Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

hello!! aw man, long time no see!

I'm actually a lil nervous, idk why haha but it's a happy nervous! This collection, bc it is what it is, it's basically a sum of all of the instagram drabbles I wrote back when I was an active writer in the klance / voltron fandom in 2019 (2020?), so, no, nothing here will be new because I haven't written for klance since then but man, when I tell you my love for it still burns bright to this day.

which is why I'm doing this, mostly for me ngl, because sometimes I like to reminisce on the good old days and how much fun it was to write all of these so, I like to have an easy access to re read them all and AO3 it's perfect for it.

when I said goodbye to the fandom in 2019 (2020?), I left a page with all of my writing as pdf free to download (let me know if you want it and I can look it up) and now I'm doing this bc of the reason I just mentioned AND because I love sharing and who knows maybe someone else also wants some extra silly klance drabbles in AO3.

Anyways, enough rambling! on to the bizz, quick things: 

• Most of them I def didn't write them before THE HORRIBLE CHAOTIC SEASON 8, but for the sake fo my hapiness and menatal health, all of these are now post season 8 or they replace seaosn 8 or SEAOSN 8 DIDN'T EXIST, whatever fics the drabble selected, lol. Thank you for your understanding.
• NOOOONE of them are related with each other (the drabbles I mean) and they are DEF not in chronological order. They are all independent, OC (kids) sometimes have dif features, excuse that.
• Also, OG backstories for the klance family? the kids are adopted (rey as a toddler, lilian as baby) but make up your own backstory if you want in your head, I don't mind!
• I don’t remember every detail of every drabble but I will add a warning if I see necessary when I post each of them at the beginning of each “chapter”.
• When I say drabble, I mean it, they are super short except for those which had like several parts in instagram.
• I tried my best with spelling and grammar, but even then it was a quickie, so if I miss something, or something is wonky and doesn't make sense, apologies but don’t point it out, I’m just doing this for fun, it doesn’t need to be perfect.
• Please please please be kind, I wrote this so long ago hdhgkjdfkgd gosh, I’m a lil embarrassed but whatever.
• They are a lot ??? of them??? So it will take me a lil while to update ALL of them but I will try to update at least a bunch of them in a day.
• Originally they are separated by some categories (Domestic fluff, Cannonverse, Angst, and Hurt/Comfort), I will tackle each category one by one. You WILL know when the category stars and when it ends.
• Hmm?? I think that’s it ?? Can’t think of anything else.
• AH, I also have a bunch of Patreon fics and some mini series I’m also gonna post in AO3 but those are other projects after I finish this collection.

Okay, that’s it! This was too long to be an author’s note so imma leave it as a “chapter” but after this, all drabbles! Okay, I’mma leave now, hooray klance 2025, king klance and all that, it shall never die like our dreams to see it be rightfully canon as it should have been, no I’m not over it, I will never forgive, but whatever, that’s what fics are for I GUESS.

I hope you enjoy all of these drabbles and I really hope they bring a smile to your face, no matter how small, like they did for me while writing them. I hold all of these very close to my heart because they were everything to me back then and the emotions they made me feel were so strong I just had to share and when I found people could understand those emotions, it - well, it just meant the world to me, you have no idea.

Have a lovely day and happy reading :)

Chapter Text

"My nose is cold."

"Hm?" Lance hums, lifting his gaze from the melting snow on the ground to meet Keith’s eyes. He smiles fondly at the pout he finds on his boyfriend’s lips. "Aw, is it?"

Keith nods, a distraught frown on his face as he looks cross-eyed to his own nose. "Yeah." He grumbles.

Lance hums once again, swinging his body innocently before he throws himself at his boyfriend, nuzzling his own nose against Keith’s cold one. 

"Lance!" Keith yelps, a surprised laugh leaving his lips as the brunet continues to rub their noses together. "Babe, no, you will get your own nose cold."

"We share the cold then!" Lance declares cheerfully. "We can't have you turn into the new Rudolph, the red nose deer! Then the children will copy your mullet, babe."

"Uh-huh." Keith mumbles before he sighs contently and presses himself closer to his boyfriend. "Whatever you say, love."

Chapter Text

Lance liked to party.

To party, not to party .

Big difference. That italics font right there? The difference.

He likes to thrive with the energy around him. Talk, shout, sing, and dance. He likes to express himself. Happy, confused, sad, and mad.

Or, as he calls it to save time, smad . After a few drinks. And after Pidge steals his hot-dog.

Then back to happy and bubbly after two more beers.

Habbly. He calls it. It’s his favorite made up emotion.

So. Lance’s habbly. Beer in hand, new half-eaten hot-dog in the other. He’s habbly.

Gorgeous boy in his lap giggling against his neck like a high-schooler. Lance’s habbly. Same gorgeous boy with his leather fingerless gloves stroking his sweaty skin. He’s habbly.

Keith, on the other hand, is adoppy.

That’s happy and adorable combined. For the illiterate, Lance supplies in his head.

Back to adoppy. Right. Real emotion.

A Keith Emotion. His Keith emotion.

His Keith .

Lance giggles. Soft and happy. He hides in his boyfriend’s mop of hair. He smells like strawberries. His strawberries.

“Shampoo thief.” Lance whispers against his scalp. He rubs his nose over it. It’s fun. “Stop stealing.”

Keith snorts. Like a piglet. Again, adoppy.

He denies it. He shakes his head slowly. And even then he tilts to each side like a the tower that is named after a pizza. Or is a pizza. On the country of pizza?

But Lance doesn’t let him fall.

He pulls him closer. Arms wrapped around his stomach from behind. Nose buried in black hair. Fingers tickling underneath the worn out shirt.

Another snort. Another deny.

His adoppy piglet.

Chapter Text

"You are comfy." Keith mumbles contently, hand holding the edge of the blanket and sinking himself deeper into its warmth and Lance's embrace.

"And you're bony." His boyfriend replies, a soft laugh leaving his lips when Keith moves and the top of his head tickles below his chin. "Hey, watch it."

"You watch it." Keith reproaches playfully, humming approvingly when Lance's hand sneaks into his hair and starts running his fingers through it. "I missed you."

Lance sighs under his breath before he buries his face on top of his boyfriend’s head, his free hand moving until it rests against Keith's chest. "Me too, sweetheart." 

"Nap time?" Keith asks softly as he reaches out and holds Lance's hand over his chest, placing them both just above his beating heart. Lance limits himself to drop a kiss against Keith's hair and let it be his answer.

Chapter Text

‘It’s fine, Keith. It's fine.’ He tells himself as he presses a hand over his chest, relieved that if he couldn’t hear his own wild heartbeat over his armor, then no one else could. 'Just don’t make eye contact. It’s fine. Don’t make eye–’

Keith steals another quick glance towards Lance. The brunet swings his broadsword smoothly through the training drone’s middle and then blue eyes connect with his own, accompanied by a smirk.

That’s all it takes for Keith to lose the fight against his blush.

One job, Keith. You had one job.

Chapter Text

“I love you,” Keith whispers under his breath, into the darkness of his room and the fading blue glow on the walls. The new weight around his fingers is heavy with a promise of a future he has ached for so long and now he can have.

He gets no verbal answer. Instead, his fiancé snuggles deeper into his chest, an incoherent sleepy mumble slipping through his lips and Keith doesn’t need to look far to see his future.

Chapter Text

“What if I’m not ready?” Keith confesses quietly under his breath, as if it was a secret he’s afraid of being reality. What if it’s not the right time? What if he ends up alone in the aisle? What if–

Shiro’s flesh hand on his shoulder ground him enough to hear his brother’s words. “You don’t have to be ready. You just gotta be brave and face the world next to the man you love.”

The memory of deep sharp blue eyes settles inside his head and just like that, Keith has no doubt he could take the entire universe as long as he has Lance by his side.

Chapter Text

“I just want to point out that we are currently under a table.”

Lance nods awkwardly, from his spot, both of his arms hugging his knees. “ Yup.”

“Eating pizza.”

“Right again.”

“Inside our own apartment.”

“Correct.”

“On our wedding day.”

“I mean, it’s midnight but yeah,” Lance shrugs nonchalantly. “We don’t have to be in the church for another...what? Fifteen hours?”

“Thirteen, babe.” Keith corrects. “Are you planning to be late to our wedding?”

“Psh, no. It’s midnight, I’m allowed to be bad at math at midnight.”

“Why does this feel like the first day of the rest of my life?” Keith mumbles as he arches an eyebrow. He snorts when his fiancé limits himself to shrug with one shoulder in favor to reach out for another piece of pizza that lies on the floor between them.

“Because you liked it and put a ring on it.” Lance replies after taking two bites from his slice, chewing thoroughly. He lifts his own hand as proof, wiggling one single finger to show off the engagement ring around it.

Keith rolls his eyes but reaches for the brown hand in front of him, pressing a small kiss on top of it once he catches it.

“That I did.” Keith whispers and laughs when he hears his own fiancé choke on his pizza.

“Hey you, Mr. Smooth, please refrain from killing your future husband before the wedding, thanks.” Lance grumbles, pushing his half-eaten pizza into his fiancé’s face.

“Just because you have finally shared your sacred frozen pizza with me.” Keith nods, happily taking the pizza from his fiancé’s hand and biting down on it without a concern.

“I can’t believe I’m marrying you.” Lance huffs a chuckle, shaking his head in mock exasperation before he sighs and leans closer, pressing his forehead against Keith’s as he hums quietly. “I also can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, amor.”

“That makes two of us.” Keith mumbles, nuzzling against the touch before he pulls back and takes another bite of his pizza. “Okay but this pizza is actually pretty good, damn.”

“Keith, my man, mullet of my life and future hot husband, we were having a bonding moment.”

“I was having 12% of the moment.”

“Is this because of the cradling incident?”

“Maybe.”

“That’s it, gimme my pizza back.”

Chapter Text

The first time it happens, it’s not even cold.

Keith had just sneezed. Just once. Such a tiny sneeze that Pidge mockingly called it ‘kitten sneeze’ but Keith wasn't even able to snap when he was attacked. Kind of.

“Um.” Keith mumbles, more out of confusion than anything else, his back now pressed against a soft surface while being wrapped up like a gift.

Lance zips his cargo jacket with all and Keith inside of it.

“You’re cold.” Lance explains shortly, chin hooked on Keith’s shoulder. “Dumb mullet.”

“What’s happening?” Keith asks, voice muffled. He can’t really move but it’s not like he’s eager to step back into the cold, anyway.

Lance ignores him, though. He keeps on rambling about how Keith’s never ready for the fall season and proceeds to complain about his ‘useless’ leather jacket, which had ‘mysteriously’ disappeared just recently after moving in with his boyfriend, and just insults the poor missing piece of clothing like no tomorrow.

Both Hunk and Pidge just roll their eyes at them, already more in tuned with Lance’s tactics than Keith himself apparently.

Keith pouts, knowing full well the jacket will hide said pout. It’s fine, Keith is going to catch up to them.

In the meanwhile, he snuggles closer to his boyfriend’s warmth.

It’s within three weeks when the second, third, and fourth time happens. After that, Keith stops counting. He might even sometimes forget his own jacket just to have his boyfriend wrapping himself all over him, no matter the place.

It was sweet. It had become their little thing, something that only the two of them shared.

But eventually, as the years passed, Keith’s space inside Lance’s jacket got stolen.

Keith pouts, in the wide open of their apartment for all to see because this time there’s no jacket to hide it. And even then! He doesn't wanna hide it. He wants them all to know how upset he is.

Both of his children giggle at him, though, so the pout strategy is not that successful.

Lance, for his part, just smiles sheepishly. “Sorry, mi vida,” he says, back hunched over awkwardly so both children could still be visible even with the jacket zipped, “but they sneezed.”

“Cho-cho!” Lilian squeals, giggling right after.

“No, Lian, it’s ah-choo!” Rey corrects next to her, making a face at the same time the toddler shifts. He’s probably carrying her. “Ah-choo!”

“Choo-choo!”

Aw, man, Keith can’t even pretend to be upset. His kids are way too cute.

“I know, right?” Lance suddenly says, smiling knowingly and bright as he meets his gaze and Keith shakes his head in amusement. It’s impressive how well his husband can read him.

“You need a bigger jacket.” Keith mumbles as he steps forward and grabs both of his kids’ heads and starts kissing every inch of their face. He fights off the grin in his lips when they squeal and try to get away with no success.

“Noo, dad, no!” Rey shouts but he’s overpowered by his own laughter and his sister’s giggles. “Papa, save us!”

“I’m sorry, Rey, no can do! You sneezed! ” Lance replies, adding his own kisses on the back of his children’s heads.

“Choo-choo!”

“Lian, no!”

Keith laughs, loud and joyful, and wraps his arms around his family.

Their tradition can be shared.

Chapter Text

“I saw that.”

Keith tries to push down his grin as he hears his son whine, slowly putting back the four packages of sour gummy worms in his arms he had so ‘subtly’ grabbed.

“One?” Rey asks with hopeful eyes. Keith hums, eyeing his ten-years-old son carefully before he speaks.

“Homework done?” He asks suspiciously and snorts when Rey nods hurriedly. “Fine, one but don’t eat the entire bag before dinner.”

“Deal.” His son cheers, quickly putting the snack inside their shopping basket.

Keith smiles, reaching out with his free hand to ruffle his son’s hair. “Come on, let’s go to pay for this and head home.”

Rey nods, walking next to him as they make their way through the aisles in comfortable silence. They are in the hall of the cashiers when Keith decides to take his cellphone out, pursing his lips in confusion when he sees no new messages.

His husband should be home by now, which meant Keith should have gotten at least two messages: one meme and a pic of whichever of their kids he had been in charge of for the day– Lilian being the lucky one today.

But nothing. No messages, memes or a pic of their four-years-old daughter.

“Odd.” Keith mumbles before he shrugs, locking once again his phone before he sucks in a sharp breath when he almost collides with his son. “Rey, what –”

“Isn’t that papa?”

Keith blinks, hand already pushing down his son’s hand out of instinct before he turns towards where his son had been pointing at. 

Yup, he knows that head.

“Lance?” Keith calls, snorting in amusement when his husband jumps on his spot on the line for the check out, turning around in surprise before their eyes lock.

“Oh,” Lance breathes out, blinking back at Keith for a second before he looks back at their daughter who he holds by the hip and then to the flowers he holds with his free arm. “Looks like we’ve been caught, starshine.”

“Buu,” Lilian mumbles but there’s a big smile on her face when she notices Keith. “Daddy!”

“Hi, baby,” Keith greets quietly as he makes his way over, dropping a quick kiss in his daughter's head before he turns towards his husband. “What’re you doing here?”

“Well, you see,” Lance starts as he carefully puts their daughter down, making sure she stays between them both with her brother. “I was on my way back from picking up this princess when she started rambling about how awesome and fun daddy was and I just couldn't agree more, you know?”

“So, you bought flowers.” Keith finishes with a knowing look, smile growing when his husband shrugs.

“Well, not yet ,” Lance says coyly, “but yes, Lilian even helped me choose them, didn't you, starshine?”

“Yup!” Lilian shouts back with a toothy grin, looking up at them both with her big hazel eyes. “Purple, like daddy’s eyes.”

“Don’t blame her, your eyes are a little weird,” Lance says quietly under his breath as he leans towards his husbands side. “Like, gray, blue, dark blue, back to gray? Choose one, please.”

Keith snorts, rolling his eyes in mock exasperation. “Oh, please excuse my eyes for having an existential crisis over colors.”

“It’s okay.” Lance shrugs nonchalantly with a grin. “It’s one of the reasons I married you.”

Keith laughs, shaking his head before his gaze softens. “Okay, but really, what’s with the flowers?”

Lance chuckles. “Nothing, really, I just…” He pauses for a second before he smiles fondly. “I don’t know, I just wanted to remind my wonderful husband of how much I love him.”

“He knows.” Keith whispers, pressing his forehead against Lance’s for a brief second before he smiles brightly. “Believe, he does.”

Lance hums contently against him. “That’s good,” he says softly. “Is he also expressing his returned love back to his husband with sour gummy worms?”

Keith snickers, not even daring to pull away. “Those are your son’s .”

“Yeah, okay, but he’s not going to eat the entire bag.”

“You’re shameful.”

“And yet you married me.”

Keith shots him a proud grin. “That I did.”

Chapter Text

Lance has a cloth wrapped around his head, using it to keep his hair back. Clothing pegs on his mouth. Nose scrunched. Barefoot.

He looks messy. Tired too from working all day at their new home. Too much dust. Too much cleaning.

But now it's theirs. It's their home.

And Lance has never ever looked so beautiful to Keith like he does now as he hangs another damped towel on the string hanging from one wall to another.

Improvised laundry room. In their backyard.

They make it work.

Keith puts the bag with their dinner down on the counter, dropping his home keys next to it before he walks towards the back door and steps out.

Lance doesn't notice him yet but Keith still keeps his right hand hidden behind his back.

"Hey, you're back." Lance calls out the moment his blue eyes settle on him once Keith taps him on the shoulder. "Did you get me a dumpling? I have been craving them since we saw their shop months ago when we were house hunting."

Keith hums. "No, I didn't get you a dumpling," he says, lips twitching when Lance narrows his eyes at him, clearly not believing him. Busted. "I got you two dumplings."

Just like that, the sky in those eyes cleared out.

"I hate you," Lance says but the smile is blinding and his feet are moving.

"I also got you something else." Keith tells him quietly, stepping closer to meet him halfway. "Close your eyes."

