Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s a peaceful night. The pine trees sway gently in the wind. The crickets chirp softly and the moths crowd around his porch light. Lance looks out at the stars and takes a deep breath. The air smells like pine, smoke and wet grass. Everything around him feels perfect. He brings his tea up to his lips, letting the soft aroma of lavender crowd his senses. Moving away from his family was a big decision that he spent months lamenting over, but right here, right now, he doesn’t regret it one bit. Nights like these make him feel like everything was leading here. All the time he spent struggling to find himself was worth it for this. He listens to the sounds around him, the sounds of nature and harmony. It’s much more peaceful than the crowded, urban streets he lived on growing up. He finishes the last of his tea and stands from his creaking rocking chair to head inside when something catches his eye. 

He’s used to fireflies. He’s used to the odd flashlight beam. But the light he’s seeing is neither of those things. It’s purple and it’s pulsing in an unnatural way. It’s gone as quick as it appears, but Lance is certain of what he sees. It’s so out of place that he hardly notices the mug clattering at his feet. It’s almost like he’s hypnotized for a split second. He snaps back to himself and bends down to pick up the mug, using great effort to look away from where the light came from. He stands there for what feels like forever, trying to decide if he should pursue the light, or tuck himself into bed and forget about it. When he hears an ominous howl in the distance, he makes the choice to go inside. He’s not going to be the idiot who gets killed for following the creepy thing. He’s not going to walk into the devil's den. 

As he gets ready for bed, he can’t shake the feeling that has seeped into his bones. Every time he closes his eyes, purple stains the back of his eyelids. He eventually gets himself into bed. Despite not being able to shake the strange feeling, despite feeling as though he’ll never fall asleep, he’s out like a light almost the moment his head hits the pillow. 

–

“So it’s a simple latch, you just lift the handle like this to open it,” Lance says, “there shouldn’t be any issues, but if something comes up, just call me, okay?” The little old lady smiles and tests the latch out herself. 

“Please come inside for lunch dear,” she says, “you’ve done so much work for me.” It’s not the first time he’s worked on her property and it definitely won’t be the last. Allura teases him constantly about how the old lady has a bit of a crush on him. The more work he does for her, the more he believes it. 

“Okay, but I can’t stay for too long, Belle,” Lance says, “I have dinner plans to get to.” 

“A busy man you are,” she says, grabbing his bicep to lead him inside, “no time to waste then.” She feeds him well and talks his ear off about her days as a dancer. He listens closely, watching the way her eyes sparkle. Lance has really grown to love every person in this small town in a way he never thought he could. He grew up in a small town in Cuba, and he was sure he would never find that sort of community again. But this little small town in Maine has been everything he could ask for. After he leaves, he heads into the heart of town for dinner. Naturally, he runs into Pidge and Allura on his way. 

“Did Belle keep you there for a while?” Allura asks playfully, holding the door of the restaurant open for him. Pidge squeezes past him to go in first and get them a table. 

“She always has so much to say,” Lance says, “it breaks my heart to leave her alone in that house.” Allura smiles softly and follows him to the table Pidge got them. 

“Carly has news for us,” Pidge says, “so sit your ass down and prepare. Last time she had news this place moved from the other side of town.” Lance remembers that vividly. Carly just casually mentioned they were moving locations when she brought them their drinks. He’s hoping this news is a little less crazy. When she eventually makes her way to the table, she has their regular drinks in hand. 

“Alright, you gotta tell me,” Lance says, “you know I can’t take the anticipation.” Carly smiles and sets the final drink down in front of Pidge. 

“It’s nothing too serious, don’t look so scared,” she says. She takes a deep breath and Lance is certain she’s doing it just to bug him, “we’re selling the restaurant-” 

“Holy shit, you’re lying, right?” Pidge says. Lance frowns, glad Pidge took the words out of his mouth. This place is really important to not only them, but the town as a whole. This is where people have big celebrations and first dates and study sessions… everything. It’s a hub for peace and happiness in the small town. 

“Let me finish talking, you evil witch,” Carly says. Pidge grumbles and Lance shoots her a look, raising an eyebrow. She shakes her head. “We’re just switching ownership really. All the staff is staying here, but the owner is changing and she’s going to work with us.” Lance relaxes a little. As long as this place isn't replaced by something stupid and boring and very much unnecessary, he’s happy. They could do with a refresh in their aesthetic anyways. “I’ve met the new owner and she’s amazing. The food here is going to be next level.” 

“That sounds lovely,” Allura says, “I like seeing more women take ownership of businesses here.” 

“I gotta get back to the counter, but I’ll send Jaxon over to take your orders,” Carly says with a wink. 

“I’m glad that news wasn’t horrible,” Pidge says, “if they replaced this with some trendy ice cream shop I would probably implode.” Lance knows exactly what she means. Their town is very charming and has a vintage sort of feel to it. They’ve had a few of those trendy businesses come in and it just doesn’t fit into the aesthetic of everything quite right. They’d like to keep things the way they are. 

“How’d that fundraiser event with Lotor go?” Lance asks, putting his hands around his steaming mug of tea. Allura smiles in that way she always does when Lotor is mentioned and it warms Lance’s heart. He likes seeing her so happy. 

“It went very well, I’m sorry you couldn’t make it,” Allura says, “Pidge showed you the pictures, right?” Lance nods and Pidge hums in acknowledgment while skimming through the menu, even though she knows it by heart. “Lotor got much more than he expected, so it’s really going to help with his prep for the Christmas season.” Lotor runs a non-profit in the town to raise money for orphans. A couple towns over, there’s an orphanage that’s seriously underfunded, so he spends a lot of his time getting supplies and money for them. 

“I’m glad,” Lance says, “I remember feeling so horrible for the homeless kids where I grew up. It’s nice to see that there are people who care enough to dedicate their lives to the kids.” Jaxon comes over and takes their orders and they dig in. Their meal is comforting as always and Lance goes home with a full stomach and a smile on his face. As he gets out of the shower, he hears a knock on his door. He checks the time and chews on his lip. He’s not sure who would be at his door after nine in the evening. He opens the door regardless and Pidge rushes in with Matt hot on her heels. 

“Hi,” Pidge says, “we need to talk.” Lance closes the door and follows them to his living room. 

“Jeez, you just saw me at dinner, what happened?” Lance asks. Matt looks tired and concerned. Lance doesn’t like that. 

“It’s the pharmacy,” Pidge says, “Matt has tight control on that place, as you know, his security measures are very good, I would know.” 

“Get to the point,” Lance says.

“Stuff has been going missing,” Pidge says, “and we already ruled out any of his staff, so it’s gotta be something else.” Lance turns to look at Matt, trying to gauge how serious this is. 

“It’s bad,” Matt confirms, “we’re only short on our stock of opioids. I don’t like to think about what that could mean.” Lance sighs and crosses his arms. 

“Why are you bringing this to me?” Lance asks suddenly, “you two are the geniuses. I just make things out of wood.” Pidge rolls her eyes and stands up. 

“You’re not dumb, we’ve been over this,” Pidge says, “and you’re damn good with people. The cops don’t seem to give a shit, so we’re on our own. I need you to just… pay attention to your customers or anyone you talk to.” Lance takes a deep breath and nods. If there’s anyone who knows everyone in town, it’s him. He’s probably been in 75% of the population's homes. 

“And you had to come to my house late on a Tuesday night to tell me this, why?” Lance asks, trying not to sound annoyed. He was planning to read before bed, but now they’re taking up his reading time. 

“Because whoever is stealing the drugs is taking more and more,” Pidge says, “and they must be paying the cops off or something. There’s no way they’re actually turning a blind eye to our reports.” 

“And it couldn’t wait until morning?” Lance asks. 

“Her cauldron,” Matt says, “the pattern of the dried lavender made this all seem urgent. I don’t know if something weird is going on here, but it doesn’t feel like normal robbery.” Lance shivers, thinking of that purple light he’s seen in the forest once or twice. 

“If you’ve noticed anything weird, please tell me,” Pidge says, “I’ve been picking up on weird energy lately.” Lance nods. He knows Pidge doesn’t take this stuff lightly. She’s good at what she does, not that he has other witches to compare it to. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Lance says, “magic is real, tell you everything.” But he doesn’t. For some reason, he doesn’t want her to know about the purple lights. It feels personal somehow. If he sees them more frequently, if they start causing him trouble, then he’ll bring them up, but for now, the lights are his. Whatever that means. 

“Okay, I’ll let you go to bed grandpa,” Pidge says, “you working tomorrow?” 

“With Coran getting me jobs, always,” Lance says, “I’ll meet you for lunch though, yeah?” Pidge nods and claps him on the back. 

“Thanks for this buddy,” Matt says, “I really can’t afford to lose my stock.” 

“Of course,” Lance says. After they leave, he goes outside to look for the purple lights. Of course, he doesn’t see them, but it still feels like they’re there. The lights have this presence about them. He was scared of the lights at first, but now he just wants to see them again. 

–

“So the new chef is coming sometime next week and I’m really excited to meet her,” Hunk says, “you know I need to be best friends with every culinary expert out here.” Lance nods, shoving another one of Hunk’s donut holes in his mouth. “Is the flavour strong enough?” Since Lance met Hunk, he’s been his designated taste tester. He has to say, it’s definitely a highlight of being friends with Hunk. 

“Definitely,” Lance says, “it’s well balanced.” He can’t help but glance over Hunk’s shoulder to look out the window when he feels a shiver. Hunk sighs and Lance immediately feels bad. Hunk can probably tell he doesn’t have Lance’s full attention. 

“Why do you keep looking out the window?” Hunk asks, “you're surrounded by forest. You’re just going to see trees.” Lance sighs and curls in on himself a little bit. 

“Nothing,” Lance says, “just had some animals trying to get in the place, keeping an eye out for them.” Hunk nods, even though he doesn’t seem entirely convinced. 

“How’s that project for Bill going?” Hunk asks. They fall into easy conversation, and despite how hard he tries, Lance can’t help the way he keeps glancing outside. He can’t shake the feeling that the purple lights are going to show up tonight. If Hunk notices, he doesn’t say anything. They talk for a while, then play video games for a while, and eventually, Hunk takes his leave. He likes to be in bed early just as much as Lance. He has to be up bright and early to get the bakery ready to go. The second Hunk is out of sight, Lance throws on a flannel and goes to the back porch. Both times he’s seen the lights, it was from here. 

He sits down in a chair and prepares for a long night. If he has to stay up all night, he will. With his back to his cabin and his eyes set on the woods, Lance finds himself zoning out. His mind wanders as he stares, but he doesn’t even really know what he’s thinking about. It’s a strange feeling and he thinks it has something to do with whatever the hell those purple lights are. Just when he starts to doze off, something makes him sit up ramrod straight. His hair stands on end and his blood feels cold. He looks around himself, but he starts to lose hope when he sees nothing out of the ordinary. 

But then he sees it. Deeper in the woods than before, he sees the purple light. Only this time, it’s not just pulsing. It’s moving. He shivers even though the nighttime breeze is warm. It’s moving in a way that’s not quite human, not quite animal. He watches it like he’s in a trance, following every movement. It’ll be sharp and fast, then smooth and slow. He snaps out of it when it seems to move closer to him. Before he can process it, the light disappears with a quiet, but audible crack. Lance isn’t sure if he’s crazy or not, but he swears he sees a figure disappear with the light. 

When he goes back inside, still not stupid enough to go near the light, he’s warm again. The light has been frightening, albeit fascinating. Now it feels… comforting? It’s like he’s supposed to be seeing it, like there’s something important he needs to do. He’s never been one to believe in destiny, but this feels different. He’s happy with his life, he’s happy to do a job he loves and be surrounded by people he loves. But this mystery seems to ignite something new inside of him. He feels like he’s stuck in one of his childhood books. Even with a fast-beating heart, Lance falls asleep quickly. Something about that purple light is significant. Significant to him. 

–

“Pidge, does it look okay in the back?” Lance asks. Allura sighs, but doesn’t stop what she’s doing. She’s been cutting Lance’s hair for years now, so she’s used to his antics. 

“Do you have no trust in her?” Pidge asks, “just shut up and let her work her magic.” He doesn’t have to look at Allura to know she’s smiling her ass off right now. 

“You’re always on her side,” Lance huffs, careful not to move his head and mess Allura up. 

“Girl power, ever heard of it?” Pidge says. Lance sighs, but he’s used to this. He grew up around a lot of women, so he does believe girl power is very real. But the bond between Pidge and Allura is genuinely terrifying. 

“You’ve been getting more and more sassy lately,” Lance says. 

“You’re the sassiest person I know, so I’m taking that as a compliment,” Pidge says. Lance grumbles, but he’s not going to argue with her. He’s been told many times about his sass, he can’t deny it anymore. Allura does her final touches and pushes him away in favour of talking to Pidge. He rolls his eyes and walks away. He wanted to make himself a snack anyway. He starts up a pot of popcorn when his phone starts buzzing in his pocket. 

“Hey buddy, what’s up?” Lance asks. There’s a lot of noise from the other end of the call, so Lance assumes Hunk is still at the restaurant. He’s not sure if that’s a positive sign or not. 

“Lance, I- I’m going to sound like a child when I say this, but I’m in love,” Hunk says. Lance smiles, shaking the pot around as the popcorn begins to pop. 

“Tell me more,” Lance says. He wouldn’t dare call Hunk a child for this. Love is beautiful and complex and odd. Who’s he to say love at first sight isn’t real? 

“Her names Shay and the food was fucking amazing. Like… jaw dropping Lance. Jaw dropping,” Hunk says. His voice is light and dreamy. It sounds nice on him. “And so I asked if I could come to the kitchen and see her process and everything and… wow.” Lance smiles and slides the popcorn off the heat. Hunk seems too distracted to be bothered by the noise. 

“That’s high praise coming from you,” Lance says. 

“It’s damn good food,” Hunk says simply. 

“And she’s damn good looking?” Lance asks playfully. He pinches his phone to his ear with his shoulder and starts melting some butter on the stove. 

“One of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen,” Hunk says, “and she was so kind and genuine to everyone, even the customers getting all grumpy about their regular meals being gone. She’s admirable.” Lance sets his tasks aside so he can really concentrate on his friend. 

“I’m really happy for you buddy,” Lance says, “it’s been a while since someone caught your eye.” He doesn’t have to see Hunk to know the flushed smile he’s sporting. 

“I know I just met her, but I think this is going to be something,” Hunk says, “it’s like when you and I first met. I just knew we’d be best friends, ya know?” And Lance does. He remembers that day, years ago. Hunk was one of the first people in town he met, and he instantly felt a connection with him. Same wavelength, all that junk. He hopes Hunk’s intuition is right about this one. He just wants to see his friends happy. 

“I know the feeling,” Lance says, “well don’t let me keep you from her, okay? Make me proud and charm her up.” Hunk chuckles and says his goodbyes. Lance brings the popcorn out to the girls, even though they’ve been mean to him all night. 

“Was that Hunk?” Pidge asks, “how’s the food?” Lance smiles and tells them everything. They seem just as happy as him. Even Pidge, who’s the opposite of a romantic, thinks it’s quite sweet, and that’s saying something. 

“I think that means it’s your turn next,” Allura says with a wink. Lance rolls his eyes with a huff. This again. He’s perfectly content to be on his own, thank you very much. “I just want you to be happy.” She says, patting his hand. 

“I know,” Lance grumbles, “but I don’t want to search for something.” The last thing he wants to do is spend time looking for someone. If he doesn’t stumble upon someone along the way, oh well. He has enough friends and family to fill the love department. 

“I’m not saying you should search, only that you should be open,” Allura says, “I wanted to be single, but I met Lotor and it changed my perspective.” Damn Allura and her words of wisdom. Lance hopes to be half as wise as her when he’s on his death bed. 

“There’s no shortage of people here who’d go on a date with you,” Pidge says, “you are the town babe.” Lance shakes his head. That’s not a title he wants. 

“Belle doesn’t count,” Lance says. 

“Just take my compliment,” Pidge says, “who knows what you’ll find if you actually flirt back.” Lance learned the hard way how much harm flirting can cause. Half the girls at his high school hated him because of it. Either they found him annoying and gross, or felt that he was leading them on. 

