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The couple had just gotten back from a party and Keith had no idea the punch had alcohol in it until he drank a bit of it. Luckily, he realized it was spiked punch pretty fast, but unluckily, he was a light weight. Now, he wasn't full on drunk by any means, but definitely tipsy; double unlucky, he was an emotional drunk.
This is what will have brought him into his later predicament.
Feeling drained and tired, Lance stretched his back out with a yawn and patted Keith on the shoulder as they sauntered into their apartment. "Alright babe, that party wiped us out. You go to our room; I'll make us dinner." While Lance also wasn't drunk, he was definitely exhausted and Keith felt guilty going to their room while his boyfriend made them dinner.
Hesitantly, he eyed his boyfriend and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure...? I could help, Lance. It wouldn't be an--"
But before he could finish his offer, Lance brought his finger up to his lip. "A-bip-bip-bip-bip. No buts! Go to the room." He rested his hands on his hips and gave Keith a stern look to show that he meant it.
Still feeling a little bad, he opened his mouth but was once again got cut off by his boyfriend grabbing his shoulders.
"Look, babe. I know you drank a bit-- even if it doesn't show. And I love you so much, but also, I know that when you drink anything, you start crying at the smallest things. I want to treat you well and also have time to listen to music while I cook. So, go, shoo!" He spun the shorter man around and pushed him towards their bedroom.
Letting out a small laugh, Keith shook his head at Lance’s shenanigans. "Fine, fine... Just don't be long, I'll miss you..." He turned around and eyed his boyfriend's lips before pressing a sweet kiss to them, tasting the reminisce of some salt from chips on his lips.
Lance laughed into the kiss and pulled away. "I'll be as quick as I can, Samurai." He gave a serious face and a two-fingered salute which made Keith laugh again before he watched as his boyfriend disappeared down the hall and back into the kitchen.
Suddenly, standing all there by himself in their apartment bedroom felt lonely. He looked at their slightly messy bed and thought about laying down before shooting the idea down, knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep and he'd get more bored and lonelier. He gazed around the room that had navy blue walls and one red wall to accent it where the bed was shoved against. Their room wasn't clean but it wasn't that messy either, he could tidy up... but that sounded boring and Lance could be a neat freak about how he cleaned.
Then he turned towards their desk and saw his gaming PC. He figured it wouldn't hurt to play a new video game that got released that he wanted to play. Apparently, Pidge played a bit and said it was great, and Pidge and him usually always liked the same things, though, she liked more puzzle games whereas he liked combat games.
Sitting down and getting comfortable, he picked up his headset and opened Steam, starting up 'Zoochosis'.
His interested piqued as he saw the great graphics in the opening and listened to the dialogue, scoffing at the employer's tactic to hire his character. As he listened to the instructions and role in the game-- which was feeding the animals, collecting their feces, and checking their temperature along with a few more things, he found himself smiling; the functions weren't too hard and it definitely seemed up his alley.
As the game progressed, he found himself getting more and more invested, smiling as he fed Cleo the giraffe, amused. After about fifteen more minutes, he got to a disturbing underground lab cutscene where he listened intently, figuring out his objective and storyline. As his character walked into the lab, he came upon a disturbing gore-y scene and felt sympathetic for his character and the lab's victims but shrugged it off, knowing it was just a video game person and not real.
He found himself sticking his tongue out as he continued to play the video game and leaned in, squinting as the ambiance picked up and he fed the wallabies.
Then all of a sudden...
"UEHAAAAAAAAA!"
He jumped and yelled out a "shit!" As the video game explained that one of the wallabies got mutated and he had to save the non-infected ones and kill the infected one.
His heartbeat raced as he ran to the lab and got a tranquilizer before running outside and finding the mutated wallaby, his eyebrows shooting up at how fucking creepy and scary it was. He died a few times as the fight continued but saved all of the wallabies except for Amy-- which was fine, he didn't get attached to her but he was still more sad over an animal dying. However, as the emotions sprang up, he cleared his throat and reminded himself that it was just a video game.
Continuing the video game, he progressed and unlocked different areas of the zoo, learning more about the storyline and saving zoo animals while killing the infected ones; the black-haired men still felt a little sad about that but was mostly over it.
But as his gaming continued, so did the little bit of liquor going through his blood stream and he felt the effects just a little bit more; still not feeling drunk, but definitely tipsier.
With a sigh, he checked the time and saw that Lance had still been cooking for around forty-five minutes, which meant that he turned on his favorite Spanish music and was making something that would knock Keith's socks off and remind him to thank Lance's mamá for teaching her son how to make such awesome Cuban dishes.
