Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“you ladies alright?” lance leant onto the wall of the maths-bloc entrance. he held a confident hand on his hip and bent his head forward in a way that was indented to be attractive. he smirked.

it took a few seconds, but the girls let out a loud laugh, eyeing each other between giggles. lance slumped on the wall.

“oh, lance, no.” one of the girls chimed when she caught her breath. she put a kind hand on lances shoulder, but it only felt like a weight. “that’s not the way to do it.”

”what is then? i have pick up lines?” he grinned again, but found himself feeling stupid.

”maybe.. save them for someone else.” the other girl smiled cautiously. “good try, though.”

they walked off with a pace slightly too fast to be normal. lance deflated against the wall, crossing his arms defensively, preparing for the lecture from his friends.

”maybe we should put you on a lead.” pidge said flatly. “so then you won’t harass people like a bad dog.”

”harass? bad dog!” lance huffed with mock-horror. “i’m not a bad dog, i’m a super cool, kind, and cool dog.”

”cool, kind, and cool?” hunk mumbled.

”well— yeah!” lance sighed.

there was a moment of silence.

”lance, why do you still try when you’ve gotten to the point where you have to ask girls out twice because you’ve been through everybody?” pidge raised an eyebrow.

”thats…” untrue? no. “totally not called for, thank you pidge.”

”it’s true, man,” hunk put a hand warmly on lances shoulder. the same one the girl did. “maybe you should like.. lay off a bit. or change up your tactics.”

”i’d like you two to stop being so ridiculous! i can— i can get any girl i want, thank you. anyone i want, for that matter. trust me. i just wasn’t trying then, but i can. oh— i can!” lance nodded self-assuredly. 

“anyone?”

”anyone, pidge. you haven’t seen my real skill.”

”anyone..” she mumbled to herself, eyes lighting with an idea. a terrible idea, if lance knew to recognise the glimmer of evil in that eye. “even keith?”

lance gulped with a steady bob of his adam’s apple, “keith? like.. kinda weird, lonely and scary keith?”

”keith kogane is his name.” hunk added helpfully. 

“yeah, him. you can pull him, right? i mean, you said any—“

”totally.” lance nodded, only this time it was lagged and janky, like he didn’t really mean it.

”you’re telling me,” pidge held her hands out in the way that people do when they’re trying to calm a situation down. here, it was a let me get this right. “lance mcclain thinks he can keith kogane to go out with him?” pidge asked.

lance nodded again, seeming unaware of any repercussions this belief could have. “totally. definitely. i’m out of his league, even.” lance claimed, making it worse for himself.

”wanna bet that?” pidge grinned.

”what?”

”if you can get keith to go on a date with you. just one date, i’ll give you $100.”

lance paled slightly, which was strange, because he was very tanned. “and if i don’t? get him to go on a date with me, i mean.”

”you give me double.”

lance thought about this for a moment. in all, it was incredibly stupid. for someone as confident and self-assured as lance, even he could admit this was a loosing game. keith, the guy who had spoken about 3 times this semester, would rather eat glass than go out with lance. and lance knows this.

thats why it was so horrifying when lance held out a tanned hand with a confident grin. “deal. how long have i got?”

”a month.”

and they shook hands. lance felt dread seep into his blood with each shake. where was he going to find $200?

if lance was even going to attempt to save his dignity, he needed to act fast. when the bell rung, signalling the start of the day, he knew every second counted. one month to convince keith to date him. easy, right?

lance searched for him everywhere. during lessons, in between breaks, throughout the halls. he even spent his whole lunch wandering the building aimlessly, searching for keith. the guy was no where when you needed him.

lance slumped at the gates of the garrison when he day was done. usually, after school, he’d wait for hunk to walk back with him. he turned left at the gates like lance did, whereas pidge turned right. today, hunk was late.

lance watched the students piling out of the school in hurry of freedom. there was a lot of people, and lance didn’t even recognise them all. he felt the weight of his bag on his bag and counted the seconds hunk wasn’t with him, wondering what could be stalling his friend.

when the last few people started emptying the building, lance grabbed his phone to question hunk truly. without missing a beat, he shoved the slick metal back into his back pocket when he laid eyes on something spectacular. a golden ticket. an opportunity.

”keith!” lance let out before he could think. “uhh— wait up!” lance tripped over himself and sped over to keith, who looked, ultimately, disgusted.

lance was a chatty guy, and actually in a few of keith’s classes, so the idea of lance taking to him wasn’t completely foreign, but not free from being totally weird. this opinion was plastered on keith’s face when lance was close enough to see. they paused together in the middle of grounds.

”hey, keith.” lance settled, hoping ideas would fall from his mouth.

keith opened his mouth, but shut it soon after, not wanting to endorse this new and unfamiliar behaviour. 

“as you may have noticed, i wasn’t in last week for chem, and i know you’re in my class. tell me you’re kind and you want to send me your notes?”

keith hesitated. “i didn’t notice.”

”that’s all you picked out from that?” lance huffed, flapping a hand in the air dismissively. “regardless, can you?”

”can i.. what?”

”send me the notes, keith.”

keith waited a strangely long time before speaking, collecting all his thoughts before saying words he didn’t need to. “who are you?”

“lance. lance, the lovely lance in your chem class?”

”right.” keith nodded slowly. “you sit next to allura, don’t you?”

”yeah! yeah, you do know me!”

keith only nodded again, something clicking in his brain. something not all that nice, if the look on his face was anything to go by.

”don’t make me ask again, buddy.”

”notes? won’t allura give them to you? it’s a bit of a hassle.” at this point, keith was slowly heading toward the gates, out of lances aura of activity.

”i don’t like the way she writes. too much colour and design, less work. she’s smart so she can write like that, but i need something a little more, detailed.”

”then you’re asking the wrong guy.”

”well— simple’s fine! even, messy? anything. come on, please?” lance pleaded when he noticed keith was even looking at him anymore, only stepping away.

he stopped. “and if i send them you’ll leave me alone?” 

“totally.” lance lied. “just a one-off.” 

keith thought for a moment. “fine. do what you need to do.” keith rolled his eyes slightly, pulling out his phone and handing it to lance. he needed to send the notes, after all.

lance tried to hide his smile. his plan was working. he punched numbers into keith’s phone.

the super hot guy from chem

+44 07395 917488

”all done, take your time. i’m in no rush.”

”right.” keith snatched his phone back, physically reacting to the sight on his screen with a wince. he’d be changing that, his expression read. but that was fine with lance.

”thanks so much, keith! i’m eternally grateful!” lance cheered almost sarcastically to the back of keith’s head, who was far gone from lance’s area. he felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped with suprise.

“sorry i’m late man, iverson kept me back for a minute to talk about my project, but thanks for waiting.” hunk smiled as he came into view.

“all good, man.”

“i saw you.. uh.. talking to keith.” hunk said, pointing back and fourth at his phone.

lance winked. “like i said, anyone.” he grinned, almost lying. perhaps just withholding truth that would change hunks perception of the situation.

“you got his number?”

”of course i did, don’t look shocked.”

hunk nodded slowly. “okay.” he said, wondering how pidge would feel about that. “nice!”

all lance had to do was make his statements reality. which, if his past endeavours are anything to go by, is terribly difficult.

+44 07582 638299:

20:14 [IMAGE] There.

lance looked to the buzz from his phone absentmindedly, scribbling in his book tomorrow’s homework. he grinned when he registered the message.

You:

thanks sooo much keith you’re so totally the best.

Read 20:14

lance smiled with self-accomplishment. he was one-step closer to $100. with an established (very small and minor) connection to keith, he was ready to start chipping away until he was able to pop the big question.

lance placed his phone down after inspecting the photo keith had sent. his notes were neater than expected, but hurried and thin, like he wasn’t really listening. guess he didn’t really have to, lance thought suddenly, understanding that keith was naturally quite smart. there was about 10 lines of the page filled out, whereas lance usually would have filled out pages. it didn’t matter to him though, he’d already copied alluras notes (the ones he did actually find super helpful) and didn’t need keith’s. but now he had his number.

only 29 more days to go. he could do it.

Chapter Text

pidge was visibly affected with the news that lance had received keith’s number.

”seriously? he just gave it to you?”

”must have been my good looks— oh! or my handsome smile. maybe my voice?” lance chanted, smiling to himself.

”maybe he felt bad for you.” pidge scoffed, yet she was still a little nervous. was she going to loose $100? surely not.

”yeah right. he’s lucky to have direct access to me, 24/7.”

pidge nodded, unconvinced. “what’d you say, anyway?”

”well,” lance looked up like he was falling back into a memory. only, he was just trying to think of a lie. “i walked up to him, very smoothly and seductively, and i grabbed onto his shoulder. i said, keith, you’re gorgeous, has anyone ever told you that? and he was all— oh no lance! no never! wow! and i was like don’t worry keith, i think so. and he was super stoked. so i felt for him, y’know? and i gave him my number. charity work, you see?” 

“yeah,” pidge rolled her eyes. “i’m sure.”

lance decided pointedly, during his second period, exactly what he was going to do for part two of his plan. confidence is sexy, he thought while iverson nattered about maths, i’m just going to ask him straight up.

this time, lance wasn’t going to waste his break searching for a missing person. he saw keith in the corner of the class, staring out of the window like he was experiencing something profound. lance couldn’t help but smile, keith was kinda strange.

when the bell rang and students stood abruptly, packing their bags to be as far from the class as quickly as they could, lance locked his eyes onto keith. he wasn’t going to loose him. not ever.

lance slung his bag over his shoulder and caught up to keith the moment he left the class. he walked in step with keith into the hall. if keith noticed, he didn’t show it. he didn’t even look at lance.

”so, keith, buddy..” lance chimed beside him. “some notes, huh?”

keith glared at the floor with each coming step, counting the rhythm of his shoes on the linoleum. he thought before he spoke. “what?” is all he could muster in the end.

”thanks for them, super helpful.” lance exaggerated his nod in the way he likes to - dramatically.

”i thought you said if i sent them you’d leave me alone?” keith murmured with slight distaste. 

“can a man not yearn for some friends now and then?” 

“you have friends.” keith stated, then thought about lance’s words a little more. “friends? i don’t want to be friends.” he stammered.

they came to the end of the hall where shiro’s office was. he didn’t realise, but lance had just been following keith instead of directing them somewhere. that’s where he goes then, lance thought to himself. 

“no to friends? that’s cool, that’s not what i’m looking for, anyway.” lance shrugged complacently, “i was thinking more like…”

”like what?” keith mustered up his best glare. this conversation was new and uncomfortable territory for him.

”like, maybe i could take you out sometime. what do you say?”

if keith was at all affected by what lance had just said, it wasn’t obvious. it wasn’t even subtle, either. his face remained stone-still until lance spoke again.

”like, a date, i mean. want to go on a date, keith?”

”with a complete stranger that i don’t like? let me think.”

lance grabbed the area of his shirt that hovered over his heart in mock-horror. “a complete stranger? you know me, keith.”

”no i don’t, leave me alone.” keith’s hand went for the door, but lance caught it, sending shock throughout keith’s body until he snapped his hand away.

”you’re never going to say yes? i’m cool, and smart, and handsome and you’re saying no?”

”yes.”

lance didn’t comment on keith’s lack of disagreement to his list of positive adjectives. he knew that didn’t mean keith agreed, but the joke was open for the taking. lance thought it not the right time. “never? not even to try it?”

keith pointedly shook his head.

”fine. fine. i get it.” lance shrugged. “would you do it for $25?”

”what?” keith scoffed. “you’d pay me to go out with you? you can’t be that desperate.”

”no, no, no, hold on. i made a bet with my friend.”

this time, keith’s reaction was slightly clearer on his features. his eyebrows raised, and his mouth softly downturned. it was almost unnoticeable, but keith looked slightly disappointed. “a bet?”

”i may have claimed myself to be a greek-god of sorts, and said i was capable of getting anyone i wanted.” to this, keith scoffed. “and pidge betted one— i mean, $50 i couldn’t get you to go out with me.”

”$50?”

lance looked away. “uh, yeah.” he lied.

”so you’ll give me $25 to go out on a date with you?”

lance grinned. “yeah!” 

“absolutely not.”

“what?”

keith rolled his eyes, hand now firm on the door handle, ready to bolt into shiro’s office. “$25 is not worth an uncomfortable period of time, a dent in my pride, and a date with you.”

“that’s—“ lance squinted his eyes and thought, “actually really horrible. what the hell, keith? just one date, and you get money!”.

”$25? i have a job, you know.”

”so? keith, please, i really want this money.” lance pleaded, hands together in front of his face and shaking his head.

keith deadpanned. “i’ll give you $25 to never talk to me again. happy?”

“are you naturally horrible, or am i that bad?” lance huffed as he held his arms crossed against his chest.

”have you been on a date recently?”

”well, no.”

”question answered, then.” 

lance thought about that for a minute. surprisingly, his arms fell to his sides and he hummed a little in confusion. “what stick’s up your ass?” lance muttered, and despite his pointed glare, you could hear the hurt in his voice. it made keith drop his hand on the handle and look to lance.

”nevermind. you’re right, $25 is dumb, and i don’t actually want to go out with you, anyway.” lance huffed and turned on his heel to leave, walking down the hall with a sullen step.

did keith feel bad? no, the turn in his stomach was because he was hungry. that’s certain. maybe.

he finally opened the door and walked in to greet shiro, who sat at his desk and marked papers. “oh, keith!” he smiled when the boy walked in and sat opposite him.

“hi,” keith nodded a little and pulled out a drink from his bag. often he came here when in his breaks. it was a place to be away from people, and shiro didn’t mind his company. throughout their years at the garrison, keith and shiro had gotten close to each-other. (even though shiro was tasked to get keith to socialise. in the end, he took it upon himself to be keith’s friend until he found his own. so far, keith had done much the opposite)

”good day so far?” shiro asked between page turning.

”no.” keith muttered, then thought better of it, “well. no as in yes. my day’s fine so far.”

shiro looked up quickly, “right. anyway, i’ve got bad news.”

”what?”

“you know the campus ID you lost? about a week ago?”

keith nodded. he’d been having to wait for people to show up to school gates in order to get inside. he’d been late everyday for a week.

