The Red Paladins Klance

Chapter 30

Lance still felt light-headed when he woke up. He rubbed his eyes, sitting up. He looked to his left, only to smile when he saw Keith in a deep sleep beside him. He turned a little more to him and leaned in, gently kissing his cheek. Keith shifted, coming to as Lance pulled away. “Hey babe. Good morning.” Lance said fondly. Keith shifted, rubbing his eyes. “Mm. Hey.” He mumbled tiredly. “Sleep well?” Lance asked softly. Keith made a noise of agreement, and Lance reached out, brushing the wild strands of his hair out of his face. “You say that, but you look tired.” He said quietly. “Well...we did stay up late.” Keith mumbled. Lance made a low, sympathetic noise as he chuckled, “Aw, my poor Red mate.” He teased, leaning in and kissing his temple. Keith’s fingers brushed over his cheek as Lance pulled back. “Babe...” Keith murmured softly. “Mmm?” Lance hummed. “Can we like...sleep for a few more minutes...I’m tired...” Keith mumbled. Lance chuckled, “All right, we can sleep for a few more minutes.” He said. Keith wrapped his arms around him, pulling him to him.

   Lance slung his arm around his torso as Keith snuggled into him, softly sighing. Lance reached out and ran his fingers through Keith’s wild hair. Keith lightly pressed into his touch, wanting more. And after a few seconds, his breaths eased. Lance followed a while later. It’s around early afternoon when Lance wakes up again. He slowly, reluctantly pulled away from Keith, standing up and stretching. He looked around for his sweater, but didn’t find it. “Hey Blue.” Keith’s voice caught his attention, and he turned around, seeing him sitting up, pulling his wild hair back. “Hey sweetheart. Um, have you seen my sweater?” Lance said. “You don’t remember where you put it?” Keith asked. “No, not really.” Lance said. Keith got up, “I think it should be under my jacket?” He said. Lance reached for Keith’s jacket and lifted it, seeing his sweater underneath.

“Ah.” He said, picking it up and putting it on. Keith watched him, smiling.

Lance suddenly felt his arms come around him, and he stopped and smiled as Keith rested his chin on his shoulder. “Hey you.” Lance said fondly, kissing his head. “Hey.” Keith said. He lifted his head and kissed his cheek. Lance pulled away from him and faced him, “You know, we should stop staying up so late.” He said. Keith laughed, entwining their fingers together, “Yeah, we probably should.” He said. “Hey, do you maybe wanna go out somewhere? Before we go to Cuba? Spend some time with the team before we leave them for like, a whole 2 weeks?” Lance said. “Yeah, that would be nice. I think they’re at the Garrison, working on the Atlas.” Keith said, nodding. “All right. Let’s go, then.” Lance said. They walked out of the shack, heading toward the Garrison. And sure enough, the team and the others were there.

  “Ah, well, look who it is. It’s the Red Paladins, Lance and Keith McKogane.” Shiro said when he saw them. Lance and Keith both darkly blushed at that. “Aren’t you guys supposed to be heading to Cuba right now?” Pidge asked. “We are, but we thought we’d hang out with you guys before we did.” Lance said. “That would be fun. I mean, we won’t be seeing you guys for 2 weeks.” Shiro said. “Exactly.” Lance said. So they all headed out. They spent a few hours together, talking about memories. When it finally came to the time where the two had to leave, they bid them farewell before heading back to the shack. Lance was strangely quiet as they got ready. Keith looked at him, seeing he was standing there, looking at a loss. Keith came to him, “Lance? Hey, come on, we gotta...” He began, only to see that Lance looked upset.

He reached out and touched his cheek, “Hey, hey...what’s wrong? Why are you so upset?” He asked, concerned.

“It’s just...we’re leaving them. It didn’t really hit me until we started saying goodbye.” Lance said softly. Keith made a soft, sympathetic noise, “Aw, Lance...don’t be upset. We’re not leaving forever, it’s only for 2 weeks. We’ll keep in touch with them. They’ll come to see us.” He said gently, brushing his cheek soothingly with his thumb. Lance nodded, “I know. It just overwhelmed me for a second.” He said softly. “It’s okay. It was a bit hard for me too. They’re our family. It’s okay.” Keith soothed. He then reached up and lightly kissed his forehead, “Just relax.” He whispered. And after a few seconds, Lance calmed down, no longer so upset. “Okay?” Keith whispered, pulling back. Lance nodded. “Do you want to stay? We can leave later on.” Keith asked. “No. No, it’s okay. I’m fine now. Let’s go.” Lance said. “Lance, are you sure? Because we can stay, there’s literally no problem-“ Keith began, but then Lance leaned in and kissed his cheek, making him stop. “Thank you. But it’s okay. I promise.” Lance whispered. Keith searched his face before he nodded, giving him a small smile of comfort. “All right. Let’s get going, then.” He said.