Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lance sighed as he flipped his pillow over, the coolness of it making him shudder slightly. He pulled the blanket up over his shoulders again, wiggling until he was comfortable. He hated laying in bed alone. He missed being in Cuba, sharing his bed with his younger siblings when they had a nightmare. Nothing here seemed normal; laying in his castle bedroom alone. He flipped over in bed with a large sigh. Closing his eyes, he tried to fall asleep.

After 30 minutes of this, he groaned and sat up, "This is useless. I'm not even tired."

He moved his legs off of the bed, and slipped on his house shoes. He grabbed his robe, and walked to his door, it opening with a slight hissing sound. Walking slowly as to not make any sounds, he walked down the dark hallways until he found the room he was looking for. Opening the door and pressing the power button on his Mercury Gameflux II and grabbing his controller, Lance sat down on the pillow he leaves in here. Making sure that the volume is low enough to not wake the others, he starts the game 'Killbot Phantasm I: Journey to the Depths of the Demonsphere'.

He got so caught up in the game that he didn't hear the door open behind him, and only realized someone was in the room with him when he heard a throat being cleared. At first, he thought it was Shiro, and started to prepare himself to get yelled at. He was up pretty late, and would definitely not be his best self when they started their daily training in the morning.

"Lance...what are you doing up so late?," he heard a familiar voice say, followed by a yawn.

"...Keith? I could ask you the same thing!," he whisper-yelled at the red paladin who had scared him.

"I couldn't sleep, so I started walking around the castle. I was on my way back to my room when I heard a sound come from over here. Then I saw the light of the "TV" and came to see who was up. But now that I know it's you, I'm going to leave. You should go to bed, too, so we don't struggle because of you."

"Uhm, excuse you?! You are going to leave without watching my amazing gameplay skills?! How DARE you!" Lance huffed, acting upset that his "rival turned friend" didn't want to at least talk to him.

"Not sure if you have noticed, but you don't like me. Also, I never really got into video games. They just... aren't my thing." Keith shrugged, making a slight smirk as he watched Lance's facial expressions change rapidly. Maybe that was what it was like when he lost his temper. He made a mental note to work on that, for his team.

"It's not that I don't like you, I do. You're a cool dude and all, we just don't think on the same level. I'm the cool, ninja sharpshooter who gets all the girls. You... are something... that isn't that and we just don't 'click" like we should. To be honest, I thought YOU didn't like ME," he said in a shushed tone, remembering they were the only two awake at the time.

Keith raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think we aren't 'on the same level'? You have your own way of doing things, and I have mine. They don't have to be the same for us to be friends. You are friends with Pidge, and she is NOTHING like you." he took a glance at the game, before looking back at Lance, "Even if we don't always get along, we can still be friends. N-Not that I want to be friends with you, but we are a team and we need to work together."

"Ooooh, someone's bad at talking 'bout his feeling's~" Lance teases, turning off the console. He stands and stretches, sighing when his back pops.

Keith watches his movements, and his eyes linger a few seconds too long at lance's exposed stomach when he stretches. Shit, did Lance see him staring? No, no, he didn't. "I know how to talk about my feelings, ok? I can do it just fine, thank you," he scoffs, looking out into the hallway. "Are you ready to go to bed now? Since our rooms are so close together, I thought we could talk together so it's not awkward..." he added.

"Yeah, I'm done with my game, if it wasn't obvious by me turning it off," he grinned, giving a small chuckle to Keith, who have him a stare. "What? Someone doesn't seem to like sarcasm~"

"I uh-... just go. I'll close the door," Keith said, now fully avoiding eye contact with Lance.

"Ok, but it's like all of the other doors in the castle. It's automatic," he laughed again, his smile bigger this time.

"Right, yeah, I knew that. I'll just, um..." he trailed off, unsure what to say next.

For the next few minuets, Lance and Keith walked side by side, with light, playful banter. They tried to stay quiet, but Lance's terrible jokes didn't make it very easy. When they reached Keith's room, Lance realized his mistake. He had got so sidetracked talking to Keith that he had missed his room, and said a quiet "oh, whoops," before turning around and taking the few feet's walk to his room.

"How cold. No goodnight, no goodbye kiss? That hurt, Sharpshooter, that hurt," Keith playfully stated, raising his eyebrow in a mocking way.

