The Best Klance Fanfictions

Thinking 'Bout You

found here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12607656

Thinking 'Bout You

BleuSarcelle, Queerklancing

Keith wakes up to singing.

His mind can't really wrap itself around the fact, still heavy with sleep, and it only makes him more annoyed when the singing grows louder. It's probably around the fifth verse when he finally snaps.

'Ugh, you've got to be kidding me,' he thinks, face still pressed against his pillow in a weak attempt to block the singing echoing around him, 'Imma murder someone, I swear.'

The singing stops abruptly, making him wince at the sudden sharp tug it took inside his mind at the action.

Silence is back around his light dimmed room and Keith honestly couldn't care less about the weird experience. Weirder things have happened before in life than annoying singing stopping out of nowhere, honestly.

Keith's just glad it's gone, and he's able to go back to sleep -

'Um, hello?'

Keith pauses, his limbs tensing and his breath hitching when a sudden unfamiliar voice makes itself present. He takes two seconds before he leaps out of bed, the knife he keeps under his pillow held up high in front of him in defense.

He stands tall and firm, trying to look intimidating and dangerous even though he's missing a sock and his boxers are hanging a little too low around his hips.

Wide dark blue eyes narrow themselves as they search every corner of his room for any kind of intruder. His room is not that big, barely able to hold a bed, a dresser and a small desk next to the window, basically bare and transparent.

Keith lowers his knife slowly, eyebrows furrowed together in confusion when nothing looks out of the ordinary.

"Fair enough, that was weird," Keith hums out loud, easing his shoulders and relaxing his stand as he takes one last look around him and drops his knife on his bed.

'Maybe I'm going crazy.'

A shiver runs down his spine when the voice appears once again, but this time, Keith can easily pinpoint the place it's coming from, or more like, where it shouldn't come from.

He takes a pause, hands up in the air as if he was trying to calm himself down, before he takes a deep breath.

'That was not my thought,' he thinks, panic and confusion filling his chest, 'That was not my thought, what the fu -'

'Dude,' the unfamiliar voice cuts him off sharply, but Keith can hear the edge of fear lingering on its tone, 'Dude, what the fuck -'

'No, no, you what the fuck.' Keith thinks angrily, scowling as his eyes go up, as if he could meet the stranger's face in the ceiling.

'Me? You what the fuck.' The voice replies, panic and fear still on the back but being covered by annoyance, 'Get out.'

'It's my head, you get out.'

'No, it's mine.'

Keith purses his lips and pokes his temple and then his cheek, nodding once he confirms what he was looking for.

'No, pretty sure it's my body, my mind, and you're a weird thing invading it.'

'Maybe I'm your conscious?'

'What the fuck is a conscious? Did you mean 'conscience' ?'

'No, no. Conscious.'

'Well, then, whatever. Fuck off, Conscious.'

'Are you my conscious?'

'You just said that you were mine?'

'But I know I'm me, how can I be your conscious?'

'I don't kno- Get out.'

'How the fuck -'

"Hey, Keith, you awake?"

The extra voice puts Keith in alert. He dives for his knife, pointing it high to the person behind him only to meet his brother's arched eyebrow.

"I thought you had grown over your necessity of sleeping with your knife." Shiro deadpans before frowning in confusion when he notices the tense shoulders and worried frown in his brother's features. "Uh...you okay?"

"Uh, yeah," Keith replies quickly.

Shiro only spares him another concern glance before he shrugs. "If you say so, bro. Get ready, though, because we leave in ten and the pancakes I made may disappear by that time."

"Oh, God, let's hope so," Keith mutters quietly, throwing his knife back to his bed and ignoring the way Shiro flips him off with a mocking glare.

The door closes behind his brother and Keith waits exactly three seconds before he comes to a decision.

'Hello? Weird voice in my head?' He thinks, trying to be careful on how to form his words, 'Alo? No? Nothing?'

Five seconds pass, maybe ten just to be sure, and it's then when Keith sighs, relief dripping from his shoulders like water.

'This never happened,' he tells himself inside his head.

He ignores the uneasy feeling inside of him when he can't even convince himself.

Lance takes a long sip from his iced coffee as he watches the crowd pass by.

He's taking a well-deserved break after a long day of shopping at the mall. Hunk was supposed to accompany him, but canceled last minute because he had to fill in at his part-time job.

Lance sighs. It's been a few days since the weird encounter he had under the shower. At first, he played it off as a hallucination, or blamed it on his tiredness. But then Lance had a thought. What if ... that was his soulmate link.

He knows almost everything there is to know about soulmates. Lance has been obsessed with it ever since he was a child. But there are so many different kind of soul links that it's hard to get a grasp of all the possibilities. There's the classic red string of fate that connects people. That's how his mom and dad met. There are some soulmates who can share whatever they paint on their skin; some share their injuries, others see some kind of trail in the air leading them to their soulmate.

Some of these are obvious others are more... unique. Like that one woman who had the same song stuck in her head for years until she met her soulmate who heard the same song. And then there are these unfortunate souls who don't have a soulmate.

Lance is one of them.

At least that's what he thought until now. Ever since he heard that voice in his head, he had the tiny spark of hope that maybe ... maybe there is someone out there for him after all.

Lance sighs as he puckers his lips to take another sip from his straw. Well, he didn't hear the voice again so maybe it was just his imagination.

'Shit, he's hot.'

Lance chokes and sputters as he spits out his coffee. "What the fuck?!" he wheezes and rubs his mouth with his sleeve. The girls on the table next to him raise their eyebrows in question and giggle when he smiles awkwardly.

Okay, alright, okay. That was definitely in his head.

'Test. Test. Hello?' he thinks, trying not to feel stupid.

'What the shit?!'

Lance probably shouldn't be so thrilled to hear a stranger's voice in his head, but his heart jumps nervously in his chest.

'That's what I wanted to say as well.'

'Oh nonononono, this is not happening again!'

'Um. Sorry to disappoint you buddy, but it is.'

'Who are you? How do you do that?!'

Lance leans back and frowns.

'Wait hold up, I'm not the one doing this!'

'Well neither am I!'

'So we both don't have a clue what's going on,' Lance concludes and crosses his arms. It should be weird to talk to someone in his head, but he's getting the hang of this pretty quickly. Maybe it is his soulmate after all.

'This is so fucked up,' the voice groans and Lance can hear the distress radiating from him. Well, it seems like the guy on the other hand isn't as excited as Lance about this.

'I'm Lance.'

'Huh?'

'My name is Lance.'

'Why are you telling me this?!'

'I don't know. I thought maybe you'd feel better if the voice in your head wasn't a complete stranger.'

There's silence in his head. Lance unfolds his arms and panic bubbles in his chest when he doesn't get an answer. He's about to voice his concerns when his thoughts get interrupted.

'I'm Keith.'

A relieved smile spreads on Lance's lips, and he can't help the chuckle leaving him.

'Well, hello Keith. Nice to meet you.'

'Yeah,' the stranger - Keith - scoffs.

Lance snorts and grimaces when the girls at the table next to him send him another funny look.

'So,' he starts. 'Who is hot?'

'Huh?'

'You thought about someone - a guy - being hot earlier,' Lance adds, and he hides the grin behind his hands as he leans forward.

'Fuck,' Keith curses. 'There goes my privacy.'

***

As it turns out neither of them can control the moment they hear each other's thoughts. Over the course of the week Keith's voice randomly pops up in Lance's head, and he gets startled by it every time. But Keith slowly eases up more when Lance tries to start conversations. Yesterday he finally told Keith about his soulmate idea. Keith wasn't immediately convinced, but he said he would do some research.

By now Lance is almost positive that this is the only conclusion. The thought that he could actually have a soulmate makes his heart race, but he doesn't want to rush Keith. So he's waiting.

Lance is standing at his window, looking down onto the street, enjoying the gentle breeze of a warm summer night. He sings a spanish song under his breath, chin resting on his hand.

'You sure like to sing, don't you?'

This time Lance doesn't flinch when the voice pops up in his head.

'Uh, yeah, sorry; I'll stop if it bothers you.'

'No,' The reply is almost immediate. 'I mean, uh.... it's ... kinda nice.'

A warm feeling flutters in Lance's stomach, and he hides the wide grin on his lips behind his hand.

He doesn't answer. Instead, he closes his eyes and starts singing again.

The soft lighting coming from his laptop is enough to light up the small corner of his room as Keith types and scrolls down various websites.

Soulmates. Lance had called them soulmates and Keith had called him an idiot.

Well, he didn't say Lance was an idiot out loud, per se, it was more of an impulsive thought that rushed through his mind, forgetting for just a second that said idiot could hear his thoughts.

It took several minutes to convince Lance that he was sorry for calling him an idiot; he only accepted once Keith agreed to look into the topic of soulmates.

Keith didn't see it, of course, but somehow, the flash of a beaming bright smile made its way to his brain as soon as he made his promise, and it was an image so indispensably Lance that Keith couldn't help but smile back.

