https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/keith+x+lance

It was dark when the Lions broke through the troposphere. Neither Lance nor Keith spoke,  but there was nothing to say anyway. Blue and Red flew themselves, gentle and smooth as they made their way to the Garrison. Black led the way, Red on his right, Blue to the left.

Keith refreshed his database and checked the time- 2:18 a.m., July 19th. They'd been gone a whole month...? Sighing, Keith turned off the base and flicked on the transmission to the Blue Lion. "Have you seen the database?" he asked Lance quietly.

"Yeah." Lance's expression was unreadable. Keith wondered if they were feeling the same way- like the heavy emotion you get in your chest from getting home after a long road trip in the car. You're happy to be home, but you can't help but ache for the experiences that have come and gone.

"A month's a long time."

Lance didn't reply for a moment. "...Yeah."

The Garrison was in sight- a small speck of light on the flat desert. They passed over Keith's small shack, then, a mile later, Lance's juniberry field. Lance didn't look at the flowers as they flew past them- he'd deal with those emotions when he had space for them in his heart. For now, he was exhausted. It didn't feel right because he remembered waking up just a few hours ago, but trans-reality travel took a lot out of you, he guessed, because he felt like he could fall asleep at any moment.

Looking at Keith and noticing the dark under-eye circles he sported only confirmed that fact.

The Lions landed gracefully in the back of the Garrison where Yellow and Green were already waiting, their tails swishing back and forth as they stood to greet the new arrivals. As Keith and Lance walked out onto the tarmac, their shoulders slumping, Lance stopped, turning to look back at the Lions, who were circling around each other like writhing serpents, purring and growling quietly, their metal joints creaking in the silent night.

Keith smiled weakly. "Well," he said, "we did it."

Lance took his hand and interlaced their fingers, leaning into Keith's shoulder. He squeezed Keith's hand in response.

"My boys!" a sudden shout from behind the Paladins made them jump. Coran was jogging towards them, arms outstretched like some cliche reunion scene in a movie. The two boys aloud themselves to be hugged tightly by the Altean, answering his questions with 'yeah's or 'not really's.

Coran stepped back to examine the two boys, double taking their interlaced fingers and then smiling softly, saying, "Oh, okay. That's good." Lance hugged the man once more before requesting that they answer all his sciencey questions that actually required brain power the following morning, after they'd recharged. Coran agreed and kept on repeating things like 'great garbles, am I glad to see you two' and 'I haven't been this happy since my grandpappy Hieronymus Wimbleton gave me a sneezlewacker for my 156th birthday'. Lance had to remind himself that Coran was well over 600 years old.

...

"Alright, well, this is my stop."

"What are you talking about?"

Lance pointed to the statue of Allura that was illuminated by the moonlight. He could just barely make out the roof of his home in the light, but Allura's marble figure was as bright and clear as ever. Lance could feel her eyes on him, but his perception of the statue had changed. Now, she was simply watching over him and nothing else. He could hear the alternate reality Allura's voice in his mind: "You have a home in your heart and it's time to move back. Live for me and live for you." He'd promised.

"My house," he said dumbly. He was seated on the back of Keith's motorcycle, since both of their homes were in the same direction.

Keith cast Lance a dubious look. A look that said 'really?'. "What?" Lance said defensively, wondering if Keith was making fun of his small home.

But the Red Paladin merely shook his head, saying, "And here I was hoping you'd come home with me."

Lance blinked. Keith's cheeks heated under the scrutiny of the brunette's gaze. After a moment, Lance giggled and slid his arms back around Keith's waist, saying, "Okay then. Take me home."

Keith revved the motorcycle excitedly and they sped off, going 80 down the freshly paved road, secretly loving the way Lance's arms curled around him.

When they arrived at his small house in the Middle-of-nowhere, Texas, Keith was embarrassed that he hadn't thought to clean up beforehand. He wasn't a naturally messy person, but the morning before he'd gone to the Garrison to meet Lance, he'd gone through his whole closet trying to find something to wear. In the end, he'd ended up just wearing his Marmoran suit, but his clothes were still strewn about.

As the two boys entered the home, kicking off their shoes, Keith desperately began gathering all his clothes off the floor, shoving everything back in the closet with a forced smile, offering a few lame excuses. Lance wandered into the kitchen, his eyes touching every detail of the room, fingers lingering on the countertops and the rim of the sink.

Keith cringed- his home was tiny and hadn't been swept in a month and poorly lit. He was about to apologize for the state of his hovel when Lance turned, a smile lighting up his lips. "I love it."

Now, it was Keith's turn to blink in confusion. Lance went on, "My house is just as small but I'm not nearly as clean and organized as you, plus mine's boring as hell. This house has character."

"I wouldn't call it a house," Keith replied weakly.

Lance laughed gently, stepping forward into Keith's arms and hugging him tightly, whispering, "You're right- I'd call it a home."

As Lance showered (as much as Keith loved him, he smelled), Keith went through the messages that were left on his home phone.

There were a few from Coran and Hunk and Pidge, a bunch of scammy telemarketers, and one from his mother, which made him laugh.

"Kolivan, are you sure its on? Hello?"

