He can't hurt you - not while I'm here...

After a month or two of not seeing Lotor around, Lance felt ready to actually go out in public. Sure he's been places before with Keith but this time it felt different.

Keith had a day off so he decided to take Lance to the zoo. Lance liked it sure, but not as much as Keith did.

~Like 5 hours earlier or smth~

"Ok now that we paid, what exhibit do you wanna see first?" The couple was standing in-front of one of the signs that pointed to each exhibit.

"You can choose. I'll do whatever you do." Lance smiled and grabbed Keith's hand.

"Then we're going to the hippos!" Keith pulled Lance all the way to the hippo exhibit.

They ended up passing the gift shop and inside Keith saw a huge hippo plush. Lance saw it as well and told Keith to go see the hippos while he "goes to the bathroom."

"Ok. Be careful if you see him hide. Or run. You're fast so you could probably outrun him." Lance laughed and pushed Keith.

"I'll be fine. Now go." Keith gave Lance a quick kiss and left. Lance walked into the gift shop and bought the hippo plush. It was purple, about 3ft long and huge.

Keith was watching the hippos and saw Lotor out of the corner of his eye. "Shit." He called Lance.

"Hey babe what's up?"

"Stay where you are. I'll come to you." Keith started walking the other way to see if Lotor was following him or not. Spoiler alert: he was.

"Go to the car. I'll tell you when I'm there. I love you."

"Babe? You're worrying me. Why do I need to go to the car? What's going on?"

Keith started walking faster and walked into the reptile exhibit. There was a bunch of people in there since it was such a small area, throwing Lotor off of his trail for a bit.

"It's Lotor. He's following me."

When Keith got to the car Lance was hiding in the back. Ge was crouched on the floor behind the passenger seat. "Babe?"

Lance looked up and saw Keith. He got up and hugged him immediately.

"Hey. It's ok. He's not here. I was able to throw him off my track." Keith swayed with Lance in his arms when he heard a slow, agonizing clap.

"Well done. You successfully hid my boyfriend for me for 3 months. But I'd like him back now. Lets go Azuri. We're going home."

Lotor started walking closer and Keith pulled Lance backwards. "Azuri?" The two kept walking backwards until they got on the sidewalk. Lotor still following.

"It's his nickname. He didn't like being called blue so I changed it. You know I love you. Right Azuri? I only do what I do because I care about you."

Lance closed his eyes and shook his head. "No. Keith loves me. He actually loves me. He doesn't force me to do anything, or get mad at me for not doing said thing."

Keith was still holding Lance. Afraid that if he let go, he would be gone. "You think he loves you? One day, he'll see what an annoying brat you are. He'll get tired of your constant whining and being scared to go outside. He does not love you. But I do. Come with me Azuri. You'll be happier."

Lotor was face to face with Lance now. He got closer with each and every sentence. "Grab him." Out of nowhere two relatively large men grabbed Keith and pulled him away. Holding him so he couldn't get to Lance.

"Don't you touch him!" Keith was struggling and yelling, trying to get Lotor to get away from Lance.

He didn't budge. Lance started walking towards Keith but Lotor grabbed his face and pulled him back.

"Oh Azuri. Such a shame. I think I'm gonna have to show you just exactly why you started dating me."

Then he was kissing him. Pushing Lance backwards into the wall of the zoo. Cutting off any chance of escape. Keith had called Shiro when he hung up the call with Lance. Telling him to get to the zoo.

Of course Shiro didn't ask any questions and brought Pidge, Matt and found Lance's friend Hunk. Once the group got out of the car, Pidge and Matt walked to Keith and got him away from the guards.

Shiro and Hunk took on Lotor, Keith eventually joining them. Sooner or later, no one could really tell, Keith had Lotor pinned to the floor.

"If you ever say that I don't love Lance again. I'll kill you. If you ever look at him, think about him, talk to him, or try and go near him. I'll kill you. I will protect him and love him for the rest of his and my life. Do you understand me?"

Lotor nodded and Keith let him go. He called off his men and the three left. Keith walked over to Lance, who looked like he was gonna pass out or have a panic attack at any minute.

He pulled him into a hug and they sat there. On the floor in each others arms. "It's ok. He can't hurt you. Not while I'm here." The two called it a day. They agreed that was too much "excitement".

When they got home Lance put on one of the hoodies he stole from Keith and laid down in bed. He didn't say anything the car ride home or when the actually got in the house.

Keith grabbed some food from the fridge and brought it to their room. "Babe? You need to eat. I made some mac and cheese you can eat it in here." Lance nodded and Keith brought it to him.

"Do you want me to leave you alone?" Lance shook his head. Keith sat on the bed and placed a hand on Lance's back. Rubbing circles and other shapes to try and get him to relax.

Lance leaned his head on Lance's shoulder and closed his eyes. "You need to eat." Lance shook his head. "Later. I just wanna be with you." Keith nodded and moved the mac and cheese onto the nightstand so that they can lay down.

"Ok but when we wake up you need to eat." Lance nodded and moved closer into Keith's chest. He fell asleep after a few minutes and Keith waited to make sure he wasn't faking.