Work Text:
"Lance, watch out!"
"I am watching out! You're the one who needs to watch!"
Keith ducks to avoid a blow from the training gladiator. "I'm going in. Lance, distract him."
"You distract him! I got this!"
Lance stops where he is and fires a shot at the training bot. It dodges, and the shot hits Keith instead. The laser from the training rifle doesn't do anything other than bounce harmlessly off of Keith's chest, but it still ticks him off.
"Lance! You're supposed to shoot the robot, not me!"
Lance scowls. "You jumped in the way!"
Suddenly, the robot swipes Lance's legs out from under him, and Keith goes down not long after. The level ends, and the bot disappears in a flurry of blue pixels.
Keith jumps up. "What was that?"
Lance rises as well. "What was what?"
"If that had been a real battle against the Galra, I'd be dead!"
"It's not my fault that you don't know how to stay out of my line of fire!"
"You should have waited for me to move!"
"You should have moved!"
The door slides open and Shiro is marching towards them. "Both of you stop!"
Startled, the boys turn to him.
Lance opens his mouth. "If Keith would just—"
"That's enough!" Shiro barks. "I don't understand why you two can't just get along!"
"Maybe if Keith would stay out of my way—"
"Or if Lance would pay attention to where he was shooting—"
"Quiet!"
Both of their mouths snap shut at Shiro's Dad voice. He sighs wearily.
"You can't seem to get along, so we're going to fix that. Follow me."
Lance and Keith look at each other in confusion as Shiro leads them out of the training deck. They follow him into a hallway with empty bedrooms lining either wall. Shiro opens one.
"Go in."
"What—"
"Go. In."
The boys enter the small room. The door closes behind them.
Keith whirls around. "Shiro, what are you—"
Click.
"Did you just lock us in here?" Lance asks incredulously.
The reply is slightly muffled by the door. "Whatever is going on between you two that is preventing you from working together will end today. Find a way to solve it. I'll come back in an hour."
Footsteps sound throughout the room. They fade as Shiro leaves.
Lance plops down on the bed. "Dammit, Mullet, this is all your fault!"
"How is it my fault?" Keith responds, crossing his arms. "You started it!!"
"YOU started it!"
"You shot me! It's not my fault if I can't read your mind! I can't predict your every move!"
"Well maybe if you AT LEAST tried to control your temper, we wouldn't be locked in a room together, hothead!"
Keith groans loudly and sits down in the corner farthest from Lance, his back to the other boy. "If you're gonna be like this, then just don't talk to me. Leave me alone."
"Fine, I will!" Lance shouts, turning away and crossing his arms as well.
"Fine!"
"Fine!!"
Roughly ten minutes pass before Lance speaks.
"Do you ever miss Earth?"
Keith is startled at the sudden question and at the softness and vulnerability in Lance's voice. "... Sometimes. Why?"
Lance shrugs. "Just wondering. You're so emotionless on the outside, I wondered if you feel things besides anger and emo."
"Emo isn't an emotion."
"Is too."
"No, it's not."
"Yes, it is. It's the only one you feel besides anger."
"That's not true," Keith huffs.
"Oh yeah? Then what else do you feel, Mister Emotionless? What are you feeling right now?"
"I... I don't know!" He pauses. "Emotions are… hard."
Lance is silent for a while. "I feel that," he says finally.
Keith turns to him with a smirk. "Now who's the emo?"
Lance sticks his tongue out, but he's smiling. "You should talk."
"I am."
Lance lets a sharp breath out of his nose that could have been a laugh. "No need to get sarcastic, mullet."
Keith smiles and turns away.
Lance speaks up again after a while, looking down at the bed instead of at Keith. "You know, contrary to popular belief, I don't actually think you're that bad of a person."
Keith snorts. "Gee, thanks."
"No, really. You're actually… a pretty cool dude."
"You know, you're making it increasingly difficult for me to pretend to hate you."
Lance's head jerks up. "So you don't actually hate me?"
"Of course I don't hate you," he says, turning fully to face Lance and resting his head on his folded knees. "I never hated you. I thought you hated me."
Lance shakes his head. His voice is soft. "I never hated you."
"Then why do you fight so much with me? It's always you, starting it, and I take the bait, of course, because I'm a hothead—"
"You're not a hothead. I'm sorry I called you that." He sighs, looking down.
Keith stays silent, waiting for the rest of Lance's answer.
"I… I don't know why I bait you. I just… do it. And then before I can process that I did it, it's too late."
Lance shifts a little, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. "I think part of it is that I admire you. A lot. You're really awesome, and you're a great pilot, and you're smart, and cool, and an amazing fighter, and you always look great, without even trying, and I just want that. I want to be that. And I get mad at myself because I'll never be that good. That's why I created this whole rivalry, to try and prove myself to you, to at least rise to your level."
Keith opens his mouth to respond, but Lance... keeps talking.
"But I also wanted to get closer to you, man. Back at the garrison, I just wanted to be friends, but every time I tried to talk to you, you blew me off. So I thought that you thought you were better than me and I got mad, I guess. Because I really like you. Like, like like you."
Both of them pause, eyes widening as if realizing what was just said.
Lance's hands fly to his mouth. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, gosh I talk too much, shit, I'm sorry, I—"
Keith gets up and holds a hand up, silencing him. "No. What did you say?"
"Nothing, I—”
Keith sits down on the bed. "What did you say?"
"I just said I liked you, but I didn't—”
"Didn't mean it?”
"Well, no, but—"
Keith leans over and kisses him. Rough and awkward, but it takes his breath away nonetheless.
