Chapter 6 of To Forge a Prince into a King is now posted!
Keith and Shiro arrive in Crystal City only to find their way to the palace blocked. An old friend smooths the way, however, and Keith finally has his chance to shine as a would-be king.
"There are two rooms," he murmured as he pressed a kiss to Keith's forehead.
"Yet we only need one," Keith replied.
Shiro closed his eyes and smiled. He knew better than to think their love could be a matter of public knowledge—he was merely a blacksmith, after all—but every moment Keith gifted him was precious. He would gladly be a devoted servant in the public eye as long as he could claim Keith during the few hours they could be alone each day.
klance wip where Keith is Prince of Marmora and Lance (aka “Blue”) is the assassin sent to kill him but surprise! (gasp) they fall in love and hmm hmm hmm do you feel me? do you? are we on the same brainwave yet?
welcome the the tenth fic rec friday! where, on friday, i rec five of my favourite fics.
1. Hands Held Higher by @glassaliceart /orphan_account
For most of his life Lance has dealt with a confusing and hard to pronounce name. It all started in Elementary school with a mix up and now he can't seem to shake the name McClain no matter how hard he tries.
this fic is so underrated fr. yall know how much i love a good hunk & lance fic, and this one especially was so awesome. AND its hunk pov and hunk-centric, which is truly a treat. it’s also the source of my acronym-name lance headcanon!
2. Courting Your Pants Off by @bleusarcelle
The Prince takes a bite of the pastry and melts under the taste, eyes closed in pleasure as he chews. Being childhood friends with the town’s baker is not bizarre, if Keith has a say on it, especially when he gets these kinds of bonuses.
“Amazing, right?” Lance says, his grin turning into a soft happy smile, eyes softening as they stare right at Keith and Keith might choke on his favorite pastry if Lance doesn’t look away the next two seconds.
Being in love with the town’s baker, though? Now, that’s tricky in Keith’s opinion.
[Or the one where Prince Keith's finally gathers up the courage to start a courtship with the person he has known since he was five years old and prays that his feelings are returned from said baker best friend.]
friends to lovers my beloved. prince keith my beloved. bleusarcelle my beloved. all of this fic is truly my beloved like everything about it is so sweet and fun and flirty i just UGH i love it so much. i also love it when everyone knows keith and lance are in love except for lance its so so funny
3. beautiful and blue by spartana (faveour)
Allura frowns, her brow furrowing. “Shiro wasn’t the first person I brought back to life.” Everyone in the rooms turns silent, watching the Queen of Altea. “Did...did you not know this?”
Lance feels his throat go dry.
Pidge is the one to break the silence, their curiosity finally getting the better of them. “So...who was?”
The Altean blinks. “Lance.”
omega shield fics. yall know im obsessed with them like!! i will never ever understand why that was brushed over!! it is an unbelievably important scene. this fic does such a good job of addressing it honestly
4. His Prince In Chains by @bangbangbeefkeef [EXPLICIT]
Prince Lance's secret rendezvous with his bodyguard mean everything to him. Tonight, he wants to make a deeper connection, in more ways that one.
i will never get over galtean klance w prince lance and bodyguard keith like i am so obsessed with them. genuinely a peak dynamic. i love how smushy this one is and the royal speak and the devotion it just gets to me
5. Patience Yields Pleasure by @sleepea [EXPLICIT]
Lance looks Keith over, appraises the sight of him with a pleased smirk. Then, he presses the pad of his thumb into the soft skin of Keith’s lip, draws it down. Keith parts his lips in response, opening his mouth just so.
“Tell me what you want, baby,” Lance breathes, punctuates it with a roll of his hips. Keith moans, low and rough and desperate. “And you can have it.”
i LOVE bossy lance. seriously hes so everything to me. i love bossy and cocksure lance and soft whipped flustered keith. its everything to me honestly
that’s it for today!! i’ll see y’all back next friday for the next fic rec post!!!
OMG YOU'RE BACK!!! You're one of my sources for all things klance and I'm so happy that you're still alive and KICKing! I hope you don't mind, but my friend wrote this klance fic and I wanted to share it with more people so they can feel confident about thier fic (they're new to the fandom) It's called A Love Worth Waiting For by TheCamusTheory. Thank you so much and I love that you're back again!
