A/N: Sorry for not updating in a while guys! One, I had writers block, and two, I had school and activities to deal with, so yeah. I tried to make this one longer then the other ones that I've put up so far just to make up for it.
I honestly don't know how I got this idea, it just popped into my head. Sorry if it seems silly...
By the way, do you guys prefer Keith being the submissive one in the relationship and Lance dominant, or vice versa?
Anyways, enjoy!
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Keith's POV
"Keith? What are you doing up so late?" Shiro's voice seemed to echo through the kitchen. Keith turned his head around, looking up at the Black Paladin from his seat on top of the counter. "Oh, nothing...I just can't sleep. What's your excuse?" Keith didn't mean to sound defensive or hostile, but it did. "I was going to the bathroom." Shiro replied, narrowing his eyes at Keith. "Oh, ok." Keith shrugged, turning away from him. "You really need sleep Keith. I get that your used to going a while without sleep, but I think it's been affecting you lately. For the past few days you haven't been at the top of your game. In training you've been getting beaten into the ground, in actual fights your reaction time is slower, and the most frightening thing of all is that you've stopped arguing with Lance." Shiro said, but the last part was just to lighten the mood.
Damn...I should've just stayed in my room...Keith thought. Ever since they get on the ship, when Keith didn't sleep at night he just lay on his bed lost in thought. But for the past week, seeing as how it's basically been 7 days, he has decided to wander around the ship. But lately, the reason he hadn't been sleeping well was because of nightmares. The nightmares bothered him so much, that he couldn't bring himself to fall asleep and relive them, every single night. Nightmares about all of the Lion being taken and the Paladins being captured. Nightmares about his team being tortured while he could only watch in horror. Nightmares about the Red Lion rejecting him because he wasn't good enough. "What's going on with you Keith?" Shiro had walked over to him and put a hand on Keith, who flinched a bit. A memory from one of his nightmares of Zarkon taking over the Black Lion and killing Shiro by spearing him trough with a sword flashed into his mind. "Keith?" Shiro said questioningly when he saw the teen flinch.
"Nothing's wrong. I just haven't really been getting any sleep at all lately. My mind keeps me up with all the thoughts on how we can defeat Zarkon and stuff like that." Keith didn't like lying, but he felt ashamed. He was being kept up at night by pathetic nightmares like a 5-year-old kid wth a dark imagination. "I'll go back to my room and try to sleep. Good night Shiro." Before Shiro could say anything, Keith jumped down from the counter and headed to his room.
Shiro stared after Keith, confused. What was up with him? Was it really just thoughts that kept him up? If it was, then that was understandable seeing as to what they do every day.
With a small sigh, Shiro left the room, heading down the hall for the nearest bathroom. How could he fix this problem?
=Time Skip 2 days later=
"This is what happens when you disobey me Paladins." Zarkon growled, glaring down at the five Paladins and two Alteans before him. Zarkon paused for a moment, appearing to be assessing them, then reached down, grabbing Pidge by their throat. Pidge made a strangled noise, hands flying up to their throat and legs kicking in the air. Keith watched Zarkon tighten his grip on their neck, watching Zarkon squeeze Pidge's throat tighter and tighter...until they stopped kicking. Their hands dropped to his sides and his whole body was still, looking like a limp ragdoll in the hands of the evil lord. "Who's next?" Zarkon threw the body away carelessly, turning his hatred-filled gaze on the rest of the group. His eyes landed on Lance and he reached for him, Lance's eyes widening. "No!" Keith shrieked, trying to stand but was forced back to his knees by a soldier, watching helplessly yet again, as Zarkon repeated the same process. Tears streamed down Keith's face as he watched Lance struggle and kick in Zarkon's grip, trying to free himself but to no avail. When Lance's body went limp, he threw it to the side like he had done Pidge and reached for Keith next, hands enclosing around Keith's throat and-
"Keith? Keith, wake up! Keith!" Someone was yelling his name.
With a shriek Keith sat upright. His eyes wildly scanned the room for Zarkon, Galra soldiers, and his fellow Paladins, but all he saw was his darkened room and a figure standing beside him. He turned his head, squiring his eye to make out the person's features. "Keith? Are you ok?" He recognized that voice.
