Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lance has secrets. Some of them are small, like his skin routine takes a lot longer than he tells people, or that when he can’t sleep at night, he sits observing the stars until the morning cycle kicks on. But the bigger secrets; buried so deep, he himself would forget about them sometimes, never stayed buried for long. The truth is, he isn’t a beta. Despite his lanky, bony, physique, and missing scent, he isn’t a beta. But god how he wishes he was. He wishes he could just wake up, apply his skincare, massage conditioner into his chocolate, black and caramel furred ears and tail, and go about his day instead of having to choke down a quarter sized pill and adjust his hoodie just so, to make sure it was covering his scent glands. He wishes he didn’t have to sprint out of the room anytime he felt like his scent was slipping through the suppressants, or because he was getting wet at the sight of Keith or Shiro doing something attractive.
God.
Who could even blame him though? Shiro, tall, broad, yet gentle and caring, always ready to share praise that simply made Lance want to melt into the floor: “Good job Lance… Your hard work is paying off… You’re our sharpshooter.”
And Keith, who grew nearly three inches taller than Lance on that damn space whale, with his gentle eyes, playful banter, and challenging nature; always pushing Lance to work harder and become better during training. “C’mon Lance, I know you can do better than that, I believe in you”
Fuck.
Lance has it so bad for the Alphas and there is nothing he can even do anything about it. Because they’re together.

About a month and a half ago, Pidge came screeching into the kitchen where Lance had been “supervising” Hunk’s cooking, sticking his fingers into the frosting-like substance for the last half hour.
“Pidge what’s wrong? Did you delete your coding again?” Lance asked, hopping off the counter and walking to them, where they stood rubbing their eyes and shaking their head. Hunk’s umber ears swiveling to indicate he was listening as well.
“No thank god, but I need bleach for my eyes! I caught Shiro and Keith making out in the training room!” They cried, burying their face into Lance’s torso. Lance however, stood frozen despite Pidge's bronze tail curling around his calf. He felt as though he had just done an “ice-dip” in the ocean, like he used to with his siblings in the winter months. He felt his body erupt in goosebumps, and the fine hairs of his arms become electrified.
“You what!?” He managed to squeak out, pushing at Pidge’s shoulders to get them to step back.
Pidge tilted their head up, an actual blush on their cheeks, as they spoke, “I mean, I knew that they were together, but I didn’t need to see them with their tongues down each other’s throats.” Now that was an image Lance had never thought of, but now that he had, it was all that consumed his thoughts.
“I was wondering when they were going to get caught” Hunk chimed in from placing a tray in the oven.
Lance whipped his head around, indignant, “You knew too!?”
“Well yeah, they aren’t exactly subtle about it. They’re always making eyes at each other across the room.” Hunk added, flicking Pidge’s ear who had walked up to the counter to swipe their finger into the bowl.
The kitchen doors opened revealing a red, panting Keith, whose black ears flicked nervously atop his head. Shiro appeared behind Keith not a moment later, looking flustered as well.
“Pidge, can we have a word with you?” Shiro asked calmly, but his salt and pepper tail gave away his anxiousness as it stood ridged behind him.
“Too late, already told them…” Pidge announced, tucking themselves behind Lance. “…But Hunk and have known for weeks, so this is just news to Lance” they tacked on at the end.
In the time Lance had relaxed, he had gone ramrod straight again. His eyes flicked back and forth between the Alphas who were now staring at him with indecipherable expressions: worry? Concern? Anger?
“I—” he tried but couldn’t seem to find words. As the silence began to stretch on, their expressions began to change to something more somber. Not willing to be the cause of their distress, Lance shook his head to clear the shock, and tried again, “Obviously I’m happy for you two!” he shouted, startling the men in front of him “I mean jesus, if you guys can find happiness in each other among all this chaos, I am more than happy for you two!” Lance finished his speech by plastering a huge joyful smile on his face. He was happy for them; heaven knows they has been through enough shit and deserved to find their happiness each other. Watching Keith’s shoulders sag in relief and Shiro’s mouth widen in the most blinding smile, Lance knew he had made the right choice.
“Now that we’ve established that they’re a couple, and everyone knows, I need to hit the shower before dinner is ready” Lance announced, snagging one last taste from the bowl, dodging Hunks spatula slap. “Later lovebirds” he sing-songed out the door only hearing Shiro’s soft exasperated “Oh boy” before the doors shut.
Swiftly walking through the halls, Lance passed his room, then the other paladins’, taking several extra turns down dimmer and dimmer hallways before entering a small room on his right. Locking the door behind him Lance took a deep breath, exhaling loudly throughout the silent room. Surveying the room of the things he had accumulated in their time on the ship, he was honestly impressed with himself. After the first few weeks, Lance knew he was going to need a nest somewhere deep in the ship. After locating where the laundry chute led out, he was able to snag a shirt from Hunk, a blanket from Pidge, a pillowcase from Keith, and sheets from Shiro. He wishes desperately that Allura and Coran gave off pheromones, but they only lightly smelt of fresh laundry.
The pile of clothes, sheets and pillows he had discovered in the abandoned hallway’s closet, took over almost a third of the floor, after he had pulled the mattress off the bed to create a bigger nest. Lance crawled in adjusting the pillowcase and sheet fabric to take a hearty breath of the Alphas’ scents. Shiro’s scent was somewhere between pinewood tree and mahogany teakwood; it was rich and lingered in every room he entered and everything he touch. Keith’s was rich too, but in a different way, it smelled like bonfire smoke but like concrete after the rain. Their two scents filled his lungs, clouding his head. Imagining them together, his chest began to ache.

They are meant for each other.

Lance had thought a million and one times that Lance had made his next with the intention of sharing it with the Alphas, there was plenty of room for them, not only among the sheets, but in his heart too.

I just wish there was room for me.

With that final thought, his tears began to fall.

Chapter Text

“Team meeting in 20 minutes!” Shiro’s voice calls over the coms, jolting Lance from his sleep. Stretching his arms above his head, he feels several pops throughout his spine groaning as he flops back onto his bed. He takes just a few more minutes to relish in the comfort of his mattress, before rolling out of bed and padding over to his bathroom. The cold water feels refreshing as he pours it over his face, before dolloping some soap onto his hands and lathering.  Once he pats his face dry, he observes himself in the mirror.  His eyes widen noticing his scent glands have become red and puffy overnight. Ghosting his fingers over them, Lance winces; they’re tender to the touch. Since transitioning to the suppressants that Pidge made for him, he’s had little to no side effects. I’ll ask them about this later. He notes to himself, grabbing the little white bottle from the cabinet and dry swallowing the pill. He frowns to himself as he sees only two left in the bottle. Yeah, I really need to talk to Pidge.

Throwing on some clothes and throwing his hood over his head to cover his inflamed glands, Lance trots down the hall to the control room. Passing by the open kitchen doors, he sees Hunks finishing the dishes.

“Lance! You missed breakfast buddy, here’s your plate” Hunk says upon spotting him.

Lance frowns confused how he could have slept so late without anyone coming to get him.

Hunk must notice his confusion, clarifying

“I know you can have a hard time sleeping, so we decided to just let you rest” His big brown eyes conveying more than just kindness.

Lance’s tail curls between his legs, ears flattening against his head.

“Thanks Hunk, but you don’t have to worry about me, I promise. I’m getting better” he assures the Samoan, whose eyes soften as we pads over to Lance.

“I know buddy but worrying is my job. I am, after all, your best friend.”  He wraps his arms around Lance and his umber, chocolate tipped tail curling around the Cuban.

“Having a cuddling party without me?” Pidge’s voice causing the two to jolt apart.

“Jesus Pidge, gonna give me a heart attack one of these days” Lance replies, grabbing them around the next and noogying them between their ears.

“Watch the glasses you moron!” they shout indignantly, trying to wiggle free from his hold, but Lance has done this too many times with his siblings to even come close to letting go.

“Only if you make me more circuits!” Lance taunts, using their code word for “suppressants” as a sly smile breaks out on his face.

Pidge goes completely still in his hold, which Lance takes as a sign to let go. Releasing them from his grip, his smirk falls as he sees Pidge’s face pale.

“What do you mean? You’re out? I gave you enough to last you almost twice as long as they have” Pidge’s face becomes confused as they calculate how long the suppressants should have been good for. Now it was Lance’s turn to fidget.

“But I’ve been taking one a day like you told me to” his tail and ears now flicking and swaying with worry. Turning to Hunk for support, his anxiety only increases seeing how wide his eyes had become.

“Lance, one a day with a break every three months for your heat” Pidge clarifies, eyes becoming saucers as a horrible thought dawns on them. “You have been taking breaks for heats right?!” Their voice pitching higher in their concern.

“Well—” Lance tries, “I—”, But what is he supposed to say? No, I haven’t had time to have a heat in the middle of fucking space war? No, that was too aggressive. I fucking hate my body and being an omega? No, too depressing. The only alphas I would ever want to spend my heats with are taken with each other? No, not that either.

“Lance?” Hunk interrupts his panicked thoughts by gently placing a hand on his arm. “Buddy? Have you been skipping your heats?” his tone is calm, but the air charged so thick with concern and worry that Lance feels like it’s choking him.

“Lance, you haven’t had a heat in three years?!” Pidge yells looking close to having a panic attack.

There’s no point in hiding the truth anymore, his friends know much worse things that have happened, so even though his chest feels like it’s caving in on itself, he takes a breath, steeling himself from the onslaught that is certainly to follow.

“Five” he whispers, time seeming to stand still. His gaze is glued to the floor, the silence that seems to stretch on forever in the kitchen rings in Lance’s ears, almost deafening.

“What?” Hunk whispers, his hand is now shaking against Lance’s arm.

“I’ve been skipping my heat since it happened” Lance clarifies, as he chances a look at his friends, watching as understanding floods their expressions.

“Oh Lance—” Pidge starts, only to be interrupted by the coms blaring throughout the castleship.

“Paladins, to the bridge” Shiro’s voice rings out sternly, clearly calling out to the three paladins that are now running late.

“We have to go” Lance says, not wanting to make Shiro angry, and happy to escape this suffocating conversation, as he makes a break for the door.

“Lance we’re not done with this conversation. Your health is at risk” Pidge says jogging to catch up with him as they reach the bridge doors.

“You’re late” Allura comments the moment the doors part in front of them.

“Sorry I distracted them” Lance says as he takes is seat, Pidge following suit plopping down next to him.

“Where’s Hunk?” Keith asks his eyes directing the question at Lance, who just noticed the yellow paladin had not been with them when they entered. As if on cue, the doors to the bridge opened revealing a dazed looking Hunk who quickly took his seat without looking up from where he was spaced out.

“Hunk?” Shiro prompted, which seemed to snap him out of his thoughts, shaking his head sobering up. “Sorry, was thinking about—” His eyes flicker to Lance “—some stuff.”

“Well now that we are all here, we can begin talking about alliance strategy as we approach the planet Gurend” Allura announces pulling up a map of a planet.

Lance is only half listening as he continues to look at Hunk. Is he mad at me? Is he disappointed? As he begins to spiral in thoughts, Keith nudges his foot across from the table. Blue eyes snap to the black paladin, Keith giving a subtle head nod towards Allura, who had begun delving into traditions of the Gurendites. The alpha gives Lance a slight smirk before turning his attention back to the Altean. But Lance was now distracted by the alpha before him. Has his scent gotten stronger? Lance takes a deep breath letting the combined scent of Keith and Shiro fill his head with cotton. The knots of stress in his stomach release giving way to a pleasant buzz that has his inner omega rolling. He hadn’t even realized his eyes had slipped closed until he heard his name being called.

“Lance? Are you feeling okay?” Shiro’s gentle but firm voice breaking through the fog of pheromones that clouded his brain. He blearily blinks a few times before settling his gaze on the alpha.

“Hmm?” is all his can say before he watches the broad alphas nostrils flare, and his eyes widen. Well, that—that sobers up Lance real quick. Sitting up in his seat, his glances at Keith who looks equally surprised, his nose also flaring, ears erect and unmoving. Shiro looks like he’s about to stand when Lance flies upward.

“I don’t feel good!” he shouts, his team startles at his sudden movement; the Altean chair struggling to right itself from its hovering position.

Before anyone can protest, Lance is through the door and nearly sprinting down the halls to his room. He would go to his nest, but he knows his team will check in on him based on his odd behavior. He locks his door behind him, taking a few second to try and calm his racing heart, blood thundering in his ears.

Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!

He can’t seem to catch his breath, the churning of anxiety in his stomach making him nauseous. Throwing a hand over his mouth he darts for the bathroom, making it just in time to heave over the toilet. The only thing he manages to gurgle out is hot stomach acid that burns the back of his throat. Fuck I skipped breakfast. He had only taken the suppressant and didn’t get food before his body could protest the chemicals. Standing to his feet, he brushes his teeth and tries to flush out the taste of bile from his mouth. Risking a glance in the mirror, he has to hold back a gasp from how much worse his glands look than from the hour prior. Inflamed and hot to the touch, the moment Lance sees them, they start burning. Heart racing, Lance backs away from the mirror, not knowing what to with himself. What do I do? What do I DO?! Repeats over and over in his head as he slides down the wall onto the tiled floor. His hands pulling tight on his short hair, the pain somewhat grounding. He’s not sure how long he remains in his curled position but knocking on his door has his head snapping up and ears swiveling towards the sound.

“Lance?” it’s Hunk, but Lance isn’t sure if he can even face his friend right now.

“I’m coming in” is all the warning Lance gets before the sound of his bedroom door is sliding open. He tracks the sound of Hunk’s feed padding across the room, coming to a stop at the threshold of the bathroom. Peering up at him, Hunk’s face softens a quiet “oh Lance” escaping his lips before dropping to his knees beside the blue paladin and embracing him, his fluff tail curling around Lance’s balled up frame.

