Fire is Fierce

"In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself."

[fireisfierce-blog]

Onsen date

After they were late from both breakfast and the first team exercise, Allura made them undergo the most rigorous day they had ever spent in space. Apart from a ten minutes lunch break, she did not even let them sit down until the clock hit seven o'clock.

It was not like they could not spend time together during the day, but somehow Keith was always with someone. Pidge, Shiro, Coran; there was not a single minute when Lance could have found him alone. He was extra jumpy anyways: whenever Lance came close to him or talked to him or even just looked at him he stopped whatever he was doing, his voice broke, he averted his gaze. He somehow managed to do it subtly, but he could not hide what he was thinking about from the blue paladin.

Keeping their secret became a hundred times more difficult.

In the afternoon, the castle reached a planet where, after offering a helping hand with rebuilding a town with the strength of Voltron, they were given a place to sleep at and a tour around the forest and the hot springs it was apparently famous of. The next day was spent with the same task, but this time they did not use their lions. The houses were built of wood and stone and thus they could repair fifty in a matter of twelve hours, but it was a tiring work nonetheless.

Around seven o'clock, they were invited to a feast that seemed to be mundane for the locals but not for paladins on goo diet: if there was not a hundred types of different dishes then there was none at all, accompanied by a dozen kind of wine and beer (though their consumption was strictly forbidden by the princess). It was past eleven when the gathering finally ended and almost everyone went to bed—except for Keith, because when was the last time he did the same thing as everyone else?

When the town finally went to sleep, he sneaked out to one of the hot spring resorts they fixed yesterday. It was cleverly built: it was perfectly enclosed but the pool was bordered by wide, flat rocks, suitable to be rest against or to sit on. On the opposite side, an ivy-mantled, wooden wall guarded the guests' privacy but neither tall enough nor having a roof to block out the view. There was a lavender-like scent coming from somewhere even though there was not a single flower growing there.

After a brief shower, Keith tied up his hair and immersed himself in the hot water—a bit too fast at first, he almost slipped in surprise. Once he found a comfortable spot to sit down on and lean against the rocks, he looked up to the sky. There were considerably less stars in this galaxy but this planet had two moons instead; and for some reason he found it incredibly fascinating. However, his interest in such heavenly matters did not last long. He swiped left and right in the water, then lifted his hand to see how it pours out through his fingers. He noticed that it felt heavier than usual, but then he kind of got lost in the sensation itself.

The last time he was in a pool was during the pilot training in the Garrison where they had to learn how to leave their ship should they land in a sea: and it was the first one, too, for he never had the money to attend the school trips to the beach. It was incredibly embarrassing to learn to swim in the Garrison at the age of fifteen, but he would have never ever imagined he would associate being in water with fun.

He smiled in disbelief as he raised both of his cupped hands and let the water fall back in one splash. He repeated it a few times, trying to hold more and more before it slipped away. The slight, buzzing feeling under his thighs, the refreshing hotness enveloping him, the curiously entertaining sound the water made whenever he moved it, it was all so... so pleasant he could not help himself but laugh at it.

After such a hard days work, Lance had planned on going straight to bed. That idea was promptly thrown out the window when he noticed Keith was nowhere to be found.

The red paladin had been impossible to catch alone ever since... that night... Lance knew exactly why it was - he still managed to fluster himself with memories of it too, after all - but that didn't mean he wasn't determined to hunt Keith down, especially on this planet with optimal onsen date opportunities.

Just as he'd suspected, the hot springs they'd repaired the day before had lights shining brightly among the sleeping village.

Gotcha.

Using his top notch and super stealthy ninja abilities, Lance snuck through the facility in silence, only the sound of running water and light splashing echoing throughout as he undressed and washed up in record speed, sneaking out from behind the wall with nothing but a towel around his waist.

Kinda like Keith back then...

Ah, there he goes, blushing profusely all over again.

Speaking of Keith, now that he was able to look around the building, he got a good look of the other's back whilst he played around in the water. That's right. Played. Keith was playing. And laughing. All wet, with his skin tinged pink due to the heat. And his hair was in a fucking ponytail--

Honestly, how could a guy (other than Lance, of course) be so cute and hot at the same time? It's totally unfair! Not to mention Keith was off being this adorable without him. This was an important event that Lance definitely should have been invited to! He needed to get a grip on himself, preferably one that wasn't just him clutching at his chest in an attempt to calm the adoration pumping through his veins.

He took another moment or two to compose himself - and also maybe to just watch Keith a little longer - before standing straight with what he hoped was an unruffled expression on his face, clearing his throat with a weak smirk.

"Havin' fun?"

Busted.

He could not understand how he did not hear Lance walking up to him, the guy had even taken a shower. Was Keith this preoccupied with splashing water here and there? Wow, what a stupid game, what a stupid and embarrassing game to enjoy. He could already feel his cheeks burning, but thanks to the hot pool, there was no visible trace of his fluster.

He turned around to face Lance—Lance's legs, to be more precise. Oh, boy. He had a towel around his knees, that meant that he would have nothing above his waist, right? His heart was already flapping like an alarmed bird's wings, finally they were alone, but again, they were alone... He was not sure he could handle the happiness that came with this simple fact. It was such a good feeling it was almost scary.

He swallowed before he glanced up to him. Jesus Christ. That smirk should be announced first so he could prepare himself for it, not just thrown at him like this! No, no, Keith, keep it together. You remember what cornered preys do? That's right, they fight back. That's what you have to do.

Alright. Alright. Be uh, how do they call it. Hot?

He turned around his entire upper body towards the blue paladin and leaned ahead to rest his left forearm and right elbow on the rock. He put his chin in his right palm and with a sly smile he squinted up at him.

"Not as much as I'd have with you."

A single drop of sweat rolled down on his forehead. Shit, that was lukewarm at best...

Maybe it was something to do with both their current states of undress, or maybe it was because Lance was already weak in the knees from the scenario he'd walked in on; either way, his heart still skipped a few embarrassing beats at Keith's flirting attempt. Honestly, he's gotta give himself props for not falling over -  if he's lucky, the red paladin will write off the deepening flush on his cheeks as an effect of the hot spring heat, rather than the heat of his words...

None of that, however, stopped his smirk from trembling with restraint before quickly caving and turning into a full on grin, followed by the kind of giggle he couldn't hold back every time Keith put on a flirtatious persona. This guy is unbelievably precious.

It didn't take him long to compose himself (at least, as best as he could in this situation), smile turning lopsided once more while he waggled his eyebrows suggestively and bent down to get closer to the angel in front of him. "That can be arranged if you're not gonna hog the pool~"

Shit, shit, shit shit shit alright, it's cool, keep it together, you expected Lance to flirt back, didn't you? His smile trembled and he sunk back a little bit. He was only an inch away from pushing himself up on the rock, close the distance between them and kiss him, but he did not want to look that eager, he did not want to embarrass himself even more. It was enough for today that he had seen him playing in the water like some newborn duck.

He chewed on his lower lip before glancing away.

"How come you aren't asleep?" he asked, turning his back on him to lean against the stones. He rested both of his forearm behind himself and closing his eyes he sighed deeply. The air was sure heavy and yet there was something refreshing in it. Was it that strange flower scent he had been smelling ever since he arrived?

"You worked a lot." Probably even more than him, his tone of voice suggested.

A triumphant huff followed as soon as Keith turned away, and Lance indulged himself in a second of inward gloating. Once that was out of the way, he figured with the red paladin's back to him, now would be the time to dive in with some discretion, right? His towel was already on the floor, so hopefully the answer was yes.

"So did you," he pointed out, sliding into the water as fast and smooth as he could manage while he had the chance. When he recovered from the initial shock of going from warm air to hot wetness at a merciless pace, he turned to Keith with a casual grin, as if this wasn't making his heart beat a thousand times per second.

"Besides, how could I sleep when I knew I was missing out on your one man pool party?"

He forced himself to look in front of him until he heard Lance entering the pool. Safe. God bless this water for not being as transparent as it was on Earth, he felt so awfully naked. Not that he should have hid his body, even Lance told him he was in a good shape, but still...

He glanced at him for a mere second before turning his gaze away from that celestial grin. He graciously skipped the part where Lance pointed out the fault in his logic and replied to the second half.

"How did you know I'm here?" he asked, rubbing his shoulder in a slight fluster. Was not Lance just having a lucky guess? He could not have known him this much.

"Well--" Pausing for a brief moment, he settled to sit on one of the underwater rocks next to Keith-- "this is pretty much the most interesting thing to do on this planet. Since you weren't training, I figured you'd be out here?" He conveniently left out the fact he hadn't even checked the training deck; the truth is, he kind of just... followed his gut? Maybe his hot spring date dreams were what guided him in the right direction - who knows.

"What are you doing out here so late anyways? Everyone else already went to bed." His hand swished around the water absentmindedly as he spoke; it wasn't quite the same as earth's, but it still managed to soothe his tired muscles so he wasn't going to complain.

So he was either training or doing the second most interesting thing, huh? Well... It was true he did not have many hobbies ever since they were stuck in space and that he spent most of his time either on bettering his body or trying to learn more about the Galra.

He was predictable after all. Unlike Lance: if the blue paladin was gone somewhere, he was probably the last person who was able to find him.

"Relaxing." A huff followed his quiet words with a lopsided smile. "Shocking, I know."

He let his head drop back as he looked up to the two moons. His lips slightly shook with unspoken words as if he was hesitating whether he should say them or not.

Suddenly he lowered himself in the water until nothing but his head from chin up was above it. He squinted at him with curiosity in his eyes.

"Do you think the others still don't know about this?"

He couldn't help but breathe out a quiet chuckle through his nose at Keith's answer. Part of Lance really wishes he still had his mobile phone out here in space, if only so he could be extra cheesy and make Keith is home screen; the face he was making right now would be perfect.

Leaning back with his left elbow resting against one of the rocks bordering the pool, he looked up to the dual moons, humming in consideration before lightly scratching the side of his face.

"I don't really know--" he provided helpfully, furrowing his brows while he tried to think of any evidence that would suggest the others had figured it out.

"I mean, Pidge and Hunk have been pretty whisper-y lately, plus they keep giving me funny looks... I think they've got a bet going or something." The last part came out with a tinge of amusement in his tone. He paused, then turned to Keith with what he hoped was a comforting smile."If anyone does know, they haven't said anything about it."

A beat passes by where his gaze fell to the gap between them as he chewed on the inside of his lip, shifting his eyes back to Keith's just as fast as they'd left. "Are you worried?"

Whisper-y? That was not a good sign. He tried to crack his knuckles underwater but it did not really work or at least he did not hear any sound. And as for the question, he replied in his usual matter-of-fact tone of voice, with his usual bluntness when it came to the blue paladin.

"No, I just don't want them to butt in. I want to keep you to myself."

He looked in the opposite direction of Lance. Well, this did sound like he was...

"Okay, maybe a bit worried."

He cupped his hands together and splashed some water on his neck, followed up by a rub. He turned his eyes back on Lance.

"Does this bother you?"

Wow, okay.

Tapping into his totally legitimate ninja abilities from before, his right hand raised up to scratch at his other cheek, inconspicuously trying to hide the crimson shade of his face and the goofy smile threatening to take over his lips as he turned to the side. What the heck, give a guy some warning!

"N-no--!" he sputtered, slightly ruining the completely perfect and functional and not at all obvious hand cover up. Really though, it was way past unfair to ask him a question after saying something like that out of nowhere.

He did not really understand his reaction, but he understood his words. Placing his right hand between them he leaned closer and, since he turned away his face, pressed a small kiss on his jawline.

He squinted at him with a faint smile and tilted his head a bit.

"I'm happy to hear that."

Despite his calm words, his heart was racing at a dizzying speed, throbbing violently in his throat. Wow, Lance's skin was so warm... Even if his lips got him at a bony part, he could not miss how damn soft his face was; Keith could have called his nighttime routine stupid all he wanted but it undoubtedly worked. It did not only make his skin nice to the touch, but it made his cheeks glow with some kind of light he had never seen on a guy before, one that always tempted him to cup them and pull them into a kiss, to run down his fingers on his equally perfect neck and...

He did not even notice he was plain staring at Lance's face now with eyes wide and shining with adorement; he was a bit too preoccupied with trying to contain his admiration for that.

As soon as the kiss landed on his jaw, his gaze was back on Keith and wider than ever; not even his hand could hide the spread of red consuming his complexion now. This isn't fair, this isn't fair, this isn't fair--

There should be a law about looking at someone that way; Lance is pretty sure it could easily kill him - hell, he thinks it's already killing him! Keith can't just smile at him with that stupidly cute tilt of the head and eyes full of--... of... His cheeks grew at least seventy shades darker. This was playing down right dirty, and Lance wasn't gonna stand for it!

His eyes squinted right back at the red paladin as he nibbled on his bottom lip once again, brows twitching with the confliction of staying furrowed or pushing up to make his expression that much more pathetic. Jesus, he almost wanted to apologize for all the times he's stared relentlessly at Keith, his heart was beating way too fast to be considered healthy. Usually Lance relished in being the centre of attention, but this kind of attention was just-- He wanted to have it on him forever and hide away completely, all at the same time.

His hand dropped into the water with a small splash. Before his brain could even catch up, Lance's eyes were scrunched closed and his lips were against Keith's with a familiarly delectable pressure.

He wasn't sure how he expected this to help calm the storm of butterflies raging in his chest - if anything, it made them rowdier - but whatever triggered the magnetism he had towards Keith's mouth, Lance was eternally grateful for it.

The kiss didn't last particularly long; the blue paladin only rocked into it for a few glorious moments before breaking away to inhale some air (his jaw was trembling already, what the heck), but damn if he didn't savour it. His shoulders rose and sunk with the momentum, hitching up as he practically leapt forward like a starved dog, and falling slowly as he tasted each lip as thoroughly as physically possible. He should probably be at least a little concerned at quite how much satisfaction washed through him every time they kissed, however, he was already hopelessly addicted to every aspect of Keith's mouth, so there really wasn't much use in dwelling on it. Ahh, he already wanted more--

For a second he was unsure whether it was him or Lance who closed the distance, but in terms of effects it did not matter much. He did not have the chance to kiss him these past two days and considering their last time together, he was more than simply missing him. It was partly his fault though, he kind of avoided him as he was afraid he messed up something that night and approaching him again in private would be awkward, but in the end it was just the same... If not better, knowing that Lance was holding back this entire time.

Once he shifted closer and slightly pushed back the blue paladin by joining the kiss in eagerness, he let himself get lost in the sensation. Even though he got much more from him already, moments like these were still invaluable... They were moments that Lance gave to him, and to him alone. A different kind of heat started to pool up in the pit of his stomach. It urged him to put his other hand in-between them as well and lean closer to the blue paladin, arching his back, and to chase down the lips breaking away way too soon... But his left palm failed to found the rocky bottom and instead bumped into a thigh alarmingly naked.

"Sorry," he gasped, as he was still struggling with catching his breath. His eyes flew open and he pushed himself back to where he was sitting. Alright, they seriously were not here for that kind of thing, and he seriously did not want Lance to think that Keith had nothing on his mind about him other than that...

'Shit, but now I am thinking about it...'

He forced back a whine down his throat as he straightened his posture and tried to recollect himself. He could not look at Lance: he was, again, just one big, flustered mess, a hundred percent clueless loser who wanted to have nothing but the blue paladin around him.

Aah, but it was driving him crazy, there was no way he could be sitting there in peace after he tasted a little piece of heaven. He wanted to hug him!! They were in a pool and there were no clothes on them whatsoever, but he just wanted to drag him on his lap and to keep him tight, to bury his face in his neck and smell his skin...

His hands were twitching in the water and by this time his face was probably a visual synonym for an active furnace. Just when would he learn to control his imagination? Probably never, he chuckled to himself in disbelief, it would be better if he had dug himself a grave already and thrown himself in it. He tried to lean back against the rocks again and he let out a long sigh that surprisingly did not have his soul escaping him. However, it had everything he had to say instead...

Yeah, well, there goes their conversation.

If it weren't for the fact that he was completely naked with only a murky cloak of water obscuring his more tender areas, the hitch in his breath probably wouldn't have been quite as jarring. However, it turns out when someone grabs your bare thigh underwater, it is, in fact, very jarring. He may have had a flash of fear that there happened to be some kind of alien fish in the water or something, but the truth of the matter was thankfully much less terrifying - though, that didn't mean he wasn't still blushing with the power of the sun. He wanted to say that it was fine - the boyfriend title means you're kind of... allowed to do such things - the fact it was an accident made it especially forgivable! But then Keith was moving away, and suddenly a much more pressing issue came to light. Oh no. No, nope, no you don't-- It's been been two whole days since the floodgates of Lance's affection were completely destroyed, and he's already been forced back into his Keith-free diet. This reoccurring pattern was going to be the death of him; doing something big only to be deprived to the edge of insanity the day after wasn't the kind of routine he was willing to let settle. He wouldn't stand for it! Not anymore. Fueled by determination (and maybe a little selfishness), he shuffled closer, left hand dunking into the water for him to lean on while his right lifted to the side of Keith's face, pulling it towards him. God, how is he so cute-- He paused for a second or two, silently offering the other the chance to pull away as Lance squinted at him. Given that Keith didn't move; he went in for the kill, catching the red paladins lips with his own yet again. His hand went from grabbing to caressing, loosely cupping Keith's cheek before his fingers ventured to the back of his head, lightly playing with the small pony tail that had never quite left his thoughts. Definitely cute. He let it last longer than before, trying to give himself the illusion of 'getting his fill' when, really, he knew there was no limit to how much he wanted to kiss Keith; his desire was endless. Lance's toes wiggled in the water as he fell even further into the press of their lips - he couldn't tell if the overwhelming heat was from the hot springs or Keith, but he had a sneaking suspicion that it was a combination of both. Though his mouth moved eagerly, his tongue stayed out of the picture - public baths weren't exactly prime makeout locations, after all - but when he did finally pull back for some much needed air and to calm his racing heart, he didn't hesitate to lick his own lips. "Sorry," he grinned teasingly, followed by a huff, hand sliding down to rest on the junction of his neck (in a very coincidental place). He slipped back to his original spot on the rocks soon after, looking up to the stars as if to hide the fact he'd just given himself a terrible fluster, despite his original intentions. Nailed it.

There was no way he would pull away from Lance, though he was sure taken aback at first. He blinked at him dumbfounded as the water rolled down from the blue paladin's hand onto his jawline. Wow, was he going to... He closed his eyes and hummed happily into the kiss. Yeah, he was going to. Alright, bathing was hands down a fun thing to do. He thought he would pass an hour here alone and in peace, thinking about what he had done in the past few weeks and what he should keep of that and what he should let go of; but this change of plans was more than welcomed, it just made everything a hundred times better. This time his hands did not venture anywhere: learning from his previous mistake he used them to support himself and just focused on his mouth instead. He loved being kissed by Lance, because he did not have to do much: the blue paladin was so eager he just had to keep up with it. It was, in a way (or more like in every way), dizzying to face the amount of want Lance was keeping deep inside: he knew he just saw a tiny part of it, but it made it even more exciting to imagine the rest of it. Even though the other one was leading, he was not passive at all. A few seconds after the initial shock he pressed back into the kiss and with the little freedom he had, he made sure to adore every inch of his lips from side to side. There was no way he would remain calm and relaxed when the guy of his dreams threw him into this constant struggle of wanting to give, but at the same time, wanting to take; he wanted to show him how much he mattered to him with every muscle in his body, but again, consuming him as a whole. He opened his mouth more and more, hungrier with each touch they exchanged, but he did not fail to notice that Lance wanted to keep it like that: however difficult it was to keep his tongue to himself, he had to respect his decision. But when he broke away and smirked at him like that, his lovestruck stupor faded away in an instant and he furrowed his eyebrows with irritation, cheeks glowing with honest, crimson fluster. Wow, he can't be laughing at him. He pushed himself away from the edge and turned to the blue paladin. From that point, his body moved before he realized what he was doing: his hands cupped the water just below the surface and with a strong and quick swing he splashed it right onto Lance's face, attacking him from both sides. Just to make sure not only his face and hair got wet from it, he repeated this move once more, this time trying to get some water into his mouth should he open it for complaining. That'll definitely teach him!!

