black out [langst + klance]

three : so i return

            

lance sat up, choking on air as he forced himself to breathe, keith throwing his head off the bed so fast it cracked, which also resulted in him flying off his chair and hitting the ground hard. the texan boy looked up at lance in shock, tears forcing their way to his eyes as he watched colour return to the tanned boy's skin.

"lance?" keith whispered, inwardly cringing at how hopeful his voice sounded, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing was real.

which wasn't entirely unexpected, how many people who put a bullet through their skull, stopping their heart, come back to life in full force. he wasn't entirely sure yet whether or not this was his mind's doing, whether his grief was forcing him to imagine the boy he loved returning to the living only to watch him leave again.

lance slowly turned his head toward keith, doing nothing but blinking with a blank expression as he processed i am alive why am i alive i thought i died why am i alive. without fully understanding how he was suddenly sitting up with a beating heart, his first answer to why he was still here was that the altean castleship had some form of resurrection method, and they brought him back to life.

with that thought in mind, the cuban harshly glared at keith, throwing out a sharp 'why the fuck did you bring me back". keith's shocked expression completely dropped into one that couldn't be viewed as anything other than heartbreak and despair.

"lance," the red paladin pushed out, no other words forming on his tongue as he realised that the boy in front of him was so set on the idea of ending his life that he got mad when he realised he never got the result he wanted, hearing the cuban's rapid thoughts of 'why am i here, i am such a fucking failure if i can't even kill myself properly with a gun, sharpshooter my fucking ass.'.

lance, upon realising just how broken keith looked, and remembering keith's mind reading abilities, softened his gaze and took a deep breath, this time in an attempt to calm himself of the rapid emotions flying throughout his head.

"keith, what happened? i could've sworn i died, how am i back here"

keith, who tried to process how to answer that question, looked so pained whilst doing so, that lance began to regret ever asking, only now taking into account that he definitely did die for keith to be looking as broken as he did, tears and snot covering his red puffy face as he began to sob.

"y-you were in your room, and i heard the gunshot, a-and i ran to you as fast as i could, b-b-but you were already g-gone, and the b-blood, oh my god there was so m-much. but you were d-dead, for hours, next m-minute you started breathing, and h-here we are."

any bit of anger that was in lance's system left as he realised just how fucked up he was for doing this to keith, for abandoning his best friend, the boy who means more to him than anyone else ever could. he knew all of keith's insecurities, all of the stories revolving around keith's constant abandonment as a child, yet here he was, leaving him just like everyone else who keith let himself get close to.

"keith," lance choked out, disappointment at himself and the typical self-hatred flushing out every other emotion until he was sobbing, tears dripping off his chin as his eyes stuck to the texan's crying figure, "i'm so sorry keith."

keith, instead of responding, jumped up off the floor and scrambled onto lance's bed, not hesitating to wrap all of his limb's around the lanky boy. he felt lance's arms curl around his body, one hand resting on keith's back, pushing him impossibly closer so that they were chest-to-chest almost painfully, with the cuban's other hand tangling itself though his hair in a gentle manner.

both boys were sobbing, foreheads pressed up against each other as they refused to let go, neither of the two caring about what they looked like to each other, keith hysterical from losing lance and only just getting him back, whilst lance was so regretful for leaving keith, but so thankful that he got a second chance with keith.

the hand that lance placed on the red-paladin's back gripped his jacket tightly, keith sighing in content with tears still falling down his cheeks, managing to push himself closer to lance's chest, picking up on his thoughts that screamed i love you keith oh god i love you i'm so sorry but i am so fucking in love with you.

keith jumped back slightly in shock, limbs still tangled against the boy in front of him but enough to look at his features, which was slowly morphing into embarrassed realisation, aware that his thoughts were read.

"do you really mean that?" keith whispered, eyes so hopeful it made lance's heart clench.

the cuban moved his hands onto the texan's cheeks, before speaking in a low voice, "keith, i've loved you for a very long time, and i'm so sorry that i tried to leave you, but just know that i've always loved you. you were the only reason why i was able to hang on for so long, much longer than i would've ever imagined. you made me so happy, and you made me remember that there was more to life than what the dark side of my brain made me see.

"i know that in the end i gave in to the voices, especially the ones that told me that you hated me, and believe me, they fucking hurt, but i love you so much keith, and never you doubt that for a second."

keith began sobbing again, but it lacked the sadness his first round of hysterics had, instead he lurched forward and attached his lips to lance's, squeezing his eyes shut as he relished in the sensation of kissing lance. it was nothing more than a simple kiss, no intentions other than to share the deep love the two boys had for each other.

"i love you too lance, so goddamn much it hurts, especially when you died, i felt so lost, but here you are, and fuck it if i don't love you even more than i did before. i know that i haven't known much love in the past, but i do know that you mean more to me than anyone else ever could."

this time lance initiated the kiss, leaning forward and gripping keith in an attempt to pull him closer, silent tears tracking down his face as he found there was nothing other than love, both received and returned, flowing through his brain.

he felt complete with keith, like nothing in the world could tear him down whilst keith was at his side. though he knew that wasn't exactly true, he never wanted to let keith go, pulling away from his soft lips to instead wrap his arms back around the other boy's body, similar to their earlier position. lance pushed his head into the crook of keith's neck, breathing in his scent which was simply keith, a musky smell that mixed with sweat and a slight hint of mint.

the two boys sat like that, not speaking a word, just appreciating the warmth and the pulse and the smell of the other, neither wanting to release their grip. what they didn't anticipate however, was shiro walking through the door into the cryoroom with the intent of telling keith that it was time for lance's body to be put to rest, instead freezing when he saw lance very much alive and wrapped around his little brother's body.

both keith and lance looked at each other with a jolt, both sporting wide eyes, before slowly turning their heads to see a pale looking shiro, who looked at a loss of what to say or do. his mouth opened and closed, gaping like a fish out of water, completely unable to form a sentence to assess the situation.

instead, what came out of shiro's mouth wasn't unexpected, and rather justified seeing the situation he was currently in, but was spoken in such a chocked tone it sounded like he had never used his voice before uttering those three words.

"what the fuck..."