Keith had many meanings of what the word home meant to him throughout his life.
It was always a person, never a place to belong to.
When his dad was alive, he was Keith’s home, until their house beside the shack burnt to the ground, taking his father with it.
The next one was not really a home; it was the home, an orphanage.
And then, as fate would have it, he was whisked away to the Garrison after stealing Shiro’s car. Shiro and Adam became his home thereafter, never giving up on the lost boy who was not ready to be found.
When he finally gained confidence in what a home was meant to be, Adam broke up with Shiro for choosing the mission, the Kerberos mission whisked him away, and everything fell apart piece by puzzling piece. He took refuge in the belief that he would forever be the lost boy without someone to hold on to.
So he went back home, or what was left of it: the shack. He spent days and months out there collecting fragments, searching for some kind of meaning to it all: tracing Fraunhofer lines, newspaper clippings, marks on a cave.
As fate would have it, even though he found Shiro amidst the rubble, a new contender for home stood out to him: Lance.
Lance: the boy wonder, the lover boy, the pilot of the Blue AND Red Lion, the glue that held the team together, the one who fought with him in a food goo fight, brought a cow onto the Castleship, basically invented the word stability.
The one who sometimes doubted his own abilities, broke himself, and became stronger each time and time again with every fractured piece of himself that he glued back together.
Time out in space went quickly (do not even mention the Quantum Abyss), and suddenly they were back on Earth, then back in space again. Reality reset itself, and it is all a blur how they ended up here.
But, they're here now.
And no matter how many times life tried to strip home away from him, no matter how many times they lost and got back up again, there was one constant star orbiting in his gravity.
It was Lance, spooning him from behind on the cusp of sunset’s peak, napping within the warmth filtering through the bedroom window, the light illuminating their scars in gold, reflecting sunlight off their tissued-skin like a beautiful, war torn kaleidoscope.
It was always Lance, the Icarus to his sun, who made him feel cosy, safe and warm. Almost as if he invited his heart's warmth in, letting Keith subconsciously know that it was all right to rest now. No wars. No fights.
Just a cosy bed, a blanket over their hips, a pillow beneath their heads, and someone who understands your every move and thought.
Safe, warm and cradled in his arms, Keith is finally home.
Basking in the wonderful warmth that is Lance ☀️💙❤️
---
Art: @k1ance-a-lot
Story: @cookietails
Thank you @k1ance-a-lot for collaborating together!! Much love to you!!
❤️❤️❤️💙💙💙💜💜💜
The FINAL chapter of A Little Death will come out March 15th, 2026
Keith’s mother visits him in his sleep. The crafty hands of somnolence mold her face out of hues of purple, yellow, and black. He knows nothing of her, not her stature, the tilt of her eyes, or her hair. Keith doesn’t know whether she’s covered in tufts of fur, like a bear, or is smooth like a seal. As a child, Keith would stand in front of a mirror and make a game of theorizing which of his traits belonged to her. He’d try to map these features onto this mystery woman. Sometimes, Keith would try to draw her. The pictures would come out all wrong. He’d take one look at them and understand that it couldn’t be his mother.
Keith doesn’t play that game anymore. He doesn’t have time to stand in front of a mirror, and he only draws during banal meetings. His art extends to spiralling scribbles and scrappy sketches of the other paladins and animals.
Dreams are different. His soporific fatigue leads Keith into a maze. He stumbles through, turning right and left and left and right, backing out of dead ends, and searching for a road. In one of these pathways, Keith runs into his mother. She is faceless.
My beautiful besties I need a good hurt/comfort fic for Klance preferably longer and set in the canon verse. Pls I beg drop recs if you know any good ones it can be any rating
When she was a kid, and a court official’s child wanted her doll, her mother silently tugged it from her hands and placed it in theirs.
“We are royalty, Allura,” she had murmured, white hair glistening around her face under strong sunlit rays. “What belongs to us must always belong to our people.”
