[ but honestly what does lance know. this is sounding more and more like a "hunk and pidge" question, and he spares a moment to be sad the two aren't awake to be able to experience this with them. anyway, it's a good thing his curiosity isn't quite as insistent; at the very least, he's able to be content with an answer of "/waves hands around vaguely, magic" and be done with it. deciding he's spent a sufficient enough time trying to pursue this intellectual matter, he'll quickly turn his attention back to simply enjoying the setting itself. wherever the weird light is coming from, it's interesting to watch it play with the water and create fun light reflections along the walls, keith's face. he actually snickers a little, because in this lighting, with keith's hair like that, ]
You look like a drowned highland cow.
[ without even thinking about it he reaches forward, quietly combing keith's fringe back instead of to the side. his hand stalls almost immediately after exposing keith's forehead, the sudden sight of it reminding him of a certain other forehead, where a certain other pair of lips had kissed once.
he blinks, and hastily draws his hand away. ]
It's probably a good thing we got here so late. [ he'll just... dog-paddle away now... treating himself to another lap around, yep. ] I bet it doesn't look as good during the day.
[He shrugs; it was a shoddy explanation to start with.]
It was sunny earlier today.
[More than that, how did the rocks -- jewels? Capture that energy. Rocks can definitely get hot..of course, but storing it is something different entirely, right? Isn't that why solar panels are so expensive? Because they're technical and awful?
Whatevs. He's pulled out of his scientific thoughts when Lance likens him to a cow.]
You look like a ferret.
[It's not as angry of a retort as he'd like for it to have been; his forehead's being exposed and it...never is...the whole thing happens with a jarringly tender gesture (don't call him a cow and then slick his bangs back?!
Whatever. He takes off pretty quickly and Keith sinks down a bit, like an alligator with just it's eyes and nose exposed. It's gotta be much plainer -- ordinary of a setting during daylight.
[ while keith alligators around, lance will fully otter by slipping onto his back, letting the non-existent currant of the lagoon lazily spin him around. he's near spread-eagle, the only parts of him not submerged in the water his feet and his face from the ears forward, eyes directed up towards the little opening where stars dot up the sky. spread out at his sides, his fingers twitch, recalling the faint heat coming off of keith's skin when he brushed his hair back. ]
Still, [ he finally speaks up, after way too long a pause between their words that it really makes no sense that he should be continuing the line of conversation like he is. ] I think I'd like to try coming back some other time...
[Keith can only alligator-idle in one place for so long. He eventually shifts forward -- err, toward Lance. He's thinking of different ways to hassle him, though as he nears, he kind of doesn't want to anymore?
Could be because of the ambiance, or maybe because he's found his towel floating along the way.]
Yeah, [After pulling his head up, of course, busily squashing his soaked towel onto a pizza ball and tossing it to an edge of the lagoon.] if we can get here without walking all day.
[After walking all day, however, this is a great place to end up. It's warm and naturally calming. He doesn't even want to wedgie Lance anymore; splash him, dunk him. He just wants to kinda...watch him, mutually appreciate a calm place for a change.
Or, on the other hand...]
We don't...have to go back.
[Remember that mermaid episode? Keith's kind of like the mermaid episode right now.]
[ what? he's a secret sea monster that wants to mind-control and eat everybody? that's not romantic at all... ]
We can't stay here forever, [ lance argues, except he isn't really arguing, more just stating the facts. there's no real source of food, and who knows if this water is drinkable, besides where are they gonna sleep and how's lance supposed to get his natural amount of vitamin d??
but even though that isn't at all what keith means (and lance knows it), there is unquestionably a nice sound to it... it's nice here, peaceful in a way that doesn't make lance a little stir-crazy or restless.
his ears ring a little. we, we. lance had been careful not to insinuate when he mentioned coming back, and there's a strange sense of relief and swell of excitement upon hearing keith's ready acceptance. we, we.
he looks to keith then, feeling a spike of desperation for something else to think about. ]
[If they were on earth, it'd be easy. He'd done it, though the scenery that came with his cabin wasn't so...glittery. Calming on most days, but not like this. Without any serious obligation, why couldn't they just make do here? Figure it out as they go? Sure, Shiro and the rest were locked away in Stasis, so that much isn't a lot different from when he went into isolation, and they may not know a whole lot about this planet as it were, but...
It isn't like they're gaining much clarity back in the city either. If it can be considered as such. Patrolling the red light district isn't exactly his favorite thing, and he hasn't been able to make progress on his own. Lance likes it here enough, but at the end of the day, he's a social creature. A minor 'con' as far as he's aware.]
If we're stuck here, we should settle somewhere that's nice, that's all.
[We-ing out the wazoo.]
Until we can figure out how to get back to Earth.
[And start from scratch, maybe regroup as Paladins, because who the eff knows what's really happened to the universe.
[ it's fortunate someone's thinking along these lines, actually, because lance definitely isn't. it's hard to tell if allura is, either, or if she is simply reeling from yet another planet's (planets) destruction and throwing herself into the busywork of the day-to-day just so she wouldn't have to think about it. lance had always meant to ask, but he never quite knew how to, plus it would mean he'd have to slow down and start thinking about his own feelings regarding the matter, and he's as much a creature not inclined to dwell on the negative stuff as she is social.
which means here he is, forced (ish) to confront the grim truth of their situation, by actually being made to think it may not be the actual truth after all.
he sits up — or tries to, but considering he's in water all he does is shift back down so that he's treading once more, turning towards keith with a mildly wary look. ]
You don't think the stuff about the Storm is real?