“My flirting days are in the past,” Lance says, “if love finds me, I’ll accept it, alright?” Allura and Pidge know him well enough to know that’s the end of the conversation, so they move on. But their words tickle at his brain for the rest of the night. Is he really okay with being alone? He’s not lonely by any means, but there is a certain void that can only be filled romantically. Maybe not for people like Pidge, but for him, it’s there. He’s tried really hard to push down his childhood dreams of a fairytale love, but Allura seemed to have opened the flood gates. Maybe being a little more perceptive isn’t a bad idea. 

–

Lance is walking the perimeter of his cabin, checking which plants need to be watered, when he hears movement in the woods. It’s the middle of the afternoon, so if purple light is there, he’s not going to be able to see it. But he knows that’s what the sound is. He stops what he’s doing and goes towards it. The daylight is really giving him a false bravado. He hears some cracking and rustling and crouches down. He has no idea what he’s approaching. He finds a fallen log and peaks from behind it. He sees something. Or rather… someone. His heart stops in his chest. He’s not entirely sure what he’s looking at, but it’s beautiful. 

He sees a guy dressed in all black. The clothes fit him perfectly and little panels are glowing purple. His back is to Lance, but he can tell he looks good. He can see the guys muscles through his damn clothes. He seems to be shooting these thin, shaky beams of purple light from his fingertips. Lance leans forward slightly, holding his breath, and the log creaks under him. The guy snaps his head around and looks at Lance. Their eyes lock for a half a second before the guy sprints into the woods at an inhuman speed. But that split second look at his face is enough for Lance. 

His mouth goes dry and he stares at the spot where the guy was just standing. He was pale and his bone structure was perfect. He has scars littered on his face, but the big one on his cheek really caught Lance’s attention. Everything about him was very alluring and Lance has a feeling he’ll be looking for those purple lights every night. That guy is definitely not entirely human, but Lance doesn’t feel any fear about approaching him. If anything, he feels scared for what would happen if he didn’t approach him. It takes him a while, but eventually he makes his way back to his house and tries to get back on task. 

He does manage to water his plants, but he’s quite distracted the whole time. The guy had purple eyes. Lance can’t stop thinking about the guy from head to toe. He’s been attracted to people before, obviously, but this is on an entirely different level. It’s like something quite literally changed in the chemistry of his body when they made eye contact. He finishes his chores, only a little bit behind schedule and makes his way to his kitchen to eat something. He debates calling Pidge and Matt for a while. Pidge might know something about the guy, it looked like he was using some sort of magic, but Matt and Pidge might also think he has something to do with the missing drugs. He doesn’t want to incriminate the guy before he’s had the chance to even interact with him. 

When he starts getting into a spiral, he gives in and calls Pidge. Despite wanting to keep all of this a secret, despite feeling like this is all personal, he needs to talk to someone. It also doesn’t feel right to keep information from Pidge and Matt. His friends have to come first over this guy. Even if the guy is extremely beautiful and alluring and hot. And probably really strong. Definitely very strong. Pidge comes over almost immediately, but Matt is out of town for the night. He really hopes he doesn’t regret this. “Okay, what made you call me over here so frantically?” Pidge asks, making herself comfortable on his couch. 

“What do you know about people shooting purple magical light out of their hands?” Lance asks, getting straight to the point. He sees no reason to dance around it. Inviting Pidge here made the decision for him. 

“Sorry, purple light magic?” Pidge says, “where is this coming from?” Lance sighs and sits next to her. 

“Do you know anything or not?” Lance asks, “cause if not, I’m going to bed.” Pidge smiles and leans back. He hopes the smug look on her face is a good sign. 

“I think I’ve read something about it before,” Pidge says, “can you grab me my bag? I left it at the door.” Lance grabs her bag without complaint. She opens it and digs out an old, dusty book. Lance takes that as a good sign. She blows some dust off of it in a very dramatic way and starts flipping through it. “This book was passed down to my dad from his dad, from his mom, from her dad… you get the point. Matt and I go through the chapters every now and then. Aha!” She stops on a page and tilts it towards Lance. There’s a spread of pictures and paragraphs. There are drawings of fangs and fur and swirling magic. 

“Did you read this chapter?” Lance asks. 

“I started to skim it,” Pidge says, “but from what I saw, it’s an ancient type of magic. It’s something that runs through lineage, so it’s become quite sacred. Again, where is this coming from, Lance?” Lance takes a deep breath. 

“Please don’t be mad at me,” Lance says. Pidge groans. He knows she hates it when he says that. “For a couple months now, I’ve been seeing these weird purple lights in the forest around my place. I know I should have told you, with the whole drug situation, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.” Pidge hums and flips to the next page. She looks concentrated. It’s concerning and relieving. “I sort of stayed away from it, but today I saw- well I saw this… this guy and he was shooting magic out of his hands or something.” Pidge looks up and seems to study his face. 

“You said you couldn’t bring yourself to tell me, right?” Pidge says. Lance nods and looks over her shoulder. “What did he look like?” Lance lets out a long breath. He can definitely tell her that part. 

“He was a little shorter than me, he had this long, dark hair. And he was built as fuck. I mean… like muscles rippling everywhere,” Lance stops himself before he gets explicit, “he had purple eyes and he moved way too fucking fast. Like, one second he was there, one second he was gone.” 

“Okay, slow down loverboy,” Pidge says, “what did the magic look like?” 

“It was these swirly purple streams of light,” Lance says, “I don’t know if- well I guess it didn’t look like it was working properly? Or maybe he wasn’t using full power?” Pidge stops him and starts flipping through the pages. He lets her do her thing in silence, knowing she’ll bring him into things when it’s necessary. When the anticipation is just about to kill him, she takes a sharp breath and snaps the book closed. 

“Okay,” Pidge says, “I obviously can’t be sure, but I think he’s at least part Galra.” Lance raises an eyebrow at her. “Galra are an alien race that used to have control over huge parts of the universe. I’m not sure where that control stands currently.” 

“So we’re not just talking about magic here, but aliens?” Lance says, “what the fuck?” Pidge chuckles like the little demon she is. 

“I haven’t even gotten to the concerning part yet,” Pidge says, “Galra are notoriously evil. Which means you could have a war criminal frolicking in your trees.” 

“He didn’t look evil,” Lance says. Pidge smiles. He hates how much she’s enjoying this. 

“That’s part of it,” Pidge says, “they pull people in. Sort of like sirens.” 

“So are they all evil?” Lance asks. He doesn’t want to think that the guy could possibly be evil. He won’t let that be true. 

“No,” Pidge says, “and I’m really hoping this guy is not one of the evil ones. If so, I don’t want to begin to imagine what they’re planning. Earth has never been conquered by them in history.” Lance is going to be hopeful for once. He’s going to believe in the good, not the evil. 

“Is there a way to tell the good from the evil?” Lance says, “cause you’re really pulling on my heart strings here.” 

“What was he wearing?” Pidge asks. 

“All black, purple lights on the clothes,” Lance says, crossing his fingers that that’s a good sign. 

“Sounds like a Blade member to me,” Pidge says casually, like Lance should know exactly what that means. “It means he’s part of the good side. The Galra’s who didn’t want to conquer the world with evil.” Lance can’t begin to explain the relief that comes over him. “Again, I’m not entirely sure I’m right about all of this. I don’t know how much has changed since this book was made.” 

“But he’s gotta be good,” Lance says, “he didn’t kill me.” Pidge sighs with exasperation. 

“Lance, this could all be a trap,” Pidge says, “you can’t go looking for him. You can’t put yourself in danger like that. Don’t involve yourself. Can you promise me that?” Lance can’t. His desire to seek the guy out is too strong. But he doesn’t want to put something else on Pidge’s shoulders. He doesn’t need her worrying about him on top of her brother. 

“Yeah, yeah, I promise,” Lance says. He’s not sure she’s convinced, but she seems to drop it. She probably has plans to continue to berate him about it. 

“Look, this is outside of your world,” Pidge says, “this is something you should stay away from. It’s outside of my world too.” That does give Lance some apprehension. If it’s outside of her world of magic, then it really is dangerous. 

“Am I just supposed to let him do his thing on my property then?” Lance asks, “why did he have to choose my house as home base?” Pidge pats him on the shoulder and shoves her book back into her bag. 

“Look, something fishy is going on, but he’s not causing you harm so far. Things might change now that you’ve seen him,” Pidge says, “but I think it’s best to avoid him and keep moving forward with your life.” Lance nods. He’s just a passing thing for this guy. The guy is going to do whatever he needs to do, keep Lance out of it, and get his ass out of here. “I’ll let you sleep now your majesty,” Pidge says, “but remember, I don’t care how hot you think he is, or how much you feel like you need to go to him. Avoid him.” She squeezes his shoulder for emphasis. He hisses. It’s easy to forget how strong she is. 

“Thank you for helping me with this,” Lance says, “just- just promise me you won’t go ham on this guy because he happens to be here when the robberies are going on.” 

“I’m not going to assume anything without evidence, okay?” Pidge says. 

“Really?” Lance says. Pidge rolls her eyes and slings her bag over her shoulder. 

“I can tell this guy means something to you somehow,” Pidge says, “I don’t know if it’s his powers or something else, but I know you. I’m not going to tear something you… feel connected to, apart before I have a reason to do it.” 

“This is more than I realize it is, isn’t it?” Lance says. 

“Yes,” Pidge says, “now get some rest and be careful. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.” Lance listens to her and gets some rest that night. But he’s definitely not going to be careful. Careful doesn’t feel like the right approach to this guy. 

–

“Are flowers too much?” Hunk asks. He’s sprawled on Lance’s floor, looking up at the ceiling like it holds all of the answers. Lance isn’t sure if Hunk’s asking him or the gods above. 

“I don’t know man, I’ve been out of the game for a while,” Lance says, “besides, I’ve only met Shay very briefly.” Hunk groans and rubs his hands over his face. 

“I can’t fuck this up man, she’s the woman of my dreams,” Hunk says, “and like- well I’m pretty damn certain she’s into me, but what if I freak her out and scare her away?” Lance smiles and walks over to his friend, sitting next to his head. 

“You’re overthinking this buddy,” Lance says, “if she is into you, which I think she is, then some flowers aren’t going to scare her away. If she’s the one, your nerves won’t turn her away, yeah?” Hunk hums and moves his hands away from his eyes. His cheeks are flushed and it’s damn adorable how much he likes this girl. 

“What if she says no?” Hunk asks. Lance shrugs. They’re adults now, rejection isn’t what it used to be. 

“Then you move on and do your best to be her friend,” Lance says, “you don’t want to force someone into liking you.”

“I’m acting like a love struck teenager, aren’t I?” Hunk asks, standing up. Lance nods with a gentle smile. 

“Love seems to have that effect,” Lance says, “just be yourself and I’m sure she’ll be into it. The last thing you wanna do is be someone you’re not.” Hunk nods firmly and the worry starts to dissolve from his brow. 

“I’m gonna get her flowers,” Hunk says confidently. Lance pats him on the shoulder and stands up. 

“There you are, big guy. Confidence,” Lance says, “now can we do what you came here to do?” Hunk’s eyes go wide. He must have forgotten why he came by in the first place. 

“Right, fixing your shower,” Hunk says. Baking is not Hunk’s only talent. He went to college to be a plumber but found another passion along the way. Lance is useless when it comes to plumbing. It’s nowhere near as easy for him as carpentry. He’s done with his shower randomly losing its pressure. Hunk does his thing and Lance helps where he can, mostly handing him tools. Hunk explains the problem and Lance pretends to understand it. Hunk stays for a while longer, still overthinking everything about Shay, but leaves before the sun sets. Lance decides to sit on his porch and relax. For no reason at all. He definitely doesn’t stare into the forest waiting to see purple light. Definitely not. 

Which is why he quite literally jumps out of his chair when he sees it. He doesn’t want to scare the guy away again, but sitting and watching from a distance isn’t really going to do him any good. He’s honestly sort of surprised to see the light again. He thought the guy was going to be gone for good after their brief eye contact. But he’s not going to complain. He walks over to the woods carefully, but he’s pretty sure the guy can hear him anyway. He peaks around a bush and sure enough, the guy is looking at him. Instead of looking startled, he looks… annoyed? He stops what he’s doing, shakes his head, and darts into the forest. Lance is honestly a bit bewildered. 

–

“There are a couple places around town that want some benches for the front of their shops,” Coran says, “I said you could have them done by the end of the month.” Lance loves that Coran believes in him, but he doesn’t always love the workload it gives him. Sure, he can make 12 benches by the end of the month, but he doesn’t want to work ten hour days for the next two weeks. 

“That’s a lot of work,” Lance says. Coran nods and Lance can’t exactly read the look on his face. 

“I’ve hired Lotor to paint them, so the deadline is sort of important,” Coran says, “I’ll make sure it’s worth your time and effort.” Lance gives in pretty easily. It’s hard to say no to Coran in all honesty. He’s such a kind hearted person, that he knows everything is said and done with good intentions. 

“Alright, alright,” Lance says, “any blueprints or am I on my own.” Coran winces and Lance sighs. That answers his question. 

“Sorry, my boy,” Coran says, “but your designs are all the rage. Just do what you do best.” Lance hums and waves as Coran walks away. As much work as it’s going to be, Lance knows he’s going to enjoy it. He likes being busy every now and then. Plus, it’ll distract him from the purple lights and the ‘Galra’ guy. He just runs away anytime Lance approaches him. It’s frustrating, but Lance supposes it’s fair. The guy doesn’t want to be disturbed. He leaves Coran’s shop with his hands stuffed in his pockets and a growling stomach. He’s nearly starving to death by the time he gets home, but something catches his attention. 

He sees the purple light, which is odd at this time of the day, but that’s not the strange part. Normally, there isn’t much sound to accompany the lights, but right now, he hears growling, shouts and something sizzling. The hairs on his neck stand up, and as if on instinct, he races for his garage to grab his hunting rifle. It wouldn’t be the first time a bear or wolf has gotten a little too close to his cabin. He’s just not sure where the guy fits into all of this. He creeps closer as quietly as he can, using the sounds to cover his footsteps. He looks over the log like he did the first time he saw him and stops. 

The guy is fighting a wolf. The wolf is bigger than anything Lance has seen near his property. It makes his heart race and adrenaline spike through him. The guy looks like he’s very quickly losing the upper hand. Whatever sort of magic he has seems weak. It hardly seems to have an effect on the wolf. Lance hesitates. He doesn’t want to shoot the wrong target, and he also doesn’t want to kill the wolf, his heart is too soft for that. He scans the area and he finds a large, dying branch above the fight. If he hits the shot just right, it should snap the branch off and onto the wolf. 

Knowing he doesn’t have time to second guess himself, he aims and shoots. Everything seems to move in slow motion. The sound of the shot rings through the air. He hears the branch crackle and snap. It falls off of the tree and hits the wolf right in the center of its spine. The wolf yelps and whines, stumbling back. Lance really hopes he didn’t do too much damage. He looks over at the guy and watches as he shoots a weak beam of purple light at the wolf. The wolf snaps its head up, gives a weak growl, and starts walking into the trees. But he pays that no mind. 

The guy is laying on his back and his clothes are torn to shreds. He’s covered in blood, although it’s not quite the colour Lance remembers for blood. He’s grabbing at his chest and his breathing seems laboured and short. Lance runs over to him, dropping the rifle on his way. Selfishly, he realizes this is his chance. The guy can’t run. Lance stops next to him and drops to his knee. Everything selfish leaves his mind immediately. The guy looks bad. Like… on the brink of death, bad. “Fuck. Shit,” Lance mumbles, “can you- uh… say something? Yeah, say something?” Lance is in panic mode. He’s never had someone literally dying in front of him. 

“Good shot,” the guy says. His voice is raspy and strained. He winces with each word. 

“Shit, you need a hospital,” Lance says. He ignores what the guy said and focuses on the real issue. He’ll focus on the compliment later. 

“No!” the guy says. He puts way too much effort into yelling and it makes him twitch in pain. Lance feels like he’s going to have a panic attack. He doesn’t know what to do. His phone isn’t in his pocket and the guy isn’t going to move. 

