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[marmoron]

[No one can say for sure what the future holds. After their fight with the Komar-Mecha, concepts like the future had all too quickly become something nebulous and intangible for all of the paladins. The explosion happened for Keith in slow motion, a searing white light coming towards him, the voices of friends ringing in his ears, last thoughts, last hopes that Earth at least would be safe...

And then nothing.

He had no idea if he'd ever see, hear, feel or touch anything ever again. But when he did finally open his eyes, gentle rays o sunlight were filtering in between the blinds and Krolia and Kolivan were there smiling... along with a headache that wasn't going away.

That had been a week ago, and now that he's finally been discharged from the Garrison's med bay, there are four people he really wants to see with his own eyes. He knows they all made it, it'd been the first thing he demanded to know when he had the presence of mind to demand anything, but there's nothing that can put him at ease better than being in their presence again.

As soon as he's able to leave, he heads straight back to Garrison barracks, heading directly to Allura's room. He figures Pidge, Hunk and Lance are likely with their families and doesn't want to intrude on any festivities. Festivities are... deeply awkward, you see.

Evidently he's not the only one who thought to come visit the princess though, and he stops short when he spots a familiar figure about to rap on the door.]

Lance?

[God help him, there's already a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.]

Comments

[quintessent]

[Butterflies. She's familiar with the sort of excited infatuation that makes her feel giddy, a little more bold, a little more excited. Like the thrum of quintessence under her skin, filling her with energy and making her heart beat at an uneven pace as she watched Lance and Keith once again, when Keith's hand brushes past her knees. Things were unfolding between them in an unexpected ways, but it felt... safe. Welcomed. Whatever it is, she wanted to explore it with them.

For all of her bold proclamations earlier, her voice quiets into a soft "Oh." when Keith's hand curves around her side and his lips find the curve of her neck. Heat gathers at her face, up to her ears and she's quite certain he can feel the rapid pace of her pulse- Maybe both of them can at such a close proximity.

One hand finds Keith's cheek, gently holding him there and she closes her eyes, tilting her head to revel in the kiss for as long as he'll linger. After a moment her lashes flutter back open when she realizes that Lance is watching, and she catches his eye with hers, worrying at her bottom lip with her teeth as her free hand finds his once again, threading her fingers with his.]

[spazzed]

( he doesn't want to pull back, to his credit; but he honestly doesn't want to seem greedy when he's just proving a point and it's pretty rewarding, all things considered, to see the look on keith's face when he inevitably does. managing to convince him that they both want to kiss him is a feat in and of itself, and you know what? he's proud of them. they have done a good thing here.

it's something, he thinks, to watch them together. the way keith leans in to press lip to her throat and the way allura tips her head to the side to allow it, eyes sliding shut as though to let such a simple sensation wash over her without any other distractions, and they look so good that he doesn't realize he's staring until those pretty eyes are on him again and there are fingers threading through his.

his throat is already dry, but the way her teeth catch her bottom lip has his heart thudding a bit more prominently against his ribs and he gives in to the urge to lean in close, free hand brushing fingertips over the edge of her jaw, nose gently ( maybe both shyly and affectionately ) bumping hers as he finally presses a kiss to her mouth. soft and sweet but earnest in its own way, and if that free hand of his finds the curve of keith's neck again and settles there, well. these things just happen. yep. )

[marmoron]

[Keith stays as is for a good moment, simply taking in the warmth of being close to Allura. As she tips her head back, he slowly follows the motion upwards, leaving a trail of soft kisses up to the angle of her jaw. Then he briefly draws back, thumb tracing small circles on the small of her back.

They haven't always gotten along in the past, but seeing the color dusting her cheeks the feeling that they're on the same wavelength brings a small smile to his lips. He watches Lance lean in to kiss her mouth, somehow feeling proud of them for having come this far together. It's all such a far cry from the early days when they were still so disjointed and had deep seated misgivings about coming together as a team, let alone coming together as friends.

Or... well, are they still friends? Is this what friends do?

Lance's fingers brush his neck and in turn he reaches up to brush the other boy's cheek, grateful that they're no longer bickering the way they used to. That this all feels alright, even though it shouldn't. Gently he raises Allura's hand and presses a kiss to her fingers.]

