Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Allura’s voice rang out through the castleship’s communication system, waking Lance from his much-needed nap. He sighed, listening to her message as she relayed to the paladins that they would be landing on a foreign planet and needed to meet at the bridge for a briefing on their mission. 

He exited his bedroom, running a hand through his slightly sleep tossed hair, and headed to the bridge. Hunk smiled and waved to him as he entered. Lance took a deep breath, plopping into the seat next to him and leaning his head on Hunk’s shoulder, “Hey bud…” He mumbled sleepily.

“Tired?” Hunk asked with a laugh. Lance nodded slowly and Hunk patted his head, “Sorry man. Hopefully this won’t take long and you can go back to sleep.”

Keith was the last paladin to enter the room, his telltale scent of salt and charcoal wafting into Lance’s nose and perking him up a bit from his groggy state. Lance looked over at him, he looked more tired than Lance. He’d promised he would take a break from training, but given his sweat-stained shirt, Lance gathered that he didn’t make good on his word. The thought made him frown, he’d been overworking himself ever since Shiro had disappeared. Somewhere he’d gotten it in his head that everything he did had to be perfect or he was failing his mentor. He tried so hard to help Keith come into his own, but he knew he could never be big enough to fill the gap that Shiro had left. 

The team leader sat in his usual chair and apologized to Allura for being late. She nodded softly, her demeanor awkward as she tried to assure Keith everything was fine. They’d been so weird around each other ever since Keith took up as the leader, likely due to the tension that came from Keith’s newly found Galran heritage. But the Black Lion chose Keith, so they both had to work with each other. 

“Paladins we’re a varga away from landing on the planet of Lyria.” Beside her, Coran pulled up the holomap and zoomed in on the planet in question, “It’s quite similar to some earthly ecosystems. The planet is completely made of water and of tropical temperament. The inhabitants, Lyrians, live on small islands throughout. They have a very lush ecosystem, lots of plants, and vibrant animals.” She explained as Coran switched to flipping through pictures of the planet. It looked beautiful in Lance’s eyes.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen an ocean, let alone one he was able to swim in. All the oceans they’d come across as paladins had either been acidic, monster-filled, boiling hot, or frozen over. Lance couldn’t wait to get into the water, even if it wouldn’t be salty like Earth’s, even if he wouldn’t be able to see dolphins or turtles, he just needed to be able to lose himself in the expanse of the deep blue. 

“In addition to restocking on supplies, we’ll be seeking an alliance with the Lyrains. They have an extensive army that would be a great asset in the fight against Zarkon and the Galran forces.” Lance was a little unsure as to why they needed to be briefed so thoroughly on this kind of thing. This is what they did every time they landed on a new planet, and usually, that briefing was limited to a quick chat as they would head down to the loading bay. 

“There’s a catch,” Coran explained. Yep, Lance saw that coming, “Keith, Lyrian culture idolizes marriage and those who are married. It is traditional culture and law on their planet that all respectable leaders be married. In order for you to be recognized by them, we’ll need to lead them to believe that you’re wedded.”

Lance looked over to Keith’s face, his brows were knit together and he was biting the inside of his cheek, “So… I have to fake a marriage?” He asked, clearly distressed over the thought. Coran and Allura nodded, “Oh. Uhm, okay… okay.” Lance furrowed his brows, Keith was agreeing far too easily. It was obvious Keith didn’t want to do this, as was the case with most leadership responsibilities, so why was he even entertaining the idea? “Who are we gonna say I’m married to?”

The paladins looked around at each other, none too eager to throw their hands up as volunteers, “Well… I believe I’m too old to make that lie believable.” Coran replied, respectfully pulling his name from the list of possibilities. He was followed soon by Allura, and Pidge, leaving Hunk and Lance as the two remaining choices. Lance’s heart pounded at the thought of him being married to Keith, even if it was just pretending. 

“Well I don’t think I can do it,” Hunk quickly added before Lance could say anything, “Because I just, I’m a horrible actor. And it would look so awkward and totally unbelievable. Lance, on the other hand, is a great actor! And he could totally pull it off. He and Keith would look like a great couple-” He shut his mouth when Lance elbowed him below the table. His face must have been beet red with how obvious Hunk was in trying to be Lance’s ‘wingman’. 

The paladins looked around, eyeing each other for potential objections but when no one said anything Allura spoke up, “Alright then. Lance will fake a relationship with Keith in order to secure the alliance.” Lance looked up and locked eyes with Keith, his heart pounding in his chest so loud he feared Keith may hear it. Allura continued, “Please get your things ready as we will be landing shortly. Lance and Keith, Coran has rings for you, as the Lyrians are familiar with human culture we need to make this as believable as possible.”

Everyone nodded and Coran handed the rings in a plain box to Lance before they were all dismissed to grab their things. Lance scowled at Hunk as they walked away, “I can’t believe you. Broadcast my feelings to the whole castle, why don’t you?” He pouted.

“C’mon Lance, you know you’re happy that it’s you. What would you hate me more for? Being a little obvious in getting you to fake marry Keith? Or acting lovey dovey with him in front of you for like a week?”

Lance grumbled softly, “I’d be more mad if you faked it...” He sighed exasperatedly. Curse Hunk for always being able to read him. 

They reached Hunk’s room, “Look man, it’s gonna be okay. Promise. And this will be a great chance for you to get Keith to like you back for real.”

Lance nodded and waved, heading down to his room to pack. 

Keith shoved his clothes into a bag haphazardly as he tried to process exactly what was about to happen. Married to Lance. Well, fake married. He couldn’t get Lance’s face out of his head when he’d been de facto volunteered for the job, god Lance probably hated this. Probably hated Keith for putting him into this situation. Keith could have said no, he could have told Allura that a fake marriage wasn’t going to happen, but he needed to be accepted as the leader to ensure their mission ran smoothly. He sighed as he put the rest of his clothes into his bag.

Keith was embarrassed to admit it but he was glad it was Lance. He wasn’t sure about his own acting abilities but it’s not hard to act when you really do have feelings for someone. But, was this taking advantage of Lance? It wasn’t like Lance had said no. But he didn’t say yes either. He frowned and picked his bag up, making his way to Lance’s room to clear this all up before it was too late.

“Lance?” Keith asked, knocking on the door to Lance’s bedroom. He heard a muffled ‘ow’ and saw Lance take himself out from under his bed. Keith must have startled him, “Sorry.”

“No it’s alright.” he said calmly, putting the clothes in his hands into his bag, “What’s up?”

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah.” Keith entered the threshold and sat across from Lance on the bed.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this? Being… y’know fake married to me.” Keith asked. Lance nodded softly in response.

“I’m okay with it. We just need to set ground rules, like what we’re comfortable and uncomfortable with doing. Cause, we can’t exactly act like we do now, people will know we’re obviously not married.” Keith looked into Lance’s eyes searching for any sign of doubt or untruthfulness to his words. The beautiful blue pulled him in like an ocean. He could swim forever in the water, “Keith? Are you alright?”

Keith blinked at Lance, shaking himself from his thoughts after having gotten lost in Lance’s eyes for the umpteenth time that day, “Yeah. Yeah- no I agree. Uhm, what do you think you’re comfortable with?”

“Well, I mean… I’m okay with holding hands. And hugging.” Lance said quietly, “And, kissing- on the cheek!”

Keith nodded as he listened, “What about, kissing… on the lips?” Jeez, that sounded brash. Keith cringed at his tone, make it more obvious that you like Lance, why don’t you? And saying it like that? ‘On the lips?’ Holy hell was there a worse way of saying it, “I mean to say that, Allura mentioned that the Lyrians know about human culture so… they’ll probably be expecting that.” He tries to explain himself better. 

“W- I just mean… I haven’t, it just-” Lance struggled to find the right words to say, “If we, we’re not really used to… well kissing and if we do it for the first time in front of some random aliens then it might look weird and people will find out.”

“We could… practice?”

“Practice?”

“Yeah… get used to, y’know being in each other's space.” Keith mentally prepared for Lance to be thoroughly weirded out, maybe even yell at him and tell him to leave. But instead Lance’s face just flushed deep as he cautiously reached out for Keith’s hand. 

“That would probably be best.”

 Keith looked towards Lance a bit shocked at that answer. He moved the hand Lance was holding towards his cheek, caressing it softly. Lance’s skin was so smooth beneath his fingers, he couldn’t get enough. He leaned forward, gently pressing his forehead against Lance’s. He stopped just before their lips touched, “Is this okay? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s alright.” Lance smiled and tried to assure him, “If it’s in the script then a good actor should rehearse it, right?” Right. Because like Hunk said, Lance was a good actor who was willing to take on this role for his team. Willing to do whatever it took for Keith to be recognized as a leader by the Lyrians. 

“Of course.” Keith pulled away slightly to give Lance some of his space back. He was really taking advantage of this, huh? He felt awful already. Maybe he should pull the plug on this whole thing and tell Allura that he couldn’t force any of them to pretend to be married to him. It just wasn’t right. 

He took his hand back from Lance but Lance scooted closer and cupped Keith’s jaw. Keith felt his heart stop short in his chest. 

“Well?” Lance prompted softly. 

“W-well?” 

“Aren’t you going to kiss me?” Lance’s hands traced along his jaw and played with the back of his hair. Oh! Yes! Right. Well, if Lance is willing to play the part…Keith swallowed and nodded his head. 

Lance took a small breath and his eyes slipped shut as Keith leaned in closer, his own doing the same. Their lips pressed together and Keith kissed him softly. It was warm and gentle, and when Lance moved his lips against his, Keith’s heart wanted to thunder out of his ribcage. His hands moved to grab Lance by his waist and pull him in closer. He was fully aware of how selfish this was of him. But he couldn’t help it. He melted into Lance, into his warmth, his grip in his hair, and the way his lips parted, inviting him to deepen the kiss. 

But that was too much. As selfish as he wanted to be, he wasn’t going to take advantage of what Lance was doing for the team. He broke the kiss and looked up at Lance. A dark blush dusted not only his cheeks but all the way up to his ears. The sight made Keith smile, despite the weight of guilt growing in his gut. 

“How’s that for a first rehearsal?” He tried to joke, as Lance had.

“Very convincing!” Lance squeaked and made a face at his own tone. “Um,” He said, tracing down Keith’s arms which were still secured around his waist. Keith looked down at the small space between them. Oh. He gave Lance his space back and rubbed the nape of his neck. 

There was an awkward silence between them and Keith wanted to apologize for the kiss but Lance cleared his throat and smiled at him, “I’ll finish packing my bag and meet up with all of you?” 

“Uh, yeah! Sounds good. Um,” God he was so bad at this. “We can practice more, later- or- wait, what I meant was-” He mentally cursed himself and wantd to shove all of his dumb words back into his mouth. Lance let out a small chuff and shook his head. 

“Sure thing, team leader.” Keith nodded his head and offered Lance a wave as he awkwardly left him to it. 

Lance was quick to change into his armor and catch up with everyone for one last quick briefing before disembarking from the castleship. He felt like such an idiot for wasting so much time squealing to himself after Keith left his room. His feelings felt so overwhelming sometimes. There was no way of hiding them or denying them any more. 

He smiled, thinking back to the feeling of Keith’s lips on his own. The way his hands traced and held his waist. He felt compelled to spill, to confess to Keith about every emotion he held in his heart. He wanted to tell him how hopelessly in love he was. That he wanted nothing more than to hold his hand, kiss his lips, and hold him close. 

However, he’s all too aware that this isn’t because Keith actually feels the same towards him. No, he has to get his head out of the clouds and remind himself that Keith was doing this for the sake of their mission. Just so the Lyrians would respect him and his team. 

Keith is only doing this for the mission. 

Lance sighed softly and slipped his bag off his shoulder when he finally met up with the team. Hunk nodded to acknowledge his presence but he was too busy joking with Pidge- no doubt about Lance’s current predicament- to do much more. 

“So nice for you to finally join us, Mr. Kogane.” She grinned and nudged his side with her elbow. 

“Ugh, excuse me? Keith is who would change his surname to Mr. McClain.” He scoffed. He tried to play this off all cool, but he knew he must be blushing like crazy. He needed the teasing to stop before they got off the ship or he was going to die from all his blood rushing to his face.

“I think I like the sound of ‘Lance Kogane’ better.” Keith humed quietly and Lance realized that they were going to have to hold a funeral for him if things kept on this path. One thing was being a victim to Hunk and Pidge teasing him, but a whole other thing was hearing Keith say such words with the most tender of smiles on his face. Oh he was too good at teasing Lance! The Lyrians were going to buy their ruse no problem if Lance could match Keith’s talent. Ugh! Was there anything the man couldn’t do?

Lance slapped at his own cheeks softly, trying to get himself together as the bay door opened to the planet below them. There was a group of aliens waiting for them at the edge of the loading bay. Lance surveyed them, their skin colorful like a school of tropical fish on humanoid bodies, their eyes large and round, and their faces plastered with kind smiles. Instantly, Lance was met with a warm burst of air. Hot and humid and definitely sweat inducing when combined with their paladin armour. 