Lance arches an eyebrow at him in curiosity before he rolls his eyes and does as told.

Only then Keith pulls out the flower from behind his back. A small lilac one. Healthy, young, thriving.

Just like Lance. Just like them, together.

He places it carefully on Lance, between the cloth and the curve of his ear, and he smiles softly at Lance's small gasp when Keith's fingers graze his cheek on their way down.

"What is that, you nerd?" Lance mumbles quietly, arching an eyebrow but keeping his eyes closed.

Keith chuckles. "Why don't you join me inside for dinner and you look into that gorgeous ‘oh so majestic’ mirror you made me move five times?"

"You complain now but you will thank me when the feng shui does its magic, you non-believer.”

And that’s fair. Because Lance’s rarely wrong when it comes to his instincts no matter how ridiculous they sound.

‘This is it.’ Keith thinks as he laughs and pulls his husband closer by the waist enough to drop a kiss on his temple, heart settling at the press of warm lips on the corner of his lips. ‘This is the peak of love.’

Chapter Text

“I wish I had magic.”

Keith looks up at the words, leaving his task of playing with Lance’s hand on his stomach to meet his boyfriend’s gaze, eyebrow already arched as a silent question. 

Lance takes the hint.

“You know, like, actual real magic. ” Lance elaborates, squeezing Keith’s hand before he pulls it back to throw it in the air as he continues to talk.

“I know some people have it, subtle but it’s there – I have heard of it and I believe them, Keith! I mean, we have seen aliens– alien magic too – is it too hard to believe there’s magic on Earth?”

Keith chuckles quietly as he leans back, snuggling closer to his boyfriend's chest. “No, it’s not hard. I have seen it, actually.”

Lance freezes at that, eyes wide.

“You have?” Lance whispers in awe, looking down at him in surprise. There’s a childlike excitement inside his blue eyes as he waits patiently for an answer.

Keith nods proudly. “Yeah. The guy was amazing, I swear.”

“Who was it?” Lance breathes out in wonder. 

Keith pushes down his grin that threatens to blow his act before he reaches out to poke his boyfriend on the cheek.

“You, duh.”

Lance makes a face at the answer, clearly not satisfied nor amused. Keith's unable to keep his grin at bay.

“I swear.” Keith insists when his boyfriend purses his lips, clearly trying not to smile. “Don’t believe me?”

Lance snorts. “Obviously not.”

Keith hums quietly before he reaches out to cup his boyfriend’s cheek.

“I don’t lie.” Keith reminds him, his thumb stroking brown skin tenderly. “I have seen it, you’re incredible.”

“How, I dare to ask?” Lance laughs quietly, a single eyebrow arched playfully but his eyes are telling. 

He’s curious. Maybe a lil’ bit shy of the answer.

It only makes Keith smile wider.

“Those eyes.” Keith starts softly. “They make me forget the hurricane in my head. They remind me of water itself in every form and while they drown my worries they keep me safe, always afloat.”

He allows him a brief moment for the words to sink in properly. Letting them echo down his boyfriend's head before he continues.

“Your voice settles my heart into a steady beat, as if it was slowing itself down to drag the moment just to hear you a little longer,” Keith says, sighing contentedly as he pushes himself up to nuzzle his nose on Lance’s jaw.

“Your laugh makes my stomach do flips, your snorts make me laugh so much because they are just so endearing .”

Lance makes a sound. Something between a whine and a choke. Uncertain. But the red growing on his cheeks is quite telling when Keith picks up his hand.

“I could go on.” Keith whispers quietly, thumb running over Lance's knuckles before he looks up. Smile blinding, heart beating. “But night’s too short– life’s too short for me to tell you how you bring magic in my life everyday.”

“Everyday?” Lance chokes out, wetting his lips.

Keith hums, lifting Lance's hand high enough to drop a kiss on top of it before he places it over his chest, right above his beating heart.

“Without fail.” Keith answers. “I think that's magic itself in its purest form,” he confesses softly, smiling at the unshed tears in blue eyes.

He doesn't brush them away when they fall. There's no need, they are magic on their own. 

“The same way you are just by being yourself.” Keith finishes quietly, lips pressed on the corner of Lance's lips as the brunet sniffles and hugs him closer.

Love has many names. This is one of them.

Chapter Text

When Keith comes back to the bathroom, he only sees bubbles.

“Lance?” Keith calls carefully, heart coming back from his throat in relief when his husband’s head pops out from the mountain of bubbles on the bathtub.

“Ho, ho, ho! Hello, Mr. Claus!”

And if his husband’s alive and at ease that means…

“It’s July, Santa.” Keith reminds him, snorting when Lance merely ‘scratches’ his bubble beard as an answer. Keith waves him off before he arches his neck forward. Looking. Searching.“Hey, where’s–”

“Daddy!”

Keith can only blink at the water that spills from the tub as soon as their small four-years-old rises from the water, splashing hard as he throws his arms in the air.

He learnt that from Lance.

“Hi, son.” Keith still greets fondly with a chuckle, uncaring of his jeans getting wet as he kneels next to the tub and brushes some of the bubbles away from his son’s face. “Enjoying yourself?”

“Yup!” Rey shouts happily, “I’m a bubble mermaid!”

“You sure are.” Keith hums. “Sadly, bath time is over, buddy. Time to have legs again.”

“Aw, but– daddy!” Rey pouts but quickly giggling through the sudden clean water that falls on him. “Ah– papá!”

“What? I’m helping!” Lance says innocently even though he’s still covered in bubbles.

Keith snorts as he grabs one of the towels he had brought and picks up his son from the tub with it. “Alright, buddy, let’s get you dry off and into some pjs–”

“No!” Rey shouts as his feet touch the bathroom’s mat and he fights against Keith’s tries to dry him off. “Mermaid no pants!”

Keith blinks at the statement before he shoots a glare at his husband.

Lance blinks back at him, still with his ridiculous bubble beard and all. “Well, he’s not wrong!”

Keith rolls his eyes, mouth already opening to set his foot down before suddenly there’s no child between his hands and his towel is wrapped around thin air.

“Mermaids no pants!” Keith hears Rey shout as he runs out of the bathroom and into the rest of the house butt-naked.

“Rey! No running– Lance! ” Keith scolds when his husband’s laughter echoes around the bathroom which ends as soon as Keith splashes some water at him, making Lance to gawk in disgust at the soap that sneaks into his mouth.

Keith smirks at the glare his husband sends his way before he whistles.

It takes a total of five seconds for Kosmo to suddenly pop into the bathroom and drop a giggling Rey on Keith’s lap. He pops out with a proud huff after Keith praises him and scratches behind his ear.

“Gotcha,” Keith says as he picks up the towel once again and holds it high in front of the toddler. “Dry off and pjs?”

Rey nods, giggling as Keith runs the towel over his body carefully. 

“Story too?” the toddler asks hopefully as soon as he's dry, wrapped into his small lion-theme bathrobe and picked up, his cheek resting on Keith’s chest.

“Yeah, that can be arranged, sweetheart.” Keith chuckles softly as he kisses his head and exits the bathroom before he pauses and turns to catch his husband’s eye. “See you in bed?”

“Yeah.” Lance whispers from the bathtub, gaze soft as he just stares and stares at both Rey and him with a fond smile. It makes Keith’s heart settle and do a happy tug.

The message is clear. It’s in Lance’s eyes.

In the curve of his lips, in the words that are mouthed to him in silence.

‘I love you.’

Keith’s smile softens before he mouths three words back.

‘Clean the bathroom.’

Lance’s laughter echoes through the hallway as Keith makes his way to their son’s bedroom with a bright smile.

Chapter Text

Keith is, for the lack of better word, drunk.

Nevermind, he is absolutely wasted . He's down-right hammered .

But ah! Ah, he is also brave!

Keith snickers to himself as walks through his apartment, both heart and mind– or what’s left of it– on a mission.

He manages to make it to the main bedroom without any incident– except for that one vase, it’s fine– and his eyes immediately fall on his boyfriend. Sleeping. On their bed.

And by New Altea, Lance’s gorgeous. With green-goo face mask and all. With short brown hair sticking to the sides behind his headband.

Keith wants to kiss every inch of that face. Green-goo and all. So badly. He wants to–

He snaps his fingers, slapping his hand right after with his left one as a reprimand when the sound echoes around him. He needs to be stealthy, like a ninja.

Keith giggles at the thought, heart hammering against his chest. Lance calls him a ninja. His ninja.

Keith really loves him.

Quietly making his way towards his boyfriend, Keith crouches down next to his sleeping form. He stares at him for what feels for hours, lovingly and longingly, before he reaches out to grab the hand that rests on his stomach.

He brings it to his lips, kissing the space between his knuckles and the second ones before he takes out a ring from his front pocket.

Its smooth surface reminds him of Lance’s skin. And it’s mesmerizing, Keith thinks as he slips the ring down Lance’s finger, how it feels like a second skin of Lance when he runs his thumb over it.

Smiling goofily to himself at the sight of the ring on his boyfriend’s finger, Keith lets out a small cheer.

“Voltron, voltron.” He chants to himself, snickering under his breath before he drops one last kiss on his now fiancé’s hand.

With that one last thought, Keith smiles to himself before he heads to bed, this time properly and on his respective side of it where he belongs.

“Ack– quiznack! Keith!?”

And that is always on top of Lance.

Keith’s a light sleeper. It’s common knowledge.

Reason why he’s awake at the first sob that leaves Lance’s mouth.

“What?” Keith asks, voice heavy with sleep and eyelids dropping as he tries to blink around the still dim lighted room. “Wha’ happen’? Lance?” 

Lance doesn’t answer him. Instead, he continues to cry next to him and Keith’s worry grows tenfold.

“Hey,” he says quietly, rubbing his eyes quickly to get rid of his grogginess before he pushes himself off the bed to sit properly. He reaches for his boyfriend’s right hand. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong– what happened?”

Lance gasps in between sniffles, his only hand left still pressed hard against his mouth as he shakes with sobs. Keith frowns in concern, mouth opening to speak before Lance pulls his hand away from Keith’s hold and shoves it to his face.

At first, Keith sees gold; flashing before him like a star with the faint rays of sunlight that sneak through their curtains. It’s familiar, looking like–

His heart drops, his soul leaves him, and then he sees beyond the ring, beyond beautiful brown skin.

And sees the sun itself– bright, blinding, and breathtaking.

Lance smiles and giggles through his tears. Through the snot running down his nose and through the clear happiness on his eyes.

“I take you had fun last night?” Lance laughs wetly, as he brings his hand back and wipes his tears. “Because I’m having a pretty razzle-dazzle morning.”

“Oh, fuck.” Keith groans, hiding his heated face behind his hands before he flops back on the bed, not even coming out from hiding when a familiar weight falls on top of him.

“You know.” Lance starts, getting rid of the last few tears as he sniffles. His smile is ever present. “When you fell on me at three at the morning–”

“I did what .”

Lance ignores him. “I didn’t even notice it. Honest to God, I was more concerned that my boyfriend…” He pauses, eyes falling on the ring on his finger as his hand rests on Keith’s chest before his smile turns softer and corrects himself. “Well, fiancé, was going to drown on his own vomit or something.”

“This is so far from romantic.” Keith mumbles, hands finally leaving his face and throwing them to his side, accepting his fate as a starfish.

“Says the one who proposed while drunk.” Lance snorts, dropping a peck on his fiancé’s lips. “Well, ‘proposed’–”

“The air quotes are not appreciated.” Keith deadpans before he sighs and frowns. “Lance, I’m so–”

“Nah.” Lance cuts him off without shame, shaking his head for good measure. “You don’t get to be sorry for making me happy– for loving me.”

“You deserved a proper proposal.” Keith mumbles regretfully. “Romantic, unique– like you always wanted.”

“I always wanted someone to love me.” Lance corrects him quietly with a soft smile. “Fiercely and without boundaries– don’t you love me like that?”

“You know I do.” Keith whispers, a shaky breath leaving his lips when his fiancé leans close to his face.

“See? I deserve you .” Lance whispers, nuzzling his nose against Keith’s fondly. “Okay?”

Keith stays quiet for a second, soaked in Lance’s warmth before he sighs and nods with a sheepish smile and a happy heart.

“Yeah, okay.”

Lance hums proudly. “Atta, you nerd,” he says playfully, pecking him on the nose. “You put it on the wrong finger, by the way.”

Keith blinks, eyes falling on Lance’s index finger as it wiggles itself with the ring at its bottom playfully. He frowns at it before he reaches.

“That’s it. Gimme that, I’m doing a do-over.”

Lance throws himself back from his chest, dodging Keith’s attempts to grab his hand. “Oh, no! This is my ring, back off!”

“Lance– gimme it! I wanna do better!”

“No! No backies! My ring!”

“Lance!”

Having one percent more patience than what he had when he was seventeen, Keith throws it out of the window as he throws himself at Lance.

He doesn't manage to get the ring back, by far, not with Lance’s long limbs as he pushes his face with his bare foot and keeps his left hand raised high above his head.

But their smiles are big on their faces, their touches are fond and loving, and Keith can’t help but be excited for the future to come.

“You haven’t even said yes!” Keith laughs, finally being able to put Lance’s foot down.

“Then yes,” Lance says, waving his hands off so he can reach for his face and cup his cheeks tenderly. His smile softens, his nose brushes against his fiancé’s and then repeats, “Yes, yes, yes .”

And the word echoes down Keith’s head as he finally kisses those lips. Over and over.

“Ugh, your breath stinks.”

And one more.

“Ack– quiznack! Keith!”

Chapter Text

Their hands are intertwined in the small space between their thighs but their eyes don't meet.

Not yet, at least.

Keith swallows down the nerves, his free hand sweating in its captivity inside his jean pocket.

His fingers anxiously play with the ring he hides there.

Trying to gather courage, Keith lifts his gaze. The view of the entire pier and local fair beams back at him in all their glory.

He's glad Lance had suggested they end their night on top of the ferris wheel. It's the perfect spot.

And it's not because of the mix of lights and noise below them but what is found beyond the pier, beyond the people.

Where the ocean is dark and calm, waves crashing at the moon's desire. It's beautiful, breathtaking.

It reminds him of Lance. It reminds him of the man he has next to him. Who loves him and Keith loves back.

His heart drums against his chest almost painfully, aching and pleading with him to get a grip and get it done . He wants it to be done, to call this man his fiancé– his husband .

The love of his life. His one and only.

Taking a deep breath, Keith narrows his eyes in determination before he turns back to face Lance abruptly, his free hand now in the open with the ring between his fingers.

Only to be smacked out of his grip.

Keith blinks, eyes wide and bewildered as he stares where his ring has been before he looks at Lance.

Who stares back at him in both horror and shock. Whose wrist is pressed against Keith's from where he has turned around at the same time with his arm held high...

Who holds a ring but it's not Keith's ring.

Keith sucks a breath through his nose, the realization sinking slowly and he sees the moment Lance's brain loads successfully.

Keith's lips are slowly curving into a smile as Lance opens his mouth to shriek .

"My ring!! Keith– Keith , my ring!!" He shouts, shifting on his seat as he looks wildly down at the ring in his fingers, not knowing what to do with it. "Babe, were you – ! I was– ! Babe, really!?"

Keith nods, smiling full force despite him biting the inside of his cheek, simply enjoying how flustered his boyfriend looks.

Lance, for his part, looks like he is second from physically throwing himself off their seats to search for the fallen ring.

His fallen ring.

"Holy quiznack, babe – my ring, where the– ? Oh, shit, it's there! Hey! Hey, you! That's mine! Lady, no! No, your man is not proposing to you, my boyfriend is– to me! He's proposing to me , not to you! Lady!"

Keith can only laugh. Loudly. Happily. He leans against the rail of their seats as squeezes Lance's hand, growing tighter by the second as his boyfriend argues with the couple on the seat below them.

And it's perfect. So perfect.

Chapter Text

Listen, Lance practiced, okay?

“I, Lance McClain-Serrano–”

Day and night. Every day. For months. He even practiced the words this morning! Heck, they might as well be married already since Lance has been mumbling the words in his sleep several times in the last few weeks.

“– do take Keith Akira Kogane–”

And yet…

“– to be my wafflely–”

And yet...

“Lawfully!” Lance chokes, trying to fix his slip but no. No, no, nope! The damage is done.

And what beautiful damage it is.

Keith, bless his soul, tries to contain his laughter by limiting himself to a snort– just to let it out of his system and save Lance from any further embarrassment– and boy, do Lance loves him for it.

Lance loves this man with every fiber of his being to the point that it’s ridiculous.

Which is the reason why he might as well go all big.

“And pancakey…” Lance adds with a smile, beaming proudly when it does the trick of setting Keith off.

And then Keith’s laughing, laughing, laughing with his entire body, hands shaking as they hold on tight to Lance’s, as if they were his anchor, and Lance can only squeeze them in reassurance as he waits for him.

“ Wafflely .” Keith wheezes out as he bends over and shakes. “Oh, oh my god–”

“I’ve been scared of this all my life.” Lance jokes to the priest between them, sharing an amused look with him and the words just throw Keith into a whole new level.

“ Stoop .” He pleads as he drops and ends up crouching on the floor, hands still clenched tightly around Lance’s. “Oh, oh my god, Lance, why– hah! ”

At some point, the hiccups appear like they always do whenever Keith’s laughter gets out of control and Lance makes sure to pat his back in hopes to keep him breathing.

“There there, it’s not like we’re paying the revenue for the hour.”

“Sh-shut up– haha!”

Call him superstitious, but laughter echoing around during their wedding day seems like a good omen to Lance.

