Archive of Our Own

He’d always had a second voice in his head. A connection to someone else on the planet, someone he’d never met. Someone who was his age, another boy. His best friend.

He looked forward to chatting with the boy, waking up and hearing Lance say good morning, or hearing about the random events of the day. Hearing about his siblings, the trouble he got into. Some days, it was the only thing that made him smile.

His own life was far less thrilling. Bounced around foster homes, left alone for days on end. He was grateful for Lance, his one constant.

When he’d met Shiro, things seemed to turn around. Things began to look up, and he told Lance about how cool it all was. He didn’t give specifics, didn’t want to make Lance jealous. They’d always talked about going to space together someday, and Keith was now closer to that dream.

Keith’s first day at the Garrison was – eventful. He’d told Lance he’d be going to a new school, transferred in late. He was in a class of people who already knew each other. It was daunting, overwhelming, and he couldn’t even reach out to Lance. They’d made a pact not to bother each other during school times.

There was one boy in his class in particular. One boy who sought out Keith during lunch, sat next to him in class. Talked his ear off. He reminded Keith a lot of Lance, and Keith hated it. Hated him. He was just trying to use Keith because of his connections with Shiro.

When Keith got home that night, he growled at Shiro. Blamed him for making him change schools mid-year – despite the fact this was his dream school. Annoyed that Shiro had to be famous there. He slammed his door shut, locking out Adam and Shiro.

He dropped onto the bed with a dramatic sigh. Tentatively, he reached out to Lance, who was there and waiting. As always. He relaxed.

‘Ok, so how was day one? Good? You’re a specialist now, right?’ despite it being in Keith’s head, he knew the tone, it always made him feel less lonely. Lance just had the gift.

‘Yeah, specialist. I don’t know.’ Keith looked at the roof, completely at ease with Lance in his mind. Maybe that should concern him, but it didn’t.

‘Don’t know? Damn, Keith. You’re closer to your dream now! That’s epic!’

‘I guess, sorry. There were just a lot of people who wanted to talk to me because of my foster connections.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ Lance said, sounding sincere.

‘How was your day?’

There was a slight pause from Lance. Keith knew from experience how easy it was to overshare. They were connected, mentally. Despite how good their connection was, sometimes it was nice to have something private.

‘It was ok. There’s a new guy at our school too. I don’t think he likes me much.’ Lance finally replied. Something almost sour filled Keith’s body, the twist of emotions pulling through the bond. It was hard to put to words, but the mental link could occasionally push through emotions. It only happened when the emotions were strong enough. Lance felt rejection the strongest, always had.

‘They don’t know you,’ Keith said.

‘Thanks, Keith. So, did you make a friend? Or see anyone who could be friends? I wish we went to the same school, could you imagine?’

Keith couldn’t help but push his own amusement, purely so Lance knew his next comment was a joke. ‘And have you in person and in my head? That’s too much.’

‘Haha, Keith, hilarious.”

‘I try.’

‘But seriously, you should make a friend. I’ve got this one person, he’s awesome. Wish we had more classes together. You’d love him. He hates all my normal ideas too.’

‘Sounds like he’s smart then.’’

‘Rude,’ Lance pushed through amusement and Keith could practically see a faceless smile. It was odd, trying to picture what his oldest friend looked like.

It was something that bothered him sometimes. He could never talk about Lance, what 14-year-old had an imaginary friend? But, well, Lance was real. He knew that. He was out there somewhere. Keith couldn’t wait to meet him.

‘Hey, I’m sorry about the new guy. He sounded like a jerk.’

‘Nah, it’s ok, I’ll get over it. I’m used to it. I think I’m going to make him my rival. He can’t turn his nose up at me if I’m better then him.’

Keith rolled his eyes, pushing his own fondness without thought. ‘Sure, Lance.’

‘Fool proof.’

‘Remind me how your last plan went?’

‘Without a hitch.’

‘Ah huh. Sure.’ Keith shook his head, fond smile falling over his lips.

When Shiro left for Kerberos, Keith was left with Adam. They were all each other had. Keith was scared, terrified even, Shiro was gone and he wasn’t going to be home for ages. Adam wasn’t the one who’d wanted to care for him, Shiro had.

He had Lance still, that wasn’t going anywhere. Lance was the only person he could talk to, he had no one at school.