Keith's movement had caught his attention, but not fast enough. He turned to look at him, just in time to receive a face full of water, eyes scrunching closed and head ducking in delayed defense. Before his exclamation of 'what the heck' could get out, the attack was repeated without mercy. Now thoroughly drenched, Lance let the water drip down his face for the second time, spitting the liquid out of his mouth with a blank expression, limbs completely still. "Okay." It was said simply and calm, but then Lance was looking at Keith with brows furrowed in resolve and a challenging grin. "It's on!" he practically cheered, kicking his body away from the waters edge and gliding forward immediately after. Keith definitely made a mistake; while Lance hadn't really expected to put his water fight expertise to good use in space, he sure was glad he had it - even if it did take countless defeats from his siblings and friends to achieve (curse Hunk and his bucket hands). He didn't give Keith much time to process his words; as soon as he swam close enough, his right arm was sticking out, sitting half way in the water's surface, and then his whole body was rotating, taking the water with it. A classic move. The force of his arm and it's speed caused the water to surge forward in a large, handmade wave - straight in Keith's direction. Or, more specifically; his face.

Why did he believe for a second that this really taught Lance a lesson? Once the blue paladin moved towards him, he kicked himself backwards, keeping his distance from him. He squinted at him in suspicion, but his eyes soon grew wide upon his attack: he did not expect him using his entire arm at all. Pressing his forearms and wrists together he formed a shield in front of his face,  but a second too late: half of the splash had already hit him, and though he closed his mouth, it still soaked his hair and rendered him blind. He did not spend time with wiping his eyes or blinking: he repeated his offense from before, targeting Lance solely based on his memories and hearing - and changing the direction should he haved moved. When he was done with launching the two projectiles, he simply ducked into the water, disappearing from Lance's line of sight.

Luckily, Lance was already prepared for a counterattack. Once he'd recovered the energy it took to make the wave, he was on the move again. He dodged the first splash easily, but the second hit him dead on, forcing him to stop and raise his forearm to shield his face. Despite still getting wet, the block protected his eyes well enough so that he could open them as soon as his arm was down. Looking around, a very important development hit him - Keith was straight up gone. He's gotta be underwater somewhere, there wasn't anywhere else for him to go; Lance spun around the spot, squinting as he tried to at least spot the red paladin's silhouette. The murky water was both a blessing and a curse, he felt like a sitting duck waiting for a surprise attack. 'Where the heck is he?!'

Keith was not messing around: he knew the water is transparent enough to spot his silhouette once Lance was actively searching for him, so he only disappeared for the element of surprise. He did not even try to swim around him. Leaping from the very same spot he crouched down at, he launched himself at Lance and tackled him with a hug. Given he succeeded, he hugged him around his shoulders, and with all his weight he tried to throw him off balance to bring him underwater. With his remaining power he rolled Lance over so he could easily go up for air.

There he is-- His eyes widened and slammed shut in a matter of seconds. Realistically speaking, Lance should have expected this - maybe he kind of did - but alas, the appearance was surprise enough, and he was left with two possible options to deal with a wet Keith coming straight at him: 1. Dodge and let him fall. 2. Try to catch him. Curse his chivalrous tendencies. Lance fell backwards with a large splash, pushed down even faster by Keith's weight, water rushing right up his nostrils as he - quite literally - got dunked on. With at least a little foresight, he'd managed to close his mouth before it got filled with the questionable liquid, but in doing so, he sacrificed the opportunity to store a breath away. He tried pulling his attacker up with him to the surface for air, gasping dramatically as soon as he breached it. It took him a moment to gather his bearings, wiping stubborn droplets from his eyes and breathing the sting out of his nose, but once he recovered, he couldn't help the laughter from bubbling out of his chest.

He was not set on drowning there, so Lance could pull him up easily. He put down his feet: the water was only slightly deeper here in the middle, but it still swallowed the two paladins up to their shoulders. After he coughed up some unnecessary water from his system, he joined Lance with a low, but honest chuckle. God, how much he loved his laughter: he could not hold back his happy smile from widening as he was looking at his face all perked up. He swept the wet bangs out of Lance's forehead, followed by a gentle caress on his temples down to his cheeks. There, he hesitated for a second. They were playing around, he reminded himself, he should have contained all these feelings bubbling in his stomach and keep them there safe. It was not even a good idea given how soaked they were and how uncomfortable it would be and how he could not even get to counterargument number two before he was kissing him again. It sure was not the same with his mouth being all slippery and sloppy, but it did not stop him from cupping his face and tasting him anyways. He huffed in satisfaction as he claimed him again, and pushed him back a bit in eagerness. His thumb brushed against his cheeks and ventured down his lips, where, after he released him from the kiss with a sigh, he slipped it between them. Grazing across his lower teeth he pressed his finger on his eye-tooth to slightly force his mouth open. So that's what bit him two days ago, he stared at it in awe, it was so... sharp... He did not realize he was holding back his breath, but he probably had to anyways, because all that pooled up excitement in his chest was threatening to burst out in a god knows what way.

His laughter settled down into a wide grin the longer he looked at Keith, only getting larger at his damp touch. It did shrink down in favour of returning the kiss, eyes sliding shut as he tilted his head into the other's palm. It was definitely wetter than he was used to, but any kiss that involved Keith's lips was automatically perfect. A pleased sigh escaped through his nose, however, before he could well and truly melt into the sensations, his favourite mouth was pulling away for some inexplicable reason, and his eyes were squinting open in protest. Then the reason suddenly became very explicable, and he was staring wide eyed with a flush ten times hotter. His jaw gave easily to the exploring digit, which could mostly be accounted to the shock and fluster. Gosh, had it always been this hard to breathe? Keith was just looking and pressing on his tooth and yet, Lance's jaw was already trembling a little while a storm started up in his chest. A few seconds passed before Lance did anything, but even without his brain's permission, his mouth went from hanging loose to biting down lightly on the intruder. Essentially, he trapped Keith's thumb gently between his teeth; as his gaze softened, his tongue joined the party with a slow lick across the tip. It tasted just like the water, but somehow, it was a thousand times better on Keith's skin.

His breathing hitched and he involuntarily straightened his back at the turn of the events. His experiment was going truly fascinating so far: the pressure of the weak bite sent a warm tingle down his spine, not to mention the oh-so-missed tongue finally showing itself. The other hand on Lance's shoulder grasped at him in anticipation. If he found such a small lick this alluring, then, he wondered, what else that mouth could do? What if, let's say, it was not his thumb there, but... 'Oh my god.' It became painful to look him in the eyes at once with such thoughts on his mind. There was... There was no way Lance would have thought about that!! It was again his own stupid ideas stemming from his stupid adventures to nope town that got him into this situation, just why did he put his finger there? What was he thinking about before he did this, what was his original plan? And just what would it be like if instead of a lick Lance would try sucking at— 'What——' Alright, alright this was definitely going into the wrong direction. The little voice in the back of his mind was now screaming at him with full volume to just stop it: it was already a huge luck that the blue paladin was not weirded out by his recklessness, let alone worded his disgust; Keith really should not have pushed this any further. Lance was a truly patient and wonderful person who was incredibly tolerant towards all his curious transgressions, he should not abuse this fact but appreciate it instead. He was definitely appreciating it, but, just purely on a theoretical level, would he do it if— "Lance," he whined in a low voice, pleading with him accompanied by a blush unmistakebly different from the spring's heat. His eyes were stirred with confusion and fluster: he was not taken aback by what Lance had been doing, but more like, what his own head was doing. If he had let go of his thumb, then he pulled it out, though his hand did not leave his face - it was kind of frozen there, just like his whole posture. Did he say any of his thoughts out loud???

Wow, okay, that definitely had his stomach doing flips. It can't be legal to say someone's name like that, it has the potential to kill a man - but damn what a great death it would be. Though not his favourite, this was going pretty high up on the list of 'best way's Keith has said my name'; part of him (and by part I mean most) wanted to drag out more sounds like that, more renditions of his name in Keith's stupidly perfect voice, more whines that came hand-in-hand with a sweet blush across the red paladin's cheeks-- But looking in his eyes and remembering the situation... Right, yeah, that was probably kind of a weird thing to do, now would be a good time to stop. He relinquished his loose hold on Keith's thumb, letting it pull away before planting an apologetic peck to the pad of it. "Sorry," he breathed out, smiling sheepishly. Even weirder than what he'd just done, his mouth felt lonely, his tongue missed the taste of Keith already. Lance is a weak man with little restraint, he couldn't just leave it there. One hand that was submerged in the water came to slide up the back of the palm on his face, fingers worming their way in between Keith's as he tugged it away just a fraction. He held their hands in the air and leant in, closing the far too big gap between them once more, pressing his lips against Keith's in as gentle a pace as he could keep with all the energy buzzing under his skin. Nice.

He did not quite understand why Lance was apologizing: if anyone, it should be Keith to feel sorry for his actions. He was not given much time to dwell on it though, for his hand was soon stolen and so was his breath. The blue paladin did not lie, smiled Keith around halfway, when he said he wanted to be on his mouth all the time... He was a hundred times more worked up, and yet it was easy to melt into the kiss. He would not, he could not refuse such a kind affection ever, regardless how he felt. However, it started to bother him how wet they were: his free hand snuck up to Lance's hair and tried to run his fingers through it, but the familiar feeling was missing, it was not the same. It was him, but not quite. How annoying. After he broke away, he drew back to the edge of the pool, dragging the other along; even though Lance was the one holding his hand, he somehow knew - or at least expected him - to not to let go of. Once they reached the shallow waters again, he sat down on a rock, cross-legged, and let the pool swallow him up to his shoulders; then, he turned Lance around and pulled him on his lap. He enfolded his arms around his stomach and hugged him tight; he nuzzled the nape of his neck lovingly before burying his face against it. What a shame, he sighed, that the sweet scent of his hair was washed out by the hot spring's heavy atmosphere; but it did not take away from the fact that it was him, or more precisely, him in his embrace. For the first time this night the lack of clothes did not trouble him: sure, their position was... questionable... But the hot water seemed to dull his lower half enough for this problem to remain but a mere nuisance, not worthy to mind when he was able to have Lance to himself alone. He fell silent: his mind was still full of the memories of his kisses and laughter, and even with eyes closed all he could see was his smirk and genuine smile. Apart from occasionally nudging his nape with his nose and his lips - like a cat unsure how to express his adoration - he stayed still; he did not move his hands, he did not want to, what if Lance escaped? Not even five minutes passed since he promised himself not to pull any more selfish stunts and yet here he was, keeping him tight and firm, with his conscience being reduced to the only sentence 'well, he gotta put up with this for now.'

It was always a tragedy when they stopped kissing, but Keith's expectations were correct; Lance let himself be pulled along by the red paladin, not needing or wanting to let go any time this century. Unfortunately, Keith seemed to other ideas, releasing his hand and sitting down at the water's edge. The act was innocent enough, however, he was proven wrong when suddenly he was sat on a very naked lap with his own very naked ass. "Oh--" he said eloquently, staring wide eyed at the water in front of him as the situation sunk in. Oh. He could feel himself blushed from head to toe in a matter of seconds, cheeks producing a temperature only normal for a furnace as his head whipped to the right; an attempt to try and hide in his own shoulder. His hands zipped up to rest on the arms wrapped around his waist, consumed by the confliction of both the need to pull them off and the desire to hold them down. God, he's not sure how much of his own contradictions he can take in one day. Surely, experiencing this level of heat all at once can't be healthy, he worried he might pass out or something lame like that. It probably wouldn't be a very romantic end to this date. Note for future reference: blushing in hot springs is dangerous and Keith needs to stop nuzzling the back of his neck-- Scratch that, Keith needs to never stop nuzzling the back of his neck; turns out his mouth feels just as lovely on Lance's nape as it does on his lips. It's been a hot minute since he's participated in vertical spooning; he never would have expected his next time to be with his nude ex-rival in an alien onsen. At this point, his heart and thoughts are just a constant stream of screaming, he doesn't know what else he can do other than sit obediently and try not to die. Easier said than done. He let a few moments of silence pass by, but he couldn't stand it for long. He was too high-strung from the abundance of skin-on-skin contact - as diluted by the water as it was - he needed something else to focus on. When in need, his brain always came to rescue with well thought out and intelligent observations. "M-man, it'd be great if we had pool noodles here--"

He leaned back against the rock, pulling Lance with himself and, finally stopping nuzzling his neck (did he hear his first prayer?) he rested his chin on his shoulder. "A... What? What is—" he asked, eyebrows furrowed. But wow, why did his voice came out so silent? He cleared his throat before trying again.  "What is a pool noodle? Is it... food?" He tilted his head a bit, trying to look at his face.

Lance probably found Keith leaning his chin on his shoulder much cuter than necessary, but he was a little busy inwardly clutching his chest to really care - the red paladin's cluelessness to the magic of pool noodles only made it worse. "Wh- No! Dude, you don't know what a pool noodle is?!" His tone sounded almost scandalized; madness, a sin, for Keith to have never experienced the joy of pool noodles-- Maybe the castle have some fancy alien ones stashed away somewhere... He'll have to ask Coran about it later. "They're like, these styrofoam tube things that float in the water," he explained, hands already lifted and spread wide apart to help Keith imagine what they are. His plan to distract himself was working out well. "One time, me and my sister made a raft out of a bunch of them and we sailed around the pool like budget pirates!" The last part came out in a chuckle, his expression practically lighting up at the memory. "She did try to throw me overboard though..."

He raised his shoulders in an apologetic way, there was no way he knew anything about them. Why would he? He had never ever been to a pool, let alone own toys designed for it. "Sounds like fun," he chuckled, closing his eyes for a few seconds. It must have been amazing to be pirates, for a while he wanted to be one too - too bad there was no water whatsoever around his house, so he had to let go of that dream. "Was this your younger sister? Uh, the... Uh, Mariana?" There were two girls in his family as far as he could remember, a younger and an older one; they had never really brought up this topic in private before, but Lance kept telling everyone stories about his siblings and his parents. Those times, Keith rarely asked questions: instead, he remained silent and paid a close attention to his words, somehow ending up with memorizing a lot of facts and - seemingly unnecessary - details. Like details about Mariana. "The one playing the violin?"

"It was," he hummed quietly, leaning back slightly into Keith with a small smile. His eyes widened a little when he heard the correct name; he's sure he hasn't told the red paladin much about his sister, and whenever he talked to the others about her he didn't seem to be all that interested... Apparently he was mistaken, he even remembered she plays the violin! Jeez, that's-... 'Sweet...' "Y-yeah, that's her," he managed, fluster back at full force once more. He's definitely being ridiculous, it's not even that big of a deal! Yet, it still plastered a goofy grin on his face, and Lance is glad Keith can't see it properly. "I think she's a demon child, but it's probably my fault for spoiling her so much when she was younger-"

"Well, you aren't a saint either," he shrugged with a theatrical sigh, followed up by a smile soon afterwards. He raised his head and nuzzled his hair as Lance leaned into him, silently approving of his decision. He hesitated for a moment, not knowing how much he should keep asking about his family, and from which point would it qualify as prying into his life: but instead of overthinking it, he decided to go with his guts. "She didn't enroll in the Garrison, did she?" He could not remember Lance mentioning her age (only that there was not much between them) and what she studied, but he would have surely bragged about her if she had decided to follow his footsteps.

"Rude," he gasped in offense, hand coming up to shield his wounded heart. Lance is a sweet and innocent angel, Keith doesn't know what he's talking about.

His betrayed expression faded away soon enough - he can't stay fake-mad at someone as cute as Keith - taken over by a little grin when paladin behind him nuzzled his hair.

"Nah, she's still too young for that. I don't think she would anyway, she's more into sport than space," he shrugged while his arms went back to resting on the ones around his waist - though, the confliction from before was long gone. "I was the only space baby in my family."

"You were? You are," he corrected him with a happy, low hum. He rested his chin on his shoulder again and with his index finger, he drew little circles on his abdomen.

"I think Coran wanted this to be a surprise, but..."

He fell silent for a few seconds. Wow, his nose was twitching, he really did not want to—

"Ah-choo!"

God bless his reflexes for turning his face away in time - he was almost sure Lance did not find people sneezing into his ear too hot.

He sniffled for a few seconds before he spoke again.

"I was checking the maps and I realized that we've been travelling towards the Milky Way." He pressed the back of his right hand against his nose to see if it was running. In a stifled voice, he continued. "We are like... Two weeks from there. Maybe less."

Right, still is. Even if his family probably thinks he's dead, he's still...

Never mind. He relaxed into Keith's touch, watching the water ripple around them as his foot swayed side to side under it. A surprise? What kind of--

The sudden noise made him jump a little - and by a little, I mean a lot. He was eternally grateful Keith didn't sneeze on his shoulder, he's had enough bodily fluids on there this week, he's cool with passing up on a second helping. Still though, was it weird he also found the other's sneezes kind of cute? Yeah, definitely. Wait, he's speaking again, focus on that instead of the sniffles---

His eyes lit up while the words sunk in.

"Are you serious?" he asked quietly, turning his head as far as he could, as if seeing Keith's face will reveal it to be a joke. Of course it wouldn't be a joke, why would he even joke about that?? Disbelief thrown aside, the optimism those words brought found their way to the surface.

"D-... do you think we'll get to visit?" Hope was clear in his tone, though, it's unlikely Keith knew the answer.

"Yeah," he replied casually. It did not even occur to him how rude this question was, of course Lance did not believe him at first. It was over a year now they had left Earth and they have never approached it close enough for a visit. This time, however, their route was clear and it definitely went through the Milky Way.

"Do you think the princess could stop any of you?" he asked with a chuckle, and looked him in the eyes. "We got a lions who can reach edge of a solar system in less than a minute; not to mention that only we can control them."

He let his head drop back as he looked up to the sky. Earth, huh... He got use to meeting various alien races and different kinds of planets so much that Earth looked like a dull, rotten place compared to the rest of the universe they had explored so far. Sure, not as bad as the Galra Empire, but still...

He lowered his gaze to the back of Lance's head again, ran up his palm on his back and almost completely unaware of his actions, he started washing his shoulder that peaked out of the hot water.

Oh. That was somehow nice to do. He broke the hug to use his other hand, too, so he could tend to both sides of his neck - occassionally grasping at his shoulders to give them a quick massage.

"You should start preparing what you'll tell them."

"I guess you're right," he grinned before turning to look back into the water. Going home... A mixture of feelings stirred around in his chest, a whole recipe of positives and negatives; they could go home!

The excitement took the forefront of his emotions first. Just the thought of visiting his family made his smile grow wider; he'd get to see them all again, talk to them all again, hug them all again! He could tell them all about the crazy stuff he's been up to in space, hear about all the crazy stuff they've been up to on earth! He could tell them about Keith and the others! They could all go on their annual trip to Varadero beach together! He could sit in the rain until his mom yells at him about catching a cold! He'll see his cat and dog! And kiss their fluffy little faces! God, it'll be so great, he'll be home, it'll be just like before--

...

But it wont be like before, will it?

A pang of nerves sliced through his joy like it was nothing; the half-massage half-back wash was perfectly timed, soothing him just as his shoulders tensed at his own somber realization. He hummed at each rub of his sore muscles, letting his eyes become hooded as he considered Keith's words thoroughly.

What will he tell them? He's been gone for over a year, it's not like he can just mosey on in like nothing ever happened; he's basically coming back from the dead!... How is he even going to get them to believe his story? Hell, he can barely even believe it himself!