Someone Lance presumed to be an elderly Lyrian stepped forward. His robes were more decorated than the rest, jewels and golden chains adorned his arms and neck, he even wore some sort of crown. A king? Or president? Lance wasn’t really sure of the political hierarchy of the planet, “Welcome paladins of Voltron!” The man spoke. His voice had an odd timber, almost as if he were speaking from underwater, “I, King Brev’os, humbly welcome you to our planet.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Lance saw Allura bow in respect to him, and the paladins soon followed suit. When he stood up correctly he locked eyes with another Lyrian. He was tall, much taller than the king, and dressed in the same jewels. The Lyrian smiled at him and Lance could see the alien raking his eyes over Lance’s body. To be honest it gave him a sense of pride that there was some random alien checking him out. But, Lance was married to Keith. He needed to keep up the act or risk the alliance, no matter what. The alien stepped forward, standing just one step behind the king and opened his mouth to speak, “And I am Prince Ohnu. We’re very honored to have brave warriors such as yourselves on our planet.” The prince looked back to Lance and winked.

Lance felt his cheeks flush a bit, but suddenly Keith was at his side and glaring daggers at the prince. Definitely keeping up the act, Keith was better at playing the part than Lance had anticipated.

“Which one of you is the leader?” King Brev’os asked, looking towards them.

“I am.” Keith stepped forward, “My name is Keith Kogane, paladin of the Black Lion. I lead Voltron.”

“And I trust as the leader you are-”

“Married? Yes. This is my- husband,” He brought his arm around Lance’s waist. “Lance.” It was a bit awkward hearing Keith stumble over the sentence. Clearly the words were clunky coming out of his mouth, but he got there quick enough to avoid suspicion Lance supposed. He then introduced the rest of the team.

“Oh, congratulations! How long have you two been wed?” The king asked, not particularly caring about the others. 

“A few months!” Lance responded before Keith could blank on them again. He figured that calling themselves a couple of newlyweds would allow them some wiggle room to make a few mistakes. Maybe he could even stretch the lie and say their courting was short because they were too in love to wait. 

The King and Prince, along with the rest of the welcoming party led the team past the port and towards the palace. Lance took in the gorgeous scenery of the ocean side. The water was such a deep blue that it almost looked purple, the breeze smelled similarly to mint and the plants, although similar to the vegetation from Earth, had more of a teal to purple hue rather than a deep green. The entrance to the palace was massive with blue glazed bricks inlaid with golden reliefs of indegnenous animals the Lyrians held in high regard. Right before the towering doors there stood two grand beasts carved in stone with tentacles stretching out from the bodies in a facsimile of wings, their faces are definitely Lyrian and their eyes bore into Lance’s very being. 

They passed through the doors and he could hear the sounds of a waterfall not far from where they stood. They crossed over one of the bridges arching over the canals that lined the walkways. He watched one of the gondolas pass by carrying several of the citizens onboard who waved up at them. 

“It’s beautiful.” Lance murmured.

“Perhaps, but there are things outside of here that hold more grace and beauty to them.” Prince Ohnu smiled back at him with a small wink. Lance shook his head, unable to fight back the grin on his face at the words. Keith took his hand and pulled him closer to him causing Lance to flush and let out an awkward chuff. He leaned over and kissed Keith’s cheek. Was that too much? It was just, well- All part of the act, right?

“We would love to host a welcoming party for you and the newly wedded couple.” King Brev’os told them. Keith glanced over to Allura with a mild panic in his eyes. 

“Thank you, we’d gratefully accept the offer.” Allura took over for him. 

“You’re also more than welcom to stay here in the palace rather than retiring back to your castle to sleep.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Keith inclined his head politely. “We’d like that.”

The King finished off his tour and had his servants escort everyone to their room. That’s right, room . Singular. Lance at least bit back his groan at the thought of having to dogpile on top of everyone. 

The room itself wasn’t horrible. There was a large mat on the floor, plenty big enough for everyone to rest on. There was also a small pool of water nearby. Lance figured that given the very fishlike appearance of the Lyrians it made sense that they’d need a place to freshen up quickly after drying out during the night. Or maybe they like to sleep in it? Lance couldn’t tell if the mat was a last minute addition for them or not. At least it matched with the rest of the elegant decor well.

“We’re gonna get really close.” Lance murmured and Pidge scrunched up her nose.

“Gross. You’re gonna make me sweaty as all hell.”

“Wait ‘till you're pressed up against Hunk, the guy’s a space heater.” 

“Dude.” Hunk whined.

“It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever dealt with.” Keith shrugged.

“Same.” Lance agreed. 

“Oh no, you two aren’t sleeping in here.” The servant told them.

“What do you mean?” Keith raised a brow.

“Well, as a newly-wedded couple, you have your own personal suite to stay in. Come, this way please.” They waved for Lance and Keith to follow them. Lance stuck his tongue out at Pidge as he walked out of the room. Sucks to suck .

Keith and Lance were shown their suite and Lance felt his jaw hit the floor as he stepped in. It was massive compared to the one the others would be sharing, with beautiful sheer curtains and an actual bed. Lance reached his hands out towards the fluffy looking sheets. It was smooth and soft to the touch, almost like silk. Lance truly felt like he could have been on his honeymoon... with Keith. There was another pool of water nearby, though this one did have a sturdy cover over it to keep them from falling in. 

The servants brought in clothes for them to wear at the party tonight. Keith politely accepted them and laid them carefully over the back of an armchair as Lance hopped onto the bed and happily rolled around in the sheets. He played with the plants in the planter box above the bed before rolling over and opening one of the drawers in the nightstand. 

He stopped short. Surely he couldn’t be seeing what he thought he was seeing. Sex toys. There was no other explanation for the phallic shapes that he didn’t really recognize past, well, a penis. Though maybe he shouldn’t make assumptions. 

“Uh…” He looked up at the servant still in the room, his cheeks on fire. He fully intended on asking them about it but they walked over. They looked into the drawer and tutted.

“So sorry, sirs.” They apologized, reaching into the drawer. “I’ll get rid of these.”

“Thank you.” Lance squeaked. He watched as they only removed a small clear bag filled with flat circular objects inside. Keith furrowed his brow in confusion but his light clicked on faster than Lance’s did.

“Those… are condoms.” He blurted out.

“Contraceptives, yes.”

“W-why are you getting rid of only them?” Lance stared at the bag.

“You’re newly-wedded, no? Surely you must be trying for offspring?” The servant tilted their head. Lance turned to Keith and the fear he saw in his eyes was not reassuring.

“Right. Children. Totally, trying to… cram one in there.” Spilled out of Keith’s mouth. Lance buried his face into the pillows and prayed that the servant left soon.

“I thought so.” They sighed in relief. 

“Yep.” 

“Well, please feel free to take a shower, it’s over in there. The soaps have already been provided. Someone will come to escort you to the party later in the evening.” Their voice grew softer as they headed for the door. “You have plenty of free time to do whatever you like to in the meantime.” They laughed softly and slipped out.

“I think… they think we’re going to fu--”

“Of course they think that!” Lance sat up and ran a hand through his hair. “Seriously?”

“What?”

“‘Cram one in there’?” 

“I panicked!”

“I saw that!” Lance groaned as he got up onto his feet.
“What else was I supposed to say?” 

“It’s not what you said, it’s how you said it!” Lance crossed his arms. Keith scoffed as he stepped over to him, an amused grin on his lips.

“Well it’s been said. What are you going to do about it, Mr. Kogane?” 

“I don’t know, Mr. McClain.” He hissed back. 

Keith hummed and looked about the room. “Maybe we can fake it.” 

“Fake it?” 

“Y’know. Fake it.” 

Lance squinted his eyes and shook his head. He needed more than the words repeated back to him in a different tone. 

“Loud grunting and moaning. Maye if we jumped on the bed…” Keith said leaning over the side of the large mattress, grabbed the bed frame, and pushed his weight against it. Lance couldn’t help the small snort that flew past his lips when Keith got the frame to creak and chuckled over his shoulder at him. 

“You’re ridiculous.” Lance shook his head and pulled Keith’s hands away from the bed by both his wrists. 

Keith allowed this and hummed up at Lance. It at least seemed like he was having fun playing his role. 

“How do you think we’re doing?” Lance asked, casually tracing Keith’s hands and experimentally lacing their fingers together. They seemed to fit between the spaces of his so perfectly. It made him smile. 

“Maybe if you tone down the flirting with the Prince we’d be more believable.” Keith jabbed. 

“I mean, we could be looking for a third?” Lance teased. Keith rolled his eyes and took his hands back from Lance. 

“If that were the case then perhaps we should let someone with finer tastes choose someone.” 

“Did you just say I have bad taste in men?” Lance gasped and rested his hands on his hips.

“I mean,” Keith raised his hands and mimicked the shape of the Prince’s short finned ears. Lance chuckled softly and shook his head.

“So you’re a possessive and jealous husband, gotcha!” 

Keith rolled his eyes but had no words to defend himself with. Lance laughed softly and wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist, “Aww, Keith, he’s just some rando fish man, you know you’re my one and only hubby.” He sang-sung. It made Keith bite his lip to keep himself from smiling, so Lance took that as a point for himself. He’s glad Keith is allowing him to be in his space like this. It made Lance incredibly happy to not be afraid to reach out for him. To hold him, even kiss his cheek like earlier. Keith took it like an absolute champ. As though they had been doing this for months, maybe even a couple years. It was so easy to pretend, it almost felt natural. Was it strange to think that he was made to love Keith? 

  “You okay?” Keith asked, shaking Lance from his thoughts. 

“Sorry! I must have gotten lost in your eyes, Mr. McClain.” Lance hummed sarcastically. He stood quickly, giving Keith his space back. He really needed to remember to tone it down behind closed doors. 

Keith grumbled and hissed at his own reflection in the large vanity mirror as he tried to figure out how to tie the front of his robe. Lance told him to leave it alone and that he’d help him with it after a quick shower. He could probably tell he was irritated by the way he growled down at the overly decorated fabric. 

It was an absolute eyesore in his opinion, orange with navy stripes and splatters. It looked like something he would see on a tropical fish with its bright contrasting complementary colors. It felt dumb that they had to play dress-up and kiss so much ass whenever they were trying to gain a new ally. Other planets should be jumping at the chance to fight back against the Galra Empire, not asking them to dance like monkeys and amuse them to even consider the thought. 

Although... the robe that was meant for Lance looked pretty, he supposed. It was a gorgeous indigo with golden accents. Keith wasn’t going to lie to himself, he was somewhat excited to see Lance in it. Lance was the only one who always looked amazing in a ridiculous foreign gown whenever they did something like this. 

Keith huffed and finally left the front of his clothes alone, maybe it was meant to be worn with an open chest, much like how the prince had been wearing his. He had caught Lance staring at the stupid prince’s chest, practically drooling over him, and it was clear that the amphibian man had an interest in Lance too. Ugh . Of course the prince liked Lance, who wouldn’t? Lance made an impression everywhere he went solely by smiling at others. That big, bright, beautiful smile of his, always so warm and welcoming. He was sociable, kind, and his humor was contagious. The prince had every right to be intrigued, to be attracted. 

But what a damn douchebag for being so shamelessly into a married man. Well, a supposedly married man. Look! As far as the prince knew, Lance was his lawfully wedded husband! Maybe Lyrians were into that because they glamorized marriages so much? Who knows.

All Keith was certain of was that the welcome dinner was going to be a tough test for their little act if Lance wasn’t able to tone down his normal flirting routine. He hoped there wasn’t any alcohol at this event because Lance only turned up the charm when tipsy and he himself couldn’t keep a secret to save his pride. Stars forbid if it’s rude on this planet to kindly decline a drink at an event hosted in your honor. 

He’d been fostering these feelings for the Blue Paladin from the very start. Being lost in space had only made those feelings grow. Especially when Lance took a hit for Coran and Keith held the hero in his arms. It became nearly unbearable with the way his heart had silently begged for him to come out of the healing pod safe and sound.

Lance never had a problem being in his space either. He would always casually rest his hands on Keith’s arms or even lean against his shoulder. Keith however, couldn’t allow himself to relish in any of it, too afraid of slipping or taking more than what he was being offered. And the offer is Lance’s kindness and friendship, nothing more.

That didn’t mean it was easy. It had been so hard, now that Shiro was missing and Lance had taken the position of his right hand man; they were with each other almost twenty four seven. And now the fake marriage... Lance was always at his side, quick to step in and back him up. It wasn’t that this was something new for Lance, but it was something Keith was getting to see more frequently. 

Keith couldn’t ask him to stop. In fact, he greedily wanted more of it. More of that attention, that support, that love. Because Lance was a man who loved so much. Keith couldn’t deny that Lance already loved him. It was just in the form of a teammate or a friend. That should have been enough, more than enough - after all it was more than what he deserved. Selfish. He glared at himself in the mirror. 

He’d die a happy man if he was allowed to have more from Lance, if he was something greater to him. He was in love but he couldn’t have Lance. There were so many reasons, each more painful than the last. First, It would be taking advantage of his position as a leader. Second, It would be taking advantage of the friendship that was clearly the only thing being offered to him. Thirdly, Well-

“Fuck me.” Keith whispered softly as he ran a hand through his hair. He’d heard the water shut off and the gentle tune of Lance humming some sort of song. This wasn’t the time to be having these thoughts. It was going to show all over his face and it would definitely mess everything up. Lance came out in a towel and Keith respectfully averted his eyes. He toyed with the edges of his robe while behind him he heard the rustle of the clothes Lance was putting on. 

“It’s not a bad look. Right?” Lance asked, giving permission for Keith to look. 