Her mother had seemed so otherworldly and powerful in that moment, gentle and yet unwavering all at once.
Allura knew she’d do anything to be like her, so she bit back her tears and nodded, swallowing the knot in her throat.
Then, the world changed. No, that wasn’t quite right.
The world died.
It blasted into shards too numerous and fragile to count, thrusting her into a deep sleep, and jolting her back just when she was on the cusp of a blissful, silent infinity. Reopening her eyes was like staring into a fluorescent nightmare. Her beloved home, her planet, had expanded in what felt like a day. She had gone from a figure on a rock, hurtling through space like all other living things, to a woman who was meant to see the universe all at once care deeply for every other creature.
Allura recalled her mother. She remembered sweet gentle hands and a tough, steady spirit. With arms wide open, she gave and gave all she had left, which wasn’t much.
First, she gave her castle. The last ties to her family now rested in the trust of five strange, well-meaning but ignorant humans. While the lions weren’t hers to hand over, that castle was, and each memory of her parents it held refused to fade as new ones of the team began sprouting.
Then, she gave her body. When she did finally enter the throes of battle, her strength and stamina advantages were still no match for the might of entire armies. She hid bruised ribs and sore joints from the team, took the occasional cut and scar from avoiding the pods.
Occasionally, mirrors haunt her. Allura still can feel her old body, the way it used to be soft edges and graceful curves. As a princess, she’d been known to slide effervescently across the dance floor.
As a warrior, she breaks.
It only made sense that she would give her mind as well. Though she prefers not to dwell, the nightmares are there. Occasionally, she trembles at a sound or a scent. Goosebumps follow her at every step.
But she keeps stepping forward anyways. No lingering. No hesitation.
So, when the battle reaches its epic climax, when the sounds of clanging and screams drown out every murmuring thing, when Allura can see into that infinity and all its gentle, unwavering light—
—she makes a choice. Isn’t she allowed to be selfish, for once? At last?
Because…
Because for all his foolishness. All his pompous, ridiculous commentary. All his lanky, uncoordinated movements and trite remarks and annoying habits.
Lance McClain is a boy who knows how to love. In her final days, after a lifetime of existing for others, Allura wants. She craves. She hungers for a time, a place, a people who loved her. Lance embodies that, shockingly enough, with his kind eyes and his tall, sure embraces.
Allura knows that her foreshadowed sacrifice will hurt him. When she vanishes from this plane, she wonders if people will call her awful for how she hurt him. Unfortunately, she just can’t help herself.
Despite everything, she’s still scared. And she’d rather have his warm, gentle, loving touch to guide her into that infinity than nothing. She’d like a glimpse of what is promised to her on the other side. Something to make her strong, allow her to slip into false confidence, and stay with her as she takes those final steps.
As she is showered in bright light.
As she hears the otherworldly and powerful.
As the sunlight shimmers down on her.
She turns her face to the warmth, remembering the taste of tears in her honor, knowing she was and will be forever loved. It is peace and it is relief.
Covered in scars, she walks toward bliss, having finally given everything.
Shiro: We need someone to fill in for Lance at the meeting.
Pidge: I think Keith is already filling Lance...
Hunk: Pidge!
Pidge: What? It's true! I already cockblocked them three times.
Shiro: Three times?!
Pidge: Hey, it's your fault if Keith is a vicious ass. He got that from someone, and Matt told me all the times he caught you and Adam!
for more, view my may and june rec lists too! organized by word count, and there's more under the cut! i was on a 7 hour flight this month sozzz yeah i read a bunch
a row of captured ghosts by kashuumitsus // 2.3k // Post Canon Divergence
writer's synopsis:
In the first year in space, Lance still holds out hope that they'll get to return to Earth soon. That he'll get to see his family, that nothing has changed much.
In the second year in space, Lance is starting to lose hope, starting to realize that he might never get back.