A quiet sigh spilled out of him as he started playing with his fingers under the water. It would be nice if going home was as easy as it used to be - where the worst thing he had to explain was why he hadn't packed all his clothes while dumping his laundry onto the mountaneous pile. He's not just coming back from the Garrison for the holidays, he's returning after - quite literally - disappearing off the face of the earth!--

Ah, jeez, this is a real downer he's pulled on himself.

He wants to go home. He wants to go home so badly, but... can he? Can he really just show up out of the blue like 'hey, I'm back from my amazing space adventure for a little bit, I hope you didn't get rid of all my stuff!'? Well, probably not like that... He's always sucked with this kind of stuff, this will be too hard, he's sure of it.

"Maybe a postcard will work?" he mumbles, followed by another pleased hum when Keith rubs him in just the right spot.

But it'll be worth it.

He expected Lance to be enthusiastic about this a hundred times more than he looked like. He almost felt like he slumped on his lap under all that inexplicable negativity that weighed him down: what's the matter with him?

"You're joking, right?"

A postcard? He could not be serious. Lance was probably the most eager paladin to visit Earth, would he really be content with sending a single sheet of paper?

"You should plan what you say like... You shouldn't tell them about Zarkon draining entire planets for energy. Or that the Galra had already visited Earth. I mean..." He sighed with frustration. He should take his own advice, really. "Tell them about what we're doing, just don't make them panic."

In the meantime, noticing that his massage was welcomed, his hands glided down on his back and started to knead small circles between his shoulder blades. He worked his way up to his shoulder again, trying to make his muscles as relaxed as they could get. He was still afraid of straining him, the girl in the Garrison once hurt him like that, but he got braver than last time: his grasps were stronger and he covered more skin; using both of his thumbs he rubbed the nape of his neck up until his hairline and a bit to the sides. For a moment he stopped as he stared at his hands in surprise.

Wow, he seriously had something for this area.

"I guess you're right," he huffed out with a weary laugh. Don't make them panic; yeah, he could do that. Probably. "I bet they'll panic anyway. My mom was already worried about me going to the Garrison, I don't think she'll be too jazzed about me living in space."

Maybe she was right to be worried, all things considered.

His eyes slid shut on a pleased sigh, head falling back slightly as Keith massaged up his neck. Even with the worry building up in his gut, it was hard to feel anything but good when Keith's hands were straight up performing magic on his back and shoulders. He's over thinking it, he knows that; they'll probably just be happy to have him back, it'll be fine.

What isn't fine, however, is Keith stopping, and Lance made sure it was known with a small protesting whine.

"Yeah, I can imagine," he replied with a lopsided smile. The army was not the safest career choice, especially the space exploration branch where the technology was still mainly on a theoretical level only...

The whine froze him up, woah, was it that good? Pride tugged at his side and a grin spread on his face. He returned kneading his shoulders and hummed.

"I can do your whole back later, if you want to."

"You can do my whole everything later," he breathed, just a few seconds before his brain could stop him from saying it out loud. Suddenly, he was very alert again, warmth flooding his cheeks instantly. Not to worry, he's always been great at not sounding desperate. "I-I mean- yeah, sure, sound cool--"

Smooth.

He can't really be blamed though, Keith's massages were good, and Lance might be a little too into having Keith's hands rubbing him all over-- but that's besides the point. Time to move on from that embarrassment.

"Y-you should let me give you one too! I've never really done it fully, but I've been told I give a mean foot massage~" his eyebrows were waggling even though the red paladin wouldn't be able to see them - his tone of voice probably gave him away. Speaking of massages; he perked up once again at a very important related memory.

"Oh, man! Back home I had this fancy massage oil from Thailand, I never got a chance to use it before, we could take it when we visit!"

He did not understand him again. His whole everything? Like a whole... body massage? That sounded really tiresome and what about his arms or stomach, he would not feel anything there for sure... But then, why did he become flustered? Lance only changed the topic suddenly when he said something—

Oh.

'Wow, this guy.' His hands stopped yet again and he furrowed his eyebrows as he tried his best not to visualize that 'later'. The worst part was that he did not need 'later', he had ideas even now how he would...

But he wouldn't!!!

His throat suddenly felt very dry and very tense and Lance talking about massage oils did not help at all.

'You know what, screw it.'

If he was feeling jumpy, then Lance had to feel jumpy too. After all, he must have done it on purpose!!

He took advantage of the fact that the blue paladin did not see him horribly flustered: he nuzzled his neck right below his ear and sneaked his hands under his shoulders and slipped them on his - by now almost dry - collarbones.

"You can't flirt like this anymore, huh," he whispered. There will be consequences, he wanted to add, but his throat simply closed on him. It would be great if Lance did not feel his hands shaking, but there was no way he would miss that - they were on his naked skin.

God, why could he never give up on a challenge?

He almost forgot about his slip up (if he was talented at anything, it was recovering from his own embarrassment at an exceptional speed), but then Keith had to go and do this--

There was no stopping the slight shiver from tumbling down his spine - a common occurrence with Keith whispers, it seems. The nuzzling didn't help, nor did the water now dripping onto his collarbones from Keith's hands. His every muscle was frozen in place, the fading blush was burning at full force, he wanted to say something to prove the other wrong, but his vocals were betraying him. This is rigged.

Keith was right, he can't flirt like this; but Lance is anything but a quitter.

He grabbed one of the trembling hands from his collarbone, dragging it up a little higher while he leaned forward, inching closer until he could press a small kiss to the back of Keith's palm.

'That'll show him--'

"O-Okay, you can."

A full-fledged wildfire - probably the most accurate description of his face by now. He thought Lance was just big on his words, but look at the guy, he was... He was a hundred percent aware of how weak he was for him!! How was this fair? It was not fair at all.

He rested his face on his shoulder, his mouth against his skin. Sure, they were in the water but if Lance did something now, Keith was not ready to take responsibility. Why was he sitting on his lap? Oh right, he dragged him there. A bloody great move. He should give himself a prize, in the form of a slap.

Still, it stung to lose against him like this. He was not sure what counted as winning, but it must not have included shaking and trying to discard thoughts that became messier with each sniff of his scent.

He raised his head a bit.

"We should go back soon," he hummed and pressed a small kiss on his shoulder. For a second he stopped; and on a completely different, almost spaced out tone, he muttered to himself: "Still so unbelievable..." But he left that without an explanation, and dropping his hands he waited for Lance to get off his lap.

Victory!

That's right, Keith may be the definition of hot but Lance is the romance master, no one can beat him in the art of seduction, even when he's weak! The cockiest smirk he could muster with cheeks as red as his spread across his lips, he was about to turn around to gloat, but then Keith's mouth was on his shoulder and he was pretty sure his mind blanked.

Alright, okay, maybe he wasn't as strong and undefeatable as he originally thought, but Keith doesn't know that yet and that's what counts. The intentional kiss was a killing blow, it took everything in Lance's power not to hide his burning face under his hands.

Right, they had been here a while; he shifted a little further off Keith's lap, but before the red paladin was completely free, his last words reached Lance's lagging brain and he paused.

"Wait, what's unbelievable?"

'Oh shit, did I say that out loud?'

He licked his lower lip before he could come up with an answer.

"Nothing," he replied in a hurried way and pressing his palms on Lance's back, he nudged him to get off from him; and if he still did not move, then he simply started to push him off.

"Mooove."

Nothing?

'Yeah right--'

He couldn't really resist being pushed off, but as soon as his feet reached the bottom of the pool he spun around to corner the other against the edge. Brows furrowed, eyes squinted and lips pursed, Lance leaned in to stare Keith down. His red cheeks may make him seem a little less intimidating, but that didn't hold back his questions.

"'Nothing' isn't gonna cut it. What's unbelievable, Keith? You know, other than my abundance of charm~"

He tried to lean back as the other was leaning in, but there was no place to retreat to. But wow, did not he like it when Lance said his name with that tone...

"Nothing!" he repeated it louder, as if the increased volume would convince the blue paladin. "Just leave the pool already—!!"

Usually, Lance wouldn't really care this much about what someone mumbled at random, but with how unwilling Keith is to elaborate, it's only making the blue paladin all the more determined to find out.

He leaned in even closer, squinted even harder, their noses were almost touching and he would be lying if he said it wasn't making his stomach do flips, but he needed to know--

"Tell me, Keith." his voice was low, almost a loud whisper; he isn't getting away that easy!

"I don't want to!" he replied with an almost angry expression on his face, why was Lance this close, why was Lance this hot, god, he was panicking. He put his two hands on the edge behind himself, palms down - he was about to push himself up and leave the pool, he was strong enough to do that.

"Get out or I get out first—!"

"No--!" His immediate reaction was to grab Keith's waist, holding it down and pinning it to the wall behind him. Probably not the best plan to go with, but hopefully he's strong enough to keep the other from pulling himself out of the water.

If not... this could really kill him.

"Just answer the question!!--" he yelled, the hint of a frustrated whine strung into it.

Did he just—

And did he just yell at him?

Well, Lance probably did not know when to give up, but Keith sure did not want to hurt him. Was he already hurt? The blue paladin yelled at him almost the same way after the picnic, right before he stormed off with that unforgettable expression on his face.

For god’s sake, he groaned in thought.

"I just still can't believe," he started louder than he wanted to, but then pursed his lips and turned his face away with a stubborn look. He could feel Lance staring at him. His borderline fierce gaze fell back at him.

"That we... That I, could just, hold you like that," his shaky voice rumbled quietly, though his glare was as powerful as ever. "That I can do these... things to you. Not just thinking about—it..."

It was not exactly what he wanted to say, but it was getting more and more embarrassing as he went on, why could not he learn to speak before—

Well, that... wasn't what he was expecting.

"Oh..." was all he could say after a short pause, when the words finally registered in his brain. If he thought his cheeks were hot before, it was nothing compared to this. He'd stopped squinting long ago; now he was staring wide eyed before turning his face away to the side, hands losing their grip on Keith's waist as one came up to hide what it could with the back of his palm.

It was hot - way too hot - and another stupid grin was threatening to stretch across his lips. Who gave Keith the right to be so cute? Precious? Adorable? Sweet? Hot? It's not fair, not at all, he can't just say things like that-- Though, Lance is the one that made him say it... Jesus, okay, his other hand joined the mix now, both of them covering as much of his face as he could reach.

"O-oh---" Can't he say anything else? Was his brain really too overcooked to come up with something other than 'oh'? Of course it was, his skin was burning hotter than lava, there's no hope for comprehensible sentences in this situation! But he can't just... leave Keith hanging! He's gotta say something else!

"M-me too--!" his words were muffled by his palms, but they were still eligible. "I can't believe it either---" He also can't really breathe either; this was all his fault, though. He deserves it.

"S-sorry--"

"Pfft."

Lance could not do this. He could not just go and become downright stunned with fluster when he was the one forcing him to say such things. This was not how it worked, no, he had to face the consequences for making him this uncomfortable.

"Pfffft. Me too? That's it?" He looked up to the sky, with a shade of disbelief on his burning cheeks. "You're ready to seduce half of the universe and then you go 'me too'?"

Wow, okay. His hands parted and fell, just so they were covering the sides of his face so he could glare effectively at this jerk-

"What am I supposed to say?!" he huffed, louder than necessary, but not loud enough to free him of his woes. "I can barely even believe you actually love me too, let alone that you want to hold me in any way that isn't a chokehold!"

Yelling this stuff out loud wasn't doing much to cure his chronic blushing, but hell, if he could stop himself he would.

"I've been waiting to do this kind of stuff since the Garrison and I still don't know what to do now that I have you all to myself! Excuse me for losing my charming way with words when the only person flirting has ever mattered with says things like that--" Over-sharing alert, ABORT, ABORT-- His glare was more of a flustered pout by now, and his yelling devolved into a weak and shaky groan as he spun around, back now facing the red paladin.

He's already sacrificed enough of his dignity for today, Keith really doesn't need to see his face melt off with grumpy embarrassment.

He was not supposed to say anything, he just wanted to rile him up - at which he succeeded by the way, and now he could not help himself but chuckle at him in the meanest way possible.

Damn right he deserved it!! But...

Oh...

His flirting never mattered to him, when he was... Oh. Well, that. You see. He did not expect that. He pressed his lips together while the other paladin finished his rant. It... It felt really good...

Why did it feel this good? He felt like his chest was on the verge of bursting, his heart beated a hundred a minute - but this time it was not fueled by fluster. It was warm and thrilling: it lighted up his face just the same way when he was about to pilot a ship; self-confident and glowing with a grin.

He slid his palms forward to put his forearms on the rock and slightly leaned back on them, straightening his back.

"Well, I have ideas what to do with you, but we have to get out of the water for that."

But as usual, he clearly did not know how he sounded.

Maybe turning around so fast was a bad idea; he wobbled a little on his feet as a wave of dizziness crashed into him. Ah, jeez, he better not---

'What did Keith just say?!'

Eyes wide once again, he swung his body around at a breakneck pace to look at the other in disbelief, the temperature of his cheeks rising to impossible heights, and... Oh God. What is that pose. Why is he doing that pose. Lance wants to take a picture or something, hang it on the bottom of Keith's mattress so he can look at it every night before he sleeps. It's too hot, too hot, too hot--

He definitely moved too quickly this time, the world was spinning like crazy, vision splitting into two as his eyelids fluttered and suddenly he was falling forward into Keith's outrageously perfect body and--

'God dammit.'

It all went black.

He blinked at him in surprise as no reply came, but he moved in an instant when Lance fell towards him. He caught him by his shoulders without realizing what had happened: the only thing he registered was that the blue paladin lost his balance.

"Lance?" he asked him, but when he was left without an answer, he repeated his name. "Lance??"

Pushing him away a bit he looked at him in the face.

"Oh, shit."

He was almost sure this only happened in those Jane Austen novels he had - of course - never read, that it was just the easy way out for the authors to handle certain situations... However, he did not let the panic sink in, he received field training in the Garrison, he knew what to do.

After wrapping his right arm around Lance, he pulled themselves out of the pool. There, he grabbed the nearest towel and putting it on his lap he was about to move him again... Until he noticed how naked Lance was.

'Fuck, that's not important now...' He tried to convince himself, but well, it was kind of important, considering that he had never seen... it... before...

'Even though we did...'

Well, he did see it now.

'Jesus.'

He stood up almost too quickly - it would have been hilarious if he passed out too - and dropped his towel on Lance's thighs, covering him up. With a few, long steps he retrieved the other towel and returning to his original place he seated himself again, with his feet dangling over the water.

The blue paladin would faint again for sure if he regained his consciousness only to realize that he was stark naked, he sighed; and to be honest, he was more of at ease like this, too.

When he noticed that he more or less came to his senses, he dragged his head carefully on his lap and caressed his cheek, lightly patting at it. At the same time, he was on alert not to let him sit up in panic, should he try a sudden move like that.

"How do you feel? Does it hurt somewhere?"

It wasn't long before his eyes were blinking open again, being roused to full focus by the patting on his cheek. Man, since when was he lying down?

"What...?" he mumbled, mostly confused as he squinted at his surroundings. Well, first things first, there's Keith's wonderful face; must mean that's his hand too. He was still a little out of it, a dopey smile overtook his expression and he nuzzled weakly into the other's palm.

The floor was much softer than he would have expected from the hot springs, although, it was really only soft on his head which was kind of weird...

...

'Wait.'

His eyes flung wide open, and he would have sat straight up if not for the red paladin's impeccable reflexes. He's laying on Keith's lap. On Keith's lap. And they're both very naked, the only barrier between skin and skin being a towel. What the heck, did he die or something?!

His expectations were met: Lance did want to sit up, but he was on alert and prevented it in time. He was not a hundred percent unpredictable after all, was he.

"Calm down, you've just passed out," he said in a quieted voice. His head must be dizzy and in a complete mess, he did not want to hurt it with words too loud.

"Does it hurt somewhere?" he repeated his question, in case he missed it the last time. "Or do you feel weak somewhere?"

Of course he passed out. Only Lance would be lame enough to K.O on an alien onsen date; what else would anyone expect? It took a moment for him to react to all of Keith's words since his head was still a jumble, but once he did, it was clear this memory was getting locked away in the pit of shame later.

"Oh my god-" he whined, the sound soon turning into a groan that he caught with his hands as they covered his face yet again. This was pretty high up on the 'worst-case scenarios' list, and even with how hot the bath was, he didn't think he would actually faint. He can't help but wonder; did his mom know she was raising an idiot?

"It does hurt," he spoke lifelessly, voice muffled by his palms. "In my pride."

"Hey, it's okay, the water was hot..." he replied with a smile. It did not even occur to him that he was part of the reason of his fainting.

"Besides that, you can't resist now. I want to try something."

His smile widened into a grin as he raised his other hand too. He slipped all ten fingers into Lance's hair and, drawing small circles on the sides of his head, he started massaging his scalp.

Hair pets sure felt amazing, but he wondered if the two could be combined.

His hands slid down far enough to uncover his eyes, just so he could shoot Keith an unconvinced look. Even if his smile could cure all diseases, this guy had no clue.

Luckily for Keith, Lance didn't even want to resist - which he totally could. You know, if he wanted. It definitely had nothing to do with the fact that he was weak to Keith's everything. Not at all. These massages were dangerous though.

"What is up with your hands?" he sighed out quietly. His eyes had fallen shut, but his brows were still furrowed stubbornly; he's gotta thank the girl that introduced Keith to massages, she ignited a hidden talent that Lance was happy to benefit from, even if he did feel the urge to study up on massage techniques.

He squinted at him in suspicion, but his worries were soon proven to be futile. His hands did not stop even for a second: even though he worked through the entire day, he suddenly did not feel tired, not at all. When it came to Lance, he had separate energy resources to use.

"I just want to have my hands on you all the time," he chuckled and tilting his head he looked down to his face. "Does it bother you?" His massage came to a halt, but only for a few seconds; then he soon resumed doing it.

Despite his hands still covering his face from the cheeks downward, the way Lance's eyes flung open again probably hinted pretty clearly at the red hue spreading over his face. Wow.

"No-..." he grumbled after a moment of silent squinting, as if that would make his heart beat any slower. Tearing his gaze away from Keith's, his eyes shifted to the side as he both lamented and celebrated the red paladin's sweetness. Honestly, tilting his head like that was cheating and Lance is never gonna get to move his hands because he's never going to stop blushing.

Unless...

"I mean, who could blame you? I'm pretty irresistible~" With his signature flirt face, he wielded dual finger guns aimed at Keith.

As oblivious as ever, he did not notice Lance's flirt attempt.

"Yeah, you are." he nodded with such a matter-of-factness in his voice as if Lance just told him the time. One of his hands strayed away to stroke across his forehead. Man, how was he this lucky...

"Uhm, this probably isn't the best time to bring it up..." he started, introducing a topic that surely did not fit the current mood.

His smile faded out and he lifted his gaze to the pool. Oh, he should not have said that. But then again, Lance made it quite clear that he did not let go of any unfinished sentences...

"But uh..."

He let out a heavy sigh and chewed on the inside of his mouth for a bit. Okay, he can do this. He can do this. He did a hundred times more difficult tasks before this. These are just words, he had to articulate them—

"Is there anything you... want to ask about me?"

Why was his face burning? Maybe he was not blushing, just on the inside, just feeling horribly awkward. He did not want to talk about himself, but it was... It was about time, right? Lance tried to ask about him during the first days, but he straight told him he would not share anything.

Wow, that sounded incredibly selfish, now that he thought about it. Would Lance forget his words if he massaged his scalp strong enough? Can he just squeeze the memory out of his head?? He looked down at him. Maybe...??

His finger guns shook, seductive smirk frozen in place (though, looking considerably less seductive with a flush as bright as his), before falling down completely to land on his stomach. Defeated again, Lance accepted his fate - along with the affection to his forehead.

At least he's dying in the lap of a God, that's something. He decided it would be better to focus on what Keith was saying and the magic being worked on his scalp, rather than lamenting his own inability to stay cool around the coolest person he knows.

