https://www.deviantart.com/pattopuss/art/Klance-Kisses-714134064

Lance hadn't slept in a tent since he was little. He could remember how he'd felt back then, so carefree as he ran alongside his older cousins and younger siblings, catching fireflies before flopping down to the grass and giggling as it tickled his cheeks and feet. He'd been so innocent, his heart untouched by heartbreak, his mind a slate with only one goal written on it- to become the best pilot the Garrison had ever seen.

He stood outside the tent, for now, looking across the desert with his hands on his hips. The tent was stationed before a dying campfire and, lounging about the dunes a few hundred meters away lay the Lions, sprawled against each other as they recharged.

He and Keith had spent the night chatting with Leandro and Akira, getting to know their reality and realizing just how different they really were. As the night progressed, Akira and Leandro's close relationship became more and more apparent. They'd been dating for close to two years now, and had known each other fort a year before then. Their love story was full of action and adventure and death defying experiences that brought them closer together.

Lance sighed inwardly. He knew that Keith and his relationship wasn't that different, aside from the whole dating thing... They'd been hell and back together, suffered from loss and reveled in victories together. Lance didn't know he defined their relationship now, but he hoped it could blossom past friendship. He'd been dropping hints over the past few days, but maybe Keith needed a bigger push...

Lance looked up at the stars, searching for a tether to hold him down as he drowned in his past. Had he let himself down? Had he given everything up? Did he have a chance to regain that dream- to catch it and pull it back down to reality?

Or had he ruined everything in the After? Those flowers, those fields upon fields of juniberries that he'd planted and tended to all under Allura's stone eyes... They'd been his life. He felt it deep in his heart when one bloom of the hundreds shriveled, when a storm hit and their neat rows were strewn across the ground, their delicate roots exposed and uncovered. He'd personified the flowers- no, he'd attached himself to them.

He'd sunken into the mundane, not bothering to try and claw his way out, content in his peace and quiet among the magenta blooms. He'd inhaled their fragrance and ignored the fact that they'd blinded him, that they were a symptom of the After, that by putting all of his time and effort, patience and love into them, he'd forgotten himself in the process.

Lance closed his eyes. He was in space. Before him stood his younger self, maybe 6 or 7 years old. His lips were slightly parted, revealing a missing front tooth, a few band-aids laid over cuts and scratches he got from playing too roughly in the woods outside. He stared at Lance with a curious, hopeful expression.

What would my younger self think of me if he knew that I threw it all away?

Lance's younger self tipped his head to the side. He didn't speak.

Lance knelt before the young boy, leveling their eyes. "Did I mess it all up?" he imagined himself asking.

His younger self flashed him a toothy grin. "I'm gonna be the best pilot in the world!" he replied with a lisp on the 's'.

Lance smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I am."

It's not too late.

...

Lance ducked into the tent and zipped the flap closed behind him, crouching slightly to walk into the small space where Keith sat atop a flannel sleeping bag. Another sleeping back was rolled out beside him for Lance. Keith was sharpening his Marmoran blade, immersed in the ritualistic act.

"Hey," Lance greeted, flopping down on his sleeping bag. Keith nodded to him in greeting, but he didn't look up from the blade he held. Lance's whole body ached and all he wanted to do was sleep, but he didn't allow himself to just yet. Lance peeked at Keith with one eye open.

"Are we going to be able to get back home now that we've found Black?" he asked softly, then added, "Tell me the truth."

Keith finally looked up from the dagger. It was hard to make out his expression in the dim light, but Lance thought he saw a smile. "If Black was able to create his own portal to get here, he's probably able to make another one to get back." Keith paused. "But, I mean, if we can't back, this place isn't that bad."

Lance scowled. "Don't even joke about that, man."

Keith shrugged. "I like Leandro and Akira."

"One version of you is enough," Lance groaned, propping himself up on his elbows. Keith stowed the blade in its sheath and placed it to the side, carefully pulling off his shirt to sleep. As he did, Lance's eyes were drawn to the bandages plastered to his arms. One on his left bicep, the other on his right shoulder. Keith winced as he gingerly stretched out his arms, biting his lip.

Lance sat up completely, alarmed by the bandages. He knew that Keith had been hit, but these looked serious. And on top of that, Keith had bled through both of the gauze wraps, a red splotches of blood slowly spreading across the white bandages.

Lance grimaced and edged closer to Keith, reaching out with careful fingers to touch the pale skin around the wounds. Keith winced but leaned into Lance's warm hands. "We should redress these..." Lance murmured quietly, reaching around the Red Paladin to grab the first aid kit Leandro had given them.

Keith looked away, his cheeks burning as Lance slid closer to him, blue eyes wide with worry. "It's fine," he said gruffly, but he should have known that Lance didn't take no for an answer.