“it’s going to be okay buddy I promise” Hunk tries to reassure him, but all Lance can do is turn and tuck his head into the crook of Hunk’s neck. The beta’s light scent of orange fills Lance’s lungs, which he gulps down as if it could cure him.

“That’s it buddy, deep breaths” the yellow paladin encourages, rubbing a soothing hand down the omega’s back.

After a few moments, Lance feels like he’s ready to part from his friends’ embrace, pulling back noticing a wet spot on the other’s shirt. When did I start crying?

“You have been since I found you buddy” Lance finds his friend’s face. Oh I said that out loud.

“I’m really scared Hunk, I don’t know what’s happening to me” Lance confesses, his face downcast. Hunk grabs his hand, giving it a squeeze.

“Pidge explained it to me, your body has become immune to the suppressants. Because there was never a break in taking them, to let your body flush out the chemicals, they won’t work unless you take a break from them.”  Hunk squeezed his hand again, letting the information sink in.

“I just can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am Lance” now that has Lance staring at his friend.

“I never even thought to check in with you to make sure you were having your heats or needed to be taken care of during your heats! God I am just the worst friend Lance, I am so so sorry!” Now it was the Samoan’s turn to have tears in his eyes, but Lance was quick to jump in,

“Don’t you dare be sorry Hunk, it is not your fault! I’ve been skipping my heats for almost as long as you’ve known me, how were you supposed to know? Please don’t blame yourself” he begged his friend. It was quiet for a few moments before either of them spoke.

“Please tell me why Lance.” Hunk finally whispered, wanting to know how to help his friend.

“I just—” Lance begins, “—I just hate being an omega Hunk” I finally said it. Lance shocks himself with the truth. Hunk hesitates before speaking, “Do you hate being an omega Lance because you hate being an omega, or because someone made you hate being one?” Lance knew what Hunk was referring to, knew that he was trying to identify where Lance’s feelings were coming from.

“I think you already know Hunk” Lance could feel his throat closing again, think back to what happened all those years ago. Whether Hunk could tell he was going to cry, or because that was all he needed to know, he didn’t specify. He just pulled Lance close, knowing that was all Lance needed.

Chapter Text

“Are you sure there’s nothing you can make for me to take?” Lance questions Pidge in the infirmary, refusing to make eye contact with his clearly furious friend.

Shortly after he had finished his cuddle fest on the bathroom floor, Hunk informed him that Pidge would be waiting for them to talk about what to do next. Lance had wanted to hide away in his room for the rest of eternity, but that wasn’t an option considering the position he was in; an intergalactic war.

“Lance, you have been skipping heats and taking suppressants non-stop for 5 years,” they hit him with a knowing look, he could practically feel searing into his forehead. “So, no there isn’t anything that I can make for you to safely take until you ride out at least 2 full heat cycles.”

His head snaps up at that information, “Two!?” he yells, the sound of it echoing through the open space. Frantically, he looks over at Hunk, who on his part, does look sympathetic, ears slightly folded back, but his arms are crossed in a way that screams Sorry dude, but I’m with Pidge on this one. Lance basically caves in on himself, heart beating in his ears.

Two cycles? That's at least 6 months. They will definitely find out by then. Should I tell them first? How will they react? Will they kick me off the team? God the disappointment Shiro is going to feel. Keith is never going to let me outlive this.

As if sensing his thoughts, Hunk grabs his shoulder and shakes it.

“Lance, did Pidge and I treat you differently when we found out you were an omega?” Lance’s confusion must be apparent on his face because Hunk just chuckles. “Well?”

“No?” Lance answers, more a question than a definite answer.

“And have we treated you differently since that thing happened?”

“No! You guys were nothing but supportive and gentle and the best, because you guys are my friends—” Lance cuts himself off when Hunk just raises his eyebrows knowingly.

“But you know that it’ll be different with them.” He counters weakly.

“Will it Lance?” Pidge approaches, far less angry than before. “These guys you trust with your life, and they trust theirs with you. If anything, they’ll be upset that they didn’t realize sooner… the idiots” their sentence trailing off as they turn back to Lance.

“Do you trust them, Lance?” Hunk tries once last effort to get his friend to believe that everything would turn out fine.

“Of course!” Lance says confidently.

As if summoned, the doors to the infirmary slid open revealing two very concerned looking alphas. Both sets of eyes trained on the boy sitting on the examination table. And Lance, well, Lance can do nothing but sit there, mouth open in surprise as Hunk: loyal, kind, gentle, best friend Hunk, pats his thigh with a soft “you’ve got this” and strolls right out the door with Pidge.

A second before the doors close a strangled, betrayed “Hey!” makes it way past Lance’s lips but it falls on deaf ears.

Left alone with the only alphas Lance has ever felt safe around, his heart begins to pick up pace, blood roaring in his ears.  

“Hey Lance,” Shiro starts, making his way towards him, Keith in tow. Once they’re within arm’s reach Lance’s body involuntarily jumps at the proximity. Both alphas halt in their movement, one of Keith’s ears folding with the tilt of his head in confusion. “Is everything okay Lance? You’ve been acting weird” he asks, then adds on “well, weirder than normal”

“What Keith means,” Shiro cuts in, “Is that we wanted to make sure you were feeling alright. You said you felt sick?” The crease in his brow being an indication of his worry. Meanwhile, Lance feels like he might actually be sick; at risk of throwing up again even though he still hasn’t eaten today.

“Yeah, I feel better now! Right as rain! Just peachy!” plastering a cheesy smile on his face he prays is convincing, while his chest begins to bear the weight of his anxiety. It feels like it's crushing his lungs. 
“Lance, we can tell you’re lying, and your neck is all red” Keith huffs, looking almost annoyed at having to deal with him. Lance reacts immediately, trying to cover his neck by hunching his shoulders, having left his hoodie back in his room.

“God he’s right Lance, lemme see,” and in seconds Shiro is crowding into his space, grabbing his chin to tilt his head to the side to get a good look at the inflamed glands on the poor boy’s neck. Lance can’t stop the involuntary shiver that runs through him at having the alpha this close and smelling this good. Pine filling his nose causing his shoulders to droop and his head to fall to the side giving Shiro all the access he could ever need to his glands. He hears more than sees the moment that Shiro is able to take in his scent now that the suppressants have stopped working. There’s a quicky intake of air, and suddenly the alpha drops his grip on Lance’s chin and is stepping away. Lance bites back a whine that threatens to break forth, ears falling flat on his head in shame, as he looks up at his leader. His hero. His friend. His crush. Shiro’s eyes are wider than dinner plates, his pupils blown completely black as he nearly steps straight into Keith. Hand coming up to cover his mouth and nose.

“What is it Shiro? What’s wrong?” Keith looks between the two of them as if trying to read their minds. When Shiro remains unresponsive, eyes still stuck on the blue paladin, who has begun to shrink back in on himself, Keith’s impatience wins, forcing him into action. Going straight to Lance, he tilts his head the same way Shiro did, only sticking his nose right up against Lance’s throat. Flashes of an old memory has Lance’s breath hitching in panic, and without thinking, he shoves Keith in the chest; hard.  Keith however is a brick wall, barley phased by Lance’s attempt to get him to step back, which has Lance hyperventilating unable to get air into his lungs, while the alpha is still invading his space. Lance raises his hands again trying to push Keith back away from him but with the lack of oxygen, there’s barely any strength left in his body.

“Keith, back up, give him some space” Shiro jumps into action shaken out of his stupor, being able to scent Lance’s mounting panic. He grabs the younger alpha by the collar dragging him away from the shaking omega. Keith on his part looks like he’s trying to solve the Da Vinci Code, both confused, yet intrigued, likely fighting his inner alpha instincts to get back into Lance’s space, yet not understanding why he feels the need to. But Shiro will deal with him later, turning back to Lance, his heart squeezes, seeing Lance visibly shaking, silent tears tracking down his face, his hand coming up to his chest as if to keep his heart from leaping out of his ribs with how fast it had been beating. His bright blue eyes are wide with fear as he looks between the alphas, not sure how to calm himself down, or what to say next.

“Lance—” Shiro starts gently while taking a small step towards him. He looks like he’s trying not to spook a cornered animal. But the movement has Lance jumping off the table, punching out a weak, broken, “I’m sorry” and sprinting out the door.

Both alphas follow him with their heads, ears perked at attention straining to hear if he said anything else on his way out. He didn’t.

Chapter Text

The alphas could do nothing but stare at the retreating form until he vanished behind the closing infirmary doors. The hum of the castleship was ringing in the older alpha’s ears, as his gaze never wavered, as if it he could rematerialized the omega by sheer will.

“S-Shiro?” Keith’s voice was weak and shaking. He had never heard Keith sound so unsure of himself. “What—” he cleared his throat and tried again, “What was that?” Turning to look at his partner, the only indication he was listening was the silver tipped ears being swiveled his direction. Keith placed a hand on Shiro’s arm in hopes to gain a bit more of his attention. At the touch, the man jumped out of his frozen state, and turned toward Keith.

“Sorry, it’s just been so long since I have smelt an omega” Shiro explained grabbing the hand on his arm. He watched as his words settled like snow into Keith’s head, observed the realization dawn on the less experienced alpha, purple eyes becoming the size of small planets, and his head whip back to the closed door, where he last saw Lance.

“O-Omega?” He stuttered out. Shiro squeezed his hand, encouraging Keith to keep going. He knew that the younger alpha hand no experience with omegas, since they were so rare. Lance had to easily be one of the last surviving omegas, let alone a male, unmated one. The unmated part had the alpha’s chest fluttering, but he quickly buried that thought and returned to his partner. Shiro had met one omega in his very early years at the Garrison, but she was mated to one of the sergeants there. He had bumped into her, catching her scent, which had him reeling (among other things) the rest of the day. But Keith, there was no way the younger alpha had even thought about an omega before; growing up in the desert, then being transferred to the Garrison after being in a boy’s home. This could be either really good, or really bad. Shiro thought looking at his boyfriend. He knew the feelings that Keith held for their friend; that somewhere along the lines of frenemy, and rival, Keith had developed a crush for the blue paladin. But that was fine, because Shiro had fallen for the Cuban as well. He saw how much Lance looked up to him and tried his best to step down from the pedestal that the younger boy had placed him on. And after spending nearly 4 years in space with the boy—now turned man—Shiro realized how great of a person Lance was. At first the jokes and kidding around got on Shiro’s nerves because he thought Lance was just being immature, but he realized that Lance was just trying to break the ice and make everyone feel more at ease. His bubbly, positive nature was contagious, and he always found ways to take care of the team. Making sure that Keith wasn’t over-training, that Pidge didn’t work through the night and got the proper rest, always ready to taste test Hunk’s recipes, listen to Coran’s stories, play dress-up with Allura, and before him and Keith had gotten together, Shiro on more than one occasion, had sat in the kitchen late at night while Lance made him tea because he couldn’t escape his nightmares. Of course, now that he had Keith, whenever he woke in a nightmare induced panic, the alpha would hold him close and kiss his head repeating “it’s okay, you’re here with me on the castleship, I love you” until they both fell back asleep.

“Yes Keith, Lance is an omega. You remember learning about them in health class, right?” Of course, Keith remembers but the professor had emphasized that it was a useless lesson because they didn’t exist anymore.

“But I thought—” Keith tried to rationalize with himself. I was told they were all gone! How is Lance one of them? Jesus why did he smell so good? Like the ocean mixed with vanilla. He felt a shiver run down his spine at the thought of smelling it again. This did not go unnoticed by the older alpha who knew what Keith was thinking.

“I know, me too, but it seems that Lance has been keeping it a secret from us.”

Now that Shiro thought about it, he wondered how Lance had managed to keep his designation hidden for so long. Having to have a heat every three phoebs, for at least a movement, would not have gone unnoticed, should not have gone unnoticed by their leader. Shiro’s brow creased in thought. Lance hasn’t been—no, he wouldn’t, would he? Had Lance somehow been skipping his heats? His heart squeezed at the thought. Doesn’t he know how dangerous that is? He didn’t peg Lance as one to not understand the catastrophic damage that could do to his body. There has to be something else going on. Something that Shiro was missing here. There was also his reaction to Keith. He had watched as Lance had gone completely lax when trying to inspect his neck, the submissive action had the alpha preening, but when Keith had dove right in to scent him, it was as if something was triggered in the omega. The calming, alluring scent off sea salt and sweet vanilla had turned sour, almost fishy with a burnt cookie smell, clearly indicating the omega’s panicked distress, which had Shiro peeling the smaller alpha off him.

“He was completely fine with you all over him” Keith’s voice breaking Shiro out of his thoughts. It was as if the scene was relaying in his head at the same time as Shiro. Sensing the insecurity that was underlying there, Shiro was quick to reassure him.

“No Keith, I think it was because you got too close to him too quickly. I didn’t go anywhere near his scent glands. I only looked” He brought Keith into his arms, embracing him. “There’s got to be a reason he’s kept it hidden for so long, and why he panicked the way he did. You’re his friend Keith. He trusts you. There’s something else going on here.”

Keith nodded against his chest, worrying what could be going on with the boy he cared for so deeply. He’s never reacted to anyone’s scent like that before, the lack of control had shaken him. He felt like a pre-rut alpha all over again. Looking up to his boyfriend, they shared a look before their eyes hardened.

Something was wrong with Lance.

And the alphas were determined to figure it out.

Chapter Text

Fuck Fuck FUCK!