Tragically, the red paladin's words didn't help his cool status rise.

A very unique warmth flooded his chest; not the kind he gets when they kiss, or touch - or do anything really - but the kind that tugs at the corner of his lips, one that softens his gaze and makes him want to hold Keith's hand for the rest of eternity. So, basically, a really gay kind of warmth.

Ever since the picnic date's ending, Lance hadn't really expected to get answers out of the other any time soon (if ever), he'd just begrudgingly accepted the walls Keith built up and prepared for the long winded task of chipping away at them with his theoretical plastic spoon. So the fact that Keith was offering even a tiny nugget of the information he guarded so closely really... meant a lot to Lance.

All of that brings him to the question at hand: what should he ask Keith?

Well, he probably shouldn't dive right in with something deep, but what was considered 'too deep' in this situation? He's never really had this kind of conversation come up before, if he had known he would've googled 'questions to ask your crush' or something before he got stranded in space--

Ah, well, when in doubt, just go with the first thing that comes to mind--!

"How did you shower in the desert?"

Genius.

That... That question was not half as bad as he expected it to be. Wow, maybe talking about himself was not that difficult after all - Lance was seemingly uninterested in matters he considered to be... sensitive.

"I had a well nearby and used a bucket to wash up."

He did not want to ask why was he asking about his showering habits, but well, if this was what he was curious about, who was to deny him this piece of information?

"How is your skin so perfect when all you had was a bucket?!" It probably wasn't smart of him to shut off his brain-to-mouth filter, but this was a very important - and very unfair - conundrum. "I was in your shack for, like, one day and my pores were on the verge of death!"

He felt betrayed by mother nature, and it showed through his over dramatic pout. After all the work he puts into his skin, Keith manages to stay practically flawless with little to no effort. Rigged.

How was he supposed to know?!

"Uh, no idea. I didn't even shower every day," he shrugged, stopping the massaging for now. Maybe Lance needed all those stuff because he was overdoing it? Or... "I guess it's just..."

He suddenly squinted at him.

"Is this really what you're curious about?"

He stared at Keith in disbelief; who knew he was dating a barbarian.

Well, he did, when he first found out Keith sometimes slept in his boots. Savagery.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested in anything else - the truth is, he's interested in everything, but he can't exactly ask Keith for that, it would be tiring and long and probably not appropriate for two naked dudes in a public bath.

"You could tell me about each and every spec of sand that got in your mullet and I'd still listen," he shrugged with a relaxed smile. "What did you do out there though? The desert, I mean. Like, did you pick up some hobbies or was it all just alien robot lion hunting?"

He let out a long sigh at his answer. There could not be a single person who was interested in sand...

"Just the alien robot lion hunting," he replied, repeating the exact same words. "I couldn't really afford to have hobbies there. I needed food and fuel for my bike."

He looked at the pool, but for some reason his face was unreadable: it was not like he was hiding his emotions, it was more like he did not have any for that period of time.

"Were you really moved to the fighter pilot branch around that?" he asked, glancing down at him. He did not want to only talk about himself, he considered himself an awful storyteller.

Lance didn't really expect the tables to be turned on him - at least, not so soon - so he couldn't help the hint of surprise in his voice.

"Uh, yeah-! Since I was the top cargo pilot, when you left I got your place by default," he replied simply. That was the short story of it, the longer one involved a lot more pestering of higher ups and instructors to recommend him for the free spot, but that wasn't necessary to mention.

"Why did you decide to go to the Garrison?" He was quick to put the spotlight back on Keith, not even realizing the other's question was a sort of distraction.

When he left... His words left a bitter taste in his mouth and though he thought his face would not give him away, his smile twitched to the side.

"Ah, I see," he nodded. He found it strange that a cargo pilot would immediately take a fighter pilot's place, since their ships worked so differently... But as with many other things, he did not understand nor he agreed with the Garrison's administration.

"I, uh..."

His thoughts were on so different matters by now that he could not answer his question immediately. He cleared his throat to save time before opening his mouth again.

"I got a hoverbike when I was small and I could drive it... really well," he shrugged: Lance experienced his piloting firsthand, he did not have to elaborate on it. "And I didn't have anything I wanted to do. The Garrison had some flyers going around in my town and they had this programme. Something like a preparational course for talented kids, aged ten to fourteen. It just looked like a challenge to me," he huffed as if all this talking was starting to tire him out.

"You had to sign a contract with the army that once you finished it, you'd have to complete the Garrison training - and then you have to join the army. I didn't really care about that, and my parents agreed on it too, so I went for it. I passed the entrance test and you know about the rest."

He looked down at him with an apologetic smile.

"Not too exciting, huh?"

A troubled crease formed between his brows; Keith was telling this story so casually, yet it sounded to Lance like he'd basically signed away his life before he even reached fifteen... Sure, the military isn't pure and perfect with sprinkles of rainbow sunshine everywhere, but recruiting kids to join them when they aren't even old enough to drive is pretty dodgy. Well, he already knew the Garrison wasn't the most morally acceptable place when he found out about the Kerberos cover up, but still. "Your parents... They were your adoptive parents, right? Did you like them?" Because Lance sure didn't. This may have been delving into some risky territory, he didn't want to ask things too personal too quickly, but he's been curious about the people who 'raised' Keith since his trip down memory lane with the red lion.

His first question froze the blood in his veins and the surprise widened his eyes as he glanced down at him. How did he... Well, Keith did tell him that he was an orphan, but he did not say this much... Wait, was it Shiro? It must have been him. But how much did he share with Lance? How much did Shiro know in the first place? He took a deep breath before answering. 'It could be just a lucky guess.' "Yeah..." he replied with a spaced out look in his eyes but they soon focused at Lance again. "They were usually busy with work, but they always gave me something. And they let me do whatever I wanted." They were never there for me. A sly smile spread across his unwavering face and he squinted at the blue paladin. "I had a freedom your kid self couldn't even dream of."

The unconvinced expression didn't soften in the slightest, only deepened; something felt off about what Keith was saying, or, maybe the way he was saying it. The first look he made didn't help the case, but whatever it was, Lance couldn't quite put his finger on it, nor could he shake the unnerving feeling that settled in his gut. Yeah, he definitely didn't like the Collingwoods. Despite his uncertainty, Lance wasn't sure he should push; this isn't the same as before, he didn't want to be overbearing about  things like this. His suspecting squint continued, but he offered a small smile to Keith's. "Oh yeah? What kind of stuff did you get up to?"

He tilted his head left and right, deep in thought. What did he get up to? God, he did not want to remember them. The way he glanced down at Lance was vastly different from his smile, it was not spaced out anymore, it was... searching for something, looking for positive memories from that time. His hand started caressing the blue paladin's hair, but soon stopped when he felt the memory of Mrs. Collingwood's touch on his own. It was so soft, so loving, she was so nice to him, she was... She was such a liar... "Silence." He answered the question rather literally, with his smile turning small and distant. How could he condemn Mrs. Collingwood for her actions if he himself was hiding the truth? "I woke up to silence." "But as I got older, I started to like it. Our lot was huge, the closest neighbour was of a ten minutes walk, so I could blast the TV on full volume or go on a ride at midnight. I got a hoverbike when I was ten," he grinned at him. "I spent almost third of my money on fuel." "Ah, I couldn't wait to go home from school back then," he sighed with a nostalgic smile as he leaned back on his palms and looked ahead. "I just wanted to hear the buzzing of the engine," he raised his right hand and cut a line into the air, "and rush into the nearby valley. It had so steep slopes they gave up on building roads there. Those were my favourite."

Even with his earlier negative convictions, he couldn't help but stare stupidly at Keith's movements with a silly grin. That hand movement was cuter than any hand movement Lance had every seen, and he'll be damned if his heart doesn't flutter every single time a smile paints the red paladin's features. His own feet started fidgeting in their place at the energy; he smirked up wide at the other leaning backwards. "I bet you were a cute kid~" He knows Keith was a cute kid. "Did you have a tiny little mullet then too?" He pinched his finger and thumb in front of his eye, barely holding back the laughter in his voice.

His eye twitched at his words, but that smirk... He turned his gaze away and drew a deep breath. Wow, it would help a lot if his heart decided against giving a drum concert in there, he kind of needed some oxygen in his brain now. "I doubt I was 'cute'. I got into trouble way too often for that," he mumbled and pursed his lips. With his right hand he ruffled Lance's hair and pressed his palm against his forehead, slightly pushing his chin upwards. "And get off my hair already."

Hopefully, the newly returning blush on his face was subtle enough to be pinned down to the hot spring heat; but deep down, Lance knew he wasn't that lucky. Who gave Keith the right to do that, right here, practically completely naked with Lance on his lap and his hair in a pony tail-- It's completely illegal, Lance is going to die from a heart explosion. Before the bomb in his chest had time to go off, he grabbed the hand on his head and tugged it back to where he was once twiddling his own thumbs. He started playing with Keith's hand between his, running his fingers over every knuckle and the back of his palm. "I don't think puberty just makes people as cute as you, you've gotta have been the cutest little rebel!" His smirk only widened, eyebrows waggling teasingly. "Especially with a mini mullet~"

He lost his only weapon - his right hand - to him. Oh no, how will he make him shut up about this whole cuteness ordeal? Not that the attention it received was unwelcomed, but it made him so weak he almost forgot to prove him wrong. "Trust me I wasn't cute. I only showered when I was getting itchy." He stared at his own hand: somewhere along the line he unknowingly interlocked his fingers with Lance's. Wow, it's... His palm, it's really warm. And soft. Definitely too soft for a paladin. He pressed the back of his hand against Lance's cheek. Yep, it was warm too. And dry!! Finally there was no slippery feeling to it. He wanted to kiss him so badly, especially the corner of his mouth, it always made him smile and he loved to feel his lips curving upwards... "If you're feeling better, we should get going. It's getting late." 'I have no self-discipline.' Even if he had tried to deny it, he knew it all too well why he himself was eager to leave. Everything was great there: the air was warm, the ground was not uncomfortable at all, the water had a nice flowery scent to it, and yet he could not arch his back enough to reach Lance from there. That was a huge downside to their current situation, one he was not willing to put up with. He should probably calm down first though, he sighed at himself. His pulse was in the skies, what if he stood up and fainted?

"That's still cute in its own, gross way," he mumbled defiantly; maybe he really did have a problem... Keith's cuteness aside, their fingers were now laced and his level of fluster was no doubt caught out by the red paladin. That definitely wasn't fair,  his face was getting even hotter-- He perked up visibly at Keith's words, though, he did try to stifle it a little by sinking further into his lap. It's not that laying on Keith's almost bare thighs wasn't great - like, really great - but it really limited the amount of affection Lance could hand out, and that in of itself was a sin. Having the other so close and yet so far was a hard thing to settle with, so no one can blame him for nodding with an eager grin. "Yeah!-- Yeah, I'm fine, great, perfect, let's go-" A little over enthusiastic, but he was excited to kiss Keith again! He regretfully released the other's hand and sat up, probably faster than someone who just fainted should do. Thankfully, he didn't fall right back down; instead, he was left slightly dizzy and faced with the realization that he was, in fact, incredibly naked with no water to protect him. He turned back toward Keith with cheeks dusted pink and a sheepish smile, only getting distracted by his legs for a moment (improvement!!). "Could you, uh-... look away or- help me up?--"

As Lance sat up he could not stop his gaze sinking. It was not even a conscious move, his attention was just caught by something he had not seen it before and so he had to check it out. 'Oh jesus christ.' He really should not have looked there and it did not help him either that however hard he tried, he could not think of anything else but 'what a nice ass'. Definitely not cute. Wait, was he trying to be cute?? "Yeah, sure, yeah," he nodded kind of zoned out as he turned his face away, wow, this amount of fluster was sure unhealthy. But as always, he wanted to react to embarrassment with offense - maybe if Lance was feeling more uncomfortable than him it would ease his own situation. On the other hand, it would be terribly mean to him... He glanced up to the sky with a shaky jaw. Resist it. Resist it. "Not like I," he suddenly drew a deep breath, but it sadly did not stop the flow of his words, "haven't seen it already though, I was the one dragging you here—" He bit his lower lip. Shit, he was even grinning—

His eyes widened, smile falling as the meaning behind Keith's words registered in his brain, a look of incredulous horror setting into every muscle of his face. "Oh my god," he said, disbelief evident in his frozen expression. The freeze soon melted though, because suddenly a red that rivals the colour of Keith's lion was recolouring the entirety of Lance's head and shoulders. He saw it--... His head turned back to stare down at his own lap, covered by a towel that - yep - he definitely didn't put there himself. Biting his lip, he desperately held the internal screaming back from becoming external. "Oh my god--" Keith even had the nerve to grin, the asshole! The beautiful, beautiful asshole! Lance has been exposed! His modesty compromised! His boyfriend saw his wang in it's most natural state, there's no being saved from this-- "I'm gonna pass out again. I hope I pass out again," he muttered to himself, hands raising to cradle his defeated head, just about ready to lie down and wait for death to come for him. 'No!' "You!--" he practically yelled, whipping his torse back to face Keith again with an arm stretched out and a harshly pointed finger, a trembling squint and weak determination ruling his features; there's no way he'll accept this! He's gonna fight back!! "Show me yours too!--"

Holy shit, Lance was so adorable he had to stare at him. Of course if this situation was reversed he would be the one blushing to death, but it did not matter now: he could freely bask in his embarrassment. He wondered if the blue paladin enjoyed their time together at all, he was way too often flustered compared to him - but screw that, he will tell him if he was overdoing it. However, when Lance pointed at him, he drew his head back a bit as if his eyes were about to be poked out. He should do... What?! No way, no way, it did not work like that!! He can't just stand up and swing it around just because he asked for it! His right hand grabbed his own towel, before the blue paladin decided to snatch it away. There will be absolutely no dick revelations, not under his watch. He opened his mouth to voice his opinion too, but instead, he leaned ahead and bit down on Lance's finger. Almost choking on a chuckle, his grin widened; and his tongue accidentally brushed the tip of his finger as he said: "Nope."

Tearing his hand away like it had been burned, a small whine escaped his throat's defenses for a split second. Keith is the worst; the absolute worst. One day, he's going to kill Lance like this, and it will be super dramatic and sad and he'll regret being so terrible-- His flustered gaze dropped to his slightly shaky hand, he could still almost feel the tongue that it touched. Betrayal, complete treachery, so unfair. Only one idea came to Lance's frantic mind, and though questionable it may be, there wasn't anything else he could think of. Brows creasing further, he looked up, straight into Keith's eyes, and brought his assaulted finger to his own mouth. Without even waiting a second, his lips parted and he licked the tip of the digit clean. "S-show me, Keith." he said, low and serious, even through his trembling jaw and the imminent feeling he's about to start crying tears of blood. He tried to school his expression to stay stern, but his infinitely red cheeks probably lessened the effect; this was the definition of a double-edged sword.

His clutch eased on the towel, but his fingers curled into a tight fist again; he pushed the back of his hand against his mouth, in hopes of hiding his burning cheeks as well. He averted his gaze and kept his breath in. Even though he was against stripping himself with all his might, it was... It was impossible to say no to this, what's... what's this... He looked back at him, locking eyes with him. Oh god, he was still staring at him. What was he supposed to do?? Just simply throw away the towel? Say 'sure, go ahead'? Stand up and run away? Drown himself in the pool? All these options seemed to be absurd, though the last one was getting to be more and more tempting as the seconds passed by. He forced himself to swallow, even though his dry throat was not cooperative at all. It was his only success at calming himself down, because he could not help his shaking at all. "I-I-I, uh..." He squinted at him, trying to fake some anger or frustration at Lance, but he was unable to do so - just like saying no. Glancing away, he mumbled. "I-It's nothing special——"

Considering the fact that he started it, Keith really had no right to be so cute after that; yet here he was, almost dragging Lance into a trance with his every movement. "It felt pretty special--" he muttered, before the failure he calls his brain filter could stop him. He recoiled immediately from his own words, swallowing down any other terrible things that threatened to come from his mouth. Jesus, why did he think an onsen date would be a good idea-- "I mean--- I-- J-just show me already--" he sputtered quickly, desperately willing his face to cool down and his heart to stop racing. It didn't work.

Did he just?? Say?? That?? He looked at him in utter disbelief. This was not Lance, this could not be Lance, what the heck, what the heck. Dropping his hand back to his waist, he almost jumped on his feet - it must have been some kind of martial artist technique to stand up from this position, but he somehow pulled it off. He kept the towel in place, then, while talking, he tied a quick knot on it. "It doesn't work like that!!" he shouted at him almost terrified. Lance's words were incredibly dangerous, what if he did show it to him but it decided to greet him too??? He started walking backwards, keeping a very close watch on the blue paladin. "Just let's go already!!!"

For a moment, Lance sat dumbfounded at the impossible way Keith just stood up, but it wasn't long before he spun his legs around to the direction the other was walking in. The ground scratched his butt a little, however, at least now he could get up without giving Keith a full view of his naked ass. He pushed himself up, one hand firmly holding his towel in place, tying it haphazardly around his waist as he hurried to follow the red paladin. "You can't just sneak a peek of Lance Jr. for free, Keith, that's not how this works!!" he yelled, power walking up to him with his right hand pointing accusingly whilst the other held the towel to his hip.

He was stopped in his tracks by the blue paladin's words. "Lance Jr.? Do you call it--" He could not even finish his second question before bursting out in a laughter. He could not be serious, was he talking to it too? Given how chatty Lance was, he could very well imagine it. His head was spinning with all these rapidly changing emotions, but instead of finding a hold on the wall, he put his palm on his stomach. However, as he was still backing away from Lance, he did not realize he had already reached the door - and, after a rather unlucky step he tripped over its threshold.

Lance froze in place when the realisation of what he just said hit him like a truck. It was only for a second or two, until he was walking faster, trying and failing to sputter some kind of defence as his flush darkened even further. "I-it's not that funny!!" he shouted in the end, gaining on Keith with a glare plastering his face. He was only a few steps away when the red paladin fell, but that gap was quickly closed as Lance ran the two steps forward to grab one of his arms. It was more of an instinctual thing, to try and save him without hesitation; unfortunately, moving so fast without thinking didn't give Lance much time to control his balance, causing him to lean too far forward, only to end up being pulled down with Keith once he caught him. His knees were definitely gonna have some bruises later, but that was the least of his worries. Of course, because this was Lance, and the universe was determined to make him suffer, he landed right on top of Keith. In fact, he nearly face planted into his chest, narrowly avoiding crushing his nose by turning to the side a second before impact. This onsen date was a terrible idea.

His head was too heavy to register what had happened. He could feel Lance's fingers on him, but the only thing he could do was to put down his other forearm to avoid falling on his back. It was still painful since he grazed his elbow on the wooden floor, but at least his spine was intact. The blue paladin's weight pushed out all the air of his lungs, so he spent the first fifteen seconds with catching his breath. He groaned in frustration: man, just how clumsy he can get? Speaking of which... 'Wow, just how clumsy he can get,' he huffed, but instead of saying it out loud, he cupped the back of Lance's head with his hurt hand and closed his eyes. It felt so great to have his face against his bare chest despite the small, pulsing pain of his wrist and arm. He could feel his breath on his skin, his warmth against his heat - god, he missed that. For some mysterious reason, suddenly he was in no rush to leave this place anymore. 'No, no, we should get going.' Right. Getting going, it was his original plan, one very simple plan, that was why they left the room in the first place. He could carry it out any time, even so, Lance could carry it out any time, so it really must have been an easy task. He sighed. Yup, it was high time to get up. How to do it, though - oh right, let's get up on three. A slow exhale: and start counting. One... One... One... One... ... Alright, how about just... just five more minutes...?

