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Running away was always Keith's plan A
He wasn’t used to people sticking around, too used to having everyone he loves disappear or just die. It happened to his mom, his dad, Shiro.
So yeah that’s always been his go to method. Leave before they’re able to leave you.
It worked at the foster homes, the places where he could have let himself be happy but couldn’t bear with the thought of being left behind again. So when Lance came to him in the middle of the night talking about how there’s one too many paladins, that something has to give Keith knew.
He wouldn’t be able to say he loved the man if he didn’t notice the self-doubt in his voice. That Lance thinks he’s the weak link, that he’s the one who should leave.
So Keith went to plan A.
Packing up his stuff wasn’t hard, it all fit in one small duffel anyways. The practice of moving from home to home comes in handy sometimes.
He already called Kolivan, had everything ready to leave in the dead of night when he knew even Pidge had abandoned her lab and finally went to sleep. But all his plans went out the airlock when he was about to open the pod and he heard a tired but still angry voice.
“What do you think you’re doing.”
Keith freezes.
He imagines the Red Paladin in his robe, slippers, eye mask. Staring Keith down with the look he gets in his eyes before locking in on opponents.
“Just a supply run.”
Keith tries to keep his voice empty and hide the stowaway bag as best as he can but Lance notices, he always notices.
“And you need your duffel for a supply run?”
He doesn't dare turn around, doesn't dare see Lance's cold disappointment, his anger.
They're always disappointed when he leaves.
It's one of the reasons he leaves in the first place.
“Long mission, Coran needs new supplies.”
His voice is bland and devoid of emotion as he stares at the pod with clenched fists. Trying not to turn around, because if he turns around he knows his resolve will immediately crumble.
“Hunk and Pidge just got Coran new supplies a few days ago.”
Lance's voice isn't angry, or disappointed, isn't any emotion, just a calculated chill.
“Well you know Coran-”
“Don't lie to me Keith.”
Lance's voice is hard, chilled with an amount of anger and malice that Keith has never seen directed at another person before.
Keith stops moving entirely.
“I saw on the logs that you called Kolivan.”
Keith can't hide his wince.
“Tell me you aren't leaving Keith, tell me you aren't leaving us, leaving the team, your family, for a place that doesn't care if you come back whole or in pieces.”
He can hear Lance getting closer and closer with every jab, Keith stays rock still. Until he feels a burning presence in his mind that he hasn't felt in a long while, turning his head slightly to stare into Red's lifeless eyes.
They almost look disappointed.
“At least the Blade is actually doing something for this war while Voltron, the supposed ‘Defenders of the universe’ are doing comedic skits for shits and giggles.”
Keith keeps his voice cold and devoid of emotion as he keeps his body rigid, prepared for a blow, for himself to crumble if he has to look at those cold blue eyes.
“Don't say that, don't make excuses for being a coward.”
Kieth can feel Lance's breath in his neck as he turns around. Meeting stormy grey eyes to cold blue.
“I am not a coward-”
“Are you sure about that? You're leaving because it's hard, because you cant handle being leader, cant handle actually being loved, cant handle actually having a family-”
“You don’t understand!”
Lance freezes.
“Lance, I can find my mom, I can find more about who I actually am. I can actually learn about what good can come from this whole other side of me, instead of being surrounded by things that make me want to hate that part of myself.”
Keith's desperation leaks through his voice, his longing to finally find a place to belong.
Lance doesn't want to let him go.
“You can do that from here! We see multiple blades come in and out of the castle, you can ask them on your missions, there are ways Keith.”
His voice is hard and desperate as Lance seems to leap for the cut strings that he can maybe pull hard enough to pull Keith back to him, to the team.
Keith digs his feet in the dirt.
“I need to do this Lance theres nothing keeping me here-”
“Im here!”
Lance's voice is soaked in desperation, a desperation for him to listen. Keith doesn't let it, doesn't let it break through his barrier and reveal the hollowness inside.