[quintessent]

[It's a lot, her attention pulled between the sensation of Keith's kisses on her neck and jaw, a warm trail that lingers long after he pulls away, and just the anticipation as Lance leans in is nearly enough to make her a little dizzy. Their noses bump and she can't help a breathless laugh that bubbles up, quieted when he kisses her, and it's so soft and sweet — both of them are, Keith's gentle touches, and Lance's lips against hers — it makes her heart ache behind her ribs.

She's always been someone easily stirred by emotions, easily drawn into moments, and it was so easy to fall into this, the comforting touches, the way Keith pressed affection into one set of fingertips while the other set were caged in by Lance's slender digits. Both touches uniquely intimate, but uniform in their warmth. Just the same, the way she kissed Lance was slow and gently curious in a way different from how she'd kissed Keith moments before, yet equal in passion, stirring heat in her all the same.

From Keith's lips, her hand turns over to trace feather light touches up the curve of his cheek, lingering only to trace over the line of his scar up to the high part of his cheekbones, mapping him with her fingertips. And as she finally breaks the kiss with Lance, leaning back, a blush rises to her cheeks as she realizes that she's panting a little, as if she'd forgotten to breath (she had). And when she opens her eyes, it becomes more readily apparent how close they all are. With her back nearly leaning into Keith, and with Lance leaning forward, the space that was once her own was now occupied by the both of them. And more readily apparent how much she didn't mind it at all.]

You are both so beautiful.

[The thoughts had manifested as a sigh, slipped out before she could catch herself, and the heat rises to the peaks of her cheeks, just a little bit bashful because, while words felt appropriate, those ones felt oddly intimate, sighed out as they were.]

[spazzed]

( it's a lot to take in, all these new sensations, their closeness in a very general sense; if anyone had told him before he thought to come check up on allura in the first place that he would have found himself in this particular situation, he might have actually burst out laughing, just because it was the sort of dream that didn't have a chance in hell of coming true. at least. that's what he would have thought.

but he's already coming dangerously close to losing himself in all of this, in the way allura kisses him back and the way keith touches him, softly like they rarely ever have been, and it's more dizzying than he can think to put words to, because he never would have thought he deserved anything like this.

( maybe he still doesn't think he deserves it, but he's not about to put a voice to those thoughts presently, because that is definitely a one-way ticket to ruining everything they're building up here. )

so. he feels his face flush a little when those words come out of her mouth, and he distracts himself by reaching for keith's hand at his cheek, brings it to his mouth to nip playfully at the tips of his fingers, press a kiss to the pad of his thumb. ) Look who's talking. ( he finally ends up murmuring with the tiniest smile, something still warm but maybe just a little bit secretive as he keeps keith's hand in his, gaze passing back and forth between them. ) You two look really good together.

( just go right ahead and blurt out what you're thinking, why don't you.

but honestly. where's the lie. )

[marmoron]

[Keith closes his eyes as Allura's fingers trace his scar. Healed over as it may be, it's an unpleasant memory that's been permanently etched into his skin and he hasn't let anyone touch it, let alone with this degree of intimacy. His stomach twists a little, oddly nervous, yet soothed by the sweet caress. The playful nips at his fingers have him opening his eyes as if slowly coming out of a trance, and his gaze lands on the other boy's mouth again. It's a mistake by all accounts as his heart skips another beat.

He'd have been perfectly content to sit there, quietly appreciating Allura and Lance, taking in the gentle warmth that comes from sitting close to them, but there's a weird conversation going on and he feels pressured to say something. He doesn't know why it turned into compliments o'clock (or kissing time) but he feels inexplicably tongue tied. ]

...uh. Thanks....? You, too. Both of you.

[Is that... is that sufficient. Probably not, and his face is burning again on account of his own awkwardness.]

[quintessent]

[If this is the part where she is supposed to agree that the two of them look good together as well, she'll let it go in favor of a small laugh — a tittering, almost nervous thing born not so much from Keith's awkward comment as from the silent acknowledgment that this wellness visit has taken a few unexpected turns.]