His right hand hung loosely from Keith's forearm while his left was slumped on the floor, laying uselessly where he'd used it to save the other from part of his weight. It sure did hurt. The ache in his knees was making itself known faster than Lance had hoped; the fact he was still leaning on them probably didn't help, but he was suddenly up close and personal with Keith's magnificent chest and couldn't find the will to care about it anymore. "Sorry," he muttered weakly, a little muffled with his cheek still smushed against the other. He should really get up, they were supposed to be leaving after all... The original purpose of their retreat became less and less important; all Lance could focus on was the sound of Keith's heartbeat and the hand on his head. Surely sleep could wait a few minutes longer... He turned his head to rest his chin on the red paladin's chest (which, by the way, is just as perfect as it was two days ago), looking straight up at him. Even at an angle like this, Keith was still so damn gorgeous-- It really wasn't fair at all; Lance couldn't help but squint at him as if that would somehow change the fact Keith has beauty worthy of a god. His constant desire to kiss the other was hitting him at full force, lips even twitching slightly with anticipation. Who did this guy sell his soul to to become so kissable? Lance would kiss anything his lips could reach if he wasn't sure Keith would get sick of it! Hell, he would kiss his chest right now - if he could! ... He could totally kiss Keith's chest right now-- No, wait, wouldn't that be weird? Probably, yeah, he shouldn't do that. But, wow, would you look at that, he's doing it anyway! Dammit Lance- His lips pressed gently against Keith's sternum, lifting up soon after, but only to lay another one right above it. He trailed little pecks across his chest, stretching his neck to reach his collar bones. It's a real shame his neck wasn't longer, but then again, it probably wouldn't be that hot if it were.

He gasped at the sensation, did Lance really... For a moment he thought he fell on him on purpose, but he discarded this idea - let's be honest, the blue paladin was not cunning enough to pull such a stunt. Well, accident or not, it was a sensation most welcomed so he shut his eyes in an instant to focus all his attention on the lips trailing up on his chest. The skin there was much more sensitive than he imagined: sure, Lance caressed him there two days ago, but it was nothing compared to being kissed by; that's why he kept his breath in as if a careless exhale would disperse the moment. He only let it out when - regretfully - the journey stopped at his collarbones. Hoooly shit, it would be really embarrassing to get worked up here. He chewed at his bottom lip. While he was thrilled by this turn of events, it was also incredibly unfair that he could not kiss him back. However, it was an injustice he was not about to tolerate: his hand left Lance's head and, joined by the other one on his right side and after putting his elbows down, he lifted him by his armpits. A guy should not be this light, he wondered, he could move him so easily... He pulled him carefully so their towels would not join the adventure, but high and quick enough to soon face him. Holding him above with little to no effort, he touched their noses together and stared into his eyes. Damn, Lance could look at him with at least a thousand different ways - as if nothing, not even the blue hue was permament in his eyes - and Keith was sure he will never learn all of them. But they were looking at him and him alone... A little lost there quite a few seconds had passed before he lifted his chin to brush their lips together and whisper into them, afraid of his voice being too shaky to be heard. "Kiss me here, please."

It seems like Keith was getting very talented at ripping surprised squeaks from Lance, but this is a skill he wasn't sure he could survive. All in what felt like two seconds, Lance was suddenly hovering above the red paladin, and his heart was thumping in his ears as his perfect lips brushed against his. It was in this moment he confirmed his past wonderings: Keith could definitely bench press him - with ease. Holding Keith's gaze was both the easiest and most difficult thing to do. He didn't break the contact - a louder part of him couldn't tear away from his entrancing eyes - but the stare helped his burning cheeks none. He can't just do that. He can't just lift Lance like he's a bunch of grapes and then say things like that! It's unfair! Completely against the rules! Lance's face is going to melt off-- He swallowed thickly. A stronger man would take this chance to tease, play it coy and make him beg for it or something; but Lance is not a strong man. In fact, Lance is the weakest man when it comes to Keith. The man who would happily punch himself in the face if Keith asked for it. One that could never dream of denying Keith a kiss. "Gladly," he whispered - almost breathlessly - before diving in. His eyes fluttered closed as soon as his lips met Keith's softly, the previously lifeless hand following it's clockwork instinct and sliding through the side of the other's hair. Considering how much he rags on his mullet, Lance could stroke his fingers between each strand for days; just like he would never tire of pressing his mouth against Keith's. With each kiss, it gets harder and harder to keep it chaste; he tried tilting his head to sate his hunger - thinking that getting closer would calm him down - but it only made it worse, every roll of their lips getting a little more impatient than the last, leaving his tongue itching to taste-- It should be fine to let it, right? Just a bit? They aren't really in a public bath anymore; just two dudes making out near some hot springs! In nothing but towels! ... Whatever. A second longer of rocking and his mouth parted on a weak sigh, tongue simply brushing against Keith's lower lip before closing once more, acting as an invitation of sorts, leaving the decision to the paladin below him with underlying hope.

The moment he felt Lance's tongue on his lips he met it with his own; finally, he sighed through his nose. Unlike the blue paladin, he did not even intend to keep this chaste, why would he hold himself back when he agreed to it? Lance wanted to do it, he wanted to do it, there was absolutely nothing against a full-blown make out. Well, maybe the choice of place, but that somehow was not on his mind now. He let Lance lead the kiss - he loved how he did it, it was slower and more tender, yet it somehow felt more powerful and dizzying... Running his fingers through his hair he cupped his head with both hands, not even giving him the option to pull away. It soon became quite clear that the bottom was not his position at all, his entire body twitched with the urge to simply flip themselves around - but being kissed like that pleased him enough to stay put and obedient, and let him do whatever he wanted. At least until they broke away for air. His left hand soon glided down to his shoulder as the other one gently pulled his head away. Once he bared enough of his neck, with a hot huff he pressed a strong kiss on it; and at the same time, his hand travelled further down and splayed its fingers between his shoulder blades. A second and a third kiss followed impatiently, pushing Lance's jaw upwards with his nose each time, and his fingertips dug into his back as if he was holding Lance down - which he was, for some reason, indeed doing; the muscles on his arms tensed forcefully ready to keep him in place should he move; and without a single warning, he bit into his neck. With a wide, satisfied grin he opened his eyes and drawing a deep breath through his teeth, he sucked at the skin.

There probably won't ever come a kiss where Lance isn't sad it ended, but he certainly accepts it a whole lot quicker when Keith's mouth moves on to work wonders on his neck. A small sigh found it's way into the air as his eyes opened halfway; maybe he was still a little dazed from the kiss, his cheeks were so warm he doesn't even remember what it feels like to not be blushing anymore. His back arched slightly into the pressure between his shoulder blades; he's gotta admit, Keith's chest is one of the nicer places Lance has been pinned to. Although, the others were mostly dirty floors, so it wasn't really a fair competition, but it would take a lot to beat this. Lance was pretty content running his hand through the red paladin's mullet, just basking in the affection being shown to one of his weakest points - and he would have continued being content with that, if not for a set of teeth sinking into his skin. He choked on a groan, fingers tightening in Keith's hair before he bit down on his own bottom lip to stifle an overly pleased hum. Now this definitely wasn't appropriate for a public bath house, and yet, his concept of modesty had long been thrown out into space. Though, the second he felt suction, his eyes flung open on a sharp intake. "Holy--" he breathed, staring wide and helpless at the ground under them. A hickey. Keith was giving him a hickey. Does this guy realize what he's doing? What it's doing to Lance? He'd always thought it would be pretty hot to be bitten by a sexy vampire lady or something, but this was better. Much better. It also involved less blood loss, so that's always a plus. He shifted a leg forward in an attempt to gain some kind of grounding, but all it achieved was pushing Keith's further apart and it did nothing to calm the dizzying heat of his cheeks. He had no chance to prepare heart for this, every breath he took grew shakier than the last; Keith is cruel and unfair and all Lance could really do was sit there and pray he could stay cool and collected in this dire situation. He really didn't like the odds.

He sure did not know what he had been doing to him, but that stifled groan was all he wanted to hear. Beautiful; Lance was so beautiful, all these noises that he - for some weird reason - always tried to quiet were so beautiful he wanted to bask in them all night long. The hand that pulled the blue paladin's head away sneaked down to the nape of his neck and grasped at it. However impossible it was, he wanted to pull him closer, he wanted more of his skin on his, to feel his pulse as his own. After a few seconds, he let go of him with a sigh and kissed the slightly discolored skin. He could not really see it well from this close, but he might have overdone it a bit... The sudden wave of remorse sobered him enough to notice the knee pushing his legs apart, wait a minute, that's a ten out of ten idea Lance is having there and Keith would be surely down for it, but still, they can't do that here... "I wanted to ask you something," he huffed quickly as he let his head drop back on the floor and he looked up to the ceiling. He had to talk, he had to crush the moment. Though, to be honest, it was quite difficult to forget all those marvelous muscles under his fingers: unknowingly, he kept drawing small circles into them. He turned his head towards Lance to press their faces together and opened his mouth to continue... But no sound came out of it. Alright, let's try again, he sniffed in irritation. After taking a deep breath, he kept the air in - only to sigh it out, defeated by his own cowardice. "Shit, this is harder than I thought..."

Despite being grateful for the mercy the red paladin had shown by finishing up, Lance couldn't deny that he sort of missed Keith's mouth on him; that wasn't a very news worthy fact anymore, though. He let out a silent sigh as he worked to compose himself and calm his racing pulse, keeping his face angled to the side in an attempt to cling to some of his dignity. Keith had a question, it seemed, so he let his gaze flick towards the other as he waited for him to elaborate, continuing to absentmindedly stroke his fingers through his hair. Their faces were pushed together but the words still weren't flowing, so rather than fussing over the fact he would absolutely be able to feel his burning cheeks, Lance waited patiently for him to continue. Or at least, he tried. His last words had Lance pulling back enough to see his face, concern bubbling slowly in his gut as he looked down at the paladin below him. "What is it?" he asked, with slightly furrowed brows but a mostly curious gaze.

Alright, Lance pulling away and looking him in the face surely did not help to make the words flow. He glanced up at him and swallowed. He could do it. Come on, he said ten times more embarrassing things today! "So, last time you were a bit... busy... and couldn't really answer it..." "......" Well, who would have known that beating around the bush would just make his situation even worse: by his fifth word, his stomach curled up in a small, painful ball, buzzing with all kinds of anxiety that was so not him. "When I asked you that, how you - goddamn it," he groaned and closed his eyes. "The next time when... if - we do - it; how you would like me to, uh, do... it." He opened his eyes to stare at the wall. What were the odds the building decided to collapse on them? 'Jesus Christ did I turn him off for a lifetime—' ...Maybe if he looked hard enough at it, it would crumble!! He tried to focus on this very important architectural question, but panic started to settle in. He did not even dare to glimpse the expression of Lance's face, he did not want to see him disgusted or, even worse, disillusioned—

Lance's mind went blank. 'How he would...' If he thought he was burning before, then his skin must be straight up lava by now; was he the one producing the steam around here or what- "I-I, uh--... It's-- um----" Apparently, it only takes about eight words to destroy Lance's ability to form a proper sentence. In his defense, he was a little preoccupied with remembering what it means to breathe at the moment. His eyes shifted back to the ground in hopes of regaining his brain functions, Keith's face was only making him blush and stutter-- Their current situation had never hit him harder. "I-I dunno I-- don't really have... a preference??-- I mean, if--- if it's you it, uh-- um---..." Turns out even the floor couldn't save him from his own stammering. How is he supposed to respond this question?? How is anyone supposed to respond this question???? Lance was dying at just the thought--- "I don't--.. I don't mind---" He silently prays to any superior being in the universe that this answer is enough.

He could not blame Lance for his stammering, if this situation was reversed - just like ten or fifteen minutes ago - he would act like the same. That did not mean, however, that he was content with such a neutral answer. "But I mind it," he replied, turning his gaze back at him. Oh, he was not looking at him either, nice. He paused for a few seconds and pressed his palm against Lance's back. "It's not about a preference, it's... uh..." A sudden idea hit him, and his widening, albeit bashful grin sure did not look promising for the blue paladin. His right hand cupped Lance's face, trying to make an eye-contact with him. "Hey, you said you had fantasies about me?" There was no chance Keith would ever forget that. "Tell me one!"

Suddenly, every fantasy Lance had stored away in his brain flashed before his eyes, making this conundrum at least a thousand times worse. His jaw trembled under Keith's gaze; this was some kind of torture or something! His mouth opened and closed as he scrambled to gather words that weren't completely embarrassing, which was a difficult task when the person of your affections was asking about your private thoughts with a grin like that-- "C-can we have this conversation when we aren't naked and on the floor?--" he almost pleaded, voice cracking a little by the end. He tried pushing himself up against Keith's hold on his back, quite ready to be swallowed up by the ground and dropped straight into alien hell.

Were they on the floor? He kind of forgot that, even though his back was starting to hurt. "Ah, yeah, sure," he nodded, but before Lance could have escaped, holding the blue paladin by his back he sat up with him - effectively putting him on his lap by doing so. Since the towels were quite restricting, Keith sat on his heels and pushed Lance's legs to the right side to get them out of the way. He left his hand on his knees and gently tugged at the towel, while his other hand moved to the back of his head to pull him closer. He kissed him without a second thought: even if Lance was distressed and Keith knew he should have given up on this whole thing, it did not mean he would give him a break. He pressed their lips together almost too eagerly, kissing him on and below the mouth and in its corner - he just could not get enough of adoring him, he wondered if he could ever properly do so. His fingers splayed on his thigh whatever purchase he could make there and with a content huff he nuzzled his cheek. "Well, you aren't on the floor anymore." "I'm all ears," he grinned at him, but knowing all too well how much his kisses pacified him, he quickly peppered his jawline with some more - and also to cover up a small theft down there, namely a grab at his unbelievably strong and perfectly palm-fitting thigh of his, that he could not resist.

Lance had almost let the waves of relief wash over him when Keith agreed; but of course, he's never that lucky, now their position was even worse and Keith was being even more unfair. Needless to say, he melted into the kiss - though, not without a defeated whine at the back of his throat. Keith's kisses were his Achilles heel and the jerk knew it. That didn't stop him from kissing back, not at all; even with a very noticeable hand on his thigh, he couldn't help but be carried away by the red paladins lips. He huffed childishly, despite the ever looming question still setting his cheeks aflame. This isn't what he meant and the fact hasn't changed that he just can't say that kind of thing, no matter how many pecks Keith presses against his jaw or times he grabs his thigh, good lord---- A thought ran through his head; as the only kind of defense he could muster in times like this, Lance ran with it. Leaning back slightly, he squinted, staring Keith straight in the eyes before offering a weak challenging smirk. "I'll tell you if you tell me."

He blinked twice as Lance looked him in the eyes. If he told him? How would he know what Lance - oh. He meant - he meant his ones. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. What did he fantasize about him before? No, the right question was: what did he want to do with him that they had not done so far? Tilting his head deep in thought he let go of his head and scratched his own neck. "You kind of made all of them come true already," he mumbled, but he knew Lance would not be content with such an answer. "But if I really wanted something..." His eyes widened as he remembered something. Right. That. He turned his face away as he felt the heat creeping up on his cheeks. "I-I'm not really sure what works and what doesn't, so..."

Keith was right; Lance wasn't going to be satisfied with cute answers like that, even if they did make his heart flutter. He squinted harder, as if that would make his blush less noticeable. Since he was pretty focused on the red paladin's face, it was impossible to miss the fact that something ran through his thoughts - an idea that caused him to turn away and blush. "Wh--... You can't expect a tour through my fantasies with that!" he huffed loudly, grabbing the side of Keith's face and tugging it back towards him. Does he really think Lance will let him off easily after this?? Lips pursed and eyes determined, he leaned in slightly to stare him down. "I need detailed instructions on how to rock your world, Keith!"

When did this whole thing became about him? He wanted to know details about Lance's fantasies, not sharing his own... whatevers he had! "Uhh, well, it's weird but," he started, slightly tilting his head into the palm that was holding it. "I wanted to tell you anyways..." He pressed his hand on his own mouth and scratched his free cheek. Wow, alright, this was really difficult to say. Averting his gaze yet again, his fingers curled into a fist and he pressed it against his lips, muffling his already quiet words. "When we sleep and you hug me from behind, I... cannot, really, focus on sleeping."

Hot damn, Keith is cute. He's cute, so cute, maddeningly cute-- But, right, that isn't the focus of the current conversation - not that Lance is following along with it as well as he'd like to anyway. His head tilted to the side in confusion; when he hugs him from behind... Like, spooning? That's keeping Keith up? But... "Why??" he asked, brows crinkling in the centre as he tried to put two and two together. It wasn't working out.

What did he mean by 'why,' Lance should be the one enlightening him! Maybe it was weird after all. Or was the blue paladin curious about the exact details, like - oh well, there is only one way to find it out. "Fuck if I know!" A gesture with his hand accompanied his words, unfolding his fist into a discarding wave. For a few seconds he even stared at the other, but he soon looked away again as his index finger drew little circles in the air. "It's just, I can feel..." "The..." "Your..." He licked his lips before sucking them in. Is he really elaborating on this? His hand froze and he let out a long, silent sigh. How should he phrase it, he can't just say it out loud, he would die, Lance would die, Voltron would die if he did that. But if he kept it too vague, then Lance would surely miss it and then his situation would become ten times worse. He took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. Alright, he just had to say it straight, no beating around the bush, just be on point, Keith. "..." "Thighs." Almost.

Despite nodding along with each of the red paladin's words, he was left with even more questions than before. A small voice at the back of his brain was telling him he was being seriously dumb about this, and yet, it wasn't showing him why so frankly, it can shut up. "My... My thighs????"  His expression was no less confused, but his eyes did drop to squint as his own thighs, as if that would somehow provide an answer for him. So Keith had a thing for his thighs?? Well, that would explain the grabbing and the... the kissing-- It's not like Lance couldn't understand an appreciation for thighs - hell, he's spent plenty of time appreciating Keiths - but his thighs aren't really anything to write home about, nor do they seem amazing enough to keep someone up...... "I don't get it," he said, straight to his lap, still searching for instructions on how to crack the code. Maybe they're better when he's laid down??

The troubled frown on his own face smoothed out into an almost jovial expression as his mind gave up on accepting reality and let itself sunk into the sweet state of denial. There was no use of existing in this world anymore, his very being was reduced to a bunch of, now disposable atoms. His shoulders rose as he sucked in yet another deep breath, and he followed the blue paladin's gaze down to his thighs. Lance did not get it. Lance. Did not. Get it. "There’s a dick there!!" he said a bit louder than necessary and, spreading both of his hands he straightened his back in utter disbelief.

Oh. "Oh," he said, out loud this time. It's almost as if his cheeks couldn't be cold anymore, he's in a permanent state of mild to intense blushing and it's all Keith's fault. The worst part is, he's still not one hundred percent sure what he means-- "W-well, I mean--... I-... Sorry?--" Was that the right thing to say? For keeping him up with the presence of his dick?? Although, Keith is the one that starts the spooning activities, so is Lance really to blame?

Sorry? Sorry. He slightly opened his mouth but not even for a second he wanted to speak up. The churning sensation in his chest ordered him otherwise: it advised him to stay silent. 'What the fuck,' he asked himself quietly. The moment he felt this kind of excitement first, he found it weird; he thought about it later and it still seemed to be abnormal. And then he decided to tell Lance about it and - and he apologized. He apologized for riling him up with stuff like that. Seriously, just what else did Keith expect? That the blue paladin would, for some miraculous reason, pat his shoulder and prove him wrong? That it was absolutely okay, what okay, the hottest thing in space? Every sign pointed at this outcome and yet he chose not to pay attention to it, that if he just kept being reckless like he had been so far, then he would get away with everything. Was it always this cold down there? "Yeah, it's fine," he replied with a small, nervous smile and he dropped his hands to the floor. "I can still sleep, so, don't worry about that." Feeling that the conversation would not really branch out from this point, he put his palms on the floor. "Could we get up? I'm freezing here."