Chapter Text

Keith freezes the moment the music starts.

It's like a magnet. He meets his husband's eyes across the room, both of them immediately leaving whatever task they were doing. There's a beat and then–

"Papa!" Their children shout the moment Lance throws himself to the middle of the living room, right next to their children in front of the TV. 

He barely spares a glance as Rey clutches his chest in shock and Lilian starts clapping at him.

" I can show you the world! " Lance sings, synchronizing with the song playing on the TV and Keith wants to throw him something to rub that smug smirk off his face.

"Cheater." Keith mumbles as he narrows his eyes but makes his way over, settling on the other side of their children. He has accepted his fate this time.

Lance throws him a wink as he follows the song. Word by word. Easy as breathing.

" A whole new world ." Keith sings the moment his part arrives, a small smile growing on his lips as both children gasp and focus on him now. " A dazzling place I never knew. "

Lilian gasps, her small hands flying to her chubby cheeks. " Daddy ’s princess Jasmine? "

Keith's eyes soften, running a hand through her wavy brown hair. His chest grows warm as her face lights up with every word he sings.

" Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling. " Keith continues singing, eyes narrowing playfully at his husband as the anticipation inside him builds up for what's coming. " Through an endless diamond sky... "

"Take it away, babe." Lance whispers, basically bouncing on the spot and Keith's smile widens.

" A whole new world! "

" Don't you dare close your eyes! " Lance sings, laughing when his son tries to hide behind his hands but groans in defeat when Lance reaches out to put them down. 

He blows a raspberry on Rey’s cheek to earn a smile.

" A hundred thousand things to see! " Keith continues, words falling from his lips effortlessly, a soft huff leaving him as Lilian jumps from her seat and throws herself to his lap.

" Hold you breath– " Lance breathes out.

" It gets better, " Rey finishes, giggling in his papa's arms when Lance ruffles his hair with a proud grin.

" I'm like a shooting star!! " Lilian squeals in Keith’s lap, throwing her arms high.

"I've come so far! " Keith follows, hugging his youngest closer as he moves and shimmies closer to his husband on the floor. " I can't go back to where I used to be ."

Lance catches on quickly. They lock eyes, share a look. A smile. A heartbeat.

The lyrics follow. The music slows down.

" A whole new world ." Keith breaths out, exhaling carefully as he leans closer to his husband's space. 

Lance echoes him, humming in the back of his throat as their foreheads touch, both children in their arms.

" That's where we'll be ." Lance sings softly, eyes half lidded as they watch Keith's lips move. Waiting. " A thrilling chase ."

" A wondrous place ." Keith mouths, breath hitting Lance's lips.

" For you ." Lance exhales, eyes closing as he basks on the heat from his husband, heart turning into a hummingbird as Keith's voice joins him. " And me. "

And for a moment, there's silence. Harmony. Peace and love–

"Again!" Lilian shouts gleefully.

The couple shares a smile.

Chapter Text

Lance has chased so many things in his life.

But Keith’s lips are not one of those things; Lance doesn’t need to chase them because Keith gives them to him voluntarily. It’s enough to make him forget about air for a while.

“I didn’t know I could be kissed like that.” Lance whispers when they pull apart, quiet and shyly as if fearing to ruin the illusion that makes his heart thrive with hope.

And all it takes is Keith’s warm touch on his skin to convince him it’s real.

“Like what?” Keith asks softly and Lance watches through his half-lidded eyes as those lips move with the words. 

“Like I’m desired.” Lance breathes out, losing sight of those lips as they lean closer, closer . His eyes fall on the galaxy he thought he had left behind for good. His heart leaps happily. “Like I’m wanted.”

“That’s because you are.” Keith chuckles warmly, words being mouthed against his lips like a promise as their noses brush against each other. “You are all of that and more, so much more.”

Lance’s lower lip wobbles against Keith’s upper one but he doesn’t bite it down; because the question that has been holding his heart on a tight grip is at the tip of his tongue and he needs to ask. 

But he doesn't get a chance because then Keith– rival, friend, leader, partner, best friend, something else – smiles tenderly against his lips. Like he knows. He knows .

“And loved.” Keith answers fondly, fingers tracing down his cheek until they cup Lance’s jaw and bring him closer, “so loved.”

And just like that, Lance can once again see his future.

Chapter Text

“Answer me this.”

Keith looks up, blinking when Lance leans his upper body forward, his crossed arms resting on the armrest for balance. Keith nods silently from his spot on the couch as he places his bookmark in the middle of his open book before he closes it. 

He turns to face his husband with a faint smile, silently asking him to go on.

Lance seems satisfied enough. “Do you believe that everything in the universe has an explanation behind it?”

Keith furrows his eyebrows slightly in confusion, tilting his head to the side. That's enough for Lance to elaborate.

“Yeah, like, when you feel things inside you but you can’t really tell what they mean or where they are coming from?” Lance says, using one of his hands to wave it in the air. “Or like the big Earth mysteries like Bigfoot; is it something that is just is or has a bigger unknown explanation behind that was lost through history?”

Keith’s lips twitch in amusement. “Look at you being all philosophical.”

Lance snorts, rolling his eyes before he playfully smacks his husband’s shoulder. “So? Does everything in the universe have an explanation for it behind what we see or are there just things that cannot be explained?”

Keith hums as he moves, his cheek now on his open palm with his own elbow digging on his knee. 

“Well, I used to think that some things just were and had no reason behind them. Nothing magical, nothing out of the ordinary; they were just there.”

Lance nods, eyes wide and curious as he listens endearingly and Keith’s chest feels warm.

“Then I fell.” Keith continues quietly. “I fell in love and that belief just quiznacking grew .”

Lance snorts loudly, hanging his head as he shakes with laughter and Keith allows himself to grin proudly at the sound.

“It made no sense whatsoever? I didn’t know where they were coming from, they were just there and I was like–” Keith makes a face, his nose scrunched in confusion and eyebrows furrowed together in bewilderment as he raises his free hand towards the ceiling.

Lance shakes with laughter once again.

“But then,” Keith says once the brunet’s snickers slow down, a frozen smile on both of their faces as they lock gazes. “Then I married you and it was like a switch.”

“What do you mean, you nerd?” Lance snickers.

“I mean that suddenly those feelings had an explanation.” Keith nods, slowly reaching out to hold his husband’s hand, smiling gently when the brunet squeezes in acknowledgement. “I paid attention to the moments, to you .”

Lance tilts his head, blinking at him innocently and Keith wants to kiss him. 

“Hm?”

“Every time you laughed? Boom, weird feeling,” Keith says, nodding his head along. “Every time you did something funny without meaning to? Boom, weird feeling.”

“Are you saying I’m an anomaly, Mr. McClain-Kogane?” Lance asks, narrowing his eyes playfully. Keith laughs as he shakes his head.

“No,” Keith replies softly, shaking his head slowly. “What I’m saying is that, suddenly, my feelings had reasons. They had explanations and they were in your laugh, your eyes, your skin, and your warmth.”

Keith hums as he looks down, looking at the way his pale skin contrasts lovely against Lance’s brown one. He runs a thumb over those knuckles, his lips twitching when he hears Lance sigh contently at the touch.

“I found their explanation on your kindness, compassion, and love,” Keith says quietly, lifting his head to meet those blue eyes that hold his answers and smiles warmly. “I found you at your rawest purest form and everything else fell into place.”

“You smooth motherfucker.”

Keith barely has time to laugh before he’s cut off by a pair of lips.

Chapter Text

“Keith, buddy, if you keep making me swoon every five minutes,” Lance says quietly as he stares into Keith’s eyes, hand reaching up until it lands on a pale cheek, “there’s no guarantee that I won’t undeniably unconditionally fall in love with you.”

Keith leans against the touch, a small fond smile spreading over his face before he sighs softly once Lance starts stroking his skin without a pattern. “Yeah, well, I’m a little ahead of you there.”

What is even ‘breathing’ at this point? A verb? A form of survival?

Who knows? Definitely not Lance.

But he doesn’t linger on the thought. Instead, he allows himself to be guided by Keith as they dance around the greenhouse.

They never bump into a tablet or pots. Keith’s steps are knowing and experienced, he knows these worlds of flora like the palm of his hand.

“Who would have thought Keith Kogane was a dancer?” Lance whispers as they move, his playful smile turning soft when Keith’s cheeks grow red.

“Who would have thought Lance McClain could be flustreed?” Keith shots back, a small laugh leaving his lips when Lance huffs and smacks him on the shoulder half-heartedly.

“Shut up, it’s just- you are just-” Lance stutters, feeling his own cheeks grown warm at the attention Keith gives him, thoughts scrambling over each other when Keith’s hands tighten on his waist as an encouragement. “You’re just, not what I expected.”

“What am I then?” Keith whispers, steps slowing down but never stopping, adding a small quick twirl in their dance before he brings Lance back to him, holding him closer than before.

Lance’s body follows him effortlessly and blinks dazzely when he’s suddenly staring at his own hands, firmly pressed against a broad chest.

He looks up and his nose brushes against Keith’s when he does so.

Lance takes advantage of their proximity to take in the entire beauty of Keith’s eyes, humming in awe when he finds the small gray halo at the very edge of his pupil, blending so beautifully with the dark blue that surrounds it.

“More.” Lance finally replies quietly, his smile shy but bright as he grows more confident. “Just, so much more.”

Keith holds him tighter when he finally closes the gap between them with his lips.

Chapter Text

It’s something in between mango and strawberry.

Lance sighs contently as he sinks deeper into the bathtub, muscles relaxing under the gentle bubbles and heart fluttering happily at the pressure Keith’s back makes against his chest, the strange smell of earth fruits in Keith’s hair making him bury his nose on it.

He smiles when Keith himself sighs, relaxed and happy as he sinks deeper into Lance’s embrace, a soft surprised giggle leaving his lips when Lance’s thumb unconsciously starts rubbing just below Keith’s navel underwater. 

“Stop.” Keith mumbles, hand reaching behind him to cup Lance’s neck but doing nothing else to stop the action of Lance’s thumb. “No tickles allowed in bathtime.”

“I never signed anything.” Lance replies quietly, face still hidden in Keith’s neck, “but if I had, it would have been for kisses and cuddles.”

“Hm.” Keith hums pleased, smirking as he pushes himself back and shifts slightly inbetween Lance’s legs, earning a surprised groan from his boyfriend. “Only that?”

“You tease.” Lance complains playfully, nuzzling his nose against Keith’s wet skin. “Maybe later. Right now, I want those lips on me.”

“Uh-huh.” Keith hums before he turns his head to meet his boyfriend’s eyes. “Like this?” he asks quietly as he presses his lips against Lance’s jaw.

“Maybe.” Lance whispers.

“Or maybe like this?” Keith continues, his lips moving up to the corner of Lance’s mouth and pressing a wet kiss there. “Hm? Talk to me, sweetheart.”

“Keith.” Lance breathes out, eyes half-lidded as he tries to catch Keith’s lips.

“Or maybe,” Keith says softly. “Just maybe…”

Keith trails off as he slides his hand from Lance’s neck to cup his cheek, thumb stroking his cheekbones and smiling fondly at the brunet before he pulls him down to his lips.

“Like that?” Keith asks softly after he pulls away, smiling tenderly when Lance’s lips chase after his own.

“Maybe.” Lance whispers, opening his eyes dazzled. Keith feels himself smile, heart hammering against his chest at the fond loving look in his boyfriend's eyes. “I might need some convincing, just to be sure.”

Keith’s laugh is loud and happy until it’s cut off by a pair of lips. Neither of them complain.

Chapter Text

The crying wakes them both up.

Because of course it does. Funny how the Atlas alarm sounded almost the same as their newborn daughter’s piercing cries.

"M'wake." Lance mumbles next to him, blinking groggily as he lifts his head from the pillow, brown hair disheveled as expected.

Despite his exhaustion, the sight still makes Keith smile. Small and almost non-existent but still there with a burning fire full of affection and fondness inside his chest.

Leave it to Lance to get him mushy at two in the morning.

"I’ve got her." Keith whispers quietly to him, reaching out to pat his husband on the right side of his collarbone, inches away from the mop of hair that lies there. "Go back to sleep."

"M'wake." Lance slurs again, eyelids already dropping shut and a snore leaves him as soon as his head hits the pillow.

Keith snorts and brushes off the instinct to roll his eyes. "Sure you are, love."

Meanwhile, Rey sleeps throughout the entire exchange between them. And the crying. 

If anything the six-years-old just snuggles closer to his papa, burying his face on the crook of his neck completely.

Keith runs his hand through his son’s hair for a brief second before he sighs and pulls back, throwing his legs over the side of the bed.

The crying grows louder, or maybe it's just the lack of sleep from his part. Either way, he makes his way to his daughter's crib on the other side of the room.

And the thought throws him off. His daughter. His.

Their s.

It's been a week since they brought her home and the thought still set his veins on fire. An everlasting fire that keeps him running with love and affection.

Sleepless nights are worth it as long as those big hazel eyes settle on him and tiny fingers reach for him right after.

"Hi, Lilian." Keith greets quietly, lips slowly curving into a real smile as his daughter blinks at him through her tears. "Daddy's here, it's okay."

He reaches out to pick her up, being careful of her neck and head as he cradles her close. She's still crying, dropping tears and snot on his shirt but Keith pays no mind.

Keith goes through the list in his mind and checks her over. 

He sniffles and pats her bottom gently to make sure she's still clean, sneaking a look at the end. Check. He goes through her eating schedule in his head, taking note of her next meal it's at five am. Check.

And on and on until he realizes that she's fine. Maybe she was just lonely.

So, through her crying and screaming, he reminds her she's not.

"It's okay to cry, sweetheart, your abuelita explained it to us," he says, nodding at the baby in his arms seriously. "It's basic human survival; crying to see if we are still here with you to take care of you."

He keeps talking. He tells her she's brave and strong, with equally strong lungs to make herself known. He tells her she's a fighter with tiny toes and tiny fingers.

He tells her he has a knife bigger than her too, because it's vital information.

"Sadly, you won't see it until you are, like, fifteen." Keith snorts, rolling his eyes as he keeps bouncing her gently on the spot. "That was your papa's idea."

And his daughter makes a sound. Weird and tiny but still a sound. She probably agrees with Keith.

"You sound better." Keith mumbles after a few minutes, looking her over and seeing most of her tears on her cheeks dried off. "That's my brave girl."

He continues to talk to her as if she understands his words. Sharing his educational lesson on newborn babies and night tendencies he learnt months ago from his in-laws and basically their entire found-family.

And maybe she does understand. Because she calms down. She hiccups and whimpers in between but her tears stay dry.

She also rubs her snot on his shirt but that's okay. It's Lance's shirt anyway.

"There you go." Keith whispers fondly, taking a small part of his shirt to properly clean the snot from her nose. "Snot free. Mark me down as a professional Snot Remover."

Again, she doesn't understand. But she still reaches for his nose, making a tiny sound that sounds like a whimper and whine combined.

And Keith gets the message.

"Okay." He agrees quietly, leaning down carefully to kiss the top of her head softly. "Just for a little bit."

He heads back to bed, holding his daughter close until he's at its edge and carefully sits on his side, sliding down half way against the headrest with Lilian resting on his chest.

Once settled, Keith takes it upon himself to stroke his daughters back, soothing her small whines and noises as she slowly focuses the small rumble leaving his chest meant to comfort.

It was his mom who taught him that trick. Said it worked like magic on him.

And apparently, so is his daughter.

Keith stares at her for a few more minutes, a small smile on his lips as he sees Lilian’s eyelids finally losing their fight.

‘In a second.’ Keith tells himself as he nuzzles his nose against his daughter's head. ‘I will put her back in a second.’

A small sound on his right makes him turn his head, worried of accidentally waking either Lance or Rey digging inside his chest but his heart settles when he meets a pair of eyes through the darkness.

Lance smiles at him, tired and half-asleep, but his happiness is clear as he reaches out carefully and strokes their daughter's cheek with the back of his finger. 

They share a look, full of love and affection before Lance reaches out to grab his husband’s hand and kisses his knuckles, thumb stroking them right after fondly.

And that's one of the tricks Lance uses on him to make him fall deeper in love. 

It still works like magic.

Chapter Text

Lance stares because that’s his thing.

The rain outside his window doesn’t really mind. If anything, it seems to grow louder at the attention, excited to put up a show worthy of pale blue eyes.

Lance smiles to himself as he watches the raindrops, falling on their garden like a much-needed break from the summer heat. He makes a mental note to visit the town’s flower shop to get the new season’s seeds.

He hears movement behind him and turns just in time to see his husband putting down on their nightstand the last of their lighted candles. It’s a ‘cookies and cream’ scent candle that they managed to find out of a miracle after the neighborhood’s blackout.

Keith sighs before he shakes his hand to put out the match in his hand. He looks up then, lips instantly turning into a smile when he catches Lance’s gaze already on him.

“Well, I, for one, didn’t see that coming.” Keith chuckles, shaking his right hand towards the rain from the outside as he quietly makes his way towards his husband.

Lance hums as he opens arms, making grabby hands when Keith takes too long to arrive.

“I, for two, can say the same.” He replies and suppresses the shiver that runs down his spine when Keith huffs a laugh and finally settles in his arms, immediately burying his face on Lance’s neck.

The brunet hums contently at the warmth Keith so naturally provides. The physical weight his husband gives as he presses himself closer to Lance’s body is a comfort and it’s surreal to think the thunder from the storm syncs with his own heartbeat.