Lance has a nice smile.

Three days since he started his investigation and the notion of Lance and him being soulmates sounded more logical and probable as they days went by and websites were read.

It's not like Keith was clueless enough to not know what a soulmate was, after all, it was usually what the kids back in the orphanage used to talk about before he got adopted by the Shirogane family.

Someone who would love you and care for you, the kids used to murmur, huddled up together in a small circle late at night after lights went out. Someone who would be your family and make you happy.

Back then, Keith used to just shrugs his small shoulders nonchalantly and would try to ignore the spark of hope that burned inside him at the thought of having someone to call his own family.

Now, Keith fights back the smile that creeps over his lips as he closes yet another websites that only re-affirms Lance's theory.

So, he had a soulmate.

'Hey, Lance,' he thinks, the spark of hope inside him growing as the seconds go by and Lance's familiar presence inside his head tells him he's listening, 'Guess who has a soulmate.'

The laughter that echoes around his room is barely fought as his head is filled with excited chatter and enthusiastic feelings.

With Lance's chatter, it's almost impossible for Keith to get a word in, but he still voices his thoughts out loud, quietly under his breath as the image of Lance's smile makes a comeback.

"I will find you," he whispers softly, "I promise."

***

'We should have a cheer, you know? Maybe for when we find each other?'

'What do you mean?'

'You know, like, I say 'soul' you say 'mate' in the middle of the street and that's how we know we are each other!'

'Wha -'

'Let's practice! Soul!'

'Soul...mate?'

'...I mean, close enough, to be honest.'

***

'Okay, but ghosts and demons are real. Keith, my abuela see this shit, okay? They are real.'

'There's no proof that all those events happened by the hand of an evil spirit, as you so claim. No offense to your grandma, though.'

'We are made of energy, Keith, and when we die, we become pure energy, hence the ghosts!'

'That doesn't even make sense, Lance.'

'Oh? But a dude covered in fur with big ass wings makes sense?'

'You leave Mothman out of this.'

***

'La primavera empezó hoy.'

'Spring started today.'

'Mis flores favoritas son las rosas.'

'My favorite flowers are the roses.'

'Lance tiene el mejor culo.'

'Lance has the best a - wait, Lance!'

'Well, you ain't wrong!'

'You are supposed to teach me Spanish, not lies.'

'Rude.'

***

'Keith.'

The call comes late at night, just as Keith's on the verge of falling asleep, but something in Lance's voice makes him shake the sleep off his sytem slowly..

'Lance,' he answers easily, head still pressed against his pillow as he reaches over and taps his phone, screen coming to life. The numbers are too bright for him for a second before he dims the screen's lighting and sees the time.

It's a little past one in the morning, and while both Lance and him are used to staying up late chatting with each other, finals week is an event they don't take lightly, so their chats had been cut off for a while but not ceased.

'What if,' Lance pauses and Keith can feel the insecurity and hesitation in those two simple words, 'What if I'm not what you expected? When we meet, I mean, what if I'm not...as good as you think I am? What if I'm not a good soulmate? You would be stuck with me and that's...that's not fair to you.'

There are times when Keith despises their soulmate link, but those times are usually because Lance's singing an old nineties song in the middle of Keith's work out, or like that time when Lance spoiled the final episode of the show they both watched.

This time around, Keith loathes their soulmates link because it's just a reminder that he's not besides Lance and he's not able to gather him in his arms, pulling him close until those insecurities leave his body.

He will just have to make do.

'Do you remember that song you sung a few weeks back? In the middle of my English exam?' he asks instead, quietly and casual inside his head, 'How did it go? Oh yeah, I remember.'

'Keith -'

'Si no hay un minuto de mi tiempo,' Keith sings, humming the soft melody under his breath as best as he can with his raspy voice, 'Que no me pasas por el pensamiento.'

There's the familiar feeling, something that it's Keith's only clue on knowing that Lance's smiling right now. He doesn't stop, his own smile growing on his lips.

'Y todavía preguntas si te quiero.'

'Si te he dado todo lo que tengo,' Lance picks up the song, words echoing inside Keith's mind like a second nature by now and warmth spreads all over him, 'Hasta quedar en deuda conmigo mismo.'

'Y todavía preguntas si te quiero,' Keith continues with a smile, eyes close but feeling wide awake by Lance's voice, 'You are who you are and there's no one else I'd rather want you to be.'

'Even if I think Mothman is an oversized butterfly?'

'Everybody has flaws.'

'Charming.'

'We may be soulmates, Lance, but it's still our own choice whether we accept that bond,' Keith hums, 'I have done my part. I have chosen you, for who you are, not for what you are.'

'Right back at you.' Lance's voice whispers, 'Thank you, Samurai.'

'Anytime, Sharpshooter.'

So, Lance is officially in love.

Head over heels, and undeniable, in love.

With a voice in his head.

That he's known for only a month and a half.

Still, there's no way he can deny the way his stomach flips every time he hears that raspy laugh. Or the way his heart skips a beat when Keith is flustered and stumbles over his words. Or the shiver running down his body, when he catches Keith while he's training, panting hard with the effort.

The thing is.

Lance is curious.

So he rolls around in his bed and groans in frustration. There's no way he can just come out and ask this. It would be awkward and horrible and -

'What would be awkward?'

Lance jumps on the spot before he purses his lips. 'Hey! Don't just burst in here without my permission!'

'It's not like I did it on purpose. I could feel you ... calling me.'

'Oh,' Lance thinks and feels how his cheeks start burning. He thought so hard about Keith that he must have ... summoned him?

'You were thinking about me?' Keith voice sounds small and a little shy. Lance shrieks into his pillows.

'Stop reading my thoughts!'

'I can't stop it! You know that! Control your thoughts if you don't want me to hear them!!'

'You know I can't do that!'

'Well -,' Keith starts and it sounds like he wants to add something, but he doesn't.

Lance sighs and drops the pillow to his lap before he suffocates himself. 'Okay.' Lance takes a deep breath, trying to steady the rapid beat of his heart. 'I wanted to ask you something.'

'Okay,' Keith says but his voice sounds uncertain. Actually, Lance can feel the nervousness radiating from him. A smile tugs at his lips.

'It's nothing serious, don't worry.'

'I'm not worried,' Keith assures.

'Yeah, right, tough guy.'

'Wh-what do you want, Lance?!' Keith snaps, making Lance chuckle.

'Soooo... I was thinking,' Lance starts.

'Unbelievable.'

'Shut up!' Lance bristles and has to start over. 'I was thinking that ... We've known each other for a while now but... I still don't know what you look like.'

There's a beat of silence.

'Oh.'

Lance's heart stops when he hears the unenthusiastic response. 'I-I mean! I was thinking we could send selfies for starters or something! I was- I mean we don't have to if you don't want to, it was just an idea! God, I knew it was stupid, I'm so-'

'Lance.'

Lance immediately stops the panicked flood of thoughts in his head when he hears Keith's steady voice.

'I- I don't think it's a bad idea. I just ... I wasn't expecting that,' Keith admits and Lance inhales. He didn't even realize he was holding his breath.

'So... do you want to do it?' he asks carefully, fingers digging into the pillow he has pressed against his chest.

'Um. Yeah,' Keith says, and Lance can't fight the wide grin spreading on his face. 'But I have to warn you. I never take selfies. It might take me a while to snap a good one.'

Lance barks out a laugh, throwing his head back with the force of it.

'Oh my god, are you serious?'

'Well yeah! No reason to laugh at me! I bet you take selfies all the time!'

'You bet I do! I have to capture this beauty for eternity!'

'Fine. Then you go first.'

'What?'

'Here, I'm thinking about my number. Write it down and send me a selfie.'

'R-Right now?'

'It was your idea! Or are you chickening out now?' Keith teases, and Lance can somehow feel the smug grin Keith is wearing. God, I'm sure that smirk looks amazing.

'Y-You! You do realize that I can hear you?' Keith stutters, and Lance wants to die on the spot.

'Stop infiltrating my thoughts!' He shrieks and grabs his phone, punching in the numbers popping up in his head with more force than necessary.

'For the last time I can't help it!' Keith retorts. There's a short pause before he continues. 'Also you caught me thinking about your smile more than once,' he whispers and Lance's heart does a funny thing in his chest.

'W-Well! Now you get to see it! So you better not complain!' Lance thinks and goes through his folder to find a decent picture. Usually, he would just take one right now, but he's sure that his face is too red to be presentable.

He chooses one from the trip to the beach with Hunk last weekend. The one in which he's wearing his favorite blue top and a wide grin. Actually, Lance is quite confident of his looks, he's taking good care of himself after all, but now he hesitates. What if Keith hates him after seeing his face?

'I could never hate you,' Keith voice is a gentle presence in his mind, and it fills Lance's chest with warmth.

He takes a deep breath. And hits send.

"Keith?"

"Hm?"

"Are you...getting up from the floor anytime soon?"

