Chapter Text
By 6pm, Veronica had begun to pace. She’d always been a pacer; she did it when she was thinking, and talking, and even, much to the dismay of her mother and the humour of her siblings, when she was eating. Movement helped her think, and formulate plans– it even helped her concentrate on the flavour of food. At least, that’s what she told her mother whenever she was scolded for nearly choking on her breakfast. Tonight, though, she was pacing through the frustration of trying to locate Lance.
He hadn't told her he’d be there for Christmas. He hasn't said anything. In fact, she’d barely heard from him since he’d packed his bags and ditched his life and the Garrison a few weeks back. But Lance and Veronica had an agreement. They had since they were kids; they were closer to each other than their other siblings, and the lot of them were already close. Lance and Veronica, Veronica and Lance– when one needed something, the other was there.
“You cannot physically spot him from the window. We are fourteen stories up, and the sun set two hours ago. Your eyes can't perceive faces from that distance or in this light.”
Veronica sighed deeply, turning on her heel to consult the woman busying herself at their kitchen counter.
“I’m not expecting to actually spot him,” she said. “I’m just…” Veronica paused, waving her hand about for loss of words. Acxa quirked a brow, expression frightfully indifference to her plight, though Veronica knew at her core she cared. “Being hopeful.”
“He’ll come or he won’t. Two options. You’re worrying too much.”
“I’m not worried,” Veronica objected, slouching in a chair that overlooked the window.
Acxa was right, and Veronica was lying. She had been trying to spot Lance down there, amid the crowds and the snow covered streets, perhaps winding his way through the maze of tinsel and glowing lights, avoiding the slush kicked up by bus tyres, drawn to the sweet smell of food wafting from the markets.
She glanced away from the window, assessing their own apartment, cosily decked out for Christmas Eve. Acxa didn't really understand it, but she’d gone to great extents to help Veronica decorate, until Veronica wondered if her girlfriend had inadvertently become more of a Christmas-fanatic than herself.
“Where do you think he is, if he’s not here?”
Acxa shrugged, stripping the leaves of a basil sprig like one might ripe the hide off some animal. Veronica flinched as her girlfriend threw down the plant and began chopping aggressively. Poor basil.
“In a hotel,” Acxa said plainly.
Veronica pursed her lips. That wasn’t right. Christmas was family time, and she hadn't heard a whisper from her brother all day. None of them had.
With a sigh, she stood, resuming her pace of the living room. She’d already laid the table: four plates, in the hopes Lance would show. She’d tidied the whole apartment in preparation, and had even busted her ass to send off the last couple of reports due to the Garrison, specifically so she’d have extra time to spend with her brother. The brother that wasn’t here.
Veronica threw herself into a chair with a dramatized sigh, earning another raised brow from Acxa.
“I’m sure-”
Acxa froze with her hand around the knife, ears twitching.
“Sure what?” Veronica asked.
Her girlfriend didn’t reply. As swiftly as she moved in battle, she discarded the tea towel she had slung over a shoulder and crept toward their apartment door.
“Acxa?”
Acxa raised a finger to her lips, and Veronica resisted rolling her eyes as the half-Galra plastered herself to the wall. Some things never changed. Her ears moved back and forth, listening, and Veronica sat back, wondering for the dozenth time whether they ought to get a dog. Then she could watch two of them play this game at the door.
Without warning, Acxa leapt forward and ripped the door open, still clutching that knife adorned in little basil cuttings. On the other side, whoever had their fist raised to knock withdrew it at light speed, complete with a yelp and a curse.
“Jesus Christ, what the– Acxa?”
Veronica scoffed. She was currently out of sight of whoever stood in their doorway, but she’d know that voice from across a whole room of noisy people.
“Lance,” Acxa said stoically.
“What are you doing here?” Lance asked, aghast.
“I might ask you the same.”
Veronica rejoiced in that ridiculous answer, and from behind the door, Lance spluttered. Well, time to save the day.
“I know this is all very alien,” she called, meandering over to Acxa and sliding a hand around her waist, “but usually when friends come knocking, we let them in.”
Acxa drew back a little, sinking into Veronica’s side and revealing the man standing stunned in their doorway. Veronica raised a brow.
“Especially when it’s my brother.”
She met Lance’s exasperated gaze, and something warm unfurled in her chest. Her brother was currently dripping melting snow and ice all over the carpet leading from the elevator, a scrappy backpack hanging off one shoulder, a poorly wrapped present clutched in his hand.
