{ UwU alpha Lance. I want one. }

It was a while before anyone said anything. They had all been sitting inside Pidge's living room, just trying to comprehend what had gone down. It was all so surreal, but Hunk and Pidge were just grateful for the fact Lance hadn't gotten into a brawl. And even as horrible as it all was... they'd even managed to get it on tape. The world would get to see the behind the scenes of what really happened, how James had came out to start stuff, and how even more shockingly, Lotor was the one who'd been trying to break up the fight.

Lance was still holding Keith as they sat on the couch, not even wanting to part an inch from him. Keith was still reeling inside of his head, having been taken back to that day. It was so hard to think about, being as he'd tried to move on with his life. His tattoo and sheer willpower had always been enough, but seeing Lance and James like that... hearing his alpha voice again... it was so triggering.

" We have to figure out what we're going to do." Pidge said.

" Yeah. We can't just sit here all night." Hunk added.

" But didn't she call the cops?" Romelle asked.

" I doubt it. She could've been faking. We literally have evidence that James came out and started the fight with us, and we didn't do anything. Lance might've been yelling, but he didn't really try to use his alpha voice on people, unlike some lowlife asshole we know." Pidge explained.

" I guess that makes sense. If the cops were coming they probably would've found us by now." Hunk thought out loud. " So we are probably safe to leave if we want to."

" Well... Lotor still wanted us to meet him, so if we were going to go somewhere, we should see him." Romelle said, scratching her wrist. She didn't want to look like she was really in favor of it, but at the same time, she wanted to go see him. It didn't have to be about the fact that she was sweet on him or whatever, and she didn't want them to get the wrong idea. She was his friend first above all else.

Lance held Keith close to himself while they talked. He honestly didn't care where they were as long as he didn't have to part ways with his omega for a single second. All he wanted to do was protect him no matter what it cost.

Keith leaned his head back on Lance and then nuzzled into his neck. It was like his omega instincts were in overdrive and he couldn't do anything to stop them right then. Being close with Lance was pretty much the only thing that was keeping him from spiralling into his own unhealthy thoughts. He wanted so desperately to forget everything... and until that day, he nearly had. After meeting Lance, the suicide attempt had slipped his mind and he'd been happy for the most part, other than the obvious thing James had done to set him back. But now Keith was guilty about not being upfront with Lance about it. He should've told him when Lance asked about the tattoo... he knew he should've, but he just couldn't bring himself to.

" Lance, Keith, do you want to get going?" Pidge asked them. She and Hunk were just as much a part of this now and they wanted to make sure that everything went okay. They still had to get Lotor and Romelle to give their account, even after the events that had come to pass in the driveway.

Lance picked his gaze up. His eyes were dark, completely overtaken with what must've been pure alpha protective mode.

" Only if one of you drives. I'm not letting go of Keith." He told them in a deep tone.

Keith had never seen Lance that way before. It was just a sign of how much he'd come to care about him, being that he'd nearly gone apeshit on James. If Lance would've gone off to blow off steam afterward, Keith would've dismissed it as heat of the moment stuff, just two alphas having a pissing match. But it was so much more than that. Lance hadn't let go since. He was a nervous wreck and a protective wall at the same time.

" I'll go..." Keith murmured. " But I don't want to be in the shot. Not like this."

He had a red face after everything that had gone down and he seemed petrified. It wasn't plainly obvious, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that he wasn't okay at all. All he hoped for was that he could make it through the rest of filming and they could get to editing the series. Yeah, they still had a trial and everything to film, but after that was over, they'd be putting out the videos.

Romelle had already made clear how she felt about it. She stayed quiet and thought back to what had happened with Keith. The way he'd looked when Lance locked him in the car... it was a look of pure terror. She had only ever seen that look in his eyes twice, and she couldn't help but think something really bad was going on inside his head. Once they got to the hotel, she knew she would have to say something about it... but she wondered if she'd even be able to get him alone with the way that Lance was acting right then.

...

After they got to the address Lotor had given, the group parked the car and got out. They didn't have bodyguards or extra security with them. Though the thought had crossed Pidge's mind to call Shiro and Matt for backup, she didn't want to drag them into it as well. Plus, they had their own matters to worry about. They could handle this themselves.