"What do you want, Lance?" Keith felt extremely embarrassed that his rival, Lance, had found him twisting and turning in bed from a nightmare. A stupid...pathetic...nightmare. "Shiro sent me to check on you, since you left training earlier then usual. We trained for about another hour or two and that's when he sent me to go check on you." Lance explained. Keith saw a flash of movement, and felt something warm against his forehead. "What are you doing?" Keith muttered, glaring at Lance's figure. He was hot, and sweat was pouring down his face. His shirt clung to his chest like a second skin, and his pants were sticking to his legs like a marshmallow to the crackers in a s'more. "You're burning up. Are you ok? You were kicking and crying." Lance sounded genuinely worried, which surprised Keith since Lance apparently hated his guts. Wait-crying? Keith brought his hands up to his cheeks. He had thought it was just sweat but now that he thought about it, it was most likely tears.
Keith realized that Lance's hand was still on his forehead and smacked it away. "Great. I'm fine as you can see, so you can go now." The ravenette grumbled. "No you're not Keith. Shiro told me about that talk you guys had...2 nights ago I believe it was. You are not ok." Lance said. "But you lied, didn't you? You're having dreams? Nightmares?" "Leave me alone Lance." Keith huffed, turning his face away. His heart was still pounding in his chest, as flashes of Zarkon choking Lance flashed through his mind. Keith let out a choked sob, his chest tightening and his eyes and nose burning. "Keith..." Keith turned to look at Lance again, who sat beside him on his bed. He opened his arms and reached forward, wrapping his arms around Keith, who flinched and then sat stock still, unable to process what was happening, while still crying.
"What was it about?" Lance pulled away. "What?" Keith wiped his face, embarrassment gone and all that was left was horror, grief and sadness. "Your nightmare." Lance said. "I'd rather not talk about it." Keith looked away from him again. "We can't help you if you don't open up to anyone." Lance murmured to him. Keith let out a shaky breath, remembering the dream as vividly as if he was still witnessing it. "Zarkon...he captured us and he killed Pidge...and you...then he was going to kill me but you woke me up." Keith looked down at the sheets on his bed. "Why do you want to help me anyways? I thought you hated me." Keith muttered, still not meeting his eyes. "It's a love-hate relationship thing." "But we're not in a relationship. "A love-hate friendship then." "I've never heard of one of those." "Well you did live in a lonely little shack out in the middle of the desert so..." "Ok I'm done."
Keith laid back down on his bed, wiping his face one more time before turning on his side facing the wall that his bed was pressed up against. He felt the bed shift, thinking that Lance was leaving, but then felt a heat against his back. "Lance, what are you-" "Shut up and sleep." "I-" "Sleep." "Yeah, ok."
This continued on for the next few days. Keith would usually leave the others early to retire to his room. Sometimes, Shiro would ask Lance to check on him every once in a while and see that he was sleeping, but for the most part Lance went on his own accord. They would lay snuggled up together under the sheets of Keith's bed , appreciating each other's warmth. Keith didn't have as many nightmares anymore, though he did still have one every so often but then Lance would be there to comfort him. Over time, the more time the two spent together, the more Keith could feel himself falling deeper into the pit of confusing emotions that was Lance. In training, Lance would still tease him relentlessly and Keith would shoot some insults back, but at night Lance was like an innocent cuddly teddy bear. It confuzzled the shit out of Keith.
Lance, however, was sure of his feelings. He knew he liked Keith more then the other paladins, more then anyone he had ever really known. But he knew Keith would never like him back. Keith was one of those straight straws that when bent, they broke. Lance was the straw that had the little designs on it and could bend easily. Basically, if you hadn't got the message yet, Lance was bisexual, whereas Keith was straight. Lance didn't know why he acted differently around Keith in front of the others. Perhaps to convince everyone he didn't like Keith? Yeah, that was most likely it...
