Deleted Scene from Tunnel Vision, but Only for You
Two people said yes, and that's all it really takes for me XD So in honor of Tunnel Vision reaching 1k kudos on AO3, here's the deleted scene from the morning after that I wrote and decided not to include in the final version.
Ps. Major spoilers for the fic, so if you haven't read it, I highly recommend doing that first: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55378009
When Keith awoke the next morning, it took him a second to remember where he was. He was pillowed by soft blankets, a dim light cascading through the curtained window, and his legs were tangled in someone else’s. There was a warm weight against his chest, and an arm was draped across his waist, and it was only then that he remembered who it belonged to.
And then it all came flooding back. Lance. Vyxak. The cake. How it was drugged.
A sharp pain wedged itself into Keith’s chest, but he forced himself to swallow it. Because right now he was with Lance. Actually, he was wrapped up with Lance. And the universe be damned if Keith was going to let Vyxak ruin this for him.
He was warm all over, drowning in Lance’s scent, and encompassed in the softest bedding he’d ever felt. He could feel the expanding and contracting of Lance’s lungs, alive and well, and if he focused hard enough he could feel the light puff of Lance’s breath against his shirt.
In fact, he was so tuned in he could feel when Lance started to stir in his sleep. Keith snapped his eyes shut, not wanting to be caught blatantly staring at Lance. He’d only been able to see his unruly brown curls below his chin anyway.
“Keith?” Lance spoke, voice low and rough with sleep. “You know I know you’re awake, right?”
Keith froze, eyes shooting open, tensing under Lance. “How?” he squeaked.
“Cuz your breathing isn’t even, dummy.”
A beat or two later Lance shot up, dislodging himself from Keith.
A brush of pink dusted across Lance’s cheeks as he smiled sheepishly at him. “Sorry. I’m a cuddler.”
“It’s fine.” Keith swallowed, sitting up next to Lance, neither moving to get up. The blankets were pooled around their waists now, and Lance’s previously crisp button-up was a wrinkled mess.
“Um. How much do you remember? From last night,” Keith chanced.
Lance bit his lip before answering, “I’ll be honest, it’s a little hazy. I know you and Hunk got me up here. But it gets kinda confusing after that.”
Keith just nodded. There were so many things he wanted to ask Lance. But he didn’t know where to start.
Lance groaned then, dropping his face into his hands. “Fuck. I’m sorry, Keith.”
Keith’s brows furrowed. “For what?”
“For yesterday. The day before. For making you sleep in a suit. All of it.” Lance dragged his hands down his face, smiling weakly towards Keith when his hands fell to his lap.
“You’re right, you know. I should’ve been more careful. The signs were there, I just...” He shrugged. “Didn’t wanna see them.”
“But I did see them. I mean, not all of them I guess. I didn’t see anything the first day. But I knew Vyxak was watching me the second day. In the lab. Even yesterday I thought it was too much of a coincidence when he found us by the river.
“I tried to rationalize it though. They’d watched Voltron for so long before engaging with us that we’re practically celebrities to them. And he hadn’t actually done anything other than stare at me and try to talk to me. I thought maybe Egantuans were just like that. Overexcited observers or something. I mean, I used to be that kid. Too friendly. Too talkative.” He shrugged again, gaze fixed on the blankets. “After the attempts to get me to leave the party though, it was pretty much game over. And yet I still didn’t want to be rude. Give anyone a reason not to go through with the alliance.
“It just sucks, you know? The only time someone pays special attention to me is when they want to poison me,” Lance laughed, looking down at his lap, though there wasn’t any humor in it.
Keith wanted to scream. He wanted to yell. He wanted to tell Lance “That’s not true! I pay attention to you all the time!” But all that came out was anger. “I’m gonna kill him.”
“What?” Lance’s eyes shot back up at Keith. The look on his face must have been murderous, if Lance’s expression was anything to go by.
“You’re joking. Keith? You’re joking, right? Tell me you’re joking.” Lance scrambled from his spot on the bed to grab Keith’s shoulders, like he’d spring at any moment.
“No! That piece of shit deserves to pay! I can’t believe you’re trying to take the blame for him drugging you!”
Lance ripped his hands from Keith’s shoulders to cross them over his chest. “But I was stupid! And naive! I ruined the night for everyone!”
“No, Vyxak ruined the night for everyone,” Keith spat his name. “He’s a sick pervert and he deserves to rot. Lance, he basically roofied you.”
“He’s just a kid! He’s not even finished with school!”
“We never finished school!”
“Keith, we’re paladins of Voltron,” Lance stressed. “We’re supposed to be better than that. I’m supposed to be better than that.”
“Well if it’s your fault then it’s my fault too!” Keith threw his arms in the air. “I saw everything, Lance. I saw it all and I didn’t say anything.”
“Then let’s… let’s just drop it, ok?” Lance wilted. “No blame, no revenge.”
Keith grit his teeth together before relenting. Though he really would’ve liked to beat the shit out of Vyxak. “Fine. No blame, no revenge.”
Lance huffed, burying his face in his hands again. Well this was going real well…
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… blow up. Are you… are you feeling ok?” Keith asked hesitantly. Lance still hadn’t removed his face from his hands.
“I’m fine,” Lance muttered, rubbing his eyes.
When he finally looked back up at Keith, there was a mix of exhaustion and regret painted on his face.
“Thank you. By the way. For looking out for me. Probably would’ve made a fool of myself otherwise. Or more of a fool anyway,” he trailed off towards the end.
In a surge of confidence, Keith reached out to grab one of Lance's hands. “I’ll always have your back.”
The soft smile Keith had come to adore returned to Lance's face. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Keith smiled back.
Aaand that's it! Thank you so much for reading <3
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