The Monster in the Sky. Klance AU

Chapter 7: Keith

"Lance, you have to wake up..." A soft voice jolted Lance from his slumber and encouraged his eyes to flicker open. Once the sleepiness had passed and he had blinked a couple of times, it finally registered that Keith's face was just centimetres from his own. His bedroom light was on but Lance didn't even question how that was the case when he had fallen asleep in darkness. "Something is going to happen and we need you."

"You... need me..." Lance repeated, voice thick with sleep. He pulled himself up into a sitting position as he rubbed his eyes and attempted to process what was going on. How did Keith even get into his room? Lance's eyes flickered to his open window and that answered that question... but why did Keith need him? Keith had been the one to suggest Lance getting some space and going home. Why did he want him to come back?

"Yeah, we do. We need you Lance. You're our sharpshooter."

The nickname elicited Lance's cheeks to flush red as he dropped his gaze to his own lap. He had given himself the nickname but it had never caught on. Hearing it come out of Keith's mouth- of all people- in such a serious manner was one of the biggest compliments in the world. "What's going on?" Lance asked once he remembered what they had really been talking about.

"Another race of alien species are trying to rebel against Voltron and all we've worked for. I think they plan to ruin the system somehow but I'm not sure what they're going to do. Pidge is looking into it but we need to be ready to attack. We might need Voltron."

"How... How are you here? I'm on Earth and you're-"

"I'm still on Alkafa, Lance. I just needed to talk to you."

For some reason, Lance didn't register the impossibility of Keith's statement. He just accepted it and moved on. "Oh, okay... When do you need me?"

"As soon as possible." Keith started to head towards Lance's bedroom window but his hands froze before they could even touch it. "And Lance?" Lance lifted up his head to meet Keith's kind eyes. "We miss you. The team is falling apart without you."

"What do you mean?"

"Shiro has nightmares almost every night, Pidge hasn't slept in days, Hunk is anxious most of the time," Lance always had been the one to help Shiro through nightmares, to tell Pidge when it was time to sleep and to calm Hunk down when he had panic attacks. He had always been the rock of the team; the one who comforted the rest when they were going through hard times. "And I..." Keith broke the eye contact to look at his feet but he ended up shaking his head. "Actually, I'm fine."

Keith's tone of voice suggested otherwise but Lance knew not to push it too hard. It seemed that not seeing each other for so long had encouraged Keith to raise his defences again and put on the emotionless mask again. "Do you miss having me around, mullet?" Lance allowed his tone to find a glint of humour as one side of his mouth quirked up into a smirk. He expected Keith to roll his eyes or even snap something back but he didn't.

His mouth stayed in a straight line as he looked at where his gloved hand was hovering in front of the open window. Even from where Lance was sitting on the other side of the room, he was able to see the way Keith's eyes darkened in a way that almost made them looked teary. "Yeah..." Keith whispered so quietly that Lance almost didn't hear. "We all do. It's hard not having the rock of the team around when we need you most."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise. We know you needed space after... what happened. Take your time healing. We can probably handle the aliens without you; I mean, it's not like they can do much damage. They aren't even close to the same level as the Galra."

"I'll come visit soon, if I can but there's some stuff I need to figure out here first. It's not easy for me right now."

"I'm sure it's not." Keith pulled himself out of the window and lingered on the edge for a short moment. "Say hi to your family for me." With that, he leaped down, leaving Lance to stare at the place where he had once been standing. He couldn't help the tears filling his eyes and, eventually, dribbling down his pale face.