After another day, tensions had eased between the family. That wasn't to say that all the fear and anger was gone, but there was a significantly smaller amount of it than before. They'd gotten transferred back into the suite after the blood was cleaned up and everything.
" Keith... I can't do this anymore..." Lance groaned, nestling into Keith's hair as he spooned him in their bed.
" Do what?" Keith mumbled, half listening to the Netflix in the background.
" I feel so cooped up. We need to get out of this room." Lance said, peeling his face back. He was shirtless while standing up, wearing only his boxers and socks.
" I can't argue with you there." Keith sighed, rolling and staring at the ceiling. It was about seven at night, and they could've gone to one of the many places in the resort.
It was an ominous feeling, being in there alone. After all, Pidge was still in the hospital. Lance and Keith pretty much had their own room.
Matt was with Pidge, and Shiro, Adam, Hunk, and Shay were in the room across the hall. They had every opportunity to leave.
" How about I take you on a date?" Lance smirked. " This whole buddy system thing is setting us up to go out~"
" Like you need an excuse for that." Keith chuckled, and Kosmo jumped atop the bed to cuddle by him. The dog chased his own tail before settling right on top of Keith, nearly crushing him.
Keith deadpanned and looked at Lance.
" Maybe he won't let me go out, Babe." The shorter male chuckled. Lance was about to go put on some clothes, but when he saw Kosmo, he decided it could wait a few minutes. He crawled back on the bed and laid beside Keith, pressing kisses on his face and tickling him.
Keith snickered and Kosmo yipped at Lance, getting excited and moving to nearly tackle him. He used Keith as a launching pad in the process, and Lance giggled while the husky licked all over his face. His giant furry tail swung from side to side eagerly, and Keith couldn't have been more fond while watching.
Lance found his arms wrapping behind Kosmo and his hands raking through his fur. He grinned and Keith shook his head while smiling as well.
It took a hot minute to get the very large husky to calm down, and sit down atop both of them. When Kosmo stretched out, he easily covered the couple.
" I just feel like we haven't been on a date in forever..." Lance murmured and kissed Keith's cheek softly, all the while Keith pet his dog and rubbed his belly.
" That's because we haven't." Keith said, leaning his head on Lance's shoulder. " It's kind of hard to do stuff like that when we're worrying about our friends getting murdered, remember?"
" Well... we're only going to be here for another day or two... I want to make the most of it." Lance kissed Keith's neck and wrapped his arms around him, nibbling at his ear and chuckling. He was sick of sitting in their room and wallowing. He needed to get out, needed to take Keith with.
" You're sure?" Keith chuckled. He wondered if Shiro would even let them. However... if Lance wanted it, he knew they'd find a way.
" Yeah, we'll just have to tell Shiro first. I don't want it to seem like we're sneaking out."
...
Adam had fallen asleep beside Shiro, and thank god housekeeping had washed their sheets after Lance and Keith... did the do... in them.
Shiro was sitting there, just trying to think. Pidge was such a close call, and he couldn't even think about losing any of his close family members, or any of them at all. When he'd taken people in, he'd never imagined that it would become so complicated and dangerous, but then again... he hadn't realized who Lotor was at first. Selling drugs and killing people during deals wasn't something Shiro was okay with, and was the last thing he wanted was to be associated with.
Adam mumbled in his sleep, and Shiro smiled while pulling him closer. He looked so cute when he slept, and Shiro couldn't have been more relieved that at least one of his boyfriends was there.
That was when Shiro's phone began vibrating from where it sat next to him. It was probably the most startled Shiro had ever been in his life. He gasped to himself before taking a deep breath and trying to keep calm. He picked up his phone, seeing that it was a blocked number.
" Hello?" He answered, talking under his breath as not to wake Adam.
" How's your vacation going?" A deep voice asked from the other end, and Shiro scowled to himself while recognizing it in a split second.
" You." Shiro growled. " What do you want, huh? Are you here right now?"
Lotor chuckled.
" It's funny how I can be thousands of miles away and still manage to kill your people~" He purred in a way that made Shiro want to throw up all over the bedspread.
" You're sick." Shiro said. " Now why are you even calling me?"
" Oh... no reason..." Lotor smirked. " I was just wondering when you were planning on getting back?"
