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Lance had just hopped in the shower when he heard raised voices coming from the hallway outside. They weren’t hard to place – teammates Shiro and Keith. It was difficult to make out the details of the argument, but Lance could understand the gist. Keith had left for a Blade mission four days prior and hadn’t reported back to Shiro since. Shiro had spent the past day and a half pacing the castle halls, assuming the worst. A two-day mission shouldn’t take four. But now Keith was back, and Shiro’s worry had turned to anger.
The bathroom door shoved open. Lance could practically hear the exhaustion from the footsteps alone. A bag thrown to the bench here, a sigh there. The shower next to him spurred to life. Lance, now toweling off, realized that Keith had no idea he was there.
“Keith?” He said, trying his luck. A startled gasp came from the stall beside him.
“God, Lance, what the fuck,” he sounded angry.
“Sorry.” He wasn’t sure where he was going with this. “How was the mission?”
Silence. Only a low growl was emitted from the stall beside him. The sound of a bottle flicking open, and then –
“Fine.” Lance knew Keith well enough to know that this would’ve been his response regardless of how the mission actually went, so he pressed on.
“Okay. So it was successful? You did what you needed to do?”
“Yes,” Keith responded, aggressive, barely letting him finish his sentence.
Lance still wasn’t done. Something felt off, and he was going to get to the bottom of it. Keith was hiding something, and Lance was too nosy for his own good.
“How are the others?” He asked, pushing one last time. But no response came – only the hiss of the soft shower stream. A beat. And then, a sniffle. Lance waited a second before saying his name again.
“Keith…” And soon the soft patter of water was joined by quiet sobs. A small thud indicated that Keith had dropped to the floor, cries growing louder.
“Kolivan…” He sobbed, “I… I,”
Lance’s heart dropped into his stomach. He has never witnessed Keith this distraught about anything – In fact, when he really thought about it, it seemed like Keith kind of just… didn’t get like this. Lance had assumed his interior probably reflected his constant hard exterior. Now, however, he realized just how wrong he had been.
He couldn’t leave Keith like this, crumpled on the floor, face wet with both the steaming water and his tears. All thoughts abandoned Lance as he stepped out of the shower, pulled his towel around his waist, and knocked on the stall door beside him. Keith made a small noise of approval, and Lance pushed the stall door open.
Averting his eyes, he reached over to turn off the water. Keith shuddered as the water dripped to a stop. The lack of noise from the spout made the heaving in his chest apparent, and Lance wanted nothing more than to make it stop. He reached for the towel outside the door and offered it to Keith, who didn’t raise his head.
“Hey,” Lance said, unsure of what to do. Still, Keith stayed in place, head buried in his arms. Lance bent down, steadying himself on the slick tile-lined walls, draping the towel around Keith’s back. Squeezing next to him, Lance sat down with his towel still wrapped around his waist. He’d be sure to clean it later, but for now, there were more pressing matters on hand.
“Hey, Keith… I’m sorry.” He wasn’t sure what Keith needed from him, or if he needed anything at all. Hell, Lance wasn’t sure that Keith even wanted him there.
“Is there anything I can get you?”
Silence. A beat.
“Do you want me to leave?”
More silence. Another beat.
Lance sighed and began to stand up. He wasn’t sure what had gotten into him. Keith had never asked for help before, and he wasn’t going to accept it now. He was debating whether he should go get Shiro or not when he felt a hand grab at his wrist, keeping him from opening the shower door.
“Stay,” Keith croaked, voice barely above a whisper.
Lance glanced down at his haggard shape on the floor. His face was partially visible now, and Keith’s visibly flushed cheeks were exposed. He’s embarrassed, Lance realized with a start. Of course he was embarrassed. Keith didn’t ask for help – ever.
Lance slowly lowered back to the floor.
Keith wasn’t looking at him. He hadn’t lifted his eyes once – they had stayed firmly glued to the floor since Lance first walked in.
They sat in silence like that for what was probably five minutes but what felt like forever.
He felt a shiver run through his body, but Lance wasn’t cold. It was eating him up seeing Keith like this, crumpled on the floor, wet and shaking. He had to do something, anything, to make him feel okay again.
Lance felt a brush of hair across his shoulder. He turned to see Keith staring at him, eyes wet and cheeks flushed. His lower lip trembled as he said, “It’s my fault, Lance. It’s my fault. I was with him, I could’ve tried harder-” Keith stopped as Lance’s hands cupped the sides of his face. He looked startled, but Lance held fast.
“Keith, look at me.” Keith’s eyes solidified on him. “I know you. I know that if there was anything, anything you could’ve done differently to save him, you would have. You did your best, you hear me? You did your best.”