And then, Shiro’s signal was lost. Keith’s worst nightmare came to life.

He collapsed onto the bed, sobbing. He’d been called a cry-baby at a previous foster home, but this was justified. Shiro was the first person after his father to believe in him. He was the one to push him.

Lance didn’t count, Lance thought putting cheese in his sister’s pillow was a good idea.

‘Hey, what’s up? Dude, why are you so upset? What happened?’

Lance’s panic pushed through Keith’s own thoughts. He’d been so crushed, he’d forgotten to block them out. It was school time. This went against all their rules. He apologised, wiping his face. He was glad Adam was in the study, working through his own grief.

‘No, don’t apologise. I’m here. Are you ok?’ it was a stupid question, but Keith was glad someone had asked. He was just Shiro’s foster kid. A 17-year-old boy who’d never had much. Only known Shiro for 3 years. No one asked him.

‘I don’t know. I just found out my foster carer-’ he bit his lip, cutting himself off. Lance could feel the grief, he couldn’t see the tears. He had to piece it together, Lance always just knew. Shiro was lost. Not gone. No body, no proof, right? Except, they were so far away. Kerberos would be impossible to perform a rescue mission.

‘Hey, you’ll be ok, Keith.’ Lance sounded so calm, so reassuring. Keith ached to believe him. He wanted to think there was a chance. But he knew Shiro wasn’t coming back. The only person to love him, was gone.

‘I’m still here,’ Lance said, interrupting his own thoughts. ‘I won’t go anywhere.’

That was comforting, it was. The boy in his head was there. ‘Can you – sorry, you’re at school.’

‘Yeah, but it’s lunch. I can talk. Besides, you need me. My telepathic friend takes precedence.’

Keith appreciated that more then he could voice. ‘Can you distract me, please?’

‘Sure, talking is my gift, Keithy boy.’ He rolled his eyes at the nickname. It was better then mullet, which the boy at school liked to call him. ‘ok, so, I got into a fight with the other guy today, purely because he said I could never move up a level. It was stupid, obviously, and it wasn’t even with my rival!’

‘Still on about that?’

‘Dude, you haven’t met him. He’s on this high horse, I need to knock him down a peg. Though, he wasn’t at school today, think he got some bad news too.’ Lance paused, letting Keith enjoy the quiet. He wasn’t waiting long, he loved Lance’s weird musings filling his mind. He wouldn’t have to think.

‘Ok, so yesterday, I can’t believe I didn’t tell you!’

His ramblings went back and Keith lay there, listening. Lance rambled about his sister, who’d tried to prank him. His friend who’d somehow managed to sneak them into one of the training rooms. He told him about a story from years ago – one Keith had heard so many times already.

‘Crap, Keith, I gotta get to class. Are you ok?’

‘Yeah, thanks, Lance. Talk later?’

‘You bet. Take care of yourself, ok? Eat, drink.’

‘Yes, boss.’

Lance said nothing else and Keith was left with his own thoughts.

Shiro wasn’t gone. He wasn’t. couldn’t be. Shiro wasn’t gone. He couldn’t believe it. There had to be a way to save him. Shiro was the only adult in his life. Without Lance, he’d be completely alone.

He would find a way to get Shiro back.

He wasn’t sure how it had all gone spectacularly wrong. First, Shiro was back on Earth. Then, he’d seen the Garrison Lance again, who was so offended Keith didn’t recognise him. He’d also met Hunk and Pidge.

Then, the Blue lion sent them hurtling through space. Alteans, a castle, the Galran’s, Voltron. Somehow, through it all, Keith found his own lion. She was beautiful, red and strong. The connection he felt with her was nothing like the one he felt with Lance.

Finally, after an emotional, rough and intense first three days, Keith had a moment to speak with his own Lance. He realised he hadn’t heard from him either. Not the whole time they’d been up here. Keith worried, wondered what time it was back on Earth. Was he sleeping? At school?

Would he be able to hear from this distance?

The horrible thought struck him. Were they too far? Would he never hear Lance again? Would space become the one place where it was too quiet? Even at the shack, completely alone and away from humans, Keith had Lance.

He had to try. He had to know. He couldn’t do this alone. He had Shiro back, only to lose Lance? The one constant of his life? The one person who promised to always be his friend?

