you don't have to love me // klance

1

A/N: This fic takes place before Allura becomes the Blue Paladin. Honestly, if you don't want to read this, I don't blame you, as I'm coming up with the basic storyline I'm almost in tears so I can already tell this may be a bit intense. Ah I have just decided that this will have multiple parts because the storyline is a biggy so if you like this part, more will be coming.

based on the dialogue prompt "it's okay, you don't have to love me" which I interpreted as pretty sad and dark. Don't hate me. 

Keith's POV

Wow, I feel super strange. The day is nearing an end, and it's getting dark outside. Here I am sitting in the living room area of the Castle after eating dinner, and I'm not alone. A few minutes ago, Lance, of all people walked in here, sat down next to me, offered me an Altean cookie similar to an Oreo, and I've felt, well, weird ever since he got here. Suddenly, it all hits me. I know exactly whats wrong with me, and it wasn't the cookie.

Let me back up a bit and explain. Early this morning, I was violently shaken awake by Allura, who said she needed my help with some kind of Altean spell that would apparently help the Castle during battle, keeping the shields at full power for much longer under heavy fire. 

"Keith, I need you to fly me to the planet Neypra, it's only a few solar systems away from our current location." She began, "Since your lion is the fastest, we should be back by lunchtime!"

I groggily sat up on my bed. "Why do you need to go to Neypra?" I asked her, still half asleep.

"A special flower-like plant called Miro Lace grows there, which I may be able to use to strengthen the castle's defense systems. Thankfully, the planet hasn't been taken over by the Galra, so we shouldn't have any complications. I'll also need your help harvesting one, as they are very large and dangerous plants."

"Can I go back to bed when we get back?" I pleaded, "I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm exhausted.

Allura crossed her arms. "You can do whatever you like once we return with a Miro Lace flower, now get up!"

"Alright," I said as I stood up and stretched. "I'll meet you at Red." 

The princess clapped her hands, and after that, she was gone. I quickly dressed, ran my fingers through my hair, and headed to my lion. I arrived in no time and saw Allura waiting impatiently for me. We boarded Red and I powered her up, while Allura told me where we would be flying. We flew silently for almost an hour before the princess pointed at a medium-sized planet. I directed Red toward it, and we landed gently.

We hopped out onto the dirt-like ground, and I looked around at the green jungle in front of us. Allura led the way, and I followed closely, weapon in hand in case a threat popped up. She led us deeper and deeper into the vines and with every step I took behind her, I felt as if I could fall asleep mid-stride. Eventually, her pace slowed and then stopped. I looked up and my mouth fell open as I gazed at the giant plant in front of us. 

"Allura, how are we going to take this with us?" I asked in bewilderment, "This plant is huge!"

"Oh Keith," She started, giggling a bit, as she handed me a pair of gloves. "We aren't taking this whole Miro Lace flower! If we were to uproot this, it would instantly kill the whole forest. This whole planet is connected at the roots, so we must be extremely careful. We only need to take a small amount. It should only take us a few doboshes if we do it correctly, but we must be cautious. If pollen from a Miro Lace flower touches someone, it can have strange effects on them."

"Oh, so no pressure," I said sarcastically as I slid the gloves on and yawned. "Alright, let's do this I guess."

Allura placed her gloved hands on the giant green and blue flower, and within seconds it began glowing. Suddenly it began to shake violently.

"Keith, I need you to hold the flower still!" The princess spoke urgently, "It may be hard, but hold as tightly as you can!"

I ran up and grabbed the flower, attempting to hold it still. "Allura, the shaking is getting pollen everywhere! What happens if it gets on m-ahh" I tried to talk but a huge yawn took over my face, and I watched in horror as a tiny amount of pollen was sucked down my throat. "Ahhh!" I yelled as I grabbed the flower tighter, afraid of what had just happened. 

"I've got it!" Allura yelled happily, as she stepped away from the plant, holding a small sample. "We can return to the Castle now." As she looked up at Keith, she could tell something was wrong. "Keith? Are you alright? You look as if you've just seen heximite in the Fripping Bulgogian!"

I didn't know what that meant, but that was really not the most important thing at the moment, so I told her what had happened. "I accidentally sucked a bit of the flower's pollen into my throat, what's going to happen now?"

"Oh no. It is impossible to know how the pollen will affect you." Allura stated as she began leading the way back to the Red Lion. "We must return to the Castle. There we can run tests and see how bad the damage could be."

We hurried back to my lion, and within another hour we were back at the Castle. We alerted Coran of the situation, and he and Pidge quickly began running tests and monitoring my vital signs. 

Pidge was the first to speak, "Well, I'm not seeing anything strange on my readings, I think you're gonna be fine, Keith."

"Thank quiznak, I was honestly pretty worried."

"You look good," Pidge started to say, "But if you notice anything strange happening, uh, talk to one of us I guess. None of us really know how to handle this situation though, we don't exactly have a protocol for this."

"I think I'm gonna be fine. I feel pretty normal actually." I said with confidence.

After that, the day went back to normal. The team went to help Allura and Coran with their magic Altean defense system strengthener, but they told me to take it easy for the day and rest a bit. After I had showered, the team decided to take a break and eat lunch. We gathered in the dining room and waited as Hunk prepared the food. I sat waiting as Lance took the seat to my right. He made some stupid joke about my hair and flashed his idiotic smirk, and immediately I knew something wasn't right. 

My stomach began to flutter as I stared at Lance. I was in a daze, thinking about what I was feeling. What was going on? I hadn't felt this way in years since Lance and I were students at the Garrison. Back then, I had been absolutely terrified of this feeling, and I'd suppressed it until it was barely there, but I knew what it was. I had a crush. On Lance.