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Keith didn’t exactly know what was wrong.
He knew something was missing, he could feel it. But he could never place the strange feeling. It felt like a pit in his stomach, filled with anxiety. Now, Keith here isn’t a stranger to anxiety. He likes to think he can handle it pretty well actually, thanks to Shiro. But this is something new. An emotion he isn’t familiar with. Instead of the usual anxiety, it is a warm feeling connected to one particular paladin. Lance.
Every time Lance gives him one of his private smiles, it makes Keith’s face heat up and practically his whole body is filled with warmth. Or when Lance laughs, his whole body moving with the action. One of the most beautiful sounds Keith has ever heard…Okay, so maybe Keith is perfectly aware of what’s happening. It’s like what happened middle school with a boy named Kyle, but ten times worse. It’s a crush, a full out like-like situation with his rival, the only person on this ship who truly hates him.And it’s killing Keith.---------------------------------Lance knew exactly what was wrong.
He knew something was missing, obviously. He has this empty feeling filled with homesickness, and the only person who can truly fill this hole with happiness is the red paladin.
Lance knew from the moment he saw Keith holding Shiro, that he was royally screwed. His Garrison crush stood in front of him, holding is hero up… and Keith didn’t even recognize him. If he was being honest with himself, it had hurt more than he would have expected. Growing up in a big family, Lance learned how to be noticeable, but he also developed the fear of being forgotten or overlooked. He always felt the need to be liked by everyone, even though he annoyed himself from time to time. This fear was put in the back of his head when he met Hunk at the Garrison but came back with Keith’s words Who are you?.
He created their rivalry, and he didn’t even know why. He didn’t hate Keith and he definitely didn’t want Keith to hate him. But boy did that fail. Just when he thought they were becoming friends, Keith distanced himself from Lance. Usually this wouldn’t bother Lance so much and he’d just think Keith was being his emo self, but he was only distant with Lance while he had actually gotten closer with everyone else on board.And it’s killing Lance.