I need you //klance

Day 5

Lance's breathing was shallow and delayed, wincing every time he breathed and whimpering whenever Keith turned a corner.

Coming to a stop in the med bay, Keith slowed, panting for breath.
He set Lance down on a fold-able bed left at the side of the room.
Lance shuddered and whimpered softly, screwing his eyes closed.

Keith turned to grab the suit Coran had told him to put on Lance when a shaky hand pulled him back.

Keith stumbled, caught off guard by the strength of the injured paladin.
"K-Keith...? Stay..."
Lance's ocean blue eyes peered pleadingly at Keith. Keith sighed and sat next to him on the bed.
"I need to get you in a suit, Lance. You need to heal. I promise you'll be okay."
Lance's head plopped onto Keith's shoulder, eyes falling shut.
"Your.. warm.."
Keith fumbled for words, eventually opting to hesitantly wrap his arms around him.
Lance snuggled closer so Keith was cradling him.
"M.. sorry.. lo siento..."
Keith carded his hand through his Lance's matted and dusty hair.
Keith hummed softly, not wanting to interrupt.
"...you're... bueno... no mal.... lo siento."

Keith was encased in warmth, the start of the dream already slipping away but the slight memory of their bonding moment remained, leaving a content smile on his face.

Stretching his legs out slightly, he noticed a dip in the bed next to him. Normally Keith would have sprung out of bed pulling a knife out at whoever it was, but right now he was filled with the sense of calm. The faint scent of the ocean and peppermint imprinted in the sheets already lulling him back to sleep.

The warmth surrounding him shifted a little causing Keith to whine slightly.
A soft chuckle reached his ears.
"You awake, Keith?"

Keith's eyes pried themselves open to see Lance stretched out watching him intently.

His ruffled, chocolate brown hair flowing around in curls around his face.
His face was littered with faint freckles dusting his cheeks and nose, the Korean was glad to see more of them. He was wearing a loose white t- shirt and blue shorts that had ridden up his thighs, exposing a long stripe of caramel skin.

Lance was a lot more awake than Keith, having woken up a few hours earlier but had wanted to stay with him just in case his nightmares made an appearance. Of course he also wanted to see Keith in all his bed headed glory again since he hadn't had the time to properly appreciate it before.

They were shaken from their peaceful quiet by the blaring of the alarms.

"Paladins get to your lions! The Galra are attacking!"

Keith groaned but jumped out of the bed briskly while Lance grumbled a string of curses.

In record time, they were out and taking down ships left and right.
The Galra attacking them seemed less organized than usual, definitely less prepared. There was only one cruiser this time, with its fighters attacking like wasps.
They'd probably only come across the castle by chance and decided to take a crack at it.

They managed to beat them pretty easily, even without Shiro and only four lions. No one was hurt and they met up in the main hangar, Allura and Coran were already waiting for them.

Lance hung back slightly. Smiling at the others and congratulating them. Praise was passed around, Keith staying relatively quiet, occasionally nodding to the others and giving slight smiles.

They filed out to their own destinations. Lance was going to hang back and clean blue when Keith grabbed his arm.
"You did great today Lance. And thanks.. for last night... can I...?"

Lance beamed at the compliment already making plans with him to meet up in his room again.
They then left for the lounge asking to borrow Pidge's spare USB with all her movies and Tv shows on.
Pidge had relocated to the lounge after Green kicked her out, saying she needed more rest.

They spent a good part of the day watching Pidge's worryingly gory horror films and flicking through the nature documentaries having petty competitions on who'd win. Lance's thoughts and Keith's worries pushed off his shoulders while he and Lance distracted each other.

They had just finished watching A Quiet Place, when they were interrupted by a nervous knock on the door. Coran skipped into the room, taking a seat beside a now sleeping Pidge, as the two paladins turned their attention to an anxious Allura. Lance forced a smile onto his face while Allura stood straighter, watching him as she seemed to be deciding on what to say in her head. Keith watched the silent exchange curiously, about to say something when Coran dragged him into a bubbly, one-sided discussion.

 Allura's eyes drifted over the Blue Paladins face nervously. Lance got the message and stood up, crossing the distance between them and leading them out into the corridor.

Allura fidgeted with her hands for a second or so before closing her eyes briefly and taking a breath. 

"Lance. I am truly sorry for what I said and did to you a few quintants ago and everything I have done before that. I am unfortunately now only just beginning to realize how wrong I have been and I hope you can forgive me and perhaps learn to build our own friendship in the future. Everything I said was wrong. You are just as valuable to this team as everyone else, including Shiro, and I don't know how we would be able to cope without you. The Blue lion never makes a mistake and I refuse to believe she could have done that with you and I hope you realize that."

The Princess ended her speech with her hands folded on top of each other in what Lance was beginning to think might be her own version of a mask. He realized he must have been silent too long when Allura gulped and began hesitantly searching his face for a response.

Lance cleared his throat, bringing Allura startling quickly back to attention, and smiled softly at her, a faint glimmer of happiness reflecting in his eyes. "Thank you, Allura. I.. really appreciate it. It would be great to be friends and you really don't have to worry, it's fine." Lance's beaming face must have convinced her as she shed her tense posture and relaxed into a smile.