Knowing most of Lance’s over an hour dish would have roughly around twenty minutes of cleaning, that he was sure his boyfriend was doing right now, he figured he had enough time to go into one more zoo exhibit. The idea of knowing Lance's cooking time made him laugh a bit.
Walking around the map, he got to the new exhibits he unlocked and his eyes lit up with great joy as he saw 'Hippo Exhibit' and instantly ran in, feeling warmth in his chest.
Upon entering, he saw three pigmy hippos and had the cursor glide over them to read their names-- which were Zoe, Bubba, and Waffle, fantastic names, really-- and somehow forgot that this game was a horror game.
A small smile and squeak come from his mouth as he fed the hippos, kicking his feet a bit to stim as he followed Waffle and cooed. "You are such a pretty hippo, Waffle, aren't you...? Yes, you are...!" He laughed a bit as the hippo ate and he felt himself get entranced as he watched the fat, silly hippos.
However, the pure joy he was experiencing soon got absolutely kicked to the ground when he heard:
"UEHAAAAAAA!"
And then watched in absolutely HORROR when Zoe demolished Waffle and killed him, which lead to him screaming, "HOLY FUCK! WAFFLE!" And then slapping one hand over his mouth and the other gripping his hair as the mutated hippo killed his character.
Now usually, this would be fine because it was just a video game and gore didn't even scare him.
But usually, he wasn't playing video games while tipsy and watching his favorite animal get killed by mutated, said favorite animal and then turn around and eat him.
So, nobody would judge him if maybe he just... started full on sobbing.
As his character died and it brought him back to the safe place, his lip wobbled a bit and tears streamed down his face, and then full-on sobs started as his shoulder's shook.
But apparently his boyfriend didn't hear the sobbing as he walked in holding a plate-- that smelt divine-- and said, "Who wants some arroz con huevo frito and coconut fla-- holy shit, Keith, are you okay?" Concern shot through the tall man as he saw his boyfriend hysterically sobbing in their chair, playing what seemed to be something horror-like but not seeing any details, and muttering something about... knowing that Zoe wasn't cold blooded and that Waffle would be missed...?
Wasting no time, he set the white ceramic dishes down and hastily made his way over to Keith, resting a comforting hand on his back and trying to soothe him. "Hey, hey-- Cariño, what happened? What's wrong?" The worry only amplified as his tipsy boyfriend turned towards him, realizing he's there, and grasped onto him tightly, sobbing.
With some gasps and hiccups, his shaky voice spoke. "La-Lance..! Zoe she.. she--" He hiccupped more. "Kill-killed... Waffle!" He gripped onto Lance tighter and sobbed into his chest, cracking Lance's heart a bit as he held tightly onto his distressed boyfriend.
Still feeling absolutely confused and even more nervous about what was happening, he questioned what Keith was talking about. "Keith, baby, breathe... Who is Zoe and Waffle...?" He shuffled through all the pets that their friends owned, wondering if there was a freak dog mauling incident and he just forgot that one of their friend's had a dog ready to snap. However, he literally has never heard these animals' names in his life.
Sniffling and speaking in a broken, soft voice, Keith gave the most adorable, but still heartbreaking because he was sobbing, explanation. "The hippos in Zoochosis... Zoe got mutated and ki--killed Waffle, Lance..." He cried more into Lance's short sleeve button up, creating a larger dark spot on it.
In honestly, Lance was not expecting that answer and so he spoke hesitantly as he ran a comforting hand through Keith’s locks. "Th-they're hippos... from a video.. game?" He asked unsure, because was this actually happening right now? Was his usually stoic, sarcastic, tough boyfriend crying over digital hippos? Lance knew he loved hippos, but he didn't realize he loved them that much. This probably had something to do with the bit of brandy he had earlier.
With a few more broken cries, he replied. "Yes! Waffle was my.. was my... favorite--!" He cried more, hiccupping.
Despite the situation being a little ridiculous and knowing they'd laugh about this later in retrospect, Lance still felt his heart break a bit at the sight of his boyfriend being so upset over something so sweet and innocent. It honestly did make him sad and the urge to comfort his torn lover was amplifying.
Speaking soothingly and understandingly, he held Keith tight. "He was your favorite and Zoe killed him? I'm so sorry, precioso... Waffle sounded like.. a really good hippo..." He was hesitant, still trying to full grasp what was happening-- only knowing that something fucked up happened with two hippos in this scary video game Pidge probably recommended.