Whatever answer Shiro could have gotten to his question is muffled out by Keith's groaning and whining as the teen presses his face further down in his carpeted floor. The older teen didn't bother to try again, leaving the room with a chuckle and a nonchalant wave of hand as he leaves his brother to his own shenanigans.

It's been probably around three minutes, maybe five, since he got a new text message from an foreigned number and had to take a moment to compose himself before dropping ungracefully to the floor.

God, the way his heart had hammered against his ribcage before he opened the text was nothing compared to how it's pounding wildly inside him at the thought of Lance.

Just...Lance entirely.

Quirky, funny, cocky Lance with a wide blinding grin, with tanned caramel skin and long lean limbs with toned muscles and sharp jaw.

But also kind, noble and loyal Lance with bright blue eyes that not even the ocean could make them justice, long round nose decorated with small faint freckles above it, as if trying to imitate an entire galaxy on it.

Keith would like to thank the academy and every god damned celestial power above them that allowed him to have Lance as his soulmate.

'God, he's so beautiful,' he thinks, 'He's so goddamned beautiful.'

'Um...' Lance's voice echoes inside him and Keith's heart might go into cardiac arrest, 'Why, thank you, Keith.'

The tone is playful, but Keith can hear the small wobble in Lance's thoughts, the small spark of embarrassment and flushed cheeks. God, wouldn't that be a god sent image.

'Keith, please, there's so much my heart can take,' Lance whines, small hiccups in the thought indicating that he's struggling slightly on concentrating but he's making an effort.

The thought of making Lance, his Lance, extremely giddy and happy, enough to make their bond wobble even the slightest, pushes Keith to pick himself up from the ground, any embarrassment or shyness he might've had before thrown out the window at the mere thought of making Lance more happy.

'You're so beautiful,' he repeats, 'So, so beautiful. God, how are you even real?'

'Oh, God, Keith, my buddy, my pal, my man, I don't think I will be able to take this conversation if you continue to say stuff like that,' Lance whines softly but Keith can finally picture his smile, he can finally put the warmth he feels from Lance's part in those tanned cheeks.

It only makes his heart beat faster.

'God, I'm going to find you,' Keith thinks, filled with determination and promise, 'I swear, Lance, I'm going to find you, wait for me.'

'Always.' It's Lance's quick answer, like a gentle reassurance and it makes Keith release the breath he was holding, 'But now it's your turn, pretty boy, out with the selfie!'

'Oh God, just remember you are stuck with me, alright?'

Lance limits himself to send him an amused chuckle but no further words, urging him silently to get on with it. Keith groans out loud before sitting up straight, back against his wall as he opens his phone's camera.

'Here goes nothing, I guess.' He shrugs, snapping some quick photos before putting the phone down and starts scrolling past them.

'Ew, no, no way, forget it, as if, nope, no, neither, no, pass, never,' he thinks as the photos appear on his screen before disappearing as soon as he hits the option of 'delete'.

'Keith!' Lance shouts, exasperated but oddly amused, 'Can you please just send me one? I'm dying here.'

'Ugh, fine, fine,' Keith pouts, allowing himself two more seconds on deciding between two photos before settling down on one of them and sending it to Lance's number immediately before he could regret it, 'There, that's me, no more, no less and you're not allowed to laugh! Not everyone can be made from gods, okay?'

He gets no answer and he will be lying if he said that it didn't made his stomach drop unpleasantly.

'Uh...Lance? Did you get the picture?'

'Lance.exe has stopped working. Error 404-Soulmate not found.'

Keith snorts, shaking his head but smile big and happy as Lance's thoughts fill his head, praise and love dripping from every word.

Yeah, he definitely got the picture.

'This isn't fair,' Lance thinks, knowing fair well that his thoughts are not his own anymore. 'This is ... honestly? I feel so attacked right now?'

'What are you saying?' Keith snorts, but Lance can feel the embarrassment in his words.

'How can you say you're not good at taking pictures and now I get this?' Lance shrieks, wrapping his arms further around his pillow as he stares at the picture. 'Tell me the truth. Are you a model?'

'I- ... What? Stop messing with me.'

'No, seriously. You are way too beautiful. Tell me the truth.'

'Lance, I'm just an average guy at best ... just drop it.'

The pillow falls to the floor as Lance's back shoots into an upright position. 'Are you kidding me?!'

'Huh?'

'Oh my god. You actually have no idea.'

Lance stares at the picture on his phone. How could Keith not know he's gorgeous? That unruly black hair, thick eyebrows slightly knitted together, those eyes - dark and sharp - looking right through him. And yet there's a certain softness to his features, a cute nose, smooth, almost flawless skin - that makes Lance a little jealous because he knows Keith is a slop when it comes to skin care - and then those pink lips curved into an uncertain smile. Lips that look soft and nice and so kissable.

'Okay, wow. Stop that or I might die,' Keith thinks, his voice quivering dangerously.

It's cute.

But thinking about Keith being cute when Lance has proof that he could quite possibly manhandle him without breaking a sweat is kind of confusing.

'I knew you were working out, but - Jesus Christ,' Lance thinks, and he can't stop his ... slightly inappropriate thoughts as he takes in the sight of Keith's toned biceps, his broad chest. He can only imagine what Keith could do to him.

'Lance,' Keith's strangled voice fills his head, but it's deeper than usual, and there's an edge to it that makes Lance shiver. Heat flares to his cheeks, and he quickly turns off his phone.

'Well, I guess you look decent,' he squeaks, voice jumping an octave, and then the laugh he grew to love rumbles through his head. His stomach flips because now he has an image of Keith in his head.

'I'm not going to survive this,' Lance says out loud as he flops back onto his bed, hoping that Keith can't hear his thoughts if he says them out loud.

But of course he can.

'Don't die on me now,' Keith says, amusement clear in his voice. 'Not before I see you,' he adds and Lance has to close his eyes when his heart squeezes painfully in his chest.

'You better hurry up then.'

***

"God, I'd go crazy if I had another voice in my head all the time," Pidge groans and props her legs up in Lance's lap. He only shrugs and absentmindedly puts a hand to her shin.

"I got used to it pretty quickly," Lance says, a smile spreading on his lips. "I mean, he's my-"

"Soulmate," Pidge interrupts him with a flat voice. "Yeah, yeah we know."

"Don't be rude!" Lance pouts and pinches her leg. Pidge flinches and tries to smack him, but her arms are too short, and she doesn't want to get up from her comfortable position on the sofa.

"You couldn't stop gushing about Hunk when you found him too!" Lance reminds her. Hunk looks up from the notes in his lap when he hears his name which makes him contribute to the conversation.

"Well the thing is we weren't so-"

"Gross," Pidge chimes in, and Lance pinches her so hard she yelps in pain.

"You, were not in love. Platonic soulmates are different, Pidge!" Lance says. "I can just feel this special connection with Keith!" Lance adds, dramatically pressing a hand to his chest.

"You're pining, that's all," Pidge deadpans, inspecting her nails. "Also, you found out he's hot, so now you want to tap dat ass." She cackles and pulls back her legs when Lance's face flushes red and he reaches out to torture her.

"Pidge, give Lance a break." Hunk chuckles.

"Alright, alright," Pidge back-pedals as she sits up. "But I still don't get it."

"What?" Lance asks.

"I mean, you could easily ask him for his address and - you know - actually meet him."

Lance's stomach churns, and he swallows as panic seizes his throat. Of course they could. The topic came up a few times already, but ...

"We're ... just not ready to do that, yet," Lance croaks, and he looks down into his lap where he's wringing his hands. He still doesn't miss the pointed look Hunk sends Pidge. "I mean. I want to. I really do, but I'm-" Lance stops and swallows.

Scared.

He's still scared that he won't be enough.

"Well," Hunk says into the suffocating silence. "At least you know that he lives in the same time-zone, judging by his schedule."

Lance's eyes meet Hunk's gentle smile, and he can't help but return it. "Yeah."

"You're lucky," Pidge adds, leaning forward. She raises a hand and starts counting with her fingers. "You speak the same language. It seems like his timezone is around the same as ours, so he doesn't live on the other side of the earth. He's gay," she says, waggling her eyebrows which makes Lance laugh. "He's gay and hot," she adds with a grin and Lance groans in embarrassment.

"And-"

"Oh god what else?" Lance laughs.

"From the things you tell us, he seems to be head over heels in love with you too."

Lance stares at her for a second. Then he squeals and hides his face behind his hands. Hunk laughs and pats his leg.

"You'll work things out, Lance. There's no need to rush anything."

Lance spreads his fingers to look at Hunk and nods. "You're right. Although.... I really want to see him," he whispers.

'Then let's do that.'

It's been awhile since Lance was startled by the voice in his head, but this time he flinches violently.

"Jesus!" he wheezes.

'I mean, we don't necessarily have to meet to see each other,' Keith adds, and Lance can tell that he's smiling about Lance's reaction.