Practically sprinting through the halls, Lance weaves his way in and around corridors, zooming past rooms, the lights of the castle creating streaks through watery eyes. Making a sharp left, he turns, slamming his hand down on the scanner, and he’s through the doors of his nesting room before they can fully open. Closing behind him, he’s engulfed in darkness, save for the large expanse of stars that are seen through the window that takes up nearly the whole wall.

Taking a moment to catch his breath and scrub a hand over his face Lance sighs and moves to take off his shirt so as to keep his distressed scent from being in his nest.

“Take me out to dinner first.”

Lance lets out a strangled yelp nearly jumping out of his skin. “Jesus Pidge! You scared the living quiznack out of me!” Recovering from his momentary heart attack, sense came crawling back. “How did you even find this place!”

“You’re not as sly as you think you are, I saw you on the cameras. Don’t worry though, I’m the only one who knows about this place.” Pidge says seeing the worry in Lance’s eyes.

His shoulders sag, relieved that the location of his nest is still (mostly) a secret. Lance would be more worried if Hunk knew about it, not that he doesn’t love his bud, but he is the worst at keeping secrets when pressed for info, and his scent can sometimes become overbearing. Pidge though, with their soft scent and the fact that they were always in his nest at the Garrison, he’s more surprised he hasn’t found them here sooner.

“What are you doing here?” He asks, wondering what made it worth the visit.

“I knew you’d come here when you were done with the alphas” Pidge shrugs, burrowing back down into the nest, just their ears poking out from the sheets.

Lance stiffens at the reminder of the alphas he left shell-shocked in the infirmary. Recounting the interaction, he cringes. The look on Shiro’s face was nothing less than shock and disgust. As if he was repulsed by his existence. But having the alpha so near, inspecting his throat, engulfing him with his scent, was enough to make the omega shiver. And Keith. Keith who threw himself at Lance, pressing right up against his glands, breath tickling his neck, lips nearly—Lance shakes himself off that train of thought, instead focusing on how he reacted. How his brain had thrown him back to five years ago, to that alpha, all Lance could do was panic, trying to push Keith away. But with the combination of the alphas’ scents and his stress, Lance found himself completely helpless, which only increased his anxiety. I hate being so fucking pathetic, he thinks, not for the first time. This is why I hate being an omega. Also a familiar thought.

“You joining me or not?” Comes Pidge’s voice from the nest. It gets him moving as he takes off his shirt, throwing it to the side and climbing underneath the top cover. Pidge doesn’t say anything else, just snuggling up close, their head burrowing into his chest, ears flicking his chin. A calming air settles over Lance, allowing him to take deep breaths of Pidge’s scent. It’s light and earthy, like freshly cut grass, making his muscles relax, eyes slipping closed.

“Thanks Pidge” his whispers into the space.

The beta just hugs him closer.

—

Alarms blare jolting Lance out of his nap, Pidge already halfway to the door, but not before their foot gets caught in a sheet sending them tumbling to the floor. They shake their foot desperately trying to free the limb, the action has Lance laughing so hard, tears springing to his eyes.  

“Shut up and help me!” They yell from their sprawled position.

“Alright, alright” Lance tries to placate them, getting up and untangling their foot. They scramble up and bolt out the door, Lance snagging his shirt, not too far behind. Both make pitstops at their rooms, throwing on their suits, and nearly sprinting to the hangers. Lance climbs into his lion, hyped up on adrenaline, ready to go.

“Blue lion online” Lance announces into his helmet.

“Green lion online” Pidge’s voice follows.

“Where were you guys? You were way behind” Shiro’s disapproval rings through the coms. Lance’s stomach sinks at the disappointment he hears in his leader’s tone.
“We’re here now, so let’s go!” Pidge calls out, their lion already bounding towards the open hanger doors.

“Yeah c’mon!” Hunk encourages, the rest of the team following after the green lion. Lance throws the thrusters forward and takes off into the abyss. The weightlessness has his stomach sinking before filling with the flutters of excitement. He takes in the stars around him allowing a smile to slip onto his face. Nothing matters here. Not gender, not designation, not even the small town of Varadero of which he was born. Yet here he is. A paladin of Voltron. Chosen by the blue lion herself. A bolt of pride strikes through Lance causing him to let out a joyful holler, and he steers towards the ship in sight.

The Galra cruiser is on the smaller side, but upon the lions’ approach, it starts firing, lighting up the space around them with blasters. Hunk takes a shot at one of the biggest cannons, hitting it dead on.

“Nice shot Hunk” Shiro calls out, flying around the back of the ship to survey, and determine more instructions. Lance weaves himself in and around the rays, trying to get close enough to take out another gun with his ice cannon. He catches a blur of red out of his peripheral, Keith zooming past him towards the ship.

“On your left Keith” Lance tries to warn, seeing a second cannon on the far side of the ship begin to power up.

“Got it Lance, thanks” Keith says taking out a baster on the front of the ship, flying off to circle back.

“That wasn’t the one—” Lance tries, starting to worry, clearly the alpha didn’t see it, thinking that Lance was talking about a different gun. The cannon’s ball of light growing larger, with Keith facing away from it, leaving him completely vulnerable. Lance puts everything into the thrusters, shooting his lion towards Red, slamming into her side, sending the lion and her paladin veering off in the opposite direction.

“Lance! What—” Keith calls, finally seeing the cannon as it sends out a huge ball of light, hurtling towards the blue lion.

“Lance!” Comes Keith’s strained voice over the coms, but Lance knows he can’t avoid it. The cannon blast slams into his lion, all the controls going dark, vaulting the, backwards, spinning out of control. He feels the force pulling his body against the seatbelt, straining against him. When suddenly, the unthinkable happens, the seatbelt coming loose from its position, Lance getting tossed into the lion’s window, hearing the sound creaking glass, spiderweb cracks appear all along his visor, along with a shooting pain through the side of skull. He gets rolled across the dashboard, then sent through the air, foot catching on his chair, catapulting him into the ceiling, and before he can even hit the ground, everything goes black.

Chapter Text

Keith was pretty sure that his heart was no longer beating. He could vaguely hear the other paladin’s voices, but they were overpowered by the ringing in his ears. He thought he heard his name being called by Shiro, but the blood seeping into his vision blocked out everything. Every ounce of his body was pushing into his thrusters towards the cruiser, his lion’s mouth cannon firing at speeds he didn’t know possible. Swerving around the ship, taking out each blaster one at a time, until he found a weak spot: an open hanger. Circling around, he aimed right for it, sending a ball of light straight into the heart of the cruiser. He’s not sure what he hit, but like a match, it ignites something within the cruiser, setting off a chain reaction. He doesn’t stay long enough to watch the ship implode, turning around and zooming to the blue lion. He sees the black and yellow lions stationed on either side of the stagnant lion, all lights off, no sign of life. Keith’s heart clenches.

Somewhere along the lines of his original annoyance with Lance, it had turned into fondness. Yes, Lance could be loud, but it was because he was passionate. Keith had always tried to determine why Lance had seen him as a rival, because Lance was better than Keith, just at different things. Because where Keith may be good at hand-to-hand, Lance was far better at shooting. And in Red, he may have more speed, but in Blue, Lance was more graceful and accurate in his maneuvers.  And don’t even get Keith started on his social capabilities. He was too withdrawn, disinterested, and disengaged. He preferred to stand off to the side and back of the social events the team had to attend. He didn’t like talking to people, often didn’t care about their stories because he knew he would never see them again, so why make the effort? But Lance. Lance was ever the social butterfly. Not only that, but a smooth talker too. He could easily defuse situations with his charm and jokes, and even his flirting (no matter how bad it is), never failed to bring smiles to other’s faces. Lance was so much better than Keith in many ways, which led to him never understanding why and when the rivalry had started. Over time though, he and Lance had become friends. They had each other’s backs, picking the other up when they would stumble. Keith had often found himself on the training deck late at night, and just when he would reach his break point, Lance would come waltzing in, demanding he go to bed. Keith never knew how Lance would always show up right before Keith would take training too far and end up hurting himself. Keith tried to help Lance too. Lance could often get stuck in his own head, getting this far-off look in his eyes as if he was somewhere else. Keith knew what that was like. He often zoned out when he was in the boys home, wishing he was somewhere else. Whenever he looked like that Keith was quick to find ways to bring him back. He’d ask Lance to spar, tell him to go see what Hunk was doing with him, or would even ask Lance to tell him about his home. That never failed to light up the blue paladin’s eyes, as the Cuban would go off on some wild story from his childhood or the pranks he pulled at the Garrison.

Keith had never found himself so intrigued and interested in someone. Obviously, he had fallen in love with Shiro, but that was before he really knew Lance. He remembered the day he realized he had feelings for both of the men, running to Shiro nearly in tears. The other alpha had simply chuckled at Keith’s inner turmoil, held the small man’s face with both hands and kissed him. Keith immediately relaxed into his embrace, as his brain was silenced for a moment. Pulling away, the alpha looked him dead in the eyes and in a gentle voice whispered, “I like him too.”

He didn’t know how he got this lucky, or if he deserved such a gift, but his boyfriend’s confession of liking Lance too had solved everything. Everything but the fact that he had no idea how Lance felt about either of them.

Then of course there’s the fact that Lance turned out to be an omega. God the way he had smelt. Like a breath of fresh ocean air, mixed with the sweetness of vanilla. It was the best thing Keith had ever smelt in his life. Of course, he loves Shiro’s scent, it brings him great comfort like returning home after a long day at work, finally being able to take a deep breath and relax. But Lance, it was like a beacon to his inner alpha. Demanding that he take and claim that scent for himself. He hadn’t felt his instinct take control like that in years. Honestly, it had scared him a bit, to feel that out of control of himself again. It was what had caused him to act out a lot as a kid, and the idea that he could have done something to Lance out of his lack of control had him disgusted with himself. Of course, Shiro tried to comfort him, but seeing Lance so relaxed in the other alpha’s space, yet so tense and afraid in his own, made Keith think that Lance like Shiro way more than him. That thought had Keith kicking himself with regret for all the times he had made Lance upset or even looked at him wrong. Of course, Lance would want an alpha like Shiro instead of Keith. Shiro was tall, broad, brave, smart, yet gentle. Keith was shorter (though now taller than Lance by a head and a half), and his personality resembled a cactus. Lance’s scent had soured so quickly upon Keith approaching him, it broke his heart a little. But if anything, it made him more determined to show Lance how great the alphas would be to him. He had thought that Lance would fit perfectly into their duo as a beta, but an omega? He would even out the testosterone perfectly. Alpha-alpha pairs weren’t uncommon, but it took a lot of communication and a give and take. Before Keith had left for the Blade, he was fine being on the “receiving” end. But two years on a space whale and accepting more of his Galra heritage made him less likely to give into Shiro’s dominance. It had been a bit of a struggle at first, when Shiro had tried to pin him and Keith had let out a ferocious growl, resisting his boyfriend for the first time. They ended up having a long conversation and decided that in terms of the physical side of their relationship, they would find ways to get each other off without having to “compromise” their desire to dominate. They got pretty aggressive physically and often ended up with bruises the next day. Not that either of them minded, the reminder of the night before satisfying both of their possessive desires. But having Lance to balance them out as an omega, he be the perfect third. The idea of the omega between them had heat pooling Keith’s gut.

The yellow lion had grabbed the blue lion’s tail with its jaw, and the black lion was using its thrusters to gently push the stagnant lion towards the castleship, Keith and Pidge helplessly watching on, guiding their own lions into the hanger. Touching down, Keith threw his helmet off and dashed out of his lion, just in time for the castle to shake with the blue lion’s descent. Halfway across the hanger he was joined by a grim looking Shiro, and Hunk who was panting and wearing a panicked expression, rambling.

“Oh my god none of us have ever been hit like that, his lion couldn’t even power up, what if he’s—”

“Don’t!” Keith growled, trying to stave off his own panic. “Don’t finish that sentence.” But it was too late. He was already imagining the worst.  

Arriving at the emergency hatch near the side of Blue’s head, Shiro scanned his palm, the door sliding open. All three of them rushed into the blue lion, the cockpit not far from where they had entered. The door slid open; the sight before them had their hearts dropping.

Chapter Text

The first thing that hits Shiro’s nose is the copper smell of blood. After being in the arena, it was as if all his senses were dialed up to ten. His sense of smell, hearing, and even his sight became sharper. It helped him survive. But now, he was pretty sure it was going to kill him. The air is thick with it. It’s chocking him. But he knows Lance needs him. That thought is what gets him moving. He distantly hears a sob and a retch come from behind him; assuming it’s Hunk, he propels himself forward searching for his friend. It doesn’t take long. Being the champion, he’s seen a lot of violence. Mangle bodies, decapitations, missing limbs (including his own), and bloodshed of all colors. He’s become desensitized to it. Numb. But he can’t stop a sob from bursting forth when he sees the crumpled form of the blue paladin on the ground next to the pilot’s chair.

His leg is bent at an odd angle, no doubt broken, possibly in several places. He’s on his side, but his torso is twisted his hips almost facing the ceiling, head facing away from Shiro. It’s hard to see much else with all the blood that covers the white armor. He drops to he’s knees next to Lance, hands hovering around his body not sure how to turn him or if he might injure him more by trying to pick him up. His vision goes blurry, only now, does he realize he’s crying. He scrubs a hand over his face, trying to focus. Gently, ever so gently, he scoops Lance’s neck with his right hand, stabilizing his hip with the other; and turns him over. The sight has his eyes watering all over again.

The glass visor is shattered and there’s thick globs of blood running down Lances face. He definitely hit his head. Eyes trailing down his body, he sees a large wound where there is a break in the armor. This is where all the blood is from. As if everything was coming into clarity, Shiro’s mind turns frantic. What am I doing? He needs a pod now! Standing suddenly, but not so quick to jostle Lance, he adjusts him into a bridal carry. Turning around he sees Keith still frozen by the door, eyes trained on the body in his arms.