Oh. Oh no. That look wasn't good. Those words weren't good. He's not asking the question, he's trying to leave. Lance went wrong there, he can feel it in the pit of his gut. "Wait, no, I--" His hands fell too Keith's shoulders, as if that would hold him down while he scrambled his brain for the right words for fix whatever he'd done. Slight panic began to set in; he can let it end like this, not after what happened last time something went unresolved, he has to say something-- Fuck. He'd just apologized for this guys kink, he can't excuse that away! This is what happens when someone as oblivious as him is put into sensitive conversations, what is he supposed to say?!? "It's--" Christ, he's stuttering - stalling - the desperate look on his face no doubt gives away how much of a train wreck he is. Maybe honesty is the answer; hell, it's the only answer he's got. "Sorry, I---" stop with the sorry--- "I'm.. still not really sure what you mean---... With the- hug thing??"

Busted. And he was not only busted, but he made Lance panic. If anything could hurt more than rejection, it would be this; it reminded him of their picnic date where he upset the blue paladin with something and he had to run after him to fix it. He remembered his nervousness from that time: and he did not want the other to experience it. Though he dreaded the possibility of Lance pulling away after telling him such a weird thing, he wiped his right hand in his towel (should he have picked up any kind of dirt from the floor) and with a small caress he cupped Lance's cheek. Given that he was not avoiding his touch, he leaned in for a short kiss too before talking. "Chill, I've just changed my mind," he mumbled with their noses touching then and now. "Let's get some clothes on, we can talk on the way." He could not just leave him like this, he was not a princess to only mind himself, he had to man up! Sure, he dodged Lance's question altogether: there was no way he would answer that - if it was that strange that it needed explanation, then he surely did not want to elaborate on it. But he wanted to put his my mind at ease right now, more than anything. His ridiculous fears of making Lance disgusted or weirded out by him could wait, though they still lingered there, the all too empty feeling in his chest did not fade away.

While the kiss did calm his panicking, it didn't wipe away the feeling of dread that hung around in his chest. Chilling would be great right now, but it was highly unlikely. He lifted his hand to land over Keith's, swiping his thump over whatever of his flesh it landed on as he leaned in to touch foreheads for a second. "Okay," he nodded, before pulling away completely and moving to stand. His face was mostly neutral, but once he was upright, he offered his hand to help Keith up. His jaw was tense, brain thinking at a mile a minute. One thing's for sure - he had to put his idiocy aside and figure out what Keith meant.

A sigh of relief almost escaped him when Lance returned his touch - god, maybe he was not freaked out by him a hundred percent. He accepted the offered hand without a second thought and stood up quickly, only to grab his towel at the very last second. His heart skipped a beat. Shit, that was close. "I wonder if the others are asleep," he said, trying to change the topic for both of their sakes. He could do this, an awkward, heavy silence was the last thing they needed. "I've never seen Allura or Coran asleep." He had just started walking towards the changing room, but he had to stop and furrow his eyebrows. "Do Alteans sleep at all?"

Lance was too deep in his own head to register any movements other than Keith starting to walk, which he followed. "They were asleep for ten thousand years when we found them," he offered idly. Even with his mind chugging away, he was physically unable to leave a conversation hanging. "I know Allura has a big fancy bedroom, but I don't think I've seen her use it since the Balmera healing thing..." "Maybe they run on batteries or something." He couldn't stop a small amused smile at the idea of the aliens swapping out each others batteries. No, he's putting too much thought into this, what did Keith mean before--

There was a point in what Lance said, though deep down he doubted that hibernation counted as sleeping. But again, who knew? Hibernation was not a thing back on Earth, they only had theories about it. "You haven't seen her using it? That sounded creepy," he snickered, turning his grinning face away. This is working!! "I hope you aren't stalking her too much, Coran can get really protective."

Until then, Lance had kept his gaze mostly towards the floor, but this accusation required his full attention! "I'm not stalking her! I just happen to walk by her room a lot!--" he defended, though that probably didn't seem any less creepy, so he quickly added, "She's got a stash of space moisturiser, I break in to steal it sometimes---" Admitting to theft probably wasn't the angle he should have taken, and yet, it was the one he took nonetheless. With a huff, he dropped his sights back to the ground, staring even more intently to regain his focus. Focus!!!

He raised his eyebrows further and further the more Lance talked. Clenching his teeth together he pressed the back of his palm on his mouth to stifle his chuckle. His shoulders shook nonetheless, and he had to turn his face away too. Amazing. They were out in space to destroy a more than ten thousand years old empire, and his teammate was stealing moisturiser from their alien princess. The changing room was not that far: as soon as Keith entered it, he stepped to the wooden locker he left his clothes in. Alright, time to get... changed... With his daytime clothes in his hands, he squinted at the locker. Okay, but how? He wanted to glance back over his shoulder, but what if Lance noticed that? Wow, he sure did not think this through. He leaned into the box, seemingly searching for something that fell out of his pockets. Think. Think.

He shot Keith a petty glare from the corner of his eye - stupid Keith and his stupid(ly amazing) laugh. This is an important matter! Once the floor became that of the changing room, Lance went straight to his clothes. He was pretty much on autopilot, stepping into his underwear and pulling it up under his towel, still squinting at the ground. He continued dressing without a word. Maybe he needed to reevaluate the facts; clearly, glaring a hole into the ground isn't working. So, when they cuddle, Keith finds it hard to focus on sleeping, because he can feel Lance Jr. against him. Right. Okay. He understands the trouble there. But where's the kink in that?!? It's just sle-- Ssssss... Oh. Oh. "I'm an idiot," he whispered, at some point having stopped with his shirt only over his arms to stare at the floor, eyes widened with his obvious realization. An idiot, a big idiot, how did he not get that?! Idiot!! 

Since Lance was making some noise, Keith assumed he was busy was with changing clothes: and so, he just took off his towel and dressed up as if he was alone. Worst case scenario: Lance saw his butt. Big deal, now he remembered it: he saw it in the Garrison before.

As soon as he was done, he closed the locker and towel-dried his hair. He felt ten times better: with his stomach full and body clean, he really could not have asked for more. He was not particularly sleepy either, though he did want to go to bed to think about what he had done and what he should do different the next time - and, maybe because he wanted to hide a bit from Lance, too. However, his eagerness vanished when he saw the blue paladin being frozen in his move. "Lance? Is everything okay?"

His head whipped up to face Keith, enlightenment consuming his expression. "I'm an idiot!" he said louder, stating the obvious. How could he possibly be this oblivious?! Sure, he'd spent most of his... 'research' times in the hetero homelands, but he'd still strayed into that before--  He took a second to compose himself; unfortunately, a second was all his brain needed to let the meaning fully sink in, and suddenly his face was just as hot as before. "I just got what you were talking about--"

Jesus Christ, will he ever drop the topic? Discomfort returned to his features and he averted his gaze before looking at him again. "Yeah, uh." Wow, Lance was sure blushing. He raised both of his hands in front of him, palms towards the other paladin. "Look, if it weirds you out this much, we can like, not sleep like that anymore... I can hug you or, we don't, at all..." Or whatever, just let this go already!! 

Ah, that wasn't a good expression on Keith; what's even worse are the words coming from him. "What? No! It's not--" Okay, he was definitely being too loud, reel it in boy-- "It doesn't weird me out! I'm just--- Man I'm dumb--" That last bit was said the floor again. Even he didn't expect this level of idiocy from himself. Good job, Lance. He pulled his shirt over his head in record speed before turning his eyes back to Keith with a pointed finger. "And I definitely don't want to stop cuddling."

He tilted his head in confusion. If Lance did not make much sense so far, now he surely did not make any. After a few seconds of hesitation he opened his mouth. "Why are you dumb?" he asked in his usual blunt way. "I don't understand." His eyes followed his movements and seeing the shirt hiding that amazing upper body filled him with regret. He should have made him talk more, maybe he would have forgotten to put it on if he was busy with keeping up the conversation...

"Because it was so obvious but I didn't get it--" he huffed, more at himself than anything. To think, the master of seduction, Lance McClain, didn't get why Keith was hot and bothered by a sausage between his buns. Ridiculous. "It took me way too long to figure out, I'm ashamed." He was suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to pray to the porn gods for forgiveness, but that probably wouldn't help his idiot status, so he held off. For now.

"Figure out what?!!" he asked louder than necessary, spreading his arms in frustration. He was seriously getting worked up over this whatever Lance was holding back from him. Why could not the guy just straight tell him what he missed and what - most definitely - Keith missed?!

Did the situations get switched or something? Why was Keith asking questions?! Didn't he understand his own kink?! "T-that you-... you--" How does he say this? Why is he saying this? He's blushing too much, he isn't supposed to be the one explaining! "Want to be-... held?" Nailed it.

He furrowed his eyebrows as he thought about what Lance had said. He wanted to be... held? That was it? Simply be in his arms? He got excited because he held him like that? But that kind of excitement usually came with more urges, that... "That doesn't seem to be right..." he muttered to himself. "A hug..." He paused for a few seconds, then shook his head. "Whatever, it's... Let's forget it," he waved with his hand, then turned on his heels and headed to the door. What Lance had 'understood' made even less sense than what he thought before. This was just strange, simply strange, it did not worth talking about.

Right, of course Keith wouldn't get that, what was he thinking-- He slumped a little, but before the red paladin could turn around, Lance grabbed one of his wrists. If he's gonna make him say it then he'll-... he'll say it-- "It's not a hug--!" Alright, here we go, he can say it-- "Well, I mean-- it kind of is? But also, it's not-" That's not saying it, Lance, come on-- Never would he have guessed that one day he'd be explaining this to someone, yet here he is; red faced and stuttering. He's gonna die. "It's-- it's like what straight people do but, you know-..." He nodded his head backwards, even though he knew that wasn't very helpful. "F-from the back--"

He listened in silence, focusing all his attention on the blue paladin's words. Whatever it was, it was difficult to say, so he did not want to miss it when he finally sput it out. However, when he did, Keith did not understand it at first. He blinked at him dumbfounded. How would they do what straight people did if he did not have a - a girl's part? Just where would... Holy shit. "Holy shit," he repeated out loud, his face setting ablaze in less than a second. He was... He was getting excited because of - he pursed his lips as his imagination did some eager freelance work and presented the situation to him. His free hand pressed hard against his mouth and nose as a weak try to hide his scorching face. Just the thought of Lance hovering above him with his breath on his neck and doing something... something like that... He could not even look him in the eyes, he would probably never be able to do ever again in this lifetime. His heart beated so fast he was already feeling dizzy or was he just more than ready to pass out? It would be a great excuse to leave. And to top it, Lance needed a lot of time to figure it out so he must have never thought about it before! He was truly cursed with this matter. "Alright, I got it," he whispered, almost inaudible thanks to the grip on his own face. "Got it."

Wait, did Keith... Did he really not know?! Oh God, he was so flustered, Lance felt kind of bad, but on top of the guilt, shock trickled in. Keith is a bottom and he didn't even know it-- He looked embarrassed - traumatized, even - Lance scrambled to find words to defuse the situation before one of them explodes like a blushing volcano. What would make him feel better if someone just explained gay sex to him and he realized he was into it?? Well, that situation never really came up, the internet was what told him he was into it, so he didn't need to feel better about his fluster-- Alright, okay, back up plan, sympathizing usually works, right? Right. "H-hey, dude, d-don't worry about it, it's not a big deal!-- I mean, I've also---" Maybe this wasn't the best way to go, was his blood boiling under his cheeks or something??-- "I've also-- thought about it--" Yes, definitely, he's going to die.

His tense grip dropped from his face. "You did?!" he asked with an unusually high-pitched voice. "You did, okay. Nice. Great," he nodded to himself. Maybe his luck was not that terrible after all. "Maybe it's not that... weird then," he mumbled. The more he tried to dismiss his thoughts about it, the more tangled he found himself in them. How will he ever sleep again? And the fact that the blue paladin considered it before too, the possibility that such a hint would create... "You know, we should--" he swallowed, pausing longer than necessary. Why did his throat go so dry? He really needed it now, he had to finish this sentence. "We-- should really go back." Jesus, he almost said what really was on his mind--!

Woah, seems like it worked! At the cost of his face going up like a forest fire, but it worked!! A small, relieved smile made it's way to his face; maybe this success could make up for his stupidity before, or at least,  make it easier to forget. "Y-yeah, right--!" he nodded quickly, moving to pick up his jacket and slide into it. They should really consider having less late night dates, especially when they have to be up early in the morning. Though, Lance had a sinking feeling that sleep wouldn't come easy tonight - curse his overactive imagination.

He nodded too for seemingly no reason at all and left the room after Lance. The thoughts that kept him busy were a problematic case: he could not answer his own questions, but then again, he could not just ask him about them. Lance did not have to know just how clueless he was, he wanted to keep at least a little bit of dignity. That kind of determination was quickly forgotten when he saw the exit door. On its other side a silent, small street awaited them with the house a few meters away where their team was sleeping. He saw as the blue paladin was reaching for the doorknob, in an almost slow motion, oh no, he was not ready to return to reality yet-- His hand moved before his mind caught up with his own actions. He grabbed Lance's wrist and looked at his face, shit, what was he doing? Thinking about how perfect - how even more perfect - his skin was after the bath had little to do with their departure. Moreover, he was the one urging them to leave, just why could not he make up his mind?! ... "Five," he sighed in defeat and with two long steps he tried to force Lance to retreat until he had him against the door; and where he could put his hands on his shoulders to lean in close. He grasped at them as he finished his sentence. "Just five more minutes." The very same words from that morning after, that resulted in missing a breakfast and pissing off the princess, not to mention netting them a day long, rigorous training - and though Keith clearly did not notice the repetition, his eyes looked at Lance guilty; guilty of being this weak-willed and wishy-washy, but also full of adoration and amazement, with a dark shade of unmasked, instinctive want.

Just as he was about ready to reserve himself to an embarrassing and sleepless night, a hand was holding his own back from opening the door. Turning his head to glance at the knob blocker, and then up to Keith's face, he shot the other a quizzical look. There wasn't any time to ask questions, because soon enough he was sandwiched between Keith and the door - admittedly, it wasn't a bad sandwich to be in, but the reasoning behind it was no more clearer than before. Even with the smile quickly spreading across his face, he was slightly confused by the sudden turn of events. Wasn't Keith the one trying to leave in the first place? Why was he asking for five more minutes? Oh well, it's not like Lance had a problem with it, especially when he was looking at him like that. He wrapped his arms around the red paladin's waist, holding his hands together and resting them at his lower back. "Sounds good to me," he murmured, pulling Keith in a little closer to pepper a few kisses across his cheeks. Call him a sap, but moments like these are the kind that send his heart fluttering like a manic bird. He had to be careful this close to Keith, he was always on the verge of becoming an over-affectionate cat; constantly overcome with the urge to nuzzle, and kiss, and hug him so tight that his senses pick up nothing but Keith-- Apparently, he's not as careful as he should be; just as he finished the thought, he found himself buried nose deep in the crook of the other's neck, breathing in his scent like it was his first whiff of heaven. Not an inaccurate comparison, that.

He closed his eyes when he felt Lance's lips on his cheeks: he will never get tired of this, that's for sure. When the blue paladin buried his face in his neck, he dropped his right hand to his waist and placing it on the small of his back he pulled him closer. His left hand slipped between the wall and Lance, and grabbed his shoulder from behind - not only holding him but also kind of clinging onto him. This was nice. This was really nice. Even if he was on the edge with the urge of kissing, he did not force it: he could not really reach Lance's neck from there, and he did not want to move him either. He pressed his face against his hair, softly nuzzling it before simply resting his cheeks there. The more his scent filled his mind, the more peaceful it became: his breathing evened out, his posture stilled but not stiffened. He stood there like that for almost a minute before he whispered something, almost just sighing his words. "I wish you knew how great you are," he huffed with an incredulous smile on his lips. "I... I--You," he stuttered, looking for words but clearly not finding them. "You give me warm--the warmth--it's so warm," confusion took over him, apparently he himself did not really understand what he was saying. "It's so warm when I hold you," his hug tightened. What the hell he was talking about and more importantly, why? "I've never felt this before--" Okay, time to stop, now he was the one oversharing things! He will regret this tomorrow no doubt, wake up already!! This also must be terribly awkward for Lance, he did not ask for a sad bedtime story!! He did not want to hear any of this, he just stayed for a few minutes of affection, nothing more, don't ruin it. Be considerate, Keith-- "F-Forget it," he shook his head as much as he could without breaking the contact and scrunched his eyes closed. "I'm tired, just tired."

[fireisfierce-blog]

mommas-boy-lance:

     Flustered from jumping unnecessary, as well as the strong arm at his waist, Lance’s expression became almost comical– as though he were insulted and tomato-red-embarrassed all at once. Truthfully, he was hardly offended at all, but there was no way he could let anything go. Give an inch; Keith would take a mile.

     ❝What happened to not a word?❞ Whatever tiny bite his tone had eased up before the question could be finished. He found himself soothed by the kiss to his head and– oh gods…      Fingers began to massage his scalp, soothing him almost instantly. Having so many siblings and cousins back home would always leave Lance to doing most of the hair brushing, styling, and other hygienic duties for the younger ones, while the adults were busy getting breakfast ready. He was a pro– naturally– having done it for so long, but go figure, the stylist absolutely adored any form of attention to his own hair.  Which rarely happened; it was too ‘boring’ of a length to be played with.      The tickles to his scalp, even the firm pressing of Keith’s fingertips to it, had his shoulders slumped, goosebumps down his arm, and he simply lumped forward against his boyfriend’s chest. Not only in hopes the red paladin would continue doing so, but this was also the perfect way to avoid having his expression in the spotlight right now.      At this point, he’d missed so much of the movie that he didn’t necessarily care to watch it; really, he’d just wanted alone time with Keith. Lance huffed in amusement– who would have thought that just a few days ago. Needy for attention, and praying to his lucky stars that Keith wouldn’t stop, his fingers pulled a bit at the sides of the red paladin’s shirt.      ❝… Don’t stop. ‘Kay?❞ Lance whispered, turning his head (even if this position was a bit awkward) to hear the gentle th-thump of the other’s heart. A slow, sweet smile spread across his lips when he found it.  

  It seemed like Lance had a thing for his hair (was that a reason why he always called him out on his mullet?): good to know. He completely disregarded his retort for he soon calmed down afterwards and Keith was in no hurry bringing back that argument.

  His hand worked tirelessly, though it did fumble around here and there; especially when a stroke reached the edge of his hair and he had to restart elsewhere.

  He bumped his own head against the chair and looked at the screen. By this time he had no idea either what was going on, since it all started out like some kind of family drama and they were fighting a different alien race now... But however hard he tried to focus on the movie, his thoughts just kept repeating the same: ’it’s real, it’s real, it’s real—’

  The person, the thing in his arms, that is.

  These very rare moments always reminded him of the big, empty house he grew up in. His foster parents who should have been a replacement, but who barely if ever visited him; the girl in elementary school whom he could not tell about himself nor he could show her where he lived or what he liked; despite her opening up to him with the most innocent honesty and eagerness he had ever met.

  His hand ghosted down to the nape of the blue paladin’s neck, closing his eyes he buried his face in his hair and slightly hugged him tighter.

  He could not understand it why the presence of affection always made him recall the times without it. There must have been something wrong with him, he thought.

  And he did not understand it either what a gift that girl was to him until she was gone. He did not know her address or phone number to contact her once he enrolled in the Garrison, losing the only person back then who, for the same incomprehensible reason as Lance, found him worthy not to adore or hate, but to accept as he was.

  The burning in the back of his eyes sobered him and he resumed his scalp massaging, though this time he remained around and above his neck. He sure had to get his act together. He almost got sentimental, for god’s sake, what’s up with him...

  Clearing his throat he lifted his head. There was one thing that worked in this room and since Lance was visibly not interested in the movie, he was not afraid of using it.