Tears poured from Keith’s eyes, and suddenly, Lance’s too. He believed every word he said, and he needed Keith to believe it too. Seeing him here, exhausted, broken on the shower floor, Lance needed Keith to believe him more than he ever had before. Lance wasn’t registering what he was doing when he felt Keith’s lips on his. He could feel his hands, one cupping the back of Keith’s neck and the other pressing into his side. He could feel his body twisting to turn towards Keith’s, and he could certainly feel the way Keith felt in his arms.
Lance was going faster now, pulling at the soft skin of Keith’s lips. He burned with desire — both his desire to make Keith feel okay again and a deep wanting now burning in his chest. He wanted this so badly, and he wasn’t sure what was driving him further.
Lance pulled away. This wasn’t right.
“Keith,” he started, humiliated, “Holy fuck. I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” He opened his eyes to look at Keith, who was sitting back, eyes closed. His breathing was uneven and his lips were pink from where Lance had been pulling on them. Lance was about to get up and leave for the second time that night when he felt a hand wrap around the back of his neck and soft lips press into his own again.
“Keith,” Lance said into his mouth. He felt the hand around the back of his neck tighten, and he ceased speaking any further.
Hot tears burned onto Lance’s cheeks, and he was unable to tell whether they were his or Keith’s. He felt Keith’s mouth move down, working its way over Lance’s stubbled jaw to the nape of his neck. Lance struggled to not let out a soft moan, and wholly failed. Keith was really moving now, crouched down on his knees, lips nearing Lance’s v-line.
“Wait,” Lance started. Keith’s movement stopped immediately. “I want to get you off,” Lance said. “I feel like you need this more than I do right now.”
Keith’s head pulled up, tears still streaming from his eyes. He nodded hesitantly before asking, “Are you sure?”
Lance smiled sadly, slightly, before pulling Keith’s face into his. “Yes, I’m sure,” he said through breaths. “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.”
And so Lance found himself lapping at Keith’s collarbone, gently pulling at his skin with just enough force that it would leave a mark. He pulled Keith into his lap, positioning him into a straddle over Lance’s legs. The towel around Keith’s back had fallen off now, and it lay crumpled on the shower floor. Lance, back against the wall now, thrust up into Keith, eliciting a low moan from him.
The position was desirable, but made it difficult to reach Keith’s now-hard dick. “Would you be able to stand up? I think…”
Before Lance could finish his sentence, Keith had pulled himself off of Lance’s lap and backed up to the shower wall, flicking on the shower as he did. Scalding water poured onto Lance as he got up on his knees and started licking at the inside of Keith’s thighs. He felt hands tangle into his sopping hair, pulling as Keith tried not to make noise. His attempt didn’t last long — the sound of the pouring water drowned out the soft “Oh… fuck,” that fell from Keith’s mouth.
Lance worked his way between Keith’s legs, teasing his tip with his tongue. He steadied himself by gripping Keith’s ass, which felt just as soft and firm as it had looked in his uniform. Keith’s cock slid into his mouth and pulsed, causing an involuntary noise from deep within Lance’s chest. He tasted better than Lance could’ve possibly imagined. The hot water burned almost as warmly as the feeling rising between Lance’s legs, and he reached one hand down from Keith’s backside to start working his own cock.
Hands still wrapped into Lance’s wet hair, and he moaned loudly. There was a brief moment where he remembered, just for a second, that they were in a public place, but it passed just as quickly as it had come. The feelings he had at this moment were far more important than what anyone else was suspecting may be happening. Besides, the flow of the shower was loud enough that his voice almost blended with the noise.
Several minutes passed before Keith pulled at Lance’s hair, hard. “Lance,” he started, “Look at me, please.”
Lance obeyed and looked up at Keith, locking eyes. He watched attentively as he worked, observing the backwards roll of Keith’s eyes and the twitch of his stomach muscles.
“Oh my god. Yes, please. Keep doing that. Please, Lance…”
Lance lapped him up, keeping his eye contact with barely a blink. Keith’s dick was unbearably hard, and Lance loved every second of it. A swell, and suddenly Keith was pulling on Lance’s hair so harshly that Lance thought he might have a severe lack of hair by the time he left the shower. He didn’t care. He sucked furiously, until–
“Oh my god, Lance, I’m gonna cum, oh my god–”
A warm gush released into Lance’s mouth, equal parts salty and sweet and wholly Keith. He swallowed, not wanting to miss this moment.
‘Holy fuck. Holy fuck,” Keith proclaimed. He untangled his hands from Lance’s hair and pulled him up into a kiss, wet with both the raining water and his own cum. Lance placed his hands on the back of Keith’s neck and settled his head down into his chest.
“You did what you had to do, okay? I’m proud of you. I’m proud of you, Keith.” He kissed the side of Keith’s neck and pulled him into a hug.
Tomorrow, they would sort out whatever the hell had just happened between them. Today, this would be enough.