LETS GO!! yes of course you may :)) - k
A Love Worth Waiting For by TheCamusTheory (6/8 | 8,574 | General)
Keith is a prince cursed at birth, and has been kept hidden away in the castle for protection all 16 years of his life.
When his best friend and bodyguard, Shiro, suggests a way for Keith to meet someone new without compromising his curse, he meets Lance.
All Keith has to do is keep up his correspondence with Lance, not get caught sneaking out of the castle, and not fall in love at first sight.
Easy right?
Alright so I wanted to get 2/3 of it out in July cause ya know Julance, so it may be a little rushed but im having fun so thats nice. And this one comes with burnt out art! (By that I mean I gave up half way cause drawing is hard but its still cute.) Once again, thank you to @paracosm299 for being the backbone to this fanfic. And I hope everyone else likes it too! If I ever find a laptop that doesnt hate me and tumblr I'll link the three together. Until then, hopefully my tags might work for ya'll...
Also, if ya'll havent listened to the music from all three versions (cartoon, live action, broadway) youre missing out and they are referenced in this part. So minor spoilers for the Live Action! ("Shes in love" OBC is a bop I do so recommend it)
~~~~~~~~~
Lance sprawls across one of the many rocks, chest heaving as he tries to slow his heart rate. His eyes roam what he can see of his collection, that familiar ache hitting him hard.
He just didn't understand.
Here, in the waters he's always known, he should feel a sense of home. And yet at every corner, he simply feels trapped, unable to even breathe without the threat of punishment for doing it 'wrong'. Instead of love and encouragement, he is crushed under rules, expectations, and this pressure to do something, but with no idea what that something is. He has a vague recollection of a woman, with deep brown eyes- the only real feature he can recall- saying so earnestly, it was almost prayer-like, that he was their future.
He still couldn't fathom what she meant. Lance, the future? Should he somehow outlive the Emperor, Lance would be taken down immediately, by those vying for the Triton. Sendak may drill his lessons and expectations into him daily, but Lance doubted very much he'd ever actually hold any power. The only future Lance can see, is either forever a decoration to the Emperor, or a trophy given to another. The very thought makes him shudder, but it's a reality he's long since acknowledged.
Lance was no future. Lance was not free to be a future. Lance was simply... a dressed up prisoner.
For every gadget, gizmo, whosit, whatsit, and thingamabob Lance found, for every glimpse of wonder, a longing grew. He wanted more than this, he wanted...
To be where the people are. To see them dance, to walk around on those... those... feet! To run along streets, to stay all day under the sun's warm rays, wandering free... was it so much to wish to be up there with them? He hasn't much to give, but he wonders idly, if he were offered a chance, would he give what was asked in return readily? To live out of these waters, for even just a day to spend warm on the sandy beaches.
Coran has since crawled from his own little crevice, watching him with worried eyes,
"I bet you up there, they understand, that they don't reprimand your every move, that they see you for who you are. Im... I'm sick of swimming with an anchor strapped to my fin. I want to stand, free... is that so much to ask Coran?"
"No child, to be free is not something that you should have to pay for." And the emotion in the man's voice has tears of his own burning in Lance's eyes.
"I want to know everything, ask them my questions and get some real answers. Like, whats a fire and why does it, what's that word?? Burn! When will I be allowed to do something for me?" Lance swims through his treasures, towards the small hole at the top, reaching towards the surface he's forbidden from breaching, "I'd love to explore that world up above... out of the sea, I just... I wish I could be a part of a different world... I know that makes me terrible, but... I'm so tired..."
Lance stares at the barest glimpse of the moon before it's covered, casting a shadow that's dispersed by bursts of colored light.
"What in the Seas?"
"Wait, Lance my boy, it's not safe up there, not tonight!"
But Lance ignores the octopus, for probably the first time, making his way towards the surface before he can stop himself, breaching it fully for the first time. Loud popping sounds assault his ears, and debris splashes around him, before him a little ways, is a large ship with joyous music playing. Lance looks around, maybe for a sign to turn back, but finds none, something almost seems to be... pulling him, calling him, towards the Ship. He navigates past the debris, until he comes to the side of the ship where smaller ones hang. It takes him a moment to pull himself up and into it, arms straining as he tries to remain quiet.