“What do you mean, no? You’re dying!” Lance says frantically, “you’re fucking dying. You’re not going to die on my property.” The guy shakes his head, throwing his blood soaked bangs into his eyes. Lance moves them away without a second thought and the guy flinches. Lance mumbles an apology under his breath. 

“I can’t go to a hospital,” he says, voice getting quieter with each word, “I’ll be fine. I can heal.” 

“No the hell you cannot,” Lance says, “you’re bleeding from every limb and you’re bruised to shit and your shoulder is definitely dislocated.” The guy rolls his eyes. Rolls his fucking eyes. 

“We both know I’m not entirely human,” he says, “I’ll be fine.” His voice is getting raspier and quieter with each sentence. 

“What? So I just leave you here to bleed out?” Lance says, “that’s not happening.” 

“Call that witch over,” he says. Lance scrunches his eyebrows. How the hell does this guy know Pidge is a witch? 

“How the hell-” Lance starts.

“You don’t want me to die? Take me inside and call that witch,” he says, “otherwise, I’m letting my body do its best out here.” Lance doesn’t like this, not one bit. This is not what he imagined his first interaction would be with this guy. 

“I- how…” Lance trails off. Now is not the time to question anything, “can you move or do I need to carry you or something?” Lance is out of his comfort zone by a million degrees. He doesn’t know what the hell he’s supposed to do or say. But the guy makes a sound that’s almost a chuckle. It actually calms Lance down a little bit. 

“Just help me stand up and we’ll see,” he says. It takes some huffing and puffing, but Lance gets him to his feet. He seems stable enough, but he’s not going to make it inside without some help. Lance throws the guy's good arm around his shoulder and starts leading them to the cabin. “You’re stronger than you look,” the guy says. Lance shakes his head. What kind of fever dream is this? 

“Maybe stop talking, yeah?” Lance says, “don’t waste your energy.” The guy hums and lets Lance lead him to the couch. Before he sits down, Lance grabs a pile of towels and covers the couch. He does not need the guy's weird purple-red blood staining his couch. “Sit, I’m calling Pidge.” The guy does as he’s told, only wincing a bit on the way down. As Lance turns to search for his phone, he hears a disgusting pop. He turns around and the guy is rolling out his bad shoulder. “Did you just-” 

“Yes, less for you to worry about,” he says, “now call her. I need something to help me speed this up.” Lance isn’t going to argue with someone who’s bleeding out, so he calls Pidge and frantically tells her to come over. All he says is that it’s an emergency. He knows she’s going to be pissed at him, but he’s willing to pay that price. When he hangs up, he goes back over to the guy. He seems stable enough to answer at least one of Lance’s questions. 

“Are you Galra?” Lance asks. There are a million more questions he’d like to ask, but he’s going to play it safe. He still doesn’t know if this guy is evil or not. At this, the guy quirks an eyebrow and tilts his head. 

“I’m surprised you know what a Galra is,” he says, “but yes, I’m half Galra.” Lance really looks at him and tries to figure out exactly what makes him not human. He can’t put his finger on it, but it’s there. “I’m not sure how far your knowledge goes, but I’m not one of the bad ones.” Lance squints at him. 

“How do I know you’re not lying?” Lance asks. 

“If I was one of the bad ones, you’d be dead already,” he says, “any other questions?” Lance sighs and sits on the floor by the guys feet. So not only is the guy hot, he’s also a good guy and has a sense of humour. Lance is done for. 

“Need anything to help while we wait for Pidge?” Lance mumbles. 

“Hmmm, maybe your name?” he says, “I have been squatting on your property, I should know who you are.” For some reason, this makes Lance’s heart flutter. 

“Lance,” he says. A silence comes over them naturally, but it doesn’t feel awkward. Lance is startstruck enough just being next to the guy, he doesn’t really feel like he needs to say anything. 

“Aren’t you going to ask for my name?” he asks. Lance shrugs against the couch. He’s not sure there’s a point. Pidge is going to fix the guy up and he’ll be on his way. But his mama raised him to be polite. 

“What is your name, squatter?” Lance asks. He hears the start of a chuckle before the guy seems to catch himself. 

“Keith,” he says. Lance pauses, then turns to look at Keith.  

“That’s not what I expected,” Lance says. 

“What, you thought it was going to be some crazy alien name?” Keith asks. Lance nods. 

“Well yeah. You’re an alien and shoot magic out of your hands,” Lance says. 

“I was raised on earth as a human,” Keith says. Lance only then notices that Keith actually is healing. He’s struck by how far behind humans must be from every other alien race. 

“You’re healing,” Lance says in disbelief. Keith nods and scratches away some of the dry blood from his arm. 

“I told you,” Keith says. Lance turns back around to hide the flush on his face. Now that the crisis seems mostly averted, all his nerves and butterflies rush into him at full force. Thankfully, Pidge knocks right then and gives him an excuse to walk away from Keith. 

“Alright, what the hell is going on?” Pidge asks. She reaches out and touches his shoulder, “and why is your shirt covered in weird purple stuff?” Lance sighs. This is going to be a long night. 

“Help me first, then get mad, yeah?” Lance says. Pidge grumbles something under her breath and walks into the living room. Lance holds his breath and waits for impact. 

“Lance, get your ass in here right now,” Pidge yells. Lance takes a deep breath and walks into the living room. Keith looks at the two of them with a pleased smile on his face. A smile which shows off his sharp canine teeth. “Mind telling me what the hell is going on?” Keith just smiles, leaving Lance to explain everything. 

“He was getting attacked and he was losing so I saved the day,” Lance says, “he told me to call the witch. Now you’re here. Apparently you’re supposed to help him.” Pidge looks between the two of them. It looks like a million thoughts are passing through her mind. 

“You’re a member of the Blades, right?” Pidge says, looking at Keith. This seems to shock him out of his smile. 

“How do you know about the Blades?” Keith asks. Pidge sighs and throws her bag off of her shoulder to get all up in his face. 

“Answer my damn question,” Pidge says. Lance watches in awe. He’s never seen Pidge like this before. 

“Yes,” Keith says, “I don’t want to hurt you, Lance or anyone here.” Pidge turns to Lance and glares. 

“You told him your name?” Pidge says. 

“Oh come on, he knew you were a witch,” Lance says, “if he wanted to know my name, he’d listen through the window or something.” Pidge sighs, but Lance knows he’s won the micro argument. 

“Look, I really don’t want to take up too much of your time,” Keith says, “but I kinda need some dried lavender and crushed raccoon bones.” Lance is actually bewildered and Keith seems to notice. “I’m half alien, my remedies don’t need to make sense.” Lance nods and sits in the armchair next to the couch. This is beyond him. Pidge rummages around her bag and pulls both of those things out. Somehow she always has what she needs in her bag. Lance suspects it’s some sort of spell. 

“Use what you need,” Pidge says, “what injury can’t heal itself?” Pidge must have done more reading about the Galra after her conversation with Lance. He’s glad he has someone like her around. Keith pulls what remains of his shirt away from his chest. He points to a deep, long gash over his heart. Lance looks away before he gets too nauseous. 

“Can’t heal anything too close to my heart,” Keith says, “bullshit that comes with being partly human, most likely.” Pidge hums. 

“I didn’t see any material about half Galra,” Pidge says, “are you- is it common?” Keith shakes his head, rubbing the lavender and bones into his wound. 

“There’s only one other half human Galra that I know of,” Keith says, “there’s not a lot of data. I’ve figured most of this out myself.” Pidge and Keith go into technical mumbo jumbo that Lance doesn’t quite understand. He’s happy to listen. The longer Keith is here, the better in Lance’s opinion. As he starts to relax, he starts to question everything a little bit. 

“Hold on,” Lance says. They both turn to look at him. Keith wounds all seem to be small scars now, which will probably fade. It’s a lot easier to look at him now. It’s a bit hard to look him in the eyes when he’s shirtless though. “I’m confused about something.” 

“I’d assume there’s quite a bit you don’t understand,” Pidge says. 

“No, no,” Lance says, “why would you need to be using your magic around here every night?” Keith actually looks a bit caught off guard. 

“What do you mean?” Keith asks. Lance sighs. He’s not about to let Keith play dumb. 

“The Blades work against the other Galra. You’re obviously here for a reason. I can’t imagine it’s zapping bugs with your purple light shit,” Lance says. The shock of the situation has worn off almost entirely and now his brain is kicking into high gear. Keith scratches the back of his neck and glances at Pidge. 

“I can’t exactly say why I’m here,” Keith says. Lance rolls his eyes. That much is obvious. 

“No shit, but why are you zapping your magic around here every night?” Lance says. He sees something shift in Keith’s eyes and it makes him feel like he’s on the right track. 

“Practice,” Keith says, “I need to keep my abilities intact.” Lance stands from the chair so he can hover over Keith. He wants to look intimidating, otherwise he’s worried he might not get the answer he wants. 

“Your magic isn’t working properly, is it?” Lance asks. He’s glad Pidge has taken the backseat and let him have this. Keith glares and doesn’t say a word. “Holy shit, I’m right!” Lance exclaims. Keith growls and stands up. 

“So what if my magic is flunking on me?” Keith says, “I don’t need to hear your opinions about it.” 

“What do you mean it’s flunking on you?” Pidge asks. 

“Stay out of this! I don’t need your help. I don’t need anyone's help,” Keith says, “leave me alone.” Keith strides away, walking like he wasn’t just on the brink of death. But Lance isn’t going to let him get off this easy. 

“Hold on,” Lance says, “you don’t get to walk away after all of that.” 

“Don’t I?” Keith says, “I’m not dead on your property, that was the issue wasn’t it?” Lance wants to slap him. 

“Are you kidding me?” Lance says, “I saved your life. I let you bleed all over my fucking towels. I made my friend drive all the way out here. You didn’t thank her.” 

“And what about you?” Keith asks, “don’t I owe you thanks?” Lance can’t believe he was so into this guy without knowing anything about him. 

“Whatever, go and shoot some squirrels with your magic,” Lance says, “but when the big moment comes where you need your magic and it’s not working, don’t blame me.” Keith crosses his arms and faces Lance fully. 

“I told you I don’t need your help,” Keith says, “what do you not understand?” 

“You’re a lone wolf, cool, I get it,” Lance says, “I don’t care. Do what you have to do. Being alone isn’t the brag you think it is.” Keith laughs, but it’s dry and unpleasant. 

“You know nothing about me,” Keith says. 

“I’m glad,” Lance says. They stare at each other in a silent competition. Lance only loses because Pidge grabs his arm in a vice grip and drags him away. Keith takes the opportunity to leave. 

“What the hell, Lance?” Pidge says. Lance immediately feels like his mother is scolding him. He flops down on the couch, suddenly feeling exhausted. 

“He was dying,” Lance says quietly. Pidge shakes her head and sits next to him.

“I told you not to get involved in this,” Pidge says. Lance is sick of people telling him what to do. 

“I know, okay! But when someone needs help, I’m going to help them,” Lance says, “and I know you don’t trust him or what he’s doing, but I do. Sure, he’s an ass and he’s pissing me the fuck off-” 

“But you wanna help him,” Pidge mumbles. 

“Exactly,” Lance says, “he’s alone and his magic isn’t working properly. There’s no way a wolf should be able to best him.” 

“What makes you say that? You don’t exactly know anything about him,” Pidge says. 

“I know that. But I feel connected to him somehow, I don’t know how to explain it,” Lance says, “and you can say he’s luring me in, but I know you heard the conversation we just had. He wants nothing to do with me.” Pidge hums and taps her fingers on her thighs. 

“What do you expect to do, Lance?” Pidge says. 

“I don’t know,” Lance says, “I was hoping you’d help me figure that part out.” Pidge sighs. Lance likes the sound of that, she’s giving in. 

“This is really damn stupid, you know?” Pidge says. Lance nods. “And we’re probably not going to be able to do shit,” Lance nods again, “and he wants nothing to do with you.” 

“I know all of that,” Lance says, “are you going to help me or not? Cause you know I’m confronting him whether you like it or not.” 

“Fine,” Pidge says, “but only because I can tell how much you care about this. If this all blows up in your face, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

“I don’t care what happens, I just want to try,” Lance says, “he needs someone to try for him.” Pidge shakes her head. 

“I don’t know what you see in him,” Pidge says, “seems like a conceited asshole to me.” 

“Sure, but I think there’s more to it,” Lance says, “people could say the same about you, but you’re neither conceited or an asshole.” Pidge stands up and grabs some of the dirty towels. 

“We’ll give him a chance,” Pidge says, “mind if I take one of these back to my place? I wanna run some tests on his blood.” Lance grins. Sounds like Pidge is most definitely on board. 

–

Despite all of the distractions Keith has caused, Lance hasn't forgotten about the situation Matt is in. He's doing his best to help him and Pidge figure it out. Only problem, nothing in town seems out of place. No strange faces, nobody acting weird or out of character. Everything seems as normal as ever. He really wants to be able to help Pidge and Matt figure this out, but there’s only so much he can do. He’s not stupid by any means, but he is nowhere near as analytical and out of the box as those two. He can’t think of a better pair of people to solve the mystery. But he feels bad having Pidge help him with Keith and not have anything to provide back. 

Lance thought Keith might find a new place to practice, but he still sees the purple lights around his property. It’s been a week since Keith almost died and Lance hasn’t approached him. He’s listening to Pidge this time because he doesn’t want to risk losing her help. It’s been hard though. He wants to give Keith a chance. He wants to know who Keith really is. The next time Pidge comes over to talk about it, Matt and Allura are with her. “Okay, so I’m thinking we need to go about this slowly.” Pidge says. 

“How much slower can we go? You’re not even letting me approach him,” Lance says. 

“If you let me explain, I’ll get to that, okay?” Pidge says, “Matt and I did some research. We reached out to dad as well and he found some other old books from my grandma.” She goes into some long spew, still not explaining why Lance can’t go near Keith or why Allura is here. What she’s saying does make sense though. She found some weird cell activity in Keith’s blood and she thinks it’s connected to the issues with his magic. 

“So why haven’t I been allowed to talk to him?” Lance asks, “and why is Allura here?” 

“Allura is here because I think she deserves to hear Matt’s theory,” Pidge says, “as for Keith, we just have to be careful. Someone who so desperately denies help isn’t going to suddenly accept it if you offer it nicely.” Lance just wants this to be easy. He wishes that helping people could be easy. 

“What theory?” Allura says, “I don’t like the tone of this conversation.” Matt winces and it makes Lance feel extremely anxious. He doesn’t want to rope a bunch of people into this. 

“I want to stress that I’m not entirely certain about this. Pidge and I are only making connections. We just… want you to be aware,” Matt says. 

“Get to the point, please,” Lance says. Pidge glares at him, but he doesn’t care. 

“Based on what we’ve studied about Galra hybrids, we think we know why Keith might be here,” Matt says. Lance leans forward. Things are getting interesting. “Allura, we think there’s a chance Keith is here for Lotor.” She frowns. 

“What could Lotor possibly be doing to have aliens coming for him?” Allura asks. Matt sucks in a breath and looks at Pidge. 

“We think he might be part Galra,” Pidge says. Allura shakes her head. 

“No, I’m not dealing with this,” Allura says, “I don’t know what you guys have going on here, but I want no part of this. Lotor should have no part in this.” She stands, gives them all one last look and walks out of the room. Matt sighs and rubs his hand over his face. 

“Well shit,” he says, “I told you it was a bad idea to tell her.” 

“I didn’t think she’d walk out,” Pidge says. 

“Can I know what the hell is going on?” Lance asks. He has a feeling this is going to be a long night. 

“You know how Keith said he only knew of one other Galra hybrid?” Pidge says, “based on what we’ve studied and the properties of Keith’s blood, we think he was talking about Lotor.” Lance shakes his head.

“You really think the one other case he’s heard of is also the enemy he was sent here to fight?” Lance says, “the odds of that seem basically impossible.” 

“Someone has to be the one in the million, Lance,” Matt says. 

“So what, I’m just supposed to believe the person Allura loves with her entire heart is evil?” Lance asks, “let me guess, you think he’s stealing your drugs too?” 

“I can’t believe you're on her side!” Pidge says, “we have evidence. We’re not just saying this for fun. If I didn’t have to ruin her relationship, then I wouldn’t.” 

