My friend requested a Gay Fic, so here it is! She's been really upset recently, so I put my other story idea aside to make way for this one first (I'm such a good friend! :D ). As you can probably tell, this will contain Klance (which is my personal favourite out of all the Voltron ships). I am currently on half term (woohoo!) but I also have to revise for some upcoming exams as well );

Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy this as much as you did Mercy. On with the Klance!

Keith has never felt so excited before!

Well, maybe he did when Shiro returned to Earth, but apart from that, this was the most excited he had ever felt.

Keith missed everyone while he was with the Blades of Marmora. He missed Pidge's great ideas and snarky wit. He missed Hunk's food and (sometimes overbearing, but always adorable) kindness. He missed how stern and inspiring Allura was, and how comical and caring Coran was. He missed Shiro's wise advice and soft voice. He also missed how encouraging and comforting his brother was, but he was happy knowing that Shiro was alive and leading Voltron as he is meant to.

Heck, Keith even missed Lance!

Keith never thought that there would be a day where he would willingly admit that he missed how stupid and annoying Lance was, but now thinking of the Cuban would bring a small, genuine smile to his face. Recently, Keith had been finding it harder to stop thinking about Lance (not that I ever thought about him in the first place!), about his dazzling smiles and sea-blue eyes. He couldn't stop thinking about his long, lanky limbs or his infectious laughs. He couldn't stop thinking about his adorable faded freckles – all twenty-eight of them – and how he just wanted to lean up to that beautiful tanned face and -

NO! Bad Keith, down!

Quiznack! This was becoming more of a regular occurrence ever since he left the Castle! Keith gripped his hair and groaned as he tried to block images of the Blue Paladin from his mind. He could also tell, without the use of a mirror, that his cheeks were blushing a furious crimson.

Why can't I stop thinking about him?

"Keith?" Keith jumped at the sudden knock on his door and released his head to face it.

"We're getting ready to leave now." Kolivan said from the other side of the bedroom door.

"Okay." Keith managed to stammer out with a non-conspicuous steady voice. At least, he thought it was non-conspicuous since Kolivan left without any further words.

As the heavy footsteps faded away, Keith made sure that he had all of his gear, including his mask and his blade, which were required for the mission. But all the while. He couldn't help but worry that something bad was going to happen…

The transition from the Blade's base to the Castle was incredibly jarring and strange. Where the base was occupied by shadows and purple light, the Castle was engulfed in bright, blue lights and thrummed with life. There was never a time when the Castle didn't seem to glow with its gorgeous quintessence.

Everyone had been waiting at the main entrance for him. As soon as Keith set foot off the pod, he was immediately assaulted by a warm, crushing hug from a crying Hunk.

"I missed you too buddy." He managed to gasp out while patting the Yellow Paladin's back.

A smaller mass latched itself on to Keith's exposed back. He looked down and saw Pidge grinning up at him, hugging him like a koala on a tree.

"Welcome back Keith."

Shiro and Lance joined the hug wherever they could.

"It's good to have you back Keith." Shiro smiled warmly.

"Yeah, I was starting to get bored without teasing you, mullet!" Lance teased.

Keith rolled his eyes, hoping desperately that he was successfully resisting the urge to blush.

Shiro and Kolivan were going through the plans on the Castle's bridge. Their mission was simple; go in to a battle cruiser, free the prisoners, download their database and induce enough damage to put the ship out of commission. Allura, Hunk and a few of the other Blades would escort Matt and Pidge to the main console where they can keep an eye on the infiltrating team and protect them. At the same time, they would download information about missions, operations and prisoners; the last one in particular was most important to them.

Matt looked different from the last time Keith had seen him. He'd met the Commander's son at the Kerberos launch pad while bidding Shiro farewell. Back then, Matt hadn't been so tall and his hair hadn't been so long. Actually, he also had a few new scars too. His eyes, however, were still bright with determination. At least his spirit was still intact. It made Keith so happy to see Pidge reunited with her older brother. Surely it couldn't be too long before Commander Holt was found too.

On the infiltrating team, Shiro would lead Lance, Keith and some other Blades to the cells and free the prisoners. Kolivan and the rest of the Blades would provide distractions outside with Coran in the Castle.

At some point during the meeting, Keith's gaze had wandered towards Lance, who was watching Shiro and Kolivan attentively. This serious side was one that Keith would never have associated with the Cuban at the beginning. Back when they had all first come together, Lance seemed to have possessed very little focus during meetings, and he would always laugh and joke around. Lance had just been annoying and obnoxious! But after some time, Lance's cheesy humour would even make Keith smile sometimes, and always giggle on the inside. Lance was one of the few people in the whole Universe who could make him feel so…happy.