”turns out no one has it. well, no one that i’ve asked. and i’ve asked everyone. either it got thrown away or blown away. who knows, regardless — you need to buy a new one.”

keith shrugged between sips. “that’s fine. what’s the damage?”

”$20..” shiro pulled an awkward face and sat back in his chair, discarding his marking.

”$20, for a piece of plastic and string?” 

shiro chuckled a little. “well, the lanyard itself costs around $3, the chip inside and penalty for loosing it is what’s costing you.”

keith sunk in his chair.

”i’m happy to buy it for you.” shiro smiled.

keith waved a hand dismissively. “no, no, that’s fine. i’ve got $20, i think.” 

suddenly, it occurred to keith that he didn’t have $20. he didn’t have any money, actually. he’d spent it all on a new bike. he had a few pennies in a pot, and that was all.

”what is it?” shiro asked, noticing keith’s scowl.

”nothing. just annoying, is all.” 

“keith, i’m fine with—“

”no. i have $20. i have more than $20, and i lost it myself anyway. don’t worry.” keith shrugged and sat back up. he wasn’t ever going to make shiro do something like that for him, even if he did know shiro really didn’t mind.

”if you say so.”

suddenly, a worse and horrifying thought occurred to keith. one that made his skin cold and his shoulders rise. 

would you do it for $25?

no. no, no, no. keith was not doing that. even if he was out of work for a while due repairs in the building, and he was penniless, he was not falling so low that he would ask lance for a date. a fake date, even.

”oh! and, iverson wants you to have a new ID by the end of the week. and considering today is thursday, you might wanna visit him soon.”

“are you kidding me? why’s he care so much?”

”well, you’re becoming increasingly late to class. he’s annoyed.”

keith scoffed. “horrible man.”

”what can you do.”

$25 is not worth an uncomfortable period of time, a dent in my pride, and a date with you.

keith felt like an idiot as he rose from his chair and slung his bag over his shoulder. “i have something to do, quickly. i’ll see you later.”

”bye, keith!”

keith sunk into his own skin. ridiculed.

keith wandered around the building, getting increasingly tired as he did. break was over, but he had a free period. weirdly, he knew lance did too. they had similar timetables, and he had noticed lance around at this time. before now, it was never necessary information, just simple observation. now, keith searched for him.

when he spotted a familiar face he was slightly excited. in the way you are when you find the next piece of the puzzle. keith walked over. “uh,” he coughed out, and hunk turned over to look to him.

”oh, hey, keith!” hunk smiled, before knitting his eyebrows together. “you okay?”

“mm, have you seen lance?” 

all of hunk’s suspicions were confirmed with that very statement. was lance really going to win the bet?

”yeah. yeah, he’s in the library. i just left him actually, so he’s probably still there.” hunk couldn’t help but ask a little further. “what do you need him for?”

but keith was already leaving. “nothing.” he muttered on his way out.

hunk stood silently for a bit, astonished. pidge slowly found her way back to him. “you okay? you’re going pale, and that’s saying something.” pidge asked, remarking hunk’s dark skin.

”keith.. keith was looking for lance.”

pidge jolted. “really? you’re joking. has lance actually gone and done it?”

”well, i don’t know, he didn’t say.”

pidge pulled at her hair. “i can’t give lance $100! i thought he was just being cocky and i was going to make a bunch of money.”

”don’t doubt the man’s charm, i guess.”

pidge melted into herself. “this is so ridiculous.”

Chapter Text

lance was, indeed, in the library. his desk was surrounded by paper and books and pens, but he sat in his chair with his knees to his chest playing on his phone. keith stood before him abruptly, but lance didn’t look up.

”i’m working, pidge. you’re going to have to come back.” lance shrugged, smiling as a victorious noise came out of his phone from a game he was playing.

”i’m not pidge.” keith stated as he pulled out the chair opposite lance. “im, uh, here to ask you something.”

lance jolted and nearly dropped his phone at the sight of keith. “you? what the heck do you want.”

keith shrugged off the insulting tone. “turns out i do need $25.”

lance smirked, leaning back in his chair, legs on the ground now, like a king. “they all come running back.” he sung.

”right.” keith paused. “this isn’t anything but a need for money quickly. i still dislike you. a lot.”

”it’s okay, keith. i’m not gonna tell anyone!” lance mused with a playful grin. “you’ll really go on a date with me? and tell hunk and pidge it was real?”

”why do i have to tell them?” keith pinked a little, feeling his pride slowly being chipped away.

”like hell they’ll believe me.” lance rolled his eyes. “we go out, take a picture for proof, and you tell them you had a great time and i’ll get the money to you.”

keith shrunk a little where he sat and groaned. “when do i get the money? tonight? i need it tonight?”

”woah-ho-ho.” lance laughed, pushing his hands around the air to deescalate the situation. “tonight? you want me that bad?”

“don’t even try and amuse yourself. i need the money for something tomorrow. can you give it to me tonight?” 

lance shrugged. “pidge probably won’t budge for a week but i can loan it to you in the meantime.” he decided casually. “so, tonight then? you’ll go out with me tonight?”

keith thought long and hard. was it worth it? shiro was willing to pay for the lanyard. hell— his mother could. but there was a slight guilt in making them pay for things that were his fault. making up for his messes, like they so often did. keith shuddered at the slight guilt weighing on his shoulders and hummed.

”yeah. whatever. where are we going?”

lance couldn’t contain his toothy grin. “send me your address and i’ll pick you up at seven.”

keith rolled his eyes. 

they all come running back.

if there was any sort of lesson or moral in this whole situation, it was that lance was dirt broke. there was little of a message in that, more of a realisation. but lance was moved either way.

he slid slowly into his sisters room, trepidation in his voice as he tried to form the words. “hey, veronica.” he sung. “you look fabulous right now, new product or something?”

veronica swung round on her seat, peeling away from the computer screen and regarding lance with high suspicion.

”what do you want?” she asked cautiously.

”it hurts me to think you are opposed to my compliments. maybe i’m genuine? maybe i’m a nice brother?”

veronica rolled her eyes. “lance, please, spit it out.”

”i need to borrow some money.” he let out, sighing.

”money? for what? i thought you had money left over from last christmas.”

lance pulled an awkward face and sat on veronica’s bed. “well, i spent that. and i’ve only got $30, which im lending to someone. so i need money.”

”uh, okay—“ she shrugged, ignoring the ‘lending’ part. “for what?”

”a date.”

veronica’s face lit up almost instantly. “seriously? a date? really, lance?”

”uh, yeah.” he squinted, not sure what the severity of this announcement was. “nothing crazy.”

”who is she? is she in your class?” veronica clutched onto the back of her seat in excitement, biting her bottom lip to suppress a grin.

”she?” lance cocked his head. his sister always reacted so dramatically to things.

veronica raised her eyebrows in genuine shock. “or, he. that’s cool. unexpected but— well, maybe not unexpected.”

“what’s that meant to mean?”

”nothing, nothing!” she giggled. “what are you two doing?” she no longer suppressed her smile.

”not sure yet, i’m thinking dinner?”

“cool cool. where?”

lance pondered. “maybe pizza, no?”

veronica’s face fell flat. “pizza? are you joking?”

”what? everyone likes pizza.”

she shook her head pointedly. “no, lance. take him somewhere nice. somewhere romantic.”

lance shuddered. “no way, keith would kill me.”

“is that his name?” 

“uh, yeah. keith.”

she smiled. “oh this is adorable!” 

lance felt, at this moment, it would be a very terrible time so say it’s not real. perhaps the gleam in veronica’s eye and beam of her smile is what made lance keep that fact to himself. not pride, surely. veronica would never judge him. and it wasn’t self pity, either. lance had confidence in himself.

but seeing her cheer for lance’s date made him feel a little sullen. is he really that lonely? is this seriously a celebratory event? is he that devoid of romance?

veronica would probably slump over if she learnt lance was lying, and say something like “oh, yeah, that checks out.” and his family would continue to ask when he was going to get married, even if he was only 18. 

perhaps it was pride that made him lie. perhaps he did feel bad for himself.

”where to, then?” he asked to cheer himself up.

”there’s a new restaurant downtown. there’s cuban food there, me and ma went the other day. it’s great, and most of the food is pretty normal so i think keith would be alright. maybe there? it’s not too romantic but not too casual either.”

lance slowly nodded, “yeah. yeah, okay, sounds good.” he grinned.

”perfect. i’ll send you over some money, on the house. tell me how it goes!” veronica winked.

lance would definitely pay her back. he was fine with scamming pidge for all of her pennies, but not his own blood.

”thanks, V.”

”anytime.”

lance strapped on his causal-fake-date best and stopped by his brothers room. “can i borrow your car?” he asked luis, who lay on his bed, phone screen blaring onto his face.

“my car? for what?” 

“a date. i’ll be 2 hours, max.”

luis sighed. “don’t smash it.” he said, and then paused, removing the screen from before his face. “and don’t fuck in it, either.”

lance shuddered. “gross man.” he groaned, catching the keys in his hands. 

lance hurried out of the house, slipping through the front door like a snake, and treaded lightly to his brothers car. it was a pain to open the door and start the engine, aware of every sound.

Keith:

Don’t knock on the door.

is all keith said, followed by an address. “ominous,” lance muttered. he pulled out of the driveway after settling his GPS and headed on his way to keith’s house. he figured keith would appreciate his lateness. he was probably trying to make his hair perfect or something.

when lance stopped the car it was 19:21, so he was near half an hour late. he thought about keith’s message, and then decided he didn’t care, and hopped out of the tattered car and made his way to keith’s door. at least, he hoped it was keith’s door, he wasn’t really sure.

lance waited after knocking, hoping it was someone other than keith that opened the door. he wanted a surprise really, something interesting to learn about keith. something others didn’t know.

to his suprise, a woman opened the door. she was young, and if lance didn’t use his contextual skills, he’d probably assume it was a lover or something. however, she bared almost identical resemblance to keith, and therefore the woman was undoubtedly keith’s mother. or sister, but lance opted for the former.

”hello, is keith in?” lance asked sweetly, knowing the answer to the question.

”uh,” keith’s mother began, dumbfounded. “keith? yes, he’s in. are you his friend?”

“oh, best friend. we go way back. i’m hurt keith hasn’t mentioned me.” lance wondered if his strange pleasure he got out of lying was something to worry about, but he grinned and carried on regardless.

”really? oh, keith hasn’t mentioned any friends.” she laughed. she had a stern voice but she sounded kind at the same time. lance liked her already. “what’s your name?”

”lance,” he held out a hand, grasping keith’s mothers soft hand. “lance mcclain.”

”nice to meet you. i’m krolia, keith’s mother.” 

“i figured.” lance shrugged, pulling his hand away. “anyway, i'm late and i bet keith’s pissed, would you call— oh! speak of the devil.”

lances grin made keith shudder.

”what the hell did you tell my mother?” he asked accusatory. his tone shocked krolia.

”oh, just some introductory things. i’m lance , your sons best friend . i didn’t yet get to the date part, maybe thought you’d want to tell her yourself?” lance chimed. 

“are you fucking serious?” keith deadpanned, crossing his arms over his chest furiously.

krolia jumped. ”date? keith you didn’t mention.”

”because it’s not true. come on, i don’t have all night.” keith muttered, stepping out of the door.

”if it’s not a date, where are you going?” she asked.

”yeah, keith, tell your mother where we’re going.” lance’s grin made keith want to punch him. he probably would, if his mother wasn’t there.

”do you get some kick out of this?” keith glared at lance, arms still strapped over his chest. partly because it was cold, mostly because he was raged.

”nope. just an advocate for the truth. i’m hurt you would tell your mother about us.” lance smirked and put a hand to his heart.

“it’s—“ keith tried to muster up a solution to his current issue, but ended up lowering his arms and sighing. “complicated. i’ll see you in an hour.” keith said to his mother.

”an hour? is that all the time you have for me?” lance complained with exaggerated sadness.

”30 minutes? we only need a photo.”

“i’m deeply hurt.” lance mumbled as he began to follow keith’s step. “bye krolia! see you soon!” lance waved goodbye and watched a dumbfounded mother wave back, and slowly close the door.

”krolia? are you fucking serious?” keith asked as he opened his side of the door and climbed into the car.

”great woman. invite me for dinner sometime. you got any other family?”

keith didn’t say anything, too annoyed to even begin to reply to lances madness. also, the answer was no, and that was awkward.

”buckle up. i’ve got a treat in store for you!” lance grinned behind the wheel, starting the car. keith put his seatbelt over his chest and groaned, a headache already forming in the front of his head.

the restaurant wasn’t as busy as you’d might expect, and lance drew that up to it being thursday night. not exactly party night.

they were seated at a quiet booth in the corner of the building, away from most of the people. keith was silently grateful. he was already horrified just standing next to lance.

lance held the large menu up to his face. keith did so much as glance at it. “not hungry?” lance asked. “feel free, it’s on me. get whatever.” 

keith knit his eyebrows together. “you’re going to pay?”

”sure thing.”

”this meal alone will cost more than $25. what the hell do you get out of this bet, then? 

lance dropped the menu and thought for a while. “well, first, i lied. pidge bet me $100. i was just going to keep the $75, but i feel bad now after tormenting your mother. we can cut the share of $50 each.” lance flashed an all-to-familiar grin. “and then, it will probably cost around $50 for two meals here so, i don't loose anything.” lance shrugged as if this was completely answering keith’s question.

”and you gain nothing.” keith’s face twisted with confusion. “what the hell are you doing here?”

now, it all occurred to lance. “you’re totally right,” he thought out loud. “i keep my pride, i guess.”

”your pride?”

”yeah,” lance shrugged, glancing over the menu again. “i mean, it’d be pretty embarrassing if i talked all this talk about being able to get anyone i wanted, and then getting horribly turned down.” 

“and yet you did.” keith reminded him, finally looking at the menu.

lance laughed, but it sounded different than usual. less substance to it. it was hollow. “i guess so, huh.” lance muttered. “pretty embarrassing.”

the two fell into a strange silence, lance nattering about the menu options every now and again. keith kept stock still and didn’t say anything to endorse conversation. mentally, he decided he would just get this dish that had rice and beans and lamb in it, and by the sound of lance’s muttering, he wanted something similar.