“What are you thinking about?” Keith mumbles quietly, his hands sneaking their way under Lance’s shirt. Lance melts at the touch of fingers stroking his skin with fondness.

He repeats the question inside his head. What is Lance thinking about? He’s thinking about pale hands caressing him lovingly with a quiet promise of a night full of passion. He thinks about how he feels a steady heartbeat against his palm as he strokes the back of his husband’s neck.

He thinks how capable he is of holding so much love for this man and still doesn’t feel like it’s enough. Because Keith deserves more; more affection, understanding, love . He deserves every good thing the world has and Lance aches to give it to him.

It’s scary to put his heart in the hands of someone else. But Keith’s not someone .

Keith’s his only one. There’s no one else he trusts the most with his heart.

“How fugly your mullet look,” Lance replies instead, a grin growing on his lips when Keith laughs and smacks his stomach playfully, mumbling about how dumb he is.

Lance’s okay with that because right after the words, there are lips pressing themselves against his cheek. It’s a small gesture but it drives him to try; try for the rest of his life to shower the man in his arms with every fiber of love inside him.

‘That’s always gonna be enough.’ Lance thinks as he presses his own lips against his husband’s temple. ‘ We’re enough.’

Chapter Text

“Say ‘ah’,” Lance says cheerfully next to him and Keith, well, who is he to deny something to the love of his life, really.

“Aaah,” Keith says obediently, mouth wide open while still reading the report on the tablet that rests on the kitchen’s table.

At the brief silence that follows, Keith looks up in confusion and slightly disappointed when no food makes its way to his mouth.

Keith blinks bemused when he catches his husband’s flat stare, finding it endearing the way the brunet tries to push down his grin.

Meanwhile, their baby boy squeals and giggles between them in his highchair, the small colorful bowl Lance made him earlier for lunch half-gone.

“I was talking to Rey.” Lance tells him slowly, giving up the fight against his amusement and letting his lips curve into a full grin. “Keith, babe , oh my god.”

Keith blushes, looking between his two loves before he coughs and looks away.

“Ah, I knew that.”

Chapter Text

‘There he is.’

“There you are!” Lance shouts at him the moment their eyes meet, a big wide smile spreading over his lips. “Babe, where were you¡?”

“Right here.” Keith mumbles quietly to himself, a chuckle leaving his lips when Lance doesn’t wait any longer and breaks into a sprint. Keith’s been here the entire time.

Waiting. Hoping. Praying.

Loving.

“Oof.” Keith huffs the moment Lance’s body crashes against his own but he doesn’t waste a moment before he’s picking up his weight, laughing at Lance’s sudden shout of surprise.

“Keith!” Lance laughs, putting down his hands on Keith’s shoulders for support as they twirl. Keith feels his stomach pooling itself with warmth when brown fingers start playing with the back of his head. “ Babe .”

“Sweetheart.” Keith mumbles back fondly, staring up at the brunet in his arms as if he was the sun itself. Maybe he was. “Ready for tonight?”

“If you are ready to finally spill the beans.” Lance huffs theatrically, rolling his eyes with fake exasperation before leaning down and drops a kiss on top of his boyfriend’s head. “Your hover bike is in the garage; waiting for you.”

“Then let’s go.” Keith whispers, tilting his face up and staying there until Lance blinks with understanding and meets his lips in a chase soft kiss. “Your surprise is waiting.”

“Yey.” Lance chuckles against his lips, dropping three more quick kisses before pulling back and letting himself be placed back on the ground. “I’m so ready for tonight, your secrecy has been driving me crazy.”

Keith snorts, rolling his eyes as his hand finds Lance’s own by instinct and follows his boyfriend’s lead to the garage.

“You will understand soon enough.” Keith whispers softly, raising their intertwined hands up for him to kiss brown knuckles while his free hand pats the small box inside his jeans.

He only needs a yes.

Chapter Text

It’s so raw and honest.

“You’ll always be my first choice, Lance.”

Lance can only stare wide eyed, stomach flipping the second he feels a foreign but welcoming warmth across his cheek. Lance doesn’t dare to move, no matter how much he wants to lean to the touch because it might disappear.

Warmth always disappears on him.

Keith stares right back at him, eyebrows furrowed as he searches for something in Lance’s features. Lance swallows when suddenly he’s being caressed gently like he’s something precious, valued and treasured.

It’s when Keith’s lips are pressed against his own, firm on their landing but gentle the rest of the way, that Lance’s unable to keep his tears at bay. He wants to melt against Keith’s touch as he’s pulled closer. 

Lance wants to touch, to kiss and to love back just as fiercely.

He wonders if he’s allowed to do so as he stares at Keith through his half-lidded gaze. He wonders if the aching inside him is shared between them.

Keith hums contently then against his lips and Lance decides that yes, yes it is.

Lance shudders a shaky breath as Keith pulls away, closing his eyes and biting down his lower lip when Keith’s breath hits him on the lips.

“Lance, baby,” Keith calls quietly, gently encouraging him with warm touches on both his cheeks and making their way up. Lance tries not to laugh when Keith playfully flicks the shell of his ears. “Look at me.”

Lance does. He opens his eyes despite his fears of rejection, his insecurities, and the loud screaming inside his head.

All of that fades like background noise as Keith stares into his eyes as if Lance was a treasure.

“I love you,” Keith says earnestly. “You know that, don’t you?”

Lance snickers wetly as he nods, humming in appreciation when Keith brushes a lone tear from his cheek. With his smile unbelievably wide, Lance doesn’t dare himself to hold back and dive for Keith’s lips.

His heart soars when Keith meets him halfway.

Chapter Text

Happiness, Lance realizes, comes in many forms.

For him, happiness is the sand beneath his feet and the heat of the sun on his skin. It’s his mom’s kisses, dad’s hugs, and his siblings’ playful jabs. It’s his team being alive and well back in their homes and surrounded by their families.

It comes with the seashells the waves wash in every morning outside his house. It comes with the loud purring Red does inside his mind among the clouds and just above the Earth’s atmosphere.

“– darling, so it goes; some things are meant to be.”

Happiness, for Lance, it’s also love.

“Take my hand,” Keith sings in a whisper, eyes down to see to their hands and playing with them with a fond smile, “take my whole life, too.”

Lance’s heart flutters in excitement, slamming itself against his chest in a weak attempt to reach for the one that makes it go haywire. Lance knows the feeling and he drowns on it.

Keith, Lance comes to find out, loves quietly. It’s something that always leaves Lance in awe; whenever it is from the gentle touch on the cheek after a hard mission or whispered confessions of a feeling he knows like the back of his palm on early mornings.

It’s been a long journey. The remains of its pain, anger, and confusion reminding him that nothing in life comes easy but it’s all worth it.

It’s all worth it when he has the love of his life in his arms, gently moving at the sound of the music that plays in the background. It all fits like puzzle pieces and Lance can finally let go.

“For I can’t help,” Keith continues quietly and Lance can’t help but reach out with his free hand, his heart urging him to catch the gaze that holds a fire within, “falling in love…”

With a fond smile, Lance catches his boyfriend’s chin carefully before he gently guides it to meet him. Keith blinks at him, as if surprised that Lance was in front of him despite their intertwined hands and the brunet can’t do anything but lean down to kiss him.

Once, twice, thrice– it’s addicting.

“Falling in love,” Lance mumbles quietly against those lips, suppressing the shiver that runs down his spine when Keith’s warm breath hits his mouth, “Falling in love with you.”

Happiness, Lance remembers, is also found in Keith’s smile.

Chapter Text

Lance’s thumb rubs against the top of the paler hand that is wrapped around his own, eyes running through his current page inside his book.

It’s until the hand he’s holding twitches when his blue eyes leave the book and they fall on the figure lying on the bed besides his chair. 

Keith shifts under the blankets, a low groan leaving his lips before he’s opening his eyes slowly, blinking a few times until he’s staring at the ceiling, eyebrows slightly furrowed together in confusion. 

Lance watches him from the side, eyes concerned as he looks for any sign of pain from Keith’s part but his shoulders lose their tension when nothing comes up.

“Keith?” he calls softly, smiling contently when the other man’s wide eyes focus on him. “Hey there, sleeping beauty. How do you feel?”

Keith stays silent, dark blue eyes still misty and slightly fogged from the anesthesia but Lance catches the familiar scrunched nose in his husband’s face that he does whenever he’s confused. 

“Am I dead?” Keith mumbles groggily, eyes never leaving Lance even when the brunet tilts his head to the side in half amusement and concern.

“Um, luckily for both of us: no,” Lance answers slowly, shifting closer to his husband’s hospital bed. “Why?”

“Because you’re an angel.”

Lance chokes, the grip on his book slipping. Three years; it’s been three years since he married this idiot and the things he still does to Lance’s heart are unbelievable.

“Baby, what ? I mean, I’m flattered but no, you’re okay, just a little out of it after your surgery,” Lance chuckles softly, eyes fond as he reaches out and brushes Keith’s bangs away from his face, humming in amusement when Keith blushes hard at the simple act. “Ah, the return of Tomato Keith. Pleasure to see him again.”

Usually, Keith would pout and roll his eyes, the nickname from their early days in their relationship still making him grumble in mock annoyance. Which is why Lance blinks in astonishment when Keith limits himself to giggle uncontrollably, leaning closer to Lance’s touch.

“Tomato, potato.” Keith mumbles, soft giggles leaving his mouth as he reaches for Lance’s hand and pulls it closer to his face, snuggling with it “Oh, soft hand, I like this hand.”

Lance shuts his mouth, because whatever the hell is happening here, he doesn’t want it to go away because of the dying whale noise that threatens to escape him.

Chapter Text

Keith watches the dancefloor in silence from his seat as he shoves another full spoon of pudding into his mouth. He smiles fondly as Veronica twirls in the middle of the room, white wedding dress following her every move and her newly wed wife being close behind as they dance surrounded by their friends and family.

Room filled with laughter and excitement, Keith now knows the power the McClain family has to light up anything. Keith has always known that his boyfriend’s personality just had to be genetic.

Keith goes for his tenth spoon, mind already setting itself into stealing Lance’s portion after he finishes his own if the brunet doesn’t return by then.

He blinks in surprise when his eyes suddendly get trapped behind a thin soft cloth, two hands holding each edge of the ribbon as they are pressed against Keith’s temple..

“Hi, Lance,” Keith says, voice at ease at the turn of events and his lips twitch when Lance’s breath hits the side of his neck.

“Hi, amor,” Lance whispers near Keith’s ear, kissing the back of his head right after. “Watcha doing?”

“Eating,” Keith replies as he shrugs his shoulders and slightly raises the small cup of pudding in his hand as proof.

“Ah, what an adventure.”

“You bet, I think it has nuts on it,” Keith hums. “It’s wild.”

“I’d bet,” Lance says. “Wanna have another adventure?”

“Does it involve pudding?”

“Babe.”

“Alright, alright,” Keith laughs, finally leaving the cup on the table. “Is the ribbon on my eyes necessary, though?”

“Maaaybe,” Lance sing-songs.“It’s a surprise.”

“More pudding?”

“I will drown you in the ocean, Keith.”

“Pff,” Keith snorts, raising his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright. Lead the way, love.”

“With pleasure.”

Feet against warm sand and hands covered by two familiar sweaty ones, Keith feels himself smile as he hears the way Lance stops on his tracks and shifts in front of him after a few minutes of walking.

“We here?” Keith asks quietly, his smile playful as he turns his head to the sides, enjoying the sound of the ocean on his right and the faint music from the wedding reception on his left. “Lance?”

“Take off the blindfold,” Lance says softly. With a slightly confused frown, Keith does as told and the sunset in the sky above them can’t compare to the beauty and breathtaking sight of Lance on one knee in front of him, a soft loving smile in his lips.

The question barely leaves Lance’s lips before Keith’s shouting his answer and soon enough, only their laughter echoes around the beach.

Chapter Text

"Oh, c'mon! They were supposed to be purple!"

Keith looks up at the shout, his half-eaten toast still on his mouth as he turns his head and catches the commotion.

He turns just in time to witness his fiancé flop himself dramatically in the middle of their living room, groaning loudly and pitifully on his way down.

Yeah, Keith’s gonna marry that fine specimen right there in two months.

He can’t wait.

Keith takes a bite from his toast, chewing carefully as he makes his way over his fiancé. He takes another bite once he’s sitting cross-legged next to Lance’s head.

“Wha’ happen’?” Keith mumbles softly after taking his third bite. He runs his fingers through Lance’s brown hair when the brunet only groans. “ Lance .”

“Det’ plotters,” Lance mumbles, voice muffled by the way he presses his face further down against the carpet.

Keith doesn’t even try to translate that. “Try again.”

“Ugh,” Lance groans, lifting just his head enough to turn it and meet his fiancé’s gaze with a pout and misty eyes. “The flowers, Keith.”

Keith arches an eyebrow and yelps when Lance shoves a bunch of papers on his face.

“The reception flowers! Each table was supposed to have a centerpiece, you remember the small bucket with flowers and crystal I showed you last week on Pinterest?”

Keith nods.

“Well!” Lance continues, snatching one of the papers from Keith’s hand and slamming the tip of his finger over it repeatedly. “These are not purple flowers! They were supposed to be purple, not this– this– !”

“Pink-ish?” Keith offers with a small smile, chuckling to himself when Lance snaps his fingers and nods pleased.

“Yes! Pink! I mean, it’s not horrible but Keith, babe, our centerpiece!” Lance whines, dropping his head in his fiancé’s lap and nuzzling closer when the other man starts running his finger through his hair. “It was supposed to match our wedding theme: purple! It’s out thing, you know, Lance and Keith! Blue and Red!”

Keith rolls his eyes fondly, letting his fiancé continue rambling about the flowers as much as he likes, his finger never leaving his scalp.

He really can’t wait to marry his idiot.

Chapter Text

"Ah, yes, yes! The camera loves you, baby! Love it back!"

Keith groans but there's a wide smile on his lips. No matter how much he tries to hide it behind his hand, it's no use.

His eyes tell Lance what he needs to know.

"Lance, stop with the photos!" Keith shouts, reaching forward to take the camera away from his brown hands and huffs when Lance sneaks out of his reach. “Lance!”

"No way!" Lance laughs, camera still near his face as he shoots photo after photo. "This is history in the making! It's like a baby's first steps!"

"Oh, you ass," Keith says but laughs either way. Because he's happy.

Happy with the sun in his eyes. Happy with his toes buried in the sand. Happy with the mix of sunscreen, sweat, and sea water running down his face.

God, he looks so happy. It's such a gorgeous look on his fiancé and Lance wants to make it last forever .

So, the photos don't stop. He keeps them coming. 

One after another because Lance has made it his life mission to bring this look on Keith every day.

And he will, as long as he lives.

Chapter Text

‘Steady,’ Keith tells his own heart as it speeds up the moment he sees the happy gleam in Lance’s eyes after he voices his answer to the brunet’s question. ‘He can smell the blush.’

‘Steady,’ Lance thinks, his fingers burning against his flushed neck, cheeks starting to hurt as his smile widens. ‘Be cool, be cool.’

Both of their plans are thrown out of the window when Keith chuckles softly and Lance’s eyes take a fond edge.

Dinner can’t come soon enough.

Chapter Text

When Keith wakes up, it's still dark outside.

He allows himself a moment to gather his surroundings, groaning as he stretches on the spot and sighs contently at the friction the soft blanket makes against his bare skin.

But it’s no surprise when in the next second, his eyes quickly fall on Lance’s sleeping face lying next to his own.

And it's a wonder, really, how seeing someone you love relaxed and at peace can both set your chest on fire and make you wanna die .

Because, honestly, where does this love come from? How the heck is Keith supposed to deal with it? To unload these many emotions?

The answers come to him when Lance makes a noise, something between a whine and a yawn. And Keith can’t help himself. He has to unload them.

So, Keith kisses his boyfriend. On the cheek, nose, and eyebrow. Then on the forehead, temple, and jaw.

Then his eyelids when the first giggle is heard. Then it's the corner of his lips, tasting once again something just so Lance .

By the time Keith reaches one of the ears, Lance is a giggling mess beneath him and Keith has him trapped in his arms.

And just because of that mere fact, Keith's allowed to do the following.

"Keith!" Lance squeaks right after his attack, laughter uncontainable when his boyfriend's blows yet another raspberry on his neck. “Not fair– hah, Keith! ”

Keith was wrong; he wasn't able to unload and get rid of this excess of love. It can’t be done, there can’t be a balance with these feelings.

"Keith, babe, no! No, not the stomach, babe– hah, no, Keith! "

Then again, when it comes to Lance, a balance isn’t necessary.

Chapter Text

“And you can tell everybody this is your song,” Keith sings quietly, struggling to keep his grin at bay when his baby coos at him in awe in his arms. “It may be quite simple, but now that it's done.”

Lilian loves it. She adores it. She’s so entranced by the words, by his voice and Keith can’t help but sigh softly at her, doing a small twirl in the middle of her nursery that earns him a giggle from his daughter.

“I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind,” Keith continues, voice joyful as his daughter continues to enjoy herself, “that I put down in words how wonderful life is while you're in the world.”

She’s so big and warm in his arms and it takes him by surprise how much she has grown in just mere months. She’s his little star, shining brighter as the days pass by. 

“I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words,” Keith sings softly, voice getting quieter as Lilian’s eyes eventually start dropping but her small fist still strong on his shirt. 

He does another twirl and his eyes fall on his husband's across the room at the end, a drowsy six-years-old boy in his arms.