" Like hell I would ever tell you that." Shiro spat and hung up. That was so fucking weird. Lotor usually didn't call him out of the blue. He wondered if he was up to something no good, or even more no good than usually. Lotor was always ominous, but he hadn't planned any remarks to tell Shiro, and he didn't act like he was a killer straight out of a Scream movie. That was out of the ordinary.
Something was up.
Shiro panicked, wondering if Matt and Pidge were okay.
He called them as Adam began to stir beside him.
" Shiro?" He mumbled tiredly, and Shiro ran his hand through Adam's hair as if to silently assure him. Matt picked up a couple seconds later, and Shiro knew that he couldn't freak him out.
" Hey." Matt said casually.
Shiro breathed a sigh of relief, deciding he could just act like he was calling him to check on Pidge.
" How is she? Have the doctors said anything?" Shiro asked, and Adam scooted closer to cuddle on his side.
" She's fine. They still want to keep her for another night, but they're thinking tomorrow she'll get discharged." Matt explained, noticing some sort of difference in Shiro's voice. " Is everything okay?"
" Yeah, that's great. Everything is great." Shiro said. He was the leader. He couldn't go scaring everyone right away. It was almost like he was the president trying to avoid a state of panic among a nation.
Matt seemed skeptical, and Shiro already knew it without the man even having to say anything
" Um... okay."
There was a knock outside Shiro, Adam, and Matt's bedroom.
" Shiro?" Lance poked his head in.
" Yeah?" Shiro asked, and Adam could once again be heard snoring.
Lance got nostalgia to back when he was a child, and he would ask his parents to go out. It had the same energy, and it brought him back to his days on the beach.
" Can me and Keith go out? We wanted to grab dinner..." Lance said.
" I don't see why not. Just... use the buddy system like I told you to." Shiro sighed, stressed.
...
Lance gazed at Keith from across the half circle shaped booth they sat in. The restaurant around them was bustling, and smelled of grilled pineapple and many other foods.
Keith perked up, blushing once he noticed Lance staring at him. The taller boy's cheek was resting in his palm as his elbow sat atop the table.
" Yes?" Keith chuckled, smiling.
" You look so gorgeous... have I told you that?" Lance sighed dreamily.
Keith was completely flustered while sipping from his drink, which was served inside of a literal coconut. The rum and juice blended perfectly, being not too sweet and not too strong.
" Many times." Keith smiled over at him, and Lance scooted around so they could be closer.
Lance may or may not have had a little something up his sleeve. Before coming out for dinner, they'd stopped inside of a few resort shops.
" I know things have been hard lately... and it's sort of been getting to us. So... I'm happy we can just sit down and have a nice dinner together." Lance spoke, wrapping an arm around Keith's shoulder.
Keith couldn't refute that.
" I'm sorry about everything, Babe... I-"
" I know... you don't have to apologize again. I think we all went a little bit nuts." Lance said. " I'm just so happy you're okay. You really don't wanna know what I'd do without you... I'd be lost."
Keith squeezed Lance's hand.
" You'll never have to worry about that." The smaller boy murmured, and Lance intertwined their fingers.
" I love you so much." Lance softly professed, getting all mushy while looking over Keith. Keith opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted when the waiter brought over their appetizers.
Even though they were in a place so exotic as Hawaii, Lance had stayed in his comfort zone. They'd gotten onion rings and cheese fries, cause why the hell not?
Lance ran a hand through Keith's bangs, looking over his red tank top and toned arms. His raven black mullet was pulled back in a tiny ponytail, and he was wearing some black shorts. He was so perfect. That's what made it so hard.
It was horrifying.
Pidge had almost died, and nobody was safe. Lance knew that he and Keith were no exception to that, and even though they were on a date, it was in the back of his mind.
Keith grabbed a cheese fry, watching the cheese get all stringy as he pulled it apart. It was food porn at its finest.
" Keith..." Lance whispered, pressing his lips onto the other's cheek. " I want you to have something."
Keith had a mouthful of food and couldn't have been more confused. He saw Lance grab something from his pocket, and he nearly choked.
" Lance?"
" I got you something..." Lance put the small box on the table, and Keith hesitated to reach for it.
" What's the occasion?" The shorter male asked. Lance smiled a bit.