”drink?” lance looked up from the menu. “shouldn’t do too much damage.”

”uh, i don’t know.” keith mumbled. “a coke?”

”classy.” lance said sarcastically, but it was devoid of any malice. “i’m going to get lemonade.”

”boring.” keith couldn’t help but let out after lances reaction to his drink.

”are you kidding me? cuban lemonade is like the best. i hope they make it right.” lance thought out loud. “oh! scratch that, they’ve got jugo de caña, it’s real good. want one too?”

”jugo de what?”

”caña. it’s made out of sugarcane.”

keith winced. “no thanks.”

they lapsed into simple silence again while lance hummed away, continuing to read the menu despite his made up mind. keith wondered, idly, if he just liked to read familiar words. he wondered if lance ever missed home, if he had actually ever been to cuba, if he was actually cuban—

”are you from cuba?” he found himself asking without really wanting to. something lit up in lance’s eye and keith almost didn’t regret asking.

”yeah. my whole family is. i moved when i was 7.” he smiled. it was a new expression, one from the many keith was now getting used to. he seemed more genuine. happier. “it’s totally the best place in the world. i like america, but i miss home like hell.”

all of keith’s questions were answered pretty quickly. he nodded simply as lance stated new facts.

i’m fluent in cuban spanish.

my brother is in cuba right now, visiting family.

last year, my parents went back.

i remember the pool, the beach—

the sand

the people

the food

laughter

joy

sun

sky

”sounds like you like the place.” keith murmured. their drinks had been ordered and had arrived in the time lance took to recite all his favourite memories and most cherished places. 

“oh, yeah.” he laughed a little awkwardly. “i don’t mean to overwhelm you.”

keith shrugged.

”where are you from?” lance asked.

keith was unused to this. completely and utterly out of his element. it had been forever since he had a proper conversation with someone other than shiro or his mother, and never since he went out to dinner with someone. his awkwardness was prevalent, but lance didn’t mind.

”texas.”

lance nodded. “texas, huh? never been. what’s it like? all sand and meat and rednecks?”

”ultimately.” keith watched the bubbles form and rise in his coke.

”why’d you move? here, i mean.”

keith looked up for a second. “the garrison. i guess.”

”you guess?”

”i mean, i moved for other reasons, but they’re not reasons i’m willing to share with a stranger over dinner.”

lance chuckled. “quit calling me a stranger, you know me, now, at least.”

keith looked away. he was highly uncomfortable throughout this whole experience, but he found himself less uncomfortable than what he could be. at least lance was chatty and bright, and he could entertain himself. keith didn’t have to reply for lance to be satisfied. at first, he thought, how could someone be so simple? but sooner than later he found himself grateful. there was only so many “cool” and “neat”’s that keith could muster up.

after a while, their food came, and lance was more than happy. “i’m so glad veronica told me to come here, it’s really good. do you like it? your food?”

keith squinted. “veronica?”

”oh, that’s my sister. she’s older than me.” lance felt the urge to mention.

”how.. how many siblings to you actually have?” keith asked after piecing together a few names.

”4 siblings. i’m the youngest, can you believe it?” lance groaned. “there luis and marco — we drove luis’ car here. and veronica and rachel. i’ve got nieces and nephews, too. and plenty of cousins.”

keith hummed, swallowing a bite of his food.

”yeah, nadia and silvio. those are the little ones. they’re super sweet.” lance’s smile warmed when he talked about his family. keith noticed.

“how about you? siblings?”

”it’s just me and my mother.” he muttered.

”oh, i wonder what that’s like.” lance said, and it was noticeable his lack of shock. keith was always met with horror when he had to explain his situation, but lance only looked to the ceiling, leaning back in the booth. “i can’t imagine what it’s like to be alone. i think i’m alone for an hour a day. id like to complain, but i know nothing else. i don't think i'm suited to be alone anyway, i talk to much.” lance laughed, his hollow, empty laugh that he makes when he's a little uncomfortable. “i guess i’m talking too much now, huh?”

”it’s whatever.” keith said, because he didn’t know what else to say.

by the end of the night, lance could only complain that he was full. it didn’t stop him from ordering garlic knots to-go, and telling keith that he had to try them. they were his favourite, after all.

lance did pay in the end, and keith found himself feeling a little bad. but lance slowly started to explain the situation with his sister earlier on, and he stopped feeling so guilty. when keith pushed open the glass door with thin, pale fingers, lance jumped behind him. “picture! keith! take a picture with me.” lance reminded the latter, proof he says.

lance swung an arm around keith’s shoulders before even thinking to ask and took a photo of the two. lance smiled wide, whereas keith stared into the camera with a slight knit to his brow. lance looked to the photo after, giggling. “you look a little like you hate me, but pidge’ll just think you’re camera shy.”

”i am both of those things.” keith groaned.

”a camera-shy lance-hater?” 

“yup.”

lance laughed, loud and joyful. keith turned with curiosity. “keith, you crack me up.” he said, sighing his laugh away. keith didn’t really get what was so funny. “maybe it’s your awkwardness. do you mean to be funny?”

”i didn’t even make a joke..”

lance laughed a little again, walking up the road and toward the car. “priceless.” he muttered. and keith followed.

when lance pulled up to keith’s house, he sunk back into his chair, hands tightening over the wheel. “tell your mom hi for me, yeah? and try to keep me in the good-books. maybe the whole scamming-date for $50 will make me look bad.”

”if i tell the truth and she decides she hates you, that’s on you.” keith said, undoing his seatbelt.

”makes sense. anyway, thanks for coming tonight.” lance became suddenly sentimental.

”that’s fine.” keith muttered.

”no, really, thanks. i’ve been so stressed about this whole thing, i thought i was going to look like an idiot. but you’ve saved my ass, keith, and you’re going to get $50!”

keith thought for a long moment. “$20.” he mumbled.

”what?”

”i only need $20. keep the rest, you paid for dinner, after all.” he couldn’t even look in lances direction. keith thinks this might have been the nicest he’s ever been.

”seriously? i don’t mind, man.”

”no— no it’s fine. i do really need $20 though, so..” keith nudged.

”oh, right!” lance reached into his jean pocket for his wallet. he pulled out a $20 note and handed it to keith. “i withdrew this for you. such a sense of urgency.” lance mocked.

”thanks.” keith pocketed it swiftly, “i’ll, um.. see you tomorrow.” the words sounded so strange and unfamiliar on keith’s tongue that lance almost laughed.

”yeah, man. see you ‘round.”

the door shut as keith got out and lance drove away, something bubbling in his chest. is keith like.. his friend now? lance grinned all the way home. he may not have convinced the “untouchable” keith to go on a real date with him, but he had started a friendship. and that, to lance, was just as impressive. and totally worth $80.

see you tomorrow.

Chapter Text

pidge clasped onto lance’s phone with tiny fingers, eyes flicking back and fourth as she looked from lance to keith to lance to keith to lance—

“read it and weep, pidge podge!” lance smirked, letting her scan the photo for any sign of fraudulence.

“he looks unhappy.” she mused.

”he still went, didn’t he?”

pidge sighed, handing back the phone. “was he forced?”

”he said see you tomorrow, when i dropped him home. no, he was not forced.”

lance felt pride in saying he wasn’t, because, in a scumming, fake kinda way he wasn’t. lance ditched the whole ordeal pretty quickly before keith decided to come running back.

they all come running back.

“where’s my $80?” lance huffed, hand out. “i mean— $100. it’s $100, right?” lance couldn’t help his face flushing with fear.

”yeah, man, $100. what do you mean $80?”

”i can be stupid, y’know.” lance chuckled, a nervous hand tracing the edge of his shirt collar.

pidge scoffed. “oh, i know. but i’ll get you your money by the end of the week, i need to just get the cash somewhere.”

lance smirked, placing his hands behind his head as if he was relaxing. he leant into his chair. “that’s what i like to hear.”

”how’d you do it, anyway?” pidge grumbled. “i mean, i seriously thought you were kidding. maybe keith’s just desperate.”

lance squinted his eyes, face contorting with distaste. “i don’t like to swear, but fuck you pidge!” he uttered, words harsh but said lightly. he even smiled after, “keith came to me, out of his own free will, because he likes me.”

at least, lance hoped that last bit was true.

“sure thing. does he like racist’s too? because i’m stating to think he’s got his head in the wrong place.”

”fuck you, again.” lance scoffed.

they fell into a simple silence. they were actually supposed to be studying. even though pidge was younger than lance, and in a lower year, she still helped him with his homework. that was, as you’d imagine, incredibly humbling and condescending. but lance grew used to being less intelligent than a 16 year old.

”say, lance, you think he’d go out with you again?” pidge asked lightly, eyes darting from her paper to lance.

lance sunk a little in his chair and raised a hand to push the hair up from his forehead. something you’d do if you were stressed or anxious. “uh,” lance hummed, not looking to pidge. “probably… not.” he finalised.

pidge wanted to make a joke. wanted to laugh and say she was right and keith didn’t like him at all. but the sincerity of lances tone made her stop. “no?”

”i don’t— i don’t think so.” lance chuckled awkwardly.

but it sounded different than usual. less substance to it. it was hollow.

”$100 for a date is pretty good-going. i wouldn’t worry about it too much.” pidge decided, and pulled out a textbook with a clank on the table. “time for maths, don’t you think?”

lance groaned, but he was grateful to move on. “whatever.”

keith didn’t often find himself talking to shiro by means of request, but here he was, sitting in shiro’s office, waiting for him to return. he was missing english currently, and he was nervous as to what shiro would want out of him. his leg bobbed in its place and he fiddled with the hem of his black shirt.

the door opened with a click.

”keith,” shiro said warmly. “sorry for keeping you, adam wanted something.” he chuckled a little and sat in his regular chair.

”something you want me for? i’m missing valuable learning time.” keith mumbled, the nerves in his voice slightly noticeable.

”oh, sure. learning time.” shiro rolled his eyes. “i— uh— i spoke to your mother last week?”

”and?”

shiro couldn’t help his slight grin. “she told me some things about you.”

keith reacted to this, shoulders raising and face frowning. “like what?”

”apparently you went out…? last week..? with— uh— lance.”

keith sighed (maybe grumbled) and slid down very far in his chair. his leg stopped bobbing, and his frown was replaced by a stern glare at his shoes. “what did she say?” he muttered.

”that he picked you up at 7, took you out to eat, and called it a date?” shiro’s smile was prevalent in his tone, even if keith wasn’t looking at him. “she said you refused to talk about it when you came home — something about ‘it’s not even real so who cares.’ ring a bell?”

”it isn’t.” keith looked to shiro finally, who had cocked his head, resting it in his elevated palm.

”it.. isn’t real?” he knit his eyebrows. “like.. you don’t like him?”

”no! like, it was for money.” keith refused to elaborate, the whole ordeal coming back to him seeming utterly stupid. 

“so you’re like.. selling yourself for money?”

keith flushed. “what? no! no, no, no.” he sat upright again and profusely shook his hands from side to side defensively. “lance just— he— i don’t know. he was bet some money and— he gave me some.. i guess.”

”you know i have no clue what you mean.” shiro deadpanned.

”lance told his friend, pidge, that he was good enough to win anyone over. she decided to put that to the test and bet him some money that he couldn’t get me, a guy who hates dates, to go on a date with him. and instead of trying lance just told me he’d give me money.”

shiro nodded, slowly catching on.

”i needed the money for the ID, and lance— i don’t know he just wanted it.”

shiro took a second to contemplate. each tick from his watch sent shivers though keith’s spine. “so you’re not interested in him?” keith shook his head. “and you’re not, like, friends now?”

”nope.”

shiro frowned. “why not? lance is a lovely guy.”

keith scoffed. “oh lance is a lovely guy.” he mocked.

“okay, lance is a cool guy. you could be friends.” shiro shrugged, trying to make this suggestion sound as casual as it could.

”oh definitely, as soon as lances stops being insufferable i’ll think about it.” keith murmured sarcastically. he looked off to the side and knit his lips into a thin line.

”don’t be stupid, keith. you need to open up a little more. lance is a nice guy, you could give him a try.”

keith suddenly stood with purpose, his chair screeching back as he did. he balled his fists.

”i don’t like lance, and i don’t need friends. if you’ll excuse me, i’m supposed to be in class.”

shiro was used to keith’s temper and let him go with no struggle.

lance is a lovely guy.

“the nerve.” keith mumbled as he trudged down the hall.

lance swiped idly at his phone, leaning over the kitchen counter. the sun shone though the thin curtains and lit up his hair like a firework. he came to the kitchen for something to eat, but got distracted when his phone buzzed.

”whatcha doing?” veronica asked, sliding into the kitchen.

it was the weekend, and lance didn’t do anything ever on the weekends. ”nothing.” he said.

veronica opened cupboard doors and searched for some breakfast. “well, i’ve been meaning to speak to you, anyway.” she hummed.

”really?” lance shot his eyebrows up, leaning back on the counter now, phone discarded beside him. “about what?”

”this keith guy.” veronica pulled out a pot of yoghurt from the fridge and clanked the cutlery around for a spoon. “how’d it go?”

it had been just over a week since lance actually went out with keith. he was hoping veronica just forgot.

”good. the food was great, honestly, that’s for telling me about it.”

”oh yeah?” she hummed, spoon slipping out of her mouth.

”yeah. it wasn’t even busy either, which is great. and they played good music.” lance shrugged. “hey, i want one of them.” he muttered when he finally recognised veronica was eating something, and he was starving.

“but what about keith? did you have fun together?”

”keith?” lance said, head buried in the fridge. it muffled his voice slightly. “what about him?”

”lance!” veronica huffed, putting her yoghurt down. “what happened?”

lance plunged a spoon into the yoghurt and took a large, exaggerated bite to prolong the amount of time it took for him to speak again.

”uh, i don’t know. we ate dinner?”

”are all guys just useless?” veronica rolled her eyes. “does he like you? what did you talk about? did you kiss?”

”ew, no.”

