before his eyes fall shut is multiple people yelling his name.

When he regains consciousness, he’s met with six hovering bodies, all a little too close for comfort, especially since he has no idea where he is.

“Keith!” Squeaks Lance, letting out a relieved sigh.

“Thank god you’re okay,” Shiro breaths.

“We were worried about you, dude!” Says Hunk.

“You took quite the hit,” Allura tells him.

“It was intense,” agrees Pidge.

“How’re you feeling?” Coran asks.

Like he wants to sleep for three days straight. “Fine. Is Red okay?”

There’s a few nods, and Keith’s body relaxes slightly.

“I flew her back for you,” Lance says, and Keith notices that he looks exhausted. They all do.

“How long have I been out for?”

“Nearly a varga,” Coran answers, which translates to nearly an hour.

He hasn’t been out for too long then.

“You guys should get some rest,” Keith says, because it doesn't look like any of them have slept, and they were literally just fighting to stay alive. That takes a lot out of a person. “Now that you know I’m okay. I think I’m ready to sleep for a few hours anyway.”

The team agrees that rest is a good idea, and slowly they’re separating, wishing Keith well, until him and Lance are the only two left.

Lance is frowning, he notices.

“You okay?” Keith asks, worried.

Lance nods, but it’s subdued. “Yeah, I’m—you scared me there, for a second.”

Keith’s heart falters, imagining how Lance must have felt. If Lance had been the one to get hurt—it’s not something he really wants to think about.

“I’m sorry,” Keith says, reaching his hand out. Lance takes it, rubbing circles into Keith’s palm with his thumb.

“Don’t be. I’m just glad you’re okay. If something worse had happened—” Lance shuts his eyes, shaking his head.

“It would hurt,” Keith says, “because of the soulmate bond.”

Lance is looking at him like he’s suddenly grown ears. “It wouldn’t hurt just because of that. You’re my friend, Keith. Soulmate or not, if something happened to you, it would hurt.”

Keith stares at him, blinking. He’s not sure why it throws him back so much, to hear Lance calling him a friend. Out of everything they are, soulmates, teammates, friends is what comes first.

“I feel the same way,” Keith manages to get out, and Lance brings Keith’s hand to his mouth, kissing it gently.

His heart burns brightly at the contact, a warmth settling in his cheeks.

“Do you want to come back to my room with me?” Keith asks, because his eyes are getting heavier, but he’s not ready to leave Lance’s side yet.

“Yeah,” Lance says, no hesitation.

Sharing a bed becomes a normal thing after that.

Keith, despite being a do it himself kind of guy, can admit when he needs help. This is one of those times.

That’s how he ends up catching Allura alone, asking her about Altean music, and if radios are a universal thing.

“Keeeith,” Lance says, grabbing his hand and pulling him onto the couch. “I feel like I’ve barely seen you the past few days.”

Keith tries not to smile, he really does, but he fails miserably. “I’ve been kinda busy… with something.”

Lance squints at him, suspicious. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Keith shrugs innocently. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Lance pouts. “Jerk.”

Keith presses his lips together, keeping his smile from growing.

Keith rubs his palms against his jeans, looking at Hunk. “Are you sure you told him to be here at the right time? Because—”

“ I’m sure, ” Hunk says, somewhat amused. “He’ll be here soon, just be patient.”

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but patient isn’t something I’m…”

He trails off, Lance entering the room.

“So I’m gonna go!” Hunk squeaks, and Keith nods, his eyes not moving from Lance, who’s staring at him, his face a combination of confusion and something that could be hope.

“What’s up…?” Lance asks cautiously, closing the distance between them, his eyes falling to the blue flowers in Keith’s hands.

Keith smiles softly. “Lance,” he says, meeting Lance’s gaze, “Do you want to go on a date with me?”

Lance nods slowly, and then he’s smiling too, his nods getting faster as his face lights up completely. “Yes,” he says, throwing his arms around Keith, crushing the flowers between them.

When Lance pulls away, his smile is brighter than ever. He’s shaking his head, eyes shining. “I can’t believe you’re asking me out with flowers. That’s so cheesy.”

