Klance
Pacific Rim AU

Keith rested his cheek in his palm, eyes on his partner. Lance laughed as Hunk and Shay shared a story. His eyes flicked over to Shiro and Pidge as they whispered to one another, smiling and fingers entwined. Keith looked to his other side, Allura and Coran sharing memories about her father who had died in a previous Kaiju attack.

"Hey, buddy?"

Keith blinked, then looked back at Lance. Lance gave him a smile that made his heart flutter. "You okay? You seem out of it."

Keith smiled and gave a wave of his hand. "It's nothing. I suppose I'm just tired."

Lance hummed, setting his chin on the palm of his hand. "You should rest. We still have a couple hours until the next Kaiju attack."

"Alright." Keith stood. "I'll see you later."

~

Keith stared at the wall on the other side of his room, fingers curled into the fabric of his sheets. He jumped at three soft knocks on his door. "Come in."

His door creaked open and Lance poked his head in. "Hey. You're supposed to be asleep."

Keith shrugged and let Lance sit beside him. "Can't."

Lance hummed. "Want me to lay with you?" He teased, leaning closer.

The slightly older man's cheeks went red and he bit his lip as he looked away. "No, I'm fine."

The Cuban blinked, then creased his brows. "What's the matter?"

Keith breathed deeply. "I... After the last attack, I... I couldn't help thinking... 'What would happen if that happened to Lance and I?'"

Lance gulped and looked down. "Yeah... It sucks... Look, I can't say that nothing bad is going to happen to us because I don't know. Something bad might happen or we might be the ones to finally end this. Who knows? No one. Keith, I can promise you that we'll do our best. That we'll do everything we can to protect everyone."

Keith nodded, looking up into Lance's beautiful blue eyes. "Okay."

"Okay." Lance eased and smiled. "Now, I'm going to do something. Don't freak out." Keith nodded as his partner leaned forward. Keith gulped and closed his eyes as their breaths mingled.

Lance's lips were soft against Keith's and his fingers were warm around Keith's cold ones.

Both let out a long, soft breath as they pulled apart. Lance opened his eyes to look up at Keith, then Keith met his gaze. Lance smiled and kissed him gently again.

~

The bond had stopped being difficult a long time ago, so they were ready to Go when,the Kaiju attacked.

"Let's go, lions!" Shiro shouted as the four Jaegers were dropped into the ocean. "It's another double event! We got this!"

Lance cheered alongside Hunk.

All four Jaegers trudged through the dark waters, looking for the luminescent glow of the Kaijus. Keith looked over at Lance and Lance was already smiling at him.

"We got this, Keith." He assured with a wink. "We'll make it."

~

Keith listened to Lance as he hummed a soft tune. Lance was a little extra happy today after talking to his family for the first time in weeks and having Keith all to himself.

The older rested his head on Lance's bare chest as Lance traced his fingers up and down Keith's back.

"Does anything hurt?" Lance whispered and Keith chuckled.

"Not too bad." Keith propped himself up to look down at Lance. "I love you."

Lance smiled and leaned up for a kiss. "I love you, too."

~

"Damnit! Champion is down!" Lance shouted. "Shiro and Pidge have become unresponsive- HUNK LOOK OUT!"

A Kaiju lurched out of the water with a piercing roar, right onto Hunk. The giant, yellow Jaeger was submerged under water.

"Fuck!" Lance and Keith swung out their blade, slicing at the Kaiju's exposed back. It shrieked and lashed out at them. Lance reached out with his right arm and hauled the Kaiju off Hunk and Shay. "Buddy, you alright!?"

"Yeah!" Hunk gasped. "A little winded, but we're fine!" The yellow Jaeger burst from the water.

Lance sighed, then both he and Keith grunted as a force knocked them forward.

Allura yelped. "Keith! Lance!"

Keith jerked in his controls. "Fucking hell!" He screamed as the side of the Jaeger was partially ripped off and the cold rain flew onto the Jaeger pilots. "Lance! I can't move my arm!"

Lance roared with effort as he twisted his body and buried his fist up into the Kaiju's gut. It wailed pathetically as it's glow dimmed.

"We still have one more Kaiju!" Allura shouted. The three remaining Jaegers watched the waters as Champion was hauled off for repairs and retrieval of pilots.

All of them were silent.

"I don't see anything..." Shay whimpered. "Where could it have gone? Didn't you guys injur it? It couldn't have gone far with it's injury."

Lance nodded. "It's here... There." Lance pointed. "Keith, blade."

"On it!" Keith activated the blade and held it up in front of them. "Lance, my arm,isn't functioning properly. I don't know-"

"We got it, Keith. He just needs one good swipe." Lance smirked, narrowing his eyes at the quickly approaching Kaiju. "One... Two..."

The Kaiju leapt out of the waters, roaring furiously. "Three!"

Keith and Lance swung the blade...

The Kaiju shrieked and flailed, lashing out. One whack with his tail jerked Keith and everything went black.

~

A piercing pain woke Keith. It seared through his bones.

He screamed and thrashed on the ground, chest burning and head pounding.

Several people called his name and tried holding him down.

"He's still in the bond!"

"Hold him down!"

"Give him a sedative!"

"Keith, calm down!"

"Break the bond, damnit!"

"It's too late, Shiro. We can't."

Keith's thrashing died as he suddenly became tired. His breathing was ragged and his heart nearly drowned out all the voices. He blinked through the tears, trying to make out faces.

He could only catch Shiro's distraught expression as he stood beside him. Keith blinked trying to fight sleep. "Shi...ro... Where is... Lance?"

Shiro gulped and knelt beside Keith. "He'll be here when you wake..."

A tired smile drew up Keith's lips. "I... Love him..."

"I know, Keith." Shiro whispered. "I know."

~

When Keith woke again, he was on a bed and he heard his heart beat on the monitor.

"Hey, buddy."

Keith blinked, adjusting the light as he looked up at Shiro. "Shiro? What...?"

Shiro offered a weak smile. "You were knocked out during the last attack."

The younger man stared up at Shiro, then furrowed his brows. "What about you and Pidge?"

"We're fine. Pidge just needs some rest and I need to stretch out my leg."

"Hunk and Shay?"

"Both a little shaken up, but alright."

"Allura and Coran?"

"Not a scratch."

"Lance?"

Shiro paused.

Keith sat up. "Shiro. How is Lance?"

The older closed his eyes and pursed his lip as he tilted his head down. "He... Allura and Coran were too far away and Hunk and Shay were too slow due to all the armor. After you were knocked out, Lance had to pilot Violet alone. He managed to kill it, but its claw caught in Violet's head. The tip caught Lance's chest, but it wasn't bad enough to kill him... Right away... He piloted Violet to the shore... He died when paramedics arrived... You were still connected through the bond."

Keith's breath caught in his throat and tears spilled from his eyes. "What...? N-no, he..."

Shiro hesitantly reached out and placed his hand on Keith's knee. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Keith..."

The younger man sobbed, raising a hand to his face. "No..."

Shiro sat there, head low as he listened to the younger pilot cry.

-----

1284 words