”then what happened?”

lance sighed. “we— he sat with me for dinner. i forgot what he had but it looked nice. we talked about cuba, and texas, and other, boring things. i picked him up and dropped him home— oh! and i took a picture.” lance shrugged. “but that was it.”

”right.” she deadpanned. “can i see the pic?”

lance grabbed his phone. “i guess.” he swiped through his photos to look for the one in question. he hoped veronica would only dare to look at just the one, because before and after were just pictures lance took of himself.

lance handed veronica his phone casually. to lance, this was casual.

she beamed when she looked to the photo. “oh, lance! he’s cute!”

”y’think?” lance rolled his eyes. keith was anything but cute. rude, horrible and unkind? more like it.

”yes,” she put a hand to her heart affectionately. “oh, i love him. when’s he coming over for dinner?”

lance didn’t get a chance to question that before marco, his older brother, walked in. “who’s coming?” he asked, grabbing for a bottle of something in the fridge.

”lances date!” veronica beamed.

”what? no, no, no, no.” lance said, a little too quickly to be normal. “i have no date. let’s— let’s drop that idea, soon, please.”

”but keith is your date? no?” 

“keith?” marco questioned after a sip of his drink. “who’s keith?”

”lances date.”

luis walked in. “oh, the one you borrowed my car for?”

”uncle lance went on a date?” a quiet voice muttered.

lance rubbed his eyes furiously to hide from this terribly situation he’d created for himself. “no, no, no.” he continued to murmur to himself.

wow lance, never thought you’d get there.

who is he? is he in your class?

he better be your age.

is he cute? what’s he look like?

what’s his name again?

keith?

who’s keith?

is keith—?

keith, keith, keith, keith—

“oh, stop it!” lance said firmly, ending the overwhelming chatter. “no ones coming over and i’ve got no date. okay? can we behave normally for a moment, please?” he rolled his eyes.

he watched as his siblings raised eyebrows and shared strange glances. luis, marco, veronica, rachel. (when did rachel come in?) his little niece and nephew stood by their fathers legs, too. 

lance felt, all at once and quite anxiously, that he was letting them down. he was reminded of the times he’d been asked when he was going to bring someone home. the awkward conversations of if he had met any girls, and were there any cute ones. 

he gulped slowly. was he letting them down?

”i mean—“ lance laughed shyly. “well, i’m just a little nervous with all you guys all at once.” his smile shook a little, showing teeth and then not, his lip quivered. “what did veronica say?”

”you had a date?” marco noted.

lance slowly nodded. “right, right right right.” 

“you did. though.”

“yeah!” his voice was slightly too high for his typical tone. “yeah, no, i did.”

”and do you like him? are you going to go out again?” rachel asked, a little less aware of the conversation but still interested

”um,”

you’re letting them down.

marco’s brow is knit.

veronica looks hopeful.

the twins are smiling.

you’re letting them down.

”yeah! probably. maybe. i can do.” lance shrugged awkwardly. somewhere, veronica clapped and jumped and sung.

lance gulped.

what had he done?

Chapter Text

lance had been struggling.

he was hyper focused on the ticking on the wall. the low murmur of chatting in the back of the class. the scribbling of notes beside him.

despite the noise, his thoughts were louder. lance sighed into his arms, deflating like a balloon. he pinched his eyes shut and tried to think of anything better than his currently situation. lance had no date. keith hated him. and he had told his family otherwise.

the bell rang suddenly, and lance was forced to perk up. he slowly stuffed his belongings into his bag and headed out to lunch. 

the change in tempo and environment uplifted him a little and he found a slight spring back into his step.

”lance!” a small voice called behind him. sooner than later, pidge appeared next to him. “wait up, what’s the rush?”

lance smiled. “oh nothing, but i’m starving. wanna come with me to the cafeteria?”

pidge groaned. “there’s no worse place to be.”

suddenly, hunk appeared beside pidge, they must have been walking together. “i’ll come with ‘ya lance, i’m just as hungry.”

lance grinned. “it’s settled, pidge podge. 2-1.”

she mumbled something sinister and rolled her eyes. “fine, losers.”

the cafeteria was, expectingly, swarming. lance tried to shrug it off, though, as his stomach had begun to turn on itself.

lance trudged up to the selection and took his pic. he grabbed a small bottle of orange juice, a salami sandwich and a caramel chocolate. unhealthy, sure, but he was drinking orange juice.

he made his way back to his friends. hunk had bought himself a drink and pidge looked like she was going to implode. “okay, okay, we’re outta here!” lance soothed.

they made way to the area they usually sat. it was a quiet bench just outside the science department, surrounded by the sports field. it was grassy and calm and shaded by a large tree.

”so, lance, i’m dying to know.” hunk began after managing a gulp of his spite. “how’d it go? with keith?”

lance made a point to notice that pidge didn’t say anything.

what did it matter, though. lance felt his stomach drop to his ankles and he suffered a hard swallow. 

and do you like him? are you going to go out again?

rachel asked.

lance pulled a hand down his face in order to sponge away some of his dread. “well, i guess it was—“

then, suddenly, a thought occurred to lance. a quiet, simple, even sweet thought. it was small and dwindling, but it surpassed its negative counterparts quickly.

lance had fun.

lots of fun.

”pretty good. honestly.” he felt genuine warmth in his smile — compared to the former, shaky, uncertain one. “he’s actually kinda nice.” 

$20.

i only need $20.

and you paid for dinner anyway.

”really? i thought he’d be boring.” hunk grumbled.

”well,” lance laughed. “he was, kinda. but not in the way you’d think, gee this guy sucks. i think he’s just reserved, or something, becuase i caught glimmers of interest in him.”

”are you gonna go out again?” hunk asked him. and pidge had asked him the same thing a few days prior. this question brought her eyes up, and she regarded lance simply.

lance had said he didn’t think so. he couldn’t back track now.

”i’m not sure, y’know. i don’t know where he’s at.” lance shrugged, trying to keep his tone steady.

”do you not like him?” hunk appealed.

”well, i like him well enough. i know it was all for some dumb bet, but i’d probably go out with him again if i could, y’know, even as friends. but—“ lance gulped. “like i said, he’s reserved. i don’t know if keith is really…”

telling the truth?

”…into all that stuff.”

hunk nodded knowingly. it took a moment for him to speak again. “crazy, huh? that he actually went. he probably does like you. i heard a rumour that a girl asked him out once, and he changed classes.” hunk laughs heartily and it breaks a smile onto lances face.

”i heard that one too,” pidge chimes in. “but i'm pretty sure she was in a different class to begin with.” 

“regardless,” hunk returns. “he’s gotta be at least a little into you if he said yes.”

lance understands that him and pidge don’t fully grasp the situation like he does, but something ebbs in his mind. keith did say yes.. to a date.. with lance. for only $20? even if it’s nothing serious, keith has to admit to liking lance even a fraction of an amount to say yes to that. right?

this isn’t anything but a need for money quickly.

i still dislike you.

a lot.

right?

“yeah, maybe.” lance shrugged. “he was super nice, too. but what’s the shock? everyone loves me.”

lance watched a unanimous eye roll. “sure thing, lance. everyone.” pidge grumbled.

“come on. don’t be a downer. i’m super sexy and cool and everyone would be lucky to have a piece of me.”

“you think keith would agree with that? that you’re sexy and cool and he wants a piece of you?”

lance shrugs, confident and cocky like he usually is. “undoubtedly.”

”wanna..” pidge’s tone shifts slightly before continuing her sentence. “bet?”

lance gulps, suffering a shiver. “bet, huh? you like these bets don't you?”

“hey!” pidge crosses her arms. “me and matt used to do this all the time. i just miss him now that he’s in uni, and i'm taking it out on you.” though it was said a little unserious-ly, lance didn’t really doubt this.

”fine. bet away, gambler. i’ll win, again, anyway.”

”$300 if you get him to go out with you. officially. exclusively. undyingly.”

lanced coughed as he took a sip of his orange juice. “what?”

”you heard me. $300 for a boyfriend. it’s a win-win, if you can do it.” pidge had a challenging smirk on her face. 

“and if i can’t?”

she thinks. “you pay me $500.”

lance bit his bottom lip. by now, hunk had zoned out and left the dumb decisions away from his own train of thought. a hand raised to lances mouth and he nervously bit on the edge of his thumb. pidge waited, fingers strumming rhythmically on the wooden bench.

lance thought about his family. the lie he had promised them.

he thought about himself. if he could do it.

and he thought about keith. who would totally love $150. perfect. lance didn’t need to debate this. it’s the ultimate scam!

”deal, gambler.” lance held out a hand. confident and assured.

pidge took it. “this time i give you 3 months. can he do it?” pidge mockingly asked a fake crowd.

”wait and see.”

lance leant on the wall outside shiro’s office. he thought he’d be better off waiting here for keith to arrive, when, eventually, he did. rather than mope about the school like a lost crab.

when lance caught sight of the familiar mop of black hair and red cropped jacket, he bounced off the wall and waved an innocent hand at keith. “hey, buddy!” he chimed.

keith halted in shock. “u-uh, hey.” he mustered up.

”so, what’s happening in keith-land?”

”keith..? what are you talking about?” keith shot an eyebrow up, ready to walk into the office. lance suddenly felt a sense of deja vu.

”y’know. what’s the haps? anything new?”

keith squints his eyes skeptically. “there wasn’t anything old, either. because you know nothing about me.” 

lance shrugs, waving a hand dismissively. “ah, tomaeto-tomato. how are you?”

keith takes a long pause before replying again. “what do you want?”

lance lowers his shoulders and let out a breath. keith didn’t even realise he was tense. “i’m having a crisis, keith. and you’re going to help me.”

suddenly, shiro opens the door. keith stills but lance jumps a little in his skin. “hey, guys.” he says when they calm. “heard you talking outside. what’s this about a crisis?”

lance gulps. “nothing, i just need keith here to answer my problems.” lance puts his two hands around keith’s arm, long, brown fingers clasping his bicep. lance blinks like a fairy, giving keith glances.

“im not answering anything, loser.” keith, after a noticeable amount of time, shrugs lances hands off. they fall like feathers.

”well— keith.” shiro clears his throat against keith’s bitter answer. “what’s the matter, lance?”

”i’ve gotten myself into a huge disaster and keith the the only guy who can help me.” lance pulls at his hair dramatically. “come on, keith. i need you!”

keith mutters something lowly and looks at lance. “no — why? no.” he shakes his head. “i don’t care and i don’t ’wanna know.”

”keith!”

shiro rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, still standing in the door frame. “hear him out, keith? you can do that, at least.” 

lance nods furiously.

keith rolls his eyes, groaning and wiping a hand over his face. “fine. i’ll hear the issue, but i don’t promise anything.”

lance screams. “yes! yes-yes-yes thank you keith!” he wraps a long arm around keith’s shoulders, which makes keith jump. “my saviour! thank you!”

the two head down the haul and shiro leans on the doorframe, crossing arms over his chest. he’s proud, for a moment, that keith had found a friend. then his hope is crushed, dragged down into the earth and replaced with shock as lance announced, gleefully—

“i need you to be my boyfriend!”

Chapter Text

the air was thick around them. thick for keith, maybe. there was a low hum of students just beyond them and keith tried to focus on it in order to avoid whatever lance was saying.

something about a mistake he made. then an anxiety inducing week. then a stupid bet. again.

keith heard bits and pieces then deduced the gist of what lance meant. he was an idiot and it’s keith’s fault.

“—and so that’s my problem, man.” lance pulled his hair dramatically. “oh, fuck, i’m so screwed.”

the profanity sounded a little foreign on lances tongue. it was harsh and violent and yet quiet and soft. 

“no, you’re not.”

lance jolted up to glare at keith with irritated eyes. “how am i not?”

keith shrugged, picking at the broken ends of the wooden bench. “just bring home some random girl to your family, and call the bet off with pidge.”

lance scoffed, putting a firm hand in the air. “okay, genius. sure.” he began. “let me just find a random who’s willing to date me, for one, and then make it so fast paced that she’s head-over-heels by next week.” his voice slowly began to raise, alarmed and anxious. “and then, confess to pidge that i’m a fraud and no one actually likes me and call of the bet.”

keith looked to him in the same way he did before speaking. before coming out here. before seeing lance this morning. bored.

”which she would, by the way. she’d probably give me a pitiful look and say ‘it’s okay lance we knew you couldn’t do it anyway.’ hell yeah, that sounds great.”

keith stilled. he wasn’t upset or irritated or at all affected by what lance said. “yeah. yeah, that sounds good.”

lance pulled a distasteful face. “i’d like to let you know part one is impossible. and part two is just embarrassing.”

”i think pretending to your family that you’re getting laid, and to your friends that you’re interesting is more embarrassing. but maybe that’s just me.”

”you’re so not right.” lance complained, but the faint blush on his cheeks demonstrated that he wholeheartedly agreed with keith.

”well, i could agree with you. but then again, we could both be wrong.” keith shrugged.

lance didn’t say anything for a while. he just sat and took in the cold. it was late in the year and the state had begun to take a chilly turn. his face grew redder with the bite of the air and he began to embrace the distraction. for all his jokes and exaggerations, this situation really stressed him out. maybe keith you think he was super weird for saying that. or maybe he’d understand.

keith already thinks he’s weird. why not.

”i really want you to help me, keith.” lance started, his tone taking on a sullen sound. “i’ll even give you all of the money. i just— i don’t want to look stupid. and i always do and… you should have seen the look on my siblings face’s. i mean, they were so happy. and i can’t just go home and tell them i lied. they’d be so sad, and more importantly, disappointed.”

keith slowly began to tense his shoulders. the sound of lances voice was like a melody. a sad and twisted melody that made you reflect. keith began, slowly, and only slightly, to feel bad. at least he thinks so, it’s hard to discern when you’re not used to the feeling

”i just— i really really really need you just to pretend. i don’t mind breaking up after a week. i just don’t want to look like an idiot.”

lance rested his forehead on the base of the bench. he looked through the gaps in the wooden pallets and saw the grass below them. his tattered trainers. his shoelaces and his pants bunching at the base of his shoes.