Keith peeked over his shoulder.  “You look…” Amazing, beautiful, breathtaking , “Good.” He winced at his choice and Lance shook his head with a sigh and a grin.

“You’re truly a wordsmith, I wouldn’t know what the English language was capable of without your exemplary works.” He laughed and Keith scoffed. He walked over to Keith and gestured for him to turn around. 

“I think I got it.” Keith grunted.

“Yeah, no you didn’t.” Lance told him and fixed how the robe laid over him. “There we go, much better now.” 

“You think so?” Keith raised a brow. Lance hummed and took a few steps back. He framed Keith with his thumbs and index fingers, closing an eye and looking through the window he made. Keith swallowed, he never felt more caught in a pair of crosshairs than now, “Well?” He held his arms out.

“One thing.” Lance came back and grabbed his hands. He tapped Keith’s fingerless gloves. “Were you wearing these under your armor?”

“No.”

“Why are you wearing them now?”

“They’re for better grip.” Keith frowned.

“Better grip, huh? What, pray tell, are you gripping?” Lance looked at him.

“My bayard.”

“You’re not bringing your bayard to dinner Keith.” 

“Why not?” 

“Where are you going to put it? These outfits don’t have pockets.”

“Who said anything about pockets.” Keith responded automatically. Lance scrunched up his nose.

“I don’t like what that implies. Keith, just… ditch the gloves for tonight.”

“I…” Keith sighed. He doesn’t want to, his brain unable to let go of the idea he’d need to fight. 

“Please?”, Lance asked. Keith looked at him, searching Lance’s face for any excuse to not listen. But Keith has always been a weak man. Keith had never been able to deny Lance anything he asked for.

“Yeah. Okay.” He sighed. Lance smiled at him and traced Keith’s fingers, down to his wrist and brushed them along the skin just under the hem of his glove. It should not have sent sparks through his veins but it did. 

“Okay?” Lance asked and he nodded, eyes glued onto the slender fingers, hooked around the glove. He took it as a positive sign and gently pulled it off his hand. The glide of the fabric over the palm of Keith’s hand had him sucking in a soft breath. Lance balled the gloves together and tucked them into Keith’s bag for the time being. 

Keith took the moment to press his hand to his chest, begging his heart to slow down. All Lance did was remove his gloves . His face felt far too warm and he cleared his throat. 

“Did you um… pack the rings?” Keith asked him. 

“Oh yeah, I did. We should be wearing those.” Lance chuckled. “Thanks for reminding me.” He stood up and pawed through his own bag to locate their rings. Keith hummed and smiled when Lance made a triumphant noise, producing the box that held the rings and bringing it over to Keith. He held out his hand as Lance opened the box. 

“Let me see if this one’s yours.” Lance said, setting the box in Keith’s right palm and plucking one of the simple gold bands out.

“Okay.” Keith watched as Lance took his left hand and slid it over his ring finger. The action took less than five seconds but for Keith it lasted years. The careful hold Lance had over his hand, the way those fingers caressed his hypersensitive skin as he pushed the ring on, the warmth in his gut and in his chest at Lance’s smile when it fit.

“Guessed right on the first try.” Lance looked at him. He should say something, anything, to keep the warmth between them. Don’t go silent on him!

“Wonder when they sized us.” Open mouth, insert foot. Lance took pity on him and laughed though. 

“Bet it was the mice or something weird.” 

“Probably.” Keith agreed. He pulled the other golden band out, tossing the box onto the bed for now. He casually dried his free hand off on the edge of his robe and took Lance’s hand. He mimicked the tender hold and couldn’t keep his eyes off of Lance’s as he slid the ring on. Lance seemed unable to look away either. 

They stared at one another, Keith still holding Lance’s hand in his. A warm smile slowly spread over Lance’s face. 

“Perfect fit.”

“Just for you.” Keith agreed. Everything in his body wanted him to close the space between them, to find what else of Lance’s would fit perfectly with him. His eyes flicked down to his lips and he longed for the feeling of them against his own once more. 

“Keith?” The question sounded almost breathless.

“Yeah?” He tore his eyes off Lance’s lips and looked back up at his eyes. 

“You uh… you okay?” Lance’s cheeks are bright red and Keith knew he wasn't faring any better.

“Terrific, Mr. Kogane.” He teased, hoping to inject some normalcy between them. Lance scoffed softly, his grin coming back.

“I wasn’t aware that I was taking on your last name, Mr. McClain.” 

“Would McGane be better?” Keith chuckled and lowered Lance’s hand, though not letting go of it.

“No! No it would not!” Lance laughed and the sound has Keith falling more in love with him. He guessed it’s something they’d have to talk about… for the mission of course.

“Okay, we seriously need to figure that one out, because if we let it slip we are so busted.” Keith shook his head.

“Easy! McClain. Next question.” Lance huffed.

“But why McClain?” 

“Why Kogane?” Lance pouted.

“I…” Keith glanced away with a blush and a slight frown tugging on his lips. “I always wanted to share my last name with someone. I don’t have a lot left from my dad, but… I at least have that, y’know?” He murmured and looked back at Lance.

“Oh…” He seemed thrown off by his response and Keith cleared his throat.

“Look, it’s stupid. We can use Mc-”

“It’s not stupid,” Lance clicked his tongue and cut him off. “It’s actually really sweet, Keith. And y’know what? Lance Kogane does have a nice ring to it.” 

“Well, I guess they are nice rings.” Keith traced the one over Lance’s finger.

“Did you just…?” Lance squinted at him. 

“So what’s our story?” Keith changed the subject quickly and sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling Lance along with him. Lance gave him a look but sat beside him with a small huff. 

“Right. Our story. It has to be airtight because we’re going to be asked tons of questions and it’d be really bad if we gave out conflicting information.”

“I was always told the best lies are based in the truth.” Keith hummed. “It keeps it consistent and easy to remember.”

“Understandable.” Lance nodded.

“So… Let’s say we met at the Garrison.” 

“Says the guy who didn’t even remember me.” 

“Do you want it to be something else?” Keith asked him.

“The Garrison. What was I wearing?”

“Your uniform, probably.” He shrugged.

“No romance.”

“Orange is a hard color to pull off.” Keith gestured to the outfit he currently had on. Lance’s eyes roamed over him and Keith was aware of every time they paused.

“I think you’re doing a great job.” He murmured and Keith was fairly certain he wasn’t supposed to hear that. He licked his lips and tried to continue on.

“We um… we obviously got together after we were in space.”

“That makes the most sense.” Lance’s eyes snapped back up to his face. “When did we decide to get together?”

“After you got hurt protecting Coran?” Keith suggested, “I just mean it’s an easy lie if we say that you getting hurt is what pushed us to date. Maybe we realized that our days weren’t guaranteed.” He hoped Lance couldn’t tell how much truth was in Keith’s words, or at least how much hope there was. He wanted nothing more than for everything he was saying to have been the honest truth. He wanted to be with Lance, he wanted this to be real.

“And we got married after Shiro disappeared? For the same reason?” Lance said quietly. Keith could tell Lance was trying to be cautious with his mention of Shiro, he supposed that was to be expected with Keith’s hot-headed nature. Maybe when Shiro had first gone missing Keith would have exploded at Lance for making a claim, even a false one, that Keith would have gotten married right after he disappeared; but now, Keith was just saddened that it had been long enough for him to have gone a little numb to the mention of his name. 

“Yeah, that sounds like it could be believable,” Keith replied quickly before Lance got the feeling that his mention of Shiro had bothered Keith. Not that it hadn’t, “So, Mr. Kogane anything else we need to think about?”

“I think that’s good enough for tonight, Mr. Kogane.” Lance squeezed his hand. 

The party was in full swing by the time Keith and Lance were escorted in. The servant who’d gotten them had explained that it was because they were afraid Keith and Lance may have been… copulating… and they didn’t want to interrupt. The other paladins looked at them with curiosity written on their faces as they entered, “So what kinda digs are you two set up in?” Pidge asked.

“It’s pretty much the honeymoon suite.” Lance laughed, “Makes your place look like the locker room at the garrison.”

Keith scanned the room as Lance continued his conversation. Call it a dumb habit, but he had to make sure there were no threats. Though, if there was, what was he really going to do? He didn’t bring his bayard. He huffed and turned back to the group only to find them all staring at him. “What?”

“This is a party numb nuts. Have fun, let loose.” Pidge said, crossing her arms.

Lance took his arm cautiously and leaned into his side, “Though I wouldn’t phrase it like that, Pidge is right. It’s a party, it’s okay to not be on high alert.” He scanned Lance’s face, it was so close… So close he could lean in ever so slightly and their lips would…

“Paladins!” Keith internally groaned at the sound of the prince’s voice. His hand shot out instinctively and wrapped around Lance’s waist, pulling him closer, “I hope you’re all enjoying yourselves.”, Ohnu placed himself in the middle of the group, standing right next to Lance. He could tell his presence was affecting Lance too. He could see Lance’s beautiful eyes raking up and down the prince’s body, hear how his breath had hitched slightly as he was pulled into Keith when the prince showed up, and feel how Lance leaned against him; likely weak kneed from Ohnu’s presence. 

“We are, this is all very kind of you and your people. Thank you.” Allura smiled in response.

“Paladin Keith, my father would like to set a meeting to discuss a potential alliance. I was sent to retrieve you for him.”

“Of course.” He replied curtly, trying to keep his glaring to a minimum. He turned towards where he’d seen the king, at a table near the front of the room and pulled Lance along with him. He was dismayed to see that the prince was following them. He knew he had no right to be this possessive, Lance wasn’t his . Lance wasn’t anyone’s . But he felt a seething jealousy with how the prince seemed to possess the flirtatious social skills that Lance loved. The same skills Keith was severely lacking in. 

They approached the king, careful not to interrupt his current conversation with someone Keith can only assume to be a parliamentary or religious figure given their vestments. “Ah! Paladin Keith, wonderful.” Brev’os grinned as he turned to see Keith, “Thank you Ohnu for retrieving him. Keith, please let us discuss a time to speak about our potential alliance.”

“Right.” Keith moved to follow the king with Lance by his side but he was stopped.

“Apologies Paladin Lance, but I was hoping to speak to Paladin Keith separately.” Keith furrowed his brows hearing the king’s words, why just Keith? Weren’t they merely discussing a time to meet? Why couldn’t Lance come with him?

“Of course your majesty.” Lance bowed his head respectfully, kissing Keith’s cheek again before pulling away. Keith felt his ears turn red as he said goodbye to Lance.

“I’ll see you soon- sweetheart.” Keith said quietly. 

“Rest assured Paladin Keith, I will see to it that Lance gets back to your teammates safely.” Prince Ohnu smiled. Keith hated it. That smile seemed more like a devilish smirk, like he was so pleased to finally have a moment alone with Lance. With a supposedly married man. Ohnu would definitely be classified as a homewrecker on Earth.

“He can take care of himself.” Keith said sternly, quickly turning on his heels to walk with the king. Lest he stay too long and become embolden to introduce his fist to Ohnu’s stupid face.

“You and Lance are quite the couple.” Brev’os smiled, “You must love him very much.”

“I do.” He smiled, the anger he felt for the prince quickly dissipating in favor of his love for Lance, “He’s… he’s amazing. He’s everything to me.” 

Lance turned to return to his team, but the prince stepped in his way, “Paladin Lance, I’m glad to finally have a moment alone with you.” 

“Oh, really?” Lance smiled, a small flush appearing on his cheeks. He felt conflicted, his flirty nature clashing with his feelings for Keith. On top of that the mission. He didn’t want the prince, well not like how he wanted Keith at least, but if not for the fake marriage Lance would have been all over the chance to flirt. 

“Yes, you’re quite the handsome specimen.” He complimented with a bow.

“Oh. Thank you, you’re not so bad yourself.” Lance replied instinctively, “But- I’m married-”

“I’m well aware paladin.”, The prince laughed softly. Speaking in a tone that suggested Lance may have committed some sort of social faux-pas in his assumptions of the prince’s motives, “Please, I hope you do not mistake my kindness for something treacherous. Here on Lyria it is merely customary to express our observations out loud. Especially a compliment.”

“Of course. My apologies. Humans are not as… open with their comments about each other.”

“Right. I’d love to learn more about human culture. We have so little knowledge on your planet, only a few travel logs written by people who merely used Earth as a rest stop on a longer journey.”

“Really? Well, I’d be happy to teach you more.” Lance explained. A chance to talk about Earth? Yes please. He’d missed his home so much since coming into space. Sure he’d dreamed of being a pilot, dreamed of going into the great unknown beyond the vast stars- but for a few months. Not years. And definitely not without saying goodbye. His family likely thought he was dead, the thought alone was enough to have him biting his cheek to keep from crying.

“Are you alright Paladin Lance?” Ohnu asked, clearly Lance was doing a poor job of keeping his emotions at bay.

“Yes, I’m alright.” He said, trying to rid his head of those homesick thoughts. 

The prince looked to Lance, then to the party, and back to Lance, “Would you like to dance? I would consider it a great honor to dance with the paladin of the Red Lion.” Lance smiled in response, appreciating the distraction, and nodded.

The prince gently took his arm and led him out to the dance floor. The Lyrain music was that akin to harps and violins, calming like waves as the band played. The Prince took liberties in the placement of his hands Lance noted. His hands were on his hips, but they were definitely a little lower than they should have been. However, not knowing how the alliance talk would go, Lance thought it best to not say anything. If the prince tried anything too racy then Lance would speak up, but for now, they were having harmless fun. Right?