“Merry Christmas, Ronnie,” Lance said, voice something tight and delicate all at once.
Veronica released a heavy breath, and a small smile lit her lips. “I thought this might happen.”
Lance revealed a smile of his own, toothy yet embarrassed all at once, and as soon as Veronica threw her arms open she was swept into the tightest hug of her life. Well, except perhaps for the one she’d given Lance when she learnt he was still alive after the war.
“Took you long enough,” she muttered, uncaring of the dampness that seeped from her brother’s jacket onto her tidy shirt.
“I’ve been driving for days.”
“You smell like you have.”
Lance laughed, withdrawing. He still wore that smile, so bright and alive; Veronica hadn't seen him smile like that in… It had been a while, hadn't it?
Someone cleared their throat, and she looked to Lance’s right, at the man in a red bomber jacket and black boots, a braid of dark hair resting over his shoulder. Keith looked…much the same. But different. How there could simultaneously be more and less weight in his eyes since the last time Veronica had seen him, she didn't know. But he hunched his shoulders awkwardly under her gaze, and dug hands into his pockets, and held his chin high and yup, that was the Keith she knew.
“It's good to see you, Keith,” she said.
Something softened in his expression, and his eyes darted very briefly to Lance.
“Uh, yeah,” he said. “It's…good to see you too. Like really good to see you.”
Veronica’s smile widened, and she stepped back to allow them in.
“Why is Keith here?” Acxa asked immediately, eyes skirting their company suspiciously.
“Well, I’m sure you’ve all been dying to see Acxa again,” Veronica said sarcastically.
Lance snorted, and Keith nodded enthusiastically on his way past. They ditched their soggy boots and jackets at the door, and Veronica led them inside, heading straight for the spare room so they could dump their backpacks.
Lance looked surprised to see an air mattresses beside the bed, as well as extra towels and bedding all laid out for them. His eyes lingered on the table, where four places had been set, but neither he nor Veronica said much until she’d shown Keith to the shower. The man looked chilled to the bone. He needed one.
“There are more pillows in the cupboard,” Veronica said, turning her back on the bathroom to confront Lance. “If you still use as many as you did when you were seven.”
Lance snorted. Veronica wasn’t convinced; there was something heavy in his gaze, something going unsaid between them. He kept turning back to spy on the bathroom door as the shower started up, nearly tripping over the carpet.
“How’d you know I’d come?” Lance asked, once they were seated in the living room, Acxa throwing knives and bits of food around behind them.
Veronica shrugged. “You have a habit of showing up at just the right time. I thought if I set it all up, you might appear.”
“You’re making it sound like I’m Santa.”
She cracked a wry smile. “We’re all out of cookies, but I’ve got some milk if you’d like.”
Their laughter trickled out. There was a small pinch between Lance’s brows, and Veronica felt the pinch in her own chest.
“You’re still an overachiever, I see,” Lance said, nodding to the corner shelf, which held a number of medals and awards from the Garrison.
“Same as you.”
Her brother scoffed. He eyed the tidy bookcase across from them, where an entire shelf was dedicated to displaying pictures of their family. Behind them, Acxa clanged about in the kitchen, throwing god-knows-what at a pot on the stove. Lance leant forward a little, spying on the city far below them. The usual streetlamps were swamped by the bundles of Christmas lights strung between businesses and from apartment balconies.
“Keith, he looks well,” said Veronica.
Lance raised his head to look at her. She sunk deeper into her armchair, hands folded neatly in her lap.
“Uh, yeah. You hadn't seen him for a while, huh?”
“No. I’m glad I told Rachel to contact him, out of all of them.”
“What do you mean?”
“When you left home,” she said. “Rachel told me she thought about asking Hunk and Shiro, even Pidge, to find you. But I thought Keith would be the best person.”
Lance frowned softly, fingers knitted together and hanging above his lap. “How’d you know he was back on Earth?”
Veronica sighed. “I approved his request. He doesn't know, and I think it’s better if he doesn't, but the Garrison gave the case to me to process. So I know, what happened with the Blade.”
Lance’s eyes fell to the floor. His mind was somewhere else, for a moment, wrapped up in another time. Or, Veronica mused, as his eyes shifted down the passage, another person.