They share a smile, warm and soft just like the kiss Lance presses against his temple seconds later as Keith finishes his song.

“How wonderful life is while you're in the world.”

Chapter Text

"You have um," Lance mumbles, hissing in sympathy when Keith tries to reach to where he's pointing but only manages to spread whatever is on his head even more. "No, stop, uh, shit, it's–”

"Gravy?" Keith tries to guess, eyebrow arched at his date and lip twitching when Lance snorts.

"No," Lance says quietly before biting down his lip to contain his grin. Keith narrows his eyes in determination. That won’t do.

"Smashed potatoes?" he tries again, blinking innocently when Lance shakes his head. "Uh, brocoli? A meatball? Mac and cheese? Just cheese?"

By the third try, Lance is unable to contain his laughter. "Keith, stop enlisting the food we didn't even get to try."

"Nah, I wanna keep that smile on your face," Keith mumbles fondly, reaching out to wipe some of the food residues on the brunet's cheek. Now, that was gravy.

Lance snorts as he leans towards the touch, blush spreading over his cheeks despite the amount of food still lingering on his face. 

‘Breathtaking,’ Keith still thinks. ‘ He’s breathtaking.’

"This was the worst first date ever,” Lance grumbles, a small pout growing on his lips. 

And, well yes, their first date definitely didn’t go as planned but it certainly had their brand all over it. 

Besides, he’s currently holding hands with a gorgeous golden-hearted man. Keith really can’t complain.

So, Keith shrugs nonchalantly as he squeezes their intertwined hands and brings Lance’s face closer by the jaw until he’s able to nuzzle their noses together playfully.

"Would a kiss make it better?" Keith asks quietly then, eyes looking for permission in Lance's ocean. 

And waits.

He waits for Lance to breathe, to process the words at his own time before blue eyes widen and a small gasp leaves those lips Keith aches to kiss.

They turn into a smile first, though, happy and at ease, as their noses bump against the other when Lance tilts his head to the side and ghosts over Keith’s lips.

"Let’s find out.”

Chapter Text

"Keith, stoop it," Lance chokes out, a combination between a whine and a wet laugh leaving his lips when his husband-to-be doesn't do as told. "Keeeith."

"Ppff, I just– I can't–" Keith explains through sobs, smiling wide and bright as he chuckles wetly and gives up trying to wipe his tears with one hand.

Meanwhile, his right hand squeezes Lance's as a reminder. It's real. They are here.

"Stop crying, you asshat," Lance complains through his own tears, sniffling loudly and groaning when the snot doesn't leave his nose. "God, I literally didn't get pass 'Keith, mi amor'–"

"Oh, God," Keith whines, a new set of tears making his way down and Lance screams because he can't say his vows without his fiancé breaking down in tears which makes him break down in tears.

"This wedding quiznacking canceled," Lance grumples as he leans forward until his forehead is bumping against Keith's and then he's nuzzling against it fondly.

Keith just laughs through it all, squeezing their hands once more. The promise of a future on the small action is clear for them both.

Chapter Text

“You’re so cute, Lance.”

Haha, well, there goes Lance’s heart.

“Okay, I think you had enough for tonight, buddy,” Lance says with a low chuckle, slowly reaching for the plastic blue cup in Keith’s hand.

But he chokes on his own spit when he almost slaps Keith’s drink by accident the moment he feels wet and cold fingers traveling down the back of his neck. Playful. Mischievously. 

Those are odd ways to describe Keith.

“Hm, maybe,” Keith whispers low as he leans closer to Lance’s space. The brunet tries to suppress the shiver that runs down his spine the moment Keith’s breath hits his cheek. “But not of you.”

Haha, well, there goes Lance’s soul.

Chapter Text

It’s...weird, for the lack of a better word.

It goes up and down. Up and down.

Oh, wait. 

It’s also comforting. Warm and alive.

It’s funny.

Lance smiles to himself as his head continues to rise one more time at the same time Keith takes a deep breath in his sleep.

Lance giggles drunkenly to himself before he nuzzles closer to his boyfriend's chest and sighs contently.

He follows his breathing and it doesn’t take long before he’s out like a light.

Chapter Text

“One, two, three, four– oh and five!” Keith gasps quietly, shaking gently the last toe on his daughter's foot. “Ten tiny toes in total, baby! Good job!”

“Gah!” Lilian replies happily, waving her hands at him with a toothless grin. “Bah!”

Keith smiles, soft and fondly as his daughter continues to giggle. He can hear his husband’s voice in the background, guiding their oldest child through the task of cooking their lunch.

Which was mainly simple spaghetti with sauce but Rey loved to pour the sauce. Something he insisted on doing alone since he had turned six last month.

“Aah,” Lilian calls him back, catching his attention once again. Keith blinks in surprise as his daughter rocks herself side to side on the blanket she lies on, reaching to him with one hand. The tiny itty bitty hand full of slobber. 

Keith takes it without hesitation.

“Okay, baby, let’s count these now–”

Chapter Text

“Do you think you can fix it?”

Lance stays quiet for a moment, fingers caressing gently the rough and worn out edges of the small plush hippo in his hands.

He turns it a few times over, taking in its already stitched patches on its belly and right side. Both different colors and textures. The mere sight of them telling Lance all kinds of adventures between a five-years-old and his dad.

Its right button-eye is missing. Easy fix. One of its ears is half eaten; probably done during the teething of a toddler.

And Lance can see it so clearly. He can see a small black haired toddler in the middle of the same shack he stands on now, nibbling on his favorite hippo plush as his dad works behind him on the kitchen table.

And the image of tiny toddler Keith is a happy one; with his belly full, eyes filled with light and his smile big and toothy.

Now, in their present, Lance looks up and sees the love of his life. Waiting. Biting down his lip shyly. Eyes open and vulnerable.

Keith tilts his head to the side with one of his hands still holding the edge of the open chest next to them. He looks ready to put the plush in Lance’s hands back in case of rejection.

Lance holds the plushie tighter.

"Do you know who you are talking to?" Lance says with a playful grin, trying to push down the raging affection he feels for this man for a moment. "I was called the tailor–"

"For how you thread the needle," Keith finishes with a soft huff, rolling his eyes fondly and shoulders finally relaxing. He sends a small shy smile at his husband, his own hand reaching to touch the plush.

His gaze turns fond. "You think he will like it?"

Lance knows so. Without a doubt.

"Oh, Keith," Lance says softly, a small laugh leaving his lips as he leans forward and nuzzles his forehead against his husband's. " Mi amor , he will love it. "

And Lance was right. Because while it had taken a week for Lance to fix his husband’s childhood plush, it took less than a minute for their newly-adopted son to fall in love with it.

Mr. Hippo , Rey calls it as he hugs the plushie close to his chest. The given name only makes Keith hug his son tighter in his arms, kissing his temple.

Lance takes a picture and makes it his wallpaper.

Chapter Text

“Like a supanova!”

Lance blinks his eyes open, mumbling groggily under his breath at the sudden shout behind him. 

‘Or above me?’ he thinks as the weight of his toddler shifts on his back.

“What was that, buddy?” Lance asks, his own yawn cutting him off.

“Is supanova, papa!” Rey repeats gleefully, giggling to himself as he pats Lance’s back as explanation. “Supanova!”

God, Lance’s brain is still napping, honestly.

But he still tries to make sense of his son’s blabbering, brain running wild with possible translations. He doesn't have to think for long before his husband comes to his rescue.

“That’s right, buddy,” Keith whispers quietly next to him and Lance’s cheeks flush at the pressure of familiar lips in the middle of his back. Where his scar lies. “ My supernova.”

Ah , Lance thinks fondly, a small chuckle leaving his lips as he turns his head and meets his husband’s fond gaze, that supernova.

Chapter Text

Lance wanted to be the one walking down the aisle.

And boy, was Keith glad.

Because that way, Keith can stare. He can take his time and just stay still as he takes in the sight of his fiancé– of his future husband.

Just– his future.

He takes in the beaming smile on those lips Keith can still feel on his skin from the night before. He takes in the dimple on his right cheek where a galaxy of freckles spread over his face.

Ocean eyes shining with a promise of adventure to come, places to discover, and treasures to find. 

Keith wants it all. He wants all of Lance.

Shiro says something next to him then but Keith shushes him quickly, waving a hand at him without taking his eyes from Lance.

Laughter around him follows his actions but he hardly hears it.

All he hears is Lance’s voice the moment he reaches him and bumps his finger underneath Keith’s chin, shutting his jaw close.

“You look like an absolute dork,” he says quietly, poking next the center of his cheek playfully and it is then when Keith feels the ache of the big smile he wears on his lips.

Ah, so maybe that’s what Shiro was telling him about. Him looking smitten. Lovestruck.

In love. So in love.

Keith chuckles, his smile widening the moment brown fingers intertwined themselves with his own pale ones.

“Yeah, well,” Keith starts, staring in awe at their skin contrast before he looks up, meeting a pair of blue eyes. “You look absolutely beautiful.”

And Keith laughs. Freely and happily as Lance whines loudly and allows himself to fall forward, hiding his raging blush on the crook of Keith’s neck.

All while mumbling about mullets and smooth words. About him being in the lead of their silly competition for now. About promises of revenge with cuddles and heated kisses.

Keith can't stop smiling through it all. His smile is present as he drops kiss after kiss on whatever corner of Lance's face he can find near his reach.

He can feel Lance's own smile pressed against his skin, wide and happy. It makes the fire inside his chest settle.

“Ready?” he asks quietly in Lance's ear, cradling the back of his head tenderly.

A kiss pressed on his neck is his answer.

Chapter Text

The thing is: Keith is beautiful.

Whenever he laughs. Snorts. Cackles. Whenever he shouts. Curses. Pouts.

Every single emotion in Keith is beautiful, equally so the way he expresses them. But Lance has noticed, just recently, that sometimes there's a little too much going on in his head.

And it shows. In such subtle ways but it does, at least to Lance. Because it's always in the most mundane things.

Keith’s eyes are his tell. And Lance thinks that it's beautiful.

Because Keith's eyes have always been beautiful but when they linger with tears– sad, frustrated, happy, exhausted– they look stunning.

There's an edge to them. Keith keeps it there. He doesn't tilt his head back to keep them at bay, doesn't blink to let them run free.

He continues to work. Hands moving, feet turning back and forth. He does his thing.

The tears don't fall, they still linger by the time Lance reaches out and gets a hold of his wrist, pulling him slowly and gently towards him.

Keith follows him without a word and it isn’t until Lance shows the smallest bit of kindness, compassion and love that Keith breaks.

With fat tears on his cheeks, snot running down his nose, hair disheveled, and lower lip beaten down from all the biting.

And he's still beautiful.

Chapter Text

Keith reaches out to touch, to stroke, and attempt to offer the last bit of warmth he keeps inside his chest.

And it's so easy. With Lance, touches have always been light, fond, and with meaning. They never miss the warmth either.

And Keith wants to repay him. Somehow. Every day.

“What are you doing?” Lance whispers groggily against his naked chest, snuggling closer as Keith continues to kiss the top of his head. “Hm– Keith .”

“Nothin’,” Keith answers, stroking the hair on his husband’s nape as he reaches for the blanket with his free hand and tucks it back on Lance’s shoulders. “Go back to sleep, I’ll get Lilian if she wakes up.”

“You the best,” Lance slurs sleepily, sighing contentedly at the extra warmth before he drifts to sleep once again.

And Keith stares, under the moonlight that is cold at its sight but somehow they stay warm.

Chapter Text

Lance never really liked the phrase ‘happy endings’.

Because ending the war was their ticket to a happy beginning . To find love he never thought possible.

But then Keith had an ending and they took away his new beginning.

Lance strokes the photo between his fingers, taking it out of his wallet to appreciate it fully. It’s Keith in his younger days; a year after the war and two years before he was lost.

Lance shudders a breath, stroking the edge of the photo before he sighs in defeat.

He can’t get him back.

“Lance, are you shitting me?”

“I just miss it, okay!” Lance whines as he slumps further down the couch, a pout on his lips as his boyfriend walks up to him, hands on his hips. “It’s like you died, I swear!”

Keith sighs, rubbing his temple, still feeling oddly weird at the chill he gets from his new undercut his boyfriend ‘oh so seems to hate ’. “You complained about my hair length our entire journey in space–!”

“I was pining!” Lance cries out  in despair. “I loved that mullet, it was soft!!”

“Lance, oh my god, it will grow back!”

“My mulleeeeet!”

“Babe!”

“I don’t even recognize you! Who is this man in my house¡?”

“Oh my god.”

Chapter Text

Keith honestly finds it fascinating.

He listens earnestly to everything his daughter says, to every babble and squeal as if they were real words.

Because they are– to his daughter at least-- and Keith is damn sure he will listen to everything she says.

"Ah bah, ah!" Lilian says to him, sitting on her bottom as she giggles and pats him above his eyebrow and then nose. "Bah!"

Keith chuckles, letting his baby girl explore his face freely.

"Yeah," Keith mumbles, laying belly down on the floor next to Lilian, cheek on his open palm as he brushes her hair back fondly. "I love you too, sweetheart."

Chapter Text

It’s like a weight off his chest.

“Ah, and this is Keith,  my ex-boyfriend.”

Keith exhales through his nose at Lance’s words, keeping his face blank as the events from last night go through his head.

The memory alone of it lights a fire inside Keith. It’s big and scary, like something he won’t be able to control once again– not while in public, he doesn’t want to make a scene.

“You need to stop calling me that,” Keith cuts in a second later, nudging his shoulder against the brunet’s before holding out his right hand towards Lance’s co-worker. “I’m his husband.”

The words earns him an awkward smile from the poor woman and a big proud grin from the man next to him who– for some reason– Keith loves.

After Sophia– or was it Sandra?– leaves them be and re-joins the party, Keith flicks his husband on the shoulder.

“That makes the sixth substitute you have traumatized– you need to stop using that as a conversation starter.”

Lance laughs, swooping Keith’s hand and bringing it up to his lips before dropping a kiss on top of the golden band on his ring finger.

“But it’s so fun,” Lance defends himself, using the hold he has on his husband to bring him closer until their lips brush. “Wouldn’t you say so, Mr. Kogane-McClain?”

Keith hums, brushing his nose against Lance’s as he tilts his head.

The fire from the beginning comes back. Stronger than before, spreading like wildfire through his veins until it settles and keeps him warm.

“You win this round, Mr. McClain-Kogane,” Keith says, as if he wouldn’t let Lance win every single time just to keep that smile on his lips.

And Lance knows it, Keith is aware of that when said smile is pressed against his lips.

Chapter Text

Keith wakes up warm. With his cheek pressed against his pillow and soft lips pressing themselves on his temple, over and over again.

He hums contently, melting at the touch of strong hands running down his back and the small snickers that hit the back of his neck in small puffs.

And then there's a trail of drool on his lower back.

“You’re evil,” Keith mumbles as he groans, burying his face in his pillow as his husband’s laughter echoes around the room followed by child-like giggles.

“What? Your daughter is saying good morning,” Lance defends himself and Keith can’t see him, not yet, but he knows there’s a smirk on his lips.

There’s also a sudden weight on his butt. It’s a baby-size weight. Lilian.

Keith huff, lifting his face from his pillow just enough to turn his head to the right and meet his husband’s eyes. Lance welcomes him with a grin and a loving gaze.

Okay, Keith can forgive him a little for that.

“Hi,” Keith breathes out quietly, smile turning softer when he feels his one-year-old daughter cooing as she lays on her belly on his back.

Lance hums. “Hola, mi amor.”

“Papa, too early,” their oldest suddenly whines loudly, catching both of their attention as he steps into their room, bringing his blanket with him as he rubs his eye with his free hand. “ Papa shh .”

Lance snorts, reaching for his kid once he makes it to the edge of the bed.

“Sorry, buddy,” Lance says as he drops Rey between him and Keith, rolling his eyes when the six-years-old immediately flops backwards on the bed. “Oh, yeah, sure! You guys just lay here while I go make breakfast like a butler-monkey.”

“Thank you for volunteering,” Keith says as he reaches carefully for his oldest, doing his best to not disturb the baby on his back, and cuddles him close.

“I want the eggs scrambled.”

“Ditto,” Rey mumbles against his chest.

“Ito!” Lilian echoes with a giggle.

Lance huffs but Keith doesn’t need to open his eyes to know he’s smiling.

Big. Happy. In love.

Keith knows the feeling.

Chapter Text

The laughter stops abruptly and it’s sudden enough for Keith to cease his own slowly.

“What– Lance?” he calls, snickers still leaving his lips as he wipes a few tears from his eyes. His smile is too big for his face. “Hey, what–”

“You said the L word,” Lance whispers, eyes wide and the ocean they once held hidden behind the vastness of space itself.

Keith blinks, tilting his head to the side as his smile turns amused and he takes another sip of his beer. “Well, yeah, that’s your name, man.”

But something in the way Lance shakes his head furiously makes Keith pause. “No– no, Keith, you said the L word .”

Keith frowns in confusion because, honestly, what the shit is the L word–

‘God, I love you.’

Oh.

That was him. That was– 

“I love you,” Keith echoes softly, as if confused by the word but cheeks heating up with meaning. “I love–”

“You!” Lance cuts him off, a wide and bright grin growing by the second. “I love you!”

Keith’s giddy and he knows it has nothing to do with the alcohol. “No, I love you.”

“No, I love you!”

“I love–”

“You! I love–”

“You!”

Laughter comes back, echoing around the living room and suddenly there are no more cushions on the couch as their hands find each other in the middle.