" It's called I love you and I saw this and needed to get it." Lance told him, holding Keith's hand still. He needed Keith to have something to symbolize him, that way he could always be beside him no matter what. Like hell Lance would ever tell him that, though.
Keith playfully rolled his eyes.
" Asshole. I would've gotten you something-"
" Just open it, Baby~" Lance smiled, pulling Keith closer to himself.
Keith picked up the box, which had an almost velvety texture on its outside. He pulled it open, seeing the most beautiful marbled bracelet in there. Some of the beads were purple, while others swirled between colors of red and blue. Sometimes the blue would meld with the purple to form an indigo color, and other times violet would form from purple and red. In the middle of the bracelet, there was a silver crescent moon shaped charm. Engraved into it were the words 'to the moon and back'.
" Lance..." Keith murmured.
Lance kissed his cheek again.
Keith felt drawn to the bracelet almost immediately.
" That one reminds me of your eyes." Lance pointed to one of the indigo colored beads. They glistened even in the dimly lit restaurant.
" It's beautiful." Keith marveled, picking it up and looking at Lance with the fondest expression in the history of mankind. " I'm never going to take it off."
" I'd hope not." Lance chuckled, grinning. Inside, he hoped Keith would always have it, and would never have to bear parting from him.
...
" Ally, please! There's no way that this can be a good idea! What if he hurts us? He told me he'd kill me if you ever found out and-"
Romelle and Allura were in the backseat of an Uber, and Romelle had been rambling out her anxieties for ten minutes straight.
" I'm not running from my problems." Allura said seriously. They'd flown back from Hawaii early, and told no one they were going, but even so... she wondered if he was expecting them. Excellent.
" But-"
" I won't let him hurt you." Allura assured her, and Romelle gulped. She found herself getting caught up in Allura's eyes again, still hung up on their iridescence and how she couldn't determine a single color in them. She knew she wasn't supposed to feel that way, and in a way... she felt like she was betraying their friendship.
" I'm not worried about him hurting me... I'm worried that he'll take it out on you." Romelle mumbled. She scooted away from Allura in the backseat, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. After all, Allura hadn't even brought up their kiss.
Allura looked over at her, wondering why Romelle had scooted away when she needed her most.
" Romelle?" She asked, and Romelle was sniffling from how scared she was.
" Please... can we just go? Can't we leave everything and split town? I have a really bad feeling about this." Romelle told her, and Allura slid her hand over to grip hers. Their eyes caught one another, and Allura felt herself getting closer. Maybe it was dumb of her, maybe she shouldn't have been letting herself do this... but it didn't stop her.
" We need to talk first... then we can make a run for it..." Allura whispered, and Romelle was confused. Did she like her or did she not?
All either of them knew was that they had to escape from him, and as Allura's lips pressed on Romelle's, it was even more clear. Because if they didn't, if Lotor knew what they were up to. Romelle could only fear that he would ruin everything.
As the Uber pulled up to the mansion, Allura was running through everything in her head. There were so many scenarios, so many ways this could go. And what did it boil down to? She couldn't be with a murderer, couldn't stand that she'd fallen for someone like that.
She'd been fooled into believing his lies, and the crying she'd done in secret had helped her realize many things. It was always too good to be true, and there were so many red flags she should've been noticing. However, love was the thing that had been blinding her for so long.
Or... what she had thought was love.
Allura opened the door of the Uber, then looked back at Romelle.
" You can wait here if you want." She told her, and Romelle nodded. She also told the Uber to wait, because they were planning on using it again.
Allura looked like a total badass while strutting up to the door, her high heeled boots clacking on the bricks the whole way there. She cinched her cardigan around her waist and tied back all of her hair into a high pony. She put her hoops in her pocket and pushed the door open.
She had one thing she had to get out of the way right up front.
" Allura?" Lotor asked from the top of the grand staircase.
Allura sashayed over, looking up to the top of it as Lotor began thumping down the steps. He had a smile on his features. It soon disappeared, however. As soon as he reached the bottom, Allura bitch slapped him right across the face. The smack vibrated through the air and made her hand tingle, and Lotor hissed.
" What the hell?!"
(( You guys have no idea how badly I wanted to do the scene from Voltron where she yeets Lotor across the room.))