“You two always understood each other,” she said quietly. “Better than I understood you, when you came back to Earth.” She chuckled. “I think I was almost…frustrated. I had my brother back, I wanted to be able to relate to you again, but instead you had this wall up. And Keith was one of the only people I saw who knew how to get around it.”
Outside, the snow had begun to fall again, splattering against the window in rapid silver splashes before melting into the night. Undoubtedly, Lance wanted to relate to her too. They’d both been in that war, after all. But there were some things that could never be unearthed between them. There were things that simply had to be understood from the start. Space had left its claws buried so deeply in their bodies that it was useless trying to extract them, to undo what damage had been inflicted.
“I’m sorry I frightened you,” Lance said softly.
He glanced at Acxa, but she wasn’t paying them any mind. A little speaker spluttered music at her as she swung around between the countertops, grabbing a knife from the block just to test all the ways she could throw it at the cutting board.
“You frightened me more than anything, the day you left Earth,” Veronica said. “When you vanished. Frightening me now?” She laughed softly. “You’re going to have to try a little harder.”
“Ignoring your calls, everyone, I just…” Lance sighed, elbows digging into his thighs. “I did wrong by all of you.”
“Lance,” Veronica said gently. “You did wrong by no one. If this is the worst you do, after all of that? The war, and the trauma? Well, I have to laugh.”
Lance’s brows furrowed, and before he knew it Veronica was up from her seat and beside him on the couch.
“Come on, you think I’m perfect?” she asked. “I have whole weeks where I feel lost. Acxa gets so wound up sometimes she can’t even speak. We’re trying, Lance, to surround ourselves with the things that make us comfortable, but I don’t expect you to have forgotten everything that happened. I never expected that.”
She sighed as she set a hand on his arm, and something in Lance deflated.
“You didn’t scare me,” she said. “I’m only happy to have you back.”
Lance’s smile wobbled, but when Veronica reached out and he pulled her into a tight hug, she’d never felt more secure. Lance pulled back, returning the smile his sister gave him, and dabbing at the tears that threatened to slip.
“Are you sure she knows how to cook?” he breathed, as something clattered loudly in the kitchen.
“No,” Veronica assured with a tearful smile of her own. “But she’s good at cutting things up.”
A noise from the hall drew their attention, and they looked up to see Keith wandering down the passage from their spare bedroom, clean and dry from the shower.
Lance rose on instinct, and Keith smiled when he spotted him, pushing back damp strands of hair. There was something soft and full of life in her brother’s gaze, Veronica mused: waves crashing, flowers blooming, storm clouds clustering. Keith’s eyes darted quickly to Veronica.
“Uh, thank you, Veronica,” he began. “For all of this, and letting us stay here.”
Veronica shrugged him off, dragging herself from the couch and toward the kitchen. “No need to thank me,” she reassured. “Lance and I have a deal, we crash at each other’s place any time we like.”
Keith nodded, his eyes drifting back to Lance.
“You any good in the kitchen?” Veronica called, saddling up beside Acxa and raising a brow at Keith.
“Uh, a little.”
“He’s secretly amazing,” Lance assured.
“Good,” Veronica smiled. “You can take over while my brother takes a shower. He smells like a wet dog.”
Lance scoffed, offended. “I never smell.”
“You do right now.”
“I’m damp. You know what damp wool smells like?”
Veronica rolled her eyes, her arm sliding around Acxa’s waist. “Go take a shower, food’s almost ready.”
Reluctantly, Lance withdrew from the living room, eyes lingering on Keith as he made for the passage. Keith watched him go, equal parts enthralled, and Veronica resisted rolling her eyes.
“Keith,” she called, once her brother was well and truly gone, and the red paladin stood there looking like a lost dog. “Why don't you get over here and tell me what ridiculous music he listens to when he’s driving.”
It became easy, after that. Rich smells began to waft from the kitchen, and by the time Lance emerged from the shower, Acxa and Keith were side by side at the stove, arguing over a handful of spices. Veronica let them fight it out, waving Lance over to join her at the table, where they spoke in low voices about the pair at the stove until Acxa, red-cheeked, announced that she could hear them gossiping.
When things became easy, they became warm. Warm food, warm laughter, Acxa’s hand warm in her own. Lance’s gaze softer, warmer, than Veronica had seen in years, as Keith recounted some story from their trip that had Lance ducking his head in embarrassment.