[ as soon as he says it, it makes sense. of the lot of them, keith would be more inclined to question, to wonder. it's just funny that lance is hearing it for the first time now, in the same breath that keith himself is actually starting to... sound more accepting of their fate. whatever fate that is. ]
[It could be because their matter of conversation could be considered controversial and he's not yet versed himself in this planet's method of eavesdropping -- isolated as they are, but once Lance rights himself, he's moving in closer to further their conversation.]
You thought it was?
[The plan was to behave enough to figure out what's going on with Red, then scope things out from the vantage of...well, Red. Having the Castle of Lions back would be equally as important, but that isn't even his.
Either way, it's not a condescending retort. Like when you're the first of your age group to realize Santa's not real, and the fact that the rest of your peers are finding out later in life -- not like that. It's honest, because maybe he's missing something. Lance maybe hasn't have... the best sense of reality based on past missions, but that doesn't exactly invalidate his thoughts.
I mean, maybe it would outside of their little pool.]
It just seems too sudden. [Just to elaborate, lest his answer sound too much like that's just what I think because I'm uncomfortable here, weh weh.] I've woken up on other planets before, but not like this.
[ lance looks down at the water between them, ripples growing more prominent as keith draws closer. close enough now that he could reach out and touch the other boy, and he recognizes a sudden strange urge to. as if needing that piece of contact just to help ground himself, when all that's holding him up right now is strange, glowing water. ]
I don't know, I... [ he licks his lips, trying to parse through his own thoughts. ] I mean they had my mom, you know? I saw her, after so long, and...
[ he grows quiet, brow furrowing. had he been blinded? too distracted by the sight of a loved one he'd been aching for since their first mission to notice everything else that'd felt just a little bit too off?
except that wasn't right, either, was it? he'd started to see things. little things. ]
I mean... I guess I always thought it was kinda weird how so much of what we're finding here is so familiar... [ the universe is way too big, as they've been finding, for such similarities to be a coincidence, right? ]
I met one of the Orbiters, too. My first day on the station... He was, like. Studying us.
[ he makes a face, shuddering under the water. his hands come up, wrapping around his arms in a self-hug. ]
[The stasis unit is something he's had most difficulty wrapping his head around. At the same time, he's had to stave so many newcomers from freaking out in there. So many meaning like, two, but that's a lot for Keith to recover from okay. The whole thing (re: Lance's momtalk) makes him think of the spiders, even as Lance presses on about similarities.
He mentally rejoins the conversation when he brings up Orbiters. Information he hadn't known -- why did they wait to have this conversation again? On one hand, maybe the guy Lance saw was just a doctor-type, making sure everyone was fine, on the other hand...gross.
He opens his mouth to press further, quieted by his non-PG statement. Or maybe it is PG? Either way, he reaches forward and rests a hand against the paladin's shoulder. There's a squeeze of reassurance. At least they're together?]
I know it does, but...
[A lil shoulder squeeze is creeping up the crook off his neck, settling on his jaw a short stretch beneath an ear.]
We can't talk about this stuff back there.
[You know, if they decide to go back. For groceries. Until they figure out how to live off the hand like cavepeople.]
[ keith's hand slips up along his neck and jaw just as he manages to swallow around a knot in his throat. there is another shudder, but this one has considerably less to do with their topic of conversation than the first had. ]
What are we supposed to do? [ they aren't a complete team, and if they're caught snooping around, who knows how that might affect those of them that are still asleep. more and more, keith's idea to remain here &mdasg; where he's truly beginning to feel cut off from the rest, truly hidden from prying eyes and piqued ears — is sounding really, really tempting. ]
We can't leave Allura. [ right, right... despite how it feels in this moment, how that strange bottom light seems to highlight the two fot hem, just the two of them — it would be remiss of them both to think it's really all that simple. ] And the mice... and our friends...
[ he looks around, quietly leaning into the hand at his jaw. ]
But we could come back here... Whenever we need to — talk. [ or you know... whatever else they might happen to do... ]
[There's a pulse under his fingers, keeping them to the spot -- lightly. Keith's not much of a Wait And See kinda guy, but...at present, that's all they can really do.]
I know that.
[Re: Allura, the mice...so on and so forth. Of course, he's still thinking along the lines of abandoning the planet rather than just moving out here. Surely Allura wouldn't want to come out and live here with them. They're...
They're starting a mancave, okay. Normally, at this point, he may get frustrated and busy himself at the implications that he's being a bad teammate/friend (even if he is, because he is), but as it were, he's pretty focused on Lance's face, gazing into his soul. Sure, him just wanting to come back to visit and not just stay here is a slight downer, but not all that disappointing. Twenty minutes or so ago, his place didn't even exist for either of them.]
Fine.
[Decisive, but not haughty. His thumb extends to tread his chin, touch along the corner of his lower lip, not guided by any specific thought process; the way the light shines off of Lance's face is -- nice? Like a unicorn, maybe? The comparison didn't mean much earlier -- still doesn't, but it's easier to think along those lines than to concentrate on his heart rate or how Lance'e eyes looked like glistening gems all on their own, more fascinating than the floor of their lagoon. Their conversation is contrary to whatever he's feeling at the moment, which is maybe why he more or less forfeited it six seconds ago.