There's a small gap that allows him to see the occupants, and a smile graces his face as he watches them dance. They throw each other around and slam their feet, and play instruments and drink. And just when Lance thinks it can't get any better, they start to sing.
It wasn't as melodic as the songs of his people, or as hypnotic or power filled as the royal siren songs. And yet, Lance couldn't look away. To think that just as his people feared and hated humans, Humans too, feared his people. They were so different, but at the same time, not so different at all.
One of the humans, seemingly younger than the rest, was on the edge of their celebration. The bright- and loud- lights in the air illuminated his face, eyes shining just so, like where water and sky meet. He's pulled aside by a taller man, who has a scar over his nose and a tuft of white hair laying on his forehead. They come close enough for their voices to drift to Lance's position, and he ducks away from the opening until only his eye is seen.
"Keith, you know we have to go back." The taller one says, sounding apologetic.
"Shiro it's my birthday, please let me have this one day not to think about that place." The shorter one- Keith- responds.
"You know Kolivan will be coming over to lecture you soon. The late King-"
"Wanted me to be trapped inside the castle for the rest of my life, isolated on our island home, never to do anything new because he had some crazy notion that that would keep us safe." He sighs, leaning heavily on the railing and staring off into the distance, the furry creature lays at his feet, staring at Lance curiously. He buries a hand in his fur with a smile. "I feel like the ocean is calling to me Shiro, I'm not afraid of it, I want to explore."
Lance feels a sort of resonation, like he's looking in the mirror once again instead of at a human. Someone who sees a future, and is ready to make it himself...
A crack of lightning lights up the sky, violent and sudden as the ocean rises up and crashes against the ship.
"Storms coming in fast! On your toes!"
Lance jumps into the waves before he can hear more, he needed to leave, there was no telling if this was Posiedon or Sendak-
"Keith!"
Lance's eyes flash back to the ship, to Keith holding the fluffy creature and throwing him as the ship is alight and collapsing. Lance curses in his head, diving below again to help, guiding him to the calls of the people in the little ships. When he comes up again, he sees no sign of Keith and a panic he can't describe grips his heart.
He dives again, dodging wreckage as the ship sinks, swimming through the harsh currents in search for a splotch of red. His distress rises with each moment, movements quick and jerky, until finally, finally, he sees it. Unmoving except for his slow descent, arms raised like even in unconsciousness he's reaching for something. As Lance draws closer he sees the cut along his jaw, the ripped clothing, smaller injuries, and he's sure bruising will form.
Hooking his arms under Keith's own Lance drags him to the surface. It's an effort to keep the human's head above the waves as the storm rages on, but Lance wont let him drown, not while he can do something about it. He heads inland, praying to any God that will listen, that the human survives.
Even if it means his own demise when he returns to Atlantica.
...
The sand is dry and coarse, but warm under the morning sun's rays, as he tugs the waterlogged human far enough from the lapping waves. His hand shakes as it hovers over the still form, the cut on his cheek still leaks blood, his pale skin taking on a sickly pallor, before he can really think twice, his voice rises from somewhere deep. A careful melody fills the air around them, a glow encompassing his own form as he finally places his hand to Keiths chest.
It takes longer than he'd like for color to return to his cheeks, one now marred with a scabbing scar. A groan leaves his lips and Lance's relief is palpable, despite the exhaustion that settles into his very bones. He wants nothing more than to lay here, but he knows better. Shouts reach his ears, and with a reluctance he cant place, he returns to the sea, hiding behind a rock a ways off.
He watches as a group of humans surround Keith, who seems at least semi-coherent now, watches as they make off towards their own settlements.
"I don't know what this feeling is. I don't even know how I know, but... something changed. I've found the world I want to be a part of..."
Lance watches until they've vanished from view, a pull stronger than ever before, calling him towards a human with inky hair and deep eyes, to a future he'd never thought of.
If he lived past sunset that is.
...
Allura practically falls on his head, Coran wrapped around his arm only a second behind.
"Lonce! Where have you been!?" Allura is scanning his face, claws hovering, "Coran told me about the… thing… and then there was a storm and you were gone! We've been worried sick!"
"Im sorry, I just-"
"Don't even think about lying to me Lonce!"