  "Emergency mode!" he said clear and loud. The sentence in the movie was cut in half and both the screen, both the control panel behind them turned off, bringing back the absolute darkness that had befallen on them before. For a few seconds the red paladin just sat there, welcoming and enjoying the oh-so-desired silence, then, with a hum, he nuzzled against Lance's hair again.

  "Tell me about your family—?" he asked with some uncertainty in his voice. Lance was always down for talking about his siblings or his parents, but he was not sure if he wanted to share stories now.

[fireisfierce-blog]

cosmicstardreamer:

She’d let out the heartiest laugh at his ramen comment. Wow he remembered that, huh? She was forced to place a hand over her mouth to keep from going on, taking a deep breath as she steadied herself. Maybe now was a good time to bring it together again, slowly.

“Well you’re still right. My first name just means nebula. Ne-fe-lo-ma. It’s Greek. The rest of my name is a little more complicated. Ma-ri-a-ne-la. Spanish. Beloved Star. Le-o-ca-di-a. Spanish. Bright. Nefeloma Marianela Leocadia. Bright Beloved Star of the nebula. But of course all you have to remember is Neff.” She just shrugs. Another deep breath before turning back to him.

“How’d it go today? You were out for a while. Was it because you decided to look for places like this?”

She looked out into the horizon once more, eyes focusing just a bit.

“Keith….have you heard of Caelorum? Did you see it anywhere in the Altean files?”

He tried his best to engrave her full name upon his mind. It was such a fantastic name, fantastic as in being almost unbelievable: he wondered what kind of parents she had who decided on such a name. They, or at least one of them, must have loved her a lot.

For a moment, he spaced out. He never really cared about names and their meanings, but this time he again, wondered: what kind of parents he had and why did they settle on the name ‘Keith’? Did they have a sibling or a cousin who was called the same? Or did Keith mean something dear to them...?

When Neff’s tone of voice changed into a question’s, he turned his attention back to her.

“Yeah, I looked around,” he nodded. “I found a lot of berry bushes in the first hour, so I had the time.”

“Caelorum?” he asked, looking at her face. He only averted his gaze for a few seconds as he tried to recall where he saw it, since it certainly rang a bell. “There’s a folder about it, but I didn’t open it. What is it?”

He could not help it but becoming a bit tense with caution. Knowing bits of Neff’s story, he had all the reason to be careful around her: her, owning something as powerful as her dagger that transported her like a portable wormhole, must have known about other incredible tools, if not weapons.

[fireisfierce-blog]

mommas-boy-lance:

     ❝Whaaat?❞ Lance whined and wiggled half-heartedly against the hold on his face. Granted that it was currently being squished, he still couldn’t help but smile. ❝I’m not making fun of you, I just didn’t expect it! Although… my daydreams about you were really confusing back then. Heh, guess I’ll have to make new ones.❞      A pathetic thumbs up was given as his eyes closed, big-squished smile on his face. Still, Lance made it a point not to push the topic any further. Yeah, he knew he wasn’t the brightest but he knew this was all pretty new for Keith– it was obvious. Not even just with the topic of dating and physical attention, but also socially; the blue paladin did his best to take it easy on the other.      He blinked and tried to muster the cutest grin he could manage, given what was happening. ❝We don’t have to, Keith. I’m pretty sure we can just–!!!!!❞      Suddenly there was a loud explosion on the surround sound, flashing colors of red, orange and yellow blasted across the large screen. Not expecting such a thing, Lance yelped, jumping slightly before immediately clinging to Keith– he didn’t move. Cheeks turned a bright red as he realized what’d just happened and how uncool he looked.

     ❝…Not a word.❞

  Oh god, this guy seriously could not shut up, he did not want to hear what kind of daydreams he had about him—because his own ones were...

  ...He did not want to recall them, especially not now.

  Upon the explosion, his entire body was alarmed: each and every muscle tensed with readiness, his arm curled around the other’s waist in case they had to dodge something. Even though the danger was not real, his reaction was way less flashy than the Lance's, and so while he was as startled as him...

  "That's why you should watch the movie," he hummed and pressed a soft kiss on his hair. He tried to take a silent sniff of his shampoo while Lance was busy with being embarrassed, because it always drove the butterflies crazy in his stomach. So fresh and yet it pulled him down with an immerse force, down and helpless, but also closer to him...

  He still could not forget about his excitement from before (sadly that did not just come and go as he wanted to), but he settled on small, short strokes on the blue paladin’s hair, occassionally deepening the touch into a scalp massage. He wondered if the latter was as welcomed as the simple hair pet he gave him before, but now Lance had something to busy himself with, so Keith had the opportunity and the time to test out new things on him.

[fireisfierce-blog]

cosmicstardreamer:

The events happened rather quickly for her.

She felt strange enough being assigned to Keith and Red of everyone in the bunch. Not because they didn’t get along, no it was obvious she very much cared for him. Even he might have realized that the first day they met after his awakening with the way she hugged him so tightly despite knowing he wasn’t very fond of them.

After that things seemed…..so much more different. She wasn’t sure if it was for better or worse, especially between the two of them. He didn’t change but at the same time he did. There were times where she looked at him and she wasn’t sure which Keith she was looking at.

And especially when he comes running at her and scooping her up with but the smallest warning to who-knows-where does he make her the most confused. When he seems able to smile so greatly around her for whatever reason. He did say that he’d like for them to start over and be friends but…..she also remembered him saying it wasn’t going to be so simply done.

So why did it seem like it was?

One moment she was clinging to him, yelling because she hadn’t yet caught up with what had just happened, and by the time she did she felt like she was falling for a moment before her feet were planted back on the ground. It was a good thing they’d given her a suit to wear. She wouldn’t have nearly as much traction in her usual sneakers. When her thoughts had caught up with her she looked up and out to where he was pointing.

An N, huh?

The smile came slowly, slight pink tinting her cheeks.

“I suppose it does.”

Neff walks over to where Keith stands, tilting her head just a bit.

“It’s beautiful! Thanks for bringing me here.” Her smile was much bigger when she turned to look at him. “I’m glad….that you thought about me. I think I remember telling you what my name means. Do you remember? This is pretty accurate when you think about it.” Her eyes, too, sparkled as she stared at the sight before her. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of sights like this. For some reason it feels like home.”

She clenches a hand to her heart and takes a deep breath. 

“I wonder if it’s because of her?”

He was expecting a reaction something like this, so his smile widened as he looked up to the sky. Since he did not notice Neff was watching him, he did not make eye-contact with her and just kept staring at the stars.

"Uh, yeah, it was..." It was a horribly long name, but it also had something with stars. "It was something of a... a nebula? A nebula of..."

The moment he tried to put her name together he remembered the rest of their conversation.

"A nebula of something surely not a ramen place," he chuckled. He still could not believe there was a ramen place with the name Kogane. He thought his family name was pretty cool until she pointed it out. One more memorable part of their relationship.

"I forgot, sorry. What was it, again?" he added soon after in a rather honest way, he did not try to play it cool. Her question, however, took him by surprise. Was not Fenn a guy? What did she mean by 'her'? He should not pry though, he warned himself, he brought her here to enjoy the scenery. He decided to let that go and stay on the topic of names instead—it seemed to be a safe option to go with.

[fireisfierce-blog]

It had been ten days since he decided it would be better without Lance, and four since his progress skyrocketed. His most visible achievement was his "level up" in close-combat training: Allura let him fight stronger bots than before, something only Shiro could (and was allowed to) do in the team. Needless to say, he was more than satisfied with himself, finally all that hard work and consistent practicing paid off.

There was something off between him and Lance though, that much Neff could have seen—but then again, Keith was extremely careful around the others to keep their secret to themselves, and the only thing that changed between the two paladins (publicly) was that Keith did not get mad at him anymore.

...That many times.

The team stopped by an almost uninhabited planet. Only one part of it was populated, but since that race lived underwater and had a much less civilized culture, they decided against contacting them. Instead, the landed on the other half of the planet with the intention of getting food.

It was not a difficult task at first: Coran directed them around what was edible and what was poisonous. However, the surface mostly consisted of lakes, some of them as wide as an ocean, but each and every being freshwater and abundant of aquatic plants; they were spiked with rocky cliffs and tall hills, but no forests whatsoever. Animals, if they had ever seen one, were either birds or insects and bugs: the lands were devoid of mammals and reptiles, the biggest creature they saw was something like an ostrich—but as soon as it noticed them, it dropped off all its feathers and fled into the ocean.

By nighttime almost everyone returned to the castle save for Keith and, because she was assigned to him and his lion, Neff. The red paladin sure took his time, he cancelled his training plans today. Apart from collecting food, he was secretly having the time of his life. Even if the lands were not connected, he used his jetpack to jump between them. Once, when nobody (or so he thought) was watching him, he tried to catch a bird something like an astrapia: he caught its long tail, but it immediately slipped out of his fingers, and, surprised by his failure, he just barely avoided landing in the water.

He returned to the lion in a small side valley, where Neff waited for him, but he approached her running. He did not state any kind of problem over their radio, so his hurry must have stroke her strange: even stranger, when he, not even bothering with stopping crouched down next to her.

"I have to show you something!" he said with a big, excited smile on his face. Grabbing her below her knees and curling an arm around her waist, with a loud thump he jumped off the cliff with her.

After a few seconds of a fall he activated his jetpack again and shoot up, aiming at a particularly tall hill-peak—or was it a mountain, there was no ground-level on this planet to measure it. He never carried anyone like this before, but his hands were strong and safe, he held her without a single shake or a flinch.

When he landed, far away from the oceans' bright, bioluminiscent surface, they found themselves in an almost pitch-black darkness.

"Look!" He put her down on her feet, probably in a bigger rush and more roughly than he should have done so, and once he took off his helmet, he pointed upwards.

Without any kind of light source, the sky above them welcomed the galaxy in its own colours. Shining in a faint blue and lilac hue, just like a meadow of candytufts, hundreds of stars dotted the scenery, forming a pleasant chaos. A tight set of stars clamped together into one big ray of light, just like back on Earth, the Milky Way: but here, the line was much curvier, it almost looked like...

"An N!!"

A very crooked one, to be fair.

Keith was feeling like standing at the edge of the world, and he was not far from the truth. All around them an endless abyss gaped at them, and the horizon was so far that the waters' dim gleaming was but a memory than a sight. All the other peaks were just small, bent old men compared to their Goliath, and they only had a few meters of land under their feet, pushing them into the ever-imminent danger of falling down.

However, the red paladin did not mind any of these: with his helmet under his armpit, his eyes, sparkling with thrill and anticipation at her reaction, were fixated on her.

[fireisfierce-blog]

mommas-boy-lance:

     Seeing as Keith wasn’t shoving him off right away, panic lost the terrible bit it’d initially had on him. Lance’s posture loosened up and he allowed the attention he was being given, however– in spite of the issue of the lingering evidence of him being turned on– the blue paladin’s focus was was hardly on anything below his belt. Everything was focused on Keith’s words, his expressions, and how on edge he looked.      Well, on a scale of one to ten, because Keith almost always looked on edge.      Hearing his boyfriend describe everything as ‘awesome’ brought a smile to his face, his expression warming up as a brow arched in interest, but then– then something amazing happened. All in one magical moment, everything changed from this point on.

     HOT. Not even just hot, but Keith thought he was too damned hot. And ‘good’ no, ‘better than imagined.’ So the red paladin had thought about him for a long time, imagined something like this– maybe even more?! Lance couldn’t help but bite his lower lip as he tried to suppress a big fat grin on his face. It hardly worked.      Oh shit, Keith looked like he was going to burst, but then all Lance saw was a lovely view of his shoulder. He couldn’t help but chuckle warmly as he tried to hug his boyfriend closer.       ❝Aw, c’mon Keith! I can’t forget it now,❞ he whined, smiling into Keith’s shoulder as he wiggled excitedly. Lance peppered a few kisses, trying not to chuckle again, as he reassured the other unable to help but wonder what else his boyfriend might’ve thought about. ❝I thought about you too, y’know! Lots of times! I mean, it was pretty confusing for me, not gonna lie, but I did– Hey! If I tell you something I thought about, would you tell me one back~?❞      Lips pursed in interest as he tried to pull back and get a look at Keith’s expression, wiggling a bit in excitement. Keith Kogane thought about him in possibly compromising ways. Still, he didn’t push this any further, gently rubbing the red paladin’s back firmly, up and down, to try and relax him.

  How much he wanted to wipe off that smug expression from his face, but not even a punch would have helped him. He was way too honest with him, again: he wished he would have just laughed it off and then they got back to the movie.

  Things were not this easy, however.

  The hand on his back felt really nice and he would have got use to it very soon, only if the blue paladin was not talking.

  Lance was having thoughts of him?! Absurd! He was just making this up. Lance did not even question his interest in women before, how come he...

  ...But then it also meant he was thinking of him rather than other women...

  "Hell no!!" he almost shouted into his face. Is this guy a total idiot, he would not just go and discuss it... Discuss it with him! His resolution was firm, though he could not help his curiosity what Lance found exciting—but not now, not now.

  He cupped his cheeks with both hands and squeezed his face. For a second he regretted having gloves on, because his skin was incredibly nice to the touch, but he did not waver, not until Lance stopped making fun of him. That stupid smugness on his stupid features, he wanted to get rid of it so badly...

  And he was ready to wipe it off by sheer force.

[fireisfierce-blog]

mommas-boy-lance:

Stop.      Lance’s body was quickly paralyzed by the word. Though his initial response was to move back and give his boyfriend as much space as necessary, Keith seemed to want him close, given the hug he found himself in. There was no secret of how much want his body had for the red paladin– it betrayed him by displaying this quite obviously; however, he wasn’t an animal. Immediately, the sudden panic erased that warm, dense fog he’d lost himself in and regained control. Something was off.      While Lance knew that he wasn’t going to go very far with things– just shower the other with kisses and physical contact, he realized… Maybe even that was too much for Keith at this point. How could he have been so careless? Mentally, he began to scold himself for not being more verbally reassuring as to where he’d stop things, or hearing Keith out about these things.  Dammit. Dammit!      He shut his eyes tight and shook his head, continuing to criticize his own actions and how he’d lacked more responsible ones, but Keith’s panting snapped him out of this. Shit, right– he definitely needed to make sure things were okay first. Mentally bashing himself over his own carelessness could wait for later.       With a light hesitant touch, Lance reached up to cup his cheek so he could meet his gaze. Keith’s small trembles and shakes were relayed through to his body, and he couldn’t help but whine. A sudden, heavy guilt weighed in the pit of his stomach.       ❝K-Keith, you– Are you okay?❞ He spoke as soothingly as he could manage, trying his best to hide the edge of panic in his voice. ❝I’m sorry! I wouldn’t have gone any further, I swear! I just really wanted to kiss you, and then touching you was awesome, so I–❞      A louder whine spilled from his lips as his hands fell to his lap, held tilted back as embarrassment hit him hard. Shit. Lance regained his composure, as best he could while suffering from high doses of want, embarrassment, and guilt. Oh, wait– did he forget to mention he was a bit scared? What an excellent mixture of things to experience all at once!      ❝I should’ve asked first, man… I’m sorry,❞ he said, waiting for the other’s response to gauge whether or not a nuzzle of reassurance was the best move. Seconds seemed to take far longer than usual, making his wait for Keith’s response almost unbearable. Lance tried not to squirm under the pressure that time put on him; gods, he hoped he hadn’t fucked up too badly.

  "No, don't worry—"

  A lopsided smile curled up towards the cupping hand. Lance was so ho precious with all this panicking, god: he was so considerate. Though Keith could not really understand why the blue paladin kept asking him if he was 'okay' whenever he was clearly 'not okay', but it might have been just a quirk of him—he did not want to point it out so he would keep doing it because it was, in a way, rather adorable.

  His hand moved up on his back with a gentle stroke, fingers splayed. Did he say 'damned' jacket before? He definitely meant 'godsend' jacket, he was grateful for not feeling the muscles under his palm. With a glad, though still way too excited sigh he hugged him closer. That definitely did not help him calming down his lower half, but boy, did it feel awesome.

  "It's just—" Let's try again, now with taking a breath before talking. "It's awesome, it is," he chuckled, the guilt on Lance's face was simply unbelievable and he just wanted to kiss it o—

  "Why do you keep apologizing, huh; when you're just too damn hot," he closed his eyes, letting his face rest in Lance's hand. "So hot and good at this, much more than I've ever imagined you'd—"

  Full stop.

  'Oh. My. GOD.'

  This was not happening to him!! It was one thing to be honest with him, right, but telling him he had those kind of thoughts about him multiple times?! When the subject of such fantasies were straddling him and trying to console him? No—doing it at any time of his life would be a horrible choice, just why did he do it?!

  He did not dare to open his eyes: if anything, he shut them even tighter. He bit his lower lip, and in the very next second he cupped the back of Lance's head and pulled his face into his shoulder. His own cheeks were either painted in a ghastly paleness or in the deepest crimson of embarrassment: either way, Lance could not see it, he would not have survived it.

  "Forget it—" he breathed with a faint trace of a whine in his voice.

  Where was the Galra when one needed them?!

[fireisfierce-blog]

mommas-boy-lance:

     The reaction from Keith’s intense attention to his neck was instant; posture stiffened, fingers gripped a bit harder on his boyfriend’s hair and his thumb pressed into his hipbone, and his brows knit together in a delicious sort of frustration. Lance wanted to both burst under these affections and retaliate at the same time. Whether to bow down and take it, or attack– he couldn’t decide.      ❝No.❞ Contrary to Lance’s response, a small pleading whine needed to be choked off; he bit his lower lip hard, but it was too late. His fingers moved the smallest bit of Keith’s shirt out of the way, just so he could feel a bit of warm skin at the hemline of those–…. well, he couldn’t decide if they were pants or jeggings, but right now he couldn’t care less.      This was new. Always– always– he’d been the one to lead this sort of dance with girls he’d dated in the past. Did they get adventurous sometimes? Sure, but never consistently and never like anything Lance imagined the red paladin could very well be capable of. The thought alone made him whine again, but these sorts of musings and having his eyes shut left him wide open…

Keep reading

  No victory felt this much of a loss before. The moment Lance's hands found their way to his skin and he finally sat on his lap, his breathing hitched. It felt amazing—it felt incredible, it was nothing like he imagined. Lance—Lance; was entirely different than he thought. He basically had Keith in the palm of his hand, and the worst part? He did not mind it, not even a bit.

  The moment their eyes met he knew it was too much, yet he did not say anything to make it stop. It was too good to have any rationality in this situation and he was not really trying hard either. Drunken with his touch he leaned back against the chair, shut his eyes and just gave himself over to the kisses. Beautiful. Unbelievable. Perfect. That is, his boyfriend. From the pit of his stomach up to his throat, his entire body twisted in an enticing pain, frustration and want slowly eating him away. An agony he never felt before, but soon grew addicted to it.

  Until.

  Until that roll and the bite.

  Lance should not have done that.

  His lips parted and, compared to the previous, quiet noises he made, a particularly loud moan left him.

  "Stop—stop," he pleaded, leaving the blue paladin's waist and hugging him close through the jacket.

  He was awfully aware how excited he got—he barely felt any other spots on his body save for his groin—and the pressure he gave him there was unbearable. The pleasure that ran through his entire self, upon just one touch; it scattered his thoughts and promised him many more, better things to come.

  But all that with Lance? He could not take that—he could not do that. He could not even breathe properly. The shallow panting was just a poor attempt for keeping his consciousness, one that might have worked now but not for long. His entire body was shaking, both with anticipation and weakness. He wanted the release, but not now, not with him.

  'Carried away' was not even close to what happened here. It was more like a 'Lance destroyed him' case. What a guy, Jesus—Keith could not move even if he wanted to. The only thing his body was able to do (besides shaking like a newborn deer) was clinging to the other paladin, like he was something as vital to him as air.

  In that moment, he felt like one—he felt like he lost to him, and he almost hated himself for it.

