Love, Loss and Everything in Between. Klance AU

Chapter 26 - Mullet-Head

Once Keith was sure everyone was tucked into bed, he darted out of his room towards the training area. He didn't expect to bump into anyone so almost had a heart attack when he saw Lance standing in the middle of the room. He was holding his gun and shooting at the little bots, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Keith lingered in the doorway, not wanting to break his flow.

Lance's jaw was tense as he ducked beneath a series of shots from the bots before raising his shield. He grunted, stumbling back as the shield was pelted with bullets. "Come on..." He murmured to himself, raising his gun and demolishing three of the bots in the air. Once Lance had called to stop the sequence, Keith made himself known.

"Well done, Lance. You were really good." He said, walking further into the room. Lance turned to look at him with wide, shocked eyes.

"I- I don't think I'm at the same level yet. I need to- to work harder." Lance mumbled, placing his bayard into a pouch around his waist.

"No one is expecting you to be at the same level, Lance. You're making progress and that's what's important." Keith kept his voice soft as he placed a hand on Lance's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. His body was tense; as if he had been frozen with a beam of ice. "Last movement you couldn't even hold a gun."

Lance glanced down at his bayard, shaking his head to himself. "It's not good enough."

"Yes, it is good enough. You're getting better slowly. The next step is sparring with us and then, over time, maybe you'll become comfortable with fighting again."

"Do- Do you think-"

Keith nodded, pulling the blue paladin in for a hug. "I know, okay? If you want, we could practice sparring together before you try it with the others. I'll go slow and stop as soon as I think something's wrong."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Of course I would."

"...Now?"

"It's probably best we wait until tomorrow. You look tired." Lance did look tired. He was hunched over and blackness rimmed both eyes in the form of nasty bags. His face was pale and his forehead was drenched with sweat from all of the training. "Maybe you should shower whilst I practice and then we can go to bed."

Lance nodded slowly, "Sounds like a plan."

-

Keith stood about a metre and a half away from Lance, weaponless. Lance was in the same position, hands clenched into fists as he waited for a signal to begin. "You sure you can do this?" Keith asked, voice soft so that Lance knew he was allowed to back out if he needed to.

Determined, Lance nodded his head. Keith counted them in before racing forward and pressing Lance into the wall. The blue paladin's breath hitched but, other than that, he seemed calm. He grabbed Keith's arm with his right hand, twisting it behind his back and shoving him backwards.

"Good work. Maybe you can beat me this time, Sharpshooter." Keith was taking a shot in the dark with the quip. He wasn't sure if Lance would take it well or even play with it, throwing something equally as smart back.

"Just you wait, mullet-head. Stop going easy on me, I can take it." The nickname, even with its negative connotations, made Keith's lips form a wide smile. It was almost like the old Lance had returned for a brief moment. (Almost.)

Keith's eyebrows climbed his forehead. "Okay, let's see what you've got." Keith threw a punch towards Lance's shoulder but the boy was quick to duck out of the way. A grin spread across his face as he realised how skilful he had been. "That was good!"