AAAAHHHH I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED EARLIER GUYS!!!

Okay so this is like the typical excuse but you have to understand that school is destroying my life right now. Just this week I had 7 FREAKING TESTS I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING OMG MY BRAIN IS ROTTING and one of them was a national test and I had to do it 2 times cuz I had to take a sick person's place and suddenly I couldn't even speak Swedish and me and my friend skipped a test we didn't study for right after

#badass😎

and I'm mentally exhausted right now and

FUCKING SEASON 8 TRAILER IS FUCKING OUT OH MY FUCKING GOD WHAT THE HEAVENLY FUCK IS HAPPENING TO MY HEART OMG I SWEAR I'M GONNA CRY RIVERS HOEMYGOD

Heh, sorry for the rant guys, but anyways, here you have the next chapter I'm writing while crying at the same time :)

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Nyma was taking this task very seriously, and I didn't know whether that was a good thing or not.

I met her in the blind spot of the Castle, me myself wearing the usual attire since there wasn't anything fancier I owned, but Nyma had gone all in. And I'm talking about a long, tight, white dress that sat taut against her torso, getting loose and fluid from her hips and down. Green and blue flowers with glittery leaves littered her chest, along with the laced fabric showing up the start of her breasts, which must have been deliberately. With the dress, she wore a white vest with matching patterns, that reached the hollow of her back, and her high black heels clattered against the ground as she made her way towards me, always keeping that smirk on her heavy painted pink lips.

"Where'd you get that dress from?" was the first thing I asked when she approached me, my eyes always wanting to travel down south, but I kept them up. She had probably thought that out, too.

I made a strident sound from deep inside my throat as she suddenly came much more closer to me, and the next thing I felt was the slightly damp and soft pressure against my cheek, perilously close to my lips, and my blood rushed up to my face in record time. Nyma had snaked a hand up my arm, and she let it travel up, squeezing my shoulder before backing away again, rubbing out any residues of her lip-gloss on my skin with her thumb, all the time biting her lip. I gaped at her.

"Just to warm up for the real deal", she giggled, letting her thumb linger even though my face must have been clean by now. She looked me directly into the eye, her smile turning frolicsome and sly. "I  need to act my best, am I right, my dear boyfriend?"

My heart pulled acrobatic stunts inside my chest.

"So..." she trailed off, cupping my entire cheek now, smile turning even more canny as she must have felt the warmth my face radiated. "Should we head inside? I don't want to keep your sister waiting."

My mouth felt dry, probably because I had gawked at her for so long, and I had to close it, almost hearing the shut.

"Y-yeah...", I stuttered, ineptly stepping away from her. "Yeah... Holy shit~"

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The rest of the quintant was like some sort of pleasant affliction. It was everything I ever wanted - having to call such a pretty lady my girlfriend -, but at the same time it wasn't - mainly because it was all a lie that I threw at my sister's face just for my own defence. 

Allura must have cleared the dining room of any traces of guards, because if they would see what was going on they wouldn't hesitate to report directly to my parents, who was currently away with the other paladins for their weekly proclamation, where they traveled to several planets just to ensure every species that they had Voltron on their side, ever since Zarkon's huge tantrum shook everyone to their core.

But Allura couldn't have been alone in this; I was very sure she'd asked Pidge to hack the security cameras, and made them shut down for the sake of my "date", and if I listened very carefully, I could swear that I heard her snicker in the vents. It made me squirm in my seat.

But of course, that wasn't all Allura had done. She apparently hired Hunk as our chef for the quintant, and I almost choked on my own spit when he barged into the dining room, six plates balancing on his arms, a broad smile on his face and I could almost see the stars shimmering in his eyes as he placed the delectable food on the dining table. I was convinced it was the only food he had cooked for us, but I should have known better. He came in with twelve more plates after that. 
We were three people eating...THREE PEOPLE. Hunk cooked for a whole damn citizenry. But it was too sapid for me to argue about, and I gobbled everything with absolutely no care about my date sitting right next to me, and even less care about how I accidently splashed some food on her in my hurry to devour everything at once. I could hear her grunt, but I knew that she wouldn't let her act flounder if it came to her ship being mended. 