Except, Lance responded immediately. A surge of relief flooded Keith. He sagged onto his bed. Lance was there. He was still there. Keith had Shiro, he had Lance, and he had Red. He thought perhaps he could have the team. Maybe, Lance, Hunk and Pidge seemed like an ok bunch. The blue paladin had calmed a lot since the first few weeks at the Garrison.

‘It’s good to hear your voice,’ Lance said. ‘Er, thoughts.’

‘Yours too. I’ve been busy, sorry.’

‘Nah, same. Crazy, actually.’

‘Sane,’ Keith agreed. ‘Do you have time to talk now, or?’

‘Always have time for my brain friend.’

Allura had decided to do something called a mind meld. Keith hated the idea. He hated it. He already had more then one voice in his head, he didn’t need four more. And what if they heard Lance? Heard his biggest secret? No, he couldn’t do it. There had to be another way to form Voltron.

Surprisingly, he wasn’t the only one to not want to. Lance, who’d just woken from his first visit to the pods, was adamantly against it. Keith was glad he wasn’t alone.

The first battle on the ship had been eye opening. Almost losing Lance – who claimed to hate Keith – was hard. But then, Lance had saved them with a blast. Keith had surprised even himself by being impressed by it.

Lance wasn’t so bad, not when Keith was paying attention. He was a good person. He cared so much about the others. He came from a large family, he was gentle and he was generous. Keith actually wanted to get closer, but it seemed like Lance was keeping him deliberately at arm’s length. The blue paladin was a man full of mystery.

“The mind meld is a tried-and-true method of bonding for paladins,” Allura said, looking like she knew she would win. Especially when Shiro pressed the issue.

Keith stayed silent. Didn’t want to make it obvious how much he hated the idea. Would he be unable to contact his own Lance after? Would his connection be blocked? What if he never got to talk to Lance again?

Except, it was happening. Keith fought hard to keep his thoughts on Voltron. Red lion. Dagger. Red lion. Dagger? Oh. He’d seen that dagger on the Galrans. He’d seen the blade, the only thing left from his mother. The dagger was Galran?

He was thrown from the loop as Pidge thought too hard about her brother. He blinked. Looked up, met Lance’s eyes. Lance, the most observant boy, watching Keith. He left the room.

Shiro found him, but Keith didn’t want to talk. Not to Shiro. He was glad Shiro was back, he was, but he needed to keep this to himself.

‘Hey, you there?’  He was terrified, hopeful, terrified. What if he was gone?

‘Yeah,’ Lance sounded exhausted. ‘Sorry, long day. Are you ok?’

‘Do you ever wonder about where this came from?’

Lance paused, taking a moment to respond. Keith knew Lance wasn’t gone, that was enough. The mind meld hadn’t ruined their connection. ‘I mean, sure. But, not like we’ll get answers.’

‘Right.’

‘Sorry, I have to go, I’ve got to check on someone.’

Keith was blocked seconds before someone knocked on his door. He was really not in the mood for another Shiro lecture, and who else would come see him? Pidge was too busy trying to find her brother, Hunk was busy helping her and Lance? They weren’t friends. Keith knew how much Lance disliked him from the Garrison. He was nothing like the Lance in his head.

That sounded far crazier then reality.

He opened the door and almost fell back. Lance stood there, in all his glory. Keith watched, unable to form words for several beats.

“Hey, man, I just wanted to make sure you were ok. I know you didn’t want to do that either.” Lance rubbed at the back of his neck somewhat awkwardly, like he wasn’t sure how he got there. That made two of them.

Keith chewed on his words. Lance was trying here. Lance was trying something new. He could do this too, meet in the middle. “I’m fine.” Nice. Real nice. “I don’t want anyone poking around in my head.” That was better, right? Olive branch?

“Neither,” Lance said, rubbing his arm. “Too loud up here for everyone.” He said the words and winced, going to take them back, but Keith stopped him.

“You’re not too much,” the words sat between them and Lance’s eyes widened. “I just mean, look. I’m not good at this. You’re the people person. If you don’t want people in your head, that’s your business.”

Lance gave a small smile, tilting his head at Keith. “Thanks, man. I came to check on you, though. Do you want to talk? I’m not the person you’re closest to, I know, but I’m a good listener. And I saw the blade.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Ok,” Lance said, not fighting. Keith was shocked. All he knew about Lance was him pushing boundaries. Getting into personal space. Poking his nose where it didn’t belong.