The Blue Paladin slowly began to unwind the gauze that was wrapped around Keith's shoulder, being extra careful not to hurt the teenager. Keith gritted his teeth as Lance peeled off the last of the bandages, looking away from the wound. Even though the blast from the lasers had only grazed Keith's shoulder, hitting his bicep full-on instead, the result was still large and ugly, like a burn. Lance tried not to think about what his other arm would look like if this was the severity of a graze.

Lance bathed a cotton pad from the kit in some sort of disinfectant liquid, but hesitated before cleaning the gash. "This is going to hurt," he told Keith quietly. He held out his free hand and Keith took it, closing his eyes and steeling himself. "Alright, I'm starting," Lance murmured, cleaning the cut as gently as possible. Even with the Blue Paladin's light touch, Keith hissed in pain, squeezing Lance's hand tightly as Lance worked.

"I know, I know," Lance murmured soothingly, working faster as Keith bowed his head in pain. "Here, Keith, think of something else. Tell me something," Lance said, desperately trying to distract the wounded Paladin.

Keith pressed his lips together, barely managing to spit out, "Like what?"

"What about the first time we met, hmm? Tell me about that?" Lance prompted, cleaning away the last of the dried blood.

"I was going to rescue- haaah- Shiro and you showed up with Pidge- hnngh- and Hunk and stole my credit," Keith groaned. Lance nodded, rewrapping the would with fresh gauze and bandages.

"Gooood, Keith. Good job, that side's done."

Keith leaned into Lance's chest, breathing heavily. Lance stroked his hair calmingly, biting his lip as he looked at Keith's bicep, thick with white bandages. He moved around Keith slowly, making sure he hadn't been injured elsewhere before placing his hand gently to Keith's upper arm.

"One more," he murmured, unwinding the wrap from Keith's arm. The Red Paladin fixed Lance with a flash of fear. His lower lip trembled slightly, but he allowed Lance to undress the wound. Lance grimaced as he removed the final layer of gauze. If he had thought that Keith's shoulder had been bad... "You're going to have a pretty sweet scar, Mullet," he joked weakly, bathing another cotton pad in the liquid.

Keith didn't look at the wound, fixing his eyes instead to Lance. He didn't say anything but his expression showed what he was thinking. "I'll go as fast as I can," Lance tried to sooth him, reaching up to rub Keith's cheek with the pad of his thumb. Keith took Lance's hand once more and closed his eyes, biting the inside of his cheeks.

It was much the same as the first time around,  it this time, Keith squeezed Lance's hand so hard Lance thought it would break. Keith's heavy breathing and pained groans tore at Lance's heart, but they also made him work faster, wrapping the clean wound with bandages before pulling Keith to his chest, pressing his lips to the top of his head and rocking him gently in his arms.

"I've got you, I've got you," he murmured, kissing Keith's hair, his ears, his forehead with soft touches. Keith curled up into Lance, pressing his ear to Lance's chest and comforting himself with the sound of the Blue Paladin's beating heart.

Keith let out a slow sigh of relief, burying his face in Lance's chest as his body relaxed from the pain. After a moment, they let go of each other, giving into their exhaustion. Lance stripped down to his boxers- it was hot as fuck- and slipped into his sleeping bag, not zipping it closed to allow some air circulation.

Lance fell asleep faster than he thought he would, but the heat woke him again sometime in the middle of the night. He groaned softly, kicking the thick sleeping bag off of his sweaty body, curling onto his side to face Keith. He jumped slightly in surprise when he realized that Keith was looking at him too, his face barely visible in the dark. Outside, the sounds of the desert filled the air. The wind through the spiny, mangled scrubs. The screech of elf owls hunting. The soft, hissing scratch of desert crickets. To Keith, it was familiar. To Lance, it was foreign.

"Keith?" Lance whispered, barely audible. He moved closer to the Red Paladin, who laid on top of his sleeping bag rather than in it.

"Lance." Keith's voice was low and gravely.

"It's hot," Lance said lamely, eyes flicking up to the top of the tent where the mesh hatch allowed the moonlight to spill in. He could faintly hear the sounds of the city in the distance.

Keith hummed in return, his dark eyes captivating Lance in a locked stare. "Lance," he said again.

The Blue Paladin didn't speak for a few seconds. His voice remained at a whisper as he asked, "Keith, what are we?"

Keith didn't hesitate. "I've been asking myself the same thing for the past year, Lance." Lance shivered. He loved the way his name sounded in Keith's mouth. He wanted to kiss him and taste his words against his lips.

"What d'you mean?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm in love with you." The words hung in the air between the two Paladins, Keith's eyes determined. It was finally out. He'd finally said it.

