“Hey Keith, you got a sec?”
Keith turned at the sound of Lance’s voice and looked at the papers in his hand once more. His focus bounced between the text and he sighed before putting them down and smiling up at his teammate.
“Yeah, sure, what’s up?” He asked, following Lance out the door.
“Sorry for breaking the cram session, it shouldn’t be long.” Lance spoke without facing Keith, continuing their path down the halls.
“It’s fine,” he sighed once more. “I just need to figure out how to convince the Blade to take Kuron in as a respected prisoner of war. He’s been nothing but cooperative ever since we found out, but we can’t keep him here with Haggar still having access to his mind. The Blade said they’d take him, but I know Kolivan is more interested in interrogation information he doesn’t have instead of safely containing him.” Keith found himself lost in thought as he eventually bumped into Lance’s back, not realizing that they had reached wherever Lance had wanted to speak in.
He moved to apologize but found that where they were in confused him more than being polite.
“Uhh, what are we doing in the shower hall?”
Lance stiffened up and spun around, looking anywhere but at Keith. A furious blush was on his cheeks and quickly spreading to his ears.
“I need to tell you something!” He screeched out. Keith grew more and more concerned as time passed and nothing else followed.
“O…kay? What is it?”
Lance opened and closed his mouth, vaguely resembling a fish. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“I.”
“You?” Keith took a small step forward to inch off the distance between them, more than a little disappointed when Lance took a step back.
“I like you!” Lance rushed out.
The current leader of Voltron stared at his right hand man, his jaw slacked and eyes wide.
“Wuh?” He eloquently asked.
Why was this something that needed to be said, Keith couldn’t help but wonder. He knew that already. They had grown past the silly rivalry and done so much to grown together, he had naturally assumed that they both knew they were on a level a friendship.
It was a friendship that made his heart soar when he heard Lance laugh, and made Keith blind when he smiled, but it was a friendship nonetheless
He shook his head and smiled. “Yeah, buddy, I know. I like you, too!“
Lance grit his teeth, “Damn it Keith, no.” He hissed. “I like you. Like, I like being with you more than anyone else. I like when we’re watching cheesy Altean Movies with the gang and you fall asleep on my shoulder and I can feel you breath send shivers up my spine. I like when we’re kicking Galran ass and we work so well together that we’re practically in each others mind. I like when we go to diplomatic missions, and you put your hand on my leg when you’re worried you’re about to say the wrong thing. I like when I wake up late at night for a glass of water, and I bump into you and we spend the rest of the night talking about anything that comes to mind. I like when you come to me for advice on how to take a mission on before going to the group because it shows how much you trust and value me. I like you Keith, I like you so much that I can’t stop thinking about you, or your lips, or how they’d feel against mine, and I-”
“Lance.” Keith softly said, his mind running at the speed of light trying to process each and every word.
“No,” Lance opened his eyes, small tears beginning to form. “I need to finish.” His lips trembled and he knees were shaking, but he persisted. “I know this is a bad time to drop this bomb on you, and- hell, this is probably the last thing you wanna hear right now, but before we get the Kuron thing sorted out, before we find Shiro- and we will- I needed you to know.” His breathing was shaky and his throat was closing up with the rawness of his emotions. “I’m not expecting anything from you, and completely understand if you’re grossed out or if you need space away from me. I just- yeah.” Lance looked down at the ground, trying to keep his composure. “So, that’s it. I’ll, um, I’ll get out of your way-”
“Lance.” Keith said with a little more force. He reached up and wiped the tears gathering in Lance’s eyes and held his attention enough to make eye contact. Keith’s cheeks had also gained a pink hue to them and he picked up his jaw to form a shy smile.
“Have I ever told you you’re cute when you’re nervous?”
Sputters and half words were tumbling out of the taller teen, and Keith laughed before tilting his chin up meet Lance’s lips. Every muscle in Lance’s body tensed up, which made Keith smile into the kiss. Taking a step back, he gave Lance a toothy grin and turned to leave the showers.
“Come on man, I need my second in command to help me figure out what to say to the Blade, we can finish this up later if you’re interested?”
Lance stayed rooted in his stop for half a dobash. Once everything finally clicked, he ran out to the hallway (almost tripping on more than one occasion).
“W-Wait, Keith, do over! I was in shock, come back! Keeeith!”