[ it wasn't as if lance thought keith a bad teammate or friend — but more it was a verbal reminder to himself that the boy could fall prey to tunnel vision all too easily when he gets particularly passionate about something, and more often than not in those cases, certain details fall by the wayside. in those cases, it would then fall onto someone else (often lance himself) to be that gentle reminder. and so that had been his attempt at that. all in all, it seems to have worked out well enough, even if he does spot a slight tinge of something (disappointment?) in his careful non-refusal.
but keith seems willing to move on, which lance can only be thankful for, realizing rather suddenly that he'd rather not have to have another reason to not-refuse the other boy, especially if it were going to lead to that soft, small voice. though that being said, lance can't be too sure he's ready for whatever it is they are transitioning to, feeling both as subtle and as blatant as the slow swipe of keith's thumb down the line of his jaw. his lips part automatically, as if weighed down by the faint pressure of the digit there— ]
Keith, [ he suddenly breathes out, before he even realizes he'd been meaning to speak at all, and there are two full seconds in which he panics, knowing he should probably follow that up with something, but not entirely sure what with.
suddenly, randomly, prompto comes to mind. ]
—Have you ever had a crush before?
thank you. the trash took itself out. now i can live peacefully.
[His gaze drops slightly, returns to eye level almost immediately -- not wanting to focus too much on his mouth. That's too telling, probably. Because the tender touches and proximity, the proposal to run away together, none of that was particularly suggestive.]
Huh?
[Should they really be talking about that? Like this? His answer wouldn't -- shouldn't foul the mood (mood? what moood?), but...it's an embarrassing thing, even as the bayou itself has relaxed most of his brain...or...something.
Worst thing he could do here is make it into a bigger deal than it is.]
Not really.
[Precisely, no. He's been too busy for stuff like that aight.]
[ it doesn't count as suggestive when the person on the receiving end of all those advances is a friggin' MORON...
so you're good.
in any case, lance only realizes once keith responds that he hadn't actually been sure what he'd been wanting to hear. he'd been so sure, at least back when he'd been chatting with prompto, that someone like keith (too busy for stuff like that aight) had never had one, let alone know the first thing about it, and yet even now after the boy pretty much confirms his own suspicions, lance finds himself desperate to glean anything else out.
the strange calm of the water can only do so much to quell his ever-noisy mind, after all.
he surges forward, though in the water it's more like a gentle sway. close enough now that their knees knocked together briefly in his haste, close enough too that his arms (stretched out and swaying back and forth slightly in an attempt to continue to keep him afloat) occasionally hover keith's own sides, only to shy away again in the movement. close enough now to see the dark purple hues in keith's eyes, already an absurd color on their own, but now made even more so by the waterlight's reflections. ]
But you'd know if you do, right? If... whenever you do.
[Lance moves in, and Keith practically sinks; he's not sure what he was expecting, but his other hand semi-automatically makes a grab for his opposite shoulder -- this time purely to steady himself. He's not an expert floater...rather, he could last a while afloat on the ocean, but Lance is essentially Jaws and he's kind of losing focus.
If he were closer to the rocks, he wouldn't be in this predicament. His opposite hand's moved to grip the back of his head, too, abandoning his jaw and ruffling his hair backwards in the process so they both look funny. Him, moreso (probably) with his exposed forehead and all. This entire situation is suddenly way more embarrassing than getting your **** stuck in your wife's ******.]
Y...eah. So what?!
[If he's starting to sound edgy, it's because he's getting noivis.]
anyway, they definitely could have chosen a better setting for this particular line of conversation, yes, but it's too late now, they've come too far. though lance's ears pick up the hint of panic rising in keith's tone, a sort of sharp growl that rests on the back of his throat. where lance's voice tends to pitch higher in times of duress, keith's seem to go the opposite direction which is pretty fitting, considering their entire motif, but anyway i digress.
right now, they're a little too far away from any rocks to gain any kind of leverage, but with keith practically hanging onto lance now it's easier to drift along, even if he is essentially swimming for two. ]
Nothing, [ or so he says, because he's definitely looking at keith like it's not just nothing but he doesn't seem prepared to say anything but that. at least not right now. ] Just... you should tell them. When you do. [ get a load of dr. phil over here. ] I think they'd like to know.
[ keith will feel a bump at his back then, because somehow in the midst of lance's inane babbling, he'd managed to drift them both towards an edge of the lagoon, and finally lance's hands have somewhere to go — one at the side of keith's head, pressed flat against damp rocks; the other a brush of fingertips that trace his cheek, coming to tuck a lock of hair behind his ear. ]
[He's searching Lance's face all the while, prepared for him to outright call him on his shit; there's a sharp denial already sitting at the edge of his tongue...sitting, nesting, thawing back down into his throat in the form of a fake lump. In comes leverage, suddenly. A hard surface at his back, when Keith wasn't even aware that they were moving. Excuse the uke gasp, as well as the panicked leap from his shoulder. That hand finds a small stone to grip, acting all the while like he hadn't meant to bring all of this on while, also, at the same time, not rejecting him at all.
His eyes belatedly focus on the hand pressed to the rock by his templeish area. He's feigning preoccupation with it as Lance touches him in a way similar to what he'd just been doing himself. Being in the receiving end is completely different, however. It's scary, but exciting too. This is the same guy who flew off a mountain with a motorcycle-hoverbike btw.