"W-What? Oh, goodnight Keith. Thanks for walking with me. I still feel like this castle is haunted..." he says, trying to ignore the fact that Keith was flirting with him. Flirting? No, no. He wouldn't do that...would he? "Try and get some sleep, dream of me~." If Keith could joke around like that, so could he. He was the funny one in the group, after all. He turned around to see Keith still looking at him, his mouth slight open. "Take a picture, it lasts longer," he added, winking to see if that would change his facial expression any. And it did, a new dusking of pink sat on Keith's cheeks. Keith quickly turned around and took a step closer to his door, making it open.

Once inside, he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and scolded himself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," he said, taking off his jacket and tossing it on the floor. He sat of the bed, head in his hands, and sighed. He regretted talking with Lance for so long. Not that there was anything wrong with Lance, it was just the fact that he would want to do it again and again, and make it a daily thing. What if Lance didn't want to be his friend? What if Lance was annoyed that Keith ruined his only time to play video games?

-

Keith let out a sigh and flipped his pillow over, the coolness of it giving him comfort he desperately needed. He pulled the blanket up over his shoulders again, moving until he was comfortable. He liked being alone, but there was something about it that was making it uncomfortable tonight. He sat up, and got out of bed, slipping on his boots. He left his room as quietly has he could, and made his way to the room where he and Lance had shared a friendly moment only days ago. He had told Lance that video games weren't for him, but he lied. He had never played one, but he was so interested in them that he had to see what they were like.

After checking and making sure nobody saw him, he waited for the door to the room open, and pulled out the pillow he saw Lance sit on. He turned on the "TV" and the console, and started playing the only game that Lance and Pidge had for it.

Instantly, the room was blasting videogame music. Keith jumped and turned the console off, the faint glow of the "TV" illumining the worried expression that he wore. "Shit."

Not even 2 minutes later, he head footsteps running down the hall, and he tried his best to hide against the wall as the footsteps turned into the room. "Hello?? Who's there? I will get salt or something from the kitchen to kill you, you demon motherfucker!!" Lance whisper yelled, a scared tone in his voice.

"Relax, it's just me," Keith said as he peeled him away from the wall, raising his hands to show his innocents. "Please, don't try to kill me with salt. That would hurt." he added, playfully.

"Jesus, Keith! You almost gave me a heart attack! What were you doing?!"

"I was trying to learn how to play that game, so we could play together." he stated, his bluntness slightly shocking Lance

"Oh, uhm, I can teach you!" Lance said, his expression turning from scared to happy

"...Really?"

"Of course, what else are friends for?"

Chapter Text

"Oh, c'mon Keith! Don't be a party pooper!" Lance pouts, talking in the whiniest voice he can make. "Please, let me put a facemask on you! I'll put a wash-off one on you, not a peel-off one!" he pleaded, giving Keith a cute look.

"...I just don't understand the point. I'm not trying to impress anyone. I have you, isn't that enough?" Keith replies, a slightly confused look spreading across his face.

"Yes, baby! Of course you are enough! I just want you to love yourself, like I love myself! It makes you feel good. Please?"

He sighed, and nodded. He pulled his hair up into a bun to keep it out of his face. This was the first time since they got together that Lance got so close to him. He didn't mind, Lance was really nice and always was gentle and he smelled like strawberry shampoo. he shook his head slightly.

"Helloooooo, Earth to Keith. Do you copy?" Lance asked with a teasing tone. "You zoned out on me when I asked you what scent you wanted. 'Orange' or 'neutral'..?" He asked, looking for the face spatula he was going to use to apply the product more evenly.

"Orange," he blurted out. When Lance gave him a weird look, he just smiled. Lance opened the bottle, and scrunched up his nose when some shot out on his face.

"Gross! It's chunky! I need to shake it up!" he giggled, shaking the bottle with one hand and wiping the product off of his face with the other. Keith just watched, taking in the large amounts of freckles Lance has the he had never noticed. The freckles were on his cheeks the most, and spread down his face slowly, dying off under his chin in an area Keith could not currently see. They started again on Lances shoulders, and there were far fewer here than on his face. When Keith looked back up to Lance's face, he saw that he had a light pink blush spreading quickly across his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

Lance quickly looked away, for he was also noticing the little things about Keith he hadn't noticed before. The tiny scar above his left eye, most likely from a fall up some stairs; a small scar near his bottom lip... did he used to have it pierced? He had a similar one on the bridge of his nose, so maybe he did and took them out for some reason Lance would ask about later. Lance scooped some of the product onto the spatula, and he smeared it on Keith's cheek.