“So, tell me about you and Keith.” The Prince smiled.

“Hm?” Lance looked up towards him, suddenly very aware of how much taller than him the prince was, “What do you want to know?”

“You seem standoffish towards him at times. I apologize if I’m overstepping, we Lyrians are good at reading body language, and I could see your apprehension with your mate.”

Lance felt his heart stop, was the act all for nothing? Could they really see through them that easily? No, there was no way they knew it was fake, “Well, it’s just... Uhm…” Lance tried to find the words, averting his eyes from Ohnu’s incase he really was good at reading people, “Things with Keith and I moved really quick. Uhm, we just… it’s just that, doing what we do, y’know tomorrow isn’t really guaranteed. So, we didn’t wanna waste any time. It’s not that I’m standoffish, it's just that things are still really new. And I’m not used to being super affectionate in front of people.”

The prince remained quiet for a moment before pulling Lance in closer, “I can hear the apprehension in your voice.” Lance bit his lip, was there really apprehension? He did like Keith, a lot… like, a lot a lot. Almost like…. Lo-

Lance jumped out of his thoughts when there was a growl from behind the prince. He looked at the source, the prince also turning slowly to see Keith, “Mind if I cut in?” 

Lance smiled and removed himself from Ohnu’s arms, moving towards Keith and leaning into him. Ohnu eyed Keith warily before nodding, “Of course Paladin Keith. Lance, it was lovely dancing with you. I hope we can see each other more before your team parts.” He bowed and moved back into the thick of the party.

Keith’s hands wrapped around Lance’s waist, pulling their bodies flush. “So, you’re going to dance?” Lance asked with a small smile.

“Well, yeah.” Keith’s response elicited a laugh from Lance, “What’s so funny?”

“Just, didn’t expect you to know how to dance.” 

“I know how to dance.”

“Okay, prove it.” Lance was definitely eating his words a moment later when Keith moved languidly with him. He couldn’t help but lean into Keith’s neck, his arms around his neck as he shut his eyes. 

“You comfy there?” Keith questioned with a small chuff.

“Yeah. My husband is really warm.” He flushed saying the word husband, but it was starting to feel more natural. Less awkward. That was good. That meant that he would be able to keep the ruse up better. And that was definitely something they needed if the prince was as perceptive as he claimed to be, “I like this, being here. With you.” He looked up at Keith when he didn’t receive a response, and saw his eyes trained on someone else.

When Lance glanced in the direction of Keith’s gaze he saw the prince. Keith didn’t seem like he trusted Ohnu, which Lance couldn’t fault, he definitely seemed a little fishy (Beyond appearance). 

 “I think he’s onto us.” Lance whispered.

 “Is he now?”

 “Yeah. Something about the Lyrians being really good at reading body language.” 

 “Then I guess we have to be more careful.” Keith murmured.

 Lance lifted his head up and turned Keith’s attention back to him, “Y’know, this would be a really good time to kiss me.” He said softly.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. We’re dancing, you’re holding me close, I’m whispering sweet nothings in your ears.” 

Keith hummed, bringing a hand off Lance’s waist and up towards his jaw, “Alright then Mr. Kogane. C’mere.” He pulled Lance in, their lips pressing together sweetly. Lance couldn’t get enough of Keith’s lips, they were surprisingly soft against his own. He could feel the eyes of their team on him, but he didn’t much care. All he could care about was how Keith held him tightly and moved his lips in tandem with Lance’s. When they pulled away Lance didn’t miss the glare Keith shot in the direction of the prince, and Lance swelled with pride. That’s right Ohnu, Lance was Keith’s. Or well… he was faking being Keith’s. Just an act, right?

Lance didn’t let himself dwell on it too much, opting to rest his head in Keith’s neck again. Keith rubbed circles into his hips, and it felt good to have the reassuring touch. Soon however, the music stopped and the king called everyone to their seats to eat. Lance pulled away from Keith reluctantly, “Thanks for the dance Keith. It was really nice.”

“Anytime,” Keith said, kissing Lance’s knuckles and walking towards their table with him. Keith even pulled out Lance’s chair for him before taking the one beside him. 

“Wow, you guys are really selling it.” Hunk said softly and silently gave them a round of applause. 

“Marvelous job, you two.” Allura congratulated them quietly as well. 

“You guys could have fooled me, all Keith needed to do to really sell it was give Lance’s ass a squeeze to really show that fish prince that Lance and he are really married.” Pidge hummed. 

“Pidge.” Keith said sternly. “Watch what you say.” Pidge was about to comment back when a staff member leaned over her shoulder and filled up the glass in front of her on their table. Lance watched as she bit her lip and the rest of the team took this as everyone’s mission, not just theirs. 

Later that night, Lance and Keith found themselves getting ready for bed. The Lyrians had provided them with pajamas that upon inspection were absolutely mortifying. “I can’t believe it-” Lance squeaked, his face bright red as he held up the bottoms to his pajamas. There was a giant hole where his ass would be, and when Keith looked at his pants to see if he had the same problem, he found the hole was where his dick would be. 

“I think it’s for uhm… easy access. Since we said- we were trying to… cram one in there.”

Lance buried his face in the pillow, “Please stop saying it like that! There’s no way we’re wearing those pajamas. No matter how soft they are.”

“Right.” Keith agreed, placing them back on top of the dresser. He grabbed his clothes out of his bag and went into the bathroom to change. It was a good opportunity to reflect on the events of the day. So much had happened in such a short amount of time it almost seemed unreal. Kissing Lance, it was amazing. The dancing, the hand holding, just, everything about this felt like a dream come true. But it was all an act, he and Lance were just… keeping up appearances. 

He sighed, finishing up and heading back out to the bedroom. Upon opening the door Keith was met with the sight of Lance’s bare butt quickly being stuffed into his pants, “Not done yet!” Lance shouted quickly. 

Keith slammed himself back into the bathroom, his mind racing a million miles a minute with the image of Lance’s perky butt at the front and center of his mind. So much for the pants with no ass being the problem, apparently the real problem was Keith’s inability to knock on a fucking door. He slapped his cheeks, trying to regain his composure. Why did he have to be like this. Way to make things real fucking awkward Keith. 

Tentatively he knocked on the door, “Can I… Uhm, I’m sorry about that… Can I come back out now?”

“Yeah.” Keith heard Lance say softly. He opened the door, and thankfully for his heart Lance was now fully clothed. 

“Sorry. Sorry… I should have knocked.”

“It’s alright, nothing you haven’t seen before in the showers right?” And Keith supposed that was kind of true. He had seen Lance in the showers, but there were partitions and steam, and Keith never actually saw anything. But now, he has. Now he saw Lance’s soft, plump, supple… god Keith wanted his mouth on it.

“Right…” He said trying to get his head out of the gutter. He crawled into the bed, he needed to just go to bed and relax. He didn’t need to think about how pretty Lance was, or how pretty his butt looked. Lance got into the bed next to him, and Keith was suddenly thankful that the mattress was large enough to keep them both separate for the night. 

But the mattress’s size didn’t help when Lance seemed to think that the best place to rest soundly was so close to Keith. The man didn’t even bother to place a pillow between the two of them, instead shuffling closer so that he didn’t have to speak loudly to Keith. 

“I think we did great today.” Lance smiled. 

“Um, yeah?” 

“Yeah! I know we’re going to have to watch our body language moving forward but, I think that kiss was good.” Keith thought so too. Kissing Lance was always good. 

“Do you think it’ll keep Ohnu from trying to snatch my man?” Keith chuckled softly. As close as Lance was, he wanted to be closer, so he shifted and even leaned in some more. 

“Aw, Keith.” Lance cooed and wrapped his arms around Keith’s shoulders and his own looped around Lance’s waist. The close proximity made Keith’s heart drum in his chest and having Lance’s face so close to his tempted his eyes to slip shut. He was getting too used to kissing Lance. “No one could take me from you.” Lance said, tucking his face in Keith’s neck. 

Teasing or not, hearing Lance say those words made Keith’s heart swell, “Good to hear it.” He laughed softly. The lights suddenly dimmed in their room, sort of akin to the way the lights in the castle dimmed.

“I guess that's the planet's way of telling us it’s time to get to bed.” Lance chuckled.

“Yeah, it’s late anyway.” He pulled the blanket over him and Lance, not missing how Lance nuzzled up next to him a little, “Goodnight Lance.”

“Night Keith.”

Lance woke up the next morning incredibly warm, he felt wrapped up and part of his heart fluttered at the thought that maybe it was Keith’s arms around him. But no, he opened his eyes to find the bed completely and unfortunately devoid of any trace of Keith. He sighed and shifted, unwrapping his arms from the tight blanket burrito he’d made for himself and moved to go to the bathroom. 

“Ow!” He heard Keith’s voice as he stepped off the bed. Oh god, he just stepped on Keith. 

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you- I thought you were- wait, why are you on the floor?” Lance asked confused.

Keith sat up, rubbing his stomach where Lance’s foot had been, “You pushed me off the bed in the middle of the night.” He grimaced.

“No I…” Lance was kicking himself. Curse his bed hogging, this was his perfect chance to share a bed with Keith, but no. Years of starfishing to avoid sharing a bed with his siblings came to bite him in the butt, “I’m sorry, I’m a wild sleeper. You could have woken me up, I would have moved over again.”

“Well I…,” Keith started. He flushed and rubbed the back on his head sheepishly, “You looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you up. Besides I slept fine, I’m used to sleeping on the floor.”

“Yeah and you’re also used to cutting your hair into a mullet, just because it’s habitual doesn’t mean it’s good-”

“It’s not a mullet.” Keith groaned.

“If I kick you off the bed tonight and you don’t wake me up I’m gonna step on you again, so choose your battles wisely Kogane.” 

Keith smiled up at Lance fondly, really fondly. So fondly it made Lance’s stomach flip and his heart squeeze, “Alright, alright.” He relented.

“Good.” Lance said, getting up without stepping on Keith this time. He made his way to the bathroom and had to take a moment to stop. What had his life even become, fake marriages were so weird. It had barely been a day and yet it felt like ages had passed. 

Lance showered quickly and got dressed, swapping out in the bathroom with Keith to do the same. It was definitely domestic. When Keith was done they laced hands, for appearances of course, and headed to the dining hall for breakfast. 

The Prince and his father were there waiting with the remainder of the team, which was to be expected but Lance could tell by the way Keith stiffened that he wasn’t too happy about it, “Good morning Paladins.” 

“Good morning!” Lance chimed and led Keith further down the hall to join the King and prince at the table. He even went ahead and pulled Keith’s chair out as a silent ‘sit down and play nice.’ before taking the seat next to him. 

“How did the two of you sleep? Are you in need of any other accommodations?” King Brev’os asked, politely engaging them in small talk. 

“We could use a bigger bed.” Keith said flatly. And although it was honestly fair, Lance wanted to jump into the sea when the King nodded and signalled for a staff member to step closer. 

“That’s right, you two are trying for offspring.” Prince Ohnu smiled and clapped his hands together. Yet another reason for Lance to grow gills and a tail and live in the water, far away from anyone else. Lance should have known that the person who showed them to their rooms would share such news with their hosts since the Lyrians are all about mates and families. 

“Yup,” Keith said and Lance glared up at him, “Really trying to cram-” Lance couldn’t take another embarrassment provided by his pseudo husband and cut him off with a sharp elbow to his side. 

Hunk choked mid sip of his drink and Allura had to wrap a hand around her mouth to keep herself from making any comments.

“Best of luck with that guys. Hope you get your bun in the oven soon.” Pidge nodded, trying desperately to pass her amusement for sincerity. 

Lance glared at Pidge, kicking her feet from under the table, “May we end this conversation.”

“Ah yes,” The Prince spoke, “Father we must remember, humans are not as open about what mates do in their private intimate spaces.” Lance breathed a sigh of relief, thank god for the prince. Keith glanced between the prince and Lance before placing his arm around Lance’s shoulders and pulling him and his chair closer. Keith was definitely possessive, then again this was part of the act right?

“So, paladins what are your plans for today?” The king asked the table.

“Are you and Keith not discussing the alliance today?” Allura questioned.

“We are in preparation for our festival of flora, and as such my itinerary is already fully booked. Paladin Keith and I discussed a meeting time last night, it will be in three days time. In the meantime, please feel free to continue to explore our planet.” Brev’os smiled warmly. Suddenly, a servant came in and whispered hastily into the King’s ear, “Ah, it appears my busy day begins now. Please excuse me paladins. I hope to see you once more before the day ends.”

The paladins looked at each other, “So what should we do today?” Hunk asked.

“I dunno, hey Ohnu!” Pidge shouted. The Prince looked at her a bit curiously, not used to having someone address him so informally, “What’s there to do around here?”

“Well, we have a quite extensive commerce district, and our hospitality industry is thriving. You may wish to visit our beaches as well. I believe our water is safe for humans to swim in.”

Lance’s eyes lit up at the sound, “We can swim at your beaches?” He said excitedly. The Prince flushed a little when he saw the look on Lance’s face, and that made Keith even angrier. An excited Lance was adorable and he didn’t like that that excitement was being directed towards someone other than himself. 

“Yes, of course Paladin Lance. I can allow you the palace's private section, that way you can enjoy yourself without fear of the crowd.”