He pulls away quickly. Lance is staring at him wide-eyed. "You're joking?"
"I hope that's what you meant."
"That… is exactly what I meant."
Keith grins. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."
Lance's grin is just as wide. "Oh yeah? How long?"
"Our first class at the garrison. I saw you and knew I was a goner."
"Ditto. You're the reason I nearly failed chemistry last semester."
"Too busy staring at my ass?"
Lance shoves him playfully, a blush creeping up his neck. "Shut up."
Keith laughs. "And for the record, Lance, I never thought I was better than you. The exact opposite, actually. I really liked you, and I admired—admire—you a lot. You had everything I didn't. You had friends. Good friends. People actually liked you. You were able to get along with anyone. You actually had a life outside of class, for crying out loud. You're smart, and beautiful, and kind, and brave, and I was scared that you would never like me. That's why I never talked to you."
Lance sniffs. "Aw, Keith, you're making me feel things."
Keith smiles. "So… are we doing this?"
"Doing what?"
"This. The whole relationship thing."
Lance sighs. "I don't know if we'll be able to, fighting a war and all. But I'd really like to kiss you again sometime soon, if that's what you're asking."
Keith nods. "I think… I think we should try it. Because it's not like the war will be over soon. We can't just put our lives on hold for some purple jackass, right?"
Lance smiles. "Right. So does this mean I can call you my boyfriend?"
"Only if I can call you mine."
"Deal." Lance scoots over and pecks Keith on the cheek. He draws back when Keith flinches.
"Shit. Did I do something?"
"No, no, you're fine. I just… wasn't expecting it."
"Right. Should I ask next time?"
"Yeah."
Lance leans in close. "Hey, Keith. Can I kiss you?" he whispers.
"Yeah."
Their lips meet, slowly at first. Lance's lips are soft, and move tentatively as if testing their limits. After a few seconds, he breaks the kiss to gaze into Keith's eyes. "Good?"
"Good," Keith whispers.
Lance hovers one of his hands over the one that Keith is resting on the bed between them. "May I?"
Keith nods.
Lance slides his own hand into Keith's, lacing their fingers together. He rubs the back of Keith's hand with his thumb.
"How are we gonna break it to them?"
Keith shrugs. "I want to kiss you some more. Then we can figure it out."
Lance grins, shuffling closer to Keith. "Deal."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The two lay on the small bed, spooning. Keith enjoys kissing Lance. He finds that he also enjoys being a little spoon.
Lance is resting his head on Keith's shoulder. "Do you think it's been an hour yet?" he murmurs.
"Almost," Keith answers. "If only there was a clock in here."
As if on cue, a knock echoes through the small room. Both of them jump off of the bed, trying to keep the heat off of their cheeks.
"Shiro?" Lance calls. "Is that you?"
"Let us out," Keith adds. "We made up."
"More like made out," Lance mutters. Keith elbows him.
The door whooshes open. Shiro is there, with the rest of the team behind him. Apparently everyone wanted to see how this little trick would end.
Shiro is smiling. "So there will be no more fighting?"
The boys shake their heads.
Shiro steps back to let them out. "I trust you, but the rest of the team wants proof."
"No," Hunk interjects, "Allura wants proof."
Allura shrugs. "I can't believe it until I see it myself."
Lance sighs. "What would you like us to do?"
Shiro looks at Allura for an answer. She steps forward.
"Demonstrate an act of teamwork, and we will not bother you again."
Lance raises a eyebrow. "Oh, you wanna see teamwork?" He shares a look with Keith beside him, and suddenly Keith is sweeping Lance into his arms, kissing him full on the mouth. It's messy, but good. Then again, any kiss from Keith is good, Lance decides. They kiss long enough for things to get awkward before they pull away to look at their teammates' faces.
Lance can't help but giggle at the shocked "O"s that occupied the team's faces. Hunk has his hand over Pidge's eyes, and she doesn't seem to mind. Allura shuffles her feet awkwardly. Coran looks as if he's had an epiphany.
And Shiro… Shiro is gaping at them, eyes moving from one to the other. His lips flap uselessly for a moment before he manages to speak.
"I… I don't know what to say. You've certainly bonded. And I'm happy for you." He pauses, and he looks a bit horrified. "But, as your only father figure out here, you do realize what I have to do, right?"
Realization dawns on Lance's face. "No, nonono, it can wait," Lance spits out, sliding his hand into Keith's. "It can wait." He pulls Keith down the hall, away from humiliation.
"What was that?" Keith asks.
"Your brother wants to tell us about the birds and the bees."
"Oh. Ew."
"Yeah. So we're going to avoid him for as long as possible."
"Agreed."
They walk for a while. At first they were practically sprinting down the halls, trying to outrun the humiliation they knew was waiting for them, but soon they slow down, wandering the castle in a comfortable silence.
They reach an observatory room and Lance leads them inside. "Hey, babe, look. There's a couch."
"Yeah..."
"Wanna make out?" Lance wiggles his eyebrows.
Keith bumps his shoulder, his face turning red. "I'm tired. Can we just watch the stars for now?"
Lance grins. "Alright! Cuddling with the boyfriend!"
They curl up on the couch, Keith pressed against the arm with Lance's head in his lap. He plays with Lance's hair as they talk.
"So, kitten—"
Keith coughs. "What?"
A sly grin forms on Lance's features. "What? Can you not handle pet names, muffin?"
Keith groans. "Why?"
"Because you look adorable when you blush, pumpkin."
"Quit."
"Fine. But can I call you babe, at least?"
"Depends." Keith leans down. "Can I kiss you?"
Lance smiles, staring at the beautiful boy above him. "You may.”