“Keith” he calls as he makes his way towards the other alpha. The raven doesn’t move an inch. Not even the ears perched on his head twitching to indicate any sort of acknowledgment. Hunk hasn’t turned back around since their initial entry to the cockpit. As if facing Lance would make it real.

“Keith, move aside, I need to get him to a pod” Shiro tries again, but the underlying tone of a Command has violet eyes snapping to his.

“oh” is all he says before turning his body sideways to allow Shiro through.

From there it’s a mad dash down the stairs and out the door of the lion and to the med bay. Shiro’s heart is racing, he’s trying to keep his inner alpha from going absolutely feral. It’s a losing battle when all that he can hear in his head is Our omega! Protect our omega! Save our omega! Claim our omega! He had never thought of Lance as his or Keith’s, but the now that his brain had been supplied with the idea of making a Lance third, sticking him right between the alphas, he couldn’t not think of Lance as his.

Entering the med bay, Coran was already readying a pod, the steam exiting from the open door. Coran reaching out his hands to take Lance from Shiro, caused him to pull Lance closer and let out a deep rumbling growl. Eyes wide with shock, hands pulling back in confusion and uncertainty, Coran gestures to the pod.

“We have to put him in now Number 1, or we might lose him.” The thought of losing Lance has Shiro reluctantly letting Lance into the Altean’s arms, so that he could adjust the paladin and place him in the pod properly. He watches as Coran winced upon seeing Lance’s leg, as he lifts the boy into the pod, not bothering to remove the armor minus his helmet. The pod seals shut with a hiss, glass pane closing over the still form, until it fogs up with mist.

“I’ll run diagnostics and let him stay in there for a few vargas, to begin the initial healing process. Later today, I will remove the armor so he can be properly washed during his healing cycle.” Coran mumbles more to himself than anyone else, as if it was just another day, another healing of a wound.

But all the paladins knew it wasn’t. They didn’t know if their friend was even alive. It dawns on Shiro that he never even checked for a pulse. Head snapping up, his gaze darts to the pod’s screen, just in time to see the electrocardiogram pop up and begin spiking in time with the detected heartbeat. Feeling his shoulders drop with relief, he let’s out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Feeling a hand on his bicep, he turns, finding Keith.

“You should probably shower” he says in a low voice. He’s pale and dazed, almost looking through Shiro rather than at him. Shiro stands confused for a moment, head tilting before looking down at himself, nearly toppling over in realization.

Blood. Everywhere. Smeared all over his white breastplate, and down his arms. But the worst are his hands. He can feel it on his palms through the gloves, seeing it seep into the cracks of the gears of the prosthetic; throwing him back into the gladiator ring. The room feels like it’s spinning, his hands going double, he thinks he might faint. But Keith. Sweet, beautiful Keith is there, gently grabbing his face in both hands, turning him to face the red paladin.

“Let’s get you cleaned up, okay?” he whispers, and Shiro understands what he’s saying. I know you need me right now, but I need you too. So, let’s lean on each other.

Showering together is a quiet affair. Normally there’s some laughing, sensual eye fucking from across the showers that usually leads to actual fucking, or at least someone on their knees, but not this time.

Upon peeling off his flight suit, Shiro discovered that the blood that had made it through the cracks of his armor and was staining his skin. He managed to choke out a quick “Keith” before the other alpha was rapidly throwing off his own clothes before helping Shiro strip as fast as possible and dragging him to the showers.

Where he sits now, under scalding spray as Keith frantically scrubs him down with a sponge trying to send all the red down the drain as fast as possible. Keith’s scent had turned from comforting bonfire to suffocating smoke, which makes it hard to breath with it catching in the steam, swirling around them. Upon Keith’s face is an expression that Shiro has only seen a few times, he's sure that if the water wasn't pouring over them, he would see fat tears falling from purple eyes.

“Keith” comes his voice, but he doesn’t recognize the broken tone as it comes out. But Keith just scrubs Shiro’s chest and torso harder trying to take out his emotions on the task at hand.

“Keith” he tries again, gentle, while cupping his face, and trapping the raven’s hands in his metal hand. Turning his lover’s attention to him, he does the only thing he can think to do, swooping down and capturing Keith’s lips with his own.

It’s not heated like most shower kisses, but it’s deep, full of passion and love. His lips move slowly against Keith’s, mapping them out as if it’s his first time, gently caressing, coaxing Keith to move with him. A sob has them breaking apart as Keith’s knees seem to give out, but Shiro is right there to catch him. The red paladin cries harder, into Shiro’s chest, letting his lover hold him, his tears washing down the drain.

Chapter Text

Five quintants. It’s been 5 quintants and Lance is still in the pod. Coran had tried to give everyone a summary of his wounds; no one wanted to hear it. But after the third day, Keith had to know why it was taking so goddamn long. It wasn’t the longest someone had been in a pod, but Keith was getting restless in his waiting. So, Coran told him.

After going to clean the blue lion, Coran had discovered the safety belt broke on the captain’s chair. Because the lions are equipped with their own internal gravity system, the belt is rarely necessary as the gravity system keeps the pilot basically “gravitationally pulled” into the seat. But upon being hit by the ray, the gravity system was disabled, putting Lance’s full weight in combination with the g-force against the weak strap, breaking it. Upon his discovery, Coran decided to watch the camera footage from inside the lion. When getting flipped through the air after slamming into the dashboard, Lance’s foot got caught on the arm of the chair, which caused the break in his leg, and when descending from his collision with the ceiling, his torso was cut open on a panel that was on the side of the lion’s cockpit. He suffered a broken femur, torn ACL, concussion, and obvious blood loss from the wound on his side. But it didn’t seem like Lance should have lost as much blood as he had when the only open wound was on his side. Questioning this, Pidge piped up announcing that the suppressants they made could have had a blood-thinning side-effect.

Keith was livid. Pidge new about Lance being an omega? When he had found out, he turned to Shiro, who was equally shocked. Keith opened his mouth ready to rip Pidge a new one, but Shiro held his hand against the other alphas chest.

“Wait, you knew? You made him suppressants?” Clearly Shiro was just as upset, but his voice had come out calm. He was always better at controlling his emotions.

“Well yeah, I knew he would run out of the ones he was taking at the Garrison, but when he had come to me asking him to make him more, I wasn’t going to say no” they shrugged, not taking their eyes off their computer for a second.

Keith’s blood was boiling now.

“The Garrison? You’ve known his designation since the Garrison?” Keith shouted, unable to hold himself in any longer.

“Yes Keith,” came Hunk’s voice, from behind the kitchen counter. He was cooking dinner, but Keith hadn’t been able to stomach anything unless Shiro forced him. He had been sitting front of Lance’s pod for the first two days before Shiro dragged him into the kitchen forcing him to eat.

“I roomed with him at the Garrison, and Pidge was always in our dorm. It was kind of inevitable for us to find out.”

“That, and he always asked for cuddles” Pidge added, then muttering added “the clingy motherfucker.” But Keith could tell they meant it fondly.

“We’ve been living in space for almost four years now, how come he hasn’t told us?” Shiro questioned, clearly confused how he himself had missed it all this time.

Pidge and Hunk shared a look. They held it a little too long to go unnoticed, but then Hunk shook his head at Pidge, turning back to chopping vegetables.
“What was that?” Keith asked looking between the yellow and green paladins.

“Nothing Keith, let it go” Hunk’s terse reply came, his back turned.

“No, I want to know why Lance didn’t tell us” Keith made to stand but couldn’t move past that when Shiro placed a hand on his wrist.

“Don’t Keith” Pidge murmured across the table.

“No!” He yelled, determined to get answers, “He’s been skipping his heats, hiding his designation, but only from me and Shiro! I want to know—” Hunk whipped around, chopping knife in hand, eyes blazing.

“I said, let. It. Go.” His voice is venomous. Hunk had never looked so frightening in his life, as if he was actuallyconsidering burying the knife he held in Keith’s chest.

“He just doesn’t trust alphas, Keith” Pidge whispers, almost inaudible. Hunk whips his head towards them nostrils flaring, eyes sharpening.

“Enough Pidge.” He says stern, leaving no room for response. Keith wants to try again, but Shiro stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

“He doesn’t owe us an explanation; I think that I can speak for the both of us when I say that we just wish Lance felt like he could trust us enough to tell us.” Shiro reasons. Keith hates having his feelings spoken for him, especially when Shiro is spot on.

“That being said, we will wait for Lance to come to us, whenever he is ready.” Hunk’s eyes soften at his words. “Thanks, Shiro, it’s just not my place to tell. You know he trusts you both with his life, it’s just—" He sighs, eyes saying more than his words.

“We know Hunk, thanks” Shiro says with a genuine smile, pulling Keith out of the kitchen.

It’s been three days since then. Keith finds himself in the med bay more often than not. Shiro doesn’t try to drag him out this time, rather opting to join him instead. Setting up two cots outside the pod. Lance’s face is calm in his frozen state, it’s hard to tell how far along his healing process is. Keith places his palm against the glass studying the blue paladin. Why don’t you trust alphas? What happened? Closing his eyes for a moment, he jolts when the pod starts beeping and the screen flashes red. Immediately Shiro is by his side trying to futilely read the Altean writing that appears, but they both know that a blinking red screen can’t be good.

“Go get Coran” Shiro turns to him, worried. When Keith just stands there, Shiro moves to get the Altean himself. Forced into action, Keith sprints out of the hall and to the training deck where he last saw the man. Skidding around corners, until he reaches the deck where Coran stands with Allura and Pidge talking about a training bot. They all look up upon his entry, but Keith just stands there gesturing towards the med bay, stumbling over his words.

“Lance…pod...red…beeping” He manages between pants. The look on Coran’s face does nothing to help his mounting panic. The Altean is suddenly past him out the door and fully running to the med bay. Keith struggles to catch up to him, surprised by how fast the man is. He makes it back to the bay in time to watch Coran override the pod, forcing it to hiss open.

“What are you doing! He’s not done in there!” Keith stumbles over to him. Steam billows out of the pod and Lance begins to tumble out.

Shiro is there to catch him, scooping him into his arms and turning to place him on the examination table.

“Where do I hold him Coran” he asks the Altean, turning his attention to Lance’s leg. Keith winces at the angle that Lance’s leg is bent at, coming around the other side of the exam table.

“What are you doing?” He can’t stop staring at the crooked limb.

“The pod was healing his bone incorrectly and it couldn’t finish because of the angle at which number three’s leg was bent. So, it stopped the healing process. Therefore, we have to set it right for him to get back in there.” He explains, grabbing Lance’s calf. “Hold his thigh number one.” Shiro presses down on Lance’s leg with both hands to hold it still. Shiro spares Keith a glance, noticing his confusion clarifies, “We have to re-break his leg to set it into the proper position.” Keith’s eyes widen in horror.

“What!”

“On three Shiro” Coran directs, adjusting Lance’s leg, jostling him. Lance lets out a pained moan, eyes flickering open.

“One—” Coran calls.

“Keith?” Lance says looking up at the alpha. Keith doesn’t know what to say, so he grabs Lance’s hand in both of his.

“Hey Lance” he tries to distract him.

“Two—”

“I’m sorry” Keith says, trying to apologize for everything. For scaring him the other day, for always being so blunt with him, for not seeing the cannon and letting Lance take the hit for him. He watches as Lance glances down at his leg, eyes widening in clarity. “What—”

“Three!”

Shiro presses down hard as Coran twists the Lance’s leg, bending it in a way that it definitely should not have. The sound Lance lets out can only be described as agony. Keith’s heart clenches in his chest hearing it. If out of instinct or to comfort himself, he bends down resting his forehead on Lance’s, closing his eyes.

“One more time Shiro” Coran tries to keep his voice low, but Lance hears him. Keith has half a second to move is head back as the blue paladin starts to thrash.

“No! No! Stop! Please!” He cries, tears beginning to trail down his cheeks. He looks to Keith pleading with watery eyes. “Make it stop! No more!” He tries, and Keith has to look away. He’s seconds from tackling Coran to the ground to make him stop hurting Lance.

“One—” Coran says, but it causes Lance to panic more. He’s too weak in his lethargic state to actually push Keith off, but he tries his best. Wiggling and squirming, Keith does his best to keep him still, holding his shoulders.

“Two—” Clearly, moving isn’t helping him, so Lance goes back to pleading. “Please I’m begging you, no more” Keith helplessly looks at Shiro; their leader grimacing as if it physically hurts to be standing there witnessing this, eyes trained on the ground. He stares at the older alpha, when he hears a small whimper and a quiet, “please alphas.”

“Three!”

Both men react instantly, eyes widening, heads swiveling towards the omega, just in time to witness his face contort as Coran bends his leg again, only harder this time, his leg snapping with a sickening crack.

Lance wails, his scream bouncing off the med bay walls before quieting down to pained whimpers.

“There you go number three! I’ll just wrap this up to hold it in place, and you’ll be back to the pod in a jiffy!” Coran bounds off to grab compression wrap, leaving Lance with the two alphas.

Lance just pants, whining with every breath and trying to adjust himself to be more comfortable. Shiro bends down petting a hand through sweaty chocolate hair. He nudges Lance’s head with his, rumbling a soft “I’m sorry baby, I’m so sorry” while running his nose against the omega’s hairline before stepping back. Keith watches the interaction, an unidentifiable emotion in his gut, before he feels a tug on his hand. Coran returns, beginning to wrap Lance’s leg as he grinds out “C’mere.” Keith hesitates for a moment, but then Lance is fisting Keith’s shirt and dragging the alpha closer. In a surprising amount of strength, Lance manages to pull Keith down close enough that his nose presses right behind the alpha’s ear. He pants against Keith for a few moments, the omega’s breath tickling his neck, causing his body to erupt in goosebumps, a chill slithering down his spine. Lance takes a deep shuddering breath, and Keith sees from the corner of his eye as Lance physically shivers on the exhale.