"Hey, Lance", Nyma warbled. I whipped my head up and tried to keep all the yellow mush in my mouth. Her eyes twinkled as she leaned closer to me and lifted her hand to my face, letting her big thumb run circles around the corner of my mouth, always letting ger gaze bore down to my soul. "You're so messy, let me help you wipe the food away." I stilled, all my functions going into lock-mode. Nothing in my body was working anymore.

"What a lovey-dovey couple you are", Allura chirped from across the table. I couldn't see her face, but I could still hear the smirk in her voice. Maybe she was falling for the pretense. Heck, even I was falling for it, and I was a part of the whole performance.

"I keep telling him to eat slowly", Nyma chuckled, letting her hand linger on my face, not breaking eye-contact with me. My chin fell slightly. "But he's so adamant. I suppose you notice that too, right?"

"Oh, definitely! No if's, and's or but's about it." From there on, the two of them started the endless conversation about how stubborn I could be.

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Their discussion lasted for almost two vargas, and by the second varga, Nyma decided that it was time for her to head back home. I didn't know whether to feel happy about her early departure or not, but I needed to play disgruntled nevertheless, and me and Allura waved her off in the blind spot again. It took me by surprise when Allura tried to make the conversation between her and the devil last a little longer, but maybe it was the fact that Nyma was a girl her age, seemingly easy to talk to, and leaning towards the friend-status. It should have made me happy that Allura was making a new friend, but it didn't. Why Nyma, out of everyone?

"I won't hold you back any longer", Allura excused. She had her hands behind her back, an honest smile on her face. "It was very fun to have you here, Nyma. I hope we can see you soon?"

"Indubitably", she heartened. The glittery leaves glistened under the sunlight as she turned towards me. My heart nerved itself, ready to blow a gasket if needed. And that's exactly what it did. Her face came even closer than before, and the strong floral scent she radiated wriggled into my nostrils and filled me with contentment, and my eyelids fell shut automatically.

Her lips were unbelievably soft against mine, almost not even there, but still so very much present. I tasted cherry, lies and blossoms all at once, three tastes that made my knees buckle, and I had to lean forward, relying on her to keep me upright. Everything in me tingled, and everytime she moved her lips, she galvanized me to a point where my whole body was shivering. I sighed deeply, lifting my hands to snake them around her back, like an aptitude, but she was already pulling away, her face leisurely being drawn backwards, and my eyes shot open again, a whimper rising in my throat. 

Nyma giggled and ruffled my hair, before pecking my lips hurriedly, turning around and waving over her shoulder, the bottom of her dress swaying in a way that added to her whole splendor and grandeur. It looked like every move were rehearsed, well thought out. Still she made it seem so natural.

Allura looked at me like she was expecting something out of me, but I was too love-struck to know what her indignant gaze intended. I didn't pay attention to her stare any longer, and instead pinned my eyes on Nyma's back, slowly getting tinier and tinier the farther she went. My face felt even more heated than after the little moment in the cave with Keith and...

Keith. Oh mighty quiznack, Keith. Why hadn't I thought of him at all today?

Allura cleared her throat firmly, but my mind still felt absent. "Um, Lance? Aren't you going to walk her home? It's your duty as her boyfriend to keep her as safe as possible."

Boyfriend, yes. My duties. I should walk her home, I should snake my hand around her waist and press her side against mine, holding her like that until she finally shoves me away when we're far enough for Allura to not see us. I should do all of that, but it's so silly how the simplest thought of him makes me falter, even in a situation where I'm already balancing on thin thread. 

"She's capable of protecting herself", I mumbled as I watched her disappear into the woods. 