Lance turned to leave and Keith felt the unusual desire to make him stay. But there was nothing to say, they had nothing in common. Lance was the popular, easy going, charming boy who was good at everything. Keith was the loner kid who was good at one thing. Fighting.

“If you ever want to talk, I’ll listen. You’re not alone up here.” And Lance walked off, leaving Keith alone.

The war was hard. It was a struggle. Dangerous, deadly. It was revealing far more then he’d have liked. The blade, he was a half Galra.

Keith shut himself in his room. Yelled at Shiro to leave him alone. Allura had made her own opinions quite clear.

What he hadn’t counted on was the caring blue paladin. Lance had knocked on his door, tentative and hesitant. Keith’s curiosity got the better of him. Lance wasn’t going to judge him, right?

He was confusing this Lance with the one he’d known all his life. This Lance would laugh at him. Be glad to have something over him.

“So, that was a bombshell,” Lance said, standing by the door. He made no move to enter, watching Keith.

“That’s one word for it.”

Lance watched, waiting. No trace of judgement, only concern. Keith softened.

“What are you doing here, Lance? Why do you care? You don’t even know me.”

“No,” Lance agreed. “But I want to. Like it or not, we’re a team up here. We’re a team, and I have your back. Not just on the field, Keith. Galra, human, who cares? You’re Keith, and that’s a pretty cool thing to be.”

He watched Lance leave, leaving the words between them. He couldn’t help but smile. Maybe Lance wasn’t so bad. He was so good, too good. But he wanted to be friends with Keith. He gained nothing from it, there were no ulterior motives on this team. He couldn’t claim another lion.

Lance wanted to be friends because he liked Keith. Simple as that.

‘I think I made a friend,’  he projected the thought without even realising. He hadn’t spoken with his Lance for a while now, he’d just been so busy. Lance must’ve been too, he hadn’t been trying to push through.

‘Finally,’ Lance said, and he pushed through a soft feeling of pride, happiness. It made Keith smile.

‘So, I found out something recently.’ He twitched, fingers wrapping around each other as he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. ‘I don’t know what to do about it.’

‘I’m always here,’ Lance said. ‘Wherever here is. Do you ever wonder how this is possible? I mean, you’re real, I’m real. How are we doing this?’ Lance laughed, the sound more robotic in the translated voice. ‘Ok, sorry, your news.’ Keith couldn’t help but try to picture Lance, paladin Lance, with his own habit of rambling and getting distracted.

No, no way. He would know if his only friend was loudmouth Lance.

Ludicrous.

‘I found out who my mother was – is. She’s alive’

‘Keith that’s – how do you feel?’

‘I don’t know. I mean. She didn’t have a choice to abandon me, but she could have come back, right? She left me alone.’

‘Not all alone,’ Lance said, derailing Keith’s spiral.

‘No,’ he agreed, relaxing slightly. ‘I guess not. Thanks.’

‘Ok, but also, tell me about this friend. I need to know.’

Keith laughed, pushing across a feeling of fondness. He was grateful for Lance. He didn’t want to dwell on the real issue at hand, and Lance knew that. He could – would – find his mother. He would get his answers. But now, he wanted to talk to his friend.

‘He’s a lot like you, actually. Loud, funny, but he’s so caring. I never thought he liked me, but, well. I think that’s changed. I hope so. He’s good.’

‘You’re not replacing me, are you?’

Keith snorted. ‘As if I could. You know more about me than anyone.’

‘Good. But, I’m glad. You deserve nice things.’

Slowly but surely, Keith began to open to his new team. He learned that Hunk had twin baby sisters. Pidge was secretly a huge video game nerd and Lance could sing. He learned that he really loved their company.

The team were stronger then ever. Shiro was the calm leader, holding the team together, supporting them. They laughed together, trained together, collapsed after a hard battle together. They sat next to each other at dinner, waited for someone in the pod when the worst happened. Played games in the common rooms.

He hadn’t even realised it was happening, but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d talked with his mind Lance. Real, tangible paladin Lance had his attention. He was so full of life, so bright. He was taking Lance’s heart into his palm without his control.

And then Shiro disappeared. Gone. Vanished. He left Keith alone again.

Except he wasn’t alone. He would never be alone.