Lance kept a hand wrapped around Keith's waist as they walked and he looked around himself every two seconds. He almost looked like he was tweaking out on something, but it was all for good reason. He wouldn't let anyone else lay a hand on his omega. No way.

Keith stayed extra close to Lance as well, leaning his head close by him almost like he was trying to hide it. The last thing he wanted to do was be ashamed, but that was how he felt in that moment. He tried to shake it off, but the thoughts were still lingering somewhere inside of him.

As they all made their way inside, the place was clearly upscale. It wasn't the Four Seasons or anything, but there was sleek tile and people dressed all fancy who were waiting on others. There was a restaurant on that level and a Starbucks as well, and there was a main lobby and check in area right in front of them. They skipped it and went up in one of the elevators to the top floor, where Lotor's room was.

Keith knew that he couldn't back out right then. This was he and Lance's series, and it wasn't like they could ask Pidge and Hunk to do it for them. But if he was being completely honest, Keith would've rather been downstairs at the Starbucks with a pink drink and pretending he was okay. He didn't want to wallow and be cooped up, as he'd found out the hard way that it only made matters worse.

" He should be here by now." Romelle said, walking faster and heading to the front of them. She knew the room was only down the hall, or so the sticky note in her palm told her. Lotor's handwriting... it was surprisingly neat. Most alphas had the most unreadable and sloppy penmanship, but he was an exception.

Pidge and Hunk glanced at each other when they saw the way she was acting, but they didn't say much. Pidge was already filming, so she didn't want to bring anything up before the questioning.

Romelle stopped and the others caught up in a few moments later.

" This one."

It was like they'd all forgotten what to do for a minute, but she eventually raised her hand and knocked on the door three times. It wasn't an aggressive knock, but more like a gentle one.

Lotor pulled the door open slowly. He looked pretty worse for the wear, and it was clear just from his scent that the alpha was irritated. Did they even have to ask why? Allura and James had literally just shown up at the house and started shit for no reason, started shit, and even threatened to call the cops after JAMES got in someone's face. There was no sense to any of it.

" Hey... come in." He said, paranoid that they'd been followed or something. Everyone filed in and Lance had his arm around Keith tightly. He wondered if he'd ever be able to let go of him again, and it seemed like for a while there, he wouldn't. All he hoped for was that Keith would be safe and he'd never have to get in a fight to keep it that way.

" So... is this going to be your new place?" Romelle asked, looking around the room.

" Temporarily until I can find an apartment. I can't live in that place anymore with her. It would drive me insane..." Lotor admitted and sat on the bed, and Pidge panned the camera around the room so that everyone watching it in the future would see what they currently were.

" I'm sorry about all of this. You don't deserve any of it..." Romelle told him. She was tempted to sit by him, but she didn't just yet. She figured it might've been weird and looked staged.

Hunk nudged Lance, trying to get him to take charge of this.

Lance took a deep breath and tried to get a handle on himself, but it was way easier said than done. He didn't want to look like some crazy and possessive alpha, but keeping his omega close was his only option right then.

Keith swallowed back his fear and hoped that it wasn't visible on his face. Fear? Yes, still. The voice was ringing in his ears and stinging him from the inside out. He didn't want to be afraid... and this was his own idea. They didn't have a choice but to follow through. And even still... if he did show his weakness in that moment, maybe the people would understand just how not okay he was.

" So... if you two wanted to sit down, we can maybe start with the questions." He hesitantly said, coming out of Lance's grip. It clearly made Lance uneasy when he did that, but he looked back as reassurance to him.

There was a small table against the wall and Keith pulled out a chair from it, all the while Romelle sat on the bed beside Lotor. It almost seemed like some bad movie scene where the two love interests were sitting awkwardly together, not knowing how to start off a romantic encounter.

Romelle might've been blushing a bit as she looked to the side, but she didn't want to advertise that to the camera and millions of people who would eventually watch it. 

Lance pulled out a chair and sat beside Keith. Hunk and Pidge stood in the corner and made sure the camera angle was okay.