Lance swears shes on the verge of tears, and he lets out a reluctant sigh,
"I…" he rubs his free hand over the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact, "Rescued a human…" he mumbles.
"You did WHAT!?"
"No one saw me!" Lance is quick to defend, admittedly a little petulant.
"Shhhh!!! Sendak can not know about this!" Allura looks around in a panic, her voice hushed.
"Know about what?" A new voice asks from behind, nearly scaring Lance right out of his scales.
Flipping around Lance sees someone he hadn't in several years,
"Rachel?? What are you doing here? I thought you all weren't allowed at the gatherings anymore!" They clasp arms, exchanging smiles.
"Well, he wants info on our territory then someone has to come." Her grin turns sly, and Lance thinks there's more to what she says, but then again, it always seems like there's more when it comes to them. "So what's this I hear we aren't telling?"
"Nothing. Seriously guys, I'm already gonna get a lecture from Se- my father, I really don't need this right now."
He sees a bunch of Mers heading towards the reefs, decides that's a good way to delay the inevitable, and follows. Though of course he has company cause they dont give up that easily. And to continue his declining luck, four more mers to add to his growing entourage.
"Wow, look how big you've gotten!!" Lisa exclaims, looking close to pinching his cheeks like a Grandma- though Lance only knew this through observation of their pod.
"Lance has a secret!" Rachel blabs, leaning over his shoulder with far more excitement than necessary.
He groans, pushing her away as he joins the other mers in cleaning up the reef, a twinge of guilt in his gut despite the cause of the storm being from someone else's power.
"Oh, what, does Grumpy blob have a crush or something?" Marco teases, elbowing Luis beside him.
Lance grumbles as he fumbles with the debris hes moving, internally cursing himself at the gasps around him.
"So! You're acting fishy because you're up to your gills in love!" Rachel swoons backwards into Marcos waiting arms.
"Oh Dios Mios." Lance would love for a cavern to open up, right now, beneath him, please.
The only Mers who don't treat him like Sendak's property and he wants to throttle them.
"I see it now!" Luis exclaims, never one to miss out on a tease, the traitor, "he's dizzy, dreamy, head up in the foam! His eyes have got a gleam in them, like there's no one home."
"Someone get this boy a coastal shelf to mope on!" Lisa instigates, laughter in her eyes.
"He's moody as a snapper! As sure as a dogfish bites, someone’s made him lose his head!" Marcos' grin is as lopsided as he is, floating above Lance's head, he shoves him away, wondering if he should just retreat.
"Seriously guys flip off, it's not gonna happen." Lance heaves a larger piece off the side as gently as he can, frowning at the coral beneath, it would take a lot of song and time for these poor things to come back.
"Come on tell us who the deep-sea hunk is!" Rachel leers at him, eyebrows dancing, behind her Lance glimpses Coran and Allura, one has a look of concern, the other… well Lance can't quite identify Alluras look.
"There's no deep sea hunk." Lance turns away, seriously debating finding that shark again.
There's a long pause, but Lances hope of them giving up is crushed when Veronicas panicked voice breaks the silence,
"Oh no. Please, please no. Lance please tell me you didn't go and," She cuts herself off, looking around frantically before coming in closer with a low hiss of, "seduce a human?"
Lance gives an indignant squawk,
"I did not, seduce, anyone!"
"But there is a human??? Lance, what are you thinking? Liking human stuff is one thing, but this- Lance what are you thinking??" With hands on his shoulders to hold him still, Veronica levels him with a desperate look.
"Ronis right Lance, the human world is no place for us." Luis, like everyone else, has taken on a serious face.
And those expectations are back. Those heavy looks, so much weight pressing into his chest, and yet no clue what it is they want from him. What it is they think he needs to do. 'Youre the future, Lance.'
"I don't know what it is you think is up there Lance, but just take a look around you! Life under the sea is better than anything they got up there." Lisa takes on a lighter tone.
Lance knows what's coming, knows because he's been told before, has tried to convince himself, but something always comes to remind him why he wants to escape.
"I mean seriously, what more are you lookin for? Up there they work all day-'' Lance pointedly looks at the debris he's clearing and Marco is quick to continue, "they're slaving away under the sun's hot rays. While we get to float around down here all the time, nice and cool."