"You have to leave a message, Krolia, just tell him what you want to. I thought you knew Earth technology."

"Well, I did, but that was two decades ago."

"Just go."

"Okay, okay... KEITH? KEITH, HONEY, IT'S MOM."

"Quiznak, Krolia! You're going to make your son go deaf! And me..."

"Oh, right, sorry. Keith, it's me, your mom. I just wanted to say that I hope the mission's going well. We're doing good here, so don't worry." A brief pause. "Kosmo says hi. So does Kolivan."

"HI, KEITH. IT'S KOLIVAN."

"Um, anyway. Call me when you get home, okay? I miss you."

Another pause.

"I love you, Keith."

Click. Keith smiled at Kolivan and his mother's antics. He'd call her back tomorrow- the last time he'd called this late, she'd nearly murdered him.

The last message was from Shiro.

"Hey Keith, it's me. I know you're out on the mission- Coran told me about it- and I jut want to say that I'm really proud of you for taking it on. I hope you're doin' okay, bud. Umm... anyways, I have something I need to give to you, so just swing by my place when you get back, okay? Alright, see you later bud. Bye."

Keith sighed heavily, then picked up the phone and typed in Shiro's number. It went to voicemail, but that was okay.

"Hi Shiro, I just got back from the mission. I'll drop by your place tomorrow to say hi and to get whatever you were talking about in your voicemail. We have some stuff to talk about, too. Uh, anyways, yeah."

Keith bit his lip, debating whether or not to tell Shiro what was on the tip of his tongue. But, he'd promised...

"Alternate reality Adam says he loves you... okay, bye."

Yeah, they had a lot of things to talk about.

Lance emerged from the bathroom, the harsh fluorescence of the light falling across his skin, his shoulders dotted with water droplets and his hair still dripping. Keith took Lance's hand and led him back past the kitchen to his bedroom, shucking off his clothes down to his boxers and sliding under the sheets. His bed was small, but neither Paladin mattered.

As they closed their eyes, falling into sleep, they pressed closer and closer together, a tangle of limbs and love. They were finally home, but they'd returned with something that was just beginning to emerge. Something that had been buried beneath the soil for a long time, growing and growing towards the surface. And now, it would finally bloom.
...

some time later

Lance slowly ran his fingers through Keith's hair, feeling the strands fall through his grasp. "Your hair is so soft," he murmured pleasantly. Keith could barely speak. He was touch-starved. Skin-hungry. Lance's hands on the sides of his face, his nails running like tiny rivers over his scalp, thumbs at the nape of his neck... it felt better than he could ever imagine.

"Ready?" Lance asked and Keith snapped out of his stupor. He looked over his shoulder. Lance held a comb in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. Keith grimaced but nodded, turning back around on the stool he'd placed in the bathroom as Lance began. The brunette hummed as he worked, little whisperings of Spanish songs running over his lips and falling into Keith's ears. Keiths tried to hide it, but he was in love with this moment.

No, he was in love with lance.

It didn't take very long, which surprised the Red Paladin. "I thought you were going to shave my head," he muttered, ready to get up. Lance put a hand on his shoulder, though, making him sit back down.

"How did you know?" he asked silkily as the sound of an electric razor filled the room. Keith wanted to bury his face in his hands, regretting letting Lance do this, but the Blue Paladin's fingers slipped along the back of his neck, under his ear, his thumb sliding across his jaw, and Keith stayed still and silent.

When it was over, Keith walked over to the mirror and... was pleasantly surprised. Lance hadn't taken too much off the top- he still had a messy jumble of black hair, but when he reached around to feel the hair that used to tickle the back of his neck, his hand only met air. Slowly, he ran his hand up the back of his neck, feeling the short, prickly hair that now replaced his previous haircut. Lance stood behind and beside him, a victorious grin on his face. Keith met his eyes in the mirror.

"An undercut? Seriously?"

"Aww, you look even more edgy now," Lance gushed dreamily.

Keith sighed, running a hand through his new hair. Lance's smile drooped to a smirk and he slid his hands around Keith's waist to his stomach, pinkies touching the strip of skin left bare between the Red Paladin's sweatpants and t-shirt.

Keith watched in amusement as Lance slowly pressed his lips to his shoulder. He slowly moved up his neck to just below his earlobe, then stopped and looked up, meeting Keith's reflection's eyes, then lightly bit his earlobe.

Keith couldn't take it when his boyfriend acted coyly like this- he turned and grabbed Lance's face, meeting his lips maybe too eagerly (not that Lance's minded). Lance's hands ran through Keith's new hair and it felt too damn good. He pushed Lance back against the sink, snaking his arms around his boyfriend's waist.

Lance pulled back for a moment, a little out of breath. "Keith," he breathed, grinning.

Keith frowned, looking at Lance's perfect pink lips. "What?"

Sighing, Lance kissed Keith's forehead, his nose, and finally his lips. "I can't call you mullet anymore," he whispered against Keith's mouth.

"Shut the fuck up, McClain," Keith groaned, pushing away from Lance, who was laughing his ass off now. The sun fell through the bathroom window, coating the two in buttery sunlight, and it was perfect. They had a new beginning, a new chapter to their lives. Everything was okay now. Finally, it was okay.

the end