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It was the middle of the night, and Lance couldn't sleep. He'd been tossing and turning for the past hour and just wanted to fall asleep. He leaned over to check the time on the alarm clock Pidge had made for him. The clock read 2:27am in bright red numbers. Lance sighed and fell back on the bed with a slight bounce. If Lance couldn't fall asleep, he usually played his favourite songs to help him. The only problem was, they didn't have music in space. That was, aside from a strange device Coran owned which Alteans used to play songs, but the music on there sounded like some sort of electronic and R&B hybrid, which Lance didn't think sounded very good. Another problem was the fact that Lance wasn't used to sleeping in a room of his own. When he was younger, he would always have to share a room with his siblings because of his large family and the small size of his house. When he was still at the Garrison, he shared a room with Hunk, so not having anyone in the same room as him was still a completely unfamiliar experience to him. Lance rolled onto his side and tried to get comfortable. Lance sighed again, too many thoughts were running through his head, specifically ones about Keith. Lance contemplated telling Keith how he felt about him, but shrugged off the thought. 'No way he feels the same way anyway,' Lance thought to himself. He sighed again and rolled over onto his other side.
Suddenly, an idea popped into Lance's head. Slowly, Lance flung his feet over the side of his bed and lazily got out. He grabbed his pillow and walked over to the door. As he was opening the door, he noticed that all the lights in the castle were off. 'Well obviously, everyone's probably asleep already,' Lance thought. He was about to turn back, but he didn't want to risk not being able to fall asleep and putting the team in danger because he couldn't perform his best. He opened the door to his room and closed it swiftly behind him, being sure not to make too much noise. He dragged his lion slippers along the floor of the hallway, making quiet shuffling sounds that echoed throughout the castle. Lance eventually stopped as soon as he reached Keith's door. He lifted his hand up to knock, but hesitated. 'Should I really do this? I mean, there's nothing weird about it I guess, I just couldn't fall asleep,' Lance contemplated.
'Ah, screw it.' Lance knocked quickly and a bit louder than he'd intended, but was relieved when he heard a small murmur telling him to come in. Lance gingerly turned the door knob and entered Keith's room. As soon as he entered, he noticed the room smelled like peppermint with a hint of sweat. Keith, basically.
"Keith? You in here?"
"Of course I am, you idiot, where else would I be?" Keith replied rather harshly. "Eh, sorry, what did you want?" Keith quickly added.
"Oh, I, uh... was having trouble sleeping, and, uh..." Lance tried his best to avoid finishing his sentence. Keith let out a huff of annoyance and pointed to the floor. "Alright, you can sleep in here, but only for tonight," Keith warned. Lance nodded and set his pillow on the floor. He plopped down on the floor and laid his head on the pillow. It felt rather uncomfortable, but it was reassuring to know someone else was in the room with him. Lance opened his eyes and observed Keith's room. It had the exact same layout as his, except it was a bit less messy, and there were a lot more red things. Lance closed his eyes again and tried to count sheep to help him sleep, but Keith kept popping up in his mind. It only made it worse considering the fact he was in the same room as him. Seems his idea had been counterproductive. Lance tried remembering his family, and thought of all the fun times he had with them. Surprisingly, it worked, Lance was on the brink of sinking into a blissful slumber. That was, until he felt a chill run up his spine and goosebumps forming on his skin. 'Crap, I should have brought my blanket in,' Lance scolded himself. He shivered as he felt a cold gust of wind come from the crack underneath the door. 'Can't sleep like this, I'll need another idea.'
Lance looked through tired eyes around Keith's room, trying to spot a blanket or anything that will keep him warm during the night. Lance blushed at the idea of using Keith's jacket as a blanket, and quickly shook his head. Lance looked up at Keith, now fast asleep. Lance had to admit, Keith looked pretty cute while he was sleeping. With a heavy sigh, Lance stood up, leaving his pillow on the floor, and attempted to get under the sheets on Keith's bed without waking him. 'Okay, how in the world is this idea any better than the jacket one?' he thought. Lance panicked when Keith rolled over onto his other side, now facing the wall instead of him.
Lance breathed a sigh of relief and tried thinking of a plan to explain to Keith why he was in his bed the next morning. He would just say he was cold and couldn't find a blanket anywhere. Yes, perfect plan. Unfortunately, Lance still couldn't fall asleep without thoughts of Keith running through his head. Lance turned his head to face the back of Keith's neck. He picked up the scent of Keith's shampoo, and his slow, rhythmic breathing. He switched his view to look at Keith's hair. 'Stupid mullet, I love it.' Lance focused on Keith again and noticed his breathing was now quicker, and he could hear him mumbling something in a panic-stricken tone. 'Must be having a nightmare,' Lance thought. Despite how much he (seemingly) hated Keith, it hurt Lance to see him in pain. Lance considered waking him, but realised he'd have to explain why he was in Keith's bed, and Lance really didn't want to be getting a handful from and angry Keith right now. Almost instinctively, Lance moved closer to Keith, until he could feel Keith's back against his body. Lance's heart rate quickened, and he could feel his face turning as red as a tomato. Keith still seemed to be having a nightmare, except because Lance was closer now, he could see his face. The expression on Keith's face was one laced with a mixture of shock, hurt and anger. It pained Lance to see Keith in such a state. Lance snaked his arm around Keith's waist and moved in even closer to him. As Lance snuggled into the crook of Keith's neck, he attempted to comfort the boy somehow, even though he knew it would be completely useless in stopping Keith from having his nightmare.
"Shh, you'll be alright, it's only a nightmare," Lance whispered while moving a strand of hair out of Keith's face. Surprisingly, after a few moments, Keith visibly relaxed, his shoulders weren't tensed up anymore and his breathing got considerably slower. Lance was relieved to see Keith back to normal, he couldn't stand watching him in pain, even if it was just a nightmare. Keith rolled over again, this time now facing Lance. Lance blushed as he realised how close their faces were. Lance couldn't help but stare at Keith. His face was so peaceful when he was sleeping, and because his face was no longer wearing that signature scowl of his, it instantly made him look ten times more attractive. Lance couldn't help but just stare and admire everything about his appearance. His fair complexion, chiseled jawline, blemish-free skin, chapped lips, sharp nose, slender neck, visible collarbone, midnight black hair, god, everything about him was perfect in Lance's eyes. Every single thing on his body most would consider a flaw, Lance now considered perfect. Lance snuggled in even closer to Keith and breathed in the scent of his shampoo. 'Smells like vanilla...' Lance was now drifting off to sleep, and just before he was completely gone from reality, he whispered something to Keith, not intending for him to hear it.
"Love you, Keith," Lance muttered quietly before he fell fast asleep. A small smile appeared on Keith's face as he leaned in closer to Lance.
"Love you too, Lance."