Relationship- Klance (Keith + Lance)
Fandom- Voltron: Legendary Defenders of the Universe
Word Count: 2091
Summary: A College AU to where everything seems to be in just the right place, and then Lance notices Keith. Or, more like, less of him.
College for Lance has been amazing. For the most part anyway. Not only was his high school best friend attending his university, but their dorms were just across the each other. It was disappointing at first when Lance heard Hunk and Pidge shared a room, but that didn’t stop him from practically living there anyway. Every Friday Lance would go over to Hunk’s place to eat his food and watch tv with Pidge and him until dawn. It was tradition.
Lance did have a roommate, although they never talked much. What he had known in the beginning was that the guy was working a masters in aerospace engineering. So he was pretty fucking cool to Lance the first couple of months. He got it was a hard course, so Lance tried to help as much as he could; sometimes leaving takeout in the fridge for him to eat, or a small note left on his bedroom door with a pun. While Lance enjoyed his time with Pidge and Hunk and a few peers from some of his classes, he wanted to get to know his roommate better.
And that’s what he’d done.
It was subtle, Lance not wanting to come off too strong. Bit by bit, the mysteries of his dorm buddy were revealed. He’d learned his name was Keith, and that Keith was pretty exhausted all the damn time. The poor boy lived off of espressos and three hours of sleep every night. Don’t get Lance wrong, he understood the struggle of a masters, himself wanting to become a Biomechanic, but he couldn’t help but feel amused.
Days of talking turned into weeks, and soon enough Keith was invited to their annual Friday night-lounge-nights. Keith was greeted warmly. Hunk suffocating Keith in one of his classic bear hugs and Pidge lighting up when she heard he was into conspiracy theories, too. Every Friday Keith was fed as much food as possible, Hunk insisting he was too skinny for his age.
He was proud. Lance was proud of himself for gaining a new friend and solving the mystery of his roommate. But eventually, without realizing, Lance was finding himself quite the bi curious one; thoughts he never would’ve imagined popping into his head at the most random moments. It sucked.
Lance’s initial plan was to befriend Keith, not crush on him. Whether or not his feelings were inevitable was past him, but Lance couldn’t help the surprise that overtook him that one day Keith came into their dorm, hair tucked into a sloppy bun with overwhelming piles of paper in his hands, face flushed in his frenzy as he scurried to put everything into his room, and Lance found himself flushed as well with the silent thought of he’s really pretty.
Weeks had turned into months, and Lance never got past the feeling in his gut every time Keith said hi to him, or the airy chuckles he made when Lance told a really corny joke. Hunk found out about his crush eventually, and at first Lance denied he had the slightest of feelings for Keith, but Hunk knew better. Pidge obviously was in on his feelings as well; her signature smirk appearing once the news was out.
Things were pretty normal after that. They still went to their classes during the week, still all came together on Fridays (sometimes Hunk and Pidge would stay over at Lance’s because their dorm was crammed with tech-junk), and Keith and his friendship was still as vital.
Except Lance had noticed something was off with the dark-haired boy one month; Keith was declining offers to hang out and wasn’t seen as often. Maybe something came up and he was busy? Lance kept thinking of reasons to why Keith was all of a sudden occupied.
Now, Lance was walking home from his last class of the day. It was dark outside, air brisk and the only light emitted in his streets were from the lampposts. Keith wasn’t around as much, and it upset Lance. He missed the guy. When he did pass by the guy during the day, he was quiet and made obvious attempts to avoid him; or anything. Keith was a mess the last time Lance saw him, which wasn’t too long ago considering it was Friday. If Keith was home, he was still going to ask if he wanted to come over to Hunk’s. If Keith wasn’t home, he’d try and call him. Even if he never answered them anymore.
Something was wrong and it pained Lance not knowing how to fix it. On the weekends, Keith was either out or locked in his room. Lance would make lunch for them, mostly romen boxes, but Keith never complained, and when he’d slowly crack Keith’s door in order to offer the soup he declined; head buried in his books.
It’s been weeks of this sort of behavior, and Lance now finds himself more worried than ever. He just knew something was wrong. He had a sense for these kind of things. That’s what happens when you grow up with five siblings.
He continues to walk down the street, bookbag loosely hung behind him and his hands dug into his pockets. It wasn’t even six and it was dark out. Winter was the worst.
Looking up, Lance sees a figure down the street from him, their strides slow and misguided. He knew exactly who it was and wasted no time catching up to them. Lance walks near Keith, “Hey.” He says, cautiously approaching the boy. The last thing Lance wanted was for Keith to run away. He needed to figure out what was wrong with him.
Keith does nothing, just continues to walk and Lance takes that as a sign to keep talking.
“What’s up? Uh- We haven’t seen you around lately.” He hears Keith breathe out a soft huff. The air wasn’t as cold as it was before, Keith beside him radiating like a human furnace. Lance really missed him. Looking down at Keith, Lance notices his eyes hanging low staring aimlessly at the concrete path. Something knots inside him. He doesn’t press immediately, simply walking with the boy under each street light. Three posts pass, then four, and Lance asks again.