It was warm as the evening drew to a close. As dishes were packed away, lights dimmed, candles snuffed out. Veronica had a warm bed waiting for her, and she smiled as she turned off the final kitchen light, drifting down the hall. A notification sat in wait on her phone, a picture of her niece and nephew. Huh, she must’ve missed the text, too distracted by the others earlier on in the evening.
Lance had been helping her clean up until just a few minutes ago– he might still be awake, and he always adored pictures of their family. Veronica tiptoed down the hall, knocking lightly on the spare room door. No answer, but the door wasn’t locked, and a light was still on inside.
She opened it slightly, whispering to try and get Lance’s attention. A lamp had been left on, spilling gold light across the room, and its occupants, already passed out asleep. Veronica froze in the doorway, eyes on the empty air mattress, then on the single bed, where two people were snuggled up together closely.
She smiled, crossing the floor quietly to turn off the lamp they’d forgotten on. She’d never known Lance to fall asleep quickly, but there he was: arm slung over Keith, the red paladin pressed against his chest, dead to the world.
Veronica withdrew from the room quietly. Tomorrow, Lance might tell her what Keith meant to him. But right then, it was written in every touch, every look, and every word. And she didn't need anything explained to her.
***
6 months later
Over the course of many years and many visits to the planet, Keith had never seen the forests of Olkarion alive with so much…well, life. Even when the coalition had set up its base on the planet, there hadn't been this much excitement. But Keith supposed there was something especially important about this week.
It was an anniversary. A week to signify the end of a war, and the beginning of an era of peace. It was also the first anniversary that Allura would be in attendance of. And everyone was losing their goddam minds because of it.
Don't get him wrong, Keith was excited. He just didn't tend to show his excitement in the form of fireworks, dancing, and constant musical parades. He’d have much preferred a quiet dinner with their team, whereby they could actually talk to Allura and each other. That would have to wait until tomorrow at least; for now, the first day of celebrations had begun, people were arriving from every corner of the galaxy to partake, and Keith couldn't fix the goddam button on this goddam shirt.
“You look like you’re about to murder something.”
A soft voice and a pair of warm hands captured his own, lifting his fingers away from his collar, where Keith was currently engaged in a wrestling match with the button that kept coming loose. He deflated a little as Lance chuckled, closing his eyes and leaning into the blue paladin.
“You’ve done the whole thing wrong,” Lance exclaimed, and proceeded to unbutton the entire shirt.
“You’re the reason I had to button it five times in the first place,” Keith snapped.
Lance just hummed, a smile tickling his lips as he patiently worked each button into its correct position. “You’ve gotta look spic and span for the princess.”
“Allura knows what I look like.”
“She also believes in your ability to not look like an animal,” Lance said, brow raised.
Keith huffed, straightening his shirt once Lance released him. They were dressed to look their very best, or, what the hoards of alien designers invited to this event defined their very best to be. A red suit for Keith, a blue one for Lance– he imaged the other paladins would be dressed similarly when they arrived.
A loud hum sounded from the gateway behind them, and Lance and Keith parted, glancing at it in anticipation. The gateway had largely been Coran’s doing. Since he’d first made contact with Allura, it was only a matter of time (and a matter of nearly every engineer in the galaxy piling together to help), to open a gateway between their two universes. The science and the politics behind it were of no interest to Keith; all he cared about was that it worked, giving them a pathway for Allura to visit.
“Stand back,” Lance warned.
The Olkari had dedicated a specific area of the coalition base for this gateway, and it drew on the power of the forest outside. Blue light flooded the room, the hum growing almost unbearably loud, until it vanished with a zap. In its place, a woman ruffled the skirts of her dress, pinning a strand of hair back into place.
A swell of affection nearly knocked Keith off his feet. He drew closer to the gate, and Lance extended a hand to help Allura down the steps. She beamed at them, cheeks flushed from transit.
“That always feels like being sucked through a wormhole backwards with your hands tied,” she said, brushing back another bit of hair. “Do I still look alright?”
She literally looked like the loveliest person any of them had ever seen.
“You look beautiful,” Keith said with a smile.
Allura’s grin grew wider, and without warning she wrestled them both into a hug.
“Oh, it’s so good to see you,” she said.
Holy hell, her hugs could pack a punch. “You too,” Keith wheezed, in between gulping for air.
Allura drew back with a bright smile, glancing around the transport room. “Where are the others?”
