Work Text:
“Lance.”
He doesn’t stir. Keith tries again, shoves his shoulder gently.
“Hey. Lance.”
“Mm?” Lance’s still-closed eyes scrunch up a little with the mumble. Keith runs a hand through his short hair, pushes it back from his forehead, and Lance sighs, sinking further into the pillow.
Keith doesn’t say anything for a long moment. Lance slits one eye open to squint at him warily—worried or suspicious, Keith can’t tell.
“Is something wrong?”
“No.” He shuffles closer, tucks his head under Lance’s chin. His arm circles Keith’s waist automatically.
“I love you,” Keith says.
Lance pulls back, both eyes open now. “Something’s definitely wrong.”
“No,” he insists. His cheek rubs against the pillow when he shakes his head. “I just love you.”
Lance stares down at him, uncomprehending. Or embarrassed? It’s too dark to tell if he’s blushing.
“Really. I just—I love you and I had to wake you up to tell you.” Keith didn’t realize he was smiling until now. His cheeks ache with it, still unfamiliar with the new consistency of the expression.
Lance laughs softly. Not condescending—fond.
“Is it silly that this makes me love you more?”
Lance presses his lips together too tightly, like he’s trying not to laugh. His voice comes unsteady. “You love me more because you woke me up to tell me?”
Keith nods emphatically, curls his fingers tightly in the fabric of Lance’s soft sleep shirt. “Is that crazy?”
“A little. Maybe.”
He shifts, and Keith follows, rolling so his shoulders press into the mattress beneath Lance’s weight. Lance holds his face in his hands and kisses him, thumbs running over his cheeks. Keith sighs out of his nose.
Lance pulls back and goes back to where he was, pulls Keith into his chest.
“I love you, too. Go to sleep, Keith.”
“Okay.” His nose touches Lance’s collarbone. He tangles their legs together and closes his eyes.