“Oh and like you would care if I left.”
Keith tries to play it off with a scoff, tries to make it less than it is. To cover up all the longing looks, the shared touches, the late nights, the conversations that hang on a little longer than what's friendly.
Because neither of the pair can deny it, can't ignore that the connection between them has crossed the line of friendship.
But Keith is going to deny it, going to think it out of existence. Because if Keith acknowledges the thing between them, acknowledges that they might actually be more if Keith chooses to try-
Lance's expression turns borderline furious.
“Stop. Lying.”
Keith stills.
“Stop trying to downplay what we are, downplay us.”
Keith can only stare at his shoes, not daring to look into those swirling blue eyes before giving up all of his will.
"We're just friends Lance.”
Lance's voice turns depressingly sad.
“We haven't been ‘just friends’ for a while, mullet."
Keith tries not to crumble under the implications of that sentence.
“We're friends.”
His voice isn't as determined as he wishes it was.
“Do friends memorize the exact shade of their 'friends' eyes?”
The soft lilt to Lance's sad voice breaks him into two.
“You're my right hand.”
“Do friends check up on each other with just a single look after a mission?”
Lance gets closer and closer, voice softer and softer. Keith's voice can’t help getting weaker and weaker.
“You're my teammate.”
“Do friends go to each other's room after a nightmare?”
“You're my friend, Lance-”
“Do friends stay the night?”
“Stop.”
“Do friends hold hands after a tough mission?”
“Lance.”
“Do friends wait outside healing pods for days?”
“I said stop”
Lance is now only an inch away from Keith's shaking form. The wobble in his voice now heavier with the added silent tears.
More fall down as his chin is tilted up, he closes his eyes before he can crack under the pressure of swirling blue eyes.
“Would a friend want to kiss the tear tracks away?”
Keith shakes his head, barely moving under the grip of Lance's cupped hand, which is now whipping away the tears. Until all that's left is red stained cheeks.
“Please don't-“
Keith's voice is no more than a defeated whisper.
Lance leans down until their noses are practically brushing, so that Keith can feel his hot breath on his lips.
“Do friends leave?”
Lance puts a sad emphasis on the word friends, Keith shakes his head like it can chase the thoughts away. A sob escapes Keith's lips from the fondness in Lance's voice.
“I want to leave.”
The protest leaves weak lips.
Lance brings both of his hands up to cup his face, Keith's eyes still squeezed shut in protest and Keith can hear the fond smile on Lance's face.
“Sweetheart, look me in the eyes and say that and maybe i'll believe you."
Keith opens his eyes, along with a mock attempt of a glare but the second stormy eyes meet the ocean his face crumbles. He looks into those crystal clear blue eyes filled with so much determination and-
And love.
Keith can only recognize it from the same look he gets in the mirror while thinking of the blue paladin and Keith's heart absolutely breaks.
How is he supposed to leave this boy?
“Indigo”
The voice is no more than a breath of wind out of Lance's mouth, but somehow still holds a tidal wave of emotions that rolls over Keith like a tsunami.
All the resolve in Keith breaks as he brings his shaking hand up to cup the ones framing his face and whispers into those ocean blue eyes.
“Azure”
Lance's eyes light up like the sun and a shaky laugh falls from his beautiful lips.
“You’ll stay?”
There’s so much hope in his voice that Keith absolutely melts with love for this man. His eyes light up like the stars to Lance's sun and his smile turns to one of pure adoration.
God he loves this boy.
“I’ll stay.”
All of his love must have been poured into those two words since the next thing Keith knows he’s being pulled into the softest kiss of his life.
In the moment when his lips meet Lance's everything seems so indescribably small in comparison.
The castle, the universe, the stars, Keith’s fears.
All of it washes away except for one.
“Forever.”
The word is a whisper against smiling lips and suddenly the kiss became infinitely softer.
“Always.”
The I love you goes unspoken.