“They’ll be here soon,” Lance assured.
“Shiro got held up with the kids,” Keith explained. “The others should-”
A door flew open with a loud bang, accompanied by footfall resembling a herd of elephants.
“Oh god,” said Lance. “Brace yourselves.”
“Allura!”
Having almost knocked the door off its hinges, Coran threw his arms up, beaming ear to ear. Then he started running. Keith drew a little closer to Lance, cringing into himself as Coran thundered toward them. Their advisor went flying past and straight into Allura, almost losing his own footing as the pair fell laughing into a hug.
“Princess,” Coran exclaimed, immediately composing himself and dropping into a bow. “How excellent it is to see you.”
“It’s good to see you too, Coran,” Allura said, laughing slightly.
“We tried to hold him back,” someone called from the doorway.
“Yep,” said another, higher pitched. “I even hogtied his legs in the carrier. That man’s slippery as an eel.”
“Jesus, Pidge, I could do without the imagery,” Lance said, slapping a hand to his forehead.
Pidge shrugged, and beside her, Hunk broke into a grin as he locked onto Lance. Lance’s smile grew sly, and Keith rolled his eyes as the pair made a beeline for each other, keen to perform whatever bro-hug-handshake-dance-routine they’d been preparing for.
Keith hadn’t endured this many hugs in such a short time period in a long while, but he was hardly complaining. Greetings were exchanged swiftly and with much enthusiasm.
“There are literally millions of people outside,” Hunk said. “We should never go out.”
“We’re going to address those millions of people,” Allura said, taking a hold of Lance’s arm and patting it. “And Lance is going to dazzle them.”
“I think you’re going to dazzle them, then I’m going to bore then about a new space hospital.”
“Hmm, so boring,” Allura agreed, “saving lives.”
“The others are getting to the hangar soon,” Keith said. “Should we meet them?”
A round of nods, and their party made its way slowly from the gateway. Keith let himself be pulled about from one conversation to the next as they navigated through the halls of the base. He spied Lance’s hand as they walked, swinging at his side or gesturing enthusiastically as he told Hunk a story. Keith was itching to grab it. But they hadn't told the team yet. They were planning to, of course, but right before the first day’s celebrations just felt…rushed.
“There he is, the man himself,” Lance said, hands planted on his hips.
They’d arrived in the hangar, and disembarking from an Earthen pod were two men and an absolute handful of noisy children.
“Brace yourself part two,” Lance leant over to whisper in Keith’s ear, and he shivered.
The second Shiro spotted them, relief flooded his face, and he angled a finger at the lot while Adam was still wrangling their eldest out the pod. “Thank god you’re here. Keith, come hold him.”
Keith scoffed as he wandered over, plucking the toddler from Shiro’s arm and propping the baby against his hip.
“Good to see you still have no idea what you’re doing,” Keith said smugly.
“I know what I’m doing,” Shiro warned with a glowing finger, awkwardly trying to tie a baby carrier over his shoulders.
“Hey Keith,” Adam said, poking his head out from the pod, where a very persistent and very little voice was shouting, “I don't want to get out, I don't want to get out!”
Keith nodded hello, and laughed when a mere moment later, the crying stopped and a small shape came flying out of the pod. Sasha, newly turned five, clung to his legs and stared up at him with wide eyes.
“Uncle Keith!”
“Well, that got her out the pod,” Adam said dryly.
Keith laughed, bouncing their toddler. “Hey Sasha, I missed you.”
“Do you want to know what I had for breakfast?” the girl demanded, squeezing his legs.
“What did you have for breakfast?”
Sasha sucked in the most air she could manage before belting out, “I don’t remember!”
A second later Sasha gasped, abandoning his legs and flying toward Coran, who happily spun her around. Beside them, Lance was arguing with a bii-boh-bi, the bean-like alien who had been trying to touch up the blue paladin’s appearance all morning. A final indignant ‘bi-boh’ from the alien, and it took itself off with a huff. Lance shook himself, ruffling his hair, which had just been gelled flat again.
“Damn, those guys need to chill,” he muttered. “I’m giving a speech, not posing for the galaxy’s edition of next top model. What’s he trying to do?”
“You already look perfect,” Keith assured, then froze. The small portion of their party who’d heard him were watching him curiously. Hunk’s eyebrows were steadily finding refuge in his hairline. “They’ve touched your hair up five times already,” Keith muttered, trying to play it off.