How? Something else that threatens to prematurely escape his vocals. Maybe he hasn't seen enough romcoms for this sort of thing, or maybe he's just anticipating the worst? Why would Lance even like him like that? Even now, he's just -- being Lance. His other hand falls from the back of his head, shifting beyond his neck in the form of a fist, settling at his chest...prepared to spread and shove, but he does not. A drawn-in breath and a lead from Lance's earlier actions; he turns his head back toward Lance's, semi-nuzzling it, but the goal here's a bit different. His lips purse against his palm just slightly, just enough. He's insecure about the whole thing and yet, something's making him feel just courageous enough....]
[ lance feels keith pull away and he feels something cold and heavy drop in his gut — disappointment, perhaps, or maybe even fear. his shoulder feels suddenly cold, and his head feels heavy without the support of keith's hand behind his neck, but before he can dwell too much on any immediate regret, his mind refocuses enough to realize he may have admitted defeat too soon.
there is still a hand on his chest, curled into a fist, sure, but considering this is keith, it's a pretty good sign that fist hasn't yet found his nose. it stays there, nestled just beneath his collar bone, where a single shark-tooth pendant rests, but more than that — surprisingly, miraculously — more than that, there are a pair of lips against his palm, pursing with too much intent to be an accident, and lance is surprised that fist remains from how hard his heart is hammering against his chest right now.
suddenly he hears his own words echoing back at him, you should tell them, they'd like to know and he almost laughs at himself because — man. what a hypocrite. how do you know, though, how can you be sure, and also, actually, is right now really a good time to be talking anyway?
but if you aren't talking, what are you doing...
he sucks in a sharp breath, head dropping so suddenly it's a wonder he doesn't accidentally clock keith with it. the hand he's got pressed against the rock clenches into a sudden fist, because oh god, oh god, maybe he was wrong about himself all along, oh god—
his hand and his head move simultaneously; palm shifting against those lips, reaching behind to hold the back of keith's head instead, angling his face towards; his head lifting back up just to time to catch whatever protest keith might make about the sudden manhandling. with his lips. using his lips. on keith's lips. oh god. ]
[That's twice now that he's kissed...Lance...which is a weird thing to think aout -- which is why he isn't at all. Simultaneously, he can't decide whether or not his lips have lingered for too long -- he is pulling away rather quickly. There's not enough time to freak out about it or try to excuse himself from the matter at hand, as a new heaviness/warmth takes place of warm skin. It's a touch softer, wholly unfamiliar but just as warm...
Good thing he's wide-eyed when it occurs, otherwise he may've jerked away out of impulse. Not due to anything but the wait what factor of their liplock. He's borderline idle at first, only a slight extension of the handkiss lingers between the mouths...but his eyes close and he eases into the arrangement all too quickly. As if it'd been a long time coming.
His fingers unfurl, his hands turn and grip at the necklace, twisting it slightly, urging him nearer rather than trying to strangle him. He's not entirely sure how this ended up in his favor, but now he's maintaining it in his inexperience...somehow...]
[ where keith finds his comfort in not thinking, lance finds himself ping-ponging between the two. one second caught up in the press of lips and their journey towards synchronized breathing, the next hearing sirens blare between his ears because, um, hi, hello, are you aware you are kissing your teammate? locking lips with the so-called enemy, because they're rivals, except they were never really rivals were they, or maybe they were, and now they're not, they're friends, but also now they're kissing friends which means wait are they more than friends or does there have to be some kind of spoken agreement about it first?
again, speaking would probably help them both out here, or at the very least lance, who's gradually making himself dizzy running circles around in his mind. is this okay? how could it not be okay? am i doing this right? does he like it? do i like it? how could i not like it? are we going steady now? do people even still go steady? oh my god what am i gonna tell my mom—
the tug along his neck works both as a mental tug back to reality and enough of a force to draw him closer. his knees bump awkwardly against keith's, but all it takes is a slight shift and, okay, cool, legs entwined, hips aligned. both hands now buried in damp, dark hair, and, hey, what if he tugs too? ]
[Yes to the last thing, not sure about the rest. sumimasen...
Speaking has actually never helped Keith do a single thing in his life. If urged to, he'd probably immediately deny kissing him or even thinking about doing that because not only is it weird to be kissing Lance -- as Keith, but it's weird to be thinking about crushes or any of that such nonsense. Where most teens spend their days pining for obscene forms of company, Keith can be found cracking Cicada 3301 or shitposting as 9MOTHER9HORSE9EYES9. No talking, no problem. Being as it were, the more he's not thinking about it (this must be what people on Fear Factor do when they have to eat tarantulas), the longer he just endure -- reciprocates, enjoys...
The more he feels like he's gonna freak the hell out. This is why we can't have nice things, so on and so forth. It doesn't happen, however, as they both seem to find comfort in violence. The tug isn't anything forceful; it's enough to compel his head a certain way, tilt his chin up. It prompts a soft gasp (â„¢) and only then does he realize how out of breath he is.
There's hardly any space between his mouth and Lance's, even as he deliberately lets his chin sit at a particular angle where they aren't aligned enough to spur another liplock. A slight change could fix that, but right now he's just breathing, regarding Lance with half-lids. A leg outstretches underwater, bending behind the paladin's thigh in place of any encouraging (or discouraging) words. He's still not trusting himself to say anything...this is fine.]