Then Shiro disappeared and Keith became the Black Paladin. Lance then became more than just the team's (not my!) goofball; he became their support. And that wasn't the only time either. After Keith's Galran heritage had been revealed, Lance still went around teasing his mullet and goading him into competitions like normal. Of course, he had been shocked and surprised initially – just like the other Paladins – but his behaviour towards Keith never changed in the slightest.

"Sorry man. It's just so hard to be afraid and angry when you're related to a race of big, fluffy, purple Space cats! But hey, at least you're still our angry mulletted emo."

Gosh. It was no wonder that Keith was in love with him.

…

Wait…LOVE!? Since when did I say I was in love with him!?

Keith quickly snapped his gaze back to Shiro and Kolivan who just announced that mission would commence in one varga. Keith swiftly flew from the room to the training deck to get his thoughts sorted out.

Keith had only been training for about 15 dobashes when he received company. They made their presence known when they shot a Gladiator that was rushing at Keith from behind. Keith turned to defend himself, but stared at the bot as a gaping hole sizzled and smoked in its head. It fell to reveal Lance stood in the doorway, sniping rifle primed at his shoulder.

"I thought you could handle yourself Samurai." Lance smirked as he sauntered up Keith, who folded his arms with a huff.

"I was handling it just fine." He glared in reply.

"Uh huh." Lance raised a sceptical eyebrow.

Come to think of it, Lance was taller now as well. Lance used to be only half-an-inch taller, but now, despite being nine months younger, he was five inches taller.

Wow. He really has grown up.

Keith wasn't really in a mood to argue, so he invited Lance to join him in training instead.

"Ugh, if you insist." Lance moaned. Keith would have believed his displeasure if his eyes hadn't twinkled in delight.

The two managed to obliterate Gladiators all the way up to level 16. In that time, Keith and Lance exchanged competitive compliments and laughed whenever Lance stumbled on his feet. Keith found this odd since Lance was so much better at training. Why was he stumbling around? Actually, he looked fairly distracted too. Strange…

It wasn't too long before everyone was ordered to move to their starting positions. Shiro, Keith and some of his fellow Blades clambered in to the Red Lion's belly while Lance raced into the head. The flight was fast, but there were no crashes or bumps. Keith was pleased that Lance had improved at piloting Red, but he still couldn't shake off his bad feeling…

Shiro was opening the cells with his Galran hand while the Blades directed and helped the prisoners to the nearby escape pods. Keith and Lance stood guard at the entrance. Lance knelt on one knee a few feet in front of Keith, his rifle primed and gaze focused forwards. Keith's breath was silent behind his mask as he stared down the corridor in anticipation. His knife was already transformed into a sword and hanging by his side in a tight grip. It didn't take long for the sentries to pile around the corner and rush forwards to attack them.

"ENEMIES INBOUND!" Lance yelled at the top of his lungs right before the sound of running footsteps was drowned out by the sounds of gunshots.

Keith raced forwards to slash his enemies down. Metal parts and wires went flying throughout the hallway. Some of the Blades moved from the cells to help keep up the defensive forces. In the corners of his eyes, Keith could see sentries falling to gunshots; it brought him great safety and comfort to know that Lance was watching his back.

"How are you doing?" He shouted towards the cells.

"Just a few more left." Shiro replied, speeding up his progress.

When the swarm of sentries had been reduced to only a few, Keith allowed himself to relax. This, of course, was a huge mistake.

Lance screamed from behind Keith before a sickening set of thuds were heard. Keith twirled around to see Lance collapsed on the floor, struggling to stand up on his shaking limbs. Stood just a short distance away was a Druid with its hand stretched out towards the fallen Paladin. Electricity was still crackling at its fingertips as it turned from Lance to Keith.

Keith resisted the urge to step back and instead raised his sword to prepare for an attack. He leapt forward with a roar and swung his blade towards the Druid's neck, but it disappeared in a haze of smoke before the blade landed a blow. Keith glanced all around him to see where the Druid was but could not find it.

"Keith! Behind you!" Lance howled.

Keith whirled around to see six glowing yellow eyes right up in his face. Before he had the chance to react, the Druid swiped his blade out of his hand and shoved him backwards. The blade turned back in to a knife in a flash of purple light and skidded across the floor, further away from his reach. Keith then felt himself being launched through the air and into the wall. He slid down to the floor with a loud thud that he could only just hear over the ringing in his ears. He shook his head to clear the blurriness from his vision. As soon as his sight was clear, he wished for it to be blurry again, for there, towering above him, was the Druid with a blade in its hand.