Lance wonders what they do in their territory, for all of Lance's collection, it's taken him years of little moments of free time to gather stuff, and honestly half of it was Coran and Romelle gifting him stuff.
"And you know what they do to fish on land, they're either in a bowl or," Rachel runs a finger along her throat with a harsh click sound, "on the plate. Just imagine what they'd do to us!"
"Not to mention, they can't possibly beat our rhythm." Luis sports a confident smile, but Lance remembers the song he'd heard on that ship.
As if on cue however, the reef comes alive with song. Healing waves of energy that quickly distracts the mers before him, and Lance takes his chance and bolts with them none the wiser.
He heads towards his grotto, needing some peace and quiet before his inevitable summons. He liked the McClain pod, they'd been around as long as he can remember, but they always left him feeling like he was missing something. Not that they weren't missing some major parts to his story too, but Lance didn't want them to know either.
He enters his grotto with a tired sigh, running on no sleep and brain still too busy and anxious for it to come anytime soon. He takes in his collection, hoping for some comfort or peace of any kind. Anything to stave off what's to come-
"So you've finally returned."
Lance flips around fast enough to make his head spin, there looming in the shadows of the entrance, Triton now glowing with power,
"My. son."
…
Keith stalks through the halls of the palace, determined to find a ship, or a carriage, something so he can search himself. To find the boy who saved him, the one whose song rings in his head, the one who risked their own life to get him home alive.
"You aren't supposed to be out of bed yet."
He turns to see his mother, standing tall and regal, like the Queen she is, in the doorway to the dining hall. She eyes him, the bandage on his head, the scaring mark on his jaw, the unsteady walk of a sailor on land- and a waterlogged man who should probably be resting, maybe.
"I don't need rest, I'm fine." Keith wants to leave it at that, but of course,
"Join me for breakfast." She turns without his answer, not that he could turn her down.
They sit, eating quietly, but Keith is tense. He knows she wants to say more, but she takes her time, figuring out exactly what she wants to get across. After so many years away, only to return after news of her husband's passing, the two knew very little of interacting with each other. It was Kolivan and Shiro that kept them from having a bigger rift than they did.
"I don't want you going out there again. You need to be here, preparing for the throne."
Keith takes a breath, before he'll say something he'll regret,
"The boy who saved my life is out there. I'm going to find him-"
"Keith-"
Keith stands, chair falling behind him,
"I don't want to be king. I never have. I belong on the water-"
She slams her hands on the table, silencing filling the room,
"You are grounded. There will be no sailing, you will stay here and heal."
He stares at her, the woman who never cared to stay, who left his father to raise him. The woman who knew next to nothing of him, who wanted to trap him to this existence of walls and nothingness. He turns and storms out of the room, heading for the cliffs, anything to get away.
All he'd ever wanted, as a boy born on a ship but raised on an isolated island, was the open sea and sky, freedom that seemed so far from his reach. He was only able to grasp some semblance of happiness sailing on excursions to learn and trade, his brother- in all that mattered- right beside him.
And now, his soul tugs again, towards something- not quite new- but foreign in a way he'd never thought of. He's haunted, thinking only of a blurry memory of someone leaning over him, more of a feeling really, and a song he sings. A song that takes him, to places beyond his wildest dreams, to uncharted waters miles beyond the seas he knows.
Keith had been sure he was darkness bound, destined to drown at sea and never return home. Then, miraculously, he’s saved, pulled above the stormy seas and all the way to land, before being left alone, to stand on the shoreline while his mind remains lost at sea. He wishes only for him to be found again, so he can stop wondering about who he is, where he’ll be next, and to hear his song from the source rather than this echoing in his head. Someone somehow stronger than the undertow, yet able to glow silhouetted by the rising sun, to return him to land in only a night's time.
He won’t be able to get over this mystery, something- someone- so intriguing, there was no way he’d give up before it was solved. Somewhere, beyond where man can see, with eyes that outshine the horizon line, where they can face the unknown side by side. Whether on the shoreline where he was left, or where no compass or map can guide him, Keith would find this mystery boy, no one would stop him. It’d be easier, he’s sure, for this boy to find him once again, right where he was left, but good things aren’t always easy are they?
Throw whatever you have at me, wild uncharted waters, he’d face it all.
