Christmas morning was filled with the scent of Hunk's cinnamon rolls and the anticipation of gifts. Lance was, not surprisingly, the last one up, and Keith would have been a little irritated at him for making everyone else wait except... Lance walked into the room wearing blue boxer shorts and an untied robe, exposing his smooth, caramel skin and toned torso. 

Keith looked away, blushing furiously. Shiro caught his eye and smiled knowingly, raising an eyebrow. Keith nearly choked on air. Great, now Shiro knew that he had feelings for Lance. What a great start to the morning. 

Thankfully, Coran gently told Lance to tie his robe since "this is a family occasion and everyone should be wearing appropriate attire". Coran himself was in an obnoxiously bright outfit, frilly and fringed, and he hopped around the Christmas bush with vigor, singing old Altean holiday songs. 

Hunk finally emerged with a platter of steaming rolls, making Keith's mouth water with delight, and once they were all tucked in around the couches and on the floor around the bush, the space mice began passing out gifts. 

Keith felt his heart swell with happiness as he received the hand-picked gifts from his friends- a leather-bound, unlined journal from Allura because she wanted him to be able to let out his frustrations in more than just combat training, a new sheath for his knife from Shiro, a satchel from Pidge filled with survival items in case they ever got separated again, and so on.

Keith had never had a Christmas like this. He looked over at Shiro, who was holding a picture frame with a photo of all the paladins together. Keith knew that Shiro must've been thinking about Adam, so he reached out and patted Shiro's shoulder. 

"Maybe next Christmas we'll be together again." The hope in Shiro's eyes was heart-warming and pure.

Keith felt a tug at his shirt sleeve and he looked down. He found two of the space mice struggling to carry a box the size of a book over their heads. Keith took it from their tiny paws and patted their heads with his fingertip. They scurried off his lap and back underneath the tree. 

Keith looked at the box with interest, wondering what it was. On the upper left-hand corner, there were a few words written in scratchy, sharp handwriting. Lance's handwriting, Keith realized. 

To: Mullet

From: Blue and I

Keith slowly lifted the cover of the box off and inhaled sharply. There, nestled in a bed of rich, black silk, lay the most beautiful knife Keith had ever seen. The blade was made of some sort of pale, translucent stone and the hilt was bone, maybe a tusk of some animal, and had a pack of wolves chasing each other carved into it. 

Keith reached with shaking hands and slowly lifted the knife. It had some weight to it and when Keith carefully felt the edge of the blade, he noticed how sharp it was as well. At first glance, he t thought that the dagger would be more of a ceremonial, showy piece, but he realized then that it was actually made for combat. 

He slowly lifted his eyes to where Lance was sitting across the room and sucked in a sharp breath when he saw his letter in Lance's hands. After a few moments, Lance looked up, his hands holding the letter like it was a flower petal that bruised easily. His blue eyes shone with tears and he smiled at Keith earnestly. 

Lance looked around the room quickly, then tilted his head to the side, motioning for Keith to follow him. The two quietly slipped out of the living room without anyone (except Shiro, of course) knowing. 

As soon as they were safely separate, Lance turned to Keith, his bottom lip quivering. "This means so much to me, Keith," he said softly, his hands shaking as he held the letter. 

Keith fumbled for words. He'd never seen Lance cry before. "And this," he said finally, holding the knife by his side, "is the most beautiful thing-" he cut himself off, looking away. Steeling himself, he started again. "You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, Lance Mcclain."

Lance froze, blue eyes swimming with tears that Keith wanted to kiss away, his cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink. "What?" he whispered and Keith smiled nervously. 

"Well, I-" Keith didn't finish his sentence because Lance interrupted him with a kiss, pulling him closer by his shoulders, letting a shaky laugh pass through his lips and over Keith's as he kissed him. 

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear that, Mullet," he said against Keith's mouth, but Keith couldn't hear much of anything because he was so surprised, happy, and overwhelmed that he didn't really know what to do. 

He decided that kissing Lance back was probably the best option. He let Lance press him back against the wall of the hallway and ran his hands through Lance's stupidly soft hair, savoring the taste of Lance's lips and not caring when their teeth clinked together. 

It felt right, kissing Lance. Like everything good in the world had always been hidden in Lance's lips, Keith just had to reach forward and touch them. 

When they broke away for breath, Keith felt lightheaded. He didn't want to say anything to break the silence. 

Lance smiled at him crookedly. "We should get back," he said sheepishly.

Keith nodded in return, pushing off the wall. He rose up and kissed Lance on the cheek, whispering, "Merry Christmas," in the blue paladin's ear. They walked back to the living room together.