The blade looked similar to his Marmora one, except that the metal was blacker and there were no symbols. There were also smaller blades protruding from the main blade, designed to dig in to the body to prevent its removal. This weapon was designed to kill, and Keith was its target.

Keith hadn't felt this scared when the Gladiators had been infected by the Galran Crystal's venom and mercilessly attacked him. Back then, he had a weapon and was not backed into a corner. He also knew how the Gladiators worked; Druids were unpredictable. As Keith sat beneath the Druid, he shivered at the face of his inevitable death. He could only sit there petrified and watch the Druid raise the blade above its head, ready to swing it down.

In those few moments before his death, Keith scrunched his eyes shut and grieved. He grieved for the life that he wished for, but would never now have. He was about to lose all chances of him finding his mother or spending more time with his Space family. He would never taste another one of Hunk's amazing meals. He would never help the team prank Allura or Coran ever again. He would never help Pidge tease people or feel the warmth of one of Shiro's hugs. And Lance…he would never tell Lance just how much he means to him, how much he-

All thought stopped when he heard the sound of metal slicing through the air and heard a repulsive squelch as it buried itself in flesh.

Except that there was no pain.

Keith squinted upwards and gasped at the sight before him.

Lance was stood in front of Keith, arms outstretched to make himself a larger shield. His body was hunched slightly and soft gasps could be heard. There was also another sound. Something was dripping. When Keith looked towards the source, he discovered a small puddle of blood that slowly stretched out like vines. Blood. Lance was bleeding!

"Lance!" Keith choked out, scrambling to his knees as Lance's body toppled over.

Keith wrapped his arms around Lance's waist and looked around to find the Druid, but it had disappeared again. Instead of hunting it further, he settled Lance more securely in his arms, one supporting his head and the other wrapped around the body. As he inspected the Paladin for wounds, he saw the knife nestled in Lance's stomach, just underneath his white breastplate. Blood poured out from around the blade with every breath Lance drew in. Lance's face didn't look much better. His face had turned ashen disturbingly quickly and his eyebrows were scrunched in discomfort. Nevertheless, he was able to speak.

"Are you okay Keith?" He managed to groan.

"Why are you asking me that!?" Keith demanded. "You're the one with a knife in the stomach!"

Lance was able to laugh weakly, but it was followed by some wet coughing. A bead of blood trickled slowly from the corner of his mouth. Keith began to panic. His arms began to quiver, which in turn shook Lance and jostled the blade, causing him to hiss.

"SHIRO!" Keith cried, his distress as bold as the blood on the floor. "SHIRO!"

Shiro raced out of the cells and froze when he saw Lance in Keith's arms. His hesitation was only momentarily, and he soon glided to his knees.

"Lance?" He inquired.

Lance managed to blink blearily.

"Hey Shiro." He puffed in reply. "Did you get everyone out?"

"Yeah." Shiro reassured him gently. "They're all in escape pods heading towards the Castle. We can all head back now."

Shiro moved to support Lance, then paused and looked up at Keith.

"Do you think we should remove the knife?" He asked.

Keith shook his head: "The knife had smaller blades coming off of it. They'll resist any attempt to pull the knife out, and it'll probably cause even more damage."

Shiro sighed, but conceded anyway. Then he looked down at Lance and apologised for the pain and discomfort he was about to cause. Keith leaned back to let Shiro lift the injured Paladin in to his arms. Lance whined in agony as his body moved, and Shiro mumbled an apology. Keith moved in front to scoop up his fallen blade and led the others towards the hangar where Red was stood. Shiro leapt in behind the Blades with Lance's shivering body held tightly towards him.

"You'll have to pilot Red Keith." Shiro stated.

Keith opened his mouth to protest, but Shiro interrupted him first.

"Lance is injured and none of us can pilot her Keith. You're the only one who can get us back to the Castle quickly. Now hurry!"

Keith only nodded and ran up Red's ramp towards her cockpit. He felt a surge of nostalgia rise in him, but he squashed it down and settled in to the pilot's seat.

A warm sensation of happiness filled his mind as Red purred in happiness at having her Paladin back.

"I have missed you terribly, my cub." She hummed.

"I missed you too Red." Keith whispered, "But Lance is injured and we need to get back to Castle as quickly as we can."

Red said that she understood and already knew of the urgency of their situation. With little urging, she pounced into the air and dashed towards the Castle as quickly as she could while still giving her passengers a steady ride. Keith just kept his eyes on the Castle and manoeuvred around every obstacle. He did not engage in any unnecessary fights. After all, Lance did not have that kind of time.

Stupid idiot! Why did you do that!?

Keith sniffled lightly as he approached the Castle, and prayed to every deity he knew of that Lance would be fine.

