"Sooo…" Lance said, dragging the single word out, obviously a tad nervous.

"Hm?" Keith turned his face towards the blue paladin.

"Do you wanna be my datemate?"

Keith frowned before answering.

"Your what?"

"Datemate! You know, significant other, partner in crime and cuddles?"

Keith's frown turned into raised eyebrows and an amused smile. But he didn't say anything.

"Well, will you? Keith? Honey? My man?"

"Sure," Keith said after breathing out. "I'll be your playmate."

"Datemate," Lance corrected.

"Whatever," Keith replied while smiling. Lance gave Keith a light push on the shoulder.

It had taken a while before Lance came back after Keith had sent him away to put on more clothes, mostly because he couldn't decide if he should sit in the closet to calm down or not. He decided not to, which only resulted in nervous rambling, as usual. He tried to swallow the words but they kept bubbling out of his mouth. Keith had gone back to his normal state of quietness, happy with being able to observe Lance freely, without having to turn his gaze away or mask it with a glare. Lance himself wasn't used to having Keith look at him so intensely and was a constant mess of blushing and shyly looking away.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lance asked after some time, mostly because they'd been quiet for a while and it was getting awkward.

"Like what?" Keith straightened his back, tilted his head to the side and continued to unashamedly observe Lance.

"Like," Lance said while he felt Keith's gaze burn through his clothes. "Like, you know… that!" He gesticulated towards Keith like it would make things any clearer. Keith just shrugged and smiled even wider against his own wishes.

"Stop!" Lance groaned and covered his face with his arms. This could only be described as lovesickness.

"Lance, I am literally not doing anything."

"Yeah you are!" Lance peeked up at Keith. "You are existing and looking at me and we are datemates and I can't believe this is actually happening. Like. Yesterday we were still rivals."

Keith thought about what Lance said for a moment and actually thought about the fact that they were actually dating somehow. They were dating. Keith and Lance were dating. Keith and Lance had somehow developed mutual feelings for each other, at the same time, while in the same place. What are the odds?

Keith took a risk and while Lance was curled up and distracted he lunged forward and put his arms around the Lance-ball and buried his face in Lance's shoulder. Lance gasped out of surprise and felt his body temperature rise.

"This is a whole new side of you, Keith," he said after he'd caught his breath. "You are actually quite cuddly, aren't you?" Keith answered by squeezing Lance tighter.

And that was when the speakers sparked to life and Pidge's voice filled the room.

"I hope you're decent because we're almost back at the castle."

"Why wouldn't we be decent?" Keith mumbled, more to himself than to Lance. Lance thought it was best to not explain Pidge's innuendo.

"They didn't say that they were going to come back today," Keith said louder, now directing his words at Lance. "I thought they were going to be gone longer." Keith jumped when Lance started shouting his following sentences dramatically.

"Oh NO! Now I, Lance, the sweetest of sweethearts, have to share my boyfriend with others. However will I survive this." He pulled his arms up and theatrically threw them around Keith, tucking Keith's head under his chin. "Don't worry, my child. I will protect you."

"How can I be your boyfriend and your child?" Keith almost couldn't pronounce the word boyfriend. It was a foreign word that he never thought he'd ever be able to call anyone.

"Shuush now," Lance hushed at him, still holding on to Keith really tight.

"Lance?"

"Mmh?" Lance hummed.

"What will we tell the others?"

Lance leant back, dragging Keith with him.

"I don't know."

A moment of silence passed.

"Hey, Keith. You know what would be fun? To pretend like nothing has changed. I'm still a bit pissed about it all. I mean, I'm glad that they forced us to do this, with you know, the outcome. But still pissed."

"I like the way you think, sweetheart."

Pidge was the first one to enter the lounge and the first thing they saw was Lance and Keith, sitting as far from each other as possible in one of the sofas, with various playing cards scattered around them. Both looked annoyed.

"Pidge!" Lance shouted when he saw them in the doorway. He sprung up from the sofa, accidentally dragging a few cards with him and they ended up on the floor. "Pidge, do you have ANY idea what we've been through?"

Luckily for Pidge, Shiro had just entered the room and managed to get between them and Lance's sharp nails.

"We have been in hell," Lance snapped whilst trying to free himself from Shiro's grip.

"Lance," Shiro responded calmly. "Pull yourself together. Just sit down and tell us what you've been doing. Don't rip Pidge's throat out just yet."

So now, the seven of them were gathered in the lounge. Lance was pouting, as usual, while Hunk was supportively patting his back. Keith had his arms crossed over his chest (he was still wearing the crop top, which had led to a raised eyebrow from Shiro) and was demonstratively not meeting anyone's eyes.