“Time to get you back in the pod number 3” Coran’s voice comes gently from next to Shiro. Keith pulls away and for a split-second the omega looks peacefully dazed before a grimace returns to his face. Keith looks up at Shiro and finds the older alpha staring back at him with a mixed expression, somewhere between pride and desire. He usually saves that look for when he’s watching Keith train and he completes a particularly difficult maneuver.

“Number one, would please help him back into the pod?” Coran asks, turning to the pod to reset its settings. Shiro jolts out of his stupor, bending slightly to pick up Lance. The omega groans in protest, but sticks his nose against Shiro’s collar, nuzzling slightly. The alpha turns around until Keith can only see Lance’s legs bobbing in the air. Shiro places Lance in the pod, the omega hopping on one foot to adjust himself before leaning back, eyes closed. Coran presses a button and the pod slides shut, filling yet again with mist.

“Right-o! He should be healed and right as…what’s that curious phrase?”

“Rain…Coran, right as rain” Shiro supplied sighing. The alpha turns back to Keith where he stands contemplating his shoes.  

“Keith?” he asks, and Keith knows he’s trying to dissect his thoughts.

Keith musters his courage and takes a deep breath steeling himself. He’s come to a realization, and he needs to tell Shiro. He lifts his head and says how he really feels.

“I think I’m in love with Lance”

Chapter Text

“What?” Comes a shout from the open med bay doors. Both alphas turn their heads, finding Pidge, Hunk, and Allura standing there, shock written across their faces. Well, most of their faces. Pidge stands there with a knowing little smirk on their face, arms crossed in front of them.

“First of all, is Lance okay?” Hunk’s shock morphing into concern, eyes darting towards the pod, “We heard him screaming” he looks a little pale as he says it, no doubt the sounds of their pained friend echoing through his brain as it did for Shiro and Keith.

Shiro thought his heart was actually going to stop when Lance’s first pained yell had burst forth from his mouth. In all his battles, and time as the champion, cries of pain had never bothered him. But hearing Lance, in so much pain, from something he was helping cause, had shattered his heart more than he thought possible. He wanted desperately to comfort Lance, which lead him to embarrassingly call him “baby.” But it just felt so right. Then he watched Keith lean down, Lance practically drinking his scent, and that was all the confirmation he needed to know. Lance would no doubt be theirs. Feeling the omega nuzzle into his collar, (picking him up had been way too easy, he needed to eat more), had butterflies threatening to rip his chest open.

Oh god and the way he had begged. Called them alphas. Shiro didn’t even know that was a turn-on. But now that he had heard it, there was no way to unhear it. All he could think about is how that would sound with Lance on his knees. On his back. Up against a wall. Pressed between him and Keith. Fuck. This was so not okay, he is Lance’s leader, his friend.

“We had to break his leg to set it back into the proper healing position” He found himself saying despite his daydreaming. He turned toward the pod, being hit with a pang of guilt. Lance was injured and here he was thinking about bending him over the nearest surface. He needed to get his fucking head on straight.

“He’s going to be okay, just a few more quintants in the pod” Coran added, reading the scans on a data pad.

“A few more quintants? Why is it taking so long?” Allura inquired approaching the pod.

“Well, it seems that his body is trying to expel a toxin his bloodstream, and he is fighting the symptoms of his body being addicted to the substance” he answers while rubbing his chin, “It is quite curious, I wonder why he—”

“Suppressant withdrawal” Pidge supplies, while holding their hand out for the data pad. Coran hands it over for them to take a look.  “I created his suppressants to be as natural as possible, none of that toxic bullshit that Earth suppressants have, but his body hasn’t had a break from them in five to six years, so it would make sense that his body is trying to get rid of the chemicals, as natural as they may be; now that he skipped a day or two.” They push their glasses up on their face and turns to the group.

Shiro doesn’t know what to say. He’s furious. Absolutely boiling with rage, but there’s also a part of him that is deeply disheartened. Five to six years? God Lance, why would you do that to yourself? Lance had to have known the consequences of his actions, but clearly, he didn’t care in favor of hiding his designation. Shiro had inklings that there was something going on beneath the surface, but it had to be something bad, for Lance to have taken it this far. That coupled with the fact that he doesn’t trust alphas. Shiro, putting some dots together, feels sick to his stomach. No. No. Please anything but that.

“Suppressants?”

“Yes Coran, remember that discussion we had about human designations? Alphas, Betas, and Omegas?” Coran nods his head, twirling his mustache.

“Yes, yes, and based on your designation, your biology is more compatible for conceiving?” He clarifies.

“Yes, among other things. But Lance here is an omega. He has been taking medicine I designed to keep his scent from being noticeable and to keep his instincts at bay. What I didn’t know was that Lance didn’t take breaks from his suppressants and has been continuing to take them without allowing his body to have a heat and reset. So now he’s going into shock and will likely be in heat when he comes out of the pod.” Pidge finishes while handing the tablet back to Coran. The room is silent for a moment before Hunk rounds on Keith.

“So, you’re in love with him?” It sounds more like an accusation than a question. It’s cute the way Keith goes pink all the way up to his ears.

“I—” he stumbles, completely flustered not sure what to say. A look of determination passes over his face, and his hands form fists.

“Yes. Yes, I am. Have been for a while actually.” He blurts out. Shiro is taken aback. He’s never seen Keith express his feelings so directly to others. He’s proud of him and the man he’s becoming. He approaches Keith placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Keith and I have been trying to come up with a way to court Lance for a few movements now. We weren’t sure how we should approach the subject as a team either, so it’s been on the backburner. But then Lance turned out to be an omega…” He trails off leaving the team to fill in the rest.

“So, because he’s an omega, you’ve decided you want him now?” Hunk’s reply comes, he’s practically shaking with anger.  

“What? No!” Keith looks appalled at the suggestion. Shiro cuts in trying to defuse the situation.

“No Hunk, we promise that we’ve wanted Lance to be with us for a while, the timing has just never been right.” But Keith isn’t having any of it, brushing Shiro off his shoulder, he stomps towards Hunk.
“How dare you think so little of Shiro and me that you would even insinuate the idea that we would want Lance just because he’s an omega! Shiro and I didn’t let designation determine our relationship!” Keith points a finger in Hunk’s face for good measure, “We love Lance! He’s funny, charismatic, selfless, kind, and a hell of a sharpshooter. You think just because you’re his best friend you know everything, but you don’t understand how we feel, so don’t stand there, and judge us when you don’t know anything!”

The silence that followed was so thick with tension it could be cut with a blade. Shiro reaches for Keith, but as soon as he gets close, Keith is turning tail and rushing out of the med bay. Shiro is stuck wanting to go after his boyfriend and wanting to address the team; to diffuse both sides. He turns to Hunk, who looks properly chastised. But his eyes are still hard, and his arms crossed showcasing his desire to remain stubborn in his opinion.

“Look Hunk, it’s true. We’ve wanted to be with Lance for a while, but again, we don’t know how he feels, and we’ve been trying to navigate that. We know we don’t know the whole story, but we would never want Lance just because of his designation. We want Lance because he’s Lance. But I understand how you want to protect him. All we ask is for a bit of understanding of our own feelings.” With that, he turns around and is out the doors before Hunk can say anything else.

He finds Keith in the training room beating an already down training droid with a training stick, parts of the bot scattering across floor. His growls low and dark, fangs sharpened as his lips are curled into a snarl. He whips his head towards Shiro upon his entry, eyes flashing. Shiro goes to speak, but Keith beats him to the punch.

“No! Don’t you dare try to reason with me right now, I’m too fucking mad.” He whirls around as a new bot approaches, but he takes it down easily in his fury.

Shiro is content to watch for now, all of Keith’s natural fluidity gone in favor of aggressive strikes. Eventually there are about three droids smashed to pieces, littering the training room, and Shiro has to end the slaughter before there’s no more bots to train with.

“End training sequence” Shiro calls, amusement clear on his face as Keith rounds him, panting and pissed. He doesn’t say anything just sprints at Shiro sending them both to floor. Shiro reacts immediately, curling his body around Keith to brace him when they hit the ground. A small “oof” is punched from his chest and when he looks up, the air is stolen from his lungs.

Keith is haloed by the lights above them, shaggy hair falling forward with the gravity, framing his face. Keith really grew on that space whale, both physically and emotionally. His jaw line sharpened, shoulders filled out and gained a few inches. But Shiro loved Keith’s eyes the most. Before Keith opened up to Shiro, he learned how to read the younger Alpha through his eyes. Those purple globes always gave him away. Just like right now. His lips pulled back in a growl, nose scrunched, brows furrowed, all signs pointing to anger. But his eyes. His eyes were filled with nothing but desire and heat. With Keith pressed completely against him, the hard line of his cock was obvious against Shiro’s hip. Nothing like rage-adrenaline to fire the alpha up. Moving his hand from Keith’s lower back to cup his neck, Shiro drags him down for a kiss. It’s searing-hot, as his tongue immediately sweeps into the younger alpha’s mouth. Keith makes a sound, low and guttural. It’s been a while since they’ve had time alone, and Shiro is going to take the opportunity to distract him. Slightly lifting his hips, he grinds up into Keith. Their cocks brush for a split second causing both men to groan, spurring Keith to grind down when Shiro lowers his hips. Keith’s scent flares, taking on a sweeter note of burnt marshmallows, and Shiro greedily drinks it down between kisses. Keith wedges his leg between Shiro’s to get a better angle, and Shiro sits up slightly so their cocks are in a constant state of rubbing against each other’s.

“Alpha” Keith’s says breathily. He knows exactly how to appeal to Shiro’s baser instincts and boy does it work. Only this time, he hears Lance’s voice saying it too. The thought has Shiro coming with a low moan, feeling his spend dampen his pants. Keith, however, is still hard. Shiro grabs the scruff of his neck and leaning into his ear whispers “please alpha” just as Lance had. The reaction is instantaneous. Keith shudders, eyebrows furrowing as he shakes with the force of his orgasm.

They both lay there panting for a moment, before Shiro feels Keith begin to chuckle. Smiling, he looks up at Keith, before the alpha is full on laughing.

“That was fast,” he says between giggles, a smug smile making its way onto his face.

“It’s been a while,” Shiro justifies, but he can’t help chuckling too.

“I love you Shiro,” Keith says after a moment, like he’s saying it for the first time, even though it’s not. Shiro doesn’t need Keith to say it for him to know, but his heart swells all the same.

“I love you too Keith.”

Chapter Text

Lance is cold. Not the kind where you just shiver for a moment and the feeling is gone. But a bone-deep chill that has him shivering against his will. And his head. His head aches something fierce. A sharp pain at his temple has him resisting opening his eyes, but something tells him he should anyway. His eyes flutter, and he squints against the light, shutting them again. He hears before he sees the hissing of the pod door as it opens, feeling gravity take hold of his body, he tries to grab the side of the pod to stop himself, but his grip is too weak and he’s falling forward against his will.

Two warm large hands are on his shoulders before he can hit the ground. He wants desperately to lean into that warmth, but clarity is coming back to him, so he steps away, more stable now. Lance’s eyes open to find Shiro standing there, a genuine smile on his face.

“Good to have you back Lance, we missed you” he says, and Lance tries not to preen at the words, the idea of the alpha missing him, chasing the chill from the pod away. The med bay door opening has both men turning their heads. Hunk stands in the doorway with a tray of food, but upon seeing Lance, he drops it running over and slamming into his best friend.

“Lance!” He cries, and Lance can feel his shoulder becoming damp through the med-suit. Wrapping his arms around his friend, he pats the Samoan on the back.

“I’m okay Hunk, I’m okay” he says, but it’s more to reassure himself than his friend.

“We almost lost you” comes the admission that everyone knew but didn’t want to hear, the weight of the situation starts sink in, and soon he’s crying too, clinging to his friend with all his strength.

The wind is almost knocked out of him by a body slamming into his back, arms curling around his waist. Looking in between him and Hunk, thin pale arms crush his ribs.

“Hi Pidge” Lance laughs, but it comes out more of a wheeze.

“Don’t you ever do something that stupid again!” They yell, but it’s muffled by Lance’s back. If Lance could see them, he’d know that they were crying as well.

“Guys, I’m fine! I knew the pod would heal me! How long was I even in there for?” he asks, trying to change the subject.

“Fourteen quintants” comes a growl to his right. Looking over, he sees Keith who, for lack of a better word, is seething. “You were in there for two whole movements, Lance” he says again while advancing on the cluster of people who have yet to let Lance go. “Minus the time we had to reset your leg.” Shiro pipes in from his left.

“You had to what?” Lance asks. “I don’t remember that.”

“You don’t?” Keith asks, shock written across his face. Keith glances at Shiro, an unreadable emotion on his face. Lance is confused, so he turns to their leader, only to find his eyebrows drawn together, his expression almost grim.

“We had to rebreak your leg Lance, you were awake and talking to us” Shiro explains, his eyes almost pleading with him to remember. He looks back to Keith again with the undiscernible emotion.

“You had to…” He trails off, looking down at his now healed leg. A flash of phantom pain, and a voice screaming has him grimacing. His voice. He shakes his head to clear his mind.

“Well, I don’t remember anything. I think that’s for the better.” Lance tries to smile but he knows it doesn’t meet his eyes. “I don’t know about you guys, but I am hungry and exhausted” he tacks on, and it has the intended effect. Hunk immediately pulls away, looking horrified.