[ oh, right, breathing. funny how two seconds ago he wouldn't have even cared for it, but now that his lungs are finally filling with oxygen again he realizes that the lightheadedness he'd been feeling may not have entirely been from that kiss.
not to say that the kiss itself hadn't been amazing because, hey, wow, that happened and hey, wow, who knew it could be so great?
the stillness these few moments of (necessary) breathing offers them is dangerous. still enough to breathe, but still enough too to think. fortunately (?) for lance, his mind kickstarts into overdrive now that it's been given the chance, working now at 1,000 thoughts per minute (as opposed fo his usual 100), and truthfully having too many thoughts is essentially the same as having no thoughts at all, in that, in the end, nothing really gets done at all.
oh, but there are things he wants. past it all, he can feel the longing and desire for it — to touch and taste again, in any way possible. so while they breathe, his forehead finds keith's, and one hand trades a handful of dark hair to grasp one pale (with tanlines!) hand beneath the water, fingers interlaced, hands linked. and while the glitter light doesn't offer them too much to see with, he still tries to search out keith's own eyes amidst the dancing shadows.
of course it's lance to break the stillness in the end. ]
[Were they not been immersed in the lagoon -- without it to smooth over the rough edges, Keith would've been more prone to shoving Lance off and calling it quits (even the pretty rocks don't stand a chance against Keith's bipolar outbursts of solitary confinement) -- asinine considering the last time they'd spent some time together. A lot of his thoughts are giant contradictions, though. All about teamwork for the Voltron but delving into interpersonal things beyond necessary is...
Tricky.
His hand eases off the rock, twining with Lance's automatically. A verbal response isn't so quick; Lance is right in front of him -- foreheads touching, even, but he's searching through the dim light, focused on his eyes (kinda) but trying to look beyond--]
I don't know-?!
[It's kneejerk, slightly concerned but likely not enough to undo any progress here. He'll draw his lower lip in, chewing at it awkwardly while moving his hand to Lance's ear (from his hair), toying lightly along the edge of that shell.]
everything about this is so tenuous, encroaching onto new and exciting (but all the more frightening for it) territory, that it truly is a blessing in disguise that it's all coming to fruition under the cozy haze of this lagoon. a metaphorical balm to the slight sting of keith's verbal withdrawal (a sting that certainly would have hit harder had most of his nerves not already been calmed by the warmth of the lagoon, the finger along his ear, the hand still holding his own just as easily). it keeps his own words a little milder, dulled. ]
...Who else am I supposed to ask...
[ there are little distractions — that tracing finger, the movement of keith's lower lip between his teeth — and he feels a tug to just indulge in them. but there persists a quiet voice in the back of his mind — they should talk about this, shouldn't they? prompto said pretending like these things never happened... that's the greater mistake, isn't it? ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
that icon is deceptively cute...
[ but honestly what does lance know. this is sounding more and more like a "hunk and pidge" question, and he spares a moment to be sad the two aren't awake to be able to experience this with them. anyway, it's a good thing his curiosity isn't quite as insistent; at the very least, he's able to be content with an answer of "/waves hands around vaguely, magic" and be done with it. deciding he's spent a sufficient enough time trying to pursue this intellectual matter, he'll quickly turn his attention back to simply enjoying the setting itself. wherever the weird light is coming from, it's interesting to watch it play with the water and create fun light reflections along the walls, keith's face. he actually snickers a little, because in this lighting, with keith's hair like that, ]
You look like a drowned highland cow.
[ without even thinking about it he reaches forward, quietly combing keith's fringe back instead of to the side. his hand stalls almost immediately after exposing keith's forehead, the sudden sight of it reminding him of a certain other forehead, where a certain other pair of lips had kissed once.
he blinks, and hastily draws his hand away. ]
It's probably a good thing we got here so late. [ he'll just... dog-paddle away now... treating himself to another lap around, yep. ] I bet it doesn't look as good during the day.
"deceptively"
It was sunny earlier today.
[More than that, how did the rocks -- jewels? Capture that energy. Rocks can definitely get hot..of course, but storing it is something different entirely, right? Isn't that why solar panels are so expensive? Because they're technical and awful?
Whatevs. He's pulled out of his scientific thoughts when Lance likens him to a cow.]
You look like a ferret.
[It's not as angry of a retort as he'd like for it to have been; his forehead's being exposed and it...never is...the whole thing happens with a jarringly tender gesture (don't call him a cow and then slick his bangs back?!
Whatever. He takes off pretty quickly and Keith sinks down a bit, like an alligator with just it's eyes and nose exposed. It's gotta be much plainer -- ordinary of a setting during daylight.
Maybe nightswimming isn't so bad after all.]
i said what i said
Still, [ he finally speaks up, after way too long a pause between their words that it really makes no sense that he should be continuing the line of conversation like he is. ] I think I'd like to try coming back some other time...
[ idly, he flexes his hand. ]
I like it here.
hmm...
Could be because of the ambiance, or maybe because he's found his towel floating along the way.]
Yeah, [After pulling his head up, of course, busily squashing his soaked towel onto a
pizzaball and tossing it to an edge of the lagoon.] if we can get here without walking all day.[After walking all day, however, this is a great place to end up. It's warm and naturally calming. He doesn't even want to wedgie Lance anymore; splash him, dunk him. He just wants to kinda...watch him, mutually appreciate a calm place for a change.
Or, on the other hand...]
We don't...have to go back.
[Remember that mermaid episode? Keith's kind of like the mermaid episode right now.]