[fireisfierce-blog]

mommas-boy-lance:

     This wasn’t his first rodeo. So, when Lance’s entire being began to come alive, every fiber of it screaming for more and more touches like the one to his back, he knew exactly where his body’s GPS had its destination set. Thankfully, there was a smile pressed to his lips, and he couldn’t help but return it, fingers weaving and tugging slightly on dark hair.       A low, breathy chuckle was given as he felt playful, moving forward to give a gentle bite to Keith’s lower lip with the tiniest of tugs before letting it slip from his teeth. Unable to help himself, he stole another kiss, their lips brushing together in an oddly sloppy-perfection as he tasted Keith once more. Lance opened his eyes and felt more out of breath than he had just moments ago. Gods, he was stunning; almost unreal looking with the colors from the movie playing across his pale skin.       Being on the same wavelength as his boyfriend, he could sense the playfully competitive air thickening between them and Lance couldn’t help a smirk. He stared into amethyst eyes, that ever-cocky expression as he defiantly pushed his hips up against Keith’s hand. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to sit down on what was definitely the best seat in the house, in his opinion, but that it wouldn’t be any fun to do so without a ‘fight.’

❝What’s the rush, Keith?❞ Lance spoke in hushed tones, playful but not to the point of fighting; there was no way in hell he wanted to jeopardize the position they found themselves in. Just a gentle nudge to the fire to make it more interesting, more them; dammit, he was so hopelessly addicted already.

  Hearing his name in this tone of voice definitely did things to him. The butterflies in his stomach was not his greatest concern anymore—they were already out of control. The problem was that he was on the brink of losing his thoughts as well, something that was amazing when it came to piloting, but when it came to another person? Not so much.

  He figured Lance was either tired or bored of the kiss, but Keith was anything but done. It was difficult to leave his lips, especially after what they had done to his—those tugs were almost intoxicating—but he had to. With a small peck in the corner of his mouth, he lowered his face to his neck and pressed a much firmer and hungrier kiss on it than before.

  "You scared?" he asked in a low hum. What a joke, he was scared, scared of screwing up something here, but admitting it? Hell would freeze before that. His kisses trailed up to his ear and down to his collarbone, he tried to cover as much skin as he could; yet he kept it slow and intense, as if he wanted to make sure he tasted him on every spot thoroughly.

  Both of his hands disappeared from him for a few seconds, but then a leathery touch was felt on Lance's waist: slipping under his shirt the red paladin grabbed the skin on both sides, urging him to get on his lap already. It was the worst plan he had so far, but he wanted a contact, and not only between their chests; he wanted to feel Lance's arms and belly and thighs and...

  That... just for a moment or two...

  The fingertips of his right hand ghosted up to the small of his back yet again as if they had already missed it—and boy, did it felt incredible without the stupid shirt standing in his way?—, but his palm soon returned to that enticing curve on his side. His scent filled his nose and deepened his breathing, how was he able to sleep yesterday without this?

  Or on a more important note, will he be able to stop now?

[fireisfierce-blog]

mommas-boy-lance:

     Ocean eyes popped open at their initial contact, not expecting a kiss at all– at least not one that he himself hadn’t initiated, but all at once he was dragged down into it. Lance closed them once more and shifted his weight, with great care, to better position himself for this. That hand by Keith’s bellybutton now ventured bravely to his waist, the other cupping the back of his neck where black hair found itself twined between his fingers.       Dammit, moving was insanely awkward, but he finally– finally– accomplished being able to have his knees on either side of Keith, to which he celebrated this position almost instantly. Now, with his full attention on their kiss, Lance inhaled through his nose and rolled his back as he rose upward, higher than the red paladin to overpower it all. He loved this rush that took over when they touched– kissing took it to a level that was out of this solar system.      Their chests rubbed together in a contact that had his mouth parting from the feel of it, a small bit of air coming in before he sealed this back up to devour Keith’s mouth more thoroughly. A low groan slipped out into Keith’s mouth as he finally was getting exactly what’d plagued his mind since yesterday– Lance had been wondering just how he could get this going again, how they could keep merging fire and ice over, and over, and over again.      Oh, how he melted under it all, but still came back for more. His thighs ached from how he held himself in a slightly raised position, but he ignored it to satisfy that delicious curl of heat and train engine of a heart that was pumping away in his chest. Fingers curled into hair; against the softness of Keith’s hip. Gods he wanted to get lost again and again like this.

  If Lance had done the same with him in anything else than this, he would have been mad: but here? An unfamiliar heat boiled up his blood and his fingers were burning with an indescribable want—he wanted to touch his back again, and he did not hesitate to do so: his hand left his waist he slipped it under his jacket yet again, venturing down to the small of his back.

  He tore away from the blue paladin's lips to let out a satisfied sigh and to catch his shaky breath. Looking up to him was definitely a bad idea in this situation, it made his heart skip a beat, but gosh—Lance was beautiful: in a powerful, handsome and thrilling way, that is. How he wished he could have seen this figure towering above him without the shirt...

  A terrible direction! His hand gripped at his back but then hungry for more, he kneaded his way upwards, pressing and squeezing whatever he could take. But when his hand reached the middle his shoulder-blades, he stopped advancing. Instead, he slid it down to his waist and firmly grabbing it he tried to bring him down on his lap. He leaned ahead, trying to fight back—to challenge him? Whatever it was, a sudden rush of competitiveness took over him and a cocky smile joined their kiss, wiping the remaining embarrassment off his face.

[fireisfierce-blog]

mommas-boy-lance:

     A low, happy hum was the only sound he made. Lance closed his eyes once more to give Keith a break from the spotlight after seeing such strong reactions. There was an intense pleasing kind of warmth that spread through his chest, to know that he’d made his boyfriend react in this way after showing his adoration through simple kisses.       Did he want to kiss him? Badly, however, he didn’t want the red paladin to have a heart attack. Instead, he reached for Keith’s shoulder with his freehand to try and have a small, albeit awkward hold on him as well.       ❝You okay?❞ Lance asked this in a low voice, even though there was nobody around them and the only sounds were from the movie filling the room.       He didn’t want to rush this, there was no need to– not when every moment was already so significant and sparked such intense feelings inside of himself. Lance could only compare it to the gleeful abandon and adrenaline rush he felt when surfing through the tunnel of a wave; it was just one of a kind.

  "Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine," he repeated for no logical reason. "What else do I look to you?"

  He realized he should not have asked this question, but only when it was too late: with an irritated huff, he leaned ahead and pressed a kiss on his lips before he could laugh at him or say anything.

  Wait, did he just—

  Did he just shut him up with a kiss?! Wow, talk about stupid brave. A shiver ran down his spine, okay, well, now he had to go with this plan, there was no backing out. He cupped the back of Lance's head with his right hand and pulled him in for another one, one intended to be much longer.

  Nice. It was not as good as the one he got, but it was still pretty amazing, since it was with Lance: he closed his eyes and let himself get lost in the sensation. Real. Real. This was all real, yesterday was not a dream—

[fireisfierce-blog]

mommas-boy-lance:

     With a faint blush Lance tucked his chin, not even set off by the little chuckle. How could he be when he not only knew about how ridiculous his outburst had been, but also the fact he was being given such sweet, soft affections? Keith’s warm sigh against his scalp instantly worked in beginning to relax the tension he’d been holding in his shoulders.       ❝Already cool, huh?❞ Lance couldn’t help but grin at him, his biggest ‘rival’ thought he was cool. The smile took on a warmer tone as he closed his eyes, long dark lashes brushing the tops of his cheeks.       The hand closest to Keith reached to touch his chest, trailing down absentmindedly and he realized– yeah, the red paladin had muscle there but there was a give to it. He felt soft, warm; fingers curled to grip at the soft fabric by Keith’s bellybutton. For some reason this made him smile.

     Lance blinked when he felt hot breath against his head once more, a breathy chuckle left him at those words. It was so ridiculously honest and charming, his lips pulled into a boyish smile as a more audible snicker left him at the kisses that tickled his neck. Shit, that felt great but he was so sensitive there, it took an effort to keep from wiggling a bit.      ❝Everybody is bad at kissing to start– except me,❞ he joked, finally turning his head to look at Keith, their noses touching. ❝You’re lucky I’m a good teacher.❞      Ever the one for image, in spite of them being so close, Lance winked before pulling back to kiss the tip of Keith’s nose. ❝And we have plenty–❞ A kiss under his right eye… ❝Of time–❞ Under the left…      ❝To practice–❞ The space between his brows, but then they were nose to nose all over again; blue bore into violet as Lance’s voice came just above a whisper. ❝I’m a pretty dedicated professor.❞

  The hand on his chest woke him up in many ways: he shivered yet he felt very hot, induced only by a mere touch! His grip eased up and he put his palm on his waist, still just holding him instead of exploring his side. This was some kind of magic, Lance must have been some kind of magic, what the hell, he did not even flirt with guys before and now...

  His laughter dismissed his thoughts and made him crack a smile. When he turned his face towards him, he raised his head to meet his gaze.

  Even if Lance was joking about his technique, Keith was somehow sure he was always good at kissing. Just think about the one he received yesterday...

  And the ones he was receiving now!!

  He sat there absolutely dumbfounded and by the time the blue paladin finished his tour, his cheeks were redder than his lion: his eyes opened wide, his teeth gritted in utter embarrassment. His heart must have been beating two hundred a minute and if his cheeks did not catch on fire, then they would sure do in any second. He wanted to say something half a minute ago, but he did not only forget that, he also forgot about himself. So, stay strong and invincible and self-confident in front of him, more than you actually are, right?

  Well, good luck with that.

[fireisfierce-blog]

mommas-boy-lance:

     Crap.      Lance looked over Keith’s expression and instantly regretted the rather large amount of word vomit he’d just dumped everywhere. He wanted to cover his face up and hide, as though this would restore everything he’d done to create this cool, hip image of himself. To appear as though he were the kind of person others wanted to either be, be with, or both.       And he’d done nothing but tear all his hard work over the years down, make Keith confused, possibly ruined their date– and for what? The fact Lance was so used to being on top in situations, the star, the guy with all the answers? But the moment he felt unsure of himself, shy, and that with Keith things were so different– he just froze up??      His head hung low as he sighed heavily, but he ran a hair over his hair and sat back up to meet his boyfriend’s gaze once more. This needed to stop now. Maybe the reason things were going so terribly with his nerves was because he didn’t want Keith to only see him the way everybody else did…  Maybe– maybe– he just needed to be what was underneath all those layers of trying so hard. Double crap.      ❝I-I’m sorry, Keith. You’re not doing anything wrong, I’m just,❞ Lance sighed again, biting his lower lip for a moment as he thought of the best way to admit to such silly things. ❝This means a lot to me, y’know? I don’t want to mess it up. I’m sure the movie is great, but I can’t… I just wanna focus on you, I guess. Heh, never thought I’d be saying something like that to you.❞ Definitely not a year ago…      Suddenly, the memory of them meeting back at the Garrison came to mind, when Keith hardly paid any attention at all to the former-cargo pilot, and he couldn’t help but squint, a tiny smirk playing on his lips. Man, Keith was going to be trouble; the kind of trouble that led to something more permanent, genuine; long-lasting. He felt his heart flip a bit at the mere idea of something like this.

  He gave probably the worst reaction ever he could open with: he chuckled, almost laughed out loud. He leaned towards him and curling his arms around his waist and shoulder, he turned him and dragged him onto his lap with one strong move, hugging him sideways. This was anything but an ideal kissing position, since Keith had the blue paladin's ear against his face, but kissing was not on his mind now: he nuzzled his hair with a small sigh, as if the laughter tired him out.

  "That's much better. What's up with all the nonsense of being cool? You're already cool," he hummed in an almost giddy tone.

  Lance’s words from before just kicked in: he was described as a beautiful savage, and someone uncultured in his eyes. Yet he did not consider any of these particularly offending. Lance wanted to teach him about things he never or barely had before, he wanted to show tell how he grew up, he wanted to show his world: this kind of caring was incredible. It was more embarrassing than the fact Lance was only thinking about kissing him in the past few minutes (which was no trivial thing to begin with) and this is why Keith decided to bury his face in his hair, which, surprise surprise, only made the butterflies in his stomach even crazier.

  He should seriously think before doing anything on a whim.

  His hug was loose and his hands balled up into fists. Now he had a boyfriend in his arms he had absolutely no idea what to do with, but whose warmth raised his pulse with each passing second. All he knew was that he loved his scent: Lance's handmade, alien skincare stuff dulled their soap's aggressive, mint-like freshness, and though Keith could not compare it to anything, he could and did recognize it anywhere and anytime.

  Somewhere along the line he closed his eyes, focusing on Lance with his entire body. He excited him and calmed his nerves at the same time, something he was sure was impossible to do. The more he just sat there the worse this ambivalence became and so he decided to talk—though his voice came out less playful and a bit muffled since he was reluctant to pull away from his hair.

  "I'm bad at kissing, so just do it if you want to do it—" He paused. There came an idea what to do, it might cheer up the blue paladin. He lowered his head a bit, not much since Lance was taller than him and sitting on his lap: he licked his lips—did they really feel chapped?—and pressed a few, hesitant kisses on the side of his neck. It was so soft; probably softer than how he imagined it when he fantasized about him. Before he could help it, a low, satisfied grunt escaped his lips: this was no fantasy anymore, this was the real one.

[fireisfierce-blog]

mommas-boy-lance:

     ❝WOAHWOAHWOAH– hang on! You’re gonna look at me like that as your answer? I’m trying to learn what I can about you– you know: holding your hand, planning dates when we’re cruising around space in a castle, trying to act like I’m not about to shoot out into space myself when you touch me, and I can’t even focus on the movie. I mean, I’m so focused on you I don’t want to watch…❞      Lance squinted at the screen as though it were offensive, waving his hand in a circular motion as he tried to think up the words. ❝Whatever we’re watching. Honestly? I can’t even tell you what it’s about, or if it even has anybody with red hair in it! ‘Cause I wanna hold your hand, and learn about how uncultured you are with things like s’mores and– other stuff I grew up on, so I can remember to show you those things when we get home. And–❞      A frustrated noise left him as he felt like he would burst if he didn’t admit what’d really been weighing heavily on his mind the past few minutes. He leaned forward, getting into Keith’s face with his brows furrowed– if only to know he had his attention. And maybe because he foolishly believed that if his boyfriend were staring at him while he said this, he wouldn’t actually somehow fly out into space.      ❝I’m trying to be cool here– Lance the man. Dating Extraordinaire, the Mind Blower, You Don’t Need Dreams Baby ‘Cause I Make Them All Come True! But here I am, sitting next to you, feeling like I’m New York City’s power plant and nothing cool is coming to mind to say. And all because I’m trying to kiss you, and then just when I thought it was gonna happen–❞      Lance blushed; hard. Strawberries, fire engines, Clifford the Big Red FLIPPING DOG all paled in comparison to his cheeks as the reality of what he’d just said sunk in. Whatever; he’d own it at this point.      ❝Beautiful savage,❞ he muttered, looking defiantly in Keith’s eyes. Yeah, so he said the truth. AND WHAT?! ❝Letting go of my hand like that, just– I wanna hold your biker.. chic hands and kiss you, even if you need to take better care of your lips with chapstick… because– UGH. Whatever, because I really just want this kind of stuff with you! The whole 50 yards on the flipping gay-field!❞

  Now that was a verbal overdose.

  He involuntarily leaned back with eyes widened as Lance just poured everything on him. Woah, hey there, did he mess up this much? And the things he was saying...

  By the time he finally ran out of words and silence settled in, he could feel his heart throbbing in his throat so violently he wondered if it really left his chest. For a while he wanted to answer with an angry retort: but as the blue paladin progressed with his small speech, his frustration dried up and plain embarrassment and awkwardness took its place.

  So... There was a lot to answer here.

  But what if he said something stupid again and got a round two??

  'Is my voice still working?' he wondered. Well, even if it comes out as a whine, he had to try, squinting did not seem to be an acceptable answer anymore...

  "I-I don't understand you." He stuttered. Amazing. He locked eyes with him, though it was really difficult to speak like that. "You wanted to watch movies so badly, and now it annoys you—?"

  It was probably not the best problem to address first.

[fireisfierce-blog]

mommas-boy-lance:

     Lance looked over hearing him speak finally. Sapphire met amethyst with this new adrenaline-rush-drug-of-choise and he felt so alive and attentive just meeting Keith’s gaze. Holy shit.      Kissing! Get ready lips! They were definitely going to get some action here, and he couldn’t wait for the moment their mouths would meet again. No longer would they just be used for verbal competitions– no. They’d found another– better– use for them! No yelling, anger, or falling head-first into desert sands involved at all! Nope~! Just–

     Eyes narrowed to a squint as he realized what his boyfriend’s hand was doing, gaze flickering from Keith’s lap where they rested, up to those stupid gorgeous eyes again, and back. What the hell. What the–       This was definitely not in the program for what he thought was going to happen. And why was Keith so smooth about it?! Lance’s squinting intensified, much like his emotions.      ❝What’cha doin’ there, Keith.❞      More like Keith-ruiner-of-everything; that was totally the perfect set up for a kiss they had going there! SO. CLOSE. Lance felt all this rush of excitement and emotion bubble up, that it suddenly seemed as though he’d burst without an outlet for it. So, why the heck was breaking contact such a good idea?! Wasn’t Keith stoked too?!       Dammit, maybe he was being too eager.

  Why did not he say anything? A minute ago he was giving him a mini presentation on the flu-sounding sweet, he certainly wanted to continue that, but now he was...

  ...

  Letting go of his hand was not the right answer.

  Shit. Shit, shit, shit—

  He probably never sweated this hard in his life, this was not supposed to happen. What was a date anyways and why would he know what to do and when?!

  He had to do something. Say something. Or both. Or neither. Come on, come on—

  He pressed his lips together, eyes squinting with defiance. His fluster painted his cheeks red, which he was aware of: and it just made his stubbornness even worse. There was no way he would admit he messed it up—he did not even know what he messed up!—and there was absolutely no way he would apologize for it.

  But it was not like he had anything better to say instead either...

[fireisfierce-blog]

mommas-boy-lance:

     Ocean eyes squinted over at Keith as he realized his date was now actually watching the movie. Was that what they’d come to do, and worked really hard to get things going? Yeah. Was Lance also sort of bummed by the fact?  … Maybe.      Naturally, he wondered why. Sure, the blue paladin was a fool for attention– especially love. It wasn’t uncommon for him to pull off the most ridiculous of stunts, dance moves, or one-liners to receive praise, attention and love from friends and family. But he found himself fidgeting a bit closer to Keith, their shoulders touching now, and that familiar satisfying electric feeling shot through his system.      Yup, that was it. This was his new addiction and he was absolutely hooked. Touching Keith was apparently incredible– if only he’d known this all along! To think of what they could have gotten away with at the Garrison, had he just put his own guns down. S’mores, normal Earth dates, and the sneaking out on the roof to kiss under the stars…      A small groan left him as he thought about that, his toes curled and uncurled. Kissing. That sounded like a flipping excellent idea right about now, but Keith was talking about something with red hair. Shit, he’d been looking at the screen but realized he wouldn’t be able to answer a god damned thing about what was happening on it.      ❝I, uh–❞ Lance pursed his lips and turned his head marginally, peeping over to Keith out of the corner of his eye.

  His breathing hitched when their shoulders met, did Keith just—ah, no, it was Lance. Wait. It was Lance.

  Red paladin or not, he could feel his neck burning. It was getting to be impossible to focus on the movie, even though Lance wanted them to watch it, but how could he when he was... He was there?!

  "You, uh?" he asked, slowly turning his gaze to him. He did it, he could look at him, good job Keith, you are amazing, you were not an ace pilot for nothing. Was Lance even watching his movie? Or was he pissed off because he did not share his enthusiasm about the s'mores? Maybe the latter.

  ...Or did he just realize he stole his hand? He totally forgot about it: he slowly lifted his left hand from it and let it rest on his right palm, and at the same time, letting it go.