”fine.” he heard, and it stilled his whole body. “fine, yeah. i guess i can. i mean, what do i have to do? just lie?”

lance shot up. “yeah! yeah, yes yes yes. all you have to do is tell people you like me. that’s all.” he grinned.

keith closed his eyes momentarily in deep, strenuous thought. “okay.” he muttered, opening them. he saw a joyful lance.

”really? you’ll actually do it? please?”

keith shrugged. “am i getting paid?”

”of course! of course.” lances whole body moved as he nodded his head.

”then,” keith gulped. “fine. i can do that.”

suddenly lance leaped out of his position on the bench and ran over to the other side. he wrapped two arms around keith’s body and held him tight for a fleeting second. keith was, in this position, much shorter than lance, and his cheek pressed against lance’s middle.

lance was warm and he smelt good. he smelt like vanilla and cinnamon and honey. his shirt was soft. his grip was strong.

he pulled back.

”you’re the absolute best, kogane!” lance grinned again, putting up two finger guns. “i’ll see you ‘round. thank you so, so, so much.”

”no problem.”

keith slumped into his usual chair in the strangely lit office of shiro. the windows were open, letting in a horrible chill. shiro says it helps him focus. keith shivers.

keith doesn’t deal well in the cold, unused to it, being from texas and all.

”so, should i say congratulations?” shiro laughed a little, a smirk playing on his lips.

”shut up.”

”no, seriously, tell me what lance likes i’ll get you guys a gift.” shiro continued, his laugh getting louder and more stupid.

”actually, shut up.”

”don’t you love him?”

keith rolled his eyes and sunk low in the chair. he huffed and crossed his arms. “what do you think?”

shiro’s laughter resided and he began again, a little more genuine. “come on, what’s going on?”

”i’m doing him a favour.”

shiro nodded slowly. “right.”

”he needs a boyfriend, i just told him i would do it.” keith tries to shrug, as if this is normal and fine and not out of character.

”right. yeah, totally.” shiro says sarcastically. “come on, earth to keith, that’s not normal.”

keith huffs. “he lied to his family and to his friends, so i just thought i’d help him cover his lie. that’s normal, shiro. get off my back.”

shiro cocks his head and wonders for a very long time. it allows time for the wind to blow through the windows and ache keith’s bones. time for him to stand and scale the room, shutting them furiously and standing by the window.

outside, he sees people. he sees relationships. friends and lovers and acquaintances. he sees connection. then he looks back, the room is empty, save for shiro. keith is alone. with a teacher. at lunch. his life couldn’t be more sad.

”why’d you do it?”

”what?” keith asks, drawn out of his trace.

”come on, this is so not keith. helping a stranger? what is it, keith? what made you do it?”

”i don’t know. maybe a ghost visited me last night and now i have to right my wrongs.” keith scoffed. he made his way back to his chair.

”come on. tell me. what is it?”

i can’t just go home and tell them i lied. they’d be so sad, and more importantly, disappointed.

”i don’t know.”

”keith.”

i just don’t want to look like an idiot.

”really. i just felt like it.”

he smelt like vanilla and cinnamon and honey.

“i’m being serious. this is so not like you.” shiro pleaded.

”i just felt bad.” the confession held a little heavy in the air. shiro let his eyebrows raise, and a slight state of perplexity grace his face.

”you… felt bad? keith— felt bad?”

”it’s not a big deal.” keith shrugged. why was he embarrassed? “he just started saying some stuff about how his family would be so sad and — i don’t know. i thought, it’s not hard for me to do and… he needed it, i guess.”

shiro finally let a smile play on his face, leaning back and relaxing. “keith, i’m so proud.”

”oh, shut up.”

”really. that is so great. you can be friends! even if you started off a little strange.”

keith didn’t say anything.

maybe shiro was right. then again, keith was bad at making friends.

Chapter Text

it was dinner and his family was talking, but all lance could hear was the scrape of metal on porcelain. the sound of the clock. the noise of his own chewing, swallowing, digesting.

”lance?” his mother asked, pulling him out of his strange sensation. “did you hear that?”

”what, mama?” he tries for a smile, but it comes out a little crooked.

”veronica says you’ve found a boyfriend?” she smiles warmly. she was always warm, kind, loving. lance knows, deep down, she wouldn’t mind that he lied. she’d probably wrap kind arms around lance and say ‘mijo, don’t worry, all will be okay.’ and he’d smile and feel better.

but even though you know something, doesn’t mean you feel it.

”uh— yeah. actually.” lance gulps.

the family erupts into joyful congratulation’s. he hears claps and smiles and laughs. all he can think about is the guilt of the lie. he’d feel worse if they knew the truth, though, and that brings him a little comfort.

”can we meet him?” rachel beams. lance feels his heart plummet looking at the smile on her lips.

”yeah, sure. i just have to ask him.”

everyone swoons and lance ducks low in his chair. he fork’s a potato and tyrants it around his plate like a juggernaut. he watches it as it sections a path in his gravy like moses and the red sea. if only he had that kinda skill, to make things so clear cut and simple. 

lance feels like all parts of his life are mashing together like a jumbled puzzle. he doesn’t have the skill of a forked potato to move where it likes, destroy what it wants. he’s the gravy and peas and carrots that’s getting mashed up.

then his metaphors start to feel silly and he eats his food.

”mijo, i can’t wait.” his mother smiles warmly. his heart hurts.

he flashes a toothy grin. “me either.”

”so, what’d you think?” lance asks.

the cafeteria is quiet at this time in the morning. a few students and some teachers linger around the breakfast options that are served until 11am. there’s a low hum of voices and kitchen appliances. it’s cold.

keith sits opposite lance in the plastic, broken and clattered chairs. he’s uncomfortable, as he always is in the cafeteria, but there’s not enough people yet to make it unbearable. currently, lance is laying out - as he called it - his game plan. what he really means is he’s trying to get this fake-dating to work.

keith is, naturally, unenthusiastic.

”sure.”

”did you hear what i said?” lance asks. he leans his head forward, like an accusation.

”something about a date?” keith squints.

lance sighs, loud and dramatic. keith is starting to learn that everything lance does is loud and dramatic. “listen to me, man. i’m saying we should take it slow.”

keith scoffs. “oh yeah, ‘cause this—“ he waves a finger between the two of them. “—is real slow.”

”be serious.” lance’s irritation is evident. “pidge won’t believe me if i met you a couple of weeks ago, and suddenly you’re my boyfriend. i say we hang out a little more, and then we can date. we have three months.”

keith rolls his eyes. “whatever, sure.”

”don’t whatever, sure me. i’m your boyfriend!” lance jokes. however, it’s at this moment that he noticed a familiar face, a few chairs down, watching him. long white hair and brown dark skin. allura. she smiles sheepishly. lance knows she’s the biggest gossip, and she’s probably writing down all that lance says. lance can picture her jumping like a spring, grabbing romelle hands and telling her everything.

she only makes her listening so obvious, because she knows lance is the biggest gossip too. and he would understand.

lance resides, knowing he also would be on the edge of his seat listening to something as good as this. itching to tell hunk.

only this is important, and allura can’t know.

”hi allura!” lance calls to get her to leave. “how’re you?”

she stands and walks the very small distance between them, perching on the edge of a chair. like she’s not ready to stay long. lance smiles.

”oh, i’m good.” she laughs a little, her accent strong and enchanting. “you? ready for the quiz later?”

lance forgets everything about the situation and lets his face fall. “oh no, i completely forgot. ugh, this sucks.” he groans.

“it’s alright, lance, you’re good at maths? right?”

lance shrugs. “i’m okay. maybe not very good under pressure.”

allura chuckles. “you can copy half of my answers.” she smiles, and then turns her head to keith. the real attraction here. the pinnacle of the gossip.

”hey, keith. i didn’t know you and lance were friends?”

keith hums, nodding.

”that’s so great. i thought pidge and hunk were lance’s main friends.” allura says. she doesn’t actually think this at all, and it’s quite obvious, she just wanted to restate the idea of friends — see if any of them catch the bait.

”small world, huh?” lance says plainly, and allura is unsatisfied and sullen.

”it really is.” she says as she stands. “well, i guess i’ll see you later.” she smiles, and waves the two of them off.

once she’s gone, lance groans. “that girls going to tell everyone. if there’s one person you must lie to the most, it’s allura. otherwise, everyone will know.” 

keith shrugs. “fine by me.”

lance shakes his head, almost a way of drawing back to the original conversation. “anyway. slow. let’s hang out more. pidge gave me three months to make this work. sound good?”

”three months.” keith says, as if he’s only just taking this in. “three? really?”

”don’t look so pained, asshole.” lance scoffs. “it’s three months of just pretending.”

keith crossed his arms. “whatever.” his coat shifts with the new position. it’s red and black and white, and cropped where his chest ends. lance thinks that it looks super gay, but for some reason it suits keith immensely. his black shirt is fitted to his form and the jacket only emphasises his figure. if keith had any different of a body, his coat would look stupid, but it works.

really well.

”cool. sorted. let’s go on a date?” he smirks. 

“sure.” keith shrugs. then he sits up a bit. “but not for dinner.” he adds. “i hate dinner.”

”you hate dinner?” lance questions.

”i hate going out for dinner. it’s miserable.”

lance opens his mouth in mock-horror. “i took you out for dinner?” he gapes.

“and it was miserable.” this wasn’t really true. keith enjoyed lances company, kind of. but he hated the idea of dinner.

lance only laughs, though. he didn’t really care. “okay, fine then. where to?”

”i don’t know. something interesting.” 

lance thinks for a long time, letting his head fall back. he stares at the lights and panels of the ceiling. “movie?”

”no.”

”walk in the park?”

”absolutely not.”

”museum?”

”oh, the pinnacle of interest.” keith replies sarcastically.”

lance sits upright again. “well, it kinda is, no? artefacts and what not. very interesting.”

keith groans. “i can think of nothing worse.”

lance sits forward, elbows on the table, trying hard to reinforce this point. “no, they’re cool. there’s the strategic air command and aerospace museum just outside lincoln? i went as a kid. it’s super cool.”

”aerospace?” keith questions.

lance grins. “see i knew you’d like it. let’s go! it’ll be fun! i’ll drive us.”

keith winces slightly and then lowers his shoulders. “fine, i guess.”

lance beams. “yay! this weekend, let’s go! yay, yay!”

lance clicks the end of his pen nervously, in rhythm with the seconds on the clock. the printed paper before him is almost haunting to look at. every stolen glance feels like staring down the barrel of a shotgun. peering into a tigers throat. 

he’s nervous, to say the least, because he doesn’t know a single answer to any of the maths questions.

thats a lie. he knows one. the first answer is 6. 

but there’s 14 questions and it’s already been 20 minutes. only 15 more minutes to go, and he’s completely failed. 

lance steals a glance at allura, who’s beside him. she’s noting down calculations at a fast, knowledgeable speed. he’s hyper aware of the fact she’s flipped the page, and is actually working on the other half on the questions.

he wants to drown.

lance flips the paper too in the hopes that there’s at least one question he’s niche-ly knowledgeable in and can answer. but, of course, there’s not.

lance isn’t bad at maths. he’s just bad at tests. bad at being put on the spot. bad at dealing with high expectations. bad at dealing with pressure. disappointment. judgement.

lance gulps and tries not to think about that.

more minutes go by, and the sound of the clock is no longer a comfort. it’s a siren, so loud and haunting that he feels akin to soldiers on the front lines. there’s an uneasy pit in his stomach, swallowing his organs. he thinks, comically, that it must have swallowed his brain.

all of a sudden, he feels a minor impact on the back of his head. lance whirls around to note his perpertrator. behind him, a few desks away, keith is sitting. leaning back, arms crossed. he points his forehead down, and lance follows his gaze.

a paper aeroplane resides on the floor, next to his chair leg. he leans down and grabs it. upon unfolding it, he is struck with realisation.

its keith’s quiz paper.

lance whips back around to look at him, and keith point again at the paper.

looking back, lance sees a yellow post-it-note stuck to the corner of the sheet. it reads, in neat pencil.

make it quick.

and don’t copy them all.

- keith.

lance almost squeals with joy, but the room is dead silent. he’s so happy he forgets to thank keith. his pen is quick to his fingers and he copies down at least 60% of keith’s answers. he moves equations and makes his notes more jumbled in order to look different. he feels like he’s been visited by a guardian angel.

when there’s three minutes left, lance folds keith’s paper back into a plane shape and waits for the teacher to look down at his phone. when his chance is clear, she spins around and posts the plane back to keith.

it lands softly in his lap, and keith raises his eyebrows up in thanks.

lance grins. thanks, babe, he mouths, and keith pulls a confused look, opting to stare out the window instead of endorse lance’s behaviour. it makes lance smile and turn back around.

after three minutes, lance is almost too excited to hand in his paper. keith really is an angel in disguise.

the room is filled only with the sound of joysticks bashing around in the plastic controller, the occasional grunt of too much effort, and the cartoon sound of men fighting on the tv screen.

lance moves his body as he plays, almost as if that would make his character move better, too. pidge and hunk aren’t that much different. infact, pidge is hunched over her controller.

when lance’s character, dressed in a blue karate outfit, falls back and dies, he yells.

”not fair! you cheated!” he says to the two. lance was up against the both of them as he was supposed to be better than them. “its— unfair anyway!”

pidge smirks, pushing her glasses back into the place they were before she went manic over the game. “don’t be a sore loser. maybe you’re loosing your touch.”

”oh, shut it!” lance grumbles, folding his arms over and mumbling some profanity’s in cuban spanish. “cabrón.” is sounded most profoundly, and pidge rolls her eyes. she’s known lance long enough to understand his strain of not-so-subtle insults.

“we can play again?” hunk offers.

”nah, i’m beat.” lance says, letting his controller fall and leaning back into hunk’s sofa.

“i’ve heard loosing does make you tired.” pidge comments, and lance shoves her.

the three lapse into easy silence, the quiet backing music of the game taking up what’s supposed to be talking. hunk clears his throat.

”so, any news about keith?” he asks, and his curiosity is rich in his voice.

lance grins. “i’m seeing him tomorrow.” he says, “for a date!” after this, he turns to pidge with an evil smile.