"Keith?" Lance was laying in bed beside the dark-haired boy, staring up at the ceiling. "Yeah?" Keith mumbled, back towards Lance. "What are we?" "What do you mean?" What do you mean what do I mean? What are we now?" Lance asked, his heart thudding loudly in his chest. Pause. "Friends I guess? Why?" "Oh, ok. No reason, just asking." Lance felt disappointed, but hey-what was he expecting? A full out love speech? "You sound...disappointed. Or sad. Why?" He heard Keith shifting, and out of the corner of his eye saw Keith was on his side now, facing Lance. Crap. "I'm not disappointed! I was just asking." "Don't lie Lance." "Who said I was-" "I can tell when your lying." "Ah, so we're at the best friends stage huh? Where we know everything about each other? Good to know.-" "Lance." "-I mean, the best friend stage is literally the best stage to be at. See, it even says it in the title, best friends-" "Lance." "Like honestly, in my opinion, best friends are the only friends you need, screw regular friends-" "If you don't shut up I'm gonna pick you up and throw you on the ground."
Lance opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, turning his face away. "Why did you ask? If you're uncomfortable with doing this then you can leave, it's alright. The nightmares have gone away anyways, so you-" "That is the complete opposite of why I asked." Lance faces him again. Keith was looking at him quizzically. "Then why?" "Because I..." If I do this I could seriously ruin any chance of any relationship between us ever again. "I just..."
What is up with him tonight? Keith stared at the brunette, frowning. "You just...what?" Keith watched Lance's face carefully, in case he lied again. "OkaysoIlikeyoubutIreallydidn'twanttosayanythingbecauseIknowthatyou'restraightbutIcan'thelplikingyou. (Ok so I like you but I really didn't want to say anything because I know that you're straight but I can't help liking you)." Lance said it all in a rush. Keith's eyes widened. Despite Lance saying all the words rally fast to try and mush them together so he wouldn't understand, he did. He understood every word of it. "You...you like me?" Keith was as confused as ever. "But you...I thought you hated me." Was all he could say. "For Gods sake Keith I sleep with you! How could I hate you if I spend every night alone with you?" Lance snapped, then blushed. "Not, um, that sleeping together, just, you know, together in the same bed and...uh yeah that still sounds weird." Lance mumbled, giving a nervous chuckle. He actually likes me? Keith thought to himself. He actually...he..."Hellooo? Space to Keith? It's kinda weird when you stare at someone. Unless you're admiring my beauty. In that case then c-"
Keith didn't know what had made him do it. It wasn't like a little voice whispered in his head, do it now!, or anything like that. It almost felt like an instinct. As if it was the most normal thing to do in this situation. Except this was definitely not normal, especially for someone like Keith. Nope, in fact this is abnormal. Right here, right now, is the definition of abnormal. Keith planting his lips on Lance's, feeling regret when Lance didn't move for a second, but then started kissing him back, Keith wrapping an arm around Lance and pulling him close. Completely abnormal.
Keith pulled away, a light blush on his cheeks. Lance's face the reddest thing you've ever seen. He was watching Keith with a mix of surprise and something else in his expression. "Still think I'm straight?" Keith snickered. "Hey, I am so sorry for not knowing your sexuality, especially when you barely ever talk to us, your own teammates!" Lance glared at him, but his face was still extremely red so it just made him look even cuter. "I thought it was obvious." Keith shrugged. "How in hell was it obvious? You didn't even flirt with anyone!" Lance exclaimed. Keith just shrugged. "You are impossible to deal with." Lance sighed, turning so he was on his back. Keith still had one arm around Lance, and he used it to pull him close again, laying his head in the crook of Lance's neck. "What exactly are we now?" Lance asked, staring up at the ceiling like he had done earlier. "Whatever you want us to be." Keith said, closing his eyes. "Good night Lance." "Night Keith."
"So if I wanted us to be dating that's what we would be?" "Yes Lance." "Oh ok." "Night."
"So we're dati-" "Shut up and sleep." Silence. "I see what you did there. Good night Keith." "...Are you gonna stop talking?" "Hmm....yeah I'll stop now." "Good night Lance."
Word Count: 2475
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A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed! Remember to request!