Everyone was huddled in the infirmary as Shiro helped Coran attend to Lance. The Cuban was laid flat on the table, conscious and quivering. His armour had already been removed and Coran was cutting away at the material surrounding the blade. Pidge was stood next to Hunk, practically curling into his side. Matt was holding her tightly around the shoulders while maintaining a calm composure. Hunk had his hands up at his face, attempting to repress his worried whimpers. Allura was programming a cryopod at the back of the room and Keith was stood near Lance's head. Once Coran had removed enough material, he began to bark out commands.

"Number One, Number Four, I'm going to need you to hold him still." His voice was stern and sympathetic.

With a heavy heart, Keith laid himself over Lance's upper half while Shiro held down his legs. Coran firmly gripped the blade's handle and paused long enough to say "I'm sorry Lance." before tearing out the knife in one pull.

The movement was accompanied by a spray of blood and a gruesome squelch. Lance's body immediately tensed as he shrieked in agony. His body convulsed and his eyes squeezed shut, forcing tears to trickle down his cheeks. Coran steadily pressed a large cloth to the now profusely-bleeding wound.

"Is the pod almost ready Princess?" He asked.

"Just a few more ticks!" Allura replied.

"Just a few more ticks." Keith repeated quietly to Lance who sobbed in between rough gasps.

Coran turned to look at the injured boy. He felt great sorrow for this human child who had become very much like his own son. His wife and child had both been lost when Altea was destroyed and Lance reminded the Royal Advisor of his son in many ways; they both shared the same happiness and spirit. Coran remembered the day when Lance had called him their 'Crazy Space Uncle'. Even now Lance would use it. Knowing how strongly Lance thought of him as family made him almost forget his grief and feel thankful to the Universe for bringing such a bright and beautiful boy to him.

And now that same boy was laid here, his bright skin paling every passing second. His skin no longer shined with a glowing tan; instead it sparkled with sweat and tears. Those radiant eyes were now hooded as Lance strained to see what was going on around him. Coran's gaze moved from the eyes to the wound. The cloth in his hands was now stained black. Coran scrunched his nose in disgust. If he ever found the Druid that did this, he would make sure that they lived to regret it.

Wait…

Black stains?

"That's not right." Coran muttered quietly to himself. Shiro and Keith were close enough to hear the passing comment.

"What's not right?" Shiro demanded loudly.

Instead of immediately replying, Coran moved the cloth away from the wound and began to tear the black jumpsuit more. What they discovered made all of their hearts drop in fear. Black tendrils were spreading across Lance's stomach, all stemming from the wound. Coran realised that the lines mimicked the layout of a human's circulatory system. Shiro cursed while Keith barely contained a horrified gasp.

"What the Hell is that!?" Keith choked out.

Allura, Hunk and Pidge all gathered round to inspect the cause of the commotion. Hunk took one look and sobbed loudly before shoving some Blades out of the way to fall before the closest trash can. Pidge followed instantaneously to comfort him and avoid having to look at the wound. Matt also joined them and whispered as many comforts to them as he could.

"Poison." Allura whispered darkly.

"Indeed." Coran agreed in a similar tone. "But I have never seen a venom such as this before."

"Let me see." Kolivan demanded, stepping closer. Coran stepped aside to allow the Blades' leader to inspect the wound. The Galra took one look and growled something that sounded like a curse. "I think I know what this may be, but I'll have to inspect the blade first before jumping to any conclusions. Just keep his wound wrapped until then."

Shiro handed Kolivan the blade, and he was led by Allura to the labs. Pidge leapt up to follow while Hunk hobbled behind supported by Matt. Meanwhile, Shiro and Keith gently lifted Lance's abdomen so that Coran could securely wrap thick gauze around his waist. All the time, Lance was whimpering quietly. After he was settled back down, Shiro left to join Kolivan. Coran moved away to find a needle to procure a blood sample to help with identifying the poison. Keith remained by Lance's side, gently holding his icy hand.

"You'll be fine Lance." He whispered to Lance, who was beginning to fall asleep. "You'll be fine."

Keith: Why do all say that you love Lance when you also hurt him at the same time!?

Warryn: ...

Keith: ... (Glaring at me)

Warryn: Why do you say that you don't love Lance when you most definitely do?

Keith: (Splutters indignantly)

Warryn: You see! This is the only way to get you to admit your undying love for him!

(Crickets)

Warryn: Oops. I just spoiled... -_-"

Anyhow, I am also working on another cover picture, and I should regularly update every week (unless I am too busy in which case it should be the following week). Until the next chapter my wonderful readers!

WarrynSparklegem