Keith found Lance in his own room, something within him instinctually seeking him out. He knocked, finding Lance curled on his bed, staring blankly at the wall. He looked how Keith felt.

Lance sat up, watching Keith. He shifted, allowing Keith a space to sit on the bed. “Hey, are you ok?” he shook his head, blue eyes soft, gentle. “No, don’t answer that. He was your dad.”

Keith closed his eyes, Shiro’s proud smile flashing through his mind. He could feel the raw hurt, fear, sorrow, sadness, horror. Shiro was gone. He wouldn’t be coming back, not this time.

He wasn’t alone though.

“He was.”

Lance hummed, a low, mindless sound that relaxed Keith. He’d grown so used to this boy being so present everywhere he went. Lance lit up any space he was in. he was good, true as any. He was the future, Keith believed that.

“How are you holding up?” Keith asked.

Lance’s fingers twitched, curling around each other in his lap. “I miss him.” He was quiet, like Keith would call him out.

“He meant a lot to all of us.”

“Yeah.” Lance said. “You know, I was jealous, when we met. That you got to live with him. But, you deserved that. Him. I had a whole family, he was yours. And you know, I’m glad I met you back then.”

Keith smiled, thinking back to his first few weeks at the Garrison. Jealousy certainly explained his behaviour. “You made an impression.”

“I always do.”

“I don’t know what to do, Lance.”

A soft, warm hand found Keith’s knee. “You don’t need to. Take some time. But, I think Shiro picked you for a reason. When you’re ready, you’ll be a great leader.”

“Who’ll fly Red?”

“That is not a right now problem.”

“Thanks, Lance. Really. I couldn’t do this without you.” The sheer honesty surprised them both. Keith looked down. Felt the blush spread across his cheeks.

Lance seemed to practically glow at the words. “I’m awesome, I know. But, you’ve got the whole team, Keith. We all trust you. Go, be our leader.”

And then the unthinkable happened. Keith grew feelings. Feelings of want, desire, affection, attraction. He’d never felt such feelings. Certainly not towards someone else. He was vaguely reminded of a conversation he’d had with Lance, so many years ago.

‘Hey, do you think you’ll ever day?’ Lance asked, the first question for the day.

‘I don’t know. Never met a girl I liked.’

‘You could like boys,’ Lance said. ‘I think I like both. There’s this cute boy at school, but there’s also a really pretty girl.'

Keith laughed. ‘One at q time, Lance. Come on.’

‘Point is, you could like boys, or maybe you haven’t met anyone you like, or it’s ok to not like anyone. You do you.’

‘Words of wisdom, thanks. I’ll try to live by them.’

Turned out, Keith liked boys. A boy. A particular boy with bright blue eyes, tanned skin and a dazzling smile. He liked a boy who was friendly, cute, sweet, polite, genuine. He liked a boy who cared, fought, was the bravest person he knew.

He felt like he was betrayed his mind, Lance. Falling for someone else. Part of him had always thought he’d end up finding him, marrying him. But Lance was on Earth. Keith wasn’t sure when he would return. And this paladin Lance was real, he was so good. He didn’t deserve to be anyone’s second choice.

‘Hey, Keith, you there?’

He was in the training room on his own, working on getting his blade to obey him. It worked, when he didn’t want it to. Helpful. ‘Here.’ He wiped the sweat from his brow, glaring at the blade.

‘Cool,’ it was unusual, hearing Lance’s voice after so long. ‘Hey, uh. I just. I know we haven’t spoken for a while.’

The dagger turned to a sword and Keith scowled. This was not the time. ‘Sorry, I’ve been busy.’

‘Me, too.’ Lance replied quickly. ‘It’s just, I wanted you to know. I’ve fallen for someone.’

Part of Keith, the part that was in love with his childhood friend, was sad. Another part, the grown, calmer person, was glad Lance was happy. ‘Oh?’

‘Yeah, I haven’t told him yet. But, like, I wanted you to know. Maybe get you to give me some courage to tell him?’

‘I don’t think that would help, but if he doesn’t like you, which would be insane, I’ll punch him.’

Keith felt the amusement pulse through. ‘That could be challenging. I’m not exactly on Earth.’

He dropped the sword, ignoring the change to dagger.

There was no way. No way. No.

What were the odds? But then – the pieces all clicked together. It made sense.