"Holy shit, that's cold!" Keith exclaimed, jumping slightly.

"Sorry, I should have warned you. It'll warm up the longer it's on your face. And you only have to wear it for 30 minutes, then we can wash it off of you and I'll braid your hair," he said, smiling at Keith's reaction. He had meant to warn Keith of the coldness, but the fact he forgot amused him. He didn't expect Keith to react like that. "At least is smells good, right...?" he stifled a laugh, turning it into a harmless cough when Keith glared at him. He kissed the tip of Keith's nose, and sighed contently. He could spend the rest of his life looking at this beautiful man in front of him and be content forever. They fit together like a weirdly shaped, two-piece puzzle; and he was ok with that, seeing as nobody else had a puzzle piece that was shaped like Lance that could replace him. He knew he was the one for Keith, and he planed on making sure that Keith knew, too.

-

After Keith's face had been washed and he combed his hair to make it smooth, Lance make Keith sit on the couch. He stood behind him, slowly French braiding his hair for him; he knew that his long hair bothered him sometimes, so he would do this on occasion to make it easier. "Keith, you have to hold still, or I'll accidently pull on your hair!" he almost yelled at the man in front of him, sighing with frustration.

"Sorry, I'm not moving on purp- 𝘰𝘩 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬," he whispered out. He had turned his head when talking to Lance; he liked to be facing the people he was talking to, and giving them eye contact whenever he could. But because he turned, Lance accidently pulled his hair, just like he said would happen if he didn't stay still.

"Uhm, are you ok? D-Did I hurt you? I'm so sorry!" Lance rambles on, placing a gentle hand on Keith's shoulder. Keith was slightly shivering, and he shook his head repeatedly.

"N-No, you didn't hurt me... Promise." he could now not look Lance in the eye, and started to stare at the very uninteresting floor as if it was it had grown a head. He had known he had a think for hair pulling, but it never made his entire body shiver like that before. "I'm not entirely sure what happened, but that was weird.." he mumbled, talking mainly to himself.

Lance was now very confused. What was that reaction? What is because he accidently pulled Keith's hair? He decided he wanted to do it again, and see if he could a similar reaction. Worst case scenario- Keith would be mad at him for a few minutes. He can deal with that.

"...why did you go quiet, Lance? Is every thing ok?" Keith asked, and he started to turn his head again.

Lance winched slightly has he pulled Keith's hair again; the groan and the full=body shiver made Lance's face turn bright red and he made a mental note that he LOVED the sound Keith just made. He moved his head toward Keith's and whispered, "Did you like that~?" Lance was never the type to be bold, or to make the first move, but he felt safe with Keith. He knew Keith wouldn't judge him for doing something stupid. Today, he felt very confident in his ability to impress Keith.

"How did you- why did you.." Keith was having trouble forming words, his brain thinking of Lance pulling on his hair, starting to- no. He needed to think of something else.

While Keith was distracted by his own thoughts, Lance walked around the couch and sat on Keith's lap. One of his hands went around Keith's neck, the other went to his hair, scratching his scalp. "Oh, c'mon, did you really think I didn't hear the sound you made when I did that to you? I did, and I want to do it again," he said, moving the hand in Keith's hair so he could wrap a small section around his pointer finger.

Just as Keith was about to add some sarcastic remark, he tugged the hair around his finger. The face Keith made was a sight Lance would never get out of his brain. He closed his eyes, his mouth opened slightly, and his breath hitched as Lance continued to pull on it.

"Fuck- Lance," he practically moaned out.

"C'mon, let's take this to the bedroom- I hate this couch"

Chapter Text

Keith was never the type of person to share things with people. But while at the Garrison, he made a single friend who's name was Jared. There was nothing special about Jared, but he was quiet like Keith was. So, Keith slowly opened up to his new friend, who he thought he could trust. It started with small things- telling him how much he loved candy and baked goods, what kinds of stories he would read as a kid, all of the animals he saw out on walks with his dad. One day he let it slip who he had a small crush on, and he instantly regretted it. He knew Jared wasn't ok with same-sex relationships, and Keith had a crush on a boy they saw in the cafeteria daily. Jared told everyone he could that Keith was gay, and would bully him in the halls.