“Yes please!” Lance smiled.

“A beach sounds fun.” The other paladins shrugged and agreed. 

“Your rooms should all have provided you with traditional Lyrian swimwear, if you would like to change I will escort you all soon.”

True to Ohnu’s word, their rooms all equipped them with traditional Lyrian swimsuits. And oh boy, they were certainly something. The ladies swimsuits were what you would normally expect to find on earth, same for the swimsuits of those not married. However Lance and Keith’s swimsuits… they were given speedos. Speedos that they not only hated, but speedos that were far too tight on the good and lord help either of them should they get a “no-reason boner”. And then Lance’s, god his perky butt was really coming to haunt him as it kept riding up between his cheeks practically becoming a thong.

“Am I really expected to wear this?” Lance had said when they pulled the suits out of the closet. At first, he tried to get away with not wearing it, he’d put on one of his pairs of shorts instead, but when they’d gone out to meet with Ohnu, he sadly explained to Lance that this was Lyrian tradition and that their beaches had strict rules about attire of those attempting to conceive a child. Begrudgingly, Lance had trudged back into his and Keith’s room and put on the suit. 

Soon after, the team made their way down to the palace's private beach cove. Keith was all too aware of how the Prince was eyeing Lance, how he was practically undressing him with his eyes. How dare he, Lance was married. Supposedly. Lance however seemed to forget all about his predicament when they reached the shore. He hadn’t seen a proper beach in at least a full year, and he definitely hadn’t seen one he could swim in in twice as long. Keith couldn’t help but smile softly at Lance’s grin. 

“I hope you all enjoy it, I must attend to business with my father but please, stay as long as you like.” The Prince bowed and made his way back towards the castle, but Keith didn’t miss him taking one last glance towards Lance’s ass. Bastard. 

“Last one in is a rotten Grazlick egg!” Coran shouted and took off towards the water. Hunk and Pidge followed behind him amused as Allura began setting up some towels. Lance looked over at Keith, and Keith didn’t miss how Lance’s eyes raked up his body. Keith knew he had a good physique, that he was muscled and toned in all the right places, but he didn’t usually put so much of his skin on display so he was definitely feeling a little self conscious. 

Keith crossed his arms, trying to cover himself a little and Lance looked away at that, “I’m embarrassed too.” Lance said softly, “This is definitely not something I’m used to wearing. At least yours covers your butt… Mines practically a thong.” He reached behind him and pulled it out of his ass awkwardly. 

“Yea it’s… it’s just embarrassing, and it’s really tight.” Keith said fighting the urge to readjust his junk. Keith’s issue only seemed to get worse as Lance began to make his way to the water. How was he supposed to stay soft with Lance’s perky ass swinging back and forth and bouncing in front of him like that? 

The water was beautiful, it was crystal clear with a soft greenish hue, and it tasted of mint rather than salt. They let the act drop a bit as they were alone, and Lance spent most of his time with Hunk. Keith couldn’t help but admire Lance, he was so ethereal like this, skin wet and sun soaked, eyes shining, smile wide and bright. How Keith longed to hold him by the waist out of the water and kiss him silly. 

“Can’t believe they think you and Lance are trying to have a kid- Guess they don’t understand human biology. Why don’t you just tell them?” Pidge laughed coming up to sit next to him on the sand.

“Well when they mentioned it at first I kinda just, panicked.” He explained, “Can’t exactly go back now. Besides what does it matter if they think it or not? No different than lying to them about a marriage.” 

“Doesn’t seem like lying these days.” She laughed.

“We’re just good actors.” Keith said quickly.

“Then why are you blushing?”

“It’s because of the sun. I burn easily and they didn’t have sunscreen.” Pidge merely rolled her eyes and laughed at the response. Suddenly, a castle servant appeared behind them.

Pidge jumped in fear when they spoke, not having expected anyone being present, “Apologies, I did not mean to frighten you. Prince Ohnu sent me to ask if you had any refreshment requests.” Keith eyed them cautiously, it didn’t seem like they’d heard what Keith and Pidge were talking about, so he breathed a sigh of relief. He needed to be more careful, it wasn’t like him to let his guard down like that, and the last thing they needed was their cover being blown, that likely wasn’t going to go over well. 

“Oh refreshments!” Allura beamed, it had probably been a long time since she’d been treated like the princess that she actually was so Keith supposed it made sense that she was so excited. In hindsight, something like this was actually sorely needed. Despite being here for an alliance there was so doubt that this was feeling a lot like a luxury vacation. Allura called over Hunk, Coran, and Lance from the water so they could ask for drinks if they wanted it. The servant nodded, and went off to fetch their drinks.

“This is starting to feel like a five star resort.” Lance smiled.

“Yeah well your five star husband almost blew your cover.” Pidge snickered.

“Pidge and I were talking and we got careless, it didn’t seem like that servant heard though.” Keith grumbled. 

“Good, The Lyrians have managed to hold their own from the Galra, an alliance with them is key to the success of the coalition.” Allura nodded. 

Keith wished he could say that was the end of it. That they had a tiny little scare with that servant and then that was it, but maybe the Lyrian’s were too good at reading people, or the team was too careless, or likely some combination of both- but That Lyrian definitely knew something was up. And if they decided to tell Ohnu then they were done for. They needed to try and do something to make it more convincing, at dinner Lance leaned into Keith’s ear and whispered about how that servant was staring at them. That they needed to do something.

Keith agreed, he just didn’t know what, or how? And how do they do whatever it is without looking too conspicuous. Ohnu didn’t seem to be acting too differently, he still flirted with Lance but he gave no indication that he knew what the servant may also know so that was good at least. They stuck close to each other through dinner, leaning into each other, trying to throw off suspicion. But maybe they were being too obvious in their attempt to fool people. 

Eventually dinner ended however, and Keith and Lance bid goodbye to the team for the night. Keith stopped in the hall and looked at Lance, “Why’d you stop?” Lance asked with a small chuckle.

“Someone’s following us.” Keith whispered. Lance went on immediate alert, he glanced around quickly, his eyes catching a familiar uniform behind a pillar.

“It’s the servant… I’m gonna do something and I need you to trust me.” Lance said softly in response. Red dusting his cheeks. 

“Of course I trust you.” Keith could tell Lance was fighting an internal battle as he worked up the courage to do whatever it was he was going to do. 

Lance took a deep breath and swallowed before looking up at Keith with steeled eyes, “Oh Keith-” He said loud enough for the onlooker to hear, “I can’t wait anymore- I need you now.” He gasped and pulled Keith in by the collar. Before Keith could even play along or protest (Not that he would) Lance pulled him into a bruising kiss. This was nothing like the fast chaste kisses they’d had before. This was dirty- this was downright filthy . Lance’s mouth moved against Keith’s needily as he pulled Keith towards him. Keith moved forward until Lance’s back hit a pillar, and he couldn’t help but growl into Lance’s mouth. 

Quickly he moved his lips against Lance’s, practically dying and heading to heaven when he felt Lance’s tongue enter the mix. He grabbed at Lance’s hips, one hand lifting his leg around Keith’s waist, he could feel the warm and bouncy flesh of Lance’s ass beneath his hand and he resisted the urge to squeeze and manhandle that perfect butt. Keith moved to kiss Lance’s jaw, unable to stop himself from kissing down to his neck and sucking bruises into his skin, he was acting right? Just acting, this was all part of the job. And Lance certainly didn’t seem to complain, no he was grabbing Keith’s hair and pulling him in. 

“K-keith… mng-” He heard Lance moan softly and gasp into his ear, that kind of noise coming from Lance should be illegal, “He’s… gone… Hah- Keith he’s gone.” Keith pulled back, letting go of Lance’s leg and taking in the sight before him. Lance, red faced, lips spit soaked, shirt pulled off to the side to reveal his neck and collar bone, hair messy- holy shit Keith was about to cream his pants if he kept looking at Lance in his utterly debauched state.

Lance attempted to smooth out his clothing, “S-sorry… That was, I should have asked before I did that.” He said.

“No!” Keith shouted before swallowing thickly and collecting himself, “I- I mean… No, it’s okay. I mean it was fine- because we- it worked right? So… Uhm…”

“R-right. Well we should, head to bed.” Lance said at the ground. Great now he wasn’t looking Keith in the eyes. Keith had definitely taken it too far hadn’t he. Sure, Lance had been the one to kiss him, but Keith had lifted his leg and touched his butt, and Keith had moved to his neck and almost bit him. 

“I’m sorry if I took it too far.” Keith whispered quietly as they walked back towards their room. 

“No, it’s, it’s okay.” Lance assured him. Keith sighed, a little relieved but still not fully believing him. He just wanted to do things right with Lance. He wanted to be with Lance, be with him for real. He wanted to wine and dine him, show him he was special, spoil him, make him feel loved- because Lance was a hopeless romantic and all those things were exactly what he deserved. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. 

Their first kiss wasn’t supposed to be in a room on the castleship because they needed to ‘practice’. It should have been after their first date, Keith and Lance under the stars, but they’re looking at each other because they’re eyes are shining brighter than the sky, and they just get so lost in themselves and the moment they can’t help but lean in closer and closer and closer until- BLAHM!

“Oh my god Keith are you okay!?” Lance cried, his hands coming to rest on Keith’s shoulders as Keith curled over in pain. Apparently daydreaming and walking wasn’t something Keith was capable of because instead of opening the bedroom door like a normal person would, Keith walked straight into it head first and now his nose was bleeding. 

“Fuck-” He groaned in pain, pinching where he felt the blood coming from.

“Keith you’re bleeding!” Lance said, “C’mon we have to patch you up. I think I saw first aid supplies in the bathroom.” He gently pulled Keith into the bathroom off their room and instructed him to sit on the counter, “What happened?” Lance asked him as he leaned into the cabinet.

“I dunno… Just, distracted I guess.”

“Distracted? That’s not very like you.” He said worriedly, “Here look up at me.” Lance instructed. Keith did as told and looking at Lance he decided worry was not an emotion that suited Lance’s face. “You really did a number just from walking into a door.” Lance couldn’t help but laugh softly. He reached out gently with a wet washcloth, holding it tightly to clean up the blood. Keith couldn’t help but admire Lance, how caring he was. How even after Keith had taken that awkward kiss he was right here tending to Keith’s nose because that’s just who Lance was. 

“This might sting a little.” Lance warned before going in with an antiseptic patch. Keith winced as, true to Lance’s word, it did sting, “Sorry. But this is for your own good. Besides, with how often you manage to hurt yourself on missions you should be used to it.”

“After a mission I get to use a healing pod.” 

“Not today Keithy. Today it’s a good old fashioned Earth style patch job.”, Lance reached for a band aid and placed it over Keith’s nose, “You should be okay now. What made you so distracted?”

“...I uhm, I dunno… thinking about Shiro…” He lied. 

“Oh… You know we’ll find him right? I bet he’s out there right now somewhere beating Galra to a pulp trying to get back to us. It’ll be okay.”

Keith smiled, “Yeah, you’re right.” And while he hadn’t actually been thinking about Shiro when he’d run into the door, he couldn’t deny that Shiro was always on his mind. And Lance’s words helped ease some of the worry and pain Keith felt. 

“Well of course. I’m always right.” Lance grinned. Keith laughed and shook his head, pushing up off the counter and suddenly finding himself mere millimeters from Lance. If he looked down he’d probably find his lips attached to Lance’s nose. He stepped away quickly, rubbing the back of his neck slowly.

“Thank you, for taking care of me.”

“Course, I’ll always take care of you Keith. Always.” And there was something so earnest in the way Lance spoke. Something so honest it felt as if Lance was bearing his entire soul for Keith and Keith alone. As if he was deserving of something so special. 

“Me too. I’ll take care of you.” Keith promised.

“I know.” Lance reached up and caressed Keith’s cheek gently. He looked into Keith’s eyes, searching for perhaps the galaxy itself, and Keith willed the stars to appear in his eyes just for Lance’s viewing pleasure. Lance soon dropped his hand and turned with a quick “I’m gonna go change.” Keith watched as he walked to the bedroom and shut the doors for privacy. He couldn’t help but reach up and place his hand where Lance’s had been, where it tingled and burned all at once. How was Lance even real?  

The next morning, Lance was happy to find that he had in fact not kicked Keith off the bed again. Though they were still on opposite sides of the bed. Was it too much to ask for some cliche bedsharing cuddles? Lance didn’t think so. Maybe he could pretend to still be asleep and roll over just enough to-

“Lance! Keith! Open the door immediately!” Lance definitely knew who that pristine british accent belonged to even before getting up. But why was she banging on their door? 

“Mng?” Keith stirred. God that morning voice was sexy, but now clearly wasn’t the time. Lance pushed out of bed and opened the door to see the whole team and the alien who had been watching them. Well this didn’t seem good. They all pushed past Lance into the room, Pidge marching to Keith and practically dragging him out of bed, “What’s going on?” 

“Apparently you two meatheads were too obvious and this guy knows you’re not married.” Pidge said brashly. Lance paled, so then that was it right? Alliance done, no shot at all. They fucked it up.

Keith looked between Allura and the Alien, “... So we’ve been discovered. What now?”

“Well-” Allura started but was cut off by the Lyrian.