“Evidence…” Lance says, “is it really evidence if you have nothing to show me?” 

“Lance, you know that doesn’t make sense,” Matt says, “I can show you the books, I can show you the blood.” 

“But can you show me the connection?” Lance says. Matt looks over at Pidge and she shrugs. “Look, until you can show me the proof, I’m on neutral ground. And I’m going to talk to Keith.” 

“Lance, you have to be-” Pidge starts. 

“I can handle myself, Pidge,” Lance says, “I won’t scare him away and if he really doesn’t want me around I’ll back off. But I’m not letting him deal with this on his own.” Pidge grumbles under her breath. Lance is glad he doesn’t hear what she says. 

“I think it’s best we head out for the night,” Matt says, “I’m sorry about all of this.” 

“I know, I’m sorry too,” Lance says, “we’ll figure all of this out together, okay?” 

“Deal,” Pidge mumbles, “don’t do anything stupid.” 

“No promises,” Lance whispers. 

–

Lance wants to figure out where Keith is when he’s not practicing his magic on Lance’s property. If he can figure out what Keith is doing all day, he can get closer to figuring out if Lotor is involved. He really hopes Pidge and Matt are wrong, but he knows they rarely are. Lotor makes Allura happy and he raises money for good causes. He’s doing good things and Lance doesn’t want that to change. On his lunch break, he decides to walk around the perimeter of his property. He’s actually made a lot more progress on the benches than he thought he would, so he doesn’t feel bad taking the time to explore. He can see the spots where Keith has made himself room to practice. What he doesn’t expect to find is a little shack right on the edge of his property. He’s right on the edge of town and beyond his property is a huge forest. Keith has somehow made camp perfectly on the line. 

He doesn’t want to invade Keith’s space, so he just looks around the general area. It doesn’t exactly look like a great place to live, but he feels like Keith doesn’t care about that. Just when he’s about to leave, he hears noise from inside of the shack. He freezes. If he runs now, Keith will surely see him. He’s not sure if it’s better to stay or run. The decision is made for him when the door swings open and Keith stomps over to him. “What the hell are you doing here, Lance?”  

“I was walking around my property,” Lance says, “what are you doing here?” Keith sighs. Lance really hopes he doesn’t have an argument for that. 

“You know what I mean,” Keith says, “I could smell you a mile away.” 

“Does being Galra make your smell that much better?” Lance asks. 

“Hearing too,” Keith says, “heard you trip over the log by your door. You’re quite colourful with your words when no one is around.” Apparently Keith’s hearing is really good. 

“Did you hear anything the other night?” Lance asks. Keith hums and shakes his head. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Keith says, “I can’t hear inside of your house from here.” 

“But I’m sure you could if you were closer,” Lance says, “did you hear my conversation with Pidge and her brother?” Keith leans against his shack, which shockingly holds his weight, and seems to consider his next words carefully. 

“I don’t know what you expect me to tell you, Lance,” Keith says. 

“This is starting to mess with my personal life, I don’t know what to do about it,” Lance says, “can’t you have some sympathy.” 

“I told you to leave me alone, wouldn’t that solve the issue?” Keith asks. Lance sighs and sits on the log behind him. 

“It’s not that simple,” Lance says. 

“I know it’s not, but I can’t help you, and you definitely can’t help me,” Keith says, “let's just leave it at that and go our separate ways.” Lance shakes his head and stands up. 

“Can I see your shack?” Lance asks. 

“You’re seeing it right now,” Keith says. 

“Thanks smartass, can I go inside?” Lance asks. Keith sighs, but he must be able to see the stubbornness in Lance’s eyes. 

“Sure, why not,” Keith says, “I guess I am living on your property.” 

“You should be grateful I’m not asking you more questions about that, by the way,”  Lance says. 

“Do you want to see it or not,” Keith says. Lance shuts up and follows Keith into the shack. It’s just as dismal on the inside as it looked. There’s a cot, a small table and a duffel bag. Minimal. 

“So like- I assume you have to shower and shit like a normal human being, right?” Lance asks. Keith rolls his eyes and sits on his cot. 

“No shit,” Keith says, “this is just for sleeping, I spend my days elsewhere.” 

“Not today apparently,” Lance says, crossing his arms and leaning into his hip. Keith looks like he’s done with Lance’s shit. Lance doesn’t care. 

“Look, this isn’t a productive conversation and I have shit to do,” Keith says, “are we done here?”

“Why are you like this?” Lance asks. He's standing in front of Keith now, trying to be somewhat intimidating. 

“Like what?” Keith asks innocently. 

“Why are you so against help? Why won't you let me have a normal conversation with you?” Lance asks. Keith stands up and Lance has to swallow the lump in his throat. Keith is only a couple inches taller than him, but it feels like a lot more. 

“I don't need help. I'm here to complete a mission and go to the next one,” Keith says, “the only useful thing about you is your property.” Lance sinks in on himself a bit. He knows Keith knows very little about him, but he's still managed to strike Lance's insecurities. 

“What about- about Pidge?” Lance mumbles. 

“She's helpful, sure, but she's not you,” Keith says, “I'm sorry, but you're not the hero of this story.” 

“Neither are you,” Lance says. 

“I never said I wanted to be,” Keith says. Lance does his best to glare at Keith but he feels weak and tired. 

“Fine, whatever,” Lance says, "good luck with your mission. I suppose I won't see you around.” Keith doesn't say anything as Lance walks away. He walks back to his cabin in angry silence. He’s not sure if it’s worth trying to do this anymore. But at this point, he owes it to Allura to figure this out. If Pidge and Matt agree that Lotor is suspicious, there has to be something there. If Lotor is evil, then Allura is in trouble. So Lance is going to have to swallow his pride and make things work with Keith. He’s not going to let his friends suffer in any way.  

–

“You look tired,” Hunk says, sliding a fresh donut to Lance. He sighs and scratches the back of his neck. 

“I’m doing a lot of work for Coran right now,” Lance says. It’s been hard not telling Hunk about all of this. But he’s already brought enough people into this mess, he will not do that to Hunk. 

“That’s all?” Hunk prods. Lance waves him off and takes a bite of the donut. 

“Tell me about Shay,” Lance says, “you’ve been on quite a few dates now, yeah?” Hunk is thankfully happy to change the subject. Hunk knows that Lance will always tell him what’s going when he’s ready. This time he might not be able to, but he’ll make it work. Hunk happily talks about Shay for a while and Lance is more than happy to listen. She sounds absolutely wonderful and Hunk seems so absolutely happy. There’s nothing he wants more than for his friends to be happy and healthy, so the conversation actually makes him feel a lot better. Hunk doesn’t let him get away that easily though. 

“I’ve seen you tired from work, this is different,” Hunk asks, “what’s going on?” Lance sighs. He’s going to have to give Hunk something. 

“I don’t know, I guess I’ve just been a bit stressed about everything lately,” Lance says, “I’m getting to existential crisis age.” Hunk nods and pats Lance on the shoulder. 

“I know the feeling buddy,” Hunk says, “you can talk to me about it, okay?” 

“I know, I know, just trying to figure some stuff out up here,” Lance says, pointing to his head. He’s not exactly lying. He is trying to figure a lot of shit out. It’s less existential and more a pain in his ass. “We're still on to see that movie this weekend, yeah?” Lance asks, once again trying to change the topic. 

“Of course!” Hunk says, “you know I'd never miss one of our movie nights.” Lance smiles and takes another bite of his donut. 

–

Lance hums to himself as he waters his plants. There’s something so calming about taking care of his property. When he’s done watering everything, he goes over to the pile of wood he made the other day. He needs to start chopping wood up to keep his place cold for the winter, but his shoulder has been causing him some trouble. Seeing Keith’s shoulder dislocated on the night he was attacked has made Lance a little too cautious. But he’d like to be warm during the winter, so he sucks it up and gets to chopping. 

It’s just cold enough for him to wear jeans, but only minutes into chopping, he’s covered in sweat. He strips his shirt, which he knows is sort of stupid, and continues on. The worst thing he’s going to get is some scratches. He’s down to his last log when his shoulder pops. On the down swing, his shoulder gives out and slides out of his socket. He drops the axe and it just barely misses his foot. He lets out a short yell that turns into a hiss. This is what he gets for ignoring his body. 

He sighs and steps away from the axe, trying his best not to move his arm too much. But he stumbles slightly on a rock and it sends a jolt of pain up his arm into his body. Before he can really feel it though, he starts to wobble and feel faint. Then everything goes black and he’s falling to his knees. 

… 

“Lance? Dude, what the hell?” Keith says. Lance blinks a couple times, the sunlight burning his eyes. When things start to make sense again, he’s looking right at Keith, who’s hovering over him. His heart thumps heavily in his chest. 

“Keith? What happened?” Lance asks. Keith rolls his eyes and leans back slightly, giving Lance more room. 

“I don’t know, you tell me,” Keith says, “I was walking to my shack and I found you passed out over here.” Lance shakes his head and it sends a jolt of pain down his arm. Everything comes back to him suddenly. 

“Oh fuck, my shoulder,” Lance says, “my shoulder is dislocated and I passed out and who knows what happened when I fell. I’m not done the benches, Coran and Lotor are going to kill-” 

“Slow down,” Keith says, “your shoulder is dislocated?” Lance sighs, but he doesn’t dare move. 

“I was chopping wood and it was hurting but I ignored it,” Lance says, “I guess I passed out from the pain when it popped out of place.” 

“Well shit,” Keith says, “I uh- I honestly don’t know how to deal with human injuries very well.” Lance sucks in a breath and moves all of his fingers and toes. Thankfully, he can feel everything, so the fall must not have been too bad. 

“Can you help me sit up?” Lance asks, “maybe push on my good shoulder from behind?” It takes them a couple minutes, but eventually they get Lance sitting, managing to mostly avoid jostling his arm. “You just put yours back, right?” Lance asks. Keith nods, but he looks concerned. 

“I have faster healing than you do, and a different type of pain tolerance,” Keith says, “I really wouldn’t recommend doing that yourself.” 

“I really don’t want to wait around the hospital for hours,” Lance whines, “last time I was there, a kid puked on me and someone went into cardiac arrest in front of everyone.” He shudders. He is really not a big fan of hospitals. 

“Lance, if you do this wrong, you’re going to make it so much worse,” Keith says, “is there anyone more helpful than me you can call?” 

“You found me, you’re helping me,” Lance says, “I saw this on TV one time. If we push it the right way, it’ll go back in. Then I just have to be careful with it for a while.” 

“Didn’t you say something about benches?” Keith asks, “you have to work. Won’t doing this make that harder?” Lance groans. The damn benches.  

“So you’re the only one that’s allowed to be stubborn and stupid?” Lance asks. 

“You’re difficult,” Keith says. 

“That’s insane coming from you,” Lance says. 

“If you’re just going to argue about this, I’m leaving,” Keith says. Lance pouts. Despite Keith being a nuisance, Lance wants him around. That initial allure has not worn off, apparently. 

“Keith, please. I can’t go to the hospital,” Lance says, “I won’t.” Keith seems to hear the desperation in his voice and his face softens. 

“You’re not going to budge about this, are you?” Keith asks. Lance shakes his head. Keith sighs and stands up, pacing slightly. “I’m definitely not capable of helping you… how opposed are you to having a stranger in your house?” Keith asks. Lance raises an eyebrow. 

“You know someone with magic healing powers?” Lance asks. He’s only half joking. 

“Not exactly, but sort of” Keith says, “he can be here soon.” This is a stupid idea, but Lance doesn’t want Keith to go away. Every time he talks to him, Lance starts to like him more, somehow. They make their way inside and Lance sits on the couch. Keith paces in front of him and it’s starting to drive Lance crazy. 

“Can you stop moving so much?” Lance asks, “it’s hurting my brain and I don’t need that.” Keith stops and sits down next to Lance. “What’s wrong?” Lance asks. Keith sighs and squeezes his hands together. 

“Nothing,” Keith says. But they both know he’s lying and that he’s doing a shit job of it. 

“Really?” Lance says, “are we actually doing this?” 

“I don’t know what you expect from me,” Keith says. 

“Emotions! Anything,” Lance says. Keith shakes his head. 

“I don’t talk about… things,” Keith says. Lance groans. He needs to teach this guy how to be open. It would do him a lot of good. 

“Well now is a good time to start,” Lance says, “we just have to sit here and wait.” They stay there in silence for a couple minutes. Lance isn’t going to talk until Keith starts spilling his emotions. 

“Fine,” Keith says, “I was supposed to be done with this mission a couple weeks ago, but my magic has been… slowing things down.” Lance knew that was the problem, but hearing Keith say it is a huge weight off of his shoulders. 

“I know you’re doing this lone wolf thing, but I want to help you,” Lance says, “and I know you think I can’t, but will you at least let me try?” Keith considers this. It looks like a million thoughts are passing through his mind at once. 

“You’re not… you’re not part of this world,” Keith says, “and I don’t expect you to be.” Lance has never heard Keith’s voice this soft before. It makes his skin tingle. Damn Keith and his odd charm. 

“But if my friends are involved, I want to be part of it,” Lance says, “I know magic is real. I know aliens are real, I know all of it. I know I cut wood and make furniture for a living, but I’m not stupid.” Keith shakes his head. 

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” Keith says, “but I don’t think you’re going to figure this out either.” Lance frowns. He knows it’s true, but he’s going to help dammit. 

“Please let me help,” Lance says, “if Lotor is bad news, I’m not letting him destroy anyone close to me.” Keith takes a deep breath and seems to relax slightly. 

“Are you sure about this? Once you get into this, you can’t go back, not without being in danger,” Keith says. Lance may be in over his head, but his abuela always told him to do anything and everything for the people he loves. 

“Yes,” Lance says, “I’m sure.” Keith nods. 

“You’re quite a special person, you know?” Keith says, “your stubbornness is somehow a strength.” Lance’s jaw drops and he gapes at Keith. 

“Did you just complement me?” Lance asks. 

“I’m not a monster,” Keith says, “I’m just…” 

“Lonely?” Lance supplies. 

“Sure, we’ll go with that,” Keith says. Just then, there’s a knock and Lance  leaves Keith to go get it. Lance’s shoulder is killing him, and now he’s starting to feel the impact from passing out in his knees and head. They’re going to be pretty banged up for a while. When Keith comes back into the room, he has a statue of a man next to him. “This is Shiro,” Keith says. Lance gives him a proper once over. He’s taller and bigger than Keith, his features a little more chiseled. He has a metal prosthetic arm that’s glowing that familiar purple. He must be part of the Blades too, but he looks more human than Keith does. 

“Hi,” Lance says, “thanks for coming out here to help me.” Keith looks between them and the corners of his lips twitch into a near smile. 

“I’m sorry Keith has been squatting on your property,” Shiro says, “I’ve been telling him not to do that.” Lance is honestly surprised to see someone Keith seems to be friends with. Shiro seems more gentle, yet still much more intimidating than Keith. 

“And I told you Lance is happy to have me here, right?” Keith says, looking at Lance. Lance shrugs, winces, then frowns. This seems to spring Shiro into action. 

“It would be nice if you didn’t avoid me,” Lance says as Shiro kneels in front of him, “but that would blow your whole edgy vibe, I guess.” Shiro snorts a laugh, trying to hide it from Keith. 

“Oh, so you think Lance is funny?” Keith says. 

“I’d say so,” Shiro says, “now shut up and let me fix him, yeah?” Keith backs away with his hands up. “So you know this is going to hurt, right?” Shiro says. Lance nods and chews at his bottom lip.  He looks over at Keith who just stares back blankly. Eventually, he seems to get the memo and walks over. 

“What do you need from me?” Keith asks. 

“I don’t know, give me your arm to squeeze with my good hand or something,” Lance says. Keith’s eyes widen, but he quickly fixes his expression and walks over to Lance’s other side. He sits next to him and lets Lance pick where he’d like to squeeze. Lance naturally goes for his bicep. You can’t blame a guy for copping a feel. Keith is damn strong. 

“Okay, hold on tight,” Shiro says. Keith sighs, but he doesn’t move away from Lance. Shiro does some weird twist and push and suddenly Lance’s arm pops back into place. He squeezes Keith’s arm with quite a lot of force, but Keith doesn’t flinch. It takes a second for the pain to fade away, but it eventually does. 