”no you don’t.” she says. it’s more like begging than it is denying.

”yup! to a museum outside of lincoln.”

hunk raises his eyebrows. “really? the space one?”

lance nods happily.

“that’s great! remember when we went on a school trip there?” hunk asks and lance begins to laugh.

”yeah!” he says between giggles. “and when you got a shot in the old plane, and the teacher had to pull you out of the cockpit because you were too scared being so high up.”

”hey, it was tall for a small child.”

”and remember when i got to try on that spacesuit but it was so big for me that you couldn’t see my head in the helmet?”

hunk laughs. “oh yeah, that was priceless. i swear there’s a photo buried in your house somewhere.”

“probably.” lance mutters. his eyes fall of pidge when he remembers — “aw, you were probably being born back then.”

she scoffs. “i’m only two years younger than you. you were two when you went to the museum?”

”we were like 10.”

”and i was 8.”

lance puts a hand to his heart. “so small and innocent.” 

she rolls her eyes.

”anyway,” hunk returns to before. “is it a real date? this is going pretty well lance. when was the last time you got two dates?”

he thought for a moment. “probably nyma, i think. but then she locked me in my car and i had to call my brother to get me out.”

pidge laughs. 

hunk smiles when pidge stops humiliating lance. “well then this is so great!”

”and i’m getting $300! superb!” lance grins, nudging pidge with his elbow.

“hey, i’m paying for a boyfriend, not a date. don’t count on it just yet.”

lance smirks and rests his head on the back of the sofa with confidence. “it’s me, pidge, we all know i’ll succeed.”

”whatever makes you feel better about yourself.” she mocks. and lance smiles, because he knows no matter what, he’d get that $300. for sure.

because keith is pretending with him.

so that means he’s going to get the money.

”okay pidge.” 

for sure.

the drive was around 40 minutes and lance is already huffing with the stress of driving that long. just becuase he’s got the license doesn’t mean he’s very good at driving. it still makes him terrified.

and lance isn’t the only one gleeful to leave the SUV. keith lets out a pent-up breath after the closes the door.

”i think you nearly killed me seven times.”

”eight,” lance corrects. “probably nine.”

”i’m going to drive us back.” keith stares monotonously. factually. lance is so glad.

”then you can keep the keys.” he chimes as he throws the metal mess to keith’s chest. all keychains and keys and cards, collections of luis’. 

“fine.” keith murmurs, and pockets them in his coat. 

lance looks to the museum as a character in a movie would. hand over his eyes to shield the light and remanding hand on his hip. “cool.” he mutters, and skips forward to go inside. keith follows him like a dutiful child. 

lance leans over the desk as he confirms their tickets. they’re free, but to understand numbers they make you book it. lance notices a map and picks it up out of the box their stacked in.

”all done,” the lady behind the marble counter smiles. “enjoy!”

lance thanks her cheerily on his and keith’s behalf. he practically jumps into the museum, much more outwardly excited than keith.

but despite that, keith still lets a minor smile play on his lips. he loves aerospace. he’s not going to tell lance, though.

”where to, kogane?” lance says, showing keith the map. “we can go here.” he points to a square on the map, representing a room, with a small, yellow 5 in the centre. there’s a key, and he traces his finger across to the edge and reads 5’s room description. “suits and armour.” he mutters. “sound good?”

”i’m not sure what it sounds like.” keith states and lance shrugs.

”lets find out.” 

they walk through a white door and end up in a small room that’s full of astronaut suits and pilot gear. lance finds himself giggling when he sees the yellow astronauts suit, reminded of his younger self.

”y’know, keith, when i was little, me and hunk came here for a school trip. at the time they were letting people try on a fake verison of this—“ lance points to the suit, then puts the hand to his mouth as he begins to laugh. “—and i really wanted to wear it. so i climbed in, but i nearly suffocated inside. they’re huge, and thick, and the teacher had to haul me out like a stubborn avocado seed. it was so funny.”

keith looks at the suit and wonders himself what it would be like to wear it. “sounds like it.” he says flatly.

”had to be there, mullet.” lance complains, and crosses his arms, map scrunching in his grip.

they continue to look around the museum. it’s filled with things like planes and jets and rockets. it’s, honestly, incredible. there’s all kinds of aviation here, and lance is more excited with each plane they see.

”that one’s huge!” he gapes at a very large rocket. “no way, kogane, imagine being inside that. on your way to space.”

keith shrugs. “can’t be that different from riding in a plane.”

lance scoffs dramatically at his lack of enthusiasm. outward enthusiasm. it’s still a secret how stoked keith is about everything.  

“sure thing.”

they spend the rest of the day wandering around, even revisiting certain places, and eating lunch in a very large cafeteria. lance indulges in a piece of carrot cake, while keith eats around a chicken sandwich.

lance smiles suddenly, “you know, i know this is supposed to be some fake-date that you are miserable about, but i’m having fun. i think we could be friends, keith.”

”keep dreaming.”

”oh come on, like we’re not already friends. quit acting like this is torture.” lance scoffs.

”you consider us friends?” keith asks, and it’s not judgemental or stern or mocking. it’s a serious question. that fact kind of makes lance sad.

”well, i think we’d have to be, in order to deal with something like this.” he shrugs. “also, i like you. so i’d like to be friends.”

keith would like to think up something cringe for the reason as to why he feels to uneasy. maybe it’s because lance is his only friend, save for his teacher shiro. or that he’s never felt friendship before.

but that’s not true, he doesn’t care about those things. they don’t make him uneasy. 

keith is so unrested because he’s shocked at lance’s kindness. his surprising response to such a weird situation. his simple reactions to keith’s rudeness. of course, lance isn’t really all there. he pulls his hair and bites his tongue with stress about it. but he’s able to brush over keith’s misery and act like it doesn’t matter.

because it doesn’t, to lance. which is nice.

”sure. friends is fine.” keith shrugs, and tries to act like he doesn’t notice when lance bites his lip and grins and claps his hands together.

i’m so proud. shiro said. he’d be just as glad as lance, if he was here.

lance sighs as he sight of the car makes its way into his vision. it’s getting dark, and lance is exhausted. he leans dramatically on the door of his brothers SUV, and waits for keith to open the door.

the engine rumbles and lance swings round to enter the car. keith is sitting in the drives when he does, hand on the twisted key. he doesn’t say anything.

”let’s go, mullet. what’s keeping ‘ya?” lance asks, cocking his head.

”uh— okay.” keith says, but he doesn’t look at lance, he just stares at the lights that glow behind the steering wheel. he doesn’t move, either, which annoys lance.

”come on man, go!” he says lightly, leaning over to him to check out what he’s looking at.

lance gulps. the cute, small, dainty petrol symbol flashes again and again in an orange LED.

theres a unanimous shiver down both of their spines.

”you turned the car off when you left, didn’t you?” keith says through his teeth.

laugh laughs shakily. “totally. probably. i think.”

”i don’t want i think, i want i know. did you, or did you lot?”

”it’s hard to remember such little things. all of todays memories are of the planes and rockets, it’s impossible to think of something so small!” 

keith groans, hands clutching the sides of the wheel and he rests his forehead on the top of it. “who cares. there’s no petrol.”

lance sinks into his seat. “what do we do?”

”fuck should i know.” keith grumbles, closing his eyes in silent rage.

lance thinks for a while. he jumps with an idea. “i know! i’ll call hunk and get him to drive over with that petrol you can put in a portable bucket-thing. all’s well. it’s fine.” lance says shakily, he’s sure it’s fine. he’s kinda sure.

”i can’t actually deal with you.” keith groaned.

”it’s fine!” lance continued to chant as he looked for hunks number on his phone. he had to ring twice, but on the second call, he answered, and lance began to unload their unfortunate situation.

keith finally looked up when lance began to say positive things like thank you, hunk! and you’re a life saver!

he hangs up with a new-found joy.

”good news?” keith asks.

”yup! hunk’s on his way!”

keith nods slowly. “and how long’s the drive again?”

”about 40 minutes.” lance shrugs.

”so..” keith takes in a pointed breath. “i’m stuck in the car with you for 40 minutes? plus another 40 while i drive us home?”

lance nods slightly.

keith groans, letting his head fall back onto its original place in the centre of the steering wheel. ”where’s the good news?” he grumbles.

Chapter Text

the parking lot began to grow darker and colder, and drafts of air filled the clattered SUV. keith shivered and stole a glance at lance, who’d probably laugh if he realised a guy as high and mighty as keith was freezing after a breeze. he clutched the steering wheel, the one that wasn’t in use and couldn’t be in use, and watched his knuckles go white.

lance clicked his seat back, jutting after each flick of the handle. slowly he made his way to an obtuse angle of lying, and breathed a heavy sigh. “well, this is boring.” he mumbled.

keith let go of the wheel and rested his head on his chair. he grumbled something incoherent and lance perked up.

“hey, it’s only been 10 minutes. we have ages together!” lance smiled, suddenly okay with this situation. “wanna play a game?”

“like what? i spy?” keith groaned. 

“no, like truth or dare. c’mon, it’ll be fun!” he gleamed, sitting up in his flat chair. “and we’ll know so much about eachother and look like even better boyfriends.”

keith rolled his eyes. “i’m not getting up.”

”fine,” lance shrugged. “pick truth for all i care. truth or dare?”

”truth.” keith said, and it sounded pained and exasperated. like there’s nothing he wanted to say less.

”okay,” lance clutched his chin and thought. “what’s you’re favourite movie?” he asked.

”my favourite movie?” keith repeated with a knit brow.

“hey, your boyfriend would know your favourite movie.” lance reasoned.

keith shrugged with defeat and replied - “bones and all.”

lance shot his eyebrows up. “the movie where they eat people?” he asked. “that’s so keith.”

”it’s more than that.” keith muttered.

“okay, eating people and a road trip. coolio.”

“no— it’s not about eating people. that’s just a symbol of love.” keith raised his voice by a decibel in irritation. this movie was a work of art, and lance was taking it for granted.

”you don’t say. how come?” lance cocked his head.

”it’s about devotion and obsession. the eating people is just a way of showing that. when he’s eaten at the end? that’s love.”

lance can’t help but laugh. “that’s love? being eaten?”

”stop being so simple.”

lance shakes his head. “i’m only joking, i get it. in a weird, twisted way it’s sweet. i guess. i wonder if timothee chalamet tastes sweet. i mean he’s cute—“

”truth or dare?” keith interrupts.

lance jumps. “oh - uh, truth?”

”do you actually like guys?” he asked, but he didn’t look at lance. lance figures his sudden rant about an attractive celebrity forwarded this question. and also, the whole be my boyfriend thing.

“well, yeah. i wouldn’t have asked you to do this if i didn’t.” he shrugged. 

“you don’t ask them out as often as you do girls.” keith finally stole a glance to lances direction.

lance laughed. “well, guys don’t take me seriously. and if i had to nail it down, i prefer girls anyway.” there was a pause. “i mean, i like guys, just not as much as i do girls. y’know?”

keith nodded. he was struck by lances next question. “what about you? i mean, you agreed to do this.”

keith stilled. this wasn’t something he’d ever had to speak about before. and even though he wasn’t ashamed or embarrassed, it was just awkward saying things like this out loud. keith had never mentioned any romantic interest, and figured he’d just tell people his orientation when he really had to. no one would care, either, and so it never felt like something integral to mention. he opened his mouth, then closed it. then spoke. “yeah, i guess.” keith’s cheeks pinked a little. “i mean, i've never really been with anyone to solidify that thought, but i don’t really see girls the way, i guess, you do.”

lance grinned. “does that count as a truth or dare?” he asked, noting the idea that he didn’t go through the ritual process of asking truth or dare.

”yeah. i don’t want to go again.” keith murmured. “truth or dare?” he felt even more stupid than he did before actually having to ask that.

”uhh, if i picked dare would you make me do something dumb?”

”definitely.”

laugh chucked. “okay, truth.”

keith thought for a long time. there wasn’t much he strived to know about lance. his favourite colour was clearly blue, based on his frequent outfit and accessory choices. his favourite movie was probably something dumb like 13 going on 30, and his favourite place was obviously cuba. lance hummed as he waited for keith to question him.

”why’d you do this?” keith asked, and it stilled the atoms into silence around them. “i mean, the whole dating thing. i don’t think anyone would actually care if you just told them the truth. and you’re properly screwing over your best friend. i mean, is it worth it?”

lance gulped, and keith watched the bob of his throat and the nerve in the way he bit his cheek. lance tried to laugh, but it sounded cold. and empty. and very familiar. 

lance crossed his legs and sat in his flattened chair. he began to pick on the edge of the car seat, ripping bits and pieces of old leather. “well, i don’t know. sometimes i’m rash and i act without thinking. i’m in too deep to pull out now, right?” 

“i don’t know. probably not. is anyone going to care that you lied?”

lance thought, really thought, about whether or not his question was true or not. no one’s going to care like they’re going to scold him. no one’s going to treat him different, or believe him untrustworthy. no one’s going to care.

but they’ll care in the frown on their faces. the set of realisation, and then disappointment. they’ll care in the way they say “who’d have known” and they’ll care in the way they sigh.

lance remembers the times he had to tell his family that his latest girlfriend left him, after an awkward silence when someone goes “how is she, lance?” 

there was always an air of disappointment and pity. it make lances skin crawl like nothing else. he can see their sadness and it makes him miserable.

people no longer see lance as a guy who can keep relationships. not a man of his word. there’s no belief that he can hold onto the people he loves.

and that, hurts most of all. 

so they will care. sort of.

“lance?” keith asks, and it stuns lance out of his silence. the old digital clock situated on the front of the car flashes 20:13, and lance realises it’s been about 2 minutes since he last spoke. he clears his throat.

”what— what did you ask again?”

keith bites his lip with trepidation, then lowers his shoulders and waves a hand. “don’t worry about it. i think i have my answer.” 

and lance stills with a twitch of nervousness. he’s comforted with the ease in which he finds himself smiling. besides all else, lance can smile. “truth or dare, kogane?”

”uh,” keith knits his brow at the sudden disparity in atmosphere, he shrugs. “truth.”