“If King Brev’os were to find out he would be quite offended. I was also offended when I first discovered the truth, a mate is never something to lie about. However, I… I was watching you and the blue paladin last night… it was obvious to me that while your union was a lie your relationship was not. Therefore, and out of respect for my planet, if you agree to go through with our traditional marriage ritual, I won’t reveal what I know to the King.”

That was a lot to take in. Definitely, a lot. Lance didn’t even know where to begin, “I believe that is fair-” Allura nodded.

“Hey wait don’t we get a say?!” Keith practically shouted.

“Why do you think we’re here numbnutz.” Pidge rolled her eyes.

“Yea, we’re here to make sure that you and Lance- who are dating , are okay with getting married. ” Hunk said. Lance cringed, Hunk was a horrible liar.

“Can Keith and I have a moment alone? This is- a lot.”

The paladins nodded and Keith and Lance hurried into the bathroom where things were silent for a good two minutes. Neither of them knew what to do, what to say, how to start. They just stared at each other, “You don’t have to say yes.” Keith said softly, “I know that you, I mean I know that you’re a romantic guy and that marriage is important to you. You don’t have to go through with it.”

Lance looked up at him, “I… It’s for the good of the universe right? It’s not, I mean it’s not like it’s- We’ll be legally married on one planet millions of miles from Earth so it won’t be like it’s, real y’know.” He stuttered, “If it's for the sake of the universe then I’m okay with it. But if you don’t want to then-”

“I’ll do it too.” Keith seemed so stern, so serious and so sure in his answer. Lance wished he could be the same, he wished he could steal some of that calm for himself. Maybe if asked, Keith would let him borrow it, “It’s like you said, it’s for the good of the universe.”

“Okay so… we’re doing this?”

“If we’re both okay with it.” They both stared at each other for a moment before nodding.

“C’mon, we’ve got a performance to put on right?” Lance asked softly. He grasped Keith’s hand, it was slightly clammy. Perhaps Keith wasn’t as calm as he let on, or maybe his hands were always clammy and it was just because he wasn’t wearing his gloves that Lance was able to notice. Keith pulled Lance close to him in a move that surprised him before walking them both to the door.

“He said yes.” Keith exclaimed in the cliche he’d often heard used on Earth. 

“Wonderful! I will contact the marriage council to set up a private reception-”

“Wait, this council, they won’t say anything will they?”

“Nothing to worry about, the marriage council is a separate entity headed to uphold tradition. They are sworn by our rules to keep all ceremonies a secret unless otherwise instructed. Should they reveal anything it would be considered a forfeiture of their position on the council.” They breathed a sigh of relief, “Paladin Lance, Paladin Keith, please come with me. We will get everything settled for your ceremony with the council.”

They nodded and followed after the Lyrian. They kept hand in hand the whole walk, neither of them really knew where they were going either, Lance could definitely tell that was weighing on Keith. His hand had such a tight grip, but it was comforting, knowing that Keith was aware and that he was looking out for Lance. Whoever wound up marrying Keith for real would be a lucky man, that much Lance was sure of. 

They came to a large set of decadent double doors, they were tucked away in a corner of the castle. This must be the marriage council. When they walked in, Lance’s breath was taken away. There was- well this was a wedding planners dream. This was everything Lance wanted when he was 12 and planning his perfect wedding. The alien told them to have a seat while he went to get the council and Lance noticed a pamphlet out of the corner of his eye. 

‘12 positions for your special ritual’, curious he picked it up- and immediately regretted it. “Oh my god!” Lance practically screamed. 

“What?” Keith said curiously leaning over to the pamphlet and he went white as a sheet, “Holy shit.” 

Sex positions. They were sex positions, 12 of them, as the pamphlet promised. SEX POSITIONS. Lance’s brain was short circuiting, it was like a trainwreck in his hand, he wanted to look away but he couldn’t. Lance’s virgin brain was committing each and every position to memory as all the porn he used to watch flooded his mind, oh god had it really been that long since he’d jerked off. He shook his head and shut the pamphlet, throwing it away. 

But those positions were burned into his head. Each of them, in his mind forever. What the hell was that doing here? Was it a sex ed pamphlet? No, ‘12 positions for your special ritual’. Those were for the ceremony. Oh god were they gonna have to- no surely they wouldn’t. But… Why would it be there? 

Keith didn’t get a chance to say anything when the Lyrian came back and began ushering them into yet another room. This time they were met with five other Lyrians, they definitely fit the bill of old wise council members so that's who Lance assumed they were.

“Paladin’s. We are honored to be present for your union. Your consummation ritual should be more than incredible. Please, tell us what we can do to make your ceremony more enjoyable.”

“No one has explained what the ritual is other than the fact that it’s a marriage ceremony. Is it similar to what’s on Earth?” Keith spoke coldly, obviously he wasn’t happy with the situation. 

“Ah, apologies Paladin. We were under the impression that you were made aware.” The center council member spoke. His voice was hoarse but somewhat melodic, “The ritual begins with a small ceremony. You join hands and speak to each other from the heart, you are bathed in the waters of our beaches, and profess your love. Finally you will consummate for the high council members.”

“When you say consummate…” Lance started hoping the word had a completely different meaning on this planet.

“Copulation, or I suppose intercourse may be a more familiar term.” Lance froze. Sex. Sex with Keith. Sex with Keith in front of people. Sex with Keith in front of people. What the fuck. What the actual fuck? He was supposed to have sex with Keith in front of people!? He’d never had sex in his life and now he was supposed to just throw caution to the wind and fuck Keith in front of people in some ritualistic alien marriage ceremony?! No- no there was no way. There was no fucking way in hell. 

“What?!” Keith practically screamed.

The council looked at them partially confused before the Lyrian servant explained, “Humans are far more reserved on copulation matters. I believe the act is kept private.”

“Ah I see, please know that it will only be the council members and high priests required to watch.”

“Required? Like- there's no way to remove that part?” Lance asked.

“No. It is a testament to your bond and love, to claim each other in front of the one closest to our deity. It is an essential part of the union ritual.” One of the council members spoke.

“Removal of it would be a grave disrespect to our culture.” Another grimaced. 

Lance sighed and looked at Keith, there was no way Keith was okay with this. There was no way they would be able to go through with this now. Lance bit his lip and Keith met his eyes, “I’m okay with it if you are.” Keith said softly.

Was Lance okay with it? He’d never, he’d never been with anyone like that before, was he really okay to let his first time be…. Well… meaningless? But, if it was Keith then… The good of the universe was on the line. Could Lance really afford to be selfish? “I’m okay with it.” But he knew his words were shaky and non-committal. For the mission. It was for the mission. He just needed to keep reminding himself it was for the sake of the universe. 

Lance went blank and silent for the rest of the meeting, and there was no doubt in his mind Keith picked up on his apprehensions, but he didn’t say anything in front of the priests. Instead Keith kept himself calm and collected as they set a date and time, and went over some of the other aspects, such as attire and decorations. This wasn’t how his wedding was supposed to be. And it killed him. 

Finally they finished and Lance excused himself. He could tell Keith wanted to say something to him, perhaps reassure him that he didn’t have to go through with any of this if he didn’t want to, but if he let Keith speak then he may actually back out which was something he definitely couldn’t do. Instead he made his way towards one of the castle garden areas that he’d remembered the Prince mentioning to them. If he could be alone, maybe he could gather his thoughts and come to terms with the situation he’d found himself in. 

He sat down on a bench in the secluded garden, taking in the faint smell of mint wafting off the distant ocean. He let out an exhausted sigh, wondering what went wrong in his life for it to wind up like this. Forced to have meaningless public sex with the man he was hopelessly in love with at a sham wedding on an alien planet millions of lightyears away from everyone he needed to help get him through this. And what if he was bad? What if he was horrible in bed and Keith was disgusted with him? What did he do then? What position did he take? He leaned back quickly to try and rid the thoughts from his head but instead hit his head on the wall behind him, “Ow…” He winced and tried to rub the pain away, “This is hopeless…” 

Maybe it wouldn’t seem so scary if he knew kinda what he was doing. He bit his lip and thought back to the drawer full of sex toys, maybe he could- if he… Well if he practiced, maybe he could try to convince himself that it doesn’t always have to be meaningful? Plenty of people on Earth had meaningless sex, why did he have to be different. It could really be just like he told Keith, the wedding is on some random planet that they’ll never go back to. So it doesn’t count. It doesn’t have to count. It doesn’t. 

Cold water splashed onto Keith’s face and he looked at himself in the mirror of the bathroom. He still couldn't get the blush off his face no matter how many time he splashed himself, “Damnit,” He cursed and wiped his bangs from his face. Lance is so very clearly uncomfortable with this. There was no way he could let Lance do this, no way he could do this to Lance. This was his fault in the first place, if he’d been better at keeping the secret then no one would have found out in the first place. Lance must hate him. Keith wouldn’t blame him if he did, he deserved hatred. He wanted to talk to Shiro, but he couldn’t. Shiro was gone and Keith was the leader and he was yet again doing a shitty job. He wasn’t a leader, he was a fraud. 

He heard the door in the other room open and close, Lance must be back. He waited a few moments, studying his own reflection and giving himself the mental pep-talk that he needed to be able to face Lance, apologize, and assure him that they didn’t have to go through with the ceremony if Lance wasn’t comfortable with it, but just as he opened the door to the bathroom a crack he was met with the most unexpected sound. A moan. 

It was a moan, there was no way around it. And it was quickly followed by another one. Lance surely must not have known that Keith was in the bathroom otherwise there would be no way he’d make those noises. Unless he did know and he was just messing with Keith. He peeked through the small crack between the door and the wall to get a glimpse of the truth and nearly fainted when he was met with the sight of Lance touching himself. Okay, yeah, definitely didn’t know that Keith was there. No way in hell he knew. He debated making noise, to let Lance know he was there but… that might just make it worse. Lance would be mortified if he knew Keith had seen this. That Keith was still seeing this. He couldn’t look away, especially when he saw Lance lube up one of the smaller toys from the drawer. 

Just as Lance lined up the toy Keith closed the door silently and slid to the floor. He couldn’t watch. His hard on was bad enough from what little he had seen and there was no way he was going to invade Lance’s privacy any more than he already had. It was wrong. So so very wrong. But those delicious moans were so very right. He looked down at the tent in his pants, this wasn’t going to go away on it’s own. Not even a cold shower was going to be enough for it. There was only one thing he could do. 

He felt mortified. He felt dirty and wrong as his hand snaked into his shorts. He shouldn’t be doing this, this was a violation of Lance. Then those delicious moans sang through the door again and Keith’s will power vanished. He wrapped his hand around himself, biting his lip to keep quiet as he began to stroke himself in tune with Lance’s noises. His imagination ran wild with images of what Lance was doing just beyond the door. Was he pumping a toy into himself as he lay on his back? Riding it cowgirl? Fucking himself on it doggy? He bet Lance felt great. Like hot velvet that would wrap around him tightly and never let go. 

He continued his movements, imagining he was in there with Lance, imagining that he was the one eliciting those moans from his mouth. He would make Lance feel so good. He would make Lance forget everyone he’s ever been with before. Oh god, he was getting close. He wasn’t going to last much longer, there was no way. He squeezed his hand tighter and picked up speed, Lance’s moans also sounded like they were becoming more and more ragged, like he was reaching his own climax. And soon, Keith spilled over his own hand into his pants. His body shook and wracked with pleasure for a moment before he went into panic mode.

What had he done?

Chapter Text

How was he going to clean up? How was he going to get out of this without Lance knowing what he’d done? He stood, quickly running to his towel and wiping his hand before throwing it in the laundry. Lance in the other room moaned louder than before, and then went eerily quiet, clearly he’d finished, “Ugh… Now I have to clean…” Keith heard him groan from the other room. Hide. he had to hide now. Hearing Lance get up from the bed Keith darted to the towel closet and hid inside behind the hanging robes. If Lance looked in here he was screwed. 

Just as the door to the closet shut behind him, Lance entered the bathroom. And he entered naked. Of course, because Keith wasn’t punished enough. No now he had to see naked Lance again. And Naked Lance now covered in his own cum. What fresh Hell was this? Curse the slatted door. He shut his eyes and buried his face in a robe hanging in front of him. 

Lance laid his hands on the bathroom counter and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked, debauched. Hair mussed up, face flushed, cum drying on his stomach. He’d never done that before… Well, he’d masturbated before, but he’d never used a toy or had anything inside him that was bigger than his index finger. It felt really good. But, that still didn’t translate to being with someone. “C’mon Lance. This is for the universe. You can do it. You can have sex… for the universe.” He grimaced at himself. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. This wasn’t how he wanted it to be. 

Was it selfish that he didn’t want to do it? Not without it meaning something. He turned around and headed to grab his towel from the side of the bathtub and ran some hot water before cleaning himself off. He had to do this. “For the good of the universe.” Soon after he got dressed, cleaned any evidence of having used a toy, lest Keith walk in and discover what he’d been doing, before heading out towards the main hall in search of Keith. They needed to talk about this. Like a real talk. But he was nowhere to be found. Odd. No one had seen him, he wondered where he could have been. 

“Paladin Lance!”, The prince called behind him.

“Ah- Prince Ohnu, nice to see you again.”, Lance smiled.

“Nice to see you too.” His eyes raked up and down Lance’s body once more. God this man was shameless. 

“Have you seen Keith?” Lance asked him.

The Prince’s face turned to that of, intrigued confusion, “He is… not with you?”

“No, I can’t find him.”