“You’re still squeezing pretty hard,” Keith says after a couple seconds. Lance snaps back to reality and flushes as he lets his hand fall away. Keith turns his arm over and there are little bruises where Lance’s fingers pushed into his flesh. 

“Sorry,” Lance mumbles. Keith shakes his head and waves a hand. 

“All good,” Keith says, “I’m going to get you some water, tell Shiro where things hurt.” Keith goes into Lance’s kitchen like he owns the place. Lance finds that he doesn’t mind. He looks over at Shiro, who’s smiling at him softly. 

“What?” Lance asks. Shiro shakes his head. 

“Nothing,” Shiro says, “Keith is just… himself around you. It’s nice to see.” Lance flushes again and looks down at the floor. “What else is bugging you?” 

“Oh uh- my knees are sore from falling,” Lance says, “and I might have hit my head.” Shiro nods and his prosthetic arm makes a whirring sound and flashes a couple times. 

“This’ll speed the healing up a bit,” Shiro says, “but you should take it easy for a couple days. Especially with your shoulder. Get Keith to chop the firewood for you, yeah?” Keith walks in just in time to hear that. He hands the water to Lance and glares at Shiro. 

“Are you signing me up for manual labour?” Keith asks. 

“It’s the least you can do for him,” Shiro says, “you’re using his property for free.” Lance nods. He likes this Shiro guy. Keith settles back on the couch next to Lance, just far enough that their legs don’t touch. He can feel heat radiating off of Keith, and it’s quite comforting. Shiro puts his metal hand on both of Lance’s knees, his shoulder and the side of his head. Lance immediately feels a lot better. 

“That’s really cool,” Lance says, “are you- you’re not part Galra too, are you?” If Shiro is the other Galra hybrid Keith knows, he can give Pidge and Matt a reason to back off of Lotor. 

“No,” Shiro says, “my fancy little arm here is Galra technology, but it’s been modified to be helpful, rather than a weapon. Mostly.” He winks and it reminds Lance of his dad. 

“So you’re part of the Blades too then?” Lance asks. If Keith isn’t going to answer his questions, then he might as well get what he can out of Shiro. 

“Seems that Keith has told you a lot,” Shiro says, giving Keith a stern look. 

“He’s friends with a witch,” Keith says, “a Holt witch at that.” Lance looks at Keith and frowns. 

“You never told me that was an important detail,” Lance mutters. 

“You never asked how I knew she was a witch,” Keith says with a casual shrug. Lance groans and looks back at Shiro. 

“How do you deal with him?” Lance asks. 

“Believe me, it’s not easy,” Shiro says, “has Keith told you anything else about why he’s here?” He’s glaring at Keith again. Keith seems rather unbothered. 

“I just know he’s here for some sort of mission and his magi-” Lance starts, only for Keith to ‘accidentally’ knock the glass of water out of Lance’s hand, “what the hell, dude?” Lance exclaims. 

“Sorry,” Keith mumbles, “I’ll uh- need a towel?” Lance just looks at him. Keith nods and goes back to the kitchen. Shiro must not know about Keith’s magic malfunctioning. 

“What was that about his magic?” Shiro whispers. Lance shakes his head. He’s not sure what relationship Keith and Shiro have and he’s not about to butt in on that. “Really? Nothing?” 

“Not my place,” Lance says. Shiro sighs and stands up. Keith comes back in and throws a towel at Lance. 

“Keeping towels above your stove is a horrible idea,” Keith says. 

“Leave him alone, his place hasn’t burned down yet, has it?” Shiro says. Keith sticks his tongue out and it’s damn adorable. 

“Yet is the key word,” Keith says, “when Shiro leaves, I’m fixing your kitchen.” Lance doesn’t protest. He wants Keith to stay around longer, so he’ll take whatever he can get. 

“Well, I guess I’ll be off then,” Shiro says, “it was really nice to meet you, Lance. Thanks for keeping Keith company.” 

“Shut up,” Keith says, glaring at Shiro. 

“Make sure you rest up, okay?” Shiro says. Lance nods and stands up to shake Shiro’s hand firmly. 

“Thanks for doing this,” Lance says, “I owe you.” Shiro looks over Lance’s shoulder at Keith then leans down close to his ear. 

“Just keep being a good friend to Keith for me, that’s more than enough,” Shiro whispers, “bye Keith!” he says at full volume. With that, he walks out of the cabin and Lance is alone with Keith again. 

“What did he say to you?” Keith says, walking right up to Lance. 

“Nothing important,” Lance says, “why doesn’t he know about your magic?” Keith huffs and crosses his arms. 

“We’ll talk about this later, your kitchen is a hazard,” Keith says. Lance just nods and follows Keith into the kitchen. As long as Keith stays for a while, Lance is happy to do some chores.

Chapter Text

Ever since Pidge and Matt brought suspicion onto Lotor, Lance has been extra perceptive. He’s dropping off the last load of benches at Lotor's art studio, which Lance had no idea he had. He must be making some sort of profit from his non profit. He watches Lotor’s every move and admittedly, he starts to see why the suspicion is there to begin with. Lotor is definitely human, but he has that same alien energy about him as Keith. Although the way Lotor holds himself makes Lance uncomfortable, which is the opposite of Keith. “These are well done,” Lotor says, helping Lance bring the last one inside, “I’m sorry you had to do so much so fast.” Lance waves him off. 

“It’s no trouble really,” Lance says, “I enjoy what I do.” Lotor grins and pats Lance on the shoulder. His bad shoulder. It’s been a week and the damn thing is still sore. Lance tries to hide his wince. 

“Sorry, did I hit a bruise or something?” Lotor asks. Apparently Lance doesn’t hide the pain too well. 

“Just sore from working,” Lance says, “I’ll leave you to it, yeah?” Lotor stops him, looking him dead in the eyes. Lance is immediately unsettled. 

“Just sore?” Lotor asks. Lance pinches his eyebrows and studies Lotor’s face. 

“Yeah?” Lance says. He suddenly feels like he shouldn’t be here. Lotor has never given him creepy or predatory vibes, but right now, Lance feels like he’s in danger. 

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, rest up,” Lotor says, going back to his regular, charming smile. Although Lance is unsure it’s charming anymore. He leaves the shop feeling entirely too itchy in his own skin. He’s probably just paranoid because of what Pidge and Matt have been saying. Surely there’s nothing wrong with Lotor. There can’t be anything wrong with him, he makes Allura so happy. When he gets home, there’s light coming through his living room window, and he knows damn well he didn’t leave any lights on. 

“Keith?” Lance says as he walks inside. His door was unlocked. He’s really hoping his instincts are right. Keith comes around the corner and grabs Lance’s wrist. 

“You have way too much trust,” Keith mumbles. 

“What the hell are you on about?” Lance asks. 

“If I was a robber you’d be dead,” Keith says. Lance rolls his eyes. 

“Nobody has been robbed in this town for decades. Plus I knew it was you,” Lance says. 

“Oh really?” Keith says playfully. 

“Really,” Lance says, “you smell like shit.” Keith scoffs and lets go of Lance’s wrist. It makes Lance feel cold. Lance walks into his kitchen to wash all the sawdust off of his hands. “What brings you here this fine evening?” Lance asks. Keith walks over and sits on the counter next to the sink. Lance isn’t sure how and when Keith decided to be so comfortable in his home, but he’s quite happy about it. 

“I need to talk to you about something,” Keith says. He sounds serious and it sucks all the joy out of Lance. 

“What’s wrong?” Lance asks. He wipes his hands on his pants and looks up at Keith. 

“I’m not supposed to tell you this, and in a way I’m being selfish for doing this, but you deserve to know,” Keith says. Lance raises an eyebrow and motions for Keith to go on. “You were delivering stuff to Lotor today, right?” Lance nods. Keith is becoming quite the stalker these days. “Well- look. Your friend, the one with the beautiful white hair? She’s dating him, isn’t she?” 

“Allura, yeah. They’ve been together for years now,” Lance says, “why?” He knows why. They both know he knows why, but Lance needs to hear it. 

“I’m here because of Lotor,” Keith says, “he’s committing crimes both here and in space.” Lance feels defeated immediately. His heart breaks for Allura. He wonders if anything Lotor’s non profit has done is real. He turns his back to the sink and slides to sit down. Keith jumps from the counter to sit next to him immediately. “I’m sorry, Lance.” 

“This is fucked up,” Lance says, “so fucked up.” He threads his fingers through his hair, “I wanted Pidge and Matt to be wrong so badly, but they- they’re never wrong, Keith.” He runs his hands down his face and plants them on his knees. “Allura is going to be heartbroken. She’s too wonderful for any of this. And the kids.” Lance feels himself start to tear up. All he needed was that confirmation to open the dam. Keith seems to be frozen next to him, unsure of what to do. Lance, selfishly, wants comfort, so he leans into Keith. It takes a second, but then Keith gets the idea and wraps an arm around Lance’s shoulders. 

“You don’t deserve to be involved in this, but- well… I need help,” Keith says. 

“Is any of it real?” Lance asks, trying to hide his sniffle. 

“Any of what?” Keith asks. 

“The non profit, what he does for the orphanage,” Lance says, “those- the kids.” Keith tightens his hold on Lance and presses his cheek to the top of Lance’s head. 

“I don’t know that part,” Keith says, “I wish I could tell you.” Lance is too tired to be angry, but he’s not too tired to ask questions. 

“Why won’t you tell Shiro about your magic? Can’t he help?” Lance asks. He feels Keith sigh and it only makes him feel worse. 

“Because Shiro is dealing with enough as it is,” Keith says, “putting my problems on him isn’t fair. I don’t want to burden him with something he knows nothing about. He’s completely human, Lance.” 

“So am I,” Lance says, “but you told me.” Keith hums and his thumb starts idly tracing circles on Lance’s shoulder. 

“I- you’re different,” Keith says. 

“I don’t know what that means,” Lance says. Keith is silent and Lance is worried he’s not going to get an answer, but then Keith takes a short breath. 

“I don’t know either,” Keith says. Lance lets himself really relax into Keith and they stay like that for a while. There is a lot they need to do, a lot they need to talk about, but Lance wants to stay like this as long as he can. Something about Keith is special, and he’s not going to let that go to waste. Eventually though, Lance’s stomach grumbles. “Hungry?” Keith asks softly. 

“I don’t really feel like eating,” Lance says. Keith lifts his head and moves so they’re facing each other. 

“You can’t give up,” Keith says. 

“You’ve said it yourself. This is not my world, I can’t help you,” Lance says, “apparently I can’t help anyone.” 

“What happened to all your motivation for this? You can’t give up because you don’t believe in yourself,” Keith says. Lance shakes his head and looks down at his knees. 

“I can’t do anything for you,” Lance says. 

“I’m going to prove you wrong,” Keith says, “you’re going to help me fix my magic, dammit.” Lance has never seen fire in Keith’s eyes like this. Keith truly believes in him. It makes his heart swell in a way he’s never quite felt before. 

“You’re pretty good at comforting people for a loner,” Lance says, smiling ever so slightly. 

“I’m just telling the truth,” Keith says. Lance lets the smile get wider and drops his head forward to rest it right above Keith’s heart. 

“I take it you’re actually going to stop avoiding me now?” Lance says. Keith hums and threads his fingers through the hair at the base of Lance’s neck. For a guy who seems to repel any affection, Keith isn’t half bad at dishing it out. 

“You’re not the worst person to be around,” Keith says. 

“There’s room for another bed in here,” Lance says, “and it’s been so long since I’ve cooked for anyone other than myself. And there aren’t any bugs in here either.” 

“Cool facts,” Keith says. His fingers are still scratching at Lance’s scalp softly. 

“Stop being a smartass, just stay with me while we figure this out. Your shack is miserable,” Lance says. 

“Okay, yeah,” Keith says easily. Lance thought he was going to have to put up much more of a fight, but he’s happy it’s going this way. Lance looks up and thankfully Keith’s hand doesn’t move from his hair. 

“So where the hell have you been showering and eating?” Lance asks. Keith chuckles and pinches Lance’s neck. 

“I’ve already told you too much, no more secrets from me tonight,” Keith says. Lance smiles despite everything that’s going poorly. It’s hard to worry about all of that when Keith is looking at him with a soft smile and a hand on his neck. 

–

“So we’re right,” Pidge says sadly. Lance nods. They’re on his porch, sipping some sort of tea Pidge made for them. Matt and Pidge are in the rocking chairs, Lance and Keith are on the loveseat bench. 

“I think it’s best we leave Allura out of this for now,” Matt says, “it doesn’t put her in any danger, does it?” 

“I think telling her would put her in more danger,” Keith says. His thigh is pressed against Lance’s and the warmth and comfort is welcome. 

“So we need to figure this shit out with your magic right the fuck now, huh?” Pidge says. Keith nods, but he doesn’t say anything for a pause.

“I’m so sorry I brought all of you into this,” Keith says, “I really wish this was already done and overwith.” 

“Don’t blame yourself,” Matt says, “we’ll figure this out.” Lance really hopes they do, although there’s a part of him that is scared Keith will disappear when this is all over. Keith’s only been living with him for a few days, but it has been really nice. A lot less lonely. Seeing Keith’s chair not fully pushed in, or the extra set of dishes in the sink really makes him feel safe. 

“Are you the only one on this mission?” Pidge asks, “I know you’re not supposed to say, but I think we’re past that point.” Lance holds his breath. He’s not sure if Keith is going to bring Shiro up. Lance isn’t even entirely sure Shiro is on this mission in the first place. Keith hesitates and he seems to lean closer to Lance without noticing it. 

“Sort of?” Keith says, “I’m the only one Lotor doesn’t recognize from the Blades. Back up is here, but only if I… don’t make it.” Lance’s breath catches in his throat and he looks at Keith. 

“What the hell, you didn’t tell me that,” Lance says. He shuts himself up immediately and looks away. 

“My life is constantly at risk as a Blade, I figured that was a given,” Keith says, “sorry.” The last part is quiet enough that only Lance hears it. Pidge cuts in before Lance can think about it too hard. 

“Do the others know about your issues with your magic?” Pidge asks. Keith pauses and looks at Lance. Lance doesn’t know what he expects from him. 

“No,” Keith says. 

“Are you going to let pride put us in danger?” Matt asks. Lance turns to look at him and glares slightly. 

“He’s not being selfish,” Lance says. 

“Right, like you would know,” Pidge says, crossing her arms. 

“I would!” Lance says, “don’t act like you’ve been up to date with my life recently.” Keith puts a hand on Lance’s thigh and it shuts him up immediately. 

“Please don’t fight about this,” Keith says, “I think I should tell Shiro. I know he’s dealing with a lot, but… you guys don’t deserve to go through this.” The hand that is still on Lance’s leg squeezes softly. 

“Could you invite him over maybe? I think it would be good if he talked to Pidge and Matt,” Lance says, “I think you guys will like him!” Shiro is there in less than twenty minutes and Lance goes to get him around the front. “Sorry to call you out here again, Keith has something to tell you. And uh- well we could use your help.” Shiro looks confused, but he follows Lance around the cabin. When they get to the porch, Lance has to hide his chuckle at Matt’s face. 

“This is Pidge and Matt,” Keith says, “Pidge is the witch.” Shiro smiles and walks over to them, polite as can be. 

“I’ve heard a lot about the Holts,” Shiro says, “it’s great to meet you guys. He shakes both of their hands. Matt just stares at Shiro like he’s never seen something so beautiful before. Keith leans over to whisper to Lance. 

“What’s up with him?” he tilts his head towards Matt. 

“I think he’s a fan of Shiro already,” Lance says, “Shiro is his type.” Keith smiles and leans back to watch the three of them interact. Eventually, Shiro turns back to them. 

“So what’s this news you have for me?” Shiro asks, looking at Keith. 

“My magic isn’t working properly,” Keith says, “it’s weak. I don’t have proper control of it.” Shiro chuckles and it’s the last thing Lance expected in all honesty. 

“I know,” Shiro says. 

“Wait what?” Keith says. Everyone is silent and staring at Shiro. 

“Keith, you would have been done with this mission weeks ago if things were fine,” Shiro says, “but I’m under strict orders not to interfere.” 