"What do you mean?" Lance asks when his heart calmed down a little. Not much though. Because it never does when he's talking to Keith.

"Are you talking to him? Oh my god, he's talking to him!" Hunk shrieks, hands flapping excitedly. Lance grimaces, and tries to leave to think in peace, but Pidge's - surprisingly strong- hand holds him back.

"What is he saying? Can he hear what we're saying? God, I want to know how this works!"

"Pidge, will you shut up?!"

There's a chuckle in his head. 'Are you with your friends?'

"Yeah, Pidge and Hunk are here, and they're annoying," Lance says out loud, glaring at them.

'Good, then maybe you can get their opinion on my proposal,' Keith says.

Lance listens to his explanation and freezes.

"What?! What is he saying?!" Hunk urges, sitting up on his knees.

"He wants to skype."

The blinking small light besides his webcam is mocking him.

'It's not mocking you, Keith,' Lance snorts in his mind, an edge of amusement and fondness clear in his tone, 'Skype just takes a few seconds to work.'

'Well, it's taking forever,' Keith grumbles, arms crossed over his chest as he pouts, 'What's even the hold up?'

He can almost picture Lance's shrug as he answers. 'I don't know, man, probably like, internet connection.'

'Get better wi-fi, Lance.'

'I take offense in that, my wifi is one of the quickest; especially because Pidge hacked it right earlier in the semester.'

'Lucky.'

'Patience, you big baby.' Lance teases playfully and there's a soft nudge inside Keith's mind that makes his stomach flutter.

'Yeah, yeah.' Keith says, rolling his eyes but a happy grin in place. He reaches for his phone that lays right next to his laptop while he waits for the black screen to come alive with Lance's face.

God, even the thought that he's going to see Lance makes his heart go wild.

His eyes are on his phone, thumb scrolling aimlessly on an app, but the only thing he's registering is Lance's simple chatter in his head.

It's endearing, comfortable and it has become so familiar that it makes Keith relax and smile as he listens to Lance talk and talk about everything and yet nothing.

It's then when Lance's chatter stops mid-thought and disappears. It's so abrupt that Keith feels a sharp tug inside him when it happens.

He looks up in bewilderment, concern quickly growing on his features, but then there's a soft laugh that sounds so familiar even though he knows he has never heard it before.

He turns slowly back to his laptop screen and his eyes light up as soon as they meet Lance's blue ones.

"Why, hello there," Lance says, and Keith needs a moment because that's Lance's voice. His real voice. It sounds exactly like in his head and yet not really.

It's a wild thing.

"Keith." Lance calls again, frowning in confusion at the lack of response.

"Hi," Keith whispers, waving almost like a robot as he stares at Lance's face. His mouth twitches upward when the brunet snorts.

"Hi, buddy." Lance greets back, a happy big smile spreading over his face.

'There's that smile,' Keith thinks softly, fondness dripping from his voice as he leans forward and drops his cheek on his open palm.

He sees the way Lance whines dramatically, smile widening with a blush expending all over his cheeks and all the way up to his ears.

"Keith, please, have mercy on me," Lance groans, dropping his head in his hands to hide himself but the corner of his smile is still visible.

"Psh, as if you have ever had mercy on me," Keith teases, eyes narrowed in a mocking glare while pointing accusingly at the brunet on the screen.

Lance gasps dramatically, hand flying to his chest, right above his heart. "I resent that very much, sir."

Keith smirks. "Oh yeah? How about that time when you called my eyes 'the dusk of a summer day' -"

"Well! They were!" Lance throws his hand in the air, "Besides, you are one to talk, Mr. I-Can-See-The-Galaxy-In-Those-Freckles."

Keith pouts, blush already highly visible for Lance's view before he can do anything to stop it. "They were a surprise, alright?"

Lance huffs a laugh and that's all it takes for Keith to soften his gaze, smile turning softer as he stares fondly at the brunet.

"Tell me about your day?" Keith asks quietly and leans back on his rolling chair as Lance beams at him and starts his story.

"Okay, so, today we were on campus, and we had this coupon, okay? This 4 for 2 kind of coupon on the Sushi stand inside our campus and you will never guess what Pidge did! It involves a table and a squid -"

***

Keith stares at the black screen for a little longer, shaking his head in disbelief when he can see the stupid dreamy grin that is still on his face after one of his weekly calls with Lance.

He bites his lower lip, trying to control his grinning to avoid looking like a maniac in the middle of his room, but it's almost impossible. He laughs as he throws his hand to the back of his neck and leaves it there, feeling the steady strong beats coming from his heart at the mere thought of Lance.

The conversation itself hadn't been that special, it had mostly been about Lance talking about a family reunion he had recently at his Aunt's house. Stories about that night were the main topic of the conversation with a few personal anecdotes from the past, back when Lance had been a baby in love with the ocean and how his parents had to keep a close eye on him because apparently he believed he was Moana herself.

It was...ridiculous. It is ridiculous to be this happy, right?

Keith's so entranced with his thoughts he doesn't notice the movement behind him. It's only when Shiro's head appears on the black screen, right behind his right shoulder, eyebrow raised high on his face that Keith screams and throws a punch to his brother's face.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Shiro shouts, laughing in between breaths as he dodges Keith's fist just in time by ducking, "Easy there, Rocky Balboa."

"Shiro! God, what the fuck, man!" Keith shouts bewildered.

"I heard two voices, I got curious because you never have anyone over." Shiro struggles before focusing back to the laptop, "Were you talking to Lance? Aw, man, I wanted to say hi."

"Shiro, no, oh my god, leave." Keith groans, hands dragging down his face in exasperation.

"Call him again."

"What!"

It's too late. By the time Keith registers the words, Shiro had already launched himself to the laptop, bringing it back to life in two seconds and easily finding the Skype app.

"Shiro, no!" Keith screams, throwing himself on top of his brother, trying to slap his hands away from the keyboard, but his arms are not long enough.

Damn his short arms.

"Keith? Hello?" Lance's voice appears, confused but the smile easily heard in his words.

"Hi!" Shiro waves, moving around to throw Keith back and pushing him away by the face with his prosthetic, "I'm Takashi, but you can call me Shiro. I'm Keith's older brother."

"Oh, hey! How are you, man?" Lance asks, arching an amused eyebrow at the display of Keith's struggle against his brother's arm, "Er, are you okay there, Samurai?"

"He's fine." Shiro answers instead, "So, Lance, I have two questions for you and depending on your answers, I will declare whether or not you are a good fit for my baby bro."

"Shiro! For fucks -!"

"Okay." Lance says, nodding soberly but with an edge of playfulness, "Bring it on."

"Number one: What's your stand on Mothman?"

"Overgrown butterfly."

Keith gasps. "God, the soul-betrayal."

"Good answer." Shiro nods proudly at the brunet, and Lance fist pump the air while Keith just stares in shock at his brother.

"Now, number two: are you gonna treat my brother right?" Shiro asks suddenly serious, eyebrow raised and shoving Keith's face further away from the screen, ignoring the struggles from the younger teen.

Lance, though, doesn't hesitate. He stares right back at Shiro as he nods, expression determined. "Yes, I will."

There's a small pause before Shiro breaks into a grin and drops his hand, allowing Keith to fall backwards to the floor at the sudden act. "Then we are all set! It was really nice meeting you, Lance. Hope to catch you later maybe?"

Lance beams, waving at the older teen with excitement. "Yeah! Definitely! Bye, Shiro!"

The older teen leaves, leaving Lance with the image of an empty bedroom before Keith climbs up his chair again and pants.

"I am so sorry about that." Keith groans, hands covering his face but Lance waves him off with his hand, a soft laugh escaping his lips.

"It's fine, don't worry, it was amusing." Lance reassures softly, "It's a good thing that my own brothers and sisters are not here because -"

"Lance! Lance, are you skypeing the soulmate?" A faint voice screams from outside the screen, both teen freezing when hurried footsteps appear.

"Oh my god, he is! Guys! Guys! He's talking with the -"

"I gotta go, if I don't make it out alive, remember I did this for you." Lance whispers in a rush before blowing a quick kiss to the screen.

Keith has no time to reply before Lance's square turns dark, and then he blinks.

"I'm keeping that kiss." Keith mumbles under his breath grumpily but with a faint smile.

Lance throws his head back and laughs when he hears how annoyed Keith is at the guy who takes forever to order his coffee. After his final physics exam Keith is in desperate need for some coffee. Lance should probably be concerned that Keith's grumpy side is so endearing to him.

'This isn't funny. I need caffeine. Now.'

'I know, but it's still hilarious,' Lance answers.

"Okay, wow this is just ridiculous," Pidge speaks up, making Lance look up from his notes. Not that he was reading them anyway.

"What?" he asks puzzled, looking at Hunk who is mustering him with an amused expression.

"Dude, do you have any idea what kind of face you're making?" Pidge asks and rubs her forehead with a frown.

Lance touches his cheeks in confusion. "What face did I make?"