" Where do I even start?" Romelle asked, and Lotor looked over at her as they sat. He felt like she might've been the only one who stuck by him when the times got tough. But wait... what was he even thinking? She was his nice and friendly omega friend. Of course she would. It was nuts of him to even think that she had other motives, though just a tiny part of him wished she did. He shook the thoughts away.

" How about... when and how did you guys meet?"

Lotor thought for a moment.

" I was at Starbucks a while ago and on the way in I bumped into her and spilled her drink on her. I bought her a new one... and she said she didn't want to go home yet, so we sat down and chatted while we had our drinks." He explained.

" Why didn't you want to go home?" Keith asked.

" This was the night you went to Lance's and mom and Kolivan were staying and they were doing stuff in the other room... I know that's kind of TMI, but I got sick of listening to it." Romelle replied. " He seemed nice enough to buy me a new drink... and I was new in LA. I needed some friends here and it just seemed like he'd make a good one." She explained further.

" There weren't any sexual intentions then?" Lance managed to speak up as he remembered what he and Keith had planned to talk about earlier.

They both sat up stiff.

" No! Of course not! I was just out of the house because Allura was mad at me! It was a coincidence." Lotor said.

" Yeah! I only asked for his number so we could keep in touch as friends... sex or the fact that he's an alpha had nothing to do with it."

More questions were asked and it was revealed that Romelle and Lotor had been meeting up a few times a week to visit and talk and they'd developed a friendship.

" So... when Allura showed up and saw you with Romelle, what was the state of your guys' relationship?" Keith questioned.

" She was pregnant... but I-... things had been tense ever since she'd had James in our house. She told the cops that he pressured her into staying with us... but I always knew better."

The rest was summarized and tea was spilled, and they got to talking about what happened that day.

" About what James did to Keith... the fact he was coming out of the house like that... the guy is psycho. I hope he gets locked up forever." Lance growled to himself. " It was like he had tunnel vision and was coming for Keith, and I'm not letting anything else happen. He can fuck Allura if he wants, I don't even care, but he can't have Keith..."

" Where do we even go from here?" Pidge asked from behind the camera. " There's not much we can do before his trial date, and if he's going to keep pulling this shit, we have to be cautious."

" I don't know..." Lotor looked down. " All I know is that when my baby is born... I'm fighting for custody."

It was a while later when the cameras turned off and they were all left in the room. It was later at night and Keith decided that he needed something to keep him awake. He didn't trust falling asleep in the car on the way home, and truthfully, he just needed a breather.

" Lance, I'm going to go downstairs for a minute to grab a coffee." The omega told him, looking up at the alpha.

" What? Why? I'm coming."

" No... just... stay here. It'll only take a few minutes..." Keith pleaded, grasping his hand.

Lance felt his heart racing and he nearly opened his mouth to argue, but as Keith's hand caressed his cheek, he found himself not so revved up.

Romelle glanced over at her brother and Lance, already getting an idea what was going on. This was her chance. She needed to make sure he was okay.

" Here, I'll go with him. You stay here." She stepped in, looking at Lance.

Keith looked at his sister, then back at his alpha. Fair enough.

" Yeah, Lance."

Lance sighed, leaning down and pressing his lips on the corner of Keith's, only staying there for a moment.

" Be safe, KitKat..." He murmured.

" I will." Keith assured, slowly letting go of Lance's hand before he and Romelle left the room. The air was fresh in the hall and even less suffocating as they made it to the lobby floor and walked toward Starbucks.

" Keith... I know you're not okay." Romelle finally said after they'd sat in a booth with their drinks.

Keith kept his gaze pointed down.

" I'm not going to try again... you don't have to worry about that." He told her.

Romelle sat there and listened and watched Keith hide his wrist under his sleeve, covering up the tattoo.

" Does he know?" She asked, to which Keith only shook his head.

" I know I should've told him... but I couldn't. I'd been doing so good..."

He wondered how long he could keep his demons at bay, how long he could hide them. It seemed like it was getting even more difficult by the minute.

{ Keith honey I'm sorry about your past ;-;

I swear this story won't stay angsty for much longer, but until the series finishes, there will be plenty of tea and emotions so buckle up. }