In the sixth year in space, Lance thinks it might be better if he never makes it home.
After ten years in space, Lance makes it back to Earth, but nothing is as he remembers.
my notes: deeply heartbreaking oneshot about Lance trying/failing to fit back into home after 10 years away at war. a few lines in this made me legitimately tear up
Worth It by europa_report // 2.9k // Canon
writer's synopsis:
“C’mon,” Lance complains. “You gotta have something worth sneaking out for.”
“Nah," Keith answers dryly. He marches stoically downhill, but blanches when Allura plants her hands on his shoulders and coos, “Keith’s actually got something really worthwhile.”
“Really?” Lance drawls. Cause what’s he gonna do, throw darts? Glare at the other wallflowers til they wilt?
Quelling an eyeroll, Keith says, “I’m meeting someone.”
OR
After a week of mind-numbing political meets, Lance finds the only thing on Cyantine worth sneaking out for: an afterparty. The only problem? Keith's found something even more worthwhile. And Lance does not like it.
my notes: this fic opened my eyes to jealous lance i WILL be munching more of it in the future!! i liked the the team dynamic bits in here a lot <3
If You Need Me, I'm Here Now by Riceisgood123 // 5.4k // AU
writer's synopsis:
“What the hell, man?” Keith whirled on him as soon as he let go of his arm, a spark of disproportionate rage flaring through his chest, but Lance wasn’t even looking at him, his bag shifted over his shoulder as he dug around in the pockets.
He opened his mouth to demand Lance tell him what the fuck was going on when he met Keith’s gaze and beat him to it.
“You’re bleeding,” Lance said simply as he pulled a pad out of his bag and held it out towards him.
Keith’s teeth clacked shut, the words dying on his tongue as his stomach plummeted straight through the floor and he felt all the blood drain out of his face before it came surging back, hot, hot, hot as he was overcome with pure, unadulterated mortification.
Or: Keith gets his period. Lance is there to help.
my notes: the perfect fluff/caring for each other fic i needed rn. Characterization is spot on and funny. there are set to be other parts in this series and i'm soooo sat for that. also may have already talked about this but i live for trans keith
Under Arrest by VulpesVulpes713 // 7.2k // AU
writer's synopsis:
Lance has a weakness when it comes to dares, and let's just say that this Halloween party, where his costume has all the bells and whistles of a legitimate police officer, is the perfect place to exploit that weakness.
Thankfully Hunk picked the perfect guy for Lance to handcuff himself to.
my notes: DRUNKEN FLIRTING MY BELOVED! such a sweet banter filled read <3
Home for the Holidays by Riceisgood123 // 7.3k // Post Canon Divergence
writer's synopsis:
“That’s good to hear.” Rosa gave him a warm smile. “I’m so happy you’ve settled back in so well.”
Keith couldn’t believe it. He was almost in the clear. He was actually going to make it through this Christmas dinner without embarrassing himself. As long as nobody brought up the—
“So when’s the wedding, huh?” Rachel interjected. “You’ve been engaged for what, over half a year now?”
Wedding… Keith bit back a sigh.
Or: The humor and fluff fest that is Keith spending Christmas with the McClains. Featuring post-war engaged Klance.
my notes: sorry for recommending christmas fics July but I couldn't help myself. this one was so sweet and perfectly blended klance being sappy and having banter. I always love the McClains and this fic did the sibling dynamic really well. also was surprisingly detailed about the ramifications of war, which I always appreciate!
people like you, people like me by ilgaksu // 7.5k // Pre-Canon/Canon Divergence
writer's synopsis:
Lance takes the seat directly opposite Keith without asking, and only grins wider in response in Keith’s death glare. He leans over with his own spoon and grabs part of the faintly toxic-looking rehydrated strawberry from Keith’s plate. Keith tries to slap his hand away, although it doesn’t work.