”why’d you do it?” lance asks, bouncing back the question. keith turns stock still. “you don’t even really like, or know, me. so what gives? why’d you say yes to something insane?”

keith tongue’s the inside of his cheek nervously. he clears his throat and shrugs. “i don’t really know.”

”bullshit. come on, tell me!” lance chimes.

keith stutters out a ramble of i don’t know’s and it’s beyond me’s and lance is almost fed up. he groans when keith mutters another. “i just felt like being nice.”

”come on, man. i’m not an idiot. just tell me, or make up something believable. i’ll only be shocked if you say it’s because you just really wanted to date me.”

keith wince’s like he tastes something sour. “okay, not that far.”

lance laughs. “not that far? so we’re talking minor version of what i just said.”

keith thinks back on it and wonders if his subconscious answered the question for him. in all honestly, he kinda isn’t really sure why he said yes. the thinks about that day lance offered him $25. he was only inclined to say yes because he did need the money, and he’s satisfied with the fact that that’s all there was to it.

but again? why’d he go back?

he searches his mind with the kind of desperation someone would have lost in a maze. clutching a lamp and freezing. he bites his lip and thinks, really thinks, what made him say yes?

i just don’t want to look

like an idiot

again.

lance wore a pained expression, something like that of a wounded animal. but it wasn’t self-pity, it was genuine, earnest pain. lance was serious, the most serious keith had ever seen him. lance usually sported a loud laugh and a confident ramble of nonsense. he was outgoing and kind and funny. he jumped when he was happy, he laughed when he was amused, he spun when he was lovesick. he was totally, completely unserious.

but yet, on the cold bench in the middle of the building, lance was aching with self deprecation. it was so tender and rare that keith felt as if he’d stumbled upon a fawn, alone in the sun-kissed wood. upon something lonesome and overwhelming and secret and beautiful.

the glint of pity in his eye and the sullen downturn of his mouth. the swell of a storm in his blue eyes and the blush of blood in his cheeks.

lance was sad. lance was hopeless and desperate and yearning.

i don’t want to look

like an idiot

again.

and keith didn’t want him to, either. keith didn’t want him to look sad and forlorn and pitiful again. 

”fine. i’ll do it.”

he muttered.

keith stilled in the car, back and aware of his surroundings. he tried to form and answer for lance, who sat very patiently waiting.

”i wanted you to feel better.” he said, and it sounded so strange and alien on keith’s tongue that lance raised his shoulders with anticipation. “i don’t usually feel bad for people, but there was some kinda look on your face and i just thought it was so unnatural on your face and… i don’t know. i wanted you to feel better, again. i guess.”

lance smelled like vanilla and cinnamon and honey.

”really?”

keith shrugged. “i don’t know. i guess i’m pretty rash too. i just thought in that moment saying yes would light you up again.”

lance felt, rather suddenly, that this might be the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to him. he noticed a blush rising up his neck and gracing his cheeks, but he smiles anyway. a large, toothy smile that embraces the pink of his cheeks.

”thanks, keith. i feel lit up.” lance says, the tone of his voice warm and sincere.

keith shrugs.

the light of headlights raids their car and lance jumps when he sees the familiar mustard yellow of hunks truck. “hunk! oh, yay!” he claps.

keith watches him smile with gladness. he really is lit up.

Chapter Text

lance lay backward on the sofa. head flopped over the base of it and legs hung long over the place you’re supposed to support your back. his hair graced the floor slightly. he felt blood rushing to his head.

“get up, lance, tests don’t study for themselves.” pidge instructed.

lance groaned. “don’t they? why not.” he whined.

hunk laughed. “come on, lance, it’s not even been an hour yet.”

they were, save for lance, sitting around his dining room table trying to study for physics. well, hunk and pidge were trying just fine. lance was sick of it. he resided to laying on the couch and complaining.

”that’s the worst part.” lance huffed. he finally sat up when he felt like his head was going to implode. looking at the work didn’t make his head feel any better, though.

”just sit down and stay quiet, you’ll probably take something in.” pidge said, looking at lance through her thin rimmed glasses.

”fine,” lance mumbled and walked over to the table, pulling out a chair and sitting down. he huffed in his seat and began, almost instantly, to feel fidgety. he spun the hem of his shirt around in his fingers.

defeated, lance grabbed for his phone and started to mindlessly play on it. there wasn’t much to do, and he wondered if there wasn’t anyone willing to talk to him.

maybe his boyfriend, would. he thought absently. then suddenly, he thought seriously.

you:

hey kogane!!!! what’s the hap’s????

lance grinned at his own stupidity. thinking hard on it, lance didn’t have many friends save for pidge and hunk that you’d consider normal to text. he didn’t hang out with anyone else.

after a few minutes of distracting himself on blockblast, lance got a text back.

keith:

the what?

lance grinned and replied, almost instantly.

you:

y’know!

like what’s going on

keith:

is there something happening?

lance snorted.

you:

you’re funny, keith.

everything’s normal. i’m asking how you are?

there was a noticeable halt in the replies, but lance didn’t wait much longer than 2 minutes for keith to text back.

keith:

i’m ok.

why?

you:

just askin

don’t bf’s text?

keith:

nobody will check the amount of times you talk to me.

this is method-acting, not pretending.

you:

a little method-acting never hurt anybody!

keith:

you couldn’t be more wrong.

lance gulped, thinking of actors who went crazy while pretending. it’s actually, he thought nervously, really dangerous.

you:

ok ahahhaa scrap that.

lets talk bc i feel like it? yeah?

while lance waited for his reply, he rested his open phone in his lap and began to flick through pages to look like he was doing something important. he glazed over thermal energy and jumped over circuits. physics, as important and vital as it was, bored lance like nothing else. he felt his brain disconnecting just by looking at the messy diagrams.

keith:

ok.

but for a max of 10 minutes. i’m going out.

lance grinned and grabbed his phone again, typing out a reply.

you:

going out, huh?

should i be jealous?

keith:

unless you fancy my mom, no.

lance chuckled, trying to keep quiet in order to blend in with the serious working environment.

you:

well, now that i think about it…….

its clear where you get your good looks from.

keith:

gross. that’s my mom.

you:

;)

keith:

my good looks??

you:

took u a minute. 

what i rly wanted to empathise was your sexy face and killer body. but that’s a bit much i think……

keith:

what the hell are you talking about?

you:

forget it mullet

lance felt himself grinning and shot a look up to his friends to see if they noticed. they didn’t, and he looked down to his lap again. it wouldn’t really matter if they’d noticed, i’d probably, if anything, be a good thing. lance was suddenly aware of his strange behaviour.

maybe he’s more intent on making the lie part of the situation obvious, and not the parts lance finds true.

and lance does think keith is super sexy. even if he doesn’t actually like him like that.

you:

anyway

where to?

keith:

lunch.

you:

awwwomgg!!!! that’s so cute!!!!! the kogane’s going out for lunch!!!!!!!

keith:

right

you:

no it’s nice. i never get the chance to go out with my mom bc im always so busy.

like TODAY.

keith:

what are you doing

you:

studying my ASS OFF!

im so fed up.

i hate physics

so much

im so angry

reallt

i cant

desl

keith:

calm down

physics is the easiest science

you:

easy for you to say

youre like

smart

keith:

how kind.

ill send you my stuff in exchange for silence? 

you:

keith or graduation

keith or graduation

forget the notes babe i want you

keith:

you’re kinda weird

you:

i jest i jest.

send the notes i NEED THEM!

keith:

ok

lance smiled gleefully at the promise of clever notes. he finds reading the textbook too difficult, the words are so small and complex and he’d rather fail than dissect something so stupid. he waits with anticipation for his golden ticket.

it takes keith around 5 minutes, and lance is jolted out a day dream when his phone starts buzzing wildly on his knee.

keith:

SENT - 25 ATTACHMENTS

lance feels relief flood his veins like some kind of drug. he smiles so wide it hurts his cheeks. lance lifts his phone and leans on the table, punching letters to reply.

you:

THANKS SO SO SO MCUH!!!!!

AN ANGEL

A GUADRIAN ANGEL!!!!!!!!1!!1!1

keith:

yep

now i sent those for silence.

you:

okay bye sweets!!!

keith:

don’t say that.

”what’s got you so… jovial?” pidge’s asks, craning her head in lances direction. eyebrows knit above her glasses.

”nothing!” lance sings and frantically opens the attachments. there’s thousands of lines of helpful writing and his heart bursts with excitement. he’s going to pass!

”it’s probably keith,” hunk giggles. “he’s blushing!”

lance stills, the excitement not able to counteract his shock. “huh?”

pidge grins. “oh! he is! what a loser!”

”i'm not—“ lance clears his throat. “i’m not blushing and i'm not a loser.”

“your face is real pink, man.” hunk notes. “you must be real happy if it’s showing up on your tanned skin.”

pidge snorts and lance feels ridiculed. “go back to studying! i liked it when you were quiet.”

”whatever you say, loverboy.” hunk muses.

keith finds himself in a busy cafe. it’s littered with all kinds of greenery and foliage, and the walls are either a dark wood or red brick. the cutlery is copper and the menus are printed onto brown paper. everything’s rustic and artsy. keith’s practically miserable.

but his mom says they make nice milkshakes, and so she likes it here.

krolia eyes the menu as she does most things, sternly and cautiously. the black letting reflects in her pupils and her eyes stop darting at she decides what she wants.

”this looks good?” she turns the menu to keith, long finger planted underneath a complex sounding sandwich.

”yeah, it does. maybe i’ll get the same.” he says after getting halfway through the description. 

they decide on their orders for a brief second more and then krolia smiles as she flips the paper, looking to the milkshakes. “i think the peanut butter one is the best.” she says.

keith winces. “peanut… okay. whatever.” he mumbles.

“whatcha want?” 

“maybe vanilla.”

krolia pulls a pained expression. “i take you all this way for a vanilla milkshake? keith, we have that at home.”

he shrugs defensively. “i don’t know! i’m not getting peanut butter.”

the menu is actually pretty vast for a usually niche selection of flavours. there’s chocolate and strawberry and banana - as well as things like nutella and sherbet and blue raspberry.

theres anything really. keith slumps with the card in hand. his eyes roll over the fruity flavours. “blueberry?” he suggests.

krolia thinks over it, as if she’s the angel at the gates of heaven, letting in and out all that she pleases. “blueberry sounds good. there’s definitely better flavours, but i won’t scold you.”

keith shrugs. “the sandwich and a blueberry milkshake it is, then.” 

despite the distasteful environment (that is actually incredibly beautiful) keith enjoys his meal thoroughly. he takes a bite of his sandwich and is shocked into silence by the skill of it. krolia shares much the same opinion, considering the fact they don’t talk and only eat for about 5 minutes.

eventually, she swallows and speaks up. “so, i spoke to takashi a few days ago.” she starts, and keith already knows where this is headed. when she bring up shiro, especially when she calls him takashi, keith knows he’s in for a treat.

“did he tell you about the kid i beat up or the bank i robbed?”

krolia is shocked for a minute, and then relaxes when keith laughs and she realises he was only kidding. “no, he told me about the boy.”

keith rolls his eyes. “the boy.”

”what was his name? something silly. is it clarence?”

”what?” he scoffs. “lance?”

”that’s the one!” she smiles. “kinda noble, i guess.”

keith shrugs. “what’d he say about him?”

krolia folds her arms and fixes a pointed look on her face for keith. “why don’t you explain it all first without me telling you what he told me.”

”but then i might confess stuff you don’t know about.” keith grinned and took another bite of his sandwich.

”oh dear! i best just tell you all i know then so you can still look like an angel!” she mocks sarcastically.

”still look like an angel, huh? wow, he told you nothing.” keith smirks.

krolia tenses her shoulders. “oh— keith! just be a good son and tell me.”

keith laughs. he only really laughs when he’s with his mother, and occasionally when shiro decides to be funny. he’s not fond of showing too much enthusiasm around anyone else. not that it’s a big deal, it just makes his feel strange.

”fine. what’d he say? that we’re going out?” keith exaggerates the last part in order to emphasise the fact it’s not real.

”something of that description.”

”what do you want to know? it’s not like he’s actually my boyfriend.”

krolia sighs, it was always hard work trying to talk serious with keith. “i’d like to know why my stubborn, kind-of selfish and hotheaded son decided that he was going to throw his personality out of the window. why on earth would you agree to help him? it’s wonderful and sweet but so not keith.”

keith thinks he might have been asked this three times now.

“felt like a change was due.” he said sarcastically.

i just thought in that moment saying yes would light you up again.

”a change was due? keith, i’m being serious.”

”i don’t know what you want me to say.” keith picked up the straw that rested in his american-diner style milkshake. he swirled it around the blue desert and felt the strain of the thick ice cream against the plastic straw. he took a sip. it was sweet and creamy and blue.

“i want you to tell me what made you do it? as a mother, i’m a little concerned. is he bribing you?”

keith laughed. “yeah, actually.” 

“what?” she shot her eyebrows up. “he’s paying you?”

”$150.”

krolia blew air out of her mouth in the way one might whistle, only instead of a high pitched melody is was just a shocked passage of wind. “one hundr— really?”

”it’s not that much, is it?”

”$150 to pretend to be someone’s boyfriend is quite the sum. how’d you know he’ll give it to you?”

”he already gave me money.”

krolia cocked her head. “really?”

“$20. don’t you remember him? he picked me up about 3 weeks ago.”

krolia knit her brow and then widened them with stock realisation. “that was lance? wow, i completely, totally forgot.” she opens her mouth in shock, and then smiles. “oh, he was cute. won’t you date for real?”

”lance was cute?”

”he was sweet. very silly and funny.” krolia smiled with lips around her straw. keith rolled his eyes and watched his own milkshake.

it was blue and sugary. lance and sweet? 

no.

”whatever.” he mumbled, the sound drowned into the chatter of the people around him.

lance isn’t that sweet.

”you’re going to be fine, you need to chill out.” hunk smiled warmly at the almost petrified lance.

”i can’t chill out when i'm a complete and utter imbecile!” lance yelped, fingers nervously pulling at his bottom lip. his skin felt cold. his legs were weak. “i’m going to fail the test.”