“I learned from the best,” Keith says, holding them out. “Coran helped me find them,” he adds as Lance takes the flowers.

“I love them,” Lance tells him, “I—thank you.”

I love you , Keith thinks Lance almost says.

“That’s why you haven’t seen too much of me,” Keith explains, “I’ve been setting up our date.”

Lance’s smile turns playful. “You just assumed I’d say yes, did you?”

Keith shrugs. “I took an educated guess.”

“So when’s our date then?”

“Tonight.”

“Will it be memorable?” Lance asks, the words Keith had once asked him.

Keith huffs out a laugh, repeating what Lance had said to him. “It’s already memorable when you’re with me, baby.”

“Don’t sound so dead when you’re saying ‘baby’,” Lance says, grinning. “You gotta add emotion to it, make me feeling something.”

Keith shakes his head in amusement, heart ridiculously full.

Lance’s mouth falls to the floor the second he enters the room, the see through ceiling leaving all the stars on display, lighting up the blanket fort Keith had set up in advance.

“Keith,” Lance sighs, an odd mix of content and distress. “I want to be mad that you totally one upped me, but I’m too happy to care. This is amazing, I’m gonna start crying or something.”

“It gets better,” Keith says, walking to the the Altean version of a radio that Allura had let him borrow. “It’s not the music you’re used to hearing, but,” Keith turns it on, sound quietly leaving the speakers, “it’s still music,” he finishes, turning the volume up.

Lance practically melts, and Keith closes the gap between them, holding out his hand. “Do you want to dance?”

Lance’s eyes are shining with barely formed tears, not big enough to fall, but still there. “Do you even know how to dance?” Lance asks, smile wide as he takes Keith’s hand and lets himself get led into the middle of the room.

“Not really,” Keith admits, placing his hands on Lance’s waist.

Lance wraps his arms around Keith’s neck, their bodies pressed together as they sway to the music. “I kind of feel like I’m at prom or something,” Lance says.

“Is that a bad thing?” Keith asks, but from the look on Lance’s face he already has his answer.

“No, I love it. I—”

There’s a pause, and there it is again, the unsaid I love you between them.

Except this time—

“I love you, Keith.”

It takes Keith a moment to realize Lance is actually saying those words out loud, and another moment to remind himself to breath.

Lance loves him.

He already knew this, but hearing it out loud, this feels different. Keith’s heart is buzzing, and he’s about to say the words back when Lance makes a small jolt.

“Woah,” Lance says, and Keith’s eyes widen in worry.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, but dude, holy moly, I think I just felt your emotions again.”

Keith eyebrows pull together. “What happened?”

A smile takes over Lance’s face. “It was like getting hit with a bolt of love. Literally.”

Keith flushes, averting his eyes only for them to find their way immediately back to Lance.

He looks at Lance, the same Lance who promised to beat him minutes after meeting him, who picked Garrison locks like it was the easiest thing in the world, who never gives up on his dreams, never gives up on the people he cares about.

He looks at Lance, the same Lance who had the words ‘who are you?’ written on his arm, and he thinks it was always supposed to be like this, the two of them.

“I love you,” Keith says, and it doesn't matter that Lance already knows, because Keith wants him to hear it. He wants him to hear it now, and in five minutes, and in five hours, and in five days, five months, five years.

“I know,” Lance says back, his smile bright, and Keith never wants him to stop hearing it.

Lance rests his head on Keith’s shoulder, tightening his hold. They let a silence fall over them, the Altean music and the quiet sound of their footsteps the only noise between them.

It’s then, arm in arm under the stars, that Keith has finally found a place to call home.

++

Later, when Keith finds out he’s part Galra, Lance breaks the awkwardness in the air with a grin, wrapping his arms around Keith’s neck and telling him, “You really are my alien boyfriend soulmate.”

It doesn’t make everything automatically better, but it lessens the weight on his shoulders, and for now, that’s enough.

He wraps his arms around Lance’s back, pulling him closer. “Boyfriend, huh?” Keith asks, because that’s still not something they’ve talked about.

Not since the Garrison.

“I mean, we never really broke up, did we?”

Keith smiles, nodding as he meets Lance’s eye. “We didn’t.”