"So tell me, what cards did you get?" Pidge spat out at the two boys, not wanting to wait any longer. Did their plan work? Pidge simply had to know. Now. Hunk also wanted to know really badly but didn't push anything for Lance's sake. Allura was still childishly interested in the game itself and wanted to try it out, as did Coran. Shiro didn't know wether he should laugh or cry.

"Does it matter?" Lance muttered under his breath.

Hunk straightened himself while still being close to Lance so he could feel the support through body warmth.

"Of course it matters, Lance," Allura said. "You should know each other better by now and hopefully gotten over this rivalry that shouldn't even be here in the first place. Who could ever have guessed that two of the paladins of Voltron wouldn't get along."

Keith couldn't help himself and he laughed. If they only knew that they had been kissing on the very sofa they were sitting in at the moment. The sound of Keith's laugh made the others look at him. He tried to look irritated but probably looked more amused than mad.

"So you thought that leaving us alone would solve the problem?" Allura, Pidge and Coran nodded. Hunk shrugged and Shiro looked a bit concerned like he regretted not stepping in and stopping the plans before they were set into play.

"The castle did practically try to kill us you know," Keith added when nobody answered. Lance nodded and pointed at Keith to emphasize what he said.

"What do you mean?" Allura asked.

"Duh, the thing Pidge installed? That forced us to play? I have bruises all over my body to prove it," Lance said with a frown.

"What thing?" Pidge said before they remembered what they'd told the boys. "Oh, right! The thing." A moment of silence and slight confusion.

"There was no thing," Pidge confessed. They didn't sound regretful at all.

"Wait, what?!" Lance flew up from the sofa with question marks all over his face. "Then why did the castle jolt around like it did? Look what it did to me!" And then he actually pulled down his pants to show the big purple bruise on his hip. Keith looked away, desperately hoping that he wasn't blushing. Spoiler alert, he was.

"We could have died!" Lance shouted, putting on a thick layer of drama on the situation. Keith rolled his eyes, internally and externally.
"Lance, Pidge didn't install anything," Coran told him. "She-, sorry, they just said that so you would be compelled to play the game." Pidge nodded and waived away Coran's apology. He hadn't yet grasped the concept of gender identity for humans yet. He knew of other alien species who changed their sex through out different life cycles or times of the year. He had just assumed that Pidge was female even when they went by he/him before coming clean about their gender. Later they realized that she/her didn't fit them either. Coran did his best and Pidge appreciated it, but he was, after all, a person who had a hard time keeping his thoughts together and organized. Sometimes he couldn't be blamed.

"You know, socialize, talk to each other," Coran continued. "Notice your similarities, find common ground. That actually reminds me of that one time, long ago when I was still young- I mean, younger, when I was thrown into the conflict of two-"

"Coran."

"Coran."

Shiro and Allura had spoken out at the same time, interrupting the man in his potential monologue.

"Oh, right," he said, twiddling his moustache. "What was I saying? Oh yes, there was nothing installed to the castle. You must have imagined it."

"I most certainly did not imagine being thrown around and getting seriously hurt!" Lance shouted. He wasn't really angry though. It was a combination of acted anger and confusion.

"He didn't imagine it," Keith confirmed, still not looking in Lance's direction.

Pidge's patience was up anyway.

"We didn't do anything to the ship. Period. Now tell us what happened in the game."

Lance admitted defeat and sat down again, closer Hunk this time so the yellow paladin could protectively put his arm around him. Keith noticed this out of the corner of his eye and turned to look. He saw how Lance sneakily shot him a grin, obviously trying to get a reaction, perhaps out of jealousy. Keith himself didn't feel like he needed to react to that. He knew Lance and Hunk were best friends, while he and Lance were… boyfriends.

"Pidge, how about you just look up who won so we can get this over with?" Keith said with a sigh, tiredly leaning back his head so he was staring up towards the sealing.

"You did install the point system, right?" Lance added hesitantly.

"Nope," Pidge answered, still without any form of regret in their voice. Lance groaned loudly and slumped against Hunk who just continued patting Lance with the same sunny expression.

"It's not like we need to count points anyways," Keith said. "I mean, I obviously won."

"Nu-uh. The winner is clearly me," Lance said in return, the glimpse of rivalry sparkling in his eye. Keith chuckled silently. The sound didn't effect Lance at all (Read: it really did).

"Sweetheart," Keith said as he leant forward. "I won and there is nothing you can do about it." The blush that grew on Lance's face didn't go unnoticed by anyone. Keith looked incredibly pleased with himself and Lance didn't know if he wanted to wipe that smirk away with a kiss or a slap. Okay if he were to be totally honest he would totally go for the kiss. No surprise there, really.