Chapter Text

The words echo inside his head. They are loud. They are clear.

“Say it again?” Lance still asks before he swallows the lump on his throat and lets out a shaky breath.

He doesn’t lift his gaze. He keeps it down, focused on the pale fingers he plays with before he strokes the skin tenderly. Lovingly.

The contrast of Keith's skin against his own is breathtaking. Enchanting.

Lance holds tighter.

Keith hums quietly as he steps closer, leaning down to lift Lance’s head by brushing their noses together. Lance chuckles wetly at the action before he gives in and locks eyes with his husband.

“Lance,” Keith says slowly, breath hitting his own lips warmly as he speaks, “I want to adopt.”

The sob that leaves Lance’s lips does nothing to dim the smile that spreads through them. It’s like a sunrise, growing bigger and brighter as the sun climbs its way out from the depths of the ocean outside their window.

“You do,” Lance whispers, a small whimper leaving his mouth when Keith hums contently and presses his forehead against his own. “ You do. ”

“With you?” Keith asks softly as he cups his husband’s cheek and smiles against his wet lips. “I want everything, love.”

Chapter Text

It's simple. Golden. Thin. Gorgeous.

Beautiful. Stunning. Breathtaking.

Lance doesn't know when he stops trying to describe the ring presented to him and instead starts describing the man currently on one knee before him.

"Yes!" he shouts. Smile too big, dimples so deep.

Keith blinks. "I– I didn't finish the question."

"Oh, shit, sorry," Lance hastily says, flapping his hands to the side and bouncing on his spot before he nods. "Okay, go."

Keith snorts but does as told. "Lance, will you–"

"Yes!"

"Babe!"

"Shit! Sorry! Last try!"

"Oh my God," Keith laughs under his breath and his eyes are twinkling with such love. Such passion and adoration.

Lance's squealing grows louder as Keith starts from the beginning.

"Lance, love of my life, will you– don't," Keith warns him quickly when he sees the intention in his boyfriend's eyes. "Conceal."

Lances slams his hands over his mouth before he nods determinedly.

“Okay, go,” he says, words muffled behind his hands.

"Will you marry– Lance, no –" 

"I'm trying!" 

"Five seconds!" 

"Too long!"

"Lance, will you marry–" 

"Yes!"

"Me – fuck! "

Lance giggles against his hand as he drops to the floor next to his boyfriend– unofficial fiance, he guesses it's the right title now.

"This is going to take a while," Keith sighs but his breath is warm against Lance's cheek as he leans close and drops a kiss on it.

"That's okay," Lance hums, closing his eyes for a moment as he leans to the touch. "The answer won't change.”

Chapter Text

Keith picks up a sock. Tiny, green, with dinosaur-like teeth where the toes are meant for, and he knows just by looking at it that he won't be finding its pair on the pile of laundry in front of him for some reason.

He puts it to the side before he picks up a shirt and starts folding it, humming and nodding as he listens to his husband ramble next to him.

Lance sits at the edge of the bed while Keith stands. He's talking animatedly as they fold their laundry, sometimes cutting himself off only to coo at whenever he picks up from Lilian or Rey.

This time, Lance cooing at the lion onesie their daughter insists to use everyday for kindergarten. It’s been a total of a month and three days.

“Miss Lauren said she started a mini-revolution,” Lance tells him, chuckling to himself as meets his husband’s eyes. “Says that at least half her class has been arriving with onsies for a week now.”

“That’s my girl,” Keith says proudly, making Lance roll his eyes with a smile.

"Remember when Rey wouldn't go to kindergarten unless he had his flower crown?" Lance asks, gaze softening at the memory as he folds the onsie and puts it on the side.

Keith snorts, humming both proudly and fondly because of the memory and because he managed to pair up some socks just now. 

"I do, yeah," Keith says, a smile growing as he recalls details. “I also remember him giving said flower crown to Camilla when he saw ‘she was sad’, his words.”

Lance hums, a small sigh leaving his mouth as he looks back at Keith and whispers  fondly, “Those are our kids.”

“They are, yeah,” Keith says softly as he leans down and presses his lips against his husband’s hairline. “Wonderful, beautiful, and kind– just like their papa.”

“Brave, golden-hearted, and fierce,” Lance adds quietly, tilting his head back just enough to catch Keith’s lips in a brief chaste kiss. “Just like their dad.”

“Hm,” Keith says, closing his eyes for a moment and just enjoying the heat for just being near Lance before he hears it–

“Daddy!” their youngest shouts outside their door, down the hallway, as hurried short footsteps quickly grow louder. “Daddy, I can’t find dino!”

Keith blinks, throws a quick glance towards the sock he had put to the side before he beams and reaches for it.

“I found him, sweetheart,” Keith says, throwing Lance a quick smile and a ‘be back soon’ before he leaves the room, meeting with their daughter halfway down the hall.

Lance stares fondly at the spot Keith disappeared before he sighs like the lovestruck teenager he feels-like whenever love overwhelms him and happiness clouds his head.

“And that’s my husband right there.”

Chapter Text

Lance is in the middle of encouraging his eighteen-years-old son to talk to the young lady he has been sharing shy glances with since they arrived when the music starts and his husband's voice makes him freeze.

"Where’s Lilian's partner?"

What.

Lance snaps his head back to the school courtyard, his daughter's entire class covering it as they hold one another in pairs, taking their respective places.

Except for his daughter.

"What the heck?" Lance whispers in confusion, eyebrows furrowed when no one comes to stand next to his little girl and the dance starts. "What? They can't start, she's alone!"

"Uh, I think her assigned partner didn't come to the festival." Rey mumbles with a grimace as he crosses his arms over his chest. "Little bugger."

"Name." Keith deadpans, eyes narrowing themselves ready to hunt the kid down.

Lance’s quick to push his husband's hand away from his Marmora blade. "Middle school."

Keith scoffs. "They can't just throw her alone there!"

"Don't worry," Lance says, eyes locking themselves with his daughter's hazel ones when she looks their way. “I’m on it.”

While his daughter is a champion who needs no partner to dance the entire song alone and look graceful while doing so, Lance still steps forward.

He can only throw her a grin when Lilian's eyes widen in realization, knowing him a little too well.

“M’lady.” Lance greets brightly by the time he reaches his daughter, chuckling warmly when the twelve-year-old groans when he takes her hand.

"Papa." She groans but she's unable to keep her smile at bay. "What are you doing?"

"Dancing with my princess, what else?" Lance answers, easily following the dance the kids had put up together. And then ditching it. "Now twirl!"

That earns him a giggle that quickly turns into a full blown laugh when he dips her.

"Papa, that's not part of the dance!"

"Well, now it is!"

Keith records the entire thing.

Chapter Text

Lance wakes up and immediately knows it’s Sunday.

Because there’s humming near him that echoes down the chest his head is resting on. There’s a heartbeat too, strong and at ease that rings loud inside Lance until his own heart mirrors its pace eagerly.

It’s Sunday and Lance’s falling in love all over again.

And again. And again.

“Good morning.” Keith mumbles quietly after a few minutes in silence, knowing Lance well enough to know the brunet likes to soak in the morning bliss, no matter the day. “Want some coffee?”

Lance hums before he sighs contently when Keith sneaks his arm over his shoulders just to settle his hand on the back of his head, cradling him closer.

Lance’s gone and done for when Keith sinks his fingers through his hair and starts massaging his scalp, making him melt underneath the touch in seconds.

“I want to marry you.” Lance confesses, words leaving him like a breath as he closes his eyes, sleep slowly claiming him back. “Marry me.”

Keith chuckles, soft and fondly, making his chest rumble against Lance’s cheek. Lance doesn't move in the least.

“We are married, Lance.” His husband reminds him kindly and Lance can so easily picture the smile on his lips– playful, amused and so endearing– before there’s a hand cupping his jaw, tilting his head back.

He catches a pair of dark blue eyes. He catches the sunrise streaming from their window in them.

Lance catches the love in them.

“Marry me again.” Lance replies, a dopey smile growing on his lips when Keith laughs. “Please, please, with a cherry on top?”

“I don’t like cherries.” Keith teases, his grin playful as he leans down to brush his nose against Lance’s.

The brunet snickers under his breath before he shifts, pulling himself up enough to drop a kiss on the corner of his husband’s mouth.

“With me on top?” Lance offers, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Sunrise is no longer seen in those dark eyes and suddenly Lance’s is left in space, out there in the open with no breath.

But then Keith dives, gives Lance what he needs – breath, love, hope– and the rest of the morning runs its course.

Chapter Text

It took Keith exactly two seconds to recognize the song.

And still he was too late to dodge his husband.

“Lance, no.” Keith whines as soon as strong warm hands grip his own and pulls him further inside the apartment, barely letting him drop his briefcase. “ Lance .”

His whining falls in deaf ears.

“Ba de ya, say do you remember,” his husband keeps singing loudly, voice bouncing against their living room’s wall as he keeps dragging Keith. “Ba de ya, dancing in September.”

“Noo, don’t make me.” Keith groans, throwing his head back but doing little to stop Lance. “I refuse.”

And now he has hands on his hips.

“Lance!” Keith shrieks, a breathless laugh leaving his lips as his husband starts moving Keith’s hips with his hands at the music’s rhythm. “Noo, stoop.”

“Never was a cloudy day.” Lance sings in his ear, dropping a wet and loud kiss on the shell before he pulls back with a gleeful laugh when Keith yelps in disgust. “Come on, babe! You know what’s next!”

Keith laughs, stepping out of his husband’s grip but letting him hold his hand to keep him near. “Nope, no way!”

“Come on!” Lance shouts, overdramatizing his pout as he continues to dance on the spot to the music. “Ba duda, ba duda, ba duda, badu!”

Keith snorts, throwing his head back as he shakes his laughter at his husband’s tactics. And just like that– all the dull and boring meetings from the day, all the disagreements and stubbornness to cooperate from third parties.

His stress, his anger–

“Ba duda, ba duda, ba duda, badu!”

They disappear.

“Ba de ya, say do you remember!” Keith sings, at the top of his lungs as he shrugs off his blazer and kicks his shoes off, grinning proudly at the happy ‘whoop’ his husband shouts at the action. “Ba de ya, dancing in September!”

“Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day– woah!!” Lance yelps in surprise as Keith pulls him close with a hard tug, making him slide down their wooden floor until he lands on his chest. “Woah, well– hello sunshine!”

And Keith laughs. Because he’s happy, in love, and grateful.

They dance until their feet hurt and the moon is high in the sky.

Chapter Text

"Ah!"

Keith blinks. Slowly. Because maybe he's dreaming. Or well, having a nightmare.

Because there's no way, right? No way that his boyfriend of four years and the man Keith calls the love of his life just smacked his engagement ring out of his hand.

Right?

Then Lance shrieks. Loudly. Once again.

And this time Keith is not holding anything anymore to be smacked out of his hand.

So instead, it seems, Lance throws himself off the bridge as a solution.

"Lance!" Keith shouts, scrambling up to his feet from the floor as he tries to reach the back of his boyfriend's shirt.

But he's too late. Lance literally slips from his fingers and then all he hears is a splash of water.

It’s a small bridge, above a semi-deep pond, but Keith still looks over the rail in worry, right foot already prepped to vault himself over and follow his idiot.

Then, Lance's head pops out of the water.

"It's okay!" he shouts, rubbing his eyes as he floats and turns his head around, looking with one eye. "It's okay! I will find it! Just– stay there!"

"Why did you smack it in the first place!?" Keith asks, voice cracking in both exasperation and nerves.

"I panicked!" Lance shouts, throwing his arms up and making the water follow. "I don't know! The man I love was suddenly proposing; what was I supposed to do!?"

"Say yes!?" Keith shouts back. Please, say yes.

"I will!" Lance huffs, as if offended it wasn’t obvious, his eyebrows furrowed but cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Of course I will say yes, you dumb mullet!"

Keith blinks. Then his lips curve themselves into a smile 

"When I find the ring!"

Keith drops the smile.

"Oh, for fuck’s–" Keith groans, bending down to press his forehead against the cold metal of the rail before he sighs. "Move!"

"What?" Lance asks, distracted, head lowered as he scans the underwater ground around him.

Keith rolls his eyes. "I said move!"

Lance scoffs, head turning back to face Keith before his eyes widen in realization. "Keith, no, wait–!"

He misses whatever his boyfriend wanted to say as soon as he dives in, water rushing through Keith's ears for a few seconds before he pushes himself to break through the surface.

With his vision momentarily black, Keith’s solution is  to shake his head like Kosmo does after a bath, hoping his hair won’t end up as puffy as his wolf’s fur always does.

"Keith, you heathen, stop!"

The touch of cold but gentle hands on his face makes him pause, one of them on his jaw and while the other one cups his cheek.

A second passes before the hand on his jaw moves and pushes his wet bangs away from his eyes, letting him see the reason behind his proposal.

And it's love. Pure, raw love and affection shown in Lance's eyes. Lance's smile. Lance's dimple and small wrinkles on the corner of his eyes from smiling too much.

Lance, Lance, Lance –

"God, what am I gonna do with you?" Lance chuckles softly, hand sliding down to cup his other cheek and bringing him close.

Keith hums, letting himself be guided until his forehead presses itself against his boyfriend's. "Marry me, maybe?"

"The ring–"

"I will buy you a hundred rings, Lance, I swear." Keith chuckles, brushing his nose against Lance's playfully. "If they are all that it takes for you to say yes, I swear I will."

"Nah." Lance whispers softly as he shakes his head and his thumb strokes wet pale skin. "All I need is you."

Keith hums as he smiles widely. "Thank God."

"I just didn't want you to be like all 'oh yeah, your papa rejected me so hard, I tell you, I fought a war and yet your papa broke my heart, kids, so that's why I should be your favorite' , in the future, ya know?"

There’s a lot to unwrap in that sentence but Keith’s stomach flips in the best way at the words, his brain replaying one of them like a broken record.

 "Kids, huh?"

Lance nods. No hesitation whatsoever. So sure of himself; of them, and their future.

"Someday," Lance says, smiling shyly. "No rush, and we can always talk it out, I just– I want everything with you. You are my future, always have been."

"That sounds oddly like a 'yes' to my first question before we ended up in this pond." Keith hums innocently, heart easing with affection when Lance laughs.

"Because it is." Lance mumbles as he leans closer, chest pressed against Keith's as he brushes their lips together. "Always has been."

The deal is not sealed with a ring or with the kiss they share.

But it is with the string of wet grass Keith finds on the edge of the pond, wrapping it around Lance’s ring finger.

Lance shows it off proudly for the rest of the day.

Chapter Text

There's a knock on his door, loud enough to perk Lance's curiosity and he’s standing up from his chair before he even acknowledges it.

When he opens the door, there he is.

"I was wrong," Keith says as soon as their eyes lock, black hair disheveled and Blade's uniform askew as his chest heaves for air,  "It is you – Lance, it has always been you. "

And aren't those the words Lance had dreamt about for years now.

"What do you mean?" Lance still asks, heart beating loud in his ears and knuckles turn white as the grip on his doorknob tightens. “Keith…”

Keith wets his lips and Lance's falling.

"I believe he's calling you the love of his life." Ryan chimes in from inside the apartment behind Lance, popping himself out of the door frame and coming into view. "And he has been, for the lack of words, pining for you for years too.”

Oh, yeah. Kinkade was here.

Both Lance and Keith stare at him, only blinking when the dark-skinned man flashes them a thumbs up and leaves their view once more.

Keith shifts on his feet. "Oh, I - I'm sorry, you're on a date..."

"No, no, it's - fine, it's fine." Lance reassures quickly, voice faint as he shakes his head. "Go, go on? Please?"

Keith swallows thickly, his Adam's apple wobbling nervously. "Lance, if you are still interested, I would – I would love to take you out for a date."

There's a small pause and then, "A romantic one. With me. And you. Alone. On a romantic date."

Lances unable to keep his heart at bay.

"I would love that too." Lance whispers, biting down his lower lip to keep his grin at bay when Keith blinks in surprise. "Keith, I - I would love to."

Keith exhales slowly before a small but happy laugh leaves him.

"Awesome," Keith says as the sun rises inside his eyes.

Lance hums contently, leaning against the door in a daze. "Amazing."

"Fantastic."

"Magnific!" 

"Incredible!!" 

"Kiss him already, Kogane!" Ryan shouts behind the door and Keith does.

He reaches and pulls Lance close, thumb stroking his hip as he tilts his head, brushes his nose against Lance's and then –

"Can I?" he asks, words hitting Lance's lips like a promise.

But Lance’s the one who fulfills it. He closes the remaining space between them and kisses the lights out of this ridiculous man.

He swallows the gasp Keith does at the first touch and the smile that grows on his lips as their lips dance.

Every move, every groan, and every sigh. Lance gets drunk on them all. 

He gets drunk on Keith.

"Wow." Keith whispers as they pull back, breath hitting Lance's wet lips and Lance's barely able to hold himself back from kissing him again and again and –

"I, uh, I will let you get back to your date, now."

"Keith!" Lance laughs incredulously, grin bright and wide as he tugs the man he loves back into his apartment. "Come here, you gay disaster!"

And then Lance gets drunk on the laugh that leaves Keith's lips as he kisses him over and over again –

“I will take that hand on that ass as my cue to go.” Ryan whistles as he sneaks out of the door and slips past them. “Bye, Lance, thanks for dinner. I’ll tell you how it goes with James later!”

Lance waves a hand at him idly behind Keith’s shoulder, eyes never opening as Keith licks his lips and pushes his tongue inside his mouth.

