Prompt: Lance keeps stealing Keith's dog cus he had a family doggo and he keeps cuddling with his dog and Keith is like??? Where did the dog go?? And then finds them both and goes 😯😊😳
A/N: I'm back to writing normal prompts! They might be less frequent than they were before, I definitely won't be posting one a day lol. My classes started and I'm going to be really busy with those, but I'm still going to try to write as often as I can! Also don't forget that if you support me on patreon https://www.patreon.com/prince_yoongi you can gain access to all my patron-only fics and many other cool perks!
Trigger warnings: none
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"Hey, Lance, have you seen the wolf—" Lance jumped as he was woken by the voice. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were asleep" Lance lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. He hadn't remembered laying down.
"Wh- Did you want somethin'?" Lance mumbled sleepily.
"Yeah, I was wondering if you knew where the wolf was? He normally sleeps in my room but the past couple of nights he's been disappearing, and I don't know where—" It was at this exact moment that the animal in question poked his head out from underneath Lance's covers. Keith's mouth formed an 'o.' "Never mind" he said. Cosmo phased out of Lance's bed and reappeared in front of Keith, rubbing against his legs. Lance gasped.
"You dirty traitor" he said to the wolf. "This was supposed to be a secret!" The corner of Keith's mouth quirked up.
"You know, Lance, if he wants to sleep in your room with you I don't mind it, really" he said. A blush formed on Lance's cheeks.
"I didn't- I didn't bring him in here, I swear. I would never steal your dog from you" He sat all the way up in his bed, crossing his legs. His blankets pooled around his waist as he moved. His hair was sticking up in ridiculous directions. "He just... he keeps following me" he said in embarrassment. "And he's so cute and cuddly that I can't just kick him out..." Keith leaned down and pet Cosmo as he listened to Lance speak.
"Really, it's okay" he assured Lance. "I know Cosmo has, like, a mind of his own. He probably has a reason for hanging around you" Keith shrugged. Lance stared down at his hands silently. Keith straightened up with a frown. "What?"
"I- I don't know. It's stupid" he said, twisting his fingers together. Cosmo leaped across the room and landed on Lance's lap.
"What is it?" Keith took a few steps into Lance's room. He didn't want to intrude, but clearly Lance wanted to talk.
"You know how... there are like comfort dogs who are trained to know when someone's in an emotional crisis and comforts them or whatever?" Lance said slowly. Keith slowed his steps as he reached the edge of Lance's bed. "Well I think... I mean, I know he's not a comfort dog, but I think Cosmo realizes that... I mean, I think he knows that I..." Lance trailed off, but he didn't have to finish his thought for Keith to realize where he was going with it.
"Oh" Keith said quietly. He wasn't sure what to say to that. "He- he is special" Lance stared down at Cosmo, slowly stroking his fur. Keith awkwardly shifted his weight. "Do you want to... talk about it? I mean, why he thinks you're sad?" Lance gestured for Keith to sit down next to him on the bed. Keith hesitantly sat on the edge of the bed and turned slightly toward Lance.
"Back home, my family has a dog, Ollie" Lance began. "We've had him for- for a long time. Since I was a kid. He's really old now. I mean, he was old when I left. I don't even know if he- if he's still—" Lance cut off abruptly and sucked in a deep breath. Cosmo nudged his nose against Lance's hand, prompting him to keep petting him. "Ollie was my best friend" Lance continued after a moment. "He slept at the foot of my bed every night, and he followed me everywhere. I took him on walks every day, and we played in the backyard" Lance chew on his lip for a moment as he was lost in his memory. "And being around your dog—"
"—He's a wolf" Keith interjected. Lance looked at Keith suddenly, as if just realizing that he was there. Keith cleared his throat. "Sorry, continue"
"Wolf, whatever. And being around Cosmo just... reminded me of that. I don't know" Lance ran his fingers through Cosmo's fur lazily as he leaned against the dog's side. "I miss my dog. And my family... It's just hard sometimes. Ya know?" Keith didn't bother reminding Lance that he didn't have anyone waiting for him back on Earth. The only family he had was here in space.
"Yeah" he said. He brushed his fingers against Cosmo's fur as he and Lance lapsed into silence. Cosmo did seem to have taken to Lance. Keith wondered if he really did know that Lance was in an emotional crisis, much like a comfort dog. "Well," Keith cleared his throat suddenly as he climbed out of the bed. "I'm going to head to bed" he said. "I just wanted to check on... on Cosmo" Keith said. He would never admit it, but he kind of liked the name.
Cosmo suddenly teleported off of Lance's bed and in-between Keith's legs. Keith let out a yelp as he started to fall to the floor, but before he hit it, Cosmo transported him back onto Lance's bed. Keith landed head first on top of Lance. Keith and Lance both screamed as Cosmo jumped and landed on top of the both of them. Keith's eyes widened when he realized how close his face was to Lance's. "Uh, s- sorry?" he said in confusion.
"I guess Cosmo want's you to sleep here" Lance said with a nervous laugh.
"I guess" Cosmo curled up in a ball on Keith's back and drifted off to sleep. Keith sighed and dropped his head down onto Lance's shoulder. He couldn't move now. Cosmo was heavier than he looked. Plus, it's a universal rule that you can't wake a sleeping pet even if it's on top of you. Lance relaxed after a moment and also began to fall asleep.
Another thing that Keith would never admit, was that he needed Cosmo just as much as Lance did.