They're Back

7

Lance POV

I found Keith after training one day, not too long after what we'll call "the incident".
"Hey, uh, Keith." I said, stepping into the room. He smiled at me and ended his training sequence. "Hey Lance. What's up?" "Oh nothing. Just wondering how you're doing, that's all." I said, and his smile fell. "Oh. You mean after.." He trailed off, and I nodded. "Yeah." No matter hw much James denied it, we all saw what happened, but we kinda ignored it. It was defintely a delicate subject. "Um, I'm fine, I guess. I'd be more worried about James though." He said, sitting on one of the benches. I sat next to him. "Well, yeah, but you're more important t me than him. And he did kinda fall asleep in your arms.." I said, blushing a bit. "Uh, thanks Lance. Well, I'm fine. It's not the first time I've seen something like that. Some of my Blade rescue missions were worse."

During our time in space, when Keith had temporarily joined the Blade, he'd gone on a number of missions, where he saw some.... stuff. And it wasn't pretty. There had been numerous nights where I'd hear him crying through the walls and had gone to comfort him. We'd sometimes fall asleep in each others arms, and wake up all cuddly in the morning.. but that wasn't what we're talking about. "Yeah." "And it was weird, you know? Especially with what all happened." I nodded and smiled. "Well, yeah. Someone professing their love to you then passing out on you can really make a relationship interesting." Keith looked at me sheepishly. "We're not a couple. But that's not all that happened. I heard him talking to Kinkade about what happened, and on our mission to save Hunk's family, he called me a pretty boy." He said, cheeks pink. I smirked. "Well you are. A pretty boy." His eyes widened, and his chees went an even brighter shade of red. "La- Lance, do you like me?" He asked. I felt my eyes widen and my jaw drop. "Wha-I, uh  where'd you hear that?" I stuttered. Holy shit he knew. KEITH KNEW. Stay cool Lance, stay cool. "I-I heard Kinkade mention it, and I I was just wondering." He said, looking at the ground. I gulped. "Well, I, uh, fuck, yeah. I do. I like you Keith. A lot."

He looked up at me with those big violet eyes of his, surprise in them. "R- really?" He asked, and I nodded, "Really." "H-how do I know you're not just messing with me?" He said, back straightening, making eye contact with me. I smiled. "You'll just have to trust me." And leaned in. I felt his lips on mine, and I swear, I saw stars. Holy shit kissing Keith was amazing. He cupped my face with one hand, turning his head to deepen the kiss. I grabbed his wrist, determined to keep us together for as long as possible. When we finally pulled back, we were both gasping for breath, and had cherry red lips. I had a smile on my face, and Keith did too. He made eye contact with me, then immediatley started blushing. "I- uh, um shit. Fuck. Lance I'm sorry." He said burying his face in his hands. I cocked an eyebrow "About what?" I asked. We had kissed, and I had really liked it. Did he not feel the same? "I shouldn't have done that. Kissed you." He said. "Why not? I liked it." "And I did too, it's just- with all the things going on right now, I don't think I have time for a relationship. And I don't want to hurt your feelings. You're one of my best friends."  I smiled at him softly. "Keith, I've waited this long. I can wait a little longer." He uncovered his face and smiled at me. "Really?" I nodded, still smiling. "Really." "Thanks Lance." "Anytime. So how about I kick your ass Mullet?" And he smiled and stood. "You're on."

Over the next few weeks, me and Keith became closer, and more comfortable with each other, We started spending more time together, hanging out and training. James got better too. He didn't look like he was about to die anymore, and his skin had regained some color. But he seemed, off. Like something was bothering him. I rarely saw him outside of missions and briefings, and he always left dinner early. According to Keith, they still hadn't talked about what had happened, and it seemed like they never would. James also seemed very disturbed about something, but I couldn't tell what. I could figure out later. Right now, we had a world to save.