“Do I close the door, or…?”

Lance breaks into a fit of giggles when Keith shuts the door close with his foot.

Chapter Text

It’s the four knocks with the odd rhythm that tells him who exactly is the person behind the door.

Keith stands up from the floor, heart still heavy with grief as he makes his way over. He doesn’t even bother to wipe away the dry tear tracks on his cheeks. 

There’s no reason to hide them from his boyfriend.

But the sight that greets him once he opens his door is one he didn’t expect.

Two strong brown hands hold tight a small kitten in the air, the rest of the body hidden away somewhere behind the doorframe of his apartment. 

Keith blinks; once, twice, thrice just to make sure but the kitten is still there, big green eyes staring up at him innocently and instantly melting his heart when it meows at him.

Then, familiar lyrics arrive. 

“Here comes the sun, doo doo doo,” Lance sings, still hiding behind the wall, his hands moving slowly to the side with all and kitten to make it seem as if it was the small animal singing instead. 

“Here comes the sun, and I say: It's all right.”

Keith tries to swallow but the hard rock lump in his throat makes it difficult. He still smiles, though, shaky and wet but the first genuine smile since yesterday’s afternoon.

“Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter.” His boyfriend continues to sing, pausing a little to adjust his hold on the kitten in his hands before he continues, “Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here.”

“You don’t even have background music, you dork.” Keith croaks out, voice raspy and tired but still smiling fondly when a head finally pops out from the doorframe.

“Isn’t my voice music enough for you?” Lance jokes, smiling softly when Keith lets out a small wet giggle.

“Wanna tell me who this lil’ guy is?” Keith asks quietly, leaning down slightly to meet the kitten’s eyes now that Lance has brought him down to his chest.

“This is Merlin,” Lane answers equally quiet, thumb stroking the kitten’s head gently after he rearranges his hold on him. “Luis found him a few days back, hence the reason why he comes with a name; Sylvio named him and Nadia threw a tantrum, even when Luis told them they wouldn’t keep him.”

“Were they disappointed?” Keith questions, the back of his finger stroking the kitten’s chest gently.

Lance shrugs. “They were, until I told them I knew who could give him a home.”

“You adopted him?” Keith blinks in surprise, a small concern frown on his lips as he thinks of the strict rules about pets in his boyfriend’s building.

“Weell,” Lance drags out, a small embarrassed hissing sound leaving his lips as he ducks his head.

It makes Keith tilt his head to the side in confusion. 

“I, uh, I was kind of talking about you. I mean! I was just thinking you might want to...meet him? I mean, I don’t - I don’t mean to replace Mar - you know what? I acted on impulse, I should’ve asked or - I’m sorry, this was a bad idea.”

“Hey,” Keith cuts off quickly, offering a small smile when Lance meets his eyes. “Let me hold him?”

Lance blinks before he smiles back and carefully passes the small kitten to his boyfriend, gaze softening as Keith cradles Merlin with misty eyes.

“Hey there,” Keith whispers softly, choking a laugh when Merlin paws his nose in approval. 

He bounces it a little as he takes a few steps back, letting Lance to step all the way inside his apartment and close the door behind him.

“I’m sorry about Marmora,” Lance says softly then, stepping closer to press his lips against Keith’s temple. “I know how long she had been in your family, how much she meant to you too.”

“She was old,” Keith sighs, waving away the apology gently before tucking his head under Lance’s chin, melting under his boyfriend's warmth. 

“She lived longer than anyone expected; that’s how awesome she was.”

Lance hums in agreement. “She was indeed one awesome cat.”

“Thank you, Lance,” Keith chokes out, hiding himself in his boyfriend’s neck, being mindful of the small kitten in between them. “I just - thank you .”

Lance kisses the top of his head before he starts to hum, lyrics not needed to recognize the melody as Keith's tears slowly soak his shirt.

“You’re welcome, amor.”

Chapter Text

There’s not even a chance for the wail to make an echo around the house before Keith's running towards the source.

His husband beats him to it, though.

“ Mi cielo, que paso? ” Lance coos softly to their daughter as he carefully gathers her in his arms, choking a little when the toddler's arms wrap themselves around his neck a little too tightly.

“Lilian, baby, tell papa where’s the boo-boo?”

Keith steps closer as his husband continues to comfort their daughter with soft coos, soothing her cries while rubbing small circles on her small back.

“Hey.” Keith calls quietly as a greeting, knowing Lance hears him just right despite the loud wailing from their daughter. “Found anything?”

“Hm, just the new Everest mountain.” Lance replies with a small snort, turning to the side so their daughter's face is half visible for Keith to see as she continues to cry against his neck. 

"She's fine." Lance chuckles softly, bouncing Lilian gently in his arms. “It’s just a bump.”

Keith hums as his eyes fall on the red spot on his daughter's hairline, slightly popped out. 

“Oh, sweetheart.”

Lilian makes a whining noise, as if slowly becoming more annoyed for getting the damn bump in the first place than the pain she feels. 

It makes Keith snort behind his hand, not wanting to dismiss his daughter's feelings. Sure, she's two-years-old and won’t know but still .

"I will get the things," Keith says softly, hand running through his daughter's short hair once before he kisses her wet cheek. "You're my brave girl."

After a quick trip to the bathroom, Keith finds Lance in their bedroom with their daughter laying next to him on the bed.

Her cheeks are dried, her snot is cleaned, and her sniffles have quieted down. But she's still pouting, and that won't do for Keith.

"Let's get you fixed up, sweetheart," Keith says with a small chuckle, his smile turning fond when his daughter immediately tries to reach for him as soon as she sees him.

Keith doesn't need to look to know Lance's watching them with a lovestruck smile. Keith knows it's there because he's wearing one of his own.

And because Lance's soft 'I'm smiling super dopey right now' is a tattle-tale on its own.

Keith limits himself to roll his eyes, the smile on his lips frozen.

By the time the ointment is applied carefully on his daughter's forehead, Keith puts it aside to join his family properly on the bed.

In the end, Lilian stays sandwiched between him and Lance. Safe, protected, and still pouting .

"I think the ointment wasn't enough." Lance murmurs quietly, wiggling his eyebrow at Keith playfully.

Keith laughs, easily catching on with his husband's plan. "On three?" 

Lance grins. "On two."

"On one!" 

Their shout barely bounces against their walls before they dive down and ambush their daughter with quick chaste kisses all over her face.

It doesn't take long before giggles and squeals fill Keith's ears and his heart soars .

"There's my brave girl." Keith whispers fondly as he brushes his nose against his daughter's temple, chest growing warm. 

"Our brave girl," Lance says playfully, dropping one last kiss on their daughter's chubby cheek.

The love Keith feels for these two would be enough to keep his heart soaring for endless lifetimes.

But instead, he makes it land home here with them.

All Keith will ever need is this lifetime.

Chapter Text

So.

Keith fought a war, right? That’s an actual thing that he did, right?

Right. He fought a ten-thousand-years-old intergalactic war. He also turned out to be half-alien.

He has seen the infinity of space itself. He has seen countless planets. Unlimited galaxies. An endless ocean of stars that goes for miles, and miles, and miles and –

Well, endless. That’s why he added the ‘endless’ part at the beginning.

Whatever. Moving on.

Point being: Keith has had his fair share of adventures. Of wild shenanigans up there in space. Heck, he even got to live on the back of a space whale for two years with his mom.

And he got a cosmic puppy out of that shenanigan.

See? Fair share.

That’s why Keith believes it’s safe to say, now that he is back on Earth and years later after the war, that he has seen all that's out there .

Or, well, at least most of it. A lot of it? A lot of it sounds about right, right?

Right.

Except, uh, not right.  

Leave it to Lance McClain to prove Keith and his beliefs wrong .

Keith clears his throat, suddenly dry. “What?” he croaks out like a fifteen-years-old hormonal teen instead of a twenty-five-years-old hormonal man . There’s a difference. “W-what?”

And no, he did not stutter. It’s his fifteen-years-old-self crawling to the surface to embarrass him from all those times Keith didn’t let him. Karma and fifteen-years-old-Keith are bitches.

Lance huffs at his question, hanging his head back in exasperation. Even from where Keith stands on the ground, he can see the corner of his mouth moving, as if talking to the cloudless sky above them.

Should...should Keith look up to? Would that help him understand what the fuck just –

“I said ,” Lance starts shouting, unknowingly cutting Keith’s train of thought short – again –, from where he stands on the barn’s rooftop. Kaltenecker moos at Lance in annoyance – again – from the inside of the barn.

They both ignore her. Again.

“I said that I have feelings for you, you frozen 2004 emo fringe!” Lance starts over, flapping his arms in the air while his voice just grows louder and even more high-pitched with every word that leaves his mouth.

Keith’s low-key worried he’s going to break a vocal cord.

And for a moment, Keith thinks Lance’s still shouting at him the same words from above but he isn’t. The words are just bouncing inside his head like a broken record and they grow louder, louder, louder –

But Lance grows even louder.  

“And it’s about time you acknowledge them!!” Lance finishes off with a huff, hands finally landing on his hips as he glares down at Keith. With a pout on his lips.

Cute. But instead he chokes out, “Y-yes, sir.” 

Wow, nice one, fifteen-years-old Keith, you useless sack of memorized Fall Out Boys singles.

“What¡?” Lance shouts, nose scrunches as he leans forward and puts both hands on his tights, as if that would help him hear better. “I can’t hear you, man, speak up! But I swear, if you say something like ‘I didn’t have a fringe, Lance’ , I will –!”

“I said!” Keith cuts him off loudly, eyebrows furrowed in embarrassment as he feels his face heat up the moment he lifts his face and stares right back at Lance. “I said –”

No, you goddamn twenty-five-years-old fool , don’t bring out the kinks to the Bonding Moment 2.5. Jesus – fuck .

Keith clears his throat. “I said they are fully acknowledged,” he says, keeping his voice high enough for Lance to hear clearly. By the way he blinks and his frown disappears, Keith wants to believe he heard him.

Keith hesitates ever so slightly before he wets his lips and adds, “I uh, I also have feelings for you, so – so you better acknowledge them too!”

He finishes that thought with a huff. And a stomp of his foot on the ground.

Wow, he’s a mess.

But, hey, it’s Lance who squeaks a loud high pitched – seriously, his vocal cords – “Wha - really¡?”

Keith blinks, bewildered before he throws his arms in the air. This man.

“Yes, really!” Keith shouts, almost feeling offended that Lance thought he would lie about this . His pining side feels outraged. “Do I need to get up on a roof for my confession to be validated and approved¡?”

“What? No, don’t be ridiculous, Keith,” Lance scolds, eyebrows furrowed together in disapproval. "Why would you confess from a rooftop? That’s just stupid.”

Keith...Keith fought a war. He has...he has seen things goddamnit – but Lance McClain, this ridiculous, dramatic, incredible, selfless, lovable idiot will always, for the rest of his life, take his breath away.

In every good and bad way of the sense.

Keith’s so in love with this man and yet, “Then why are you doing it¡¡?” he shouts at him angrily, holding himself back from picking up the closest thing to him – Clarita the chicken – and throwing it at Lance.

Keith resigns himself to jumps a few times on his spot, to blow off some of his steam. He stomps the ground again too. For good measure.

“This is my escape route, you jumping ogre!” Lance defends himself, hands back again on his hips as he pushes himself back to stand straight. Still on the roof. “You know! In case you would say ‘Thank you, next’ at my confession!”

“You were going to jump from there if I quoted an Ariana Grande song¡?” Keith screams, eyes wide in horror. Mostly because of the fact Lance thinks so poorly of his music taste.

The jump thing? That would’ve been fine. As if Keith himself wouldn’t have thrown himself to catch Lance if he had done it.

Keith would catch him. Always. Whenever, wherever.

“What¡? No, you –! No!” Lance stumbles over his words, smacking the palm of his hand against his face, leaving a red angry mark on his skin. Ouch. But still handsome. “Hunk was going to pick me up on a pod here and I was going to grab on to it and be taken away like Mary Poppins!”

Keith blinks. Once, twice –

“Who¡?”

Lance makes a big cross with his arms, slapping them together where they connect as if to make an emphasis with it. “Doesn’t matter! This is just my escape route!”

“But you don’t need it? Because I didn’t quote Ariana!” Keith whines, his brain having a hard time to keep up with all these turns inside the same event. Is this what a life with Lance as a partner would be?

Because, fuck Keith , but wants it all. He wants Lance. Everyday of his life. Seven days a week.

“You would be lucky to know Ariana lyrics!”

Okay, six days a week. He rests on Wednesdays.

“Lance!” Keith groans, dragging his hands down his face in desperation. “I didn’t say ‘no’! I like you . So, why the quiznack are you still up there¡?”

For once, Lance doesn’t scream. He doesn’t yell, or shout, or even speak loud.

“I, uh, I honestly didn’t see this coming, like, you actually liking me back,” he confesses quietly – in a sense that is a normal volume of voice for most people expect for Lance – before he reaches the back of his neck and rubs it nervously, looking away from Keith for the first time.

God, Keith likes this man so much –

“And I also didn’t, uh, I didn’t plan a way down from here for any other event except you rejecting me so…”

God, Keith loves this man so quiznacking much.

Keith wants to cry. And laugh. Cry while laughing? Now, that would be interesting.

“Lance,” it’s what he settles with, a small laugh leaving his lips as a giddy feeling grows inside his stomach. He runs a hand through his hair before he lets go of a deep breath and says, “Okay, I’m coming up.”

“What!”

There’s his loud mouth.

“No, no! No, you don’t! Get your own rejection roof!”

Keith ignores him, stomping his way over to the side of the barn. 

“I’m coming up!”

“How the fu – !”

“Kosmo!”

“Quiznack! Why didn’t I think of Kosmo – wait, shit!”

It takes less than a second. Less than a heartbeat.

Keith reaches for Lance before Kosmo’s paws even hit the roof’s ground. He holds on tight, arms wrapped around Lance’s waist and he holds, and holds, and holds his entire hope –

“Lance,” Keith breathes out, burying his face in the brunet’s neck before he inhales deeply and steadies his own heartbeat. “Lance, acknowledge me .”

It takes more than a second.

“Please.”

But it takes less than a heartbeat for strong lean arms to wrap themselves over Keith’s back, pulling him closer and then Lance’s mop of hair tickles the side of his cheek in the most enchanting way possible.

And Keith holds, holds, holds on tight as the man in his arms shudders a breath against his skin, shaky and still scared.

Neither of them speak. They barely breathe.

But their hearts beat so loud against their chest that they meet in the middle, from where they are being pressed against the other so tightly and Keith’s enchanted .

Then, the enchantment ends and reality hits him in the form of a tickle when Lance moves his head and his hair brushes against his cheek.

His reality hits him in the form of warm lips pressing themselves against his temple, shy and yet bold. 

“Consider yourself acknowledged, Samurai.”

His reality is Lance. Entirely Lance.

Chapter Text

Listen, Lance just did it to see Keith smile. That’s all.

He would've been happy with that. Honest.

"Lance!"

And yet, he is rewarded in the sweetest ways he has ever experienced.

Lance's eyes stay wide open as heat spreads over his face.

It's barely a heartbeat after Keith pulls back but the burn of his lips stays on Lance's cheek.

“I can’t believe you did this!”

And, alright, while Keith's kiss had left him breathless for obvious reasons , it's the beaming smile sent his way that melts his heart.

"You're amazing, Lance!"

Lance needs to sit down.

"Lance!?"

Chapter Text

The house is quiet.

Quiet enough for Lance’s head to be filled with memories he has no time to dwell over and intrusive thoughts he has no energy to deal with.

Quiet enough to remind him why it’s so in the first place and where all of his family members are.

Lance sighs, right hand running down his face as he drops his gym bag on the house’s entrance and takes in the sight before him.

The house is also a mess. Understandably so, for it has been withholding their entire family for more than a week straight and no one has made time to clean the slowly growing messes all over it.

Lance understands; he’s aware of the messes that come when life sweeps you abruptly off your feet. It throws you out of balance. It steals your rhythm. 

Lance gets it because of what he felt when he witnessed with his own two eyes his dad collapsing in the middle of the corn field last week because of a heart attack.

He gets it because of the following days after the incident that had been filled with hospital visits, doctors appointments, making sure his mama ate, updating Veronica every five hours as she makes her way through the universe to come back home, babysitting Luis’s kids, checking their finances and what can be covered by their insurance.

A week filled with forced smiles on his own lips and saying comfort words he doesn’t believe himself.

Lance slumps against the wall, feeling exhausted and yet not yet falling. He doesn’t allow himself to break down, not now.

Sleep has hardly come to him, even before his dad’s incident. He tries not to think about it but the remaining echo of his fight with Keith still rings loud inside his head.

He remembers the words they have shouted at each other – out of anger, out of pain – but he doesn’t remember the reason behind it all. 

He doesn’t remember what had sparked the bonfire between them and what had been the gasoline that made it grow until they both got burnt.

The next day, Keith left for his BOM base in Daaibazal. Three days later, Lance almost lost his dad.

It’s, officially, the longest Lance has gone through without talking to Keith. It’s nothing to be proud of, though, because Lance would give anything to be able to do so.

But his com-device can’t reach him and Lance’s heart hurts because he needs Keith. He needs him because it feels like Lance’s barely breathing. 

He hasn’t been breathing this entire week and – 

And he’s tired. He’s tired and he just wants to let go and be held .

Lance groans, swallowing thickly around the lump in his throat before he pushes himself off the wall and steps deeper into the house.