-
Keith woke up in a cold sweat, vividly remembering his nightmare- getting bullied in the Garrison by Jared... and almost every other person there. Thankfully, the other paladins hadn't heard most of the rumors of him, or if they did they didn't talk about it. He got out of bed and grabbed his coat, slipping his boots, and leaving his room. When he gets to the lounge, he see's Lance, Pidge, and Hunk having a heated debate about something. Understanding only bits and pieces, he figured it was Lance who had started it- and it probably didn't matter.

Lance turned his head, and saw Keith. "Oh, there he is! Let's ask him now, and we can just find out from the source!" Lance shouts. "Keith! Are you homophobic? I gotta know! They say you aren't, but I feel like the reason we fight so often is because I'm bi and you judge me because of it," he says, quieter now than he was just moments ago.

"Lance... you do know I'm gay, right?" Keith asks, avoiding eye contact with the three people in the room.

"...He's avoiding the question! I told you, he's homophobic!" Lance shouts, then realizes what Keith had replied. "Wait... what?"

"Look, Lance. I don't have time for you to belittle me. Yes, I'm gay. Please, just- drop it?" he asked, although it was more like a demand. As he turned to ask Pidge a question, he realized he and Lance were alone. "Great," he muttered to himself, "where is the little midget when you need them?" He turned to Lance, getting defensive again, "Why were you guys talking about my sexuality, anyway?"

"Because- It started with me telling them about this guy at the Garrison I knew, his name was Jared or something. Anyway, he hung out with this loner kid that had a lot of really cool piercings. Well, one day I heard a rumor that the kid Jared was hanging out with was gay, and Jared was a homophobe. He called the kid out, the kid got teased, blah blah blah. I had a small crush on the kid, and asked Pidge and Hunk if they knew his name, so that I could try to find him when we get to get home. Say- you wouldn't know who he is, would you? I think I heard you say that you knew a Jared, so maybe you knew the kid..?" Lance watched as Keith's face turned bright red. He turned around quickly, trying to hide his face from Lance. "Keith, buddy, you ok?" Lance asked, taking a few steps toward Keith so he could put a hand on his shoulder. As we did this, he happened to glance as Keith's ear and saw tiny little scars going up his ear, almost as if had been pierced several times in the past. He took a side-step so he could see Keith's face, and saw some similar looking scars near his lips, and two at the bridge of his nose.

Thinking back on it, he remembered seeing Keith with a black studs on the bridge of his nose, and how at the time it made him think of the kid he had a crush on. As the pieces started to connect in his mind, Keith tired desperately to leave the lounge and head to the safety of his room. "Lance, please let go of me.." he mumbled out, moving his shoulder in an attempt to get Lance's hand off of him. "Lance, please just stop-"

His words were cut off by Lance touching his bottom lip. He moved his finger down and touched where the steel spike piecing used to be. He remembered wanting to kiss Keith, and feel the slight jab from the spike touch him. "Keith, if you knew that I was talking about you.. why didn't you say anything? You would have made my life so much easier. How long have you known that I liked you back then?" on and on, Lance was asking Keith about why he didn't say anything. He was still touching Keith's face, his fingers now touching his chin, forcing the other to make eye contact with him. "I wanted so badly to fall in love with the cute little teenager that always looked so lonely. I wanted to show him that people care for him, and that he matters... Keith?" Lance had looked up, and saw that Keith was crying. His eyes were turning a pink color, and tears had already started rolling down his cheeks that were now a light pink.

Lance guided him down to the couch, and sat next to him. He instantly curled up to Lance's side, still crying. "If I had known that you cared for me, my life would have been so different. You would have helped me when I wanted to end it all. I had nobody until I met Shiro- he... he helped me turn my life around so I wasn't so alone. Then when he went on the Kerberos Mission and they said he died, I felt like part of me died. He was, and still is, like a brother to me. I love him like family... I-" Lance cut him off again, this time with a small kiss to his forehead.

"Shh, it's ok. I understand being completely alone, feeling like there is nobody there for you. I never want you to feel like that again. I'm here for you now, ok? And I don't ever plan on leaving," he said with a smile. He put his hand on Keith's chin again, and turned so they were looking at each other eye to eye. "I promise."

As Keith started to smile, Lance let his hand move up to Keith's cheek, and moved forward slowly. He looked down at Keith's lips before looking him in the eye again. Keith's eyes slowly closed as Lance closed the gap between them, then quickly pulled away.

"Never knew you had it in you to kiss the emo boy from the Garrison. Glad you finally did it. I waited long enough."