Is this... okay? [Without realizing it, her thumb is running nervously over the backs of Lance's knuckles, her other hand drops to Keith's hip at first, before seeking out the hand he'd been holding hers with earlier. Never breaking contact between either of them, but fidgeting, as if she's worried that addressing the elephant in the room might be a good way to ruin whatever it is that is happening here.]

Rather, I enjoy this- [Vague this,] With both of you. A lot.

[Ah, It's her turn to make it awkward. She brings Keith's hand up to press a nervous kiss on the back of his hand, wondering if maybe she was getting a little too sentimental for the playful mood in the room.]

[spazzed]

( and here we thought lance would be the one to make things awkward; both of you are terrible at this but it's more than okay, because there is a sudden thought in the back of his mind that brings itself around to the forefront, and it's not one that he's going to find himself ignoring.

he breathes out a small note, something that might almost be a huff but doesn't quite manage it as he feels allura's thumb brush over the backs of his knuckles. any touch of hers is another that he won't find himself ignoring, and while it seems like both of them are hell-bent on talking when there's no real need for it, he can't exactly blame them because he might defer to that when he has no other idea of what to do.

except. in this instance? he knows exactly what he wants to do, and there's a scant few seconds in which he bolsters himself against the nerves that are steadily creeping their way to the surface. because now is no time to be nervous. and now is no time to hesitate — ) Everything's good, Allura —

( everything is great —

because as sentimental as she is, as much as her words shiver their way to the bottom of his heart and stay there — because he wants to know that everything is all right, that they're all on the same page, he still wants to move forward with everything in him — he pauses as long as he needs to press a fleeting kiss to the corner of her mouth, something that says something along the lines of i'll be back for more before fingers curl around the back of keith's neck again.

and he. seeks to return the kiss the other had given him previously, a sharp little thing with the press of teeth to his bottom lip as he sucks it into his mouth, just short of playful and every bit wanting, because he's been wanting to kiss him again for a while now, and.

well. maybe he's adopting some of those impulsive tendencies. )

[marmoron]

[keith had been about to answer allura's question, but for better or for worse, lance intercepts his response with a well timed kiss. whether he's meant to take it as a subtle cue to shut the hell up or it really was some unlikely coincidence of timing, keith isn't sure, but whatever miffed feelings he has last only as long as the brief sting of teeth on his lip.

is this okay?

there's a part of him that's uncertain about it still. he wants to keep allura and lance close, no matter what. up until about fifteen minutes ago, he'd always thought the war was the biggest obstacle to their continued friendship, but for whatever reason these kisses feel as though they have a similar potential for upheaval.

or maybe it doesn't. lance is alarmingly persuasive on that front. keith mumbles a soft mmm into his lips -- an attempt to answer the princess's questiion despite lance's best attempts to thwart him, before kissing back, fingers entangling themselves into locks of short curly hair. who taught lance how to kiss like that anyway? the mouse?

keith draws back, halfway tempted to laugh at nothing in particular, and turns to smile at allura. he sweeps long hair off her shoulders and leans forward to press his lips to her neck, sucking gently at warm skin.]

Guess we're converging.

[quintessent]

[She watches them kiss with no small degree of interest, heat burning straight up to her ears when she watches the pinch of Keith's lip where Lance is sucking on it, watches the flutter of both of their eyelashes and - stars, there's still part of her that feels like she should advert her eyes, but the sounds are enough to make her burn from her head down to her toes.

At least this seems to answer her question.

Then some of that attention is turned toward her, and her breath hitches as she feels her pulse beat a rapid pace under Keith's lips, tilting her head to expose more of her neck to him as her eyes slide shut and-]

Keith. [His name comes out in an exasperated breath, eyes opening to lock with Lance's, just to make sure she wasn't the only one who heard what passed for pillow talk around here. The way she's sitting up, nearly rising up to her feet might seem like she's had enough and is leaving, but she turns and places a knee on the bed where she'd been sitting, both hands on Keith's shoulders as she pushes him onto his back.]

I have made the executive decision that you are not allowed to talk. [To Lance,] Any objections?