"The most dreamy 'Holy shit I love this boy' face I've ever seen," Hunk explains and laughs when Lance's cheeks burst into flames.

"Oh my god, I can't take this any longer," Pidge groans, and closes her book with more force than necessary. She pushes herself up from her seat and shoulders her backpack. "Contact me again, when you're no longer a lovestruck fool."

"Pidge!" Lance exclaims, pressing a hand to his chest in indignation as he watches her leave.

'That won't happen so fast,' Keith thinks and chuckles, making Lance's heart skip a beat.

'No chance,' Lance adds.

"Oh man. You got it so bad," Hunk laughs while shaking his head.

"I can't help it!" Lance shrieks, but he can't fight the smile glued to his cheeks.

"I know, I know. I'm just glad you're happy, dude," Hunk says without looking up from his notes.

"Awww, Hunk. You're the best!" Lance coos.

"Really though. You should focus on your notes or you'll wreck that test."

Lance pulls a face and stares at the book in front of him. Hunk is right. He should really try to concentrate.

'Okay, I guess that's my cue to leave then,' Keith chuckles and there's a painful sting to Lance's heart that makes Keith laugh. 'Lance, we talked non-stop through the whole weekend. I think you can manage being alone for two hours.'

Lance sighs and presses his cheek into the palm of his hand. "I miss you already," he whispers and he feels a swell of love flow through their soul-link.

'Geez, you're hopeless,' Keith groans, but Lance knows that he feels the same way.

'I won't be able to concentrate when you're gone either, you know.'

'Lance.'

'I will think about you ALL the time, so this won't be efficient at all!'

'Oh my god, you're ridiculous,' Keith laughs and Lance grins when he feels the affection directed at him.

"You love me for that."

'Yeah," Keith replies, voice soft. "Yeah, I do.'

Lance's heart skips a beat, and he tries to smother his giggle into his palm.

'And because I do, I will leave so you can study.'

'Oh man.'

'You will thank me when you ace that test,' Keith chuckles and then suddenly his presence vanishes from Lance's mind. The smile falls from Lance's lips with another deep sigh.

"Did he leave?" Hunk asks as Lance picks up his pen.

"Yeah, he told me to focus on my studies."

"He's a good influence," Hunk chuckles, making Lance pout.

"He's the one who's distracting me all the time!"

"Well, you let yourself be distracted."

"That's-" Lance bristles and raises his shoulders. He stops and slumps forward with a sigh. "That's so true. I just - He's just so cute, Hunk."

"I know, I know," Hunk laughs.

"And sexy."

"Okay, wow. Things I don't want to hear," Hunk winces and Lance presses his cheeks to his notebook with a whine.

"This boy is killing me," Lance groans. Hunk reaches out to ruffle his hair in affection.

"You can die when we passed this test."

***

"I am free!" Lance cheers when he walks out of his class.

'Good job.'

Keith is immediately in his head and Lance's stomach flips when he realizes that Keith has been waiting from him to finish that test. They decided to stay out of each other's head while taking exams after Keith wrecked his English exam. Although Keith was a big help in Lance's math class last month.

'Thank you!' Lance cheers. 'Ughhh I do have another class this afternoon though.'

'Well, lucky me. I'm free for the rest of the day,' Keith taunts and Lance frowns as he walks down the hall. Keith already finished all of his exams and won't stop rubbing it into Lance's face.

'Well, yeah but you'll be bored to death. Because you can't talk to me.'

'Nope, I'll be able to relax without your constant chattering, maybe read a book or watch TV without getting spoilers.'

'How many times do I have to say that I'm sorry,' Lance sighs.

'Hmm, I don't know,' Keith wonders, and Lance can almost see the mischievous smirk on his pretty face.

'Would you accept a kiss as an apology?' Lance asks with a confident smile on his lips.

'Oh? Now, we're talking.'

Lance laughs out loud. He no longer cares that people are staring at him in confusion. He's so happy he couldn't care less what other people think.

Lance walks out of the building and closes his eyes when the sun hits his face. He hums and takes a deep breath. Autumn is right around the corner and he's enjoying the last days of summer before the cold sets in.

'I really don't get it though,' Keith suddenly starts. 'Why do you have another round of exams now. It's so weird.'

Lance snorts. He knows Keith is grumpy that he didn't have that much time to talk to him lately. Lance shrugs. 'I don't know. That's just how Altea Tech works. We have a really weird schedule here. But after this week I'm finally done and get a break.'

Lance keeps walking, but after a few seconds he realizes that Keith doesn't answer.

'Keith?'

Lance furrows his brows in confusion. He can still feel him in his head. Actually, he can feel a tense silence in his mind that makes his step falter.

'Keith, buddy? Are you okay?'

Something cold settles in the pit of his stomach when he still doesn't get a reply, so he stops in his tracks.

'Keith, come on. You're scaring me!'

'Altean Tech.'

Lance lets out the breath he didn't realize he was holding when he hears Keith's familiar voice.

'Don't do that man!' he chuckles, but then he feels a rush of emotions at once that aren't his and the smile falls from his face. 'Keith, hey, are you okay?'

Excitement, anxiety, surprise - they all form a whirlwind in his mind, making Lance's heart race in confusion. He doesn't have a clue what's going on, and the rush of feelings is making him dizzy. But suddenly there's only one thing flashing through his mind with so much force that Lance shivers.

Determination.

And then there's nothing.

One hour. His soulmate had been one hour away from him this entire time.

Keith grins to himself, bike slowing down inside the unfamiliar parking lot until it stops and he turns the key off. He looks around the campus, giddiness growing inside him as he realizes that somewhere near Lance is walking around. He takes off his helmet and shakes his head before running a hand through his hair as he eyes the entrance of the University.

God, he's almost there.

He steps in and then he's exploring. Looking at the outside of every corner, every shop and every building. Altea Tech is not that different from Marmora University, but it has a wider campus. Keith has a moment of self-doubt of him being capable to find Lance, but he erases the thought as soon as it comes.

He's near the Engineering building when a sudden sharp coldness settles down his stomach. It makes him pause, frowning in confusion because he knows it didn't come from him.

'Lance?' he reaches out cautiously.

'Keith!' Lance shouts, relief and surprise washing down on Keith, and it makes him dizzy at the sudden heavy feelings coming from Lance.

'Woah, slow down, what's up?'

'What is up? What's up is that my soulmate scared the crap out of me and stopped answering me and I couldn't feel anything and it felt so damn cold, Keith! I thought you were done for some reason and I couldn't reach out with our link and then I was afraid that there wasn't a link anymore and I just -'

'Okay, okay, alright, you're rambling, and I need to explain myself,' Keith cuts him off gently, starting to walk around once again, 'I'm sorry for the sudden hang up, sweetheart, I just had a ...call it an epiphany.'

'Are you a hippie now?' Lance grumbles, but there's a small teasing edge on his voice that makes Keith smile.

'No, but I had to act immediately when I gathered a new piece of information, ya know.'

'What could have been so important for you to cut our link that abruptly, though?' Lance questions and Keith can picture him arching an eyebrow in curiosity, no judgment or resentment in his words.

'I just found out that I was missing something that might have been way closer than I ever thought it would be,' Keith replies casually, but his heart is beating inside him.

He passes a small Café, his eyes falling on every person inside from his spot outside the windows. His eyes suddenly lock with the amber ones from a small girl with glasses who arches an eyebrow at him skeptically. She looks vaguely familiar, the short dirty blonde hair tied in a low pony tail makes him pause before he shakes his head and pushes himself off the window, walking deeper into the campus.

'Well, I hope you find it then, amor,' Lance hums, and Keith can sense the sincerity in his words.

'God, me too, sweetheart, I really do.'

'Hey, just uh...can you gimme a warning next time? It was really freaky ... the silence inside my mind when you left,' Lance says, and Keith knows for a fact that he's currently biting his lower lip.

It makes him feel a little guilty. 'I'm sorry, babe -'

'No, no, it's fine, I just got really worried about you and it got like, super lonely, ya know?'

Keith's stomach twist at the words, but he knows that Lance doesn't want another apology. He passes another building and apologizes hurriedly when he accidentally crashes into a student.

"Sorry about that, big guy," he says out loud, smiling sheepishly but not raising his eyes, barely hearing the 'No problem, dude!' before continuing his way, faintly hearing the way the guy shouted a greeting to someone else behind him.

He wonders how he can make it up to Lance, to reassure him that there's no way that he's ever going to be lonely, not with Keith around.

Then, it comes to him and Keith doesn't even try to suppress the happy feeling inside him as he starts humming a song, smile growing when Lance's surprise takes over his mind.

'What -?'

'Baby, you should never be lonely,' Keith starts singing, voice soft and upbeat as he keeps walking, eyes flying to every corner near him, still looking for Lance, 'But, baby, if you're gonna be lonely, be lonely with me.'

