Voltron One-Shots

On My Own

This is a songfic and the song is "On My Own" from Les Miserables.

The rain poured down in gray, opaque sheets as Keith walked along the planet Arus. He was alone, far away from the castle and any Arusian settlements, alone like he would probably always be.

He had some earbuds in, but wasn't listening to anything in particular, just whatever happened to be playing on the random playlist he had found.

A song came on, one he'd never heard of before, probably something from the past.

On my own

Pretending he's beside me

All alone

I walk with him till morning

Without him

I feel his arms around me

And when I lose my way I close my eyes

And he has found me

Keith winced, the lyrics squeezing his heart painfully. Just moments ago, he had been thinking of Lance, and what it would be like to be walking with him.

But Lance was asleep right now, just like everyone else on the planet. Everyone else except him, wandering pointlessly through the night and dreaming of a future with a person whose only future with him was as a friend.

In the rain the pavement shines like silver

All the lights are misty in the river

In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight

And all I see is him and me forever and forever

Keith could see the perfectly neat brown hair, the endlessly smirking face and the chaotic aura that characterized Lance.

He relished the small flutter of joy that went through him whenever he saw Lance, the small thing that made his world brighter. And yet he had to hide his feelings behind a grim and brooding facade, because Lance did not feel the same.

And I know it's only in my mind

That I'm talking to myself and not to him

And although I know that he is blind

Still I say, there's a way for us

Lance was blind to whatever feelings Keith had for him, and that was probably a good thing. At least right now, they were decent enough friends and Keith could look at Lance and imagine they were something more.

If Lance were to find out, Keith was sure he would turn away from him. Any friendship they had would be gone. And Keith knew that he wouldn't be able to deal with that.

I love him

But when the night is over

He is gone

The river's just a river

Without him

The world around me changes

The trees are bare and everywhere

The streets are full of strangers

Keith remembered what happened after he dropped out of the Garrison. At least there, although they were rivals, he still saw Lance. But when he left, it was like someone had turned the lights off. There was nothing left for him but a memory of what could have been.

I love him

But every day I'm learning

All my life

I've only been pretending

Without me

His world will go on turning

A world that's full of happiness

That I have never known

And Keith knew that Lance would be just fine. He had seen him flirting with Allura, and many others. Lance didn't need him. There was no future. Just walls of endless grey, and ceaseless rain, and hours trying to fall asleep but failing because something critical was missing.

I love him

I love him

I love him

But only on my own

Keith felt tears start to form in his eyes, and he suddenly realized how cold it was. Lance had hugged him once, after a successful mission, and he was so so warm.

Keith tripped, landing face first into the mud, and curling up into a small, shivering ball. Maybe he'd just stay there until morning and somehow make his way back to the castle later. There was no point going back now anyway.

Merciless raindrops battered him, and he found himself wishing for his Paladin suit instead of the pants and T-shirt he was wearing now. At least then he might have been warmer.

Suddenly, he heard the distinct thumping sound of a lion running. He turned towards the sound, trying to spot anything through the wall of rain, and was able to see light coming from the approaching lion. Keith wondered which lion it was and if the Paladin knew he was there or would just run over him.

But sure enough, the thumping sound came to a halt, and Keith saw that the blue lion was rather close to him. What was Lance doing out here?

Keith heard the door of the lion open, and the Blue Paladin stepped out, flashlight in hand.

"Keith?" he called, scanning the area until he spotted the boy he was looking for. "Keith!" Lance exclaimed, running over to him.

"Lance?" Keith questioned, pushing himself up to stand. "What're you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same question," Lance replied. "We were doing some emergency checks because of the bad rain storm and I noticed you were gone. Allura got your coordinates and I went out to look for you."

"You didn't have to," Keith shrugged. "I'm fine, just couldn't sleep so I went out."

"You don't look fine," Lance shook his head. "You're soaking and caked with mud. Also you're shivering. Who goes out in a storm like this, idiot?"

"I couldn't sleep," Keith shrugged again, and then sneezed several times.

"You're gonna catch a cold and Allura's going to murder you. Now c'mere before it gets worse."

Before Keith could comprehend what was happening, Lance pulled him into his arms, hugging him tightly. Keith practically purred as he was engulfed in a cocoon of warmth. He felt himself blushing, but hopefully Lance couldn't see.

"Better?" Lance murmured, even as he picked Keith up, carrying him into the lion. Keith gave a small nod in response.

"There's a blanket in here somewhere," Lance muttered, his eyes sifting over the slightly unorderly interior of the lion. "Or at least there was at one point...I think Allura was doing spring cleaning so who knows where it might be."

He tried to put Keith down in a seat to go look for the blanket, but the boy let out a sound of protest, tightening his hold around Lance.

"Um...Keith?" Lance asked, but then noticed the blush on Keith's face, as well as the fact that the boy was still shivering slightly.

"On second thought, you're adorable and definitely still cold so you can stay," Lance decided, plopping himself and Keith down into the driver's seat. "I don't know how I'm going to drive this thing though...". He was broken out of his thoughts by a quiet murmur.

"Lance...". The boy in question glanced down at Keith, a small smile forming on his lips as he saw that he was almost asleep and no longer shivering. "I like you...Lance," Keith murmured again before passing out, exhaustion catching up with him.

"Awww buddy," Lance whispered, gently brushing some damp hair away from Keith's face. "Should've told me sooner." He leaned down and pressed a small kiss to Keith's forehead.

"Now let's get you home." Lance turned to the control board, sending a message that he found Keith to the castle and starting up the engine, but all he could really think about was the boy nestled on his lap and how much his life was about to change.

Hope you liked it! See ya in the next fic!