#lance;

And then there was Lance. A part of Keith wanted to put it off as long as he could, but the other part was desperate to know how the Blue Paladin would take the news.

Keith found the opportunity to tell him almost immediately after he and Shiro got back, intercepting Lance in the hallway and grabbing him by the elbow to stop him from heading off to meet with the others.

His hold was tight, but shaking, much like his voice when he spoke up;

“---I need to talk to you.” There was fear in his eyes, layered under apprehension and remorse. He wanted to believe that Lance wouldn’t regard him any differently, but there’s still that CHANCE, that possibility that the news will completely ruin their dynamic, ruin whatever they’ve got going for them. Lance surely won’t be able to look at him anymore without thinking about IT---

cuddly / platonic-ish memes

» casual hang-out

For the first few seconds Keith just blinks at Lance, then makes a point of looking down to himself---pointedly looking at the t-shirt he’s got on.

When he lifts his head to look at Lance again,it’s with a brow raised to record heights.

“---But it’s not cold?"Cuddling would be totally fine with Keith, of course,but for WARMTH? It’s, like, seventy degrees outside.

"You should never underestimate the power of a Hyper Beam."

“End training sequence.”

Were the room not designed to pick up on the words, Keith’s not sure it would’ve been registered - not when he pants more than he speaks. Satisfaction over his win keeps him upright, a final ‘I’m better’ as he watches the floor swallow up the droid he’d knocked down onto it.

---Only once his opponent is gone ( even though it’s nothing more than a machine, and therefore can’t even process what it means for him to keep himself upright for PRIDE ) does he slump over, grabbing his knees and waiting for his breathing to even out.

When he straightens up, strands of hair fall against his neck and tickle his skin, and with a huff that sends the hair in front of his face lifting he considers tying it back before the next fight.

First, though, water.

Keith turns to head to the wall where he’d set his things - bayard, jacket, and two bottles of water - only to pause at the sight of Lance in the doorway.

They still had yet to have that TALK, and... for that Keith feels a little guilty. They could be having that chat now, and instead he’s spending a majority of his time on the training deck. It’s just... he may be a little bit... really nervous? He’s not sure what to expect, and it’s kind of keeping him on edge, a feeling that he chooses to take out on the training droids he can lose himself in battling.

“---Hey,” he greets, a little belatedly. “You here to train? ...How about a quick spar?”

Sitting there at the round table, watching unique species filter in through the large doorway, Keith can’t help but wish he’d fought Shiro harder on this.

Politics and diplomacy were never his forte - he always opted to sit out when letters were sent requesting the presence of a Paladin, leaving Shiro to take the seat.

But THIS time, his brother did that thing where he hinted towards it, then hinted towards it some more until Keith eventually CAVED and agreed to show up at---...what was the planet’s name again?

He doesn’t feel bad for not caring. He’s been there two days already, and from what he can gather it’s just a simple disagreement between two neighboring solar systems - it’s nothing LIFE-THREATENING. His assumption is that he and Shiro only received the missive because the ambassador hosting the diplomatic convention wanted to have a guest as grand as a Voltron Paladin.

All the attention he’s been getting further suggests that.

New faces show up every meeting, representatives from different planets that will be affected by whatever change is made. There’s a handful gathered around the large table, but Keith watches those entering the room: There’s someone from Il’kiv - a planet he and Shiro saved not long ago; there’s an Arusian - Keith actually had a short, though warm conversation with them earlier; there’s a couple from Baskan; and there’s---

holy shit.

It’s immediate, the feel of losing all his breath. The space made in his chest by breath stolen is replaced with an ache. On shaky legs Keith rises, eyes-wide, staring disbelieving at---

                                                       “---Lance,”

Surprising to no one, the Castle of Lions picks up on Galra activity following their leave of Shki-Lan. Keith had been anticipating exactly this, and even though their time on the planet had been extremely favorable, he’s eager to get back in the swing of things. Lose himself in the battles. Take out part of the empire that stole his brother from him.

But thanks to these planet-bound skirmishes, it gives him and Lance little opportunities to sit and talk. Something he’s anxious over, but highly suspects needs to happen.

They’re down in some caves on a new surface, split into pairs, and this is the first time in DAYS - ever since Shki-Lan - that Keith and Lance have had the chance to be alone.

...It figures that all their focus would have to go into keeping themselves ALIVE.

Maybe it was a little bit of a dick move, but ever since the end of their excursion to that trading planet, Keith had made efforts to avoid being alone with Lance. He didn’t go out of his way to not see Lance at ALL, just... if everyone else were to exit the room, leaving the two of them alone, he’d make some excuse and take his own leave.

See, if he was left alone with Lance, that would be giving the other all his attention, and he just... didn’t want to let that happen. He'd only just been growing confident enough in their relationship to call Lance a FRIEND - the last thing he wanted to do was ruin that with feelings.

So, he tried not to let himself be alone with Lance, in hopes that space might help him bring his emotions back under control. Not that they outwardly affected him much---he was still able to work with Lance just fine, could easily throw back taunts as they were given to him. It wasn’t this world-changing situation. Keith liked Lance. All that was different was he was AWARE of the reasons his gaze lingered on Lance’s smile, or why it felt so important to prove his worth to him.

Now, although Keith tried his best to make sure there was always at least a third person in the room, sometimes being alone with Lance was just unavoidable.

Such as right now, when he rounds the corner and just BARELY catches himself before he collides with the Blue Paladin.

“Oh---hey,” he greets, a little stilted. “Sorry---was on my way back from training.” He adds, like maybe that should explain why he wasn’t paying attention. To him it makes perfect sense - he was rolling over techniques in his head, planning for next time, coming up with ways to do better. With a jerky little nod, Keith starts to try and slip by;