Chapter Text
"Uh, Coran?" Lance had thought it overkill when the princess had insisted they keep their armor on even during a leisure trip, but now he's thankful.
"Lance, my boy! What is it?" Coran's voice easily conveys his curiosity through his helmet. "Did you find another Earth creature?"
Lance wishes. "Not this time, Coran. Um. So don't freak out, but I think you should get a healing pod ready."
"Oh, dear. What's happened?"
Lance shifts a guilty glance at Keith's head, inches from his own and still lolling around in a lifeless, disturbing manner.
"Keith kinda got drugged?" He winces at Coran's gasp. "Please tell me you're close to the transport ship."
"I'm already on my way, just sit tight! I'll alert the other paladins and the princess."
"Yeah, thanks." Lance, knowing that help is on the way, picks up his jog.
Almost immediately, his comm fires to life.
"Lance! What's happened to Keith?" Shiro's worry makes guilt squirm unsettlingly in the pit of Lance's stomach.
"I don't know! I mean, this alien chick made him breathe this weird pink smoke and now he's not waking up."
"You were attacked?"
"No, no! She was friendly, I promise. Just...eager."
"Are you sure, Lance?" Pidge, sounding skeptical. "Your judgment isn't really the best when it comes to pretty people."
Rude. Lance narrows his eyes. "Yeah, well, it's different when it's just me. I wouldn't ever endanger a teammate."
"Lance! I see you!"
Lance stops, looking around, and quickly spots Hunk running towards him, waving. Just behind him is Shiro and Pidge, all of their faces filled with worry.
"I got him," Shiro says when he draws near, pulling Keith into his hold. Lance lets him go without a word, eyes tracking Keith's slack features and forcing down the usual spike of inferiority whenever he sees them together. It's stupid to feel this way, but he can't help this overwhelming sensation of exclusion when he sees Keith and Shiro.
Well, he's sure Shiro never got Keith poisoned, so it's probably for the best.
"All right team, we're leaving. Coran? You ready for us?"
"Ready and waiting, paladins."
"Great. Lance? Start talking."
Lance, running after them all, swallows and follows orders. It isn't a long story. By the time they're all loaded up and heading to the castle ship, he's done and everyone's reactions are decidedly mixed.
"A...love potion?" Shiro echoes, looking skeptical. Lance shrugs helplessly.
"Well, that's just ridiculous," Pidge says straightaway, adjusting her glasses. "Stuff like that isn't real. I bet it's some sort of alien aphrodisiac."
Hunk, Hunk just stares. With this awful, understanding look, so much naked concern in his eyes that Lance can't even stand to look at him.
Eager to ignore that, Lance says, "I mean, she was really nice up until all this. She did it because Keith said he didn't believe in love. I think she took it personally."
"That still doesn't give her the right to drug someone without their consent. You said she would stay put?" Shiro's gray eyes darted up to look at him.
Lance nodded. "She promised." Shiro's mouth twisted in a sardonic approximation of a smile.
"I guess we'll see how much that's worth soon enough."
"Strange..." Allura's mumbling to herself but the whole team, Coran included, lean in closer to catch her words. Louder, she says, "Physically, he is fine. I can't find any traces of this, er, potion in his body at all." Allura darts her eyes from the holographic screens she's consulting to where Keith is lying prone on an observation table, breathing deeply and evenly, but still resisting all their attempts to rouse him. Her brows furrow.
"Then...why isn't he waking up?" Lance asks, having no issue voicing what everyone's thinking.
"I don't know," Allura says honestly. "For now, all we can do is place him in a healing pod and wait. Maybe the pod will pick up on something the scanners can't."
As far as game plans go, it really, really sucks, but it's all they have. Shiro and Lance both try to linger near the pod once Keith is in, but Coran bullies them out, refusing to have to turn around and put them in pods once they collapse of hunger and sleep deprivation.
Shiro gives the door one last look but is cowed into retreat by Coran's fierce glare of challenge. Lance slumps away without a peep, unwilling to be any more of a problem after this whole mess he's caused.
Because this is all his fault. If Lance--if he'd just kept his stupid little crush to himself, none of this would be happening. All he had to do was act normal and fool a complete stranger into thinking he didn't fantasize about kissing Keith's stupid face, and he'd failed, and now Keith is all but comatose.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, he berates himself.
Lance reaches his room and slides in, absently deciding that if Keith doesn't wake up tomorrow, he'll throw himself out of the airlock.
Then he notices Hunk and nearly has a heart attack.
"Jesus, dude! You scared the heck out of me!"
