how did lance propose to keith in that anti soulmate au?
HMMMMMM… Probably something like this:
He stirs awake, slowly but surely, from the familiar press of soft lips to his chin, his jawline, the length of his exposed neck, his –
“Mmf,” Keith grunts, but there’s no real threat there. Just a sleepy noise of contentment, a lazy morning greeting.
But it makes Lance chuckle, and Keith feels it blowing hot against his skin. “You’ve always had such a way with words, babe.”
Another unintelligible grumble, paired with the smallest of frowns, which Lance promptly kisses away, swift and featherlight.
“Think you can open your eyes for me, handsome?”
Keith tries. His eyelids creak open like they swing on rusty hinges, and he’s rewarded with the blurry sight of Lance, laying so close that all Keith can really see is blue. Soft blue, shimmery blue, blue for miles and miles. He blinks through the veil of sunlight that pours in from the windows, bathing Lance in a golden glow, making him look downright ethereal, and – oh.
“M’dreaming,” mumbles Keith, definitive, even as his fingertips reach out to trace the faint constellation of freckles smattered across the bridge of Lance’s nose – like he just can’t help himself.
“Not anymore,” Lance scrunches his nose delicately beneath the touch. “But, uh… If this ends up backfiring in a horrible way, then maybe we can just chalk it all up to that, anyway.”
“Man, Shiro’s gonna kill me. He and Adam spent days helping me plan everything.”
“For the record, it wasn’t supposed to go like this. I was gonna take you out tonight – somewhere nice. And bring you flowers, and walk you home. But then I woke up, and took one look at you, here, in my bed, looking all… ugh. And then I couldn’t wait until tonight. I couldn’t wait another second – I just got too excited. So basically this is all your fault for being so goddamn irresistible…”
“Lance,” says Keith. “What’re you –”
“Don’t freak out,” Lance tells him again, but, this time, there’s a small velvet box sitting in the center of Lance’s palm.
And Keith freaks out. Just a little.
“Lance –” he rasps, eyes going huge, bedsheets rustling as he squirms within them.
“I know, I know,” Lance cedes, and cups the side of Keith’s face with his unoccupied hand, as if to soothe. As if to tether him back down to solid ground. “Maybe it’s kinda crazy. I mean, this whole thing’s kinda crazy, y’know? But it’s what I want. You’re it for me, okay?”
A mighty breath rushes out of Keith’s lips so fiercely that it makes his lungs rattle.
And then Lance is saying, eyes bright and sunlit, “I can’t make a lot of promises ‘cause – well, ‘cause I don’t know what’s gonna happen, Keith. I really don’t. No matter how hard we try and no matter how many wishes we make, whatever’s gonna happen is gonna happen.”
Keith can feel his pulse throbbing inside his throat, and his cheeks glowing so pink that he thinks it must burn Lance’s hand, scorching to the bone, but he doesn’t move. A gentle thumb swipes under Keith’s eyes, which have gone embarrassingly glossy in such a short amount of time.
And Lance just smiles, and says, “So I’ll tell you what I can promise.”
“I promise to do everything I can to make you stupidly happy.”
He kisses the corner of Keith’s mouth.
“I promise to love you every single day.” A kiss to the other corner. “Even when it’s hard.” And then, the center. “Especially when it’s hard.”
Chest fluttering, Keith turns his face away, and presses it deep into the pillowcase until all he can smell is Lance – but that tanned hand moves with him, gently catches the underside of his chin, and steals his watery gaze once again.
“I promise to keep being brave,” Lance whispers. “For you. For us.”
“I promise to never, ever, ever look back.”
Keith bites down on his lip, the rosiness going pale around his teeth.
“And that’s – that’s all I can do,” Lance finishes, softer still. “I hope it’s enough.”
It’s enough, it’s enough, it’s more than enough –
The velvet box inches open with the help of nervous fingers, and Keith almost forgets to look, a little too caught up in the way Lance is staring at him like he’s something precious, something beautiful, something perfect, and his.
And then: “Marry me, Keith.”
His entire body shivers, tingling every inch of skin like he’s just come back to life, and he imagines it simmering right beneath his Soulmark.
“Please, please marry me.”
All at once, Keith reaches for him, and thinks about how he’ll always reach for Lance, and then it’s just a flurry of limbs, and lips, and gasps, and wide-spreading grins that warm him to his core.
“Yes,” Keith says against Lance’s mouth, pulling him close, swallowing the sound of his breathless laughter.