Not much works on Lance. It’s the third day, and Keith’s a fast learner.
my notes: a literally perfect klance-are-exes AU. all of the feels about the aftermath of kerberos and Lance and Keith's conflicting personalities are here. also Hunk being lovely as per usual.
Keith’s childhood is fractured with blurred-out edges, and it's partially his own fault. He made a point of forgetting old schools, old houses; finding nostalgia instead in redrock and tumbleweed and sandstorm-sharp wind.
But he remembers the Garrison.
my notes: very keith-centric but the kl is there swear!! this was so good and yummy and the perfect tie together of keith introspection throughout scenes from the show. the shiro and krolia dynamics here were also chefs kiss
skin hunger by hiuythn // 12.5k // AU/Canon Divergence
writer's synopsis:
Keith is touch-starved to the point of stupidity. Lance helps. Lance tries to help. Lance tries.
my notes: galra keith puberty for the win!! fluffy as shit with perfect paladin interactions and the boys being super super stupid
(un)spoken by hiuythn // 16.8k // Canon Divergence
writer's synopsis:
And Allura says, "Honerva is dead."
Or, I suplex s8 into the Earth's core. No mercy.
my notes: fix it fic for if you hated season 8 (VALID). scrumptious and also delish. canon to me <3
in the dream i don’t tell anyone (you put your head in my lap) by peachyaslans // 17.8k // Canon Divergence
writer's synopsis:
The war ends. Some things do not.
my notes: the prose here for lances longing was soooo delectable and heart wrenching. A classic case of the boys are stupid about feelings.
Ricochet by bluemantics // 23.6k // Canon Compliant
writer's synopsis:
A collection of works from @callmelyc's prompts for 2025 Julance. Each chapter is an individual piece, but all are connected. Reading in order is advised, as many callbacks do occur!
Can also be understood as a prequel to Walk With Me.
my notes: followed this along on tumblr and omgggg so good. much more lance centric than klance but it's there so i'm counting it!! i loved all the introspection and character development here!!
been living in a lonesome galaxy by Katranga // 36k // AU
writer's synopsis:
“You in a rush or something?” Lance laughs, a little breathless. Effortless. The nonchalance of a person somehow totally at ease in their body, comfortable in any situation. Hair mussed and eyes darkened with anticipation and a smile always tugging on his mouth.
Keith can’t stand him. They should stop this right now. They should do it every day.
—
When Keith’s now-ex surprised him with a threesome, that was the last straw for their crumbling relationship. He’s resigned himself to heartache and being alone forever, but then the most annoying guy in class offers to partner with him for a project. The only problem, besides everything? Lance was the third guy in the room when Keith’s life fell apart.
my notes: this was crazyyyyyy good i devoured it in one night (fucking my sleep schedule eternally, wtv). perfect balance of banter/hilarity/sweetness/attraction. warning, this fic is explicit but...couldn't not recommend. the autistic keith is strong here and i EAT IT UP!
kick at the darkness by ilgaksu // 61.2k // AU
writer's synopsis:
“I didn’t know they let boys like you carry anything.”
“You’d be surprised.”
“Yeah,” Lance says, dismissive and so close Keith can feel the heat rising from his skin, “I would be. Nyma, are you dancing?”
“I told you, Lance,” she says, “I’m making friends.”
“Once you’re done with that, he needs to go back.” Lance leans forward and brushes his lips over Nyma’s cheekbone. He looks sidelong at Keith. “House rules. Don’t take it personally.” He looks back to Nyma. “If you get bored, I’ll be here.” Lance gives Keith a final look over, the drag of it like a weight, and leaves.
“Your boyfriend’s a jerk,” Keith tells Nyma, watching Lance’s retreating back through the crowd of dancers. Nyma’s face does something complicated, even as she snickers.
my notes: historical au my beloved!!! insanely well researched 1960's AU. i love the way their personalities were adapted to fit the world of their era's social/identity politics. written in a deliciously literature-esque style. they're so sweet and scared in this it kills me.