"Oh, you drew my sweetheart card!" Allura called out just a tick before the silence became incredibly awkward for everyone involved.

"Did you draw my cake card?" Hunk asked without hesitating. Lance crossed his arms and let out a sigh.

"I was forced to bake Keith a cake. And make him tea."

"The cake was amazing," Keith said before he could stop himself and the gang was slightly surprised over the fact that Keith seemingly had given that compliment so easily.

"I made mama Rosa's special cake," Lance said quietly, flattered by the praise.

"Lance's special space cake, you mean," Keith corrected with a smile. Lance smiled back at him. Pidge smiled smugly. Hunk smiled out of happiness. They'd made use for the recipe he translated!

"Keith doesn't have a diary!" Lance said suddenly as if it just popped into his head. He said it with wide eyes and clearly expected the same reaction from the others as he had had.

"Lance, people don't have diaries," Keith scoffed.

"Yes, they do!"

"Lance," Hunk interrupted. "I know your diary is very important to you, but not everyone needs to write stuff down to deal with them. You know that. I deal by cooking and Pidge deals by tech-ing."

"Tech-ing is not a word," Pidge added.

"I have a diary," Allura said. "I wrote that card I suppose you're indirectly referring to. A diary is extremely private and individual, but to get a look into someone's deepest thoughts, even if it is something shallow, can give you a greater perspective of the person in question. That's why I thought it was a good idea. If it's important enough to write down, it might be important enough to be shared."

"Well said, Princess," Coran said. "I as well have a diary. Or maybe it's more of a journal. Or memoirs. Yes. They're my memoirs."

Allura cut him off before he could get into another monologue.

"My point is, we really wanted you two to bond over this game. To interact and realize that you actually have similarities and might actually like each other. You are paladins of Voltron, and you have to repay that honour by being honest and respectful to each other. When you all five combine into one, your souls touch each other-"

"Gross," Pidge said and got an irritated look from Allura.

"Your souls touch each other and leaves marks forever. We wanted you to find those marks, to embrace them. To accept that in a way you two belong together. You don't have to become best friends, you just have to tolerate and appreciate one another. That is all I ask."

There was a moment of silence. There were actually many moments of silence, but all at once, so it seemed as only one. While everyone was staring at Allura, Lance took the risk to glance in Keith's direction. Keith seemingly thought the same thing and their eyes met. Lance bit his cheeks and held back a smile.
Coran snivelled and actually stroke a tear away from under his eye.

"That was *sniffle* just beautiful, Allura. I couldn't have said it better myself," he said and started to look in his pockets for a handkerchief. Shiro received a not-so-nice but discrete elbow in the ribs from Keith and stood up, walked over to Allura and put his hand on her shoulder. Hunk dragged Lance into a big hug with Pidge, who protested but didn't actually put any effort to into breaking free.

"Princess, that was very well said," Lance said when Hunk let them go. "I think you're right. We should bond, Keith. Or what do you think?"

"I think you're right, Lance- sorry, I mean sweetheart. We should bond, you and I." Keith straightened himself where he sat, clearly making himself ready to stand up. Lance blushed a teeny tiny bit, again.

"Should we shake on it?" he said and rose from the sofa, holding out his right hand. Keith was quick to follow. He took Lance's hand and shook it firmly.

"Keith, you know what?" Lance said slowly with a dangerous spark in his eye.

"Um, no?" Keith answered, eyes widening when he felt Lance tugging at his hand, asking for consent with his body language. Lance swallowed and his body tingled nervously at the thought of what was about to happen. This was taking a risk and he loved it and hated it at the same time. Wow, Lance thought to himself. He was in sooooo deep for this boy.

"I think maybe we should kiss on it," Lance said.

"Oh really?" Keith mumbled as he leant forward to meet Lance halfway. Their lips had barely touched when they were both interrupted so suddenly they jumped a little.

"YES," Pidge yelled with their arms up in the air. "I FUCKING CALLED IT!"

"Pidge! Language!" Shiro gasped, his parental instincts kicking in in the midst of the chock he was feeling. Pidge ignored him.

"You all owe me now," they said as they leant back with crossed arms, very pleased with themself.

"This went a lot faster than I would have thought," Hunk hummed, not surprised at all over what he'd just witnessed. "But congratulations!"

Allura had clasped her hands over her mouth and was now a big poof of joy and giggles, not really able to form real words at the moment. Coran had dropped his found handkerchief. Shiro just sighed and scratched his head.

"I guess we do owe you, Pidge. You won," he said and sounded like he couldn't believe what he was saying.

"Wait a minute!" Lance shouted loudly which made Keith flinch. Lance realized his mistake and put his arm around Keith's waist protectively. "Were you betting on us?"