🤔
We can't stay here forever, [ lance argues, except he isn't really arguing, more just stating the facts. there's no real source of food, and who knows if this water is drinkable, besides where are they gonna sleep and how's lance supposed to get his natural amount of vitamin d??
but even though that isn't at all what keith means (and lance knows it), there is unquestionably a nice sound to it... it's nice here, peaceful in a way that doesn't make lance a little stir-crazy or restless.
his ears ring a little. we, we. lance had been careful not to insinuate when he mentioned coming back, and there's a strange sense of relief and swell of excitement upon hearing keith's ready acceptance. we, we.
he looks to keith then, feeling a spike of desperation for something else to think about. ]
What were you thinking?
ðŸ¤
It isn't like they're gaining much clarity back in the city either. If it can be considered as such. Patrolling the red light district isn't exactly his favorite thing, and he hasn't been able to make progress on his own. Lance likes it here enough, but at the end of the day, he's a social creature. A minor 'con' as far as he's aware.]
If we're stuck here, we should settle somewhere that's nice, that's all.
[We-ing out the wazoo.]
Until we can figure out how to get back to Earth.
[And start from scratch, maybe regroup as Paladins, because who the eff knows what's really happened to the universe.
Domestic AU.....]
is that texan keith
which means here he is, forced (ish) to confront the grim truth of their situation, by actually being made to think it may not be the actual truth after all.
he sits up — or tries to, but considering he's in water all he does is shift back down so that he's treading once more, turning towards keith with a mildly wary look. ]
You don't think the stuff about the Storm is real?
[ as soon as he says it, it makes sense. of the lot of them, keith would be more inclined to question, to wonder. it's just funny that lance is hearing it for the first time now, in the same breath that keith himself is actually starting to... sound more accepting of their fate. whatever fate that is. ]
how could you tell
You thought it was?
[The plan was to behave enough to figure out what's going on with Red, then scope things out from the vantage of...well, Red. Having the Castle of Lions back would be equally as important, but that isn't even his.
Either way, it's not a condescending retort. Like when you're the first of your age group to realize Santa's not real, and the fact that the rest of your peers are finding out later in life -- not like that. It's honest, because maybe he's missing something. Lance maybe hasn't have... the best sense of reality based on past missions, but that doesn't exactly invalidate his thoughts.
I mean, maybe it would outside of their little pool.]
It just seems too sudden. [Just to elaborate, lest his answer sound too much like that's just what I think because I'm uncomfortable here, weh weh.] I've woken up on other planets before, but not like this.
[Haven't they all...]
It's like, something's missing.
it's in the eyes
I don't know, I... [ he licks his lips, trying to parse through his own thoughts. ] I mean they had my mom, you know? I saw her, after so long, and...
[ he grows quiet, brow furrowing. had he been blinded? too distracted by the sight of a loved one he'd been aching for since their first mission to notice everything else that'd felt just a little bit too off?
except that wasn't right, either, was it? he'd started to see things. little things. ]
I mean... I guess I always thought it was kinda weird how so much of what we're finding here is so familiar... [ the universe is way too big, as they've been finding, for such similarities to be a coincidence, right? ]
I met one of the Orbiters, too. My first day on the station... He was, like. Studying us.
[ he makes a face, shuddering under the water. his hands come up, wrapping around his arms in a self-hug. ]
This blows...
theyre not purple....
He mentally rejoins the conversation when he brings up Orbiters. Information he hadn't known -- why did they wait to have this conversation again? On one hand, maybe the guy Lance saw was just a doctor-type, making sure everyone was fine, on the other hand...gross.
He opens his mouth to press further, quieted by his non-PG statement. Or maybe it is PG? Either way, he reaches forward and rests a hand against the paladin's shoulder. There's a squeeze of reassurance. At least they're together?]
I know it does, but...
[A lil shoulder squeeze is creeping up the crook off his neck, settling on his jaw a short stretch beneath an ear.]
We can't talk about this stuff back there.
[You know, if they decide to go back. For groceries. Until they figure out how to live off the hand like cavepeople.]
bc nO ONE EVER HAS PURPLE EYES
What are we supposed to do? [ they aren't a complete team, and if they're caught snooping around, who knows how that might affect those of them that are still asleep. more and more, keith's idea to remain here &mdasg; where he's truly beginning to feel cut off from the rest, truly hidden from prying eyes and piqued ears — is sounding really, really tempting. ]
We can't leave Allura. [ right, right... despite how it feels in this moment, how that strange bottom light seems to highlight the two fot hem, just the two of them — it would be remiss of them both to think it's really all that simple. ] And the mice... and our friends...
[ he looks around, quietly leaning into the hand at his jaw. ]
But we could come back here... Whenever we need to — talk. [ or you know... whatever else they might happen to do... ]
yesh tehy do x3
I know that.
[Re: Allura, the mice...so on and so forth. Of course, he's still thinking along the lines of abandoning the planet rather than just moving out here. Surely Allura wouldn't want to come out and live here with them. They're...
They're starting a mancave, okay. Normally, at this point, he may get frustrated and busy himself at the implications that he's being a bad teammate/friend (even if he is, because he is), but as it were, he's pretty focused on Lance's face, gazing into his soul. Sure, him just wanting to come back to visit and not just stay here is a slight downer, but not all that disappointing. Twenty minutes or so ago, his place didn't even exist for either of them.]