“But you have just had an orgasm. Are you to tell me your husband is not the cause?”

Lance’s eyes widened and his face turned beat red. So being able to read body language meant the Prince could tell Lance had just masturbated, “It was… Well no it was not Keith but it was not someone else either if that is what you’re insinuating.”

“Ah- I see I may have offended you, Paladin please understand I was not judgemental in my accusation. Merely curious. Marriage is important, yes, but that is not to say my people are completely monogamous. It is commonplace for my people to take up a lover as well.”

“W-well- Not on Earth. Keith is all I need to keep me happy.”

“And I am glad for you. Excuse me, I have duties I must attend to. I look forward to seeing you for dinner.” The prince moved past him, and yes he did place a hand on the small of Lance’s back. This man was shameless. Shameless. He shook his head and carried on looking for Keith. 

He had no luck searching the rest of the castle so he decided to head back to their bedroom which turned out to be the right move as when he opened the door Keith was laying on the bed. The bed Lance just masterbated on. His face turned beet red just thinking about it. Sure he’d cleaned up but still, it felt too lewd. Keith looked up at him when the door closed and Lance’s heart felt like it was caught in his throat.

“Lance, let’s… talk.” Keith said softly as he patted the side of the bed next to him. Lance furrowed his brows and eyed him up and down, but his legs seemed to move on their own and he found himself sitting next to Keith. Keith looked at him expectantly, like he knew what Lance wanted to say and was just waiting for him to make the first move. But everytime he opened his mouth to speak he felt himself clam up. “You don’t want to do this do you? I mean, the marriage ceremony.” Lance couldn’t tear his eyes away from Keith’s, they looked into his very soul.

“But-”

“You can say no. You know that right? You can say no, I’m not gonna make you do anything you don’t want to do.”

“But the universe is at stake…”

“Fuck the universe.” Keith said softly, “If you don’t want to we’re not doing it. I’m not putting the universe above you.” Lance’s eyes widened at the statement, it was so… open, “There’s no way I could do something like that to you. Not if you didn’t want it.”

“We need this alliance. Besides it’s not- I just mean I’m not opposed to… it …” Lance looked down at his hands, unable to maintain eye contact, “I’m just scared.”

Keith shifted off the bed, kneeling before Lance and taking his hands. Lance felt his heart pound as Keith stared directly into his eyes. He felt every instinct in his body telling him to pull away, to run as far and as fast as he could, but he stayed put, “You don’t have to be scared with me. You can say no to this. You can say no to me.”

“But that's not it- I don’t…” He sighed trying to find the right words to say. He leaned forward and placed his forehead on Keith’s shoulder. “I… I’ve never… hmm sng bmfr.” 

“What?”

“I said I’ve never hmd sen bmfr…”

Keith placed a hand on Lance’s head and pulled him back a little from his shoulder, “I can’t understand you-”

“I’ve never had sex before okay!? I’m a virgin!” He looked away, face flushed bright red.

“What?”

“Oh c’mon I know you heard me that time.” Lance pulled his hands out of Keith’s and stood, crossing the room. 

“No I didn’t mean it like that-” Keith cringed inwardly, shaking his head, “I just, you joke about having sex all the time so I assumed-”

“Yeah, joke. I joke . That doesn’t mean I’ve actually ever done it. I may act like a slut but I’m not-”

“Hey, I never thought you were a slut.”

Lance sighed and hugged his arms around himself, “I just don’t want my first time to be public… or meaningless.”

There was a moment of silence between the two, “It doesn’t have to be.”

“Keith I know you keep saying I can say no but we need this alliance to help-”

“No I mean- yes , you can say no. But, I meant that the ceremony doesn’t have to be your first time.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, we could do it tonight. Privately… I could try to make it special.”

Lance felt his stomach swoop and his heart begin to beat out of his chest. Was this real, “B-but-”

“We don’t have to. I just, it wouldn’t be meaningless. I promise it won't be.” Keith didn’t dare move closer to Lance. 

“But, what if I’m not… good?”

“That’s not important. Lance I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to do. We don’t have to do anything.”

“You wouldn’t care if I couldn’t make you feel good?”

Keith rubbed the back of Lance’s palms, looking up into his eyes, “All I care about is you.” Keith could feel Lance searching his eyes for any hint of doubt or untruth but he wouldn’t find any. Keith had never been so sincere about anything in his entire life, “Lance, you can tell me no. You can say no and I’ll back off right now. I don’t want it if you don’t want it.”

“I’m just so fucking scared.”

“Then we don’t have to. Not today, or tomorrow.”

“No I- I just- want to I just…” Lance pulled his hands out of Keith’s, burying his face in them and taking a breath. 

“You can talk to me Lance. You can tell me anything. I’m right here.”

“I’m scared that this is gonna change our relationship… We worked so hard to overcome the dumb fucking rivalry that I made up and- Keith your my best friend out here . I don’t want to lose you and I’m scared that we won't be able to come back from this.” He looked up at Keith, “I care about you a lot. I don’t think if we… y’know, if we did it, I don’t think I’d be able to just move on from that.”

Keith’s expression softened and he moved back to sitting on the bed next to Lance, “I would never ask you to do that. I don’t think I would be able to move on from it either. Lance you mean a lot to me too, more than I think you really realize and definitely more than I can put into words.”

“...” Lance sat silent for a moment, contemplative. “If I… if in the middle I wanted to stop…?”

“Then we would stop. Immediately Lance, if I so much as held your hand and you didn’t want it all you would have to do is tell me and that would be the end of it.”

Lance nodded his head, “Ok… Okay, we can- I uhm… I don’t… we can do it. Tonight.”

“Okay. How do you wanna do this then? I wanna make you comfortable.”

“I don’t… I’m not really sure. I’ve never, I mean the most I’ve ever gotten is a handjob under the bleachers at the Garrison so I don’t really know what I would be doing. I, I guess you should really take the lead.”

“Okay… We can go slow. If I do something you don’t like just tell me.”

“I will… So how do we… start?”

“Can I kiss you? And we can go from there?” 

Lance nodded, closing his eyes softly and waiting for Keith to close the gap. This was familiar, this sort of eased his rapidly beating heart. The soft press of chapped lips, the smell of roasted marshmallows over an open flame, the gentle caress of calloused hands, it all served to calm him. Keith’s lips were something he could get lost in, easily. 

“Is this okay?” Keith pulled back, asking in a hushed tone. 

“Yeah, I really like kissing you.” Lance revealed shyly. He leaned in again, reigniting this kiss with a bit more confidence. Eventually Keith’s tongue was prodding at the entrance to Lance’s mouth, asking for access which was quickly granted. It brought them back to the memory of that kiss in the hallway, that dirty, filthy, obscene kiss against the pillar in which if Keith didn’t know any better he would have said Lance was trying to swallow him whole. 

It seemed the same was true again. When Lance’s tongue was present in a kiss it was damn near pronographic in the way he opened his mouth. The way he shoved his tongue so far down Keith’s throat partly because maybe he didn’t know that he didn’t have to go all the way in but also partly because it was so fucking hot to think that Lance needed him so badly he couldn’t help but try to literally eat Keith alive. 

Keith moved his mouth down the side of Lance’s cheek, down his jaw, onto his neck. He latched and sucked, drawing soft mewls from the boy against him, “Keith…” He whined softly, pawing at Keith’s shoulders.

“Good?” Keith asked breathlessly as he pulled back. 

“Y-ea. Keep going~.” Not needing to be told twice Keith obliged. Pulling the collar of Lance’s shirt down and to the side to reveal more of that delicious smooth skin. Keith grazed his teeth over Lance’s collar bone before replacing them with his tongue causing Lance to shudder against him. 

It seemed all the soft and tenderness from their earlier conversation was left in the words. Now, Keith was laying Lance down on the bed, hands placed on either side of his head and hovering above him, “You’re so gorgeous.” He said before devouring Lance’s lips again. 

And right then and there Keith decided this was his favorite way to see Lance, face flushed, chest heaving, licks slick with spit and blue eyes absolutely shining underneath him. 

Keith kept the kiss long, wanting to work Lance up to anything more, afterall despite his waning self control he still held onto his complete and utter adoration for Lance. Keith would never do anything to hurt him.

“Keith- I… I want more” Lance said after a while, there was embarrassment in his voice though rather than apprehension. As if rather than being afraid of wanting he was afraid of rejection. 

“Tell me what you want- I’ll do it, anything for you.” He breathed unable to keep the declaration in.

“I want you to touch me. Please.”, Keith obliged, teasing his hands underneath Lance’s shirt. The skin was so smooth he noted, no doubt as a result of Lance’s religious self care regimen. He slid them up, brushing against Lance’s nipples. “Fuck~” slipped from Lance’s mouth when Keith touched his nipple and Keith realised he must be sensitive.

“Is this okay?” Keith confirmed.

“Y-yes… P-please, again it… It felt really good.” Lance swallowed. He kept his eyes averted, his face bright red, Keith wanted this sight burned into his brain forever. He brought his hands to Lance’s nipples, pinching and rubbing at them before leaning down and teasing his tongue against the dusky brown bud, “Oh god yes-”

Keith could feel himself growing harder and harder by the second, each of Lance’s breathy moans and whines going directly to his cock, unable to stop himself he bucked his hips against Lance’s, “I’m sorry- I’m sorry-”

“N-no it’s okay, I like it”

“I just- you’re so hot.”

“Really?”

“Of course Lance, you’re gorgeous. I feel so lucky to be here with you right now.”

Lance reignited their lips in a kiss, arms wrapping around Keith’s neck to keep him from pulling away anytime soon. Lance ground his hips up and it was then that Keith realized Lance was just as hard as Keith was. He was feeling it just as much and that thought made Keith feel it even more.

“C-can we go further? I… It’s so hard and I, my jeans they- hurt.” Lance gasped. Keith figured he was probably strained against his pants and the friction was causing the pain, so gently and oh so slowly he brought his hands to Lance’s waist, unbuttoning his jeans, pulling down the zipper and pulling down his pants.

Keith’s mouth was salivating at the sight, a wet spot present on his underwear, “You look so amazing. I want you so bad Lance.”

“I want you too. I want you too Keith- I… Mng, I’ve never felt like this.”

“Me Neither Lance, me neither.” 

Keith pulled back to look at him for a moment before pulling off of Lance and standing. He pulled his shirt off followed by his pants. 

“You… You’re really big.” Lance gestured to the bulge in Keith’s underwear. 

“I-is… is that okay?”

“Yeah I just… like I said I’ve never done anything and I… I mean, are we sure it’ll… fit? Like… Won’t it hurt?”

“I can go slow, and work you up to it. We start with fingers. But- If you’re still scared, I could always be the one on bottom.” It was true that Keith very rarely bottomed, he was too controlling in life and bed to want to be the one on the receiving end, but if it meant Lance were comfortable he’d be willing to make any concession asked of him.

“I… But I don’t really know what I’m doing, and I might hurt you instead. It’s best that the one on top is the one who knows what they’re doing.” Lance looked away shyly, burying his face into the pillow and mumbling, “Besides, I… I want to feel you…”

“God, you have no idea what you’re doing to me.”

Lance stripped his underwear off, still averting eye contact with Keith and finally Keith got a full look at his body. His skin was smooth, free of any and all blemishes minus the firework shaped scar on his back that Keith had half a mind to lick over every edge of raised skin. And Lance’s dick… It was perfect. A perfectly manicured tuft of hair at the base, long, slightly pinkish head weeping precum. 

“Y-you’re turn…” Lance said motioning to Keith’s underwear.

Keith quickly rid himself of his last article of clothing and finally they were both staring at each other bare. Finally they would have each other.

True to his word Keith kept things slow, going finger by finger and using a generous amount of lube to work Lance’s virgin hole open to a place where he could take Keith without hurting him. 

Lance let out such beautiful noises throughout the entire night, soft whines and wanton mewls. As Keith entered him it was like the universe itself faded away and left only the two of them in its wake. Nothing mattered except how they made each other feel. How Lance held onto keith for dear life as he speared him with his cock. How Keith kissed Lance’s forehead and wiped his sweat, whispering sweet nothings into his ear about how well he was doing and how much Keith cared for him. How they melted into one another so much so that it was impossible to tell where one started and the other began.

Finally, Lance reached his climax, his dick completely untouched when he clenched and convulsed, cum spurting onto his own stomach. Keith followed shortly behind, filling Lance to the brim with a grunt. 

In the end, they didn’t do much cleanup, only enough so that Lance could sleep comfortably without having to worry about waking up gross. 

“How was it?” Keith asked, “Are you… Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I really liked it.” Lance mumbled softly, laying in Keith’s arms.

“Good.”

“I… I really care about you Keith.”

“I care about you too Lance.” He noticed his eyes drooping, “Why don’t you get some rest, we can talk more in the morning.” He pressed a soft kiss to Lance’s temple, finally, content.

Chapter Text

The next morning when Lance awoke the first thing he noticed was how cold he felt. His hand absently grabbed for Keith only to find an empty mattress awaiting him. Blearily he opened his eyes, groaning softly as he pushed up from the bed and patted down at his messy hair. The second he sat up he regretted it, he severely underestimated the amount of pain he would be feeling in his backside. 

“Oh god…” He mumbled softly, rubbing at his lower back. Keith had gone slow and gentle, no pain in the moment but this was unbelievable. Was it going to be like that next time they did it?