Keith was an idiot.

‘Where are you?’

Lance didn’t get the urgency through the message, clearly. The castle was huge, he needed to find Lance now.

Then, he froze. Remembered Lance’s words. He’d fallen for someone.

Oh.

Keith stopped. Held his breath. Lance deserved so much better than him. But, he also deserved the truth.

‘Right now? What, you going to pop across the galaxy?’

Keith rolled his eyes. Boy, but he did love this man.

He moved on again, moving through the castle. He wasn’t with Red. Not Blue. Not with Kaltenecker, he wasn’t in his room.

‘Dammit, Lance, where the quiznak are you?’

And Lance was smart. Keith knew that. He was the team’s strategist. Keith always deferred to him on missions. But he was also a beautiful idiot. A fool who never thought of himself first.

‘Quiznak? How’d you hear that word?’ Then, he paused. ‘Keith? Keith, what – I’m in the observation deck. I’ll stay here.’

‘I’m coming.’

He should’ve known. Should’ve worked it out. Of course they were the same person. He would go back in time and slap himself. Lance had always been someone he could trust, and the real version was just so much better. His feet were running before he even thought it.

Lance sat, staring at the stars. Keith was out of breath.

‘You had to pick the tallest room?’

Lance laughed, the sound echoing through Keith’s head. “Sorry, I like to come up here to think. And talk to you, apparently.”

Keith groaned, dropping onto the floor beside him. “We’re idiots.”

“Yeah,” Lance agreed. He was smiling though.

“So, before. We’ll forget about that, right?”

Keith blinked, confusion flickering across his features. Then, he recalled Lance’s confession. “About you falling for someone?”

Lance cheeks glowed bright red. Keith found it endearing. Couldn’t help relaxing onto the floor beside his best friend. “Yeah, that. Sorry. Let’s just forget about it, please.”

“No.” Keith said, watching Lance freeze. Saw him tense to run. “Not unless I get to tell you who I’ve fallen for first.”

Lance blinked. “You didn’t mention anything.”

“No, I didn’t. I was trying to work it out,” Keith said. “I was reminded of something you said, years ago. About finding the right person.”

“When we were fourteen?” Lance asked, grinning. “Damn, I was good. Poetic even.” The rambling was cute, the nervous, anxious paladin Keith adored. He found it encouraging.

“I found the right man,” Keith said, watching as Lance’s breath hitched. “I’ve known it all along, actually.” Lance’s mouth fell open, but Keith barrelled on. “So, there’s this boy I like. He’s smart, funny, and so pretty. He’s good, a great shot, and my best friend. Growing up, he was my only friend. Unfortunately for him, I fell in love with the red paladin instead.”

Lance’s face was a mixture of pure happiness and shock. “Me?”

“It could never be anyone else, Lance.”

The boy who always had words had nothing to say. Then, he took a leaf from Keith’s book.

His lips were so soft, so warm, so gentle on Keith’s. He was kissing Lance. It was incredible. As far as first kisses went, this one was perfect. Warm, gentle. It was love, it was them. Lance and Keith, together as they should be.

Lance pulled back, flushing a beautiful shade of red. “Oh, that means you know all my embarrassing stories.”

“I do,” Keith agreed, resting their foreheads together. “Good thing I already love you.”

Lance’s lips were back on his. ‘I love you too, so damn much,’ he refused to pull away, the words shot through their convenient mind link.

‘You know, this would come in handy during fights.’

Lance groaned, pulling away. “I kiss you, and you’re concerned about Voltron?”

“No,” Keith said, slowly. “Yes, but also. It would be.”

“You are the worst.”

“You love me.”

“So help me, but I do.”

Keith beamed. He’d never been so glad to have a strange mental connection. The universe had gotten this one right. He pressed his lips against Lance’s slowly, gently. Savouring the feeling of warmth, safety, love. This was what real happiness felt like.

“Let’s win this damn war so I can marry you.”

“A mind link?”

“Yes.”

Krolia’s face had never looked more delighted. Keith winced.

“The gift of the soulmate, a very rare gift indeed. Few Galra are blessed with the ability, fewer still can find them.”

Keith took Lance’s hand, looking at his best friend, his husband, teammate, his soulmate. He didn’t need his mother to tell him that Lance was made for him.

He’d always known.