Chapter Text
Keith had always been a worrier, Lance had noticed, realized. So when he watches Shiro get shot, and Keith let out a scream so blood chilling it stops even Sendak in his tracks, Lance notices, realizes, that this is not going to end well. He's terrified as Keith grips his bayard and runs forward, because even though Pidge and Allura and Hunk are right behind him, that the threat has been neutralized, and Shiro was absolutely going to walk away from that, Keith was going to kill him.
And this would be different from a Galra drone, some nameless solider in a war neither side wants to be in. This was going to be personal. Intimate. He wasn't going to strike to kill, he was going to make it long, agonizing, painful. Sendak must see it because he sticks his hands up immediately, the universal sign of surrender, and Lance has to wonder just what he sees because they have never really been a threat to the Galra before. But now? Now Sendak is terrified.
“Keith, stop!” Allura calls to him, and when Hunk moves to grab him, Keith shakes him off and grips his bayard harder. He's moving with intent now, and Allura must see that too, because she moves to grab him next. Keith kicks at her until he's out her grasp and moving forward again.
Lance wishes he could do something. Wishes he wasn't shot right before Shiro was. Wishes they weren't slumped together in a heap watching this happen. But they are, and they can barely talk or make any noise, so all Lance can do it watch.
“Stop!” Allura is much more insistent now, “We need him alive!” She yells.
“No we don't!” Keith yells back, and Allura freezes, because... Lance isn't sure exactly what makes her stop, but he's only a few feet away from Sendak now, and everyone is scrambling.
“They're both fine, Keith! You need to stop!” Hunk tells him before Keith lurches forward. Sendak lurches back, and he looks pathetic. He isn't fast enough to get away from Keith though, who's had gone up against training bots faster then any one Lance knew. He lifts the bayard and brings it down.
He was expecting to hear a crunch, honestly. Sendak screams as his organic arm lays on the floor a foot away from him. When Keith lifts up the sword again, Pidge shoots out hers, and Keith stops. It was probably the shock. Lance wasn't sure if it was the voltage or the fact that Pidge did that to him, but he stops. The bayard shrinks as he clutches his side.
Keith screams then, angrier and angrier words at all of them, before he gets shocked again, by the console this time, which meant Coran had regained control of the castle. He drops to the floor, and Shiro mumbles something under his breath that Lance can't hear before, seemingly, passing out too.
Lance follows suit. No reason to be outdone by either of them.
Lance wakes up first. He steps out of the tube and stumbles until he falls flat on his face.
“Fuuuuuuuuck.”
“Welcome back to the land of the living.” Pidge grabs his hand and pulls him up.
“Everything hurts.”
“Don't be dramatic Lance.” Coran stands by Allura with crossed arms. “You know for a fact it doesn't actually hurt.” Lance frowns and rubs at his face.
“It does.” Coran throws his arms up in a fit of irritation.
“How long have I been out?”
“Twenty hours.”
“Christ.” He groans. “Feels longer.”
“Shiro isn't due for another five minutes.”
“And Keith?”
“...” There's a silence around the room that worries him more then anything else.
“Guys?”
“About that.” Pidge says.
“About that what? You can't just keep him in there. Right?”
“About that.” Hunk says now, and Lance shakes his head.
“You can't be serious. What do you think Shiro's going to say?”
“He showed a dangerous lack of self control. We can't afford-”
“It's not like we have a choice. And it's not like it's a permanent thing. It doesn't happen every time.” Why was he even defending him? Dating or not, Lance is pretty sure Keith wouldn't bother doing the same for him. But then again, it's not like Lance goes around cutting off arms.
When Shiro comes too, he is also massively pissed. Not for the same reason though. He glares at everyone until they agree Keith should be released. Shiro helps him up when he is, and they leave almost immediately.
“Romantic.” Pidge yells after him as he follows them.
They end up in Shiro's room, but it's painfully obvious even to him that they don't actually want him there now.
“Please.” Lance has never heard him that desperate before. Shiro doesn't hesitate as much as Lance does though. He cross the room and pushes Keith onto the mattress. There's a noise, it comes from Keith he realizes a minute later, of utter satisfaction. Lance watches as Shiro flips Keith over, reaches for the zipper of the plug suit, and pulls all the way down. His skin is wet already, glistening with sweat. Lance can see it in the dim lighting.
“What do you need?” Shiro asks kissing up his spine. Keith whines, low and long, and Lance feels himself get harder. He unzips himself and a second later he's standing naked.
“Can I fuck him?” He asks out of nowhere.