'Oh my god, babe.' Lance giggles inside his head but he makes no move to stop him. Keith takes it as a good sign to continue, skipping a step in what could almost be dancing.

'Deep south, up north, LA, New York, I'll be there wherever you are,' Keith continues, heart beating fast inside him as Lance starting humming along with him quietly, 'Yes because I'm only breathing when you're near me.'

'Boy, your touch keeps my heart beating,' Lance sings, harmonizing easily with his voice and Keith laughs out loud at the happiness radiating from the brunet's link, 'Anytime you ever need me, I'll be there whenever you are.'

'You could be in London, Rio, Paris, Tokyo, Rome to the Philippines,' Keith hums, eyes narrowing in faint annoyance when he doesn't spot a familiar brown head among the crowd, lips pursing at realizing he's at the last of the building around before turning around and retracing his steps, heading back to where he came from. He probably missed a step or another path.

'Sydney, Kenya, Mexico to Canada; I'll be there wherever you are,' Lance sings happy and oblivious, easing Keith's frustration without knowing.

They continue the singing for a few more minutes, laughing at each other when Lance changes the words in between. Keith then softens his singing, turning into a more gentle tone as he sings the last few words, 'Cause there's nothing they can do that's ever gonna stop me from getting to you.'

'My knight in shining armour,' Lance jokes but Keith can feel the warmth spread through Lance's body as he says them, 'Thank you, amor.'

'Anytime.' Keith answers immediately, eyeing from the side the familiar Café he had passed by earlier before shrugging his shoulders and entering, thinking that maybe a coffee would help him along the way in his search.

Lance hums in approval in his head. 'Coffee is always helpful, I'm having one right now.'

'That's funny.' Keith thinks slowly, a spark of hope firing inside him before looking up at the list of options just above the cashier, 'All of these are so sugary, though?'

'Ha, that's heaven for me, babe! In my campus there's only one Café that is able to satisfy my crave for sweetness that comes with coffee.'

That makes Keith pause. 'Really now?'

He feels Lance's affirmation with a faint picture of a nod. 'Yeah! I'm actually celebrating right now with Hunk and Pidge on it. Hunk just finished his final exam of the week, so we thought we might as well relax for a while before class.'

'That's... That's great, baby.' Keith answers distractedly, eyes leaving the chart and looking around the coffee shop, 'Say, what's your favorite drink there, then?'

'Caramel Frappuccino with a dash of Cinnamon, of course.' Lance's answer is immediate and Keith nods pleased, 'I didn't order it today, though, too short in money.'

'That's sad.' Keith says as he steps forward and orders exactly the drink Lance just described to him, offering a friendly smile to the cashier who smiles back.

'Yeah, yeah, it's a sad day for Lance McClain.'

'Wanna bet?' Keith thinks playfully and chuckles at Lance's confusion.

'Mister, you sound...like you're hiding something.'

'Me? No, never.'

'Okay, you're definitely hiding something.'

'I'm not.' Keith answers, nodding in thanks to the barista when they give him his drink, 'Hey, babe, do me a favor? Can you sing the song again? I wanna hear you.'

'Babe, we literally just sung it.'

'Please?'

'Ugh, fine, you big baby,' Lance agrees without any real heat behind his words, and starts humming.

"Oh my god, really, again?" Someone on the background shouts out in exasperation and Keith's head quickly snaps towards the sound, "Lance, you sang that very same song just like, ten minutes ago on our way here!"

Keith's heart beats like a hammer against his ribs, eyes wide and breath leaving him when his eyes fall on the trio that sits on the far corner of the Café, near the windows.

"I'm sorry, bro, but you know I can't say no to my man."

Oh God, there he is.

Keith swallows the lump in his throat and he feels like the entire world came to a stop. He takes one wobbly step forward.

"Besides, you love this song too, guys!" Lance continues cheerfully, his back facing Keith, oblivious to his surroundings, "Baby, you should never be lonely ~"

Keith sees the way one of Lance's friend - Hunk, that's Hunk, oh my god he crashed into Hunk not twenty minutes ago and he didn't even notice - opens his mouth to answer with a mocking smile until his eyes fall on Keith, smile disappearing and his head cocked to the side in confusion.

The girl next to him looks up at the action and follows his gaze, blinking in surprise when she spots him. Now Keith finally connects the dots on why she looked so familiar. Pidge looked different with glasses on.

"Who -?" She starts asking but Lance cuts her off accidentally.

"Okay, Keith apparently is too surprised to answer? I can feel his heart though, it's weird." Lance says confused, and Keith can't see him, not yet, but he can easily tell that there's a pout in his lips, "That fucker better be okay? That heartbeat can't be healthy, it's too fast."

Keith slaps his hands over his mouth to avoid making any noise. He meets eyes with both Hunk and Pidge and shakes his head at them before his hand leaves his mouth and grins at them, pointing at his chest before pointing at Lance and then his own head.

Both teens stare blankly before they gasp loudly and grin widely at him, Hunk even letting out a squeal in excitement.

"What the heck is wrong with you guys?" Lance asks bewildered at the sudden reactions of his friends and yelps in surprise when both teens stand up hurriedly from their seats.

"We forgot Hunk's muffin, so, we're going to order it and yeah, okay, be right back, don't move!" Pidge rushes, grabbing Hunk by the arm before pulling him with her, "Don't turn back, Lance! I mean it!"

"Jesus, no need to yell," Lance mumbles but does as he's told, shrugging his shoulder before taking a sip of his tea, "Ugh, you're not sweet enough, Cinnamon Tea."

God, the amount of love he feels for this boy is incredible.

'Oh, there you are!' Lance's voice comes back to his head, 'Why the sudden happy feeling? Babe, are you looking at your bike again?'

'No,' Keith answers fondly, not even taking the bait for the teasing tone, and nods in thanks as both Pidge and Hunk pass by him 'No, I'm looking at something even better.'

'Wonder what could be more beautiful than your bike.'

Keith hums, taking a deep breath before taking one final steps forward, and then he's right behind Lance.

'Lance?' he calls, nerves and giddiness making a mess inside him, but he pushes through as Lance hums, encouraging him to continue, 'That's a nice sweater, sweetheart. Blue really is your color.'

'Aw, why thank you, babe! It's new and it was in my favorite shade of blue so of course I had to -'

Keith sees the moment Lance realizes. He sees the way his shoulders tense and his breathing hitches in surprise. He waits.

'K-Keith, how -?' Lance starts slowly, confusion and surprise easily heard in his voice, 'What -?'

Keith laughs, this time out loud, the happiness inside him making it impossible to contain it inside. He shifts and finally steps to the side, entering Lance's vision from his right side and places Lance's favorite drink on the table in front of the brunet.

"Hi, sweetheart." Keith says softly, smile so wide that it is starting to hurt but he doesn't care, not when Lance is staring at him with those blue eyes he had ached to see for himself.

Lance blinks a few times as he looks at the boy standing in front of him. It takes him a solid minute of staring before the information actually reaches his brain. There's no doubt though. He'd recognize that mullet everywhere.

He shoots out of his seat so fast that Keith stumbles back in surprise,

"Keith?!"

Lance's voice is embarrassingly high and squeaky, but he doesn't care.

"Hi, Lance," Keith says and chuckles. There's a wide grin plastered to his face. Lance steps forward, hand hovering between them. He knows he's still staring but he can't help it.

This is Keith.

His soulmate.

Standing right in front of him.

"It's really you?" Lance chokes out because suddenly his throat is painfully tight. He reaches out to touch Keith's cheek, but hesitates only a breath away from his skin. Suddenly, there is a warm hand wrapped around his and Keith pulls it forward to place it on his cheek.

"Yeah," Keith says, the grin on his lips turning into a fond smile. "It's me."

Lance's breath hitches in his throat when their eyes lock. Those dark grey eyes are filled with so much love and affection that Lance finally takes a step forward.

"It's really you," Lance whispers, and he can feel Keith's breath ghost over his skin when he chuckles.

"It's really me," Keith whispers back, eyes never leaving Lance's as he leans in to press their foreheads together. "I promised I would find you."

This is the moment the realization finally sinks in. Lance is right here. At the café on his campus, staring into his soulmate's eyes. And then suddenly an overwhelming feeling rushes through him, stealing the breath from his lungs. It feels like his heart is being pulled forward - towards Keith. He shivers and sees how Keith's eyes go wide in surprise, how his hand tightens around Lance's. Warmth spreads in Lance's chest, engulfing his heart like a soothing presence. A beat, loud and heavy vibrates through him once - and he knows.

Lance knows that he finally, finally found the one person that was made to be with him.

"Holy shit," he wheezes. "Did you feel that too?"

Keith swallows and then a laugh tumbles out of his mouth. "Yeah. What was that?"

"Honestly? I don't know anything right now," Lance says. Keith laughs and Lance's heart skips a beat.

"How?" he whispers. "How did you find me?"

"Well," Keith starts and suddenly there's a mischievous smirk on his lips. "Someone slipped up and mentioned the name of his university."