“Yeah!” Lance added. “And then they suggested I surgically implant an additional finger.”
It broke the tension instantly; everyone’s faces morphed into looks of horror.
“What!” Hunk exclaimed.
“Yeah, apparently they really like fingers.”
Keith sent off a prayer to some small god as the lot of them began to make their way out the hangar. Coran had promised them food together before they were let out into the crowds, and all of them were longing for some time to catch up in private.
“Thanks for holding him,” Shiro said, taking the baby from Keith and affixing him to the carrier on his chest.
“No worries, I’m glad you guys made it.”
“I’m amazed we made it,” Shiro said, blowing out a long breath. “Let’s catch up over food, I’m starving.”
They trailed down the hall, and Keith spied the festivities through the window: clouds of colour and noise drifting up from the streets below. They’d almost reached the dining room doors when Lance slipped back into step with him, shooting Keith a subtle smile.
“Oh, shoot,” he cursed suddenly, pretending to trip.
Keith frowned as Lance flailed and fell to a crouch, and the others turned to look.
“Just gotta retie my shoelace,” he explained with a laugh, waving them of. “You guys go ahead, be there in a sec.”
Pidge shot him an odd look, but with the kids to keep them occupied, the rest moved off and through the dining room doors, leaving only Lance and Keith behind. The second the doors closed on them, Lance sprung up with a soft “ah-ha!”
Keith raised a brow, eyeing the now empty hallway. “What was that about- mmf.”
Lance’s lips captured his own. In a flash, the noise from the street below, and the chatter from within the dining room vanished. Lance was kissing him. Strong hands gripped his waist and guided him into the wall, and Keith sighed as Lance’s tongue slipped past his lips.
“What are you doing?” he laughed into Lance’s collar, when the man drew back to kiss his neck.
“What does it look like?” Lance breathed, hands squeezing tight around his hips, chest pressed to Keith’s to keep him trapped. “Come on, I’ve been dying to do this for hours.”
Keith smiled into the next kiss, throwing his hands around Lance’s shoulders, allowing himself to melt in those arms. Lance was warm, and smelt better than all the perfume and flowers strewn around for the celebrations. He pressed firmly against Keith, fingers tugging Keith’s shirt up from where it was tucked neatly into his pants, thumb brushing his skin so goosebumps rose along his flesh.
“Lance,” he warned.
“Hm?” came the distracted response, as Lance got to work with his teeth and tongue, leaving a red mark juuuust beneath Keith’s collar.
Oh come on, how was Keith gonna say no to that?
“We’re in public,” he tried weakly, clinging to Lance’s shoulders as the blue paladin pinned him, pressing himself dangerously close to Keith.
“You look so good,” Lance complained, doing nothing to lessen his kisses. “All morning, you’ve looked so good.” His hand drifted from Keith’s hip to his butt, and Keith turned red as he squeezed. “Can't wait to get you out of this.”
“Should I remind you it's your fault it took me three tries to get into this?” Keith hissed back.
It was the wrong thing to say, or perhaps the right thing, because it only encouraged Lance. Keith was losing himself to the sensations quickly: Lance’s hands leaving scorching marks down his thigh, his lips claiming Keith’s own with deep, lingering kisses. They really shouldn't have been exchanging those in a public passageway, but by then Keith was too far gone to stop. He pushed back, and it only meant more friction, more force as Lance pressed him into the wall, as he scraped his fingers through Lance’s hair, as-
As someone screamed?
Lance flew back, nearly toppling Keith they were so tightly entwined. Staring at them from the passage, the bii-boh-bi that had been returning to fix Lance’s hair shrieked.
“Oh, shit,” Lance muttered.
“Why is he screaming?” Keith gasped, feeling over his lips, which still felt red-hot.
“Bii-boh!” the alien cried, raising one noodley arm to point at them in accusation. “Bii-boh-bi!”
“What?” Lance demanded. “Why are you screaming?”
The alien only continued to yell, and Keith’s face went from red to redder as the doors to the dining room flew open, revealing most of their friends.
“What on Altea is going on?” Allura asked, looking between the paladins and the bii-boh-bi, who was clutching its head and motioning frantically at them.
“Bii-boh, bii-boh,” it continued in its distressed tone.