“Can he?” Shiro asks Keith who nods aggressively. “I think that sounds good.” Shiro says and Keith nods over and over and over. He takes Shiro's space behind him. He drags a hand up Keith's spine too. Keith practically purrs under him.
“Lube?” A bottle lands in his hand. He doesn't know when Shiro managed to get up, cross the room. He uncaps it and slathers his dick with it.
“Just go.” Keith groans. “Don't bother with any of the--” Lance cuts him off. With his dick. By fucking him. He gets it now, because oh my god, is this what heaven feels like? Galra take him away now. Shiro moves to sit in front of him, and Keith opens his mouth.
“Were you always like this?” Lance asks.
“Like what?”
“Such a massive whor---” Keith swings around onto his back with the momentum he gains when he kicks Lance in the kidney.
“Fuck off.”
“Keith-”
“Fuck off.” He says again. Lance can't remember the last time he was this mad. Shiro grabs him by the arm before he starts fighting him in earnest. “Leave.”
“Keith.” It's Shiro now, who sounds tired. “Lance, don't go anywhere. Apologize.” Lance waits for Keith to say something until he realizes that both of them are starring at him.
“Sorry.” He mumbles. “I didn't know--”
“Just don't talk.” Keith says. “I can't handle you right now.” Shiro swats at Keith's back, but Keith doesn't change his opinion. “I need you.” He shifts gears almost immediately. It's not directed at him though.
“Come here.” Shiro says. There's a sigh, a long pronounced sigh as Lance stands in the middle of the room and watches as Keith shucks off his plug suit completely and crawls into Shiro's lap. He's open enough, apparently, or he wants it to hurt, which is likely. Very likely. He sits down on Shiro's dick directly. “Go ahead.” Shiro whispers. “Take what you need.”
“You.” Keith whines. “I need you.” He bounces up and down, and it's filthy. It's filthy and intimate all at the same time. “I thought--”
“I know.” Shiro's hands brush along his sides.
“I thought he was going to take you away again.” Lance's blood runs cold. He didn't even think, for a second, but it makes sense. Of course it does, of course there was a reason. He wants to leave the room, because he shouldn't be here right now. Shouldn't get in their way. “I couldn't, I couldn't handle it, Shiro. Shiro, I --”
“I know. I know, Shh.”
“I want you to be here. Forever.”
“Here?” Shiro laughs a little. Keith's eyes are wet around the edges.
“Right here.” He says and grinds down. “In me. An inch away from me.”
“What about Lance, then?” Keith stops moving and doesn't say anything. “Don't you think he wants to be here with you and me too?” Keith starts moving up and down again. He doesn't seem interested in the conversation.
“Yeah.” He says after a few minutes of silence.
“Lance.” Shiro calls and Lance walks to them, like he always does. Shiro slows Keith down enough, before pushing another finger into him.
“He's going to die.” Lance says before he can stop himself, because he has seen porn, and he know what that means.
“Shiro.” Keith whines.
“Come here.” Shiro says again and Lance does as he's told.
It's tight. Cramped, there's barely any space left for him, but once he's situated Keith stats sobbing. It's a stress reaction, he's seen it happen before, but now he can actually do something about. Shiro kisses his neck and Lance kisses his back. It's a lot like the first time Shiro fucked him.
They fuck him hard, until he's gaping open and drooling onto Shiro's chest. It feels weird, like Lance was still intruding, but it feels good. For once, a thing Lance thought impossible, Keith comes first, with his hips jutting up. They follow almost immediately after.
Shiro lifts him off, physically man handles him onto the mattress and cleans him with his mouth. Lance watches as Keith writhes and whines.
“Better?”
“Promise you won't leave again. Promise you won't let them take you away from me.”
“I swear.” Shiro says and kisses him. The fact that neither of them blanche at the direct ass to mouth kiss is a testament to something he doesn't really want to think about.
“You're not mad?” He asks half an hour later. All three of them are lying on their backs, starring at the ceiling. None of them feel comfortable enough to actually sleep.
“No.” Shiro shakes his head. “I was happy.”
“Because I protect you.”
“Because you protect me. You always protect me.” He whispers. Why is Lance even here, honestly. He wants to speak up, wants to draw attention to him, but he feels like he isn't supposed to be here. “Lance.”
“Uh, yeah.”
“You can't call him that.” Keith turns away, on his side now, staring at the wall.
“It just slipped out.” He offers. Shiro shakes his head.
“You can't.”
“I won't. I'm sorry.” He says again and hears Keith humph. He guesses that's a decent enough acceptance of an apology. He shouldn't push it anyway.
He wonders how, exactly, Shiro is going to explain Keith's behavior away.
He finds he's okay with it, either way. It made sense, after all.