“You’re hungry? Why didn’t you say something sooner! I have a pot of stew on right now! Let’s go!” he exclaims, all but dragging Lance out of the med bay by the hand.

Approximately five minutes later, Lance is squished between Hunk and Pidge at the kitchen table, shoveling a spoon of stew into his mouth. It’s warm and hearty, settling into his stomach pleasantly, yet he feels nauseous. It probably has to do with the fact that he has two alphas sitting across from him watching him so intensely, he thinks his head will explode. So, he does what he can to look everywhere but at them.

Once his belly is full, the tiredness he was feeling earlier, catches up to him, and he can barely keep his eyes open.

“I think Lance should get some rest” Shiro says while standing. “We can take him to his quarters” he adds while nodding towards Keith. Lance can’t help the way his mouth drops open in confusion. But Hunk chimes in before he can say anything. “I think I’ll take him, I’m desperate for some Lance cuddles.” He says while reaching up to scratch behind Lance’s ear, which causes the omega’s eyes to droop closed and a purr erupting from his throat unbidden. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea” Lance agrees, anything to keep the hand in his hair.

He misses Keith clenching his fists, eyebrows furrowed in anger. Misses the way Hunk flashes a knowing smirk towards the alphas, and how Shiro’s lip pull back in a silent snarl, ears, flattening against his head threateningly.

“C’mon Lance, let’s go” Hunk says smugly, helping the drowsy drunk-like paladin to his feet guiding him out of the kitchen.

Once they reach his bedroom, and Lance has put on his pajamas, the omega curls up into his sheets, and waits for Hunk to climb in. They used to do this all the time at the Garrison, when Lance would have a bad day or was feeling particularly needy. Hunk doesn’t mind though, the scent of the omega, even with suppressants, calming and homey. But now, without the suppressants the beta can enjoy the fullness of the omega’s scent, curling around Lance’s smaller frame, and sticking his nose up against his neck, he allows the feeling of his friend’s breathing, alive body lull him to sleep.

Chapter Text

The air at breakfast is so thick with tension, Lance feels like he’s choking on it. He didn’t know what to do with the beta next to him shoveling food into his mouth without breaking eye contact with the alphas across the table. And the alphas. Their anger radiating off them in waves. Keith’s scent took on the notes of burnt food, and Shiro smelt as though he took a bath in gasoline. It was beginning to make Lance nauseous. Clearing his throat, the two alphas’ heads swivel towards him.

“So, I think I should apologize.”

“What?” Keith says, head tilting adorably, but Lance can’t let himself get distracted.

“I hid my designation from you guys, and I knew it was going to bite me in the ass, but I didn’t think it was going to come out like this. That being said, I am an omega.” His eyes are glued to the table, unable to meet their gazes.

“Lance. You clearly had a good reason for hiding it, so we don’t blame you in the slightest. We just wish we could’ve made you more comfortable around us enough for you to tell us” Shiro says gently, a sympathetic smile on his lips. Lance however, feels like he just got punched in the gut.

“What? Of course I trust you both! I trust you with my life!” His voice rising in volume. The startled look on the alphas’ faces has his face burning with embarrassment.

“We’re a family” he says softer now, “we’ve been together in space for years. I can’t not trust you guys” wringing his hands in his lap, trying to will away the fire on his cheeks.

“Well, I’m happy to hear that Lance. We trust you too. So, whenever you’re ready, we’re here for you” Keith says. Lance could’ve sworn his hands twitched like they wanted to reach across the table, but they’re interrupted by Allura entering the kitchen data pad in hand.

“Lance! It is good to see you back to your healthy self! Now we can resume our normal duties.” Lance found himself shrinking down at her words. Being out of commission had caused a delay in the team’s ability to create alliances, as they had to go ghost to avoid needing Voltron.

“Thank you, Princess. If I recall, we were trying to establish an alliance with the Gerundites?” He asked, hoping to change the subject.

“ah yes! Well done for remembering Lance! Through the night we have wormhole and approached their planet. I hope you remember the debrief from almost a few movements ago. Now, suit up in your formal amour, they are expecting you all at your best!” Turning heel, the princess walked out of the kitchen. Lance felt a moment of pride before realizing he couldn’t remember what the cultural aspects of the Gerundites were. As if sensing his thoughts, Pidge pulled up their data pad, reading the hologram from their previous team meeting.

“Just a reminder, the Gerundites are a species similar to humans as they too have designations similar to Alpha, Beta and Omega. Also similar to humans, they have scent glands that are used to show interest in potential mates. Those with mates have notches in their ears, but they are less humanly developed than those on earth.” Pulling up a picture, Lance noticed immediately that these beings were much more animal like. As if a wolf got up on its hind legs and began walking around and wearing clothes.

“Something to note culture-wise, is their tail language.”

“Tail language?” Keith asks.

“Yes. They use their tails to communicate their emotions, because it can be hard to showcase their feelings through mouth expressions because they don’t have lips.” Pidge adjusts her glasses before continuing. “When their tails are wagging, it shows joy, excitement, or interest in the conversation. Even the slightest side to side movement can express this. When they are angry or in a combat situation, their tails will stick straight upward ridged. When sad or frightened, their tails will curl between their legs.” Pidge lifts their eyes to indicate they are done.

“This sounds exactly how our tails communicate” Shiro says looking mildly confused as to why they are having this conversation.

“It is but it isn’t at the same time” Pidge explains. “You see, they intentionally use their tails to communicate this. In the same way we control our facial expressions. We however, generally let our tails have a mind of their own; similar to how we don’t tell our lungs to breathe.”

“This could get us in trouble if we’re not careful” Hunk chimes in.

“Yes, but we just have to be aware, and keep them still and in a neutral position.” Pidge says as if it’s a piece of cake.

It is not in fact a piece of cake. Lance stands in his room looking over his formal armor, his tail swooshing back and forth slowly. A nervous tick. He’s had it for as long as he can remember. He can’t help it. This is the first time in years he’s gone without suppressants, and his scent is now fully out in the open. He knows how sensitive alpha’s noses are, and he’s worried that he might overwhelm them. Not only that, but these Gerundites are going to be able to smell him too. He’s never really liked the idea of people being able to smell him. It makes him feel vulnerable. Taking a deep breath, he wills his tail to still behind him. He scans over his suit one more time. He loves the formal version of his uniform, it’s far more elegant and flattering. It’s silver instead of white, with extra accents of his paladin color along his wrists and his shoulders. The armor plates are also thinner to allow for a more casual design, making it more form fitting.

Deeming himself ready to go, he heads to the bridge. He finds the rest of the team there in their uniforms as well. Lance has to physically stop himself from drooling. The alphas look exquisite in their formal wear. Their broad shoulders accentuated by the shoulder plates, their trim waists, their strong arms—Keith’s head whips to him startling him out of his thoughts. The alpha’s nostrils flare which has Lance realizing that both alphas could definitely scent him, not only that, but he was probably projecting a smell that indicated his interest in them. Cheeks hot, Lance breaks off to go stand near Hunk. Risking a glance, he finds both alphas looking right at him, their gazes intense, until they look awake quickly at being caught.

God this mission is going to be impossible.

Chapter Text

Landing on Gerund was gentle and smooth. They landed just on the edge of the city, to create as little disruption as possible. The door to the smaller transportation ship opens with a hiss, and Allura leads the Paladins down the ramp. Lance has to physically stop his jaw from dropping.

At the end of the ramp stands the most intimating creature he’s ever seen in his life. He knew the Gerundites were large beings, but in his mind he assumed they were like 6’5”. The Gerundite that stands before him is easily 8 or 9 feet tall, towering over the Paladins. Their uniform made of simple brown pants and their torso covered in leather studded straps, holding an array of knives.  

“Princess Allura, Paladins of Voltron, I am Joval. I welcome you to Gerund” his voice is gruff but friendly. He sweeps his hand that holds a spear across his chest, leaning forward in a deep bow. That’s when Lance notices a noticeable chunk taken out of Joval’s left ear. He can’t help but let out a gasp.

Joval’s head snaps up at the sound, his brown eyes finding Lance’s, causing the paladin to lower his head in embarrassment. But to Lance’s surprise, Joval begins to chuckle. Rising back up to his full height, he keeps his eyes on Lance.

“Looks a bit gnarly aye?” The ear in question flicks a bit on his head. “My mate Kaigal has bit of a habit of being rough, so he got a little carried away.” Although as he says it, Joval looks prouder with every word, chest puffing out slightly, his brown eyes conveying fondness. 

“But enough about me! Please, honor me with your names?” The paladins introduce themselves, and which lion they pilot. With pleasantries concluded, they are led to into what Lance assumes is the main city. The buildings look to be made of their earthly materials, wood, brick, and some sort of blue stone. Joval weaves through the streets seamlessly, nodding and shaking hands with other Gerundites he must know. Lance however, has never felt more small in his life. The more Gerundites they pass, the more seem to stop and stare. He knows it’s because him and the other paladins are quite a sight, but he can’t shake the feeling that certain eyes are lingering a bit longer on him than on the others.

Distracting himself with taking in the sights, he tries to see what he can through the windows. Most shops seem to sell food, clothing, or weaponry. Lance sees a particular shop that must specialize in knifes as they hand from the top of the window and are displayed on a table inside. They are all sorts of lengths, shapes and colors. His eyes are drawn to a blue knife, the blade must be made of the stone used for their buildings. It’s short and curved, hawksbill style. The handle made of a dark leather material. It’s beautiful, and has Lance wanting to buy it for Keith.

As if hearing his thoughts, the alpha in question gently grabs the crook of his elbow.

“Lance? Everything okay?” He asks softly as to not draw attention from the group who has continued down the path. Keith must see where his gaze is as he looks into the shop’s window, also noticing the blade.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Lance says gesturing at the knife.

“It is, but we don’t really have time to shop right now, maybe we’ll have time to come back later” Keith says pulling slightly on his arm to get him to follow. Dejectedly, Lance complies, gaze lingering one second longer before following. It takes him about ten steps to realize that Keith hasn’t let go of his arm. If anything, he seems to have looped his elbow into Lance’s to get a better grip. Before he can ask about it, Shiro turns around from up ahead, ear tilted in question as if to ask you guys okay? Keith just gives Shiro a nod, which satisfies the alpha into turning back around to listen to Joval; who seems to be giving vast and detailed stories of the city. Lance however, is freaking out. He can practically feel the warmth radiating from Keith’s arm through his armor, and it’s making him hot from the inside out.

They arrive at gates that surround what looks like a castle. Joval instructs them to stay put for a moment while he talks to the guards. Keith chooses that moment to remove his arm to approach Shiro, and Lance already mourns the loss of touch. Reaching up, he scratches at his scent gland, before fixing his gaze on Joval. He approaches the guard, and they embrace each other. Joval’s dark grey fur contrasts against the orange of the other, and Lance watches in surprise as Joval drags his nose up the side of the other’s neck, then licks their cheek. Lance looks away blushing. Scenting isn’t usually done in public and is traditionally a very intimate act.  

“That must be his mate” Pidge muses, waggling their eyebrows at Lance.

“I think it’s cute to publicly show their affection” Hunk muses, with a pink tinge to his cheeks. “I think that they’re proud to show off that they’re together.”

That has Lance thinking. His gaze trails over to Shiro and Keith who are watching the couple too. Keith looks embarrassed and Shiro looks fond. He watches as Shiro links his hand with Keith’s, and the younger alpha leans his head onto the elder’s shoulder.

A flash of a memory has Lance reeling.

Purple eyes boring into his own. So much pain resting in the gaze.

“Hey Lance—”

He distantly hears someone say a number, but he can’t look away from those eyes.

“I’m sorry” The eyes say. But that doesn’t make any sense. Keith didn’t do anything to apologize for.

He hears the other voice call out again, before a pain so excruciating has his vision blacking out.

Blinking back to the present, Lance has to tear his eyes away from the two of them. What was that? A memory? He doesn’t have long to think about it before he sees Joval and who he assumes is Kaigal approach.

“Paladins of Voltron, this is my mate Kaigal; head of the Queen’s guard” Lance can tell how much pride seeps through his tone, and Kaigal looks a little embarrassed.

“It is wonderful to meet you all” Kaigal’s voice is deep like Joval’s, but it’s smooth. It reminds Lance of the old days Jazz singers.

“I will be in charge, along with Joval, of your security. Please do not hesitant to let us know if you need anything.” He takes a similar stance of a bow as Joval did, and yet again, Lance’s eyes are drawn to notch in Kaigal’s ear. But unlike Joval’s it is a perfectly healed crescent shape with two notches where Joval’s canines must have dug in. Lance looks over at Joval but jumps when he realizes Joval is staring right at him, an undiscernible look in his eyes. Unease settles like lead into Lances gut. He sees Joval’s eyes widen and nostrils flair, and soon Kaigal is looking at Lance with wide eyes too.

He feels a large warm hand at his lower back, looking to his right, he sees Shiro who has somehow snuck up on him and is now staring down at him with a question in his eyes. You okay? Lance doesn’t know how Shiro would know that Lance felt uneasy until Shiro taps his pointer finger on his spine and he realizes his tail had begun wagging in his state of nervousness. Pidge’s voice rings in his head. “When their tails are wagging, it shows joy, excitement, or interest in the conversation.” Lance has a terrifying thought. What if it means interest in a person too? Did he just indicate he was interested in Joval and Kaigal?

As if sensing his internal panic, Shiro speaks up for him. “Our tails involuntarily move with our emotions. We cannot control its ability to move unless we are really concentrating.” Joval’s face seems to turn pensive.