“So you’re letting him put himself and us in danger because of orders?” Lance asks. Keith, once again, puts a hand on Lance’s leg to shut him up. 

“Does that mean you can’t help me?” Keith asks. 

“Now that you’ve asked me, I can,” Shiro says, “I just wasn’t allowed to offer help.” 

“Is this some fucked up experiment?” Lance asks. He’s suddenly feeling very protective of Keith. Keith squeezes his leg again. 

“It’s okay, Lance, this is how the Blades work,” Keith says, “do you know what’s causing this?” Shiro shakes his head. 

“I think if you give us some time, though, we can figure it out,” Shiro says, “can I see what it looks like?” They make their way to a clearing in the forest around Lance’s cabin and stand around Keith. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. He sticks his hand out and Lance is ready to see the familiar purple stream of magic. But this time, it’s bigger. This time he hears the electricity in the magic. 

“Holy shit,” Keith says, “that’s- I mean that’s nowhere near full power and function, but that’s a whole lot better than it has been.” Shiro hums and walks over to Keith. He grabs his wrist and twists his arm around a couple times. 

“It was weaker than this?” Shiro asks. Lance doesn’t like the shake in his voice. 

“Yeah,” Keith says. He’s looking at his own hand in awe. “Why did it change?” Pidge flips through some pages and points to something. 

“Okay, I need some of your blood, Keith,” Pidge says, “just a drop.” Shiro raises an eyebrow. 

“She’s got a theory,” Matt mumbles, “I have no idea what it is, but I’d trust her.” It’s the first time Matt has said a full sentence since Shiro showed up. He’s proud of him. 

“Fill me in,” Shiro says, walking over to Pidge and Matt. Lance goes over to Keith who’s still looking at his hand in disbelief. Lance puts a hand on his shoulder and Keith jumps slightly. 

“You okay?” Lance asks. Keith nods and lets his hand fall back to his side. 

“It’s been a few days since I used my magic,” Keith says, “I’ve been… neglecting to practice since I moved into your place.” Lance smiles with some guilt. But it’s not entirely his fault. Keith has the entire day while Lance is at work to practice. “Your place was covered in dust and I had to rearrange everything so it wasn’t a fire hazard. I’ve been busy.” 

“Maybe you’ve been overworking your magic, it just needs time to refuel,” Lance says. Keith smiles and Lance swears it looks fond. 

“I wish it was that simple, but magic doesn’t work that way,” Keith says, “but I think we’re going to figure this out. There’s a lot of brainpower here.” 

“Wow, you’ve matured a lot since the first time we talked,” Lance says playfully. 

“That’s your doing,” Keith says earnestly, “you’ve taught me a lot.” Lance’s heart beats heavily against his ribs. “Come on, we have some discussing to do and they need my blood.” Lance follows Keith in what feels like a daze. When they get back to his cabin, Pidge, Matt and Shiro are huddled around his kitchen table, studying Pidge’s book. 

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Lance asks. 

“Not right now,” Pidge says. Lance nods and stands in his own house like he doesn’t belong. Keith is ushered over to the table and Pidge does some sort of spell to extract some of his blood. Lance decides to stop hovering and goes to sit in the living room. He’s never felt quite this useless in his life, but he just wants Keith to get better. If he has to sit back and watch, he will. He’s extremely tempted to call Hunk, but he’s not going to risk bringing him into this. 

“Lance? Can you come over here?” Matt says. Lance walks over, happy to help, only to be told to hold a light so they can see something better. It’s kind of hard to be friends with people so much smarter than him. He’s not stupid. He knows he’s not stupid. But he feels pretty damn stupid right now. 

“Hey, uh- we should probably take a snack break, yeah?” Lance says. Keith looks at him and seems to read his emotions immediately. 

“What about Lance and I go get everyone some food?” Keith says, “you guys can keep doing what you’re doing.” 

“Can we get Chinese food? I need some salt,” Pidge says. 

“Sure, yeah,” Lance says, “we’ll be back soon.” The second they’re outside, Keith stops them and puts a hand on Lance’s shoulder. 

“I’m sorry,” Keith says. Lance tilts his head. Keith has no reason to be apologizing. “I don’t know why they’re not letting you help,” Keith explains. Lance shakes his head. 

“It’s okay,” Lance says, “I just- I hate feeling useless, I had to get out of there.” 

“You’re not useless,” Keith says firmly, “I’ll talk to them when we get back.” 

“You really don’t have to do that,” Lance says, “I can speak for myself.” 

“You shouldn’t have to, not with your friends,” Keith says. Lance smiles at him softly. 

“Thank you,” Lance says. It’s nice that someone believes in him. They drive to the Chinese place and order what they hope is enough food for everyone. They get back less than an hour later. 

“Keith, you’re not going to believe this,” Shiro says. Keith and Lance walk over and look at the papers spread on the table. 

“I’m not sure what I’m looking at,” Keith admits. 

“Your blood is behaving in a weird way,” Pidge says, “we don’t know exactly what it means, but it’s… actively changing in front of us. The drawings start to make sense to Lance. It’s showing the cycle the cells seem to be going through. Something is causing Keith’s magic to improve. Something recent. They would have seen this in his blood before. 

“So we need to find the factor that’s causing this change?” Lance asks. 

“Exactly,” Matt says, “you ready for an interrogation?” Keith groans. Lance knows Keith is not one for talking about himself, but he’s going to have to deal with it. They make Keith sit across from all of them and it starts to feel like a real interrogation. They ask him about his everyday life. He answers everything with short answers, which Lance expected. He doesn’t hesitate until Matt asks him what has changed recently. Keith looks at Lance before he answers anything. Lance just nods. 

“I uh- well I guess I sort of live with Lance right now,” Keith says. Shiro raises an eyebrow. Keith shrugs, “it’s better than my shack.” 

“So how long have you been staying with Lance?” Pidge asks. Lance ignores the way he can feel her eyes burning into the side of his head. 

“Three days,” Keith says. 

“No wonder I haven’t seen you-” Shiro clears his throat, “at the place.” Lance rolls his eyes. 

“It’s pretty obvious you guys have some secret base, you don’t have to dance around it,” Lance says, “but Keith was choosing to sleep in the woods in a shack, this is a better option.” 

“Honestly, I’m surprised you convinced him to do this,” Shiro says, “he’s stubborn.” 

“Lance is probably just more stubborn,” Pidge says, “he’s a pain in the ass sometimes.” Lance decides not to fall for her bait for an argument. 

“Back to the point,” Matt says, “something about this arrangement is surely affecting your magic. Other than that, nothing else has changed?” Keith takes a second to think, then nods. 

“He hasn’t been using his magic as frequently since he moved in,” Lance says, “he has insisted on ripping my house apart since it’s a fire hazard.” 

“Magic doesn’t need rest time,” Keith says. 

“I don’t think rest is the solution here,” Pidge agrees, “but I’ll look into it.” 

“Any other theories?” Shiro asks. When he’s met with silence, he lets out a long breath, “well, I have to head out for the night. We’ll talk about this again soon?” He stands up and walks over to Keith and whispers something to him. Lance swears he can see a flush of pink come over Keith’s face. Pidge and Matt pack everything up and leave Keith and Lance with empty takeout containers and more questions than answers. 

“How do you do this?” Lance asks. 

“Do what? Throw away take out containers?” Keith asks. Lance rolls his eyes. 

“I mean, all this Blade stuff,” Lance says, “you’re always doing missions and spending time alone. And I know this mission isn’t as scary or dangerous as most of them are.” Keith shrugs and shoves the last of the garbage away. 

“It’s my life, it’s what I do. I don’t remember much from before all of this,” Keith says, “my childhood hardly counts as one.” Keith and Lance have talked a lot the past few days, but Keith has never actually shared much about his childhood. Lance needs to tread lightly. 

“Your parents weren’t around much?” Lance asks carefully. Keith nods and sits on the counter behind him. Lance comes over and leans on the island across from him. 

“You could say that,” Keith says, “my mom… well she’s the one who was Galra. I’ve never met her and I have no idea if she’s even out there anymore.” Lance’s heart feels heavy. He doesn't know what he’d do without his family. “My dad died when I was pretty young, so I was passed around for a while. Shiro was sent on a mission to get me once the Blades discovered my existence. He’s sort of like a brother to me.” Lance isn’t at all surprised that Keith had a bumpy childhood. It doesn’t make it hurt any less to hear. 

It makes the gears in Lance’s head start to whirl. He doesn’t know much about Keith’s magic, but he does know a lot about human emotions and psychology. Keith had a lonely childhood. He lacked love and affection. Lance might have a theory of his own to contribute. “I’m glad you have Shiro, he seems like a great person to have in your life.” Keith grins and leans forward almost enough to fall off the counter. 

“I think he was into Matt too,” Keith says. Lance feels like he’s in middle school talking about crushes. It makes him feel giddy. 

“Really? They would look really good together,” Lance says, “do you think they’ll figure it out?” Keith shrugs. 

“I think we give them a week tops,” Keith says. Lance takes a deep breath and tries not to think too hard about the future. Keith is going to have to leave. He’s going to have other missions to go on. 

“You think this will be done in a week?” Lance asks. Keith must sense something sad in his voice. 

“I hope so,” Keith says, “I want my magic to be fixed sooner rather than later.” Lance nods. Keith is used to being alone, the change won’t be hard for him. 

“Right,” Lance says, “wanna watch a movie or something before bed?” He doesn’t want to think about the fallout of all of this right now. Keith is going to leave, Allura is going to be heartbroken and who knows what’s going to happen to Lotor’s non profit. 

“Sure,” Keith says, “can you show me another one of the animated ones? I really liked the one with the balloons on the house.” Lance smiles and helps Keith off of the counter even though he doesn’t need it. Keith’s lack of knowledge of cartoons is absolutely adorable. Lance has been having a lot of fun showing Keith the parts of childhood he missed out on. They end up pressed together under the same blanket while Lance explains the logic behind Monsters Inc. 

–

Lance is doing work on Belle’s house again. It’s nice to do something that feels so normal again. She decided she wanted to replace all the cabinet doors in her kitchen and he was happy to do it. Making doors is fun and simple and a great way to take his mind off of things. “You look tired,” Belle says, coming into the kitchen. 

“Been working hard,” Lance says, “you know how it is to be young.” She smiles in a knowing way. She had her fair share of sleepless nights spent on the town. Lance wishes that was why he felt this way, but it’s not like he can tell her the truth. 

“Don’t work yourself too hard,” Belle says, “that being said, you’ve done a beautiful job with these.” Lance takes a step back and admires his work. Despite everything that’s been on his mind, he put a lot of effort into these. He’s glad he hasn’t lost his touch. When he gets home, he’s ready to get inside and become a lifeless lump on his couch. They’re having a meeting with Pidge, Matt and Shiro tonight and he honestly doesn’t have the energy. But he needs to tell them his absolutely ridiculous theory. 

When he opens the door, his place smells like cinnamon. He relaxes immediately and walks into the kitchen. Keith looks up from the stove and Lance’s heart feels like it’s going to explode. There’s powdered sugar on his left cheek and he’s holding a tray of something that looks quite delicious. “Hey,” Keith says, setting the tray down, “sorry, I made a bit of a mess.” Lance smiles and walks over to the counter. 

“What did you make?” Lance asks. Keith pushes the tray towards Lance. He seems shy. Lance has never seen him like this before. 

“Apple crumble,” Keith says softly, “I figured we might need a snack for the meeting tonight.” Lance is going to die right here on the spot. 

“It smells amazing,” Lance says. 

“I’ll clean this all up,” Keith says. Lance shakes his head and wipes the sugar off of Keith’s cheek with his thumb without really thinking about it. 

“I’ll help you, yeah?” Lance says, “we have an hour or so before they get here, that’s plenty of time.” Keith nods and wipes his hands on a towel he has slung over his shoulder. It takes them less than half an hour to clean everything up and Keith even lets Lance have a little taste of the crumble. Lance has to admit, it’s pretty damn good. They flop onto the couch, both feeling tired from the day. “Do you think they’d listen to me if I had a theory?” Lance asks. Keith hums. 

“Depends what the theory is,” Keith says, “do you have a theory in mind?” Lance doesn’t know if he does, really, but he might be onto something, and that’s enough for him. 

“I guess I do,” Lance says, “or at least, an idea of one. I’m just- well I’ve been less involved in this than I expected. I’m not sure they’ll consider my thoughts.” Keith kicks Lance’s ankle. 

“They’re your friends, they will listen to you,” Keith says, “I don’t care how crazy you think your idea is, share it. Anything is helpful at this point.” Lance nods and toes at the carpet under his feet. Potentially helping Keith is worth the risk of embarrassing himself. 

“Okay, yeah, you’re right,” Lance says, “I’ll share my ideas.” Keith nods firmly and bumps Lance’s shoulder. 

“That’s what I like to hear,” Keith says, “you gotta trust yourself more.” They talk about Lance’s day at work until the others get there. Keith seems surprisingly interested in the process of making everything. It’s nice to talk about his work to someone who actually wants to hear about it. Shiro is the first to arrive and he lets himself in when Keith yells from the couch. 

“Lazy ass,” Lance mumbles. Keith chuckles and kicks his ankle. Shiro walks in and grins at them. 

“Too lazy to fetch me?” Shiro asks. Keith shrugs. 

“I think my couch rotting has worn off on him,” Lance says without any guilt. 

“Well, seeing you relax is a good thing, Keith,” Shiro says, “should we get a head start before the Holts get here?” They reluctantly get off of the couch and gather in the kitchen. Keith refuses to let Shiro taste the apple crumble until the others are there, but lets Lance sneak another taste when Shiro isn’t looking. Keith makes Lance feel special more than anyone ever really has. When Pidge and Matt get there, Lance starts to feel really nervous. They get straight into things and Lance feels like there’s no place for him to pitch in. 

“I looked into the rest theory and I’m not seeing any evidence for it,” Pidge says, “as far as Galra magic goes, it’s power source within the body can’t get tired.” 

“Quintessence, right?” Shiro asks, “that’s what powers my arm.” Lance has no idea what quintessence is, but he feels like now is a good time to pitch something. They seem a bit lost, at least this will give them direction. 

“I uh- I have a theory,” Lance says. They turn to look at him and he suddenly feels uncomfortable under the attention. But Keith gives him a nod and it makes him feel a lot more confident. “His magic has been getting better since he started staying with me so I think there is a connection there… obviously.” 

“And that connection is?” Pidge says. Lance takes a breath to steady himself. This might sound a lot more stupid out loud than it does in his head. 

“What if I’m the connection,” Lance says. They look at him and he swallows the lump in his throat. “Galra need a community, right? They need that physical connection sort of like cats. Keith…” he pauses and looks at Keith. Keith seems to give him the greenlight so he goes on, “Well Keith didn’t and doesn’t get that. He has people in his life, sure, but not in the way Galra need to have. Maybe it’s doing something to his magic.” He lets out a long breath and looks at everyone. He can’t tell what anyone is thinking. 

“You might be onto something,” Matt says, “the way his blood has reacted to our tests could lend to that.” Lance feels relief immediately. They’re actually considering his idea. 

“Do you think it’s physical touch or just the lack of isolation?” Pidge asks. Lance shrugs. He doesn’t know enough to answer that. But this is good. They have somewhere to go. He looks over at Shiro and he’s smiling.

“I think this is a really good idea,” Shiro says, “Keith has always been a lone wolf and his magic has never been quite as strong as the other Galra. I assumed it was the human in him.” 

“But maybe it’s not, maybe it’s the way he was raised,” Pidge says, “Lance, you’re a genius.” Hearing those words relaxes his entire body. He doesn’t even care if he’s wrong at this point. He’s helping. He’s pushing them forward. When Lance looks at Keith he’s smiling and looking at Lance with soft eyes. They eat the apple crumble and dive into the books. This time, Lance is part of it. They don’t come to any concrete conclusions, but it feels like they’re a lot closer to figuring it out. 

They end up gathering in the living room to play some cards as a reward for all their hard work. Lance happens to notice that Shiro and Matt are sitting awfully close to each other. Keith seems to catch it too. They’re playing Catan and Lance is losing horribly. He never does particularly well since he tries to interfere with everyone else instead of winning. He feels something poke at his side and looks down. Keith is handing him the sheep he needs to upgrade his houses. Lance takes the cards and later gives Keith some to help him out. Neither of them win, but they’re also not the biggest loser like Shiro. 

