Behind the Mask // Klance AU

14

is this an appropriate time to bring back my infamous shrug face? maybe. Shout out to my fave shiros_eyeliner for kind of reminding me to write this since I totally didn't forget... heheheh.... heh.... ANYWAYS prepare for tooth-rotting fluff and heart to heart talks between my fave boys. 

Keith woke up when the sun hit his eyelids the next morning, but it was something else that was making him feel good inside. Beside him, Lance still slept peacefully, arms wrapped around Keith's torso. His head was tucked into the space between Keith's shoulder and head, and Keith had an arm around Lance's waist. As Keith lie there, not wanting to wake Lance, he noticed something strange. For what had happened to him, he seemed oddly healed. Only a few bruises here and there and the occasional scabbed over cut. Nothing like the broken bones Keith had expected. Beside him, Lance's eyes scrunched tightly, before he opened them groggily. 

"Hi Keith," Lance said. Keith could have died at the way his voice sounded then. 

"Morning, sleepyhead," Keith said, adjusting so he was facing Lance a little more. "How do you feel?"

"Not completely better but... not bad," Lance said after a second. 

"Want to get up?" Keith asked. 

"...Not yet. I'm comfy here, and its cold out there and you're warm," Lance said. Keith blushed at that but gladly pulled Lance closer. 

"Are you sure this isn't hurting you?" Keith asked quietly. Lance just tightened his grip on Keith. 

"I'm sure. Really," Lance said, smiling into Keith's chest. The two stayed there for about half an hour before Lance's stomach growling interrupted them. Keith stood first, before helping Lance up. 

"Do you think you can walk?" Keith asked. 

"Probably," Lance said, grabbing Keith's hand. 

Two seconds later he discovered he, in fact, could not walk yet.

"Oh shit going down!" Lance cried as he almost fell on his face, but he found himself held up by sturdy arms. 

"That was close," Keith said once he'd managed to get Keith sitting again. Keith pondered for a moment, before grabbing Lance by the waist and throwing him over his shoulder. Lance squeaked in surprise. As Keith began to walk out to the main room of Keith, Lance laughed and had to hold onto Keith's waist to prevent from flailing around. Keith gently set him down on the couch, trying not to drop him in his fit of laughter. 

"Well I suppose that was one way to get me out here," Lance said, still laughing. 

"First thing I thought of," Keith said, still smiling as well. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Can you make me pancakes? Pleeeeeease?" Lance asked while giving Keith puppy-dog eyes. Keith stuck his tongue out at him but still made him the pancakes. After he had two full plates of warm fluffy pancakes, Keith joined Lance at the couch. 

"Are they satisfactory?" Keith asked Lance, who was practically inhaling the pancakes. 

"Amazing!" Lance said with a mouthful of pancake. 

Keith could only smile brightly at this amazing boy. 

"Hey, Keith?" Lance asked once he'd finished eating. 

"Hmm?"

"Can... can we just spend the day hanging out? You know, movies, video games, stuff like that?" Lance asked. 

"Of course," Keith said. Lance looked like there was something off though. "Lance, are you alright?"

"Yep, I'm good!" He said, looking like his usual self again. Keith popped a video game in and handed a controller to Lance, knowing something was still off. 

The two boys played video games up until lunch and switched to movie watching after they'd eaten. It was just after dinner when Lance spoke, suddenly and seriously. 

"After you left that afternoon," Lance began, his tone stoic and slightly shaky. "I didn't know what to do. I thought I'd messed up. I had no idea what was really going on. I knew I shouldn't have pushed the issue on you right after I'd asked you if you'd be my boyfriend," Lance said, taking a shaky breath. "I lost it. I wandered around for a while, kind of kicked a few trees. I completely ignored it when it started raining. Once it picked up, though, that's- that's when I slipped.

"I slipped coincidentally right at a spot where the railing was kind of broken. I grabbed onto the end of it, and that's why I wasn't hurt too badly. I slid down the cliff more than I fell. But... I remember seeing you there afterward, when the ambulance came," Lance said, before pausing and looking Keith in the eyes. "I knew then that you weren't mad at me. That you really did care. You looked so afraid and so worried standing there soaking wet in pajamas that... I knew I'd finally found someone who actually cared about me," Lance said. 

"I was so afraid, Lance," Keith said quietly. "When I saw you... I thought I'd lost you. I thought it was all my fault, and I'd never see you again. I-"

"Keith, what happened was in no way your fault."

"But-"

"No buts, Keith," Lance said with a soft smile. "What happened, happened. Shit happens. we just have to move on with our lives and pick up the pieces and put ourselves back together," Lance said. 

"Since when are you so smart?" Keith asked teasingly. 

"Since always, mullethead," Lance said, laughing. Lance's laugh was contagious, and Keith found himself laughing too. When they stopped, their noses were mere centimeters apart, and they could feel each other's breath on their faces. 

"So, we're okay?" Keith asked. 

"We're more than okay," Lance said, smiling. 

Then, Lance kissed Keith. 

It was soft, yet strong at the same time. The kind of kiss that made Keith feel like he could melt on the spot. Neither of them knew how long they stayed like that, but when they broke apart Keith's lips were still warm and Lance's still tasted like Keith. The boys smiled before Keith pulled Lance into a tight hug. 

"I'm glad you're okay, Lance," Keith said. "I don't know what I'd do without you." Lance smiled, and the two, both exhausted, decided to head to bed. Lance was awake longer than Keith, and as he watched Keith sleep, he smiled for the thousandth time that day. Brushing a piece of hair out of Keith's face, Lance pressed a gentle kiss to Keith's forehead. 

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Keith," Lance said, before finally drifting off. 

Keith opened his eyes an eternity later, the memory of Lance's kiss still dancing on his forehead. 

A glance at the clock before he fell asleep again told him it was 2:37 A.M.

I told you this would be a good one! See you in the next chapter, my beans! 

Remember to DM/Tag me in art on my instagram, which is also Lancethelivingmeme!

Love ya my precious bean children!

-Lee