Fine.
[Decisive, but not haughty. His thumb extends to tread his chin, touch along the corner of his lower lip, not guided by any specific thought process; the way the light shines off of Lance's face is -- nice? Like a unicorn, maybe? The comparison didn't mean much earlier -- still doesn't, but it's easier to think along those lines than to concentrate on his heart rate or how Lance'e eyes looked like glistening gems all on their own, more fascinating than the floor of their lagoon. Their conversation is contrary to whatever he's feeling at the moment, which is maybe why he more or less forfeited it six seconds ago.
Ummm.]
blocked
but keith seems willing to move on, which lance can only be thankful for, realizing rather suddenly that he'd rather not have to have another reason to not-refuse the other boy, especially if it were going to lead to that soft, small voice. though that being said, lance can't be too sure he's ready for whatever it is they are transitioning to, feeling both as subtle and as blatant as the slow swipe of keith's thumb down the line of his jaw. his lips part automatically, as if weighed down by the faint pressure of the digit there— ]
Keith, [ he suddenly breathes out, before he even realizes he'd been meaning to speak at all, and there are two full seconds in which he panics, knowing he should probably follow that up with something, but not entirely sure what with.
suddenly, randomly, prompto comes to mind. ]
—Have you ever had a crush before?
thank you. the trash took itself out. now i can live peacefully.
Huh?
[Should they really be talking about that? Like this? His answer wouldn't -- shouldn't foul the mood (mood? what moood?), but...it's an embarrassing thing, even as the bayou itself has relaxed most of his brain...or...something.
Worst thing he could do here is make it into a bigger deal than it is.]
Not really.
[Precisely, no. He's been too busy for stuff like that aight.]
>:[
so you're good.
in any case, lance only realizes once keith responds that he hadn't actually been sure what he'd been wanting to hear. he'd been so sure, at least back when he'd been chatting with prompto, that someone like keith (too busy for stuff like that aight) had never had one, let alone know the first thing about it, and yet even now after the boy pretty much confirms his own suspicions, lance finds himself desperate to glean anything else out.
the strange calm of the water can only do so much to quell his ever-noisy mind, after all.
he surges forward, though in the water it's more like a gentle sway. close enough now that their knees knocked together briefly in his haste, close enough too that his arms (stretched out and swaying back and forth slightly in an attempt to continue to keep him afloat) occasionally hover keith's own sides, only to shy away again in the movement. close enough now to see the dark purple hues in keith's eyes, already an absurd color on their own, but now made even more so by the waterlight's reflections. ]
But you'd know if you do, right? If... whenever you do.
godbye for life
If he were closer to the rocks, he wouldn't be in this predicament. His opposite hand's moved to grip the back of his head, too, abandoning his jaw and ruffling his hair backwards in the process so they both look funny. Him, moreso (probably) with his exposed forehead and all. This entire situation is suddenly way more embarrassing than getting your **** stuck in your wife's ******.]
Y...eah. So what?!
[If he's starting to sound edgy, it's because he's getting noivis.]
>:'[
anyway, they definitely could have chosen a better setting for this particular line of conversation, yes, but it's too late now, they've come too far. though lance's ears pick up the hint of panic rising in keith's tone, a sort of sharp growl that rests on the back of his throat. where lance's voice tends to pitch higher in times of duress, keith's seem to go the opposite direction which is pretty fitting, considering their entire motif, but anyway i digress.
right now, they're a little too far away from any rocks to gain any kind of leverage, but with keith practically hanging onto lance now it's easier to drift along, even if he is essentially swimming for two. ]
Nothing, [ or so he says, because he's definitely looking at keith like it's not just nothing but he doesn't seem prepared to say anything but that. at least not right now. ] Just... you should tell them. When you do. [ get a load of dr. phil over here. ] I think they'd like to know.
[ keith will feel a bump at his back then, because somehow in the midst of lance's inane babbling, he'd managed to drift them both towards an edge of the lagoon, and finally lance's hands have somewhere to go — one at the side of keith's head, pressed flat against damp rocks; the other a brush of fingertips that trace his cheek, coming to tuck a lock of hair behind his ear. ]
:^P
His eyes belatedly focus on the hand pressed to the rock by his templeish area. He's feigning preoccupation with it as Lance touches him in a way similar to what he'd just been doing himself. Being in the receiving end is completely different, however. It's scary, but exciting too. This is the same guy who flew off a mountain with a motorcycle-hoverbike btw.
How? Something else that threatens to prematurely escape his vocals. Maybe he hasn't seen enough romcoms for this sort of thing, or maybe he's just anticipating the worst? Why would Lance even like him like that? Even now, he's just -- being Lance. His other hand falls from the back of his head, shifting beyond his neck in the form of a fist, settling at his chest...prepared to spread and shove, but he does not. A drawn-in breath and a lead from Lance's earlier actions; he turns his head back toward Lance's, semi-nuzzling it, but the goal here's a bit different. His lips purse against his palm just slightly, just enough. He's insecure about the whole thing and yet, something's making him feel just courageous enough....]