“Okay, I’m leaving on a high note,” Pidge says, “we’ll let you know what we hear from our dad.” Matt and Shiro follow behind her. Keith and Lance wait patiently for Shiro to come back and when he does they both grin at him mischievously. 

“What?” Shiro says. He’s blushing. He’s not subtle at all. 

“How’s Matt doing?” Keith asks. Lance turns his face to hide his laughter. 

“Good? You literally just spent the night with him,” Shiro says. Lance only laughs harder and he can feel Keith’s shoulders shaking against him. 

“Yeah, but I didn’t get his number,” Keith says. Shiro sighs and sits on the arm chair across from them. 

“Stop laughing at me,” Shiro says, “I’m making moves.” Keith snorts a laugh. It’s a beautiful sound. 

“You’re so old,” Keith says. 

“I’m six years older than you,” Shiro says, “don’t act like I’m ancient.” 

“You sort of are,” Lance says, still giggling. 

“Whatever,” Shiro says, “don’t be mad when I’m on a date and you’re sitting here doing nothing.” Lance risks a glance over at Keith and they make brief eye contact. His heart stutters. 

–

Lance wakes up to his shoulders being shaken lightly. He squints his eyes open to adjust to the sunlight. He has no idea what time it is, but it’s definitely too early. When he finally comes to reality, he’s looking up at sparkling purple-blue eyes. “Morning,” Keith says. Lance yawns and stretches out his shoulders. He sits up to look at Keith. He doesn’t care how early it is if Keith is the one waking him up. 

“Hey,” Lance says, “need me to kill a spider or something?” Keith chuckles and shakes his head. 

“Do you work today?” Keith asks. Lance searches around his slowly waking mind. 

“Nope,” Lance says, popping the ‘p’. Keith grins and sits on the bed next to Lance. 

“Can we go on a hike or something?” Keith asks, “I’m only allowed to be in certain places until I take Lotor down and well- not that your forest isn’t nice-” 

“Yes,” Lance says, cutting him off, “I’d love to go on a hike.” Keith’s smile could light up a room. It certainly lights up Lance’s heart. “I know a good place a couple towns over. There’s a waterfall and it’s beautiful.” They make pancakes for breakfast and head out while the sun is still rising. They drive with the windows down and Lance plays a bunch of songs Keith has never heard before. The parking area next to the trail only has one other car, so it should be a pretty peaceful walk. 

“It feels like it might rain,” Keith says. Lance raises an eyebrow. The sky is blue and clear. He can see one lone cloud just next to the sun. 

“Is this a Galra sense or something?” Lance asks. Keith grins and it shows off his sharp canines. “Well, I’ll leave my phone and wallet in the truck then.” 

“You better not get us lost,” Keith says. Lance has a feeling they’d be just fine even if they did get lost. They head into the forest and Keith seems to light up. They walk shoulder to shoulder, chatting idly as they go. Everything is calm and quiet, just the sounds of nature surrounding them. Lance is pretty sure life doesn’t get much better than this. They stop to watch squirrels and move caterpillars off of the path. They play i-spy and tell stories about the trees and everything they’ve seen. It all flows so naturally that it’s like Lance blinked and they’re at the waterfall. 

“Come on, there’s a really nice place to sit over here,” Lance says. They sit on a rock that gives them a perfect view of the waterfall. They sit in silence, admiring the world around them. 

“Earth is really beautiful,” Keith says, “I’ve seen other planets and nothing is quite like this.” Lance can’t imagine anything being much better than what mother nature has blessed them with. Everything works in such beautiful harmony. 

“I’m so grateful that I’m alive to see all of this,” Lance says, “I mean, just look at it. This all just exists around us and we decided to build skyscrapers.” Keith hums and they fall into another silence. As they sit there, Keith’s hand inches closer to Lance. He holds his breath and nearly passes out when Keith’s pinky hooks around his. They don’t say anything, they don’t look at each other. But then a fat drop of rain lands on Lance’s nose. He looks up and another couple hit him. Before he knows it, the sky is pouring. 

“Come on!” Keith says. He grabs Lance’s wrist and drags him into the little creek at the base of the waterfall. The water is cold, but Lance doesn’t mind. Keith grabs both of his hands and starts spinning them around in the rain. They’re both laughing and grinning so much it almost hurts. Lance’s skin feels tingly with joy. They dance around in the rain, splashing water around and spinning each other around. Lance slips on a rock and practically falls into Keith’s chest. 

Keith catches him of course, and they look each other in the eye. Lance’s hands are splayed on Keith’s chest and Keith’s are on his lower back. Their noses are almost close enough to touch. It’s like time freezes and the only thing in the world is them. Before he knows what’s happening, their lips connect. His entire body tingles pleasantly as their lips slot together. It happens naturally and they both lean into it easily. Keith’s hands tighten on his hips and Lance’s come around to wrap around Keith’s neck. They kiss under the rain for what feels like forever and no time at all. 

Lance pulls back when he can’t catch his breath and looks at Keith. His cheeks are flushed, his hair messy and damp, and his lips pink and shiny. He looks the most beautiful he ever has. “You’re beautiful,” Lance says. It’s barely a whisper, but Keith is close enough to hear it. 

“I’ve been waiting to do that,” Keith admits, licking his lips. Lance can’t help but lean in to pepper kisses on Keith’s neck and jaw. Keith giggles and pushes Lance’s head away. “Stop that,” Keith says. Lance nuzzles his face into Keith’s shoulder and takes a deep breath. 

“I bet I’ve been wanting to do this for longer,” Lance says playfully. Keith lifts his head with a hand on his jaw. He raises an eyebrow. 

“Oh yeah? What makes you think that?” Keith asks. Lance shrugs, shivering when Keith’s hand slips under his shirt and dances up his spine. 

“The first time I saw you I was basically drooling,” Lance says. Keith smiles and brushes his thumb over Lance’s cheek. 

“I can’t believe I ran from you for so long,” Keith says. 

“That’s the past,” Lance says, “this is- well this is perfect.” Keith leans back in and this time the kiss is so much more. It speaks a thousand silent words. Keith seems to be pouring his love into Lance. When he pulls back, he shoots a beam of his magic at a rock and sends it flying. It’s even brighter than the last time. 

“I think you’re right,” Keith says, “you might be the key to fixing me.” Lance’s feeble heart can’t handle it. He pulls Keith into a bearhug and squeezes him like he might disappear. Keith melts into the hug and lets Lance have his way for as long as he wants. 

“I’m going to make up for all those years nobody hugged you,” Lance says firmly, “if fixing your powers means cuddling all day, then I have absolutely no complaints.” They stand there in the rain until their stomachs remind them it’s time for lunch. Even then, it takes them a while to get back to the truck. Their hands are intertwined over the center console the entire way home. 

–

“So… how long until you take Lotor down?” Lance asks. They’re in his bed and Keith’s head is on his chest, his hand drawing absent patterns on Lance’s skin. Keith hums and it vibrates through him.

“If my magic keeps improving, another week or so,” Keith says softly, “I have to make sure to take him down quietly.” Lance thinks about the town and what’s going to happen. Lotor is a pretty known and respected person around here. Keith said his crimes weren’t just in space, but here on earth too. He doesn’t want to think of the fallout when those crimes get revealed, whatever they are. He doesn’t want to think about how this will all affect Allura. 

“Are you supposed to take him down alone?” Lance asks. Keith looks up at Lance. 

“Yeah,” Keith says. Lance frowns and Keith slides up to connect their lips, wiping the frown away. “Don’t make that face, I hate it.” Lance frowns again and Keith kisses him again. 

“If you kiss me every time I do it, it’s gonna be hard to stop,” Lance says. Keith sighs and props himself up on Lance’s chest so they can really look at each other. 

“It’s going to work out, okay?” Keith says, “and I know this is going to be hard for everyone in town, but it’s better to know the truth than live in a lie.” Lance brushes Keith’s messy hair from his eyes and kisses his forehead. He’s pretty sure he could never get tired of kissing Keith. 

“I guess so,” Lance says. When he’s ready to drop the subject and get some much needed sleep, there’s a knock on the door. He raises an eyebrow at Keith who shrugs. “Who the hell is here so late? It’s almost midnight.” Lance reluctantly lets Keith slide off of him and grabs some clothes on his way to the door. The last person he expects to see is Allura. “Is everything okay?” Allura shakes her head and Lance lets her in. He hears some shuffling and soon Keith joins them. 

“It’s Lotor,” Allura says. Keith immediately walks over to her, grabbing Lance’s hand on the way. 

“What is it?” Keith asks. Lance can see a fire in his eyes that’s extremely attractive. But now is not the time for that. 

“Are you the one with the magic?” Allura asks. Lance completely forgot that she and Hunk haven’t even met Keith yet. He squeezes Keith’s hand. 

“He is,” Lance says, “now, about Lotor?” Allura nods and takes a deep breath. She’s so behind on everything, Lance can’t possibly imagine how she feels right now. 

“I think- well, no, I’m certain he’s selling drugs,” Allura says. Lance takes a sharp breath, but Keith doesn’t seem at all surprised. That must be part of the earth crimes Lotor is known to be committing. He must be taking stock from Matt.

“Drugs?” Lance chokes out. Keith pulls Lance over to the kitchen and Allura follows them. 

“You guys are so connected to all of this, I think you deserve to know the truth,” Keith says. 

“So you are here for him?” Allura asks desperately. Keith nods solemnly and Lance pats her on the shoulder. Maybe her finding out on her own will soften the blow. 

“Lotor is the son of a very powerful, evil ruler in space, Zarkon,” Keith says, “Lotor has rebelled and come to earth as a way to spite his father and prove he is more powerful.” Lance can’t believe all the science fiction books he read as a kid could be real. “He has a group of followers that have been conquering planets and taking in prisoners to use as slaves. They are slowly destroying and taking over the universe, while Zarkon and his followers do the same from the other direction.” 

“So Lotor is half of the equation,” Lance says. 

“Then why is he on earth?” Allura asks. Keith takes a deep breath and looks between the two of them before speaking. 

“Earth is the one planet the Galra want to conquer the most,” Keith says, “but they can’t do that until earth’s population is significantly lower. Lotor has spent the past five years trying to find ways to do this.” Allura brings her hands up to her mouth when she gasps. Lance feels every muscle in his body tighten. 

“I- I’m dating a monster,” Allura says in absolute horror. Lance goes over to her immediately and wraps her in a gentle hug. “I’m a monster, too,” she mutters under her breath. 

“Absolutely not,” Keith says, “Lotor is smarter than his dad ever was. He tries to hide his plans, he tries to come off as the good guy. You fell for the expertly laid out trap he made.” 

“I’m so sorry Allura,” Lance says, “so sorry.” She nods and wipes away the single tear that fell down her cheek. 

“How do we take his ass down?” she says. There’s a fire in her voice, in her eyes, in her posture. Lance has never seen rage like this before. He can feel it in the air. He shivers. The energy surrounding him from both Keith and Allura is electrifying. He has no doubt they’re going to run this guy into the mud. Then stomp all over him and kick his ass into the abyss. 

–

“You should just stay here,” Lance says. He’s leaning over the stove scrambling some eggs for them. Keith is in his regular spot, sitting on the counter next to him. 

“I wish I could,” Keith says. Lance sighs and moves the eggs off the heat to direct his full attention at Keith. 

“Do you have to do this today?” Lance says. Keith opens his knees and Lance slots himself in, practically pressing their chests together. Keith puts his hands on Lance’s shoulder and pecks the tip of his nose. 

“Would you rather me let Lotor do as he pleases?” Keith asks. Lance shakes his head and leans forward, forcing Keith to wrap him in a hug. Keith does so without complaint. 

“I wish I could help,” Lance says, muffled in Keith’s shoulder, “but I’d also rather not get involved in a magical fight with no magical powers.” 

“You are going to be helping,” Keith says, ruffling Lance’s hair, “you’re going to be right there when all is said and done. You’re going to be there in case anything goes wrong.” Lance bites Keith’s shoulder, who slaps him softly on the shoulder in return. 

“Nothing is going to go wrong,” Lance says. Keith rolls his eyes and brings his arms up and around Lance’s neck. 

“I know, but it’s good to know you’ll be right outside the place,” Keith says, “it helps that you’re nearby.” Now it’s Lance’s turn to roll his eyes. 

“Can you actually tell I’m there through the walls of a building?” Lance asks. Keith bumps his nose against Lance’s and chuckles. 

“Yes,” Keith says, “now get a move on, I want to eat before Pidge explains the science of your kisses healing my powers.” Lance grins. It feels good knowing he’s the one helping Keith so much. Although Pidge and Matt don’t know about the whole kissing part yet, they still found an answer. They eat breakfast and clean the dishes together. It’s all so domestic and it makes Lance’s stomach whirl with butterflies. It also makes his heart heavy. He and Keith haven’t talked about what’s after this. When Pidge and Matt get there, they have a huge stack of paper and a physical model. 

“To put it simply, Galra have it in their biology to be physically close. A huge part of their aging process is impacted by their Pack and how their bonds are formed,” Pidge says, “Keith lacked that part of the aging process. Because of this, his magic never had the chance to mature.” The fact that Keith’s childhood did this to him shatters Lance’s heart. He wants to make up for all the affection Keith never received. 

“We believe that the bond you two have formed, and living together are causing a rapid reaction in Keith’s body,” Matt says, “he’s going through the process he was supposed to as a child. His magic is maturing because you’ve essentially formed a Pack. Having Pidge and I around probably perpetuates it as well.” Lance looks over at Keith. He doesn’t know what they are or what they’re going to be, but he wants everyone to know. He wants the world to know that he makes Keith giggle and blush. He makes Keith melt in his arms, he makes Keith soft and cuddly after a day of hard work. But Keith shakes his head softly. 

“So, do you agree that your magic is strong enough to enact the plan today?” Pidge asks. Keith nods firmly. Lance wishes he’d say no, but he knows this has to happen. Not just for Allura, not just for the town, but for the entire universe. 

“Allura is with Lotor right now, he has no idea she’s onto him,” Pidge says, “if he does, he’s doing a damn good job of hiding it.” 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he does know,” Keith says, “we have to be prepared for anything. I am prepared for anything.” He sounds so confident it actually makes Lance feel better. It’s been hard not to think about Keith getting hurt. Lotor sounds really damn powerful and Keith is only one person. 

“Well, I guess we’re going in then,” Matt says, “Lance and I will head out now and let you know when the coast is clear.” With no time to waste, they make their way out and into the middle of the town. They go to a little ice cream shop across the street from Lotor’s non profit and try to be as casual as possible. Lance can hardly taste the ice cream as he eats it, focusing instead on all the thoughts racing through his mind. He needs to get his mind off of things. 

“So… how’s Shiro?” Lance asks. Matt smiles and flushes slightly. 

“Good,” Matt says, “how’s Keith?” That shuts Lance up right away. He doesn’t know how much Matt knows, but considering he studied human behaviour for his thesis, he probably has it all figured out. “But uh- well I really like Shiro.” Matt says. 

“I’m really happy to hear that,” Lance says, “he’s quite smitten with you.” Matt flushes even darker. 

“Is that so?” Matt asks. Lance rolls his eyes. He’s pretty sure Matt is well aware of that. 

“Have you guys talked about… after all of this?” Lance asks. Matt looks at him like he’s reaching into Lance’s brain to read his thoughts. 

“You’re boning Keith, aren’t you?” Matt asks. Lance nearly chokes on his ice cream. Rather blunt of Matt. 

“If you must know, yes,” Lance says, “it’s helping his magic.” Matt smirks. 

“I’m sure it is,” Matt says, “but, well, we’ve sort of talked about it, but they have to be so secretive about everything.” Lance nods. There’s only so much information he’s been able to get out of Keith. 

“I’m just not sure what I’ll do if he leaves,” Lance says, “it’s not like we’re dating or anything, we haven’t talked about that, but I’ve become so used to him being around.” Matt hums and wipes his face, done with his ice cream. 