She was able to do that, but the friendship me and Keith very slowly started to build up, couldn't.

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It was the next quintant, my blush lingered, and I wasn't so sure if it was because of what happened yesterday or because of the running. 

I didn't want it to be like this almost everytime I visited him; loath as to which reaction I would get from him this time. It shouldn't have been that way, but the circumstances we were in always had that kind of effect on us. It sure wasn't easy to get to see him, but somehow my debacle had made it a little bit easier, in one part, at least.

The first thing I could hear when I entered the cave was the very non-subtle growling, deeper and more portending than I have ever heard it. The fire was out, too, which were another bad sign. I was already freaking out, and I hadn't even faced him yet.

"Keith?" I called out softly into the quietude, hoping that the benevolence was enough to reel him out of the shadows. "It's just me."

Another growl, and then temporary silence. My head was pounding, my heart was triturated into powder. The sudden sound of the fire being lit up right after shouldn't have surprised me that much, but I never seemed to stop flinching whenever he dragged the matchstick against the little box. 

Keith gritted his teeth from in front of me and he clutched the box tightly in his glove-covered hand. I had never seen those gloves on him before - which looked to be a part of his dark suit - and it immediately led my thoughts to battle. Maybe he thought I was someone else, and made himself ready for the interloper. And my guess was very much correct; in his other hand, he clutched the knife he had pressed against my throat the first time I encountered him, but now he let his grip slowly soften.

"I smell her fetid smell all over you", he grumbled, scrunching his nose at the scent, and knitting his eyebrows tight together, looking at me like he could burn my soul to ashes, which I didn't doubt he could.

My eyebrows flew up. "Oh, you mean Nyma? Yeah... I met her yesterday, like I told you I would..."

"She smells fake", Keith remarked with a grimace, taking a big step back as if he could distance himself from the fetor.

The precipitous urge to defend her surprised both of us, and my words left my mouth without consideration. "She can be, yes, but she can be nice too."

It was a lie, I knew that. Deep down I did. But on the surface of my bizarre mind space, there was a desire, a big hope that she really was nice, that she maybe kissed me for more than just the act in front of my sister. It was a silly thought, that was what my rational side told me, but the irrational side was stronger.

Keith growled again, and if I looked carefully at his eyes, I could see how his irises was turning slimmer and sharper, almost like cat eyes. His fangs looked even more pointed that before, and he hissed in an animal type of way, backing away until his back hit the cave wall behind him, and he sank to the floor, tearing his gaze off of me and focused on his dagger instead, turning it carefully in his hand. 

"What, do I smell that bad?" I said with a wobbly smile, trying to lighten the mood just a tad, even if I knew that the mood would be ruined for the rest of the quintant. I carefully stepped forward and sat down in my usual place in front of him, crossing my legs and gripping my ankles and leaning forward, but quickly leaning back again when the fire heated up my face even more.

"Not you", he muttered. "It's her smell that's bad."

I immediately brought my sleeve up to my face, that had barely been pressed against Nyma's back, but I smelled no difference. Maybe her scent was already imprinted into my memory.

"You don't like the smell of cherry and blossoms?" I asked, scratching my eyebrow.

Keith made a grumbling sound from deep in his throat again, flipping the dagger in his hand so that it faced downwards, and he started to trace lines with the tip of it against the ground, the scraping sound making my ears twinge and my chest to heave.

"I don't like the smell of garbage", he snarled.

I closed my mouth shut, contemplating everything to say, and I always watched if his expression would change to the benign type I was always surprised to see, but never taking for granted. It disappointed me when the look on his face stayed the same, even turning slightly more uptight.

"Hey", I snapped, crossing my arms. "Stop that."

"Stop what?" he mumbled, not lifting his gaze from the knife dragging slow lines on the cave floor.

"That", I urged, pointing at him even though he didn't look at me. "With the whole bitter attitude. It's exhausting not knowing when you'll turn like this and it's even more exhausting not knowing why you behave like this. Can't we just have a normal, happy friendship for once?"