”if you spent as much time studying as you did worrying you’d probably be better off.” hunk rolled his eyes comically.

”there’s no time for scolding, hunk! help me! what do i do?”

hunk shrugged. “i don’t know, man. faint in the exam hall?”

lance laughed, and then stopped mid way, eyes wide. “that’s a really good idea.”

hunk shook his head wildly. “no, man, no. don’t even think about it. it’s a really stupid and idiotic idea.”

”no, hunk! you’re a genius! i just need to hold my breath and i’ll drop dead!” lance grinned manically and hunk began to think he was actually serious.

”you wouldn’t, lance.”

”oh but i would.” he grinned. hunk felt his soul dying.

”if you faint in the exam hall i’m going to call the police and say you’ve gone crazy.”

”well—“

iverson’s voice erupted in the common room and silenced the nervous chatter. students were instructed to keep quiet and line up, be called row by row into the hall, and seat themselves. lance shot hunk a supportive thumbs up, and hunk shook his head sadly. terrified of what lance was capable of.

there was an anxious air of trepidation in the common room. lance and all the other students were mindlessly worried about the exam. it was the first of many this time of year, and it never got any easier.

when lances row was called, he stumbled miserably into the hall. he felt like a front-line soldier banished to the trenches. his chair creaked when he sat down and he eyed the turned-over paper before him.

he watched more students pile into the hall in stock silence. suddenly, he saw a familiar mop of black hair, and his nerves were stilled by the sight. keith was smart and he was going to pass. he probably didn’t even study. that thought made lance a little more jealous than it did comforted.

keith was sat in the row beside him, a few seats down. lance could no longer see him, but keith would be able to see him pretty well, not to mention the fact lance is pretty tall.

lance bit his cheeks and waited. nothing was worse than exam season.

with around half an hour of allocated time left, lance deduced that he most definitely failed. he had skipped every other question and missed the last three pages completely. he was, if nothing else, terrified.

he thought over his maniacal plan just before he entered the hall. faint and get an automatic pass. is it worth it?

the seconds decreasing on the overhead screen felt slower than they’re meant to be. he watched each tick like a hawk. 

lance fixed his eyes on the paper. the half answered, half written and half successful paper. 

it wouldn’t be hard to faint right now. all lance had to do was hold his breath for ages, and then blow hard on his bitten thumb and he’d drop like a discarded pencil.

he let himself entertain the idea for a little while. just to pass time time.

soon, he even started to test how long he could actually hold his breath for. it was a silent activity to make up the many minutes he still had left. when he started to hear ringing. he stopped. he’d wait exactly one minute, and then try again.

after a while, he was feeling lightheaded.

if he wanted to faint, now would be a great time to do so.

he looked over to the person sitting closest to him. it was james, a very smart and very scary student in lance’s class. he was cocky and obnoxious and abrasive. he was pretty much lance if he was mean — and smart.

james scribbled down equations at a concerning speed and lance decided once and for all that he hated physics, and that the whole thing was futile.

he held his breath.

1

2

3

4

seconds.

he began to hear nothing but pencil scribbles and pages turning.

8

9

10

11

seconds.

his heart rate began to rise.

18

19

20

seconds.

he heard a dull thud and a pointed ringing.

41

42

43

44

seconds.

his cheeks began to pink.

56

57

he couldn't take it.

lance bit his thumb and closed the available air sockets with his lips. he tried to blow out and increased the ringing in his ears. when his vision began to spot and his heart reached a concerning speed, he stood.

his chair make a noise and it jumped away from him. he heard his name and then the smack of his own body on the floor.

that was the dumbest idea i ever had, he thought, before he slipped into sweet unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

keith bobbed his leg nervously, i’m rhythm with the low hum of the medical office’s buzz. 

lance lay on a makeshift bed. he was sleeping, and perfectly fine, but keith still watched him anyway. he wasn’t allowed in here, but shiro told the receptionist to let it go and let him sit a while, and she got bored of arguing and let him.

when lance began to shuffle, keith stopped his futile twitching and widened his eyes.

lance sat up and ran a hand through his hair. he spread his eyes wide with the tips of his fingers and let out a soft sigh. opening his eyes, he turned to keith.

“hey, kogane.” he mumbled, his voice adjusting from sleep to speaking. “what happened? am i awake yet?”

keith let out a breathily laugh, but it sounded more like a sigh. “yeah, you’re awake.”

lance finally gained all his consciousness, and, suddenly, jumped in his seat. “did i miss the exam?”

”what?”

”the exam? did i get out of it?” lance asked, excitement rolling off his tongue.

”you were certainly dragged out of it.”

lance beamed, corners of his mouth almost touching his ears. “yes! my plan worked! i’m going to pass and hunks going to be pissed!”

keith stilled. “your plan? you mean — that was intentional?” 

“well, duh, who faints in the middle of an exam?”

”i don’t know! i thought you were just freaking out!” 

lance begins to laugh. “you’re ridiculous.” he says, as if he’s not the one who gave himself a headache and slipped himself into unconsciousness so he wouldn’t fail his physics exam.

keith leans his head back on the off-white walls. his black hair is starkly different to the colour behind him and lance picks up on it when he inclines his head forward, watching him.

”why would you do something like that?” keith asks idly. he doesn’t sound concerned or upset or worried, just plain and simple.

lance chuckles awkwardly. “thought i’d be a funny story to tell my children.” he says, and weirdly enough, keith senses he’s being serious. “but that was the afterthought. i was actually just worried about failing.”

keith raises a brow and sits up. “so worried you’d knock yourself unconscious?”

”i guess.”

there was a silence. or, rather, a lack of talking. the room still buzzed and the clock still ticked and they could hear muffled voices outside. keith didn’t want to elaborate on what lance said, it sounded too concerning for his capabilities. he want good at comfort.

”whatcha here for?” lance asked keith. keith raised an eyebrow.

”what do you mean?”

”well, you didn’t faint, did you? why are you here?”

keith found himself grinning mischievously. “wouldn’t a boyfriend check up on his sick lover?”

lance gapes, and in shock goes to say something, but the door burst’s open and his mother runs up to him, stealing all the words for him.

”oh, mijo, my son, are you okay?” she cups lances cheeks in her hands, almost swallowing up his whole face. keith can still see his blue eyes and long lashes, though. she sits on the bed next to him. “what happened, baby? is everything okay? are you sick?” she swaps her left hand and rests the back of it on lance’s forehead. 

“ma— ma! don’t worry, i’m fine.” lance gently takes her nervous hands and puts them into her lap. he smiles, wide and warmly. “i just got a little freaked is all, but i’m okay. don’t worry.”

keith suddenly feels like he’s intruding on something special, despite the fact he was here first. he shifts nervously in his seat, quiet enough to go unnoticed. lance steals a glance in his direction and his position is uncovered.

lance’s mother looks to him too.

keith tries to smile, but the line of his lips is crooked. he looks more uncomfortable than anything else. he is uncomfortable.

”uh,” lance clears his tired throat. “ma, this is keith. remeber him?” he says slowly, and nervously, and awkwardly.

okay. now the pretending begins.

lance’s mothers face lights in an instant, her signature smile gracing her face where her frown once was. she grabs keith’s hands, a touch keith was not expecting, and greets him.

”oh, keith! it’s so great to meet you! ever since lance first mentioned you i’ve been so excited!” she beamed.

lance gulped and shot a simple smile to keith. he put two hands up and shrugged.

”you— you too, mrs. mcclain.” keith said nervously.

is that what a boyfriend would say?

”wow, you’re very handsome, keith.” she says, letting go of his pale hands. keith’s cheek adopt a nervous blush and lance puts a hand to his mouth to stop himself laughing. “i’m glad you’re with my son.”

”hey, mama! not yet.” lance says nervously, and pretends he’s a guy who’s very embarrassed his mother suggested the guy he’s been speaking to is actually his boyfriend.

she puts a finger to her mouth and smiles cheekily. “forget i said that!”

lance laughs. keith’s blush deepened but he’s no longer embarrassed, he’s just nervous. he’s never done this before. not even faked it.

lance’s mother puts a hand on his cheek again, soothing his skin. “mijo, you look pale.”

”i think that’s impossible.” lance snorts.

”it isn’t,” she says firmly. “you’re sick. let me take you home now.” she suggests and lance shrugs in acceptance.

keith stands. “i- i should go now.” he gulps, looking to lance with minor fear and then to his mother with major fear. “feel better soon, lance.” he says, and places a comforting hand on lance’s shoulder, tightening his grip for a second and sending a wave of warmth down his spine. lance smiles.

”thanks, keith.”

keith allows himself a firm smile and lets go, waving goodbye to lance’s mother and walking out the door. he’s a step into the hall when he hears—

“lance! he’s very cute!”

—and he feels only happy that a mother would be kind about him. he smiles, wider this time. 

she’s nice, he thinks. this fake-dating thing can’t be too hard.

lance is treated like a king for three days. his mother periodically checks his head, his temperature, his cognitive thinking skills. lance is so expectant of having his brain rattled that he answers the questions before his mother can finish speaking. 

“what colour is—“

”yellow.”

”how many—“

”four.”

if his mother was any more concerned, he’d probably have to be sectioned. it was sweet, though, in a strange way. she was unbelievably worried, and lance appreciated the care taken for his life.

sometimes, though, he thinks about what he really did. it’s a lie he’s telling his mother, and it’s only one of many. sometimes he thinks about these things, and it makes him sad, and then his cognitive skills begin to falter.

”how many fingers do i have up?” lance’s mother asks him. “lance?” she says when he continues to stare at her fingers.

“oh, six.” he hums, and she pulls a horrid face.

“mijo! you can’t see!”

lance chuckles. “i can see, ma. i just wasn’t paying attention.”

”so your attention rate is low? should we tell dr. stevenson about this?”

lance only smiles, grasping his mothers warm hands in his own. “i’m fine, ma. don’t worry.”

and this had been happening for days. 

lance lies on the sofa, flicking through boring channels. the TV makes a comical beep with each click of the remote and lance is slowly getting sick of it. he selects a cooking competition when he realises there’s nothing better.

lances mother comes in, sitting beside him on the sofa and perking an eyebrow up at the TV. “you’re better now, mijo?” she asks him smoothly.

lance hums. “i’ve been better, but yes. i’m all good.” he says, commenting on the fact he wasn’t actually ever unwell.

”then i was thinking, maybe you should invite keith round? for dinner? it’s only me, veronica, luis and you tonight. everyone else is upstate for the weekend.”

lance hums. is that a good idea?

”i’ll ask him and see what he thinks.” lance shrugs. “he’s kinda shy, though. you don’t mind?”

she smiles warmly. “never, lance.”

once she’s gone, lance takes his phone out from his back pocket and adjusts himself on the sofa.

you:

heyyyyyyykogaaannee

wanna come over for dinner?

lance watches the minute’s tick by. it’s 4pm on a friday and keith is surely not busy. when 10 minutes turns to 15, he grows impatient. the cooking show still sounding through the living room.

keith:

what with your family?

lance click’s on the message almost instantly, a grin growing on his face.

you:

yeah! my ma invited you.

keith:

oh. that’s nice.

when?

you:

maybe come for 6?

keith:

ok - and i’m pretending?

lance laughs quietly to himself. he often laughs when he feels nervous or awkward or anxious. it’s like some silly method to calm himself down.

you:

yes please lovely

keith:

gross

”he said yes!” lance calls to the kitchen, where his mother is preparing, judging by the smell, soup. she replies a sweet sound and lance gets up. he’s been resting for days and he probably looks a mess.

he jumps up the stairs, skipping every second step, and hovers just outside veronicas room on the way to his one. he knocks softly and cracks open the door.

”dress up,” he grins. “ma invited keith for dinner.”

lance closes the door and hops back to his room, delighting in the sound of her muffled excitement. i’d be nicer if it were for a real cause, but lance is willing to pretend.

after an hour of fixing his hair (it was bad, lance insisted to his sister, despite the fact it looked the same as it did everyday) and a long while of waiting, lance was ready to greet keith at the door.

he dressed up for everyone he met. it was integral that people saw him as a neat, clean and attractive guy. even if it were only hunk coming over, he’d shower and groom himself, and taint his neck with his nicest scents.

when the doorbell rang, lance skipped to the door, ushering his family to not look too excited. he opened the door, and keith stood, idly, ringing his hands at his sides.

”hey, sugarplum.” lance teased, walking out onto the porch alongside keith, and closing the door until it was open just a creek.

”if you call me anything other than my name infront of anyone, i’m going tell your mother the truth.” keith whispered and warned, crossing his arms.

”okay, okay, angel, calm down.” lance teased again, sporting a cheeky grin and giggling quietly. he knew his family was waiting inside for him. he knew veronica was probably as close to the door as she could be, and so he had to keep quiet.

”i’m serious.”

lance silenced his chuckle and cleared his throat. “no insanely sweet pet names, got it.” he nodded. “okay, you ready?”

keith sighed and stared at the wood of the porch. “okay. fine.” he resigned and nodded toward the door.

“great!” lance beamed as he opened the door again, letting the two of them inside. “it’s only my mother, veronica and luis tonight so you’re in for a treat.”

keith marvelled at the sight of lances house that was visible from the doorway. it was a warm, cosy home. the house glowed in yellows and oranges, light greens and warm blues. it was very exciting and yet calming at the same time. pictures were littered over the walls, mostly of family and some paintings of beaches. keith noted, in particular, pictures of lance alone. 

there was one of him, perhaps around 7 or 8, in a blue button up and khaki shorts. he held an ice cream around the size of his head and flashed a huge smile at the camera. behind him was a beach far to nice for the US, and lots of citizens, all brown in complexion. cuba, keith assumed, was where the picture was taken. 

“if you stay long enough,” lance says, drawing close to keith, “my ma will show you the lance-photo album.”

keith lets out a breath of air. “that doesn’t embarrass you?”

lance laughs, it perks the attention of his brother, luis, who is slicing bread for their mother. “no! i was cute as hell! still am, am i right?” he grins, and keith can only smile.

”oh! keith! i’m glad you could make it!” lances mother grins widely and takes keith’s hands in her own. “i hope you like soup? i’ve made two different kinds! please, please