He has no time to break down, not yet. He will do so once his dad comes home from the hospital, which will be sooner than expected. 

He will do so once his family is back and together they can balance their life rhythm individually but together.

He will do so once he can talk to Keith and apologize.

While blinking away the tears, Lance drags his gym bag – full of dirty laundry and some other stuff from the hospital – before he lets go of it once he reaches the living room.

For what it’s worth, it’s not that much of a mess but it’s unkempt. The entire house has been neglected for an entire week and Lance doesn’t even want to think about the animals on the farm and their fields.

He has been trying to balance their farm’s work with both Marco and Rachel but Lance’s the one who takes most of its tasks for he’s the one who has been running it for the last four years.

He knows he’s not sneaky. He knows most of his family knows what he’s doing and Lance’s aware he’s putting unnecessary pressure on his shoulders.

But standing still means he thinks and if he thinks, everything spirals out of control and Lance can not lose control, not yet.

He mumbles under his breath as he tries to come up with a gameplan on how to get most of the house clean and check on the animals inside the farm, hopefully, before midnight.

His train of thought is too fast for his feet to catch up but he still makes his way towards the kitchen, aiming to reach the laundry room and get some of that done so he can start with the rooms and get clean sheets on them all.

And he would have reached the room in no time, if it hadn’t been for the sudden noise that echoes loud around him.

If it hadn't been for Keith, filling the silence his family’s home had fallen with.

Lance stops abruptly, eyes wide as he takes in the backside of his boyfriend from where he stands over the kitchen sink, a low tune leaving him as he washes the mountain of dishes there.

And Lance’s a heartbeat away from calling his name but Keith ‘s shoulders straighten up and his humming ceases, and Lance’s so so glad because he doesn’t think he can choke out a word without bursting into tears.

But he’s still close to do so when Keith finally turns to face him.

“Hey.” Keith breathes out softly, eyes wide and surprised, as if he hadn’t been expecting to find Lance in his own family home. 

“Um, I didn’t - I’m sorry I barged in but I meet Veronica on our way back to Earth on the Garrison station yesterday and she said the farm wasn’t being entirely look out so I - I wanted to come and check in everything was in order so you and your family could focus on your dad.”

Lance’s heart beats loud inside his chest but he pays it no mind. Instead, he takes a step closer to Keith, slowly as if he’s afraid he’s just an illusion from the lack of sleep he has been through.

But Keith isn’t. And he keeps talking, proving Lance’s imagination wrong.

“All the animals are okay; I made sure to give them both dinner and breakfast since yesterday,” Keith continues, putting the wet cloth on his hands on the sink’s edge. 

“Oh, and Kosmo is also watching over them, making rounds to make sure everything is in order. Ah and I did some laundry; I started with the bed sheets and I think they are about done and –"

Lance makes a sound, and Keith stops immediately, gaze worried and concerned.

"Lance? Sweetheart?”

Lance shakes his head, biting down hard on his lower lip as the tears finally run down his cheek freely.

But he can’t break down, not yet. He can’t, he can’t–

“Hey.” Keith calls softly and Lance snaps his eyes open, not knowing when he had closed them. “Hey, it’s going to be okay.”

Lance shakes his head, before he stops and then nods, staring at the floor and catching every step Keith's feet takes until he's an arm reach away. 

Lance doesn't know what to do with himself but this time, his body moves faster than his mind and Lance doesn’t care about the whimper that escapes him the moment he buries his face in his boyfriend’s neck, sobbing out in relief the moment Keith wraps his arms around his wait and hugs him tighter.

“It’s going to be okay.” Keith repeats quietly, rocking them from side to side as he strokes Lance’s back in slow and soothing circles. 

He hushes Lance’s attempts of apologies with a kiss on his temple. “It’s okay; don’t think about that right now, Lance. Just – let go, I’m here.”

For seven days, Lance has been telling himself that he can’t allow himself to break down. It has been a daily reminder for him, a harsh one that has been burning him from the inside and out since day one.

But all it takes it’s for Keith to tell him so and everything comes crumbling down.

Because Lance knows he will be caught as he falls to the floor in tears. He will be comforted and kissed until his tears dry. He will be loved and held until he can get back to his feet.

“Thank you.”

Keith hums, lips pressed on top of Lance’s hair as his humming comes back and the house is no longer quiet.

Chapter Text

“You can be a hard guy to find when you want, did you know that?”

Lance recognizes the voice instantly and yet he still throws his head back, if only to get an excuse to stare at Keith as he makes his way down to join him for a little longer than he's allowed to.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite mullet!” Lance coos from his spot by the edge of the pier, cackling when Keith kicks him on his right thigh once he reaches his side. “Ah, jeez, alright! I yield!”

“Heck yeah.” Keith celebrates briefly under his breath with a proud grin, making Lance snort with a roll of his eyes. He pats the empty spot next to him, a silent invitation.

“Watching the sunset?” Keith asks once he sits, nodding towards the sun that slowly sinks into the ocean.

Lance nods. “When you miss it once, suddenly you can’t get enough of it.” He confesses quietly, a fond look on his eyes before he turns to meet Keith with a crooked grin. “Feels oddly familiar, right? You, me, and the sunset?”

“We’re just missing a big mechanical lion.” Keith mumbles, a small laugh leaving his lips as he pulls one knee close to his chest.

Lance hums, kicking his leg in the air from where they dangle on the edge. 

“That and the love problems.” He chuckles, rolling his eyes at the memory. “God, I still can’t believe I wore a bucket.”

“You looked really handsome.” Keith comforts as a mock, patting Lance on the back and laughing when the brunet shoves him by the shoulder.

“Shut up!” Lance yelps, a dark flush growing on his cheeks, which only makes Keith laugh harder. “This might as well be a deja-vu, ya know? But maybe now it’s your turn to have embarrassing love problems.”

Keith snorts, rolling his eyes at the suggestion. “I don’t have love problems, Lance.”

“ I don’t have love problems, Lance. ” Lance mocks, making a face as he echoes Keith’s words and uses his hand as a puppet. He yelps when Keith flicks him on the cheek. “Ow, rude , and everyone has love problems, man.”

“I don’t,” Keith says confidently, shrugging with one shoulder when Lance purses his lips at him. “I mean, I don’t see it as a problem , it’s just – it is what it is.”

Lance blinks, all the teasing being thrown to the ocean as soon as he carefully takes in his friend’s expression.

Keith doesn’t look troubled. Or sad. He looks resigned and tired, as if he had given his all and yet the battle had been lost since the start.

“Hey man.” Lance calls softly, offering a small smile and a nudge on the shoulder meant to encourage. “Whatever it is, problem or not, I’m here for you. You know that, right?”

Keith blinks. Slowly until his eyes stay wide open, as if waiting for Lance to take it back. As if the option of venting to someone had never crossed his mind.

Classic Keith.

“I mean , it’s honestly nothing.” Keith tries to brush it off, clearing his throat as he looks away. “It’s dumb.”

See, Lance’s heart breaks at the words, because: one, Keith has no business to ever feel like he doesn’t deserve the world and two, one of his deepest fears came true.

And maybe, now that Lance thinks about it, they came true a while ago and he just didn’t want to admit it. Maybe it’s been months, years, since then and Lance chose to ignore it, if just to save his heart from the inevitable heartbreak.

Maybe Lance once had a chance to prevent them from even happening.

“Ah, you’re in love.”

But it doesn’t really matter now.

Keith grunts, dropping his forehead on top of his pulled up knee in a weak attempt to hide himself and honestly, he doesn’t deny or agree with Lance’s conclusion.

But, damn it, Lance doesn’t have an imaginary degree on Keith Akira Kogane Brooding Language for nothing.

“Alright, mullet,” Lance says, clapping his hands to catch his friend’s attention. “Out with it! Sunset Bonding Moment 2.0 is on session. Spill, child, spill!”

“Oh, God.” Keith groans, hiding further down on his knee as Lance continues to lower his voice until he sounds like an old man, demanding for a confession.

But Keith’s smiling, peeking through his bangs to watch his theatrics with a small smile until he can’t take it anymore and finally he gives in.

“Okay, fine, so maybe I’m in love…”

Once, when he was around seven years old, Lance crashed against the group of cactuses his abuela used to have in her backyard with his bicycle.

The sting of all the needle-like stabs he had endured is nothing compared to the one he goes through as he listens to Keith talk about the person he loves.

And there’s no name, Keith cuts himself off whenever it seems it’s about to leave his lips, cheeks growing redder before saying something else to cover himself up.

But Lance has clues, small little things; it’s human male, Keith has known him for years now, fought in the Empire war with them, and Lance has the faint suspicion that he currently works at the Garrison.

“It just came out of nowhere, you know?” Keith continues, looking genuinely bewildered as talks and recalls everything . It’s like he can’t stop talking now that the dam has broken and Lance would laugh if it wasn’t for the lump in his throat. 

“I mean, it wasn’t something that happened from one day to another, of course. I think it was the realization that it even happened in the first place that hit me hard.”

Lance hums, nodding along. “Like when you start eating your least favorite snack because there’s nothing else to eat but you slowly start liking it and one day you’re buying it deliberately?”

Keith blinks, opens his mouth to reply and then thinks it over. “Huh, actually yeah, like that.”

Lance snorts. “Sounds like you two have been through a journey together without knowing.”

“You could say that.” Keith whispers with a small sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck embarrassed.

Lance's gaze softens as he watches. Despite the heavy knot on his stomach, Lance can't be anything but grateful that there’s someone out there who’s lucky enough to be loved by Keith Akira Kogane.

Lance prays that they are worth it. He hopes they are worth Keith’s love.

“Sounds like you’ve got it good , man.” Lance whispers, offering a bright smile despite himself when Keith’s shy eyes meet his own. “That doesn’t come by easily, believe me.”

Keith’s eyes turn sad on their edge, smile turning bittersweet and Lance knows he must be thinking that he was talking about Allura.

Lance isn’t. Allura carries, and always will, a piece of his heart with her wherever she may be in the universe just like Lance will always carry her hope for life in his marks.

But his mama has always told him his heart is bigger than he thought, and Lance never knew how true that was until the war ended and his heart kept on beating for two people when he had been so sure he would have no beat at all.

It didn’t take Lance long to realize the second heartbeat was for Keith and him only.

“You said he doesn’t know, right?” Lance asks, humming when Keith nods his head. “Why not?”

Keith sighs, a small resigned smile on his lips as he pulls his knee up and hugs it close.

“At this point, I don’t know.” Keith confesses quietly, eyebrows knitted together. “I guess I’m just scared I will drive him away and I can’t…”

Keith bites down his lower lip in hesitation before he sighs and lets it go. “I can’t lose him. I have lost so many people, Lance, I can’t lose him – not him.”

‘Oh, Keith.’ Lance thinks, heart breaking for his friend before he reaches out to clasp his shoulder, squeezing it until Keith’s eyes are on him once more.

“I think…” Lance starts slowly, swallowing down his own feelings for his friend’s sake. “I think love is always worth taking a shot in the dark.”

“And if I miss?” Keith questions softly right after, eyes wide and vulnerable. Lance’s heart clenches as his hold on Keith’s shoulder tightens.

“Then I will light your way back home.” He whispers, words full of conviction as he smiles. “I’ve got your back, Keith.”

“I know.” Keith mumbles, eyes never looking away from Lance. “I know you do.”

And Lance? Well, he’s just glad he’s not standing because he would be on the floor by now because of the soft smile Keith sends his way.

“Thank you, Lance.”

“Anytime.” Lance nods and because he feels it’s not enough, he adds, “Just let me know if he turns into an asshole; I might not know who he is but I will kick his butt into the next galaxy if he does you wrong, buddy.”

“Oh? Defending my honor, I see?” Keith teases, laughing when Lance puffs his chest with a proud grin.

“Are you kidding? Of course! Nobody disses my best friend on my watch!” Lance says, clicking his tongue in disapproval. “Doesn’t matter he might be your next boo .”

Keith snorts as he shakes his head. “Wow, and to think he used to call me his rival .”

Lance laughs with him, mouth ready to add his own two cents, when the words sink in properly inside his head and Earth stops moving.

It stops moving at the same time Keith’s breath hitches, eyes widening in realization as the silence drags on until they eventually meet Lance’s.

And Keith looks so scared. Like Lance has figured him out. Like Lance will shame him for the person he chose to love.

Lance feels a little sick at the thought.

“Keith,” Lance says slowly, staying still because his friend looks like he’s a breath away from bolting and Lance needs to keep him near. Please. “Hey, it’s alright – ”

“I didn’t mean to say that.” Keith breathes out in shock, swallowing dryly. “Sorry, I – Listen, Lance, it’s fine, you don’t have to – ”

“ Ay Dios .” Lance huffs, rolling his eyes before he reaches out and drops both hands on Keith’s shoulders, keeping him in place. “Keith, I don’t care.”

Keith blinks, frowns, and then, “Oh? Um, okay?” He mumbles, looking oddly hurt and offended. “I mean, you don’t have to be so blunt about it –”

“Okay, that’s fair,” Lance cuts in, raising both hands in surrender. “I just – look, this is not a jab at your taste in men, buddy, but seriously, James Griffin? He has the same haircut he used to have when we were, like, twelve!”

There’s a brief stunned silence before, “What?” 

Was that a bad ‘what’? Lance finds it a little hard to know since it sounds bewildered and stunned but Keith’s scowling like he used to do whenever Lance would make a pop culture reference in their early Voltron days.

Lance hurries to mend himself. The last thing he wants is for Keith to lose his trust in him just because he doesn’t agree with his taste in men.

“No, but seriously, man, I don’t care if it is Griffin,” Lance says, shrugging once to both deliver his message and also brush away the pain inside his chest. At least until Keith leaves. “All I care about is that he treats you right like the damn paladin you are, okay? No, no, like the damn paladin and prince you are, even though you keep rejecting the title back in New Daibazaal – "

“ Lance .” Keith snaps, sounding even more exasperated and annoyed than before. Woah, okay, this is not what Lance was meaning to achieve.

Lance proceeds to panic.

“What!” He snaps back, throwing his arms up in the air, words sharp but he knows he most look distressed enough for Keith to soften his glare. “Listen, all I’m saying is that Griffin is a lucky guy, okay? And if he doesn’t –”

“No.”

Lance shuts his mouth, lowers his finger as he had been just about to enlist all the things that would fall upon Griffin if he dared to treat Keith wrong. 

And he shrieks, “What do you mean by ‘ no’ ¡?”

“What do you mean by ‘Griffin’ ¡?” Keith shoots back, nose scrunched as he spits the name like it was prisión itself. Well, then. “When – Why is he even in this conversation¡?”

Lance makes an 'I don't know' sound, clearly distressed.

“Because you’re in love with him¡?”

“Since when¡?”

“You literally – just now!”

“Wha – Wait, you think the man I love is James Fucking Griffin?” Keith hisses.

Lance swallows, throat suddenly dry. “Is he...is he not, then?”

“ No .”

“Oh.” Lance smacks his lips together, humming to himself as he darts his eyes away from Keith before he says, “So, uh, who is it?”

"Lance, dude ," Keith whines, as if he was in physical pain. "You cannot be this dense."

“Hey – !"

"He called me his rival," Keith says slowly, eyes wide as he was explaining something to a toddler. Which, rude. “There’s only one person who called me his rival.”

Rival, friend, crush, best friend, everything – Lance doesn’t dare to hope.

“Ah, so Regris, eh –?”

“Oh my God.”

“Then just tell me , you dumb mull –”

But Keith doesn’t tell him. He never does because Keith’s not one to explain what he means.

Keith shows him. Whatever he means to say or express, he does it though his actions – big or small, they all mean something more than words can express.

And Keith’s lips pressed on his own; it's a confession itself that yet something more. It’s a promise that says so much more than either of them can put into words but Lance knows they don’t have to find the right ones.

Because this small bump of a kiss is the right one. Keith’s the right one .

Lance gasps as Keith grows bolder and pulls him closer, both of his hands cupping Lance’s cheeks and his touch burns him in the best ways.

It’s a burn Lance never wants it to fade from his skin. Never, ever , and he needs to keep Keith’s lips on him because this right here it's theirs. This is theirs – Keith’s his to love and cherish. 

Oh, God, it’s him, him, him.

“You love me.” Lance breathes out the moment they pull back, eyes slowly blinking open. “You love me.”

Keith shudders a warm breath against his wet lips and Lance’s unable to suppress the shiver that runs down his back when Keith nods.

“Then – then that was…”

“That was my shot.” Keith whispers, wetting his lips anxiously as he shyly holds Lance’s stare. “My shot in the dark to tell you – show you .”

“ Keith ,” Lance says, a smile growing on his lips as he presses himself closer. “Keith, it’s not even dark.”

Keith’s lips twitch in the most endearing way, smile slowly growing. 

“But I totally hit it, right?” He asks, one of his hands sliding down Lance’s cheek to rest on his collarbone. “Right on the bull’s eye?”

“More like, right on my poor Cuban heart.” Lance jokes, his smile turning fond when Keith laughs and relaxes even further. “But yes, you hit it.”

“And you used to say I was a terrible shooter.” Keith teases weakly. 

Lance would snort at the jab but instead he sighs contently the moment Keith, with his remaining hand on his cheek, starts stroking his skin.

Lovingly. It’s a loving touch.

Lance leans towards it, soaking on its warmth. “Hm, do you think you can do it again with your eyes closed, Sharpshooter? "

Keith hums, a small breathy laugh leaving his lips as Lance brushes their noses together as encouragement.

“Let’s find out.”