“I think once this is done, we’ll figure it out,” Matt says, “if I have to wait weeks at a time to see Shiro, it’s still worth it.” Lance smiles softly. He likes seeing Matt happy like this. 

“You’re really into him, huh?” Lance says. 

“And you’re really into Keith,” Matt says, “we won’t let these ones go, okay? We’ll figure this out. It feels too much like destiny for it to fall away.” It’s true. All of this has felt like it was supposed to happen. Like Lance was supposed to find Keith, was supposed to be the key to unlock his magic. It’s like Keith showed up at the perfect time, to be there for Lance when his life was becoming too lonely and mundane. It can’t be coincidence and he can’t let it go. He’s glad he has someone in a similar situation to him. 

They text Pidge and Keith to head over and all they can do is wait, not so patiently. Lance feels like his heart is going to burst. Keith could be walking into his death right now. All he can do is look out the window, but it doesn’t really let him see anything. He just sees the reflective windows of Lotor’s building. As he’s staring, he sees Pidge and Keith approach. “They’re going in,” Lance whispers. Matt puts a hand on his shoulder and squeezes. His sister is going in there too, he must be shitting his pants as well. 

“Remember, we give them forty five minutes before we interfere,” Matt says, “unless they ask us to of course.” 

“How do you seem so calm right now?” Lance asks. Matt shrugs. 

“Practice,” he says, “my dad went out on death missions all the time when I was a kid, so I had to adapt.” Damn, Lance is more and more grateful for his childhood every day. They sit there talking, but neither of them are really paying attention to the conversation. From the outside, Lotor’s building looks as normal as ever. Inside, Lance can’t even imagine what’s happening. He doesn’t know what a battle of magic looks like. If Lotor is as strong as he’s been described, Lance is sure there’s a lot of action going on. 

Nearly forty five minutes pass and Lance is ready to sprint across the street. Before he can even stand up, one of the windows at the front of Lotor’s building shatters and a billow of smoke puffs out onto the street. He freezes and watches in horror. He doesn’t know what that means. But then Keith walks out with Lotor’s hands secured behind his back. Lance doesn’t hesitate to run out to them. People have started to gather around and Lance is pretty sure that is not what they want. Pidge comes out next and grabs Lotor from Keith, running him into an alley next to the building. That’s where Allura and Shiro are, ready to get Lotor locked up in a Blade ship. 

Keith locks eyes with Lance, wobbles slightly, then falls to his knees. Lance runs over to him and drops to his knees and grabs Keith’s shoulders. “Shit, are you okay?” Lance asks. Keith nods, but Lance doesn’t believe him. Keith is shaking, his face is bruised and bloody and his clothes are ripped. “We need to get you help.” 

“Lotor needs to be secured first,” Keith says. His voice is hoarse. “None of these injuries are going to kill me.” Lance brings a hand to his cheek and brushes his thumb across a bruise gently. 

“I don’t want you to be in pain,” Lance says with a frown, “let’s at least get out of the middle of the street.” Keith nods and lets Lance help him up. They go around to the alley as well, getting there just as the ship goes up and zips away. The ship holds Lotor and three other Blade soldiers. Pidge, Allura and Shiro are at the end of the alley. Allura is in tears. Shiro comes over to them as Matt approaches from the street. 

“Is everyone okay?” Matt asks. 

“Keith’s battered,” Lance says, “but everyone else seems okay. Physically at least.” Lance feels so much relief being surrounded by the people he loves. He’s so glad all of this is going to be over. He can go back to his simple life. He’s not going to think about the elephant in the room right now. At least he can finally stop lying to Hunk. 

–

Lance wakes up and pats the bed next to him. His heart races when he feels nothing. He sits up and rubs his eyes. Keith isn’t there and it immediately makes him panic. Logically, Keith is in the bathroom or kitchen. But Lance’s brain decides to short circuit instead. He pulls his knees up to his chest and does his best not to freak out. When he hears the toilet flush, his body relaxes. But the back of his mind doesn’t. He still needs to talk to Keith about a lot. Keith comes back into the room and slides into the bed. “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you up,” Keith says. He looks at Lance and frowns, “what’s wrong?” 

Keith’s injuries have mostly healed, but there’s still a scar under his eye. Lance finds it hard to believe that only this afternoon Keith was in a heated battle and explosion. “Keith, we need to talk,” Lance says. It hurts his heart to say it, but he can’t avoid it for much longer. Keith puts a hand on his knee and Lance sighs at the warmth and comfort. “What does… what do I mean to you?” 

Keith tilts his head and if Lance wasn’t preparing himself for a broken heart, he’d find it adorable. “I’m not sure what you’re asking me,” Keith says softly. 

“I don’t just sleep with anyone,” Lance says, “you are so special to me, Keith. I need to know where this is going.” 

“I’ve never met someone like you,” Keith says. Lance expects more, but Keith doesn’t say anything else, he just squeezes Lance’s knee. 

“What does that mean?” Lance asks. 

“I can’t stop being a Blade,” Keith says, “but I also can’t imagine living without you.” Lance's heart stutters and he puts his hand on top of Keith’s. 

“So you’re not going to disappear?” Lance asks hesitantly. 

“I’m not sure how the logistics of this will work, but- well, you could come on missions with me,” Keith says. Lance smiles. Going to space would be pretty damn cool. 

“Is that possible?” Lance asks, “don’t get my hopes up.” Keith smiles and pounces on Lance, straddling his hips, putting hands on either of his head. 

“It’s definitely possible,” Keith says, “we could do a couple months of my missions, then a couple months here. I know it’s a lot to ask, but-” 

“I’ll do it,” Lance says. Keith smiles and leans down to pepper kisses all over Lance’s face and neck. Lance feels so absurdly happy it’s ridiculous. “I don’t care how hard it is, we’ll make it work.” Keith lays down and snuggles his head into Lance’s chest. 

“Does that mean we’re together?” Keith asks. Lance kisses the top of his head. 

“Absolutely,” Lance says. He squeezes his arms around Keith. He feels so much love in his chest it’s almost overwhelming. “Can I properly introduce you to my friends?” 

“Haven’t I met a lot of them already?” Keith asks. 

“Yeah, but they don’t know you’re my boyfriend,” Lance says, “and you haven’t even met my best friend. Or my family.” 

“You’ve already met mine,” Keith says, “it’s only fair.” Lance hums. 

“Does Shiro know about this?” Lance asks. 

“I haven’t told him, but I’m pretty sure he knows,” Keith says, “I don’t think we’ve ever been subtle about it.” 

“I’m never subtle about the things I love,” Lance says. His breath catches when he realizes what he’s said. 

“Love, huh?” Keith says, propping himself up on Lance’s chest to look at him. Lance feels like curling into himself and dying. Way to be casual. “I love you too,” Keith says, kissing Lance briefly and softly. Lance melts immediately. 

“I thought you were going to call me a freak,” Lance says. Keith settles back on his chest. 

“I think our circumstances are special,” Keith says, “and you’ve taught me that I shouldn’t be scared of loving people.” 

“You make me sound so wise and noble,” Lance says. Keith hums and somehow pulls himself closer to Lance, like he wants to crawl into his skin. 

“I think you are,” Keith says, “I think you’re a lot more than you give yourself credit for.” Lance takes a deep breath. He wants to remember this moment forever. He doesn’t know what he did to deserve someone like Keith, but he’s going to spend each and every day being grateful they’re in each other's lives. 

Chapter Text

Lance pulls at his sleeve, adjusting his hoodie. It’s the first time he’s going on a mission with Keith and he’s pretty damn nervous. He’s going to be leaving his life behind for almost two months. But he’s going to space. How many people can say they’ve gone through the different galaxies in space. He startles slightly when arms wrap around his waist and a nose presses against the back of his neck. “Hey,” Keith says softly. Lance leans into his touch and feels himself relax. He’s going to be with Keith the entire time. That’s the most reassuring thought.

“Hi,” Lance says. He puts his hands over Keith’s. 

“You’re tense,” Keith whispers, kissing behind his ear. Lance hums and lets his eyes flutter shut. 

“Going to space for the first time is nerve wracking,” Lance says, “I know I’ve had two months to prepare, but it’s still pretty huge.” Keith kisses a trail down his spine over his hoodie. 

“You don’t have to come,” Keith says, “you can always stay here.” Lance frowns and turns around in Keith’s arms to face him. 

“As if,” Lance says. Keith smiles and squeezes Lance’s ass for good measure. 

“Good, cause if you decided to stay here I don’t know what I’d do,” Keith says. Lance smiles. 

“You’d probably miss me a whole lot,” Lance says, “it would get lonely out there without me.” 

“What would I do without your random stories at all hours of the day and night?” Keith says playfully. Lance smacks his shoulder. 

“Is that all I am to you? A machine to tell you stories?” Lance asks. Keith smiles and shuts Lance up with a kiss. Lance is happy to keep quiet if that’s what he gets in return. 

“Everyone should be here soon to send us off,” Keith says, “you still wanna have everyone over?” Lance nods and steps forward to force Keith into a hug. Keith is happy to oblige. It’s sort of absurd how safe Lance feels in Keith’s arms. It’s like he’s absolutely untouchable by anything. 

“I love you,” Lance says. He can feel Keith smile against his shoulder and it warms his heart. 

“I love you too,” Keith says, “forever and always.” Lance might just be the luckiest person in the world. He can’t believe Keith is really and hugging him right now. Eventually, he peels himself away from Keith, but doesn’t let go of his hand. As his friends start to arrive, he starts to feel a lot better. They end up scattered around his cabin, so Lance decides to make his rounds. 

“How long are you guys in town?” Lance asks. He’s sitting outside with Pidge, Matt and Shiro. He feels like he needs to know everything he possibly can about everyone before they leave. He knows he’s coming back, but this feels like something that’s going to change his life forever. 

“Only for a couple weeks,” Matt says, “we’re going to do some studies in the Amazon with my dad.” When Matt and Shiro made it official, Shiro decided to leave the Blades behind and help Matt pursue his dreams of doing research in every corner of the world. Matt gave his pharmacy over to a woman named Romelle. Allura immediately befriended Romelle. Lance is happy someone is there to support Allura. 

“That’s amazing,” Lance says, “take pictures of all the gnarly animals for me, yeah?” He chats with them for a while, listening to Pidge’s recent studies into her magic. She’s officially part of a coven now and she’s learning a lot about herself. It’s been really cool to see her grow as a witch. 

“Did Keith tell you what planets you’re going to on this mission?” Shiro asks. Lance shakes his head and smiles softly. 

“He said he wants it to be a surprise,” Lance says. He feels himself flush. He’s absolutely helpless when Keith’s name is mentioned. He eventually makes his way inside to catch up with everyone else. He walks up to Keith and slides an arm around his waist, kissing his cheek. Hunk and Shay are busy working away in the kitchen, leaving Keith to talk to Romelle and Allura. 

“Hi,” Keith says softly, “is Shiro behaving himself?” Lance chuckles and looks over his shoulder to his porch. Shiro’s only on drink two, so he’s doing just fine. For now. He’s a major lightweight. 

“So far,” Lance says, “what are you guys up to?” Allura smiles and lifts her arm to show off a sparkling bracelet. Romelle does the same and Lance smiles. 

“Romelle got us matching bracelets,” Allura says, “real crystals.” She’s smiling in a way Lance hasn’t seen in a while. He’s glad Romelle has made such an impact on her. 

“I was just complaining about how we don’t have anything matching,” Keith says, leaning into Lance. Lance hums and squeezes Keith’s waist. 

“We have matching boxers and socks,” Lance says with a shrug. Keith shakes his head as the other two giggle softly. 

“They’re neon pink and no one ever sees them but us,” Keith says. Lance grins. He’s rather proud of their matching boxers and socks. 

“I think that’s cute,” Romelle says. 

“She thinks anything you do is cute, don’t listen to her,” Allura says, “Lance, get something matching for you and Keith.” Lance pouts dramatically. He has plans to do that and he’d rather not rush them. Lance talks with them for a while until the food is done. Everyone gathers around the table. The food is too good to do much talking, and dessert is even better. When they’re finally done, Hunk, the cheesy guy he is, starts a toast. 

“As Lance’s best friend, I wanna say some words,” Hunk says, “Lance is an amazing person and he does so much for everyone he loves. I am beyond grateful that he found someone so special. It only makes sense it would be such a strange circumstance. So thank you for looking out for everyone. Good luck in space. Don’t eat anything weird.” Everyone toasts to his mini speech. Lance looks around at his smiling friends and feels something warm root itself deep in his chest. Never would he have imagined that his life would lead to this. Everyone pitches in to help clean the kitchen and they play some board games late into the night. Matt and Shiro are the first to tap out, the old geezers. 

“I really hope space is everything you hope for,” Shiro says, patting Lance’s shoulder, “and uh- take care of Keith for me, yeah? He tends to forget to do that for himself.” Lance smiles softly. Shiro has become a sort of brother to him this past little while. 

“Thank you,” Lance says, “I’ll do everything I can to keep Keith happy.” Shiro grins and grabs Matt’s hand, threading their fingers. 

“I know you will,” Shiro says. 

“Take some pictures of the weird animals for me,” Matt says, “we can trade pictures when you get back.” He sends them off with a hug for each of them and heads back into the living room. Hunk, Shay, Pidge and Keith are gathered around a deck of Uno cards. He doesn’t even want to know how competitive they’re being. Allura and Romelle are on the couch. Allura is passed out on Romelle’s shoulder, who’s absently drawing shapes on her arm. Lance goes over to observe the game of Uno. 

“Take that bitches, I win once again,” Pidge says. She sticks out her tongue for emphasis and they all burst into laughter. Eventually, everyone says their goodbyes and leaves Lance and Keith to finish packing. Lance is doing his third check of his bag when Keith walks into their bedroom. 

“I promise you’re not forgetting anything,” Keith says, “there’s not a lot you need in the first place.” Lance grumbles and checks off another thing on his list. 

“Easy for you to say, you’ve been to space before,” Lance says. Keith chuckles and sits in front of Lance, blocking his view of his bag. 

“Stop worrying so much,” Keith says, putting his hands on either side of Lance’s face, “I’ll be there with you the whole time. If you forget anything, we’ll go find somewhere in space to get it.” Lance nods and puts his list to the side, and pulls Keith into his lap. 

“I’m still getting used to the whole idea of their being… stuff in space,” Lance says, “and you know my skin care is very important to me. Getting covered in saw dust and wood stains all the time dries my skin out.” Keith smiles and kisses Lance’s forehead like he’s delicate. 

“You’re beautiful no matter what,” Keith says. 

“Oh shush, you’re biased,” Lance says. Keith sighs and slumps into Lance’s arms, forcing Lance to hold him upright. 

“I don’t think I’m biased if it’s the damn truth,” Keith says. Lance squeezes Keith tight against him. 

“Your bluntness is kinda hot,” Lance says. Keith hums and somehow slumps into Lance even more. He feels like a complete dead weight. Lance leans back until his back hits the floor and lets Keith squish him. 

“Your face is kinda hot,” Keith says. His voice is low and grumbly. Lance loves when Keith is sleepy and cuddly like this. 

“Let’s go to bed, yeah?”  Lance says, “you’re starting to sound crazy.” Keith picks himself up enough to give Lance a chaste kiss. 

“I think I am just crazy,” Keith says, “crazy in love with you.” Lance rolls his eyes. He never would have guessed Keith was such a dork, but he’s damn glad he is. An adorable, lovely dork. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m crazy in love with you too,” Lance says, “now get your heavy ass off of me so I can get us to bed.” Keith rolls off of him and practically makes Lance pick him up. “You’re such a big baby,” Lance says. Keith smiles and drags himself to the bathroom. 

“I like when you take care of me,” Keith says simply. Lance’s heart melts. 

–

When the ship takes off for space, Lance’s nerves all melt away when Keith threads their fingers together. The world flashes by him. Keith’s ship is nothing like the rocket ships he’s seen from NASA. Keith’s ship is like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. Lance hardly even feels the speed at which they’re moving. He’s living his childhood dreams. When they finally slow down, Lance can’t stop staring out of the window. The endless abyss of space is weirdly comforting. The universe is so much bigger than Lance ever could have imagined, and he gets to explore it with the love of his life.