Lance slowly lifted himself up, leaning towards Keith, who never once broke eye contact. Carefully, gently, Lance lowered his face, his eyes closed. Keith barely breathed as Lance's lips skimmed his own, barely touching. But it was enough, because all of the sudden, Lance was rolling his body atop Keith's, his weight barely noticeable as Keith deepened the kiss, ignoring the pain in his arms as he lifted his hands to run along Lance's body.

The small of his back, the dip of his waist, his ribs, his chest, his neck, his hair. God, it was everything. Keith had never imagined that it would be this way. He'd never imagined that Lance would be the one to kiss him. In his dreams, it was always the other way around. In his nightmares, Lance never kissed him back.

Lance's bare skin was warm and sweaty, but Keith pulled him closer, ignoring the heat. Using Lance's weight, he flipped them over so he could be on top, shivering as Lance's fingers ran down his stomach like water. Lance's breathing was soft but heavy and he laughed quietly into Keith's ear when Keith buried his face into the crook of Lance's neck, feeling a strange and primal need to mark Lance's perfect mahogany skin with his teeth.

Keith gently bit the skin of Lance's neck and was pleasantly surprised when Lance's back arched up, his head thrown back as a breathy sigh broke through his perfect pink lips.

Keith kissed Lance until their lips were sore, and then even more after that. He left trails of kisses down Lance's neck and chest and Lance's hands never stopped exploring his skin. Keith had always felt self conscious of how thin and gangly he was, but Lance's hands must have worked magic because he never wanted them to stop skating over his skin, feather light until Keith kissed Lance more deeply, for then they pressed down into Keith's back, fingertips digging satisfactorily into the muscles laying beneath his pale complexion.

It was pure bliss.

Lance pulled back just enough to speak, one hand on Keith's chest as they regained their breath. "Keith," he whispered longingly, his voice gorgeously hoarse.

"Lance," Keith replied, trying to resist the gently parting of the Blue Paladin's lips.

Lance grinned, blushing. "Why didn't we do this sooner?"

Keith looked away. "You were always in love with someone else."

Lance's features softened. "You waited for me?"

Keith looked at Lance with nothing but love in his eyes, perfectly honest as he spoke. "I would have waited longer. I would wait forever for you, Lance. I would have stood beside you, taken care of you, healed your heart again and again, as long as you needed, even if it took an eternity."

"Why?"

"Because I love you."

"Keith..."

"You don't need to say it back," Keith said, looking away. Lance reached up and turned Keith's chin, reaching up to kiss him gently.

"Of course I do. And I do love you, if I haven't made that obvious," he smiled teasingly.

Keith's mouth went dry. He leaned back, heart beating faster and faster with every word.

"Say it again," he requested in a raw whisper.

Lance's Altean markings glowed softly in the dark. He took Keith's hand and kissed his palm, speaking clearly with his eyes locked on Keith's. "Keith Kogane, I love you."

...

(longer a/n than usual bc i'm feeling talkative heheh)

ahhh sorry this took so long to publish!! waldo (my laptop) likes to crash at the least convenient times and then take his sweet time to update,,,

THEY KISSED!!! what'd you think? this was probably the most intense first kiss scene I've ever written hehehe hope I did it justice,,,

anyways i hope you all are enjoying your weeks! happy thursday (: i'm nervous bc i'm going to start having to do my summer work for my ap classes soon and i'm worried about making a good first impression,,, which brings me to my qotd!

qotd: do you have any summer hw or reading you have to do? what class are you most looking forward to next year?

a: i have summer work for ap environmental studies and ap language, kill me blegghhh (i'm going to b a junior in hs, if you're wondering hehe) and i'm looking forward to advanced creative writing this year!!

i know that it sucks thinking about school in the middle of the summer (and for those of you who have different school schedules and/or are in school now, i'm sorry if i'm being insensitive, i'm just not sure what yours looks like<33) but there's a lot of good things about school too!! friends, good classes, good teachers, a schedule to go by to increase balance and stability and your life,,

during the school year, make sure you balance your workload and time for yourself evenly. learning how to prepare yourself for the future is v important but you and your mental, physical, and emotional health always come first so make sure to take care of yourself!!

yesterday, i began playing mystic messenger (no promo hehehe) again for the first time in about half a year because i missed it and i was lonely and sad,,, and i was reminded why i like it so much- not only do you have all these sweet and funny characters to 'chat' with and interesting plots, the app subtly and casually reminds you to take care of your health!! i.e. 'have you eaten yet?' and 'make sure you go to bed soon!'

my point is, i totally recommend the game haha

i know that sometimes it's easy to forget to take care of yourself, especially when you don't have a schedule, like during summertime, so please keep this in mind <33

on another offtopic and completely random note, i've been writing for so long today that veins i've never even noticed before are beginning to show on my hands,,

tl;dr - take care of yourself, get some sleep, and drink some water!! i love you and i'm here for you!!