You're Welcome // Klance

V

They hadn't even given themselves five minutes to recollect and gather their wits, they were already planning how to rescue Pidge and Shiro.

"So first, we have to figure out who exactly took them." in the absence of Shiro, Keith was supposed to take charge, but Hunk seemed to feel responsible.

"I think they were Galra." Keith replied. "Two of them were near where I was hiding. They said that. . .they said they were looking for. . .for me specifically."

"Why would they be looking for you, but take Pidge and Shiro?" Allura questioned.

"Well, they said to take any paladins they find, but Keith was they're main target." Lance interjected, obviously having heard the conversation as well.

Allura sighed. "What do you propose we do?"

Everyone was silent.

"Well. . . we could use Keith as bait. If they were looking for him in particular, they'd probably want to get him." Hunk thought out loud.

Keith was reluctant to agree, but there weren't many options.

"He's right, that's our best bet."

"Okay, in that case, what's your plan?" Asked Allura

Keith started. "My what?"

"Plan, Keith. She said plan. P-L-A-N." Lance remarked.

"Okay, I got it." He snapped. He turned back to look at Allura and the others. "Honestly, I don't have a plan. . ."

A worried look flashed across Hunk's face, but he stifled it with a patient smile.

"We can work out a plan together." Allura cut in. "In the meantime, I'm going to try to track down the ship that took them."

Allura turned to her control panel, telling Coran idly to give them some food. Coran whipped up a quick meal of green slime, as per usual. Keith wasn't particularly hungry, but Lance ate ravenously. In his defense, he had been trapped in a crack in the wall for who knows how long. With his least favorite paladin, no less.

Dinner was uncomfortable. Between Keith and Lance's silence, and Hunk's attempts at making small talk, it proved awkward. Without Pidge and Shiro, the table was so lonely. Two people made quite a difference.

"So, where did you guys hide? It must've been good since you didn't get caught. I hid in the floor. There are these loose panels over on the training deck with plenty of space. It was probably intended to be a hiding place."

"I found this crack in the wall. I think it was also made for hiding."

"I found it first!" Lance interjected. "It was big enough for one person, but Keith just squeezed himself in there like the boneless fish he is."

Keith raised an eyebrow, but promptly lowered it when Lance furrowed his.

Hunk let out a short, laughing breath. Lance looked sideways at him, annoyed.

"Oh man." Hunk yawned. "I'm bushed. I'm gonna head to bed. You guys should too."

"Yeah, we will." Keith started. "Eventually."

/\/\/\/\/\

When Keith finally went to bed, it was hours after Hunk had left. He left towards his room shortly after, but he paced for at least an hour. He was worried for Shiro and Pidge's safety. If something happened to them, it'd be all Keith's fault.

Soon enough, he calmed down, and climbed into bed. He hadn't realized how tired he was.

"Aren't naps supposed to make you less tired?" He mumbled to himself, thinking back to earlier that day. Then he realized he hadn't actually slept much. He had stood next to Lance for hours. He remembered the feeling of Lance's hot breath tickling his hair. He remembered lance being pressed uncomfortably close, and his head falling on Keith's shoulder as he slept, drooling across his sleeve.

It made it hard for Keith to think. When was trying to keep his brain busy, Lance's breath would tickle his neck, and distract him. When he tried to fall asleep, the warmth of Lance's body would keep him awake. It made life just a little harder. He had only slept for what felt like ten minutes, though it must have been able least a couple hours.

For this reason, Keith was exhausted. He flopped onto his bed, closed his eyes and, without a loudly snoring Lance to keep him awake, fell asleep.

/\/\/\/\/\

Lance hadn't been completely asleep the whole time. Still he'd gotten enough that he wasn't tired yet. Every time he had woken up while they were in the crack, Keith had glanced at him, frowning. Lance would just shrug it off, and try to go back to sleep.

Lance didn't want to lie awake in the darkness, so he fished around the bookshelf for some reading material.

"Surely they have comic books on Altea. . ." He muttered, thumbing through the thin volumes of guide books and encyclopedias. Nothing even remotely entertaining. After another minute, he came across a book that caught his eye. It was about an inch thick, and wrapped with a heavy paper.

Lance pulled the book off the shelf, and inspected the cover. He peeled back the paper to see a shiny blue cover. It almost seemed to glow in the blue light of Lance's room.

Lance returned to his bed, the book still clutched in his hands, half wrapped in paper. When he had settled, he finished unwrapping the book. It looked almost as though it had scales. Scrawled across the cover in thick curly letters were the words Arek's Journal.

"Arek?" Lance mumbled softly, turning the book over and over. H  felt almost scared to open it. It seemed to hold such significance. Lance didn't think it'd be appropriate to just rip it open and start reading. Then again, Lance had never been the type to follow rules.

He opened the book to thread first page. The smell of ink and old paper assailed his nose. The ink looked quite old, and was fading. In the same handwriting as the title, there was This journal belongs to Arek. If found, please return.

Lance got a feeling of familiarity, as if this person were related to him in some way.

His curiosity burning, Lance turned the page and began to read.

Note: sorry that took so long for me to update. I have been reading too much fanfic lately. The good news is, I got some HECKIN IDEAS. I started to set them up here. The next chapter should (hopefully) be out soon! Thanks for reading!

Hasta la pasta!