“I see, that might cause some miscommunication, if you are not careful.”
“We know” Keith joins in, stepping up onto Lance’s other side. “We will do our best to keep things neutral, but we just ask that you allow us to verbally explain our emotions and intentions.”

“Yes of course,” Kaigal speaks up. “We understand that not everyone communicates the way we do. We will do our best to not read into anything without explicit communication. Now, we do have some appointments to keep for the day before you meet with our queen, so if you could please follow me.” Kaigal turns heel expecting the others to follow into the castle. Joval does the same, but not without one last lingering look at Lance. A gentle push of Shiro’s hand has Lance moving forward with the rest of the group, but he can’t help feeling like he’s already put this alliance at risk.

I’m gonna fuck this up.

Chapter Text

As they enter through thick wooden doors of the castle, Keith takes in his surroundings. Tall, rounded beams connect from the floor to ceiling creating a dome shaped hall. Everything seems quite grand. They follow the wolves down long hallways lit with floor to ceiling windows. Doors on their right indicate rooms that lead further into the castle, Joval grandly explaining the history behind the colors chosen for building materials and the effort behind the architecture. Keith studies the wolf’s back as he gestures to the hidden details in the walls.

Something about Joval doesn’t sit right in Keith’s stomach. Maybe it was the way his nostrils had flared when looking at Lance. The action had some indescribable feeling bubbling in his stomach. It was hot, and tight and had floated into his chest. It felt like someone had started squeezing his lungs. His hands had clenched, and he had to hold back a snarl. He had felt this once before, when he had Adam kissing Shiro outside the alpha’s dorm. Keith had had to resist the urge to run up and knock the daylights out of the beta.

He knew that jealousy was irrational, but he just couldn’t help it. It wasn’t just Joval, it was his mate Kaigal too. Their pupils had dilated, and their noses had flared. He knew that Lance’s scent was going to be stronger now that he was off his suppressants, but he hadn’t expected the affect it would have on him. God it was mouthwatering. Like salty sweet air, vanilla and ocean breeze combined. He had only been to the ocean once in his life, when he was really young, but he’d remember that crisp smell anywhere. But on Lance? That smell was personified, amplified, made him lick his lips wanting a taste, then his scent had bloomed when looking at the knives in the shop, and he couldn’t breathe. He didn’t even know Lance was into knives. But the scent had climbed into his nostrils and sat heavy on the back of his tongue like taffy. He found himself struggling to clear his head, but when he began pulling Lance away, the scent had soured slightly, helping him to focus. Kinda. His hand on the small of Lance’s elbow had his thoughts turning elsewhere. His arm is so thin. He remembers thinking. His wrists are probably so small I could hold both of them in one hand, as I… He had to clear his throat to clear his head. Jesus I gotta get it together. Looping his arm into Lance’s to make sure he doesn’t drift away again, he fell back in line behind the other paladins. He sees Shiro turn around asking if they’re okay with his eyes. Keith just nodded, watching as the older alpha’s eyes fell on their connected arms. He sees the alpha smirk as he turns around, casting a pointed eye at Keith before turning fully around. It made his cheeks burn.

Now that they’re in the castle, Joval and Kaigal lead them to a large set of doors, not that unlike the ones that were at the entry. The doors opened with a loud creak, and all the conversations that had been occurring feel silent in the large room. It was a long rectangular room with a rounded end. At the end of the room sat two enormous thrones, the backs like trees cut in half and smoothed out. The tops sprouting branches covered in jewels and gems the size of apples. The seats draped with several cloths of different colors.

The room was filled with at least twenty Gerundites. They all differed in coloring and fur length. Some kept it short, and some had long coats that had their fur pooling around their paws. Feet?  Someone to Keith’s left cleared their throat.

“All! We welcome the Paladins of Voltron!” The room erupted in applause and howling. Keith assumed they were smiling based on the amount of teeth he could see in the room. He felt a presence to the right of him. Taking a quick glance, he notices Lance has moved so there is just about an inch between them. His face radiates joy, a blinding smile that has his eyes creasing. But his scent gives him away. He’s uneasy. He wants to ask what’s wrong, but he can’t without alerting the others. Lance turns his head up to Keith, who in turn tilts his head. Lance is still smiling but it’s not meeting his eyes. The alpha watches as Lance intentionally flares his nostrils three to five times. He turns his attention back to the Gerundites and waves to them. Keith does his best to interpret. He thinks that Lance smells something, so he closes his eyes for a second and takes a deep breath. He tries to concentrate but it’s hard with all the alpha scents in the room. His eyes snap open. All alphas. Every last one of the Gerundites in the room. “He just doesn’t trust alphas” Pidge’s voice echoes loudly in his brain. Fuck. He glances at Lance again who’s shoulders are stiff and his smile is forced.  He wishes he could tell Lance that everything will be fine. He looks past Lance seeing a Gerundite who is looking at Lance intensely. A lick of possessiveness crawls up Keith’s spine, moving his feet against his will. Saddling up next to Lance, he feels the omega jump when Keith all but presses himself into Lances side. His hand weaves itself onto his lower back, the omega radiating heat into the alpha’s palm. Keith makes direct eye contact with the Gerundite, giving them his best scowl.

It has the intended effect, the Gerundite looking properly chastised, ears flattening against their head, snout ducking down in what Keith assumes is embarrassment. Keith’s attention is brought back to Lance when the omega seems to shiver. He had gone still when Keith began his advance, so he wonders what had changed. He realizes belatedly that he had unintentionally started rubbing his thumb up and down the base of the omega’s spine.

Ripping his hand away, Keith’s feels his face combust into flames. He takes a small step away from Lance, who has an adorable flush across his cheekbones, up to his ears. The omega turns his head slightly, looking up at Keith through long lashes, crystal blue eyes boring into his, muttering a shy, “Thanks” before moving away to stand by the princess. Keith on his part only has one thought.

I am so fucked.

Chapter Text

They’re all alphas. The whole room is filled with alpha Gerundites. Shiro feels uneasy. Not that he cannot trust the Gerundites, but more so restless. He’s twitchy. His hands clench and unclench in his desire to do something. Anything.Lance is probably panicking. But he knows he can’t without making a scene. He tries to sneak a look to the omega, to reassure him that everything is going to be fine but is surprised to find Keith essentially pressed into the omega, glaring across the room. Following the alpha’s gaze, he finds a Gerundite lowering their head in what looks like embarrassment. He knows that Keith would never intentionally look at someone of alliance that way unless they were doing something unwarranted.

He turns back around to address the rest of the room, all of whom seem to be assessing the group with curious gazes. Not surprising seeing as how we are half their size and are supposed to be a force to be reckoned with. This has happened many times before, races being of greater stature, yet trusting what must seem like fragile humans to protect them. We’re so unassuming. Shiro thinks a bit proudly. He’s in awe everyday of these people who were basically kids, now so mature and grown up as to fight an intergalactic war.

Allura appears at his side as Joval walks up in front of the thrones turning and facing the everyone, clearing his throat. A hush falls over the room. Shiro isn’t sure how he feels about Joval. He certainly didn’t enjoy how he had looked at Lance outside the castle. Nor was the gaze of his mate appreciated. Their eyes had held a little more than curiosity at Lance’s tail movements, their looks darkening to something more sinister, lustful even. It had possessiveness licking at Shiro’s stomach, crawling up his spine. His instincts haven’t flared so deeply in years. Something about knowing Lance is an omega and actually being able to scent him; that sweet yet salty scent that sticks in the back of throat like peanut butter, has his inner alpha absolutely feral. Clawing and snarling and begging to be set loose and claim Lance as his. His patience yields focus mantra is at its wits end, a thread stretched so thin it’s about to snap.

“Good afternoon, everyone! We welcome the paladins of Voltron, those who have come to aid us in the fight against the Galra!” More applause follows his announcement.

“Now, please help me in welcoming King Lois and our Queen Chesa!” The hall erupts in howls that are almost deafening. From a door beside the thrones enters two Gerundites, both of which are covered in all black fur. Dressed extravagantly, their clothes are far more covering, decorated in jewels and made with what looks like fine silk.  Between their ears rest a crown and tiara respectively. But what catches Shiro’s attention is the fact that Queen Chesa, is an omega, and nearly half her left ear is missing in what Shiro assumes is her mating bite. Looking over to the king, he sees completely intact ears. She didn’t bite him back. For some reason, that makes Shiro’s stomach swoop uneasily.

King Lois takes a step forward bowing to the paladins with his right arm across his chest. The paladins follow suit out of respect, as does the rest of the room.

“Welcome paladins of Voltron,” his voice is a deep rumble, almost a growl, “I am King Lois, ruler of the Gerundites, and this is my mate, Chesa.” He turns to face his mate extending a hand to her. She steps forward joining her alpha’s side. Eying the paladins, her eyes light up in joy. “I am so honored to be in the presence of such great warriors. We are most looking forward to securing an alliance with those who will help in the destruction of the Galra!” The hall erupts in more howling. Before the King raises a paw, silencing them quickly.

“Tonight we feast in honor of the great paladins, and to securing a future of peace!” He bows again, and the room quickly follows. Shiro watches the queen as they stand back up, her eyes stuck on something behind him. Lance. Lance is just behind him on the right, where the queen is staring. The King takes her hand, jolting her out of her staring, and royals leave back through the door the entered, followed by several large guards.

The room is filled with conversations and some of the Gerundites have begun to approach to talk to the paladins. Shiro however turns on his heels to face Lance and Keith. Keith has started walking over to a Gerundite, making small talk, comparing blades. Lance however has a cute blush dushing his nose and cheeks, his eye trained on the door that the King and Queen had left through.

“You okay Lance? Get a little flustered by the royals?” Shiro teases, in hopes that is underlying tone of real concern is conveyed.

Blue eyes snap to his, and the blush expands, reaching the tips of his ears. “Uh…yeah! I mean, who wouldn’t be astonished by such beauty and grace!” Lance finishes his ramble with an awkward laugh that means that he’s lying. He turns and starts to talk to a Gerundite that has approached them, the wolf giving a respectful bow before asking what it’s like to be part of Voltron. The other paladins have broken off similarly, Pidge showing off their tech, Hunk investigating the food, Keith pointing to a Gerundites blade, Allura and Coran talking to Joval about what seems like cultural aspects. Shiro lets his gaze linger on the blue paladin before turning to an approaching Gerundite.

 I’ll grill him for the truth later.

Chapter Text

After several hours of conversing with the Gerundites in the throne room, the Paladins are led to their sleeping quarters. Apparently, negotiations will begin tomorrow as the royals don’t see the point in starting discussions of a alliance when it will be interrupted by Gerund’s night cycle. Lance is grateful, because he feels like he’s going to keel over at any moment he’s so tired. Joval leads them down a long hallway of doors. Stopping at the first one, he motions to the princess.

“Princess Allura, these are your quarters.” He hands her a copper looking key with a jagged end. Turning to the group Joval explains “For your own comfort and safety, you will each receive a key for your rooms. I bid you goodnight, Princess” Joval finishes with a bow, turning and continuing down the hall. Allura waves goodnight to the group and disappears behind the door.

They continue down the hall in a similar fashion, Coran is next, then Hunk, Pidge, then Shiro. Keith grabs his hand giving it a squeeze, Shiro leaning down to press his forehead against Keith’s. Their ears flicking a brushing against each other’s. Lance’s heart clenches and he tries to look away from the private moment. He looks down the hall, only to make eye contact with Joval who is staring at him quizzically; head tilted, one ear folded. For not being human, Lance is able to read his face pretty well.

Keith appears at his side after a moment and Lance hears Shiro’s door click shut. “Everything okay?” the read paladin asks. Lance just responds with a noncommittal hum and continues down the hall. “Red paladin,” Joval gestures to the door, then hands Keith his key. He doesn’t bow like he did with Allura, which Lance now realizes he didn’t with anyone other than the princess. Joval just give a nod of his head and turns down the hall. Keith turns to Lance giving him a small smile. “Goodnight” he says gently. “See you in the morning mullet” Lance replies with a smile of his own. Keith opens the door to his room, and before Lance can think better of it, grabs his free hand. “Thanks for today” he says quietly. The alpha is frozen facing away from Lance, then turns his head slightly. “Of course, Lance, I never want you to be uncomfortable just for being yourself.” And with that the alpha disappears into the room, the door closing with a soft click. Lance is left dumbfounded for a moment before Joval calls him from down the hall.

The omega jogs to catch up with him before they reach the final door. Lance sticks out his hand for the key, but his eyes widen when the Gerundite puts it in the door and opens it for him.

“Oh thanks!” Lance tries to be as cheerful as possible but finds that his smile is forced. He walks into the room and almost stops in his tracks.

The room is well lit, lights like raindrops hang from the ceiling, creating a warm inviting glow. Directly in front of him across the room stand floor to ceiling windows that have translucent white curtains that offer privacy but still let in orange light of the sunset. The walls are painted a simple light blue, but they are textured like tree bark. To his right sits some large chairs and a couch surrounding a table, on top of which is a tray of food and drink. Which upon seeing, Lance’s stomach gives a growl of protest, but he’s not done surveying the room. He can’t help but gasp when he looks to his left and sees the bed. The bed is a large circle with what looks like a live tree at the head, its branches leaning over the bed with more of the raindrop lights entwined on the limbs, mixing with the rich deep forest green leaves, look like the lights are growing from the tree. But that’s not what has Lance’s attention. The bed itself is covered in what looks like the richest of blankets and at least a dozen pillows and cushions. It’s an omega’s dream come to life. Especially if that omega has been stuck on a spaceship with two blankets and single pillow to nest with for the last four years. Lance didn’t realize he had been moving towards the bed until his hand is reaching out to feel the top cover with is in fact as soft as it looked. Lance nearly jumps as Joval clears his throat. The Gerundite standing by the door still, looking almost…nervous?