=D
there is still a hand on his chest, curled into a fist, sure, but considering this is keith, it's a pretty good sign that fist hasn't yet found his nose. it stays there, nestled just beneath his collar bone, where a single shark-tooth pendant rests, but more than that — surprisingly, miraculously — more than that, there are a pair of lips against his palm, pursing with too much intent to be an accident, and lance is surprised that fist remains from how hard his heart is hammering against his chest right now.
suddenly he hears his own words echoing back at him, you should tell them, they'd like to know and he almost laughs at himself because — man. what a hypocrite. how do you know, though, how can you be sure, and also, actually, is right now really a good time to be talking anyway?
but if you aren't talking, what are you doing...
he sucks in a sharp breath, head dropping so suddenly it's a wonder he doesn't accidentally clock keith with it. the hand he's got pressed against the rock clenches into a sudden fist, because oh god, oh god, maybe he was wrong about himself all along, oh god—
his hand and his head move simultaneously; palm shifting against those lips, reaching behind to hold the back of keith's head instead, angling his face towards; his head lifting back up just to time to catch whatever protest keith might make about the sudden manhandling. with his lips. using his lips. on keith's lips. oh god. ]
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Good thing he's wide-eyed when it occurs, otherwise he may've jerked away out of impulse. Not due to anything but the wait what factor of their liplock. He's borderline idle at first, only a slight extension of the handkiss lingers between the mouths...but his eyes close and he eases into the arrangement all too quickly. As if it'd been a long time coming.
His fingers unfurl, his hands turn and grip at the necklace, twisting it slightly, urging him nearer rather than trying to strangle him. He's not entirely sure how this ended up in his favor, but now he's maintaining it in his inexperience...somehow...]
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again, speaking would probably help them both out here, or at the very least lance, who's gradually making himself dizzy running circles around in his mind. is this okay? how could it not be okay? am i doing this right? does he like it? do i like it? how could i not like it? are we going steady now? do people even still go steady? oh my god what am i gonna tell my mom—
the tug along his neck works both as a mental tug back to reality and enough of a force to draw him closer. his knees bump awkwardly against keith's, but all it takes is a slight shift and, okay, cool, legs entwined, hips aligned. both hands now buried in damp, dark hair, and, hey, what if he tugs too? ]
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Speaking has actually never helped Keith do a single thing in his life. If urged to, he'd probably immediately deny kissing him or even thinking about doing that because not only is it weird to be kissing Lance -- as Keith, but it's weird to be thinking about crushes or any of that such nonsense. Where most teens spend their days pining for obscene forms of company, Keith can be found cracking Cicada 3301 or shitposting as 9MOTHER9HORSE9EYES9. No talking, no problem. Being as it were, the more he's not thinking about it (this must be what people on Fear Factor do when they have to eat tarantulas), the longer he just endure -- reciprocates, enjoys...
The more he feels like he's gonna freak the hell out. This is why we can't have nice things, so on and so forth. It doesn't happen, however, as they both seem to find comfort in violence. The tug isn't anything forceful; it's enough to compel his head a certain way, tilt his chin up. It prompts a soft gasp (â„¢) and only then does he realize how out of breath he is.
There's hardly any space between his mouth and Lance's, even as he deliberately lets his chin sit at a particular angle where they aren't aligned enough to spur another liplock. A slight change could fix that, but right now he's just breathing, regarding Lance with half-lids. A leg outstretches underwater, bending behind the paladin's thigh in place of any encouraging (or discouraging) words. He's still not trusting himself to say anything...this is fine.]
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not to say that the kiss itself hadn't been amazing because, hey, wow, that happened and hey, wow, who knew it could be so great?
the stillness these few moments of (necessary) breathing offers them is dangerous. still enough to breathe, but still enough too to think. fortunately (?) for lance, his mind kickstarts into overdrive now that it's been given the chance, working now at 1,000 thoughts per minute (as opposed fo his usual 100), and truthfully having too many thoughts is essentially the same as having no thoughts at all, in that, in the end, nothing really gets done at all.
oh, but there are things he wants. past it all, he can feel the longing and desire for it — to touch and taste again, in any way possible. so while they breathe, his forehead finds keith's, and one hand trades a handful of dark hair to grasp one pale (with tanlines!) hand beneath the water, fingers interlaced, hands linked. and while the glitter light doesn't offer them too much to see with, he still tries to search out keith's own eyes amidst the dancing shadows.
of course it's lance to break the stillness in the end. ]
...This is okay, right?
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Tricky.
His hand eases off the rock, twining with Lance's automatically. A verbal response isn't so quick; Lance is right in front of him -- foreheads touching, even, but he's searching through the dim light, focused on his eyes (kinda) but trying to look beyond--]
I don't know-?!
[It's kneejerk, slightly concerned but likely not enough to undo any progress here. He'll draw his lower lip in, chewing at it awkwardly while moving his hand to Lance's ear (from his hair), toying lightly along the edge of that shell.]
Don't ask me.
[???????????]
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everything about this is so tenuous, encroaching onto new and exciting (but all the more frightening for it) territory, that it truly is a blessing in disguise that it's all coming to fruition under the cozy haze of this lagoon. a metaphorical balm to the slight sting of keith's verbal withdrawal (a sting that certainly would have hit harder had most of his nerves not already been calmed by the warmth of the lagoon, the finger along his ear, the hand still holding his own just as easily). it keeps his own words a little milder, dulled. ]
...Who else am I supposed to ask...
[ there are little distractions — that tracing finger, the movement of keith's lower lip between his teeth — and he feels a tug to just indulge in them. but there persists a quiet voice in the back of his mind — they should talk about this, shouldn't they? prompto said pretending like these things never happened... that's the greater mistake, isn't it? ]
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