Lance blinks slowly and then a loud groan leaves him. "Oh my god."

Keith laughs again, his thumb unconsciously rubbing over the back of Lance's hand.

"That was all it took for you to find me?" Lance asks, still struggling to believe this is really happening.

"Well, I recognized the name because I applied here too. I got into Mamora University though."

"Mamora - That is like an hour away from here!" Lance yelps.

"I know. That's why I came here as fast as I could," Keith says, eyes so soft and warm that Lance wants to melt on the spot.

"I can't believe this," Lance chuckles. "You've been so close all this time."

"I know," Keith says and smiles. "But I'm here now."

"Yeah- Yeah you are."

The grin on Lance's face is so wide that his cheeks start to hurt, but he can't fight it. He can't quite place it, but he feels different. Not like he's finally complete or some weird bullshit people like to tell when they're talking about their soulmate just ... different. Suddenly he remembers that his mom always used to tell him that there is no way someone could possibly describe the feeling of finding your soulmate. When he was young Lance was not satisfied with an answer like that. But his mom would pull him in for a hug and tell him: "You'll be incredibly happy and that's the only thing that counts."

And right now Lance is happier than he's ever been in his entire life.

"Ummm, I really don't want to disturb this touching meeting. Don't mind me. I'm just... getting my bag. That I forgot earlier. Just... don't pay any attention to me."

Lance turns his head to look at Hunk. Good, beautiful Hunk who is trying to sneak past them to get his bag. Lance snorts and he sees how Keith quirks an eyebrow.

"You're not exactly being sneaky if you tell us not to pay attention to you, Hunk," Lance says.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry!"

Hunk raises his hands in apology.

"Umm, y-you don't have to leave. I'd love to meet Lance's friends too," Keith says, stumbling over his words which is so adorable it makes Lance's heart soar.

"Awwwww, babe are you shy now? After pulling that stunt on me?" Lance teases with a grin. Keith responses with a glare and an elbow to his side. Lance wheezes in pain. Man, Keith is strong.

He rubs his side when a loud cackle catches Lance's attention.

"I already like this boy. Can we keep him?" Pidge laughs as she approaches the group.

"Well, I think I like him too, so the chances are pretty good, Pidgeon," Lance retorts and slings an arm around Keith's waist, pulling him into his side. Keith sputters in surprise and his cheeks turn red. Oh man, seeing him face to face really is so much better.

"Ugh, nevermind. I forgot that you'll be gross in front of us now," Pidge says. "It was already bad enough when it was just in your head."

"Pidge! Cut them some slack! They're soulmates and they just found each other! That's so romantic!" Hunk says and his eyes sparkle brightly. Lance looks at Keith, a wide grin on his face - when he suddenly sees Keith's tense shoulders and the slight crinkle carved between his eyebrows.

Oh.

He knows that face.

He squeezes Keith's waist one last time and then removes his arm, still staying close to Keith's side though.

"Well!" Lance exclaims, getting everyone's attention. "Since my incredibly soulmate took the time to come visit me at my university, it would only be kind to show him around!"

He winks at Keith who only frowns in confusion.

"I'm sure you two won't mind if I sit out on our celebration today, right?" he says directed at Pidge and Hunk.

The small knowing smiles he gets in response are all the answer he needs.

"Yeah sure, dude. No problem! Pidge and I will celebrate enough for the three of us!"

"Yeah, go and be gross somewhere else," Pidge adds, crossing her arms in front of her chest, but the affectionate smile on her lips tell another story.

"Thanks!"

Lance shoulders his bag, grabs his coffee and pushes the tea into Keith's hands. Keith looks down at it in confusion and opens his mouth, but Lance already grabbed his free arm to pull him out of the store.

"Um, it was nice to meet you," Keith says over his shoulder when he stumbles outside behind Lance.

"Sheesh!" Lance sighs when they leave the crowded heat of the coffee shop and step out into the fresh air of a late summer afternoon. "Much better."

He turns around and grins at Keith who is still looking at him with furrowed brows.

"Why did you want to leave all of a sudden?"

"Well ~," Lance draws out the word as Keith easily falls into step with him. "I felt like maybeeee you were a little bit overwhelmed by the situation?"

Keith's eyes go wide, then he presses his lips into a thin line.

"How could you tell?"

Lance grins. "You're like an open book Keith."

"Wha- That's not true at all!" Keith bristles.

Lance throws his head back and laughs. "Well since I have exclusive access to your thoughts I'm-"

Lance stops in his tracks and the words die on his tongue.

"Lance?"

Keith stares at him, worry clear on his face. Lance takes two steps forward and puts his free hand on Keith's shoulder.

"Quick! Think something!"

"I- What?" Keith asks, clearly taken aback by Lance's fierce voice. "I'm always thinking, Lance. I can't just sto-"

Keith stops mid sentence and Lance sees the moment realization settles in.

"Oh my god."

"We can't hear each other's thoughts anymore," Lance says and something cold settles in his chest.

"Wow. That's kinda-"

"Weird?"

"Yeah." Keith nods and his gaze flickers down to Lance's fingers that are digging into his arm. "Well," he starts and clears his throat. "Since we found each other now I guess it's no longer necessary?"

"Yeah," Lance sighs. "It's just ... I'm so used to hear your voice everyday. It will be weird for a while."

"God, I will finally have some peace and quiet."

"Hey!"

Lance punches Keith's shoulder in indignation but a smile finds its way to his lips when Keith laughs.

"It's not like I will let you catch a break now that you found me!" Lance says. "You're stuck with me."

"I guess, I'll have to learn to live with that then, huh?" Keith answers with a lopsided grin. Lance returns it for a second, then he spins around and grabs Keith's hand.

"You know that I will call you everyday, right? Weekly Skype calls are not enough!"

Keith groans, but his fingers slip between Lance's. "I dunno what's worse."

"Hey! You can't talk about your soulmate like this!"

"I just did."

"You're so horrible! Remind me why I love you again?"

Lance doesn't miss the way Keith's fingers twitch in his hand and a quick glance to the side reveals a small blush on Keith's cheeks. "Just kidding," Lance adds and nudges Keith in the side, using it as an excuse to push a little closer.

Keith mumbles something unintelligible as he raises the cup of tea to his lips. He takes a sip and his face twists into an expression of sheer disgust.

"Jesus Christ, how can you drink this shit?"

"Excuse you! Cinnamon tea is amazing! Well not as good as the frappuccino though," Lance says and takes a sip from his coffee, humming contently. "You wanna try it?"

Keith eyes him and grimaces. "No, thank you," Keith says, quickly shaking his head which makes Lance laugh.

"So, do you have something in mind or are we just aimlessly walking around campus?" Keith asks, a playful smile on his lips.

Lance returns it. "Well anywhere is fine as long as I'm with you."

"You big cheese," Keith laughs, but the warm squeeze of his fingers tell Lance that he's feeling the same way.

***

Technically Lance has always been aware that Keith is incredibly handsome. Ever since he saw that first picture of him. But as it turns out seeing Keith in person is a whole other story. Because he's simply breathtaking.

Or maybe Lance is just a lovestruck fool.

Keith's slender fingers push a strand of unruly black hair behind his ear. His gaze flicker up and a soft smile appears on his lips when he catches Lance staring.

"What?" he laughs and Lance's breath hitches in his throat.

"N-Nothing!"

"You've been staring at me for the last ten minutes, dude," Keith laughs and his knee nudges Lance's. They're sitting on a bench close to the parking lot where it's quiet. The last hour went by in a flash because they were talking about so many things.

Lance always imagined their first meeting to be awkward, but it feels like Lance has known Keith all his life. They just... click - teasing and flirting naturally as if they never did anything else. Well technically they've been talking everyday for the last six months.

But now Lance is captivated by Keith's every move, his expressions, the look in his eyes - all the tiny things that went unnoticed when you could only see someone through the screen of a laptop.

"Well, sue me for trying to burn your image into my brain before you have to leave," Lance says and regrets the words the moment they're out of his mouth. Keith's face falls and the next words tumble out of Lance's mouth in a hurry.

"Maybe I should skip that class after all."

Keith's eyes snap up to glare at him.

"Don't even think about it, Lance."

"Ugh, yeah, I know, I know!" Lance sighs. "It's just-"

"I know," Keith says and Lance swallows. There's a short silence between them before Keith sighs. "Maybe I should leave now. This won't get any easier if we drag it out."

A heavy cold settles in the pit of Lance's stomach and he flinches.

"Hey," Keith's voice is gentle and he places a hand on top of Lance's. "You know that I really don't want to leave you, right?"

Lance raises his head and is met with a gentle smile that can't quite hide the hurt expression in Keith's eyes. "I mean I just found you." He tightens the grip on Lance's hand. "It's not like I will leave forever."

Lance sighs. "I know. I'll still feel incredibly lonely though."

Keith chuckles and the smile finally reaches his eyes. "Yeah it will be weird without your constant chattering in my head."