"Of course we were!" Pidge said. "I, correctly, though you were gonna give in to those pathetic feelings of yours as soon as you got each other alone. Allura was hoping you would, but didn't dare believe it. Hunk was sure of Lance's feelings, but not Keith's. Shiro thought we were gonna find Lance in the infirmary. Keith does have a short temper. Coran is just blind."

"Hey," Keith said at the same time as Coran said "I can see just perfectly fine, thank you". Allura finally got back the ability to talk.

"I am just so HAPPY for you guys!" She more or less attacked them with a life threatening hug, holding them tight in her arms.

"Group hug!" Hunk shouted and joined them. Pidge rolled their eyes but didn't hesitate to get into the hug. Coran shook his head to clear his mind, pressed his thumb and forefinger against the bridge of his nose for a second, shrugged and enthusiastically joined the family hug.

Shiro was still standing in the same spot as earlier, mouth half open. The others noticed his absence and Lance's anxiety was threatening to overtake him before he saw Shiro's face soften and crack into the biggest smile he'd ever seen on the black paladin's face.

"I should have guessed there was something going on between you two." He stretched out his arms before trying to reach around as many of them as he could, uncomfortably squeezing them all together.

"Shiro, we didn't know ourselves until this morning," Keith mumbled, a bit embarrassed.

"Shiro is even more oblivious than you guys, who could have guessed?" Hunk said with humour in his voice.

"And he's supposed to be the head," Pidge added, causing the rest of the team to cry with laughter. The hug was getting really hot and cramped, but honestly, none of them minded. With Lance and Keith getting together, a new door had been opened. A door that gave promises of new bonds, stronger bonds, of happiness and new adventures. It wasn't just Lance and Keith who'd gotten closer. The rest had as well.

"Just use protection, okay?" Shiro said without warning.

"Shiro!?" Keith shouted as Lance let out a high pitched screech that barely sounded human.

"That's it, I'm leaving," Pidge said and squiggled out of the hug. This broke up the rest of them automatically. The two boys in the middle had both heavy blushes on their faces and were very careful not to touch each other. Shiro's mention of protection had put images in both the boy's heads and they were very aware of each other's and everyone else's presence.

Coran was proudly watching his group of friends, who were not much more than children, but still something bigger indeed.

"I love all of you guys so much," he said with a very warm face. His words made Hunk tear up, which ultimately resulted in another group hug.

"We love you too, Coran," Hunk snivelled, tears of happiness streaming down his face.

"You really should put your hair in a ponytail sometime," Lance said into Keith's hair. "Keith I dare you to put your hair up in a ponytail tomorrow."

"Maybe," Keith mumbled back, already drifting off to sleep. Once again they were in Keith's bed, exhausted and very ready to sleep and dream. Lance buried his face deeper into the back of Keith's neck, attacking the tender skin with his cold nose. Keith's shoulders tensed automatically and he handled the situation by turning towards Lance and pressing their lips together. Lance gladly invested himself in the interaction, but Keith was far too sleepy to make anything of it.

"Calm yourself, human."

"Whatever, sweetheart," Lance said and kissed Keith's forehead before tucking the red paladin's head under his chin and closing his eyes. He felt Keith give him a small, smiling kiss on his chest through his night shirt since Keith couldn't reach Lance's face. Pidge was right, they'd truly been broken both of them. Their protective shells had been shattered, revealing emotions they'd repressed and ignored for so long. Broken and put back together again. But with their souls a bit closer to each other, ever so slightly touching. At the exact point of touch a bond was formed, a braid of soul-strings, knitted together, never, ever to be broken.

In the lounge, where the others were still seated, a discussion was going on. They were trying to come to terms with what sentient behaviour the castle possibly had shown when they were away. It was entirely true that Pidge hadn't done a thing to influence the castles reactions and responses to the boy's interactions. It was simply baffling and way to hard to understand. In the end, they gave up and went their separate ways to go to sleep.

What they didn't know was that in another corner of the castle, four mice slept peacefully among broken wires and tiny touchpads.

Authors note:

So yeah. That was the end... OF THIS STORY (aka I've already started working on the next Klance fic).

So, this is the first fic I've written and thus the first I've uploaded. Every single comment and kudos have added to my good pile and when I feel down and worthless I just look at the comments and realise that I am appreciated and that just means a lot to me. *breathes out*

Okay, emotional moment over.

Please write to me? And don't just write the good stuff? Criticise me? :3 I'm Sleeplessstrawberry over at tumblr as well, and like idk instagram if that's more your thing.

Vrepit sa, bitches! ily and see you soon! 3