The Monster in the Sky. Klance AU

Chapter 29: One with the Stars

Thanks so much for 1k! I hope you're enjoying the story :)

The cold winter air made Lance's hair sway as he stared directly up at the sky. An underwhelming amount of stars were glistening in the sky, not even comparable to the amount Lance had seen when he had travelled through space. It rendered the night sky on Earth dull and nowhere near as picturesque as Lance had once believed. As a boy, he had dreamed of the glistening stars and held his hands up to the sky whenever possible, hoping to steal the opportunity to touch them. Achieving his younger self's dreams, Lance had become one with the stars and, so, they became a second home.

Part of Lance wished he could go back in time to the first day he had spent in space so he could relive it all again. He wished he could have caught Allura in his arms again, getting lost in her mesmerising eyes and finding the most beautiful song in her voice. He missed the absence of Keith in the equation, making his love life much simpler as it consisted of one beautiful princess. Then all the lines had blurred, Allura gave herself to the cause, Keith had jumped into the equation and everything had started to get turned on its head.

No matter how much Lance wished and begged the universe, he was never going to be able to find a time machine. He was stuck in the present, watching the one he loved date another.

Lance tugged his sleeves over his hands and folded his arms so his body could fight the chilling wind. A soft sigh escaped his lips and allowed his breath to dance up into the air.

"Lance, are you even listening?" Lance snapped his head to the side to look at Keith, who he had completely forgotten was standing there.

"Oh, sorry. What did you say?"

"I said that the way Pidge implemented Alkafan and Altean technology was genius. She even managed to create another healing pod. It isn't quite as efficient as the Altean's but it does its job."

"Cool." It was clear enough in Lance's uninterested, one-word response that he hadn't been listening again.

"Is everything okay?"

"Fine, fine," The next question that Lance blurted out had slipped out on its own accord. If he could have taken it back, he would have. "How are you and James? Is he still acting weird?"

Keith's features hardened enough that it was noticeable. "Lance, I told you to leave us alone... I forgave you for pestering James on the one condition that you wouldn't do it again."

"I know but I worry. I don't want him to hurt you."

"He won't... and, if you must know, yeah, he's acting kind of funny. He seems out of it a lot of the time and I still haven't seen him eat any full meals."

"Maybe you should get Hunk to cook him stuff. Then he won't be able to deny the food."

"James said he feels awkward around Hunk now because of what we have dubbed The Carbonara Incident."

Lance snorted and, soon enough, he was in hysterics in the middle of the barely-lit school playground. Tears trailed down his face but it was unclear whether they were out of amusement or still from the mess that was his own brain. "The Carbonara Incident, are you actually serious?"

"Yep. It was James's stupid idea, not mine."

"That's pretty cute actually," Lance's laughter finally ceased so he turned to meet eyes with Keith. They seemed to stare into each other's souls for a long moment until Lance dropped his gaze to Keith's pursed lips. Once he realised what he was doing, he forced himself to look away. "Still, it's not good to not eat."

"I know... but I trust him. He'd tell me if something was wrong." Lance nodded, directing his gaze back at the sky. Silence lapsed over the pair before Keith spoke up again. "Are you cold? You're shivering."