Lance groans and leans forward to press his forehead against Keith's shoulder. "Do you really have to leave?"

He can feel how Keith's shoulder moves as he laughs. "You couldn't even concentrate when I was just a presence in your head. If I stayed you wouldn't pay attention at all."

"We already talked about that, Keith. It's just as bad when I'm missing you."

Keith's hand finds its way into his hair and he gives him a playful pat on the head. "There, there. I'm sure you can do it if you put your mind to it."

"Ughh," Lance groans in response, nuzzling against Keith's chest. Keith only chuckles and runs his finger through Lance's hair.

A sigh leaves Lance's lips and he takes the moment to dwell in Keith's presence. The warmth of his touch, his scent, the way his chest raises with every breath he takes. Lance knows that it won't be the last time he sees Keith, but right now it feels like it.

They stay silent for a while, Keith's fingers finding a gentle rhythm as Lance relaxes into his touch. And then suddenly something in the atmosphere shifts, and Lance opens his eyes in confusion.

Lance can't tell how or why - he just feels it in the way Keith's fingers tremble just the slightest bit. He feels it in the way Keith's shoulder tense, the way his breathing becomes shallow.

Lance hears how Keith swallows.

"Lance?"

Keith's voice trembles, hoarse and quiet. Lance lifts his face and when he looks into Keith's eyes, his breath falters. A tingling nervousness rushes through him when Keith's eyes flicker down to his lips for the split of a second.

Oh. He's going to kiss me, Lance thinks and then Keith is leaning forward. His lips brush against Lance's - warm, a little rough, but so careful and hesitant that Lance's heart skips a beat. Lance's eyes flutter close when he leans into the kiss, and he can't fight the smile that spreads on his lips when Keith twitches.

"Don't laugh," Keith breathes against his lips, which only makes Lance laugh more.

"I'm sorry," Lance whispers and presses another quick kiss to Keith's mouth. "You're just too cute."

"Shut up," Keith says, still so close that Lance can feel it against his lips.

"Hmmm," he hums. "Maybe I will, if you kiss me again."

Keith scoffs, but complies. Lance chuckles and wraps his arms around Keith's neck as he pulls him closer.

He will definitely be late for class.

Keith wakes up to singing.

It's barely a whisper, but in the middle of the night, it easily carries down the hall, loud and clear, a familiar warmth spreading over his chest.

He blinks groggily, hands automatically patting the left side of the bed and lips pursing slightly annoyed when he finds it empty, the warmth of Lance already disappearing from the blankets.

He grouchily sits up, rubbing his face tiredly before he stands up, sweat pants hanging low on his hips. The entire apartment is in darkness except for the dim light coming from the kitchen, and Keith can easily pinpoint it's the place the singing is coming from.

Keith yawns as he enters the kitchen but stops at the entrance and leans against the doorframe, staring at his soulmate's back as Lance keeps singing quietly to himself, oblivious of the sudden audience behind him.

Keith allows himself five seconds, dragging them long so he could appreciate the scene in front of him. His heart is filled with peace and happiness as Lance moves his hips at the rhythm of his own words, singing soft and soothing and Keith has a sudden flashback to when he used to feel the very same soothing feeling whenever the brunet would sing inside his mind.

It leaves a small feeling of bittersweetness inside him, heart still aching for those times when he could feel Lance's warmth at anytime of the day and he could easily reach out to him.

But Keith's okay with leaving that behind, because none of that compares to the feeling he gets whenever he gets to hold Lance hand against his own; flesh against flesh, hands wrapped in a secure grip and leaving him breathless.

A simple touch, something he had ached for years back before they met. A touch that could remind him of his belonging, a touch that could tell him all that words couldn't: loved, important, special, adored.

The thought makes his throat tight, but he still smiles, hand placing itself against his neck and taking a deep breath as he feels his own heartbeat against his palm, eyes never leaving his soulmate's figure.

No matter how many years go by, the mere sight of Lance still sets his veins on fire.

Keith steps in then, his red kitty slippers protecting his feet from the cold floor of the kitchen as he makes his way towards Lance.

He hides his smile in Lance's neck as he hugs him from behind, wrapping his arms around the brunet's middle and huffing a laugh when Lance yelps in surprise.

"Keith! Don't do that, oh my god!" Lance shouts, throwing his plastic spatula in the air and wincing when it falls on his head on its way down, small leftovers of food sticking on his hair in the process, "Ow! Keith!"

Keith burst out laughing, arms leaving Lance's waist, so he can hold his own stomach as he bends over with laughter.

"Oh, god, I'm sorry? Not really? Holy shit that was - oh my god." Keith chuckles, barely able to make coherent sentences as he shakes and smiles innocently when Lance glares down at him.

Lance taps his foot in mock irritation, the clear twitching on the corner of his lips telling a whole different story. "Oh, yeah? What did we say about sneaking from behind, Mr. Chuckles?"

Keith shrugs, waving away the dirty end of the spatula Lance is trying to poke him with. "Excuse me? What did we say about waking me up with singing?"

Lance gasps dramatically at the accusation. "Excuse me, but you love my singing."

"It's three am, love."

"Details. You still almost gave me a heart attack! Now who is the most guilty one here, hm?" Lance waves off nonchalantly with a playful smirk and Keith rolls his eyes, a small grin on his lips when he reaches out and takes Lance's hand, holding it high before dropping a kiss against the golden ring on his finger.

"I deeply apologize, my love," Keith says quietly against the ring, playfully but still with emotion. The surface is cold against his lips, but it's worth it when he sees Lance's shoulder relax and a blush takes over his cheeks faintly.

"You sap," Lance mumbles fondly.

Keith shrugs casually and winks at him. "So, pancakes, huh? In the middle of the night."

Lance snorts. "Keith, amor, there's never a real right time for pancakes," he declares, raising his spatula like a trophy, "My stomach ached for pancakes, who am I to deny such pure desire?"

Keith huffs, rolling his eyes at his husband's dramatics before he shrugs and holds Lance's face by the chin, tilting to the side. "Yeah, I mean, I think you would do your stomach a favor if you actually cooked the pancakes in the, you know, stove, instead of your cheek?"

Lance blinks, eyebrows furrowed in confusion before he lifts his hand and wipes his right cheek, cringing when he sees the uncooked batter on it. "Uh, yeah, okay, that's fair."

Keith shakes his head in amusement before he looks behind the brunet. "Chocolate chips pancakes? That's no fun, where's the banana?"

"Keith, we talked about this: your monstrous banana pancakes are not actual pancakes."

It's Keith's turn to gasp loudly, hand flying to his chest. "Blasphemy, babe!"

He smiles then, not two seconds later when the entire kitchen fills with Lance's giggles and Keith lets out a content sigh, eyes softening at the sight of Lance's dimples and the soft blush covering his tanned cheeks from all the laughing.

God, is there anything more beautiful than him?

"Oh, god, Keith stop thinking that right now before I actually die from fluff," Lance says, small giggles still escaping his mouth and Keith takes a step back in surprise.

"You- You can hear my -?" He stutters in shock, eyes wide at the possibility but then Lance only hums innocently before he cups his cheeks carefully.

"Nah, I can't," he confesses quietly and Keith pushes back the feeling of disappointment at the statement, "But I have become an expert in knowing what you are thinking by your expressions, you know."

Keith raises an eyebrow at the words, a small grin spreading over his face. "Oh yeah?"

"Yup."

"Wanna try it out?"

"Shoot me, babe."

'You are amazing,' Keith thinks and it's not even a second later before Lance hums in acknowledgment.

"You're incredible," Lance says with confidence and Keith laughs, shrugging his shoulders because, yeah, close enough.

'Your singing is both a curse and a blessing.'

"Keith, say one more bad thing about my singing and there will be no singing for an entire week," Lance huffs, rolling his eyes playfully and shoving his husband with one hand, nodding in approval when Keith raises one hand in surrender.

'My soulmate is the most beautiful soulmate in the world.'

"My soulmate is gorgeous and so damn sexy," Lance wiggles his eyebrows in a teasing manner, making a kiss face like a fish before shaking his head and dropping a quick kiss against Keith's forehead, "Sappy Mullet."

'I love you,' Keith thinks then, heart beating wildly inside him because no matter how many times he says the words, both in his mind and out loud, there's something in Lance's eyes that makes him feel breathless, 'I love you.'

His heart flutters when those same eyes that make him weak in the knees soften and turn a shade brighter, staring right at him like an unwavering star and Keith holds his breath for a reason, not daring to break the moment.

"I love you too," Lance whispers, leaning forward until his forehead is pressed against Keith's, "I love you too, amor."

Keith breathes out then, smile big and happy as he presses himself closer to Lance's space and humming contently when the brunet starts over his singing, low and quiet in the middle of their kitchen but Keith's inside still feel warm despite the cold autumn breeze outside.

They didn't need the soul link anymore, they got it covered.