"Sorry," Hunk says sheepishly, "I figured you'd try to avoid me so I thought I'd wait here."
Uh-oh. Lance's eyes slide to the side. "Why would I avoid you, buddy?"
"Lance..."
"If I'm avoiding anybody, it's Shiro. I mean, I took his right-hand man out of commission. Did you see his face when I told him what happened? Boy, if looks could kill." Lance laughs, but it doesn't hide how upset he truly is, not fully.
"Lance."
All at once, Lance loses his energy. He drifts closer and sits next to Hunk, head hanging.
"Can we not, Hunk? I really don't want to talk about it."
"Dude, I'm sorry, but we have to talk about it. Keith just took love gas to the face. And you were the last person he really spent any time with. Odds are, if that stuff takes any effect, it'll be aimed at you."
Lance lets out a loud, distressed groan and falls backward, hands stretched on either side of him. His face screws up into a pained expression.
"I know," Lance says, the words punched out of him. "The universe hates me, man."
He feels Hunk's commiserating pat on his knee.
"I know, bud. How ya holding up?"
"Honestly? Pretty freaking terrible."
"I mean, I guess this isn't how you imagined the two of you getting together--"
Lance lurches up. "Hunk! I never imagined us getting together, period! I was hoping it would just--go away!"
"What? Why?"
"Why--?" Lance is actually at a loss for words for a full minute, staring Hunk in the face. But after a few moments, dawning realization doesn't drift across Hunk's face. He doesn't nod his head in sympathetic understanding and smoothly move them onto the next topic of conversation. He just. Keeps looking confused! Like it's not painfully obvious.
His heart twists, torn between love for his friend who can't seem to see it, and hurt that he's making him say it.
"Keith could never feel that way about me, and you know it. We're too different." Lance glances away, unable to make eye contact when he bares parts of himself like this. "He just thinks I'm annoying, whenever he does notice me."
"Lance. You know that's not true."
He throws his hands up in frustration. "How is it not?! This isn't me being down on myself, Hunk, I literally see evidence of this every single day. We're friends, I guess. But barely."
Hunk frowns. "I know you guys aren't close, but I don't think it's as bad as all that."
Lance shrugs in a jerky, uncomfortable move. "It's whatever," he mumbles, feeling even more depressed now that's he had to lay all this negativity out in the open. It feels awful.
There's silence between them a moment, and then, "What do you need?"
Lance releases a breath, relieved because that means this conversation is finally over.
"Sleep. I need sleep. And," he darts a look at Hunk then, a little shy. "A hug?"
Hunk beams. "No prob."
Hunk opens his arms and Lance sinks into them gratefully, drawing strength from it. He doesn't linger, but gives it just enough time to wistfully wish he could bottle up Hunk's hugs and save them for a rainy day. They really are the best.
Hunk gives him a soothing pat and they separate. Lance smiles.
"Hey, thanks, man. For putting up with me, especially."
Hunk straightens and stretches. "Happy to help." He pauses at Lance's door as it slides open. "You know you can talk to me, okay? About anything."
Lance loves him. "I know."
"Good."
Once Hunk leaves, it doesn't take long for his earlier dark feelings to resurface. But knowing he has someone in his corner...it's not as all-consuming as before. There's a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.
As Lance tucks himself in, too tired to do his usual nightly routine, he hopes from the bottom of his heart that everything will be okay tomorrow. That Keith will wake up, glare at Lance for getting him into this situation in the first place, and be back terrorizing the sparring bots in the training room before dinner.
Everything will be fine, is his last thought before he slips away into blissful unconsciousness.
The next morning, Lance surfaces from sleep in increments, unusually lethargic even though he's gotten more than enough rest.
It's just...he's so comfortable. He takes stock of himself, everything filtering into his drowsy mind one step at a time.
He's...on his side. Weird, since he usually sleeps on his back...he's warm, warmer than usual, but it feels heavenly in a constantly-drafty castle. The warmth is concentrated all along his front, against his chest and between his legs.
His arms are wrapped around a pillow, harder than what he usually likes but there's something about its weight that's really doing it for him. Not to mention the other pillow across his side and the languid, soothing caress through his hair...
...Wait, what?
Lance's eyes flutter open, confused, and meets a pair of eyes so deep a blue they almost seem black. They're also so intensely familiar Lance feels himself go rigid. He sucks in a sharp breath.
Keith, his legs tangled with Lance's, his chest pressed close and his hand stilling in his hair, watches him cautiously.
"Don't freak out," he says.
Lance screams.