“Keith?” Lance’s brows crease in concern. He steps in front of Keith and he stops compliantly. What was up with him? Peering down, his eyes are glossy, face pale and Keith was an overall mess. Just like before. Why did he look so bad? Was he sick? Why isn’t Keith getting help. Hesitant, Lance rests his hands gently on Keith’s shoulders; he leans into the grip.
“Are you ok?” Voice barely audible, Lance finds himself closer to Keith than probably comfortable, but he wasn’t told otherwise. They had stopped walking a while ago, both standing underneath a light. Shadows hang low on both their faces, but Keith’s seemed more prominent, more worn. His eyes held heavy bags, and his stare was distant as if in constant thought. A soft breath is heard. His grip on Keith’s shoulders feel heavier and Lance jumps when he sees his eyes are swelling with wet tears.
“O-Oh my god, Keith, are you okay?” He raises a hand to Keith’s cheek, chastely rubbing away any tears. “You have to tell me what’s wrong. You’re freaking me out.”
Keith stammers with his words as he tries to answer, but the words are caught in his throat and a sobbed croak comes out. Keith’s face contorts, eyes bulging and his lips are in a thin line; he was fighting his emotions. Looking up, Keith bites his lip and falls into Lance’s chest in defeat; body shaking violently from his cries. The sudden outburst has Lance engulfing Keith into a full hug. His hands tightening around the boy’s frame.
What the hell has happened to him? Lance is holding Keith impossibly tight, trying to find a way to comfort the shaking body beneath his arms.
Keith takes a step forward and clutches his shirt in his fists, sucking in a ragged breath.
Lance swallows, wanting to say something but not wanting to startle Keith. He rubs circles along Keith’s back with his thumbs; any small gesture that can help calm him down was worth a try.
“Keith?” His voice is so soft he almost couldn’t hear himself speak. Keiths’ sobs last minutes, are lasting so long Lance’s legs are starting to ache from standing. Keith releases his grip from Lances shirt to rub his puffy eyes. The sight tore Lance up inside. They stand in silence, Keith continuously avoiding eye contact. His shoulders drop.
“I’m sorry.” Keith says, his voice hoarse. Lance watches the boy’s face change emotions from teary eyes, to frowning, until he looks up right at him; eyes locked. Taking a deep breath, Keith hesitantly intertwines their fingers. Lance waits for him to speak; ignoring the slight flutter in his chest.
“It’s just-” he squeezes their palms together, “School has been so damn stressful. I was doing fine in the beginning of the year, getting my papers done considering how busy i was, but then second semester came around and I just started to fuck up? I was doing all the necessary work, i was learning the best i could but whatever i did my grades just kept dropping and nothing was working. They dropped, and didn’t budge.
“I tried talking to my professors, but they made it worse some how. They became disorganized and that put me in their shoes? I lost it. My family- my brother worked so hard for me to be in this university and i’m letting him down because i can’t seem to get my shit together. He paid for my tuition and i’m just wasting his money now.”
Something in Keith broke and everything he’s held back for so long was spilling out. Lance listens intently, eyes never leaving Keith’s as he watches the boy speak words so painful it’s as if they’ve plagued him. This is what’s been plaguing Keith all year, and Lance couldn’t do a damn thing to save him. His chest tightens with an unknown emotion. He could fix this.
“It was a small problem at first, and I didn’t want to ditch any of you guys, but I had to start skipping our weekly m-meetups in order to do extra work or to catch up. They never helped, the extra hours of endless work never solved anything. Something isn’t right Lance. Something’s wrong and I need help. I can’t-” He chokes, “I’m trapped.”
Lance pulls away from their contact to cup Keith’s face; his brows creased in concern. “No, you’re not trapped. At least not anymore, because we’re all here for you.” Lance smiles weakly.
“The year is almost over.” Keith says and turns to look away, but Lance keeps their eyes on his.
“Last minute A’s. Trust me, I’m an expert at that- just ask Hunk about my late night procrastinations.” Keith gives an airy chuckle that only makes Lance’s smile grow. He was glad that a little piece of Keith was ok. He was looking up at him, tears gone and only a small faint of blush across his nose and cheeks from crying. Just then, Lance let their proximity register when he catches himself counting every fleck of purple in Keith’s eyes, or how the lamppost light seems to compliment his features. When did they get so close?
Lance swallows, his grip on Keith’s face never faltering and he dips down. He has half a mind to ask himself what he’s doing, but the other half is still desperate to help Keith. He pauses, the tips of their lips brush and he contemplates if this was a good idea after all. His question is answered when Keith gingerly closes the distance between them.
The kiss is so soft Lance hardly feels it, but the warmth emanating off of Keith is unmistakable and he presses closer. Keith rests his hands on his chest firmly, small puffs of air released in between their delicate kisses.
Lance moves his lips from his mouth to his nose, then to the skin of his brow, until Lance is eventually peppering Keith’s face in kisses.
He laughs, smiling as Lance continues to comfort him. Anything to get the memory of the Keith he witnessed before out of his mind. Just then, Lance makes a silent promise to himself, one he’s sure he’ll keep; never let Keith go.
Pulling away, Lance smiles sheepishly and Keith returns the smile, “Thank you, Lance.”