Apologies - Klance/Lancelot Voltron

Chapter 12

"And then he said that if I wanted I could come and see you, basically any time I want." Lance said, grinning at Keith.

"So you're really living it up with him then." Keith said, attempting to hide his distaste for the Galra prince. Lance nodded vigorously and dropped down happily into the chair next to Keith.

Keith rubbed at his eyes sleepily and yawned loudly. Lance peered at him curiously before asking "Why were you sleeping at the table anyway? You ruined the big entrance I had planned."

Keith shrugged, "Bad dream. Couldn't sleep." he mumbled before resting his head on the table again, facedown. Lance poked at him repeatedly, begging for Keith to get up and "stop being so boring" and he occasionally tugged at Keith's hair.

Keith rolled his head to the side to look at Lance. Lance beamed at him happily, fingers still wrapped around a strand of Keith's hair, pulling at it regularly. A tiny smirk graced the red paladin's face and he caved - sitting upright once again and turning in his seat to face Lance.

He took a moment to look at Lance, actually look at him. His clothes had changed; he wore a dark blue sweater which appeared to have something shiny in the fabric as tiny specs would occasionally catch in the light and shine like stars. He also appeared to be wearing black jeans, skinny jeans to be precise: almost identical to the ones Keith owned, but better somehow.

Lance's hair looked softer and more flawless than ever and his skin was as perfect as it always is. In fact, it almost looked too perfect. Keith leaned closer to Lance's face to try and figure out what was off about them before Lance suddenly stood up and started to walk around the dining room.

"So where is everybody else then?" Lance asked, placing his hands on the back of his head casually.

Keith sighed and slumped back down in his seat, "Sleeping, probably. Like any sane person would be doing right now"

"Ah, that makes sense." Lance said, a mischievous grin settling on his face, "Explains why you're up then"

"If anyone's insane here it's you." Keith grumbled. He stood up from his seat and ran his hand though his hair, now slightly tangled and messy.

Lance turned around and walked to Keith, laughing quietly. "You, sir, need to brush your hair" he said, raising a finger to lightly tap Keith on the end of his nose. Keith chuckled lightly before freezing, his laughter dying suddenly.

As Lance raised his hand, his sleeve had slipped slightly: revealing ugly, purple bruises. The colour was deep, looking almost black in places and the skin was raised slightly. It appeared to be in the shape of a hand, winding tightly around his wrist.

Lance quickly pulled his hand away and spun on his heels, casually sauntering away from the stunned paladin. "So when will everybody else be up?" Lance asked, stuffing his hands into his trouser pockets.

Keith's brain whirred as he tried to process what he had just seen, he didn't even think to answer Lance's question. It had to be Lotor; there was no doubt about it. As if on autopilot, Keith began haphazardly walking towards Lance - his steps uneven and irregular.

He was standing just behind Lance when he opened his mouth to say something. With no sound coming out, he reached out and lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

To his surprise, Lance jumped and flinched away before quickly returning to his stroll as if nothing had happened. He looked back at Keith with a reassuring smile plastered on his face.

Somehow it didn't fool Keith. The red paladin finally found his words, albeit a bit late.

"L-Lance? Can we talk?" Keith stammered out, flustered by the sudden turn of events. Slowly, Lance turned to face Keith.