Keith simply just nodded and continued. "And Bubba watched it happen...! I'm a horrible zookeeper...!" He sobbed and Lance could only pat his back soothingly, trying to figure out how to properly approach this situation.
"Oh baby, I'm sure you did your best and that Zoe, Waffle and.. Bubba(?) were very happy with you taking care of them." He kissed the top of his head as his shorter counterpart just nodded and made crying noises that only someone truly upset could make.
Wanting to get Keith comfortable and calm, he let go of him and spun the gaming chair towards him so he could bend over and pick him up, hoisting him with a "There ya go..." Which resulted in the other still grasping onto him and wrapping his legs around Lance's slim torso as he walked them towards the bed, sitting down and adjusting Keith on his lap. "Shhh, it's okay baby... You're okay... You can restart the game and they'll be okay again, right...?" He smiled hopefully.
Then, as if slipping a switch, Keith finally pulled away and looked at him, eyes lighting up in confusion then realization. "Wait! You're right! I can just restart and then it won't happen!" He smiled and tried to get up towards the computer, making Lance say a quick 'Nope' and drag him back into his lap.
His boyfriend furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, making Lance laugh a bit. "Let's worry about that later... you need to rest and eat something and..." Sober up-- he thought to himself but decided against saying that. "Clear your mind a bit..." He settled on saying, gently guiding Keith next to him instead of on him, in favor of grabbing their dishes and silverware, putting one of the plates on Keith's lap gently. He rubbed his lover's back a bit before smiling. "This is arroz con huevo frito and coconut flan-- don't worry, you have a great, charming, handsome boyfriend who made sure that the 3 milks in this were lactose free." He prompted the dish a bit more.
He hoped this dish would cure whatever blues his boyfriend had, he knew it did back in Cuba or whenever he was homesick.
Arroz con huevo wasn't traditionally a special dish or a fancy one, but it was one that people at home made often. He remembered when his family was struggling with money and the rice and egg dish was what they ate most nights. Even though it wasn't anything fancy, it was something close to his heart and he loved it. It felt like a hug you get from your mamá every day, or wearing that comfortable shirt you've had for a long time, or a reminder that things will be okay.
The coconut flan was his mamá's recipe and he loved it. Even though he'd rather have dulce de leche with vanilla ice cream or Cuban boniatillo, he knew that his boyfriend loved flan and they happened to have some left over.
With a few more tiny sniffles, Keith eyed the dish with complete adoration for his boyfriend; Lance made this for him and then comforted him. It made a few more tears trickle down his face, which made Lance’s soft, tan hands pat his back again gently as he took a bite of the rice and egg, his mouth watering. Suddenly feeling starved, he shoveled more into his mouth quickly, resulting in his boyfriend scolding him.
"Jesus-- Mullet-head, slow down!" He warned and almost took the fork from Keith but didn't as Keith slowed down, now stabbing the coconut flan with a content smile and eating it all quickly.
Lance's heart swelled at how much Keith loved the food he made-- one reason being because this food was part of Lance and his culture and the other reason being that in Cuba, making food for someone meant love and comfort and if his boyfriend was this happy, he certainly felt loved and comforted.
The tall man let out a laugh as Keith set his plate down, making himself him finish the dish and pile his plate on top of Keith’s.
Gently, he tugged Keith into a hug and held him tightly, the other breathing in his scent. Now that Keith was calm, he couldn't help but tease. "When you're not wrecked from two sips of college-brandy-punch and sober, I'm never going to let you live this down." He kissed him on the top of the head, pulling away with a lip-smacking sound.
Keith groaned and laid down, his exhaustion setting in. "I don't fucking care. That scene was so fucked, Lance." He said that like he was recalling a tragic historical event.
A few more laughs came from Lance as he laid down next to his boyfriend, putting his arms behind his head and grinning. "Oh, I'm definitely sure." Then he went to cuddle in Keith's chest. "For now, pretend I'm a hippo or something and get some sleep. You seriously need it, man."
Lean arms held onto his upper torso, the owner scoffing. "Don't call me man when we've done things that would probably make Shiro's hair turn more white if he ever found out about it." He ran his pale fingers through Lance's brown locks.
Lance rolled his eyes and let out a half groan, half yawn and muttered. "He's going to be completely white by 30, I swear... Now get some rest."
No longer protesting the pure drowsiness he had from the party, crying, the delicious meal, and the comfort of holding his boyfriend, Keith simply nodded and began to drift off.
Needless to say, Lance didn't let him live it down and also had to hold Keith's hand anytime he played the hippo exhibit scene.