My heart pounded in my ears, and I didn't know why. I also didn't know why my hands were suddenly sweating. I experimentally slid away a tad from the fire, to test if it would help with the heat inside my body. I started to sweat more, not just my hands, but my face too. Keith looked blurred in front of me, probably because of the heat the fire was radiating, and I wanted to see past that, I wanted to see his face clearly. Something was about to happen, I knew that. My mind was set that way, ready for an outburst, for the dagger to fly at my head, maybe even him going all Galra on me again.

He moved, behind the brume that always seemed to increase in shape, and his yellow eyes shone like headlights behind a heavy fog. His voice rumbled when he spoke.

"Lance, there is nothing normal about this. It can never get normal and happy. Visiting me is forbidden, don't you realise that?" His voice rose one octave, and I could swear that the walls shook. "You shouldn't be here, you know that! It will never turn normal, because your people hate people like me! You can't keep coming back here when fate clearly tells you otherwise. Can't you just grasp reality? Nothing about this will EVER turn normal! There is nothing normal about me, nothing normal about all of this! It's just better to end all of this before it fires back at you!"

I was terrified, frightened. I was cold sweating, tremoring so violently it made me addled. His face was almost completely blurred away now, hiding behind the smog of the fire. It was difficult breathing, suddenly. When did the smoke spread like that? I blinked, trying to read his mien, trying to understand what he was feeling. It was so annoying, not being able to keep up with what he was enduring.

"F-fate..." At first my words were quavering, but then something clicked in place inside my head, and my tone turned firmer. "Fate?! If fate did anything it only led my way over to this cave!" Over to you. "How do you think I ended up here otherwise?"

Keith stood up, I did as well. The blur didn't reach up this high; I could see his face now, contorted in conniption, twisted in acrimony. I didn't know if it was the cave shaking this much or if it was only my body. Maybe both.

"Fate told you to stay the quiznack away from me, you just never listened to it!" You're stupid for that, my brain added to his words. Keith gripped his dagger in a way that even made my hand ache. Stupid empathetic feeling. Was it my own fear I was feeling, or his?

"Dammit, Keith!" I spat, stomping just to let out my anger in some other way. It only sent jolts of pain through my leg, but I stomped again, clenching my fists by my sides so hard I could swear I dug holes in my skin with my nails. "Always saying bunkum, always ruining the mood! You know what fate is telling me now? It's telling me to leave you alone to give you time to get your shit together. I hope my absence makes you realize how stupidly you've been thinking all this time!"

I took a good look at him again, and all rage was gone from his face. He wore no expression at all. Even his stance held no emotions. He stared at the fire and the fire only.

"Good", he murmured, his tone pedestrian. "Good. Leave."

I was raging still, though. Every word we screamed at each other echoed around me, razor sharp and poking at my head painfully. I knew it was almost silent now, beyond every lingering word in my mind, but the silence was the worst kind of  noise. "For quiznack's sake, Keith! Stop that! JUST STOP IT! ALWAYS LOOKING DOWN AT YOURSELF, ALWAYS LIVING IN A REALITY WHERE ONLY RISKS EXIST! JUST STOP ALL OF THAT, STOP DOING YOURSELF AN INJUSTICE, YOU'RE SO MUCH MORE W...."

I fell silent. 
I didn't know what to say. 
Somehow we both knew the argument was over, and there was nothing more to tell.

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I hope this drama filled chapter was a compensation for the long wait, and I have tons of things to do for next week too, but I hope the next chapter will come sooner! 

And yes, you may be gagging right now at the thought of Lance liking the kiss he and Nyma shared, but I try to keep it realistic here. Just think about Lance reactions in the show everytime a girl approaches him, and when I said I would make this as non-typical as possible, I really meant it ¯\_༼ ಥ ‿ ಥ ༽_/¯