Next time… there was going to be a next time. The thought made his heart do somersaults in his chest. He wondered how Keith was feeling… He wondered where Keith was. Lance gently toed out of bed, wrapping a bedsheet around his waist if only to feign some sort of modesty as he made his way to the bathroom. No Keith. But, while he was there he figured he should shower, things did get pretty dirty the previous night, in more ways than one. So, he gave up briefly on the search for Keith to wash himself. 

Unfortunately for Lance, while in the shower he had time to think and time to worry. Why wasn’t Keith there that morning? He had said they were going to talk when Lance woke up, so why couldn’t they talk? It wasn’t time for breakfast with the team or the King… and Keith’s meeting with the King wasn’t until that night following their secret wedding service so, where could he have gone?

Did he regret it? What if he regretted being with Lance and couldn’t bear to face him that morning? What if Lance was so bad in bed that he was pleading with the council to let him continue diplomatic talks without the need for a marriage? Or what if he just didn’t care about Lance in the way he promised he did.

Lance swallowed back the bitter taste the thoughts left in his mouth and finished washing up. Now wasn’t the time to jump to conclusions. Keith wasn’t like that. Keith was a good guy, their leader, and Lance’s rock, he wouldn’t use Lance like that especially after he’d expressed his apprehensions.

He toweled off and got dressed, determined to find Keith. All he wanted to do was see his face for a moment, just to reassure himself that everything was still okay. He didn’t even need to talk to Keith, just to see him. As if to convince himself that the previous night wasn’t a dream, that it was real. 

Lance cautiously stepped into the hallway, heading towards the other paladin's room to see if they knew where Keith was. He approached the door seeing it was open a crack and placed his hand on the door but stopped when he heard Pidge’s voice, “So you’re actually gonna have to have sex with Lance.” There was silence after that and Lance debated whether or not to enter. No doubt Pidge was talking to Keith, “Did you ever think that would happen?”

“Did I ever think that would happen? No. Definitely not.”

“How do you feel about it?”

“I mean, it's for the good of the mission right?”

Lance wanted to vomit. The bile rose in his throat and he bit back a sob while continuing to listen to Keith and Pidge.

“If it weren’t for the mission would you do it?”

“Are you serious? Definitely not.” That was it Lance couldn’t take any more. He turned quickly and left, not sure where he was going just knowing that he needed to get away from whatever was going on in there. He somehow found his way into the palace gardens and collapsed onto a stone bench, vision blurry from tears. Keith promised him it was special. Keith had taken the time last night to assure him that he cared. That he wouldn’t ask Lance to just forget about everything that happened. It wasn’t fair. 

He felt dirty. He felt used, like no matter how hard he scrubbed he would never be able to rid himself of the marks Keith had left on him. He didn’t know if he wanted to either. Lance was totally and utterly in love with Keith, and maybe that hurt worse than anything. 

“Paladin Lance?” Lance startled and turned to find the Prince staring at him. Great, this was exactly who he needed.

“I-I’m sorry, I just need a minute, whatever it is can it wait-?” He said, wiping the tears. 

“I apologize if I’ve upset you.” Ohnu said softly as he sat next to Lance, “I only wished to console you, I noticed you in distress on your way to the garden.”

“I’m fine-”

“Clearly you are not. Please, I know there have been some cultural differences that have caused animosity but I do only wish to help.” Lance paused and looked for any sincerity in his eyes. He relented.

“I… There have been some issues between Keith and I. But I’m fine.”

“He doesn’t treat you the way someone should treat a husband. A jewel such as yourself should be honored as something special.” Ohnu brought a hand to wipe Lance’s tears and in a moment of weakness all he could do was accept the affection, shutting his eyes, trying to pretend the smooth hands of royalty were replaced with ones more rough and calloused, “If you were my husband, I would provide you with everything you could ever want. I would worship the very ground you walk on.”

Suddenly, Lance felt warm lips on his own, eyes widening in surprise before he pushed him away, “I- I don’t-”, Lance struggled for words before standing up and heading for the door.

“Paladin Lance wait- I apologize I was only trying to-”

“I’m married. That- that was highly inappropriate.” He stammered as he ran through the castle halls once more back to his and Keith’s room.

“Lance there you are I was worried when I got back and you-” Lance cut Keith off with a slamming of the bathroom door, locking it behind him and sliding to the ground, muffling his cries into a towel.

Keith let his temporary shock sink in for a moment, his mouth left hanging open in confusion, before he pushed off the bed and rasped his fingers against the door gently, “Lance… Are you- Are you alright?” Keith waited a good moment before speaking again, “Did I, was I too rough?” He cringed at his own words as another pregnant silence filled the space. He pressed his forehead against the door, shutting his eyes, “Lance please come out and talk to me. I care about you.” Keith opened his mouth once more but closed it when he heard a loud rasping at his door.

“Keith!” Hunk grabbed him frantically, “The ceremony- And you gotta- And then you’ll have to- And now you need to-”

“Woah Hunk, calm down. Take a deep breath.” Keith guided Hunk through a breath, “Okay, good. Now, what is it you’re trying to tell me?”

“The ceremony, it's gotta happen today.”

“What? I thought we had two more days- why?”

“Cause the prince has gone nuclear!”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the guy wants us off this planet and he’s looking for any reason to do it. He’s asking questions and soon he’s gonna figure it out so it has to be today.”

“I don’t understand why is he suddenly-”

“No one knows but we’ve gotta hurry. Allura and Coran are already prepping everything with the high council or whatever it is so grab Lance cause we gotta go.”

Keith turned around and looked towards the bathroom door, “Okay. Okay. Uhm, Okay.” He shook his head attempting to collect his thoughts. “I’ll get him.”

It took a lot of coaxing, but eventually, Lance came out of the bathroom, eyes red and cheeks puffy. He refused to speak to Keith, refused to even look at him and it had Keith wracking his brain for just what the hell went wrong. Had he hurt Lance that badly? He’d tried so hard to be gentle, to show Lance just how much he cared about him. He must have failed. 

They made their way towards the ceremonial altar, quickly ushered into the traditional clothing and pushed towards the center. 

“Paladins, we shall begin now. And fear not paladin Lance, tears of joy are quite common during events such as these.” One of the high priests spoke. Though to Keith, it was very clear that these tears were that of something more desolate.

They stood across from each other, instructed to hold hands and Keith hoped he would be able to use this to sooth whatever was troubling Lance, “It's gonna be okay.” He whispered, rubbing his thumbs over Lance’s hands.

The priests began the ceremony, speaking in some garbled language neither paladin could understand, but from the vague translations, they recognized it as some version of alien vows. Throughout the whole thing, Lance’s hands never stopped shaking. Keith wished he could take everything back, wished he could ease Lance’s nerves, but every time Keith tried to squeeze reassuringly Lance would flinch or pull back. God, how could he do anything to Lance again, how could he be intimate with it when it was so clear it was the last thing Lance wanted? 

“With the drinking of the water from our purest pond the union between you will be sealed.” A priest explained, holding a cup of water in front of them. He held the cup to Keith’s lips and he took a sip.

But when it got to Lance his face exploded with worry and fear. Lance pushed the cup away and looked at Keith and for the first time since the previous night Lance actually spoke to Keith, “I can’t do this.” His voice broke, “I can’t marry someone who doesn’t love me- regardless of circumstance-”

“What are you talking about?” Keith’s face scrunched, had he not been clear?

“I can’t do this Keith- I can’t make you- I don’t want to- not again.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt but what seems to be the problem?” The priest asked.

“Lance, the mission-”

“Fuck the mission Keith! I’m so sick of the mission! I- Can’t marry you. Not after, you promised- and-” His words stuttered as he struggled to take in a proper breath.

Keith’s hands found Lance’s as he attempted to rub soothing circles into his skin, “Breath Lance. It’s ok- just breath. Talk to me”

“I can’t do this.” Lance tried to pull away.

“If you do not go through with the union I will be forced to inform the king of your deception.” The priest spoke, “Are you claiming to not be in love?”

“No-” Keith spoke to him, “Just- give us a minute.” Keith pulled Lance away from the alter, voice low “Lance talk to me.”

“Keith- I can’t. I can’t marry someone who doesn’t love me. I told you I couldn’t do this if it didn’t mean anything, and you promised but- then- this morning… I heard what you said to Pidge.”

Keith brought his hands to Lance’s cheeks, gently wiping the tears as they fell, “It was stupid.” He said softly, “Lance, I lied to Pidge, I just didn’t want to- You know how Pidge is, and I wanted to keep things between us. She didn’t know about last night, she was asking about- it doesn’t matter. Lance, I meant everything I said last night. I… I’m not good with talking- or- I’m just not good at this, but I love you. If this is about not marrying me, then fine. Fuck the mission. But, if you don’t want to marry me because you think I don’t love you… You’re wrong. I love you, so much. So much that I have been taking advantage of you this whole time we were faking and getting greedy. I hurt you, and I’m sorry.”

Lance looked at him cautiously, his hands coming up to grip Keith’s wrist and pull them away. He could feel the eyes of the priest on them, “Keith- really?”

“Yes- yes . I promise, Lance. I swear.” Keith pulled Lance’s hand away and placed it over his own heart, “My heart is yours. And yours alone.”

“Ok…” He felt his heart constricting, “Keith, I- I love you too- so if you’re just saying this because of the mission-”

“Lance- fuck the mission . I’ll pick us up and we’ll leave right now. We don’t need them, they need Voltron. I won’t make you do this. I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to. Not now, not ever.”

“The prince kissed me.” Lance blurted, “After I overheard you and Pidge. He- and- I pushed him away- that's why… he…”

“I’ll kill him.” Keith said with a dark possessive look taking over his eyes.

“No- that's not- I- ugh- this is so much easier when we’re alone.” He glanced around to the eyes on him.

“Look at me- only me. Just look at me, I’m the only one in the room. No one else matters. Not now- not later . Just me.”

“You really love me?”

“More than anything in the world.”

“You really want to marry me?”

“On every planet.”

“Wait- what?”

“On every planet Lance. Here- Balmarra… Earth… I love you Lance. So much it hurts. I’ll give you everything if you love me too.”

“I do… I love you Keith. I really love you.”

Keith smiled and swooped in, pressing a searing kiss to Lance’s lips before he could protest or pull away. Lance practically melted into his touch.

“Paladins, shall we continue? We only have so much daylight remaining.” The priest asked. 

Lance nodded and wiped at the last of his tears, stepping back to the altar and taking a sip of the drink presented to him. The priests happily declared their union complete, and the only thing that remained was the need to copulate for their deity. 

Lance felt his whole face heat as he and Keith were ushered to a bed, where sure enough Keith gently took his time in taking Lance apart. Keith removed as little of Lance’s clothing as necessary, taking his time to make Lance feel as comfortable as possible. 

The press of skin on skin was endless and burned. Keith was oh so gentle in every touch, press, grab, and pull. He made Lance feel like there was no one else in the room, in the world. Just the two of them. 

“It’s just me. I’m the only one for you.” Keith murmured into his ear. “Just look at me. Only me.” He breathed between each thrust. Lance felt full body shivers down his spine as Keith dragged his fingers up and down his back. 

He pressed gentle kisses to his chest, his neck, his hands. Keith worshipped Lance’s entire being, body and soul. And it sent him over the edge. Over and over again, Keith drew orgasm after orgasm from Lance’s lips and cock. 

With his tongue, his fingers, and his dick he made Lance see the stars and moon as they were hung in the sky. Lance’s pleasure was Keith’s pleasure. 

And as the ceremony came to a close, as Keith finished inside of Lance, Lance trembled with the press of Keith’s lips to his ear “I love you Lance. Mind, body and soul.”

The next few days were a whirlwind. So much so that Keith and Lance hadn’t really had an opportunity to truly talk post wedding ceremony. Between Keith’s meetings with the king, a banquet in Voltron’s honor, and a very heated confrontation between Keith, Lance and the Prince, Lance and Keith had really only seen each other prior to bed, and they were so tired they’d gone right to bed.

Turns out making a move on someone else’s spouse was a huge no no, and once the king had found out that the prince had made a move on Lance that was really all it took to secure the alliance. From there things had gone smoothly, and Voltron walked away with a mountain of supplies and a great alliance in a key portion of the galaxy. 

When they arrived back on the ship, Lance had put his things back in his room, and had headed out to find Coran and return the ring when he ran into Keith doing the same.

“Hey.” Keith had smiled.

“Hey.” There was a pregnant pause.

“I meant what I said, on Lyria.” Keith rushed out quickly before Lance could duck away.

“About-”

“About you. About, about loving you. About being with you, and- our… Our nights together.”

“I know.” Lance said softly, and he did. Of course he did. How could he not after the way Keith had taken such care of him their second night together, their wedding night . It might not have been a real wedding in its jurisdiction, but… It felt real to be married.

“Good. And so- you, I mean we…”

Lance couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at Keith’s constipation, “Really? Are you having trouble asking me out?”

“Hey it’s nerve-wracking I-”

“Keith you basically proposed to me on Lyria… ‘I want to marry you on every planet’. Remember?”

“Of course I do.” Keith crossed his arms, a bright flush on his face, “We’ve just done everything backwards so I’m trying to do it right.”

“I think we’re a bit past that, after all we share a last name now.” He teased.

“So… dinner then? Mr. Kogane?”

“Absolutely.”