“I, I don't know what’s wrong,” Lance stuttered. “We were just talking-”
“Hang on,” Pidge said, holding up a hand to silence him. “I have a boh-bi translator.”
“What?”
She whipped out a device as Lance continued to stutter, and Keith deflated a little against the wall. Oh, this was not good. Pidge frowned.
“He says you were fighting.”
“Bii-boh-bi,” the bii-boh-bi lamented.
“We weren’t fighting!” Lance exclaimed.
“He says you were,” said Pidge. “He says it was horrible, and violent. He said he’d heard about the red and blue paladin and their arguments, but he thought you’d matured. Now Lance’s hair is all messed up again.”
“Oh for god’s sake,” Lance said, a scarlet tinge to his cheeks.
“Keith, is he serious?” Shiro asked, eyeing him with that ‘I am so disappointed in you, your actions, and your damn stupid choices’ look.
“We were talking,” Lance pleaded, gesturing frantically between Keith and himself. “Talking! Doesn't he know what talking looks like?”
“Dunno,” Pidge said dryly. “Said it was physical.”
Lance squawked, stuttering wordlessly. “Keith, back me up here, we were having a conversation and-”
In hindsight, it might have been the screaming. The bii-boh-bi had one hell of an irritating scream. Right then, all Keith could think about was how Lance’s lips had felt against his. And his hands. His body. And it seemed like a waste, to go a single second pretending that wasn’t what he wanted.
So he kissed Lance.
Immediately, the bii-boh-bi began to scream again. Keith didn't care. He grabbed Lance by the cheeks, spun him around, and kissed him. He could feel Lance’s jaw twitching beneath his thumb, his shocked inhale, the way he melted quickly into the kiss.
“Bii-boh-bi!” the alien shrieked.
“Oh my god, shut up,” Pidge sighed.
Keith blanked it all out. Nothing mattered, nothing but Lance, and his familiar smell, and the dazed, happy look in his eyes as they drew back slightly, noses brushing.
“Wow,” said Hunk. Loudly.
Keith pulled away, hand lingering around Lance’s neck. Shiro looked exasperated. Pidge looked ready to wrangle that bii-boh-bi to death with her own hands. Hunk’s eyebrows had officially disappeared, they no longer existed, they’d risen so high.
“Bii-boh-bi, please,” Allura soothed, choking on laughter. “They’re not fighting, it’s alright.”
“Bii-boh?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’m sure you have somewhere to be. Why don’t you leave us to deal with this?”
Reluctantly, the alien moved off, leaving the rest of the team in stunned silence. Keith’s hand fell, but he blinked in shock when Lance’s fingers entwined with his own.
“Sooo,” Hunk began. “Was that a spur of the moment thing, or?”
“Yeah Hunk,” Lance breathed, “that’s how Keith and I throw enemies off our trail.”
Hunk narrowed his eyes, glancing around their team. “He’s totally messing with me, isn't he?”
Pidge nodded solemnly. Shiro sighed, but Keith caught sight of a soft smile flickering across his lips.
“The food’s only getting cold you know!” Adam called from inside the dining room.
A burst of laughter tore from Allura, then from everyone else.
“It seems we all have a lot of catching up to do,” she said. “Shall we?”
The tension dissipated in an instant, and they filed back into the dining room, properly this time.
“This is why you kept tracking his phone,” Pidge muttered on her way past, as Hunk patted Lance’s shoulder firmly.
Keith snorted. They found their seats beside the others, though Lance didn’t let go of his hand. Through a window, hoards of people amassed in the forested streets far below, cheering and dancing and playing music. But gathered in that dining room, Keith felt as if they were a million miles away. They were anywhere. On a ship in space with the expanse of the universe before them.
It had been cold out there, and quiet, but he’d never been alone. The faces before him chimed with laughter, as familiar as they were six years ago, then eight. As familiar as they’d be for as long as he existed. Keith wrapped his hand tightly around Lance’s, felt himself smile as the thrum of their voices carried through him.
Every star out there in that vast universe, he wondered if they were jealous of him. All the burning power, the destruction they brewed and the life they gave, but none of it compared to this. His hand in Lance’s, surrounded by his family. He was back exactly where he once was. And later, when he fell asleep with the stars peering down at him through Olkarion’s atmosphere, Lance’s arms around him, the blue paladin breathing softly against his neck, Keith knew: this was where he wanted to be. This was what he’d wanted from the start.