“Are the materials to your satisfaction?”  Lance is confused until he realizes that Joval means the bed. Is the bed to his satisfaction. “Are the other rooms not like this?” Lance asks, since he is the only one that Joval has asked.

“No, not necessarily. They are similar in extravagance, but when the rooms were prepared, we were unaware there was an omega paladin. So during the introduction of the King and Queen, I spoke to the staff to have more linens and pillows added to your bedstead. They can get you more if there is not enough, the Queen herself had at least four dozen…” Joval pauses his tangent when Lance waves his hands, “No no, thank you,” he smiles, more genuinely this time. “I appreciate that, but this is more than enough.” He turns back to the bed, smile growing.

But he still feels Joval’s presence by the door. He turns back to him, head tilting in question.

“Was there something else? Or…” Joval this time actually looks nervous. That’s odd. Joval’s tail twitches and he look like he’s trying to look anywhere but at Lance.

“Well…” he trails off, wringing his paws together. “Omegas are rare on our planet, because the gene has died out over the course of the last century. They are seen as extremely valuable. They are protected and guarded from the moment they are born, often saved to become the mates of Kings.”

“Because they produce prime alphas?” Lance asks, a mild annoyance in his tone. He doesn’t like where this conversation is going. But Joval just cocks his head.

“Prime alphas? I don’t know what that is blue paladin, but it is because omegas are dangerous.” He lowers his voice as if it is taboo to say.

“Dangerous?” Now Lance is confused.

“Oh yes, your kind does not think the same way?” Now it’s Joval’s turn to look confused.

“Omega’s are rare too, but often seen as weak because they are susceptible to alpha commands. Their purpose in life is to be bred by alphas.” Lance finishes quietly, head hanging in embarrassment.

“That does not seem right, because omega commands are much more powerful.” Joval says almost consideringly. Lance lifts his head at that.

“Omega commands?” Lance asks.

“Oh yes, whereas an alpha’s command usually affects only a single omega, an omega’s command has the ability to affect a whole room of alphas. That is why they were our generals, our leaders, our commanders. Yes, we have a king, but we all know it is the Queen who whispers the orders into effect.”

“Do you think I could use an omega command?” Lance asks reeling. Do I even have the ability to twist my tone in such a way that it makes a command? The omega is absolutely astonished. Generals, commanders, leaders. All things he was told he could never be once he presented.

“Oh yes, if you can make an omega call of distress, you can certainly create a command” Joval assures. “But the realreason I bring this up is that we are a very forward race. When we want something” he clears his throat “or someone, we make that very clear. With you being unmated, it is likely that many Gerundites will show interest in you.”

“Just because I am an omega?” Lance clarifies, back to being annoyed.

“Unfortunately, yes. I wish it was not like that for your sake, but it might be better if an alpha covered you in their scent so yours is not so prevalent.”

Before he can stop himself, Lance smirks, “You offering?” The words are out of his mouth before his brain can catch up. His eyes widen as do Joval’s.

“I—” Lance stutters, at the same time Joval says “would you like me to?”

Chapter Text

The silence is deafening. Lance is pretty sure there’s a ringing in his ears. You’re a fucking idiot you know that right? You just couldn’t help yourself could you? His voice is bounces around in his skull, the harsh words doing nothing to aid the panic now crawling up his throat. What if Joval wants to? Would he just go for it without asking? What will Shiro and Keith think?

Joval clears his throat, shifting on his feet. His tail sways slightly, and his eyes don’t meet Lance’s. He’s nervous. Finally being able to read the Gerundite has Lance feeling slightly better about his own internal panic. Taking a deep breath, Lance tries to collect his bearings.

“I apologize.” His words have Joval’s gaze snapping to his, surprise evident in his eyes, and the way his tail stills.

“I have the tendency to say things without thinking, more often than not a quip and inappropriate. I should not have asked that, clearly you are already mated and I have made you uncomfortable with my humor.”

Joval seems to relax slightly, which makes Lance feel all the better.

“It seems I should apologize as well then” The Gerundite rumbles. “You see, as your guard for the duration of your stay, it would not be inappropriate for you to be scented by me as an act of precaution, warding off the attention of other alphas. I also realize however, that scenting is an intimate act for your species and would be highly discouraged between you and I seeing as how you are very much taken with the red and black Paladins.”

“What?!” Lance squawks indignantly, feeling extremely exposed by someone who only met him early that day.

“Your affection for the other paladins is quite noticeable, especially with the fluctuations in your scent when you are around them.”

Lance has nothing to say to that, his mouth hanging open in shock.  Joval knew? Did all the other Gerundites know? How obvious was it?

“I sense that this is a shock to you. Gerundites have much better noses than your kind, any sort of subtle changes in your scent are very apparent to us.” Lance hadn’t noticed before, but suddenly Joval seemed much closer than before now that the awkward air had faded. A large, clawed hand cups the bottom of Lance’s chin, tilting his head up towards the towering Gerundite. Lance’s breath stills as he becomes painfully aware of how soft Joval’s fur is against his Adams apple. He swallows thickly and reluctantly meets Joval’s gaze. His brown eyes are soft, not conveying any mal-intent. Lance watches as Joval’s pupils grow, and his stare becomes slightly heated.

“That means,” Joval’s voice drops an octave, “I could smell you when you were looking at my mate and I’s notches.” Lance’s eyes widen at the insinuation, and he can’t help flicking his gaze up to Joval’s scarred ear.

“You smelt intrigued…” the Joval states, then takes another step towards Lance, forcing the paladin to crane his neck to keep eye contact, “…interested even.”

Lance isn’t sure he’s even breathing at this point. But he’s not afraid like he thinks he should be. He’s just mostly embarrassed that Joval, and possibly all the other Gerundites have been reading him like a book. He jolts when he feels the side of Joval’s hand brush behind his ear and down his neck slightly before the mass of a man takes several steps backwards.

His ears are now folded back against his handing head and his tail tucks up between his legs.

“please accept by sincerest apologies, I have gotten carried away and made you uncomfortable. I—”

“You didn’t!” Lance interjects loudly, hands shooting forward as if to stop Joval’s retreat. He clears his throat, lowering his voice. “You didn’t make me uncomfortable. I am just embarrassed I was so easily exposed.” Joval looks minutely relieved enough, and lifts his head slightly to make eye contact with Lance again.

“Thank you for educating me, and for the offer of ensuring protection. I will consider it greatly” He feels his face heat at this, the idea of someone being so close to his glands both embarrassing and intimate. He watches as Joval seems to close in on himself again, staring at the floor.

“Is something wrong?” Lance asks.

The Gerundite clears his throat and shifts on his feet. “I may have already slightly exposed you enough to my scent that is now rests on your glandular tissue” he points to his neck area while saying this.

“Oh.” Lance is speechless. He reaches up and touches where Joval’s hand had glanced his neck for only and moment.

“I apologize again Blue Paladin, I realize that I have done something so unforgivable and will have a new guard at your post by sunrise.” The Gerundite turns to leave, but Lance stops him.

“Don’t!” Joval pauses his retreat. “it’s fine! I mean, you said that it means I will be better protected this way right?” He watches the back of Joval’s head nod. “Besides, the Black and Red Paladin wouldn’t scent me in a million years, so it’s probably for the best that you did. Just, maybe don’t do it without my permission again okay?” The Gerundite nods his agreement and without turning around walks out the door, closing with a soft click.

Deflating where he stands, Lance lets it all catch up with him. Holy fuck a werewolf just scented me and I think he LIKED IT?!

Standing with shaking legs, he makes his way over to the bed, flicking off his armor piece by piece till he’s left in a flight suit. Collapsing on beautiful and wonderfully soft bed, Lance lets the adrenalin seep out of his body as he drifts to sleep.

Chapter Text

A knocking sound has Lance groaning in protest as he rouses. He struggles to drag his body off the dangerously comfortable bed and pads towards the door. He scratches between his ears, yawing, reaching for the handle. Joval’s large frame fills the doorway, and even through his sleepy daze, Lance can tell that the Gerundite is happy. Joyful even.

“Good morning Blue Paladin.” He greets, letting himself into the room, carrying what looks like a ball of fabric.

“Just Lance is fine, Joval” Lance says gently, turning away from the door to see what Joval is laying out on one of the chairs. “What’s that?”

“A garment for you to wear” Joval replies without looking up from his task of displaying said “clothing” for Lance to inspect. It looks to be made of some sort of chiffon-like fabric, but not as translucent as chiffon is known to be. The top is one big piece of fabric, but it looks like it ties around the person wearing it based on the loose strips of fabric attached to it. The pants: simple and straight, the only design being that it fades from the powder blue that matches the top, to a navy at his ankles, where the fabric is cinched by more strips of cloth.

“It’s lovely” Lance compliments, running his hand over the top. It’s buttery soft, and he is already itching to try it on. Looking over to Joval, he notices a nervous energy seeming to course through the wolf. His ears and tail twitching, and the Gerundite is avoiding eye contact. Lance cant help the smirk he wears as he questions the much larger being.

“Joval? What are you not telling me?” he asks teasingly.

The Gerundite lifts his eyes then, only to bashfully hang his head a second later. He clears his throat, and Lance waits patiently.

“well—” the Gerundite explains, “After last night, I took the liberty to scent the clothing so as to not have to scent you physically today.” He still refuses to look Lance in the eye, but Lance gives him a soft smile anyway.

“Is that all?” He takes a step closer to Joval, which seems to make the wolf even more nervous.

“Not exactly..” he trails off, he tries to take a step back, but Lance is advancing. He doesn’t know why or where the confidence is coming from, but he continues his pursuit, backing Joval up until the wolf is tripping over a chair in the suite, falling back into it. He looks like he’s trying to plan a escape, but Lance is now blocking his path.

“Not exactly?” Lance repeats, digging for more as he finds himself now at eye level with Joval now that he is sitting. The wolf clears his throat again, licking his chops, an action Lance can’t help but follow, watching the long pink flesh curve around pointed teeth.

“I might have informed my mate of what occurred last night, and Kaigal insisted on scented your clothing for today as well.” Looking to Lance as if to gauge his reaction, he quickly adds, “for your safety of course, to ensure that you have no undesired suitors.”

“Ah, yes that makes sense” Lance agrees, but there is a bubbling in his chest he doesn’t really understand. The idea of being covered in the scent of two alphas has his omega rolling in excitement, but it isn’t the two alphas he really wants. Before he can think about that too much though, Lance is spinning on his heels practically bounding back over to the couch where the outfit had been spread, grabbing the garment, he turns to Joval.

“Let’s get me dressed then!" 

Chapter Text

Breakfast is a large spread. The dining table sits long and proudly in the center of what seems to be a large ballroom. Long blue and purple drapes cascade across the room, but their sheerness allows all the natural light from outside to filter in casting an inviting glow across the room.

The table is covered with food, none of which Lance recognizes, but consists of what looks like to be meats, fruits, and…bread?

But most noticeable is the fact that the room is empty, save for a couple of Gerundites bustling around placing plates and cutlery on the table.

As if sensing his thoughts, Joval explains, “The other paladins are finishing their dressing, but I thought you might like to have first pick at a seating.”

With this he starts guiding Lance to the table, but a door to his left opens and Kaigal appears through it. His orange fur almost seems to glow in the blue-light filtered room. Upon spotting the two of them, his face seems to come alive, a large grin overtaking his long jaws. Taking long strides towards the pair, Lance steps aside when it’s clear that Kaigal intends to greet his mate first.

Lance can’t help the way his face burns watching Kaigal brush his muzzle down Joval’s throat; scenting him thoroughly. Such an intimate act has Lance unsure of what to do other than try to avoid the display with his gaze.

“Good morning Blue Paladin” Kaigal greets which has Lance’s gaze snapping back to the Gerundite. He looks up him then back to Joval who is also staring back. Kaigal takes a step towards Lance, holing his large paw out.

“May I?”

Confused, Lance only stares at the clawed hand, noticing how rough and worn it looks, likely from all the royal training that he had endured. Seemingly noticing the look on Lance’s face, Kaigal clarifies: “I know that Joval has mentioned the scent in which we have covered your garments, but I believe it would be in your best interest to be scented by the two of us on your dermis, as it would take much better and last the duration of your stay on Gerund. To ensure your safety of course.”

Soooooo what the fuck?

His words hang in the air like a knife dangling over Lance’s head. He wants to do…WHAT?! Floundering for words, Lance clicks his jaw shut realizing it had been dragging on the floor.

“Umm….”

“Of course I am aware that this is very intimate in your species and should only be done in mated pairs, so if I have made you uncomfortable in my proposition, I apologize.” Kaigal retracts his hand and his ears flatten against his head in remorse. He even goes as far to take a step back towards Joval, who steps up and places a palm at Kaigal’s back in silent support.

Lance on his part had no idea where to go from here. On one end, he thinks back to the leering eyes of all the alphas in the ballroom and how the second that Keith had stepped up, they all stopped. He would be protected doused in the scent of the two Gerundites. But the other part of him knows that he wishes it was Shiro and Keith who were the ones scenting him. At that thought, a another memory flashes in his brain; hot breath on the side of his neck, a flash of black hair out of the corner of his eye.

Scrunching his eyes closed, Lance focuses on the present. He has a choice to make.

It’s temporary protection that I can wash off after the treaty is devised, and then I never have to come back here again.

Steeling himself, he takes a step towards Kaigal, lifting his right arm, connecting his eyes with the Gerundite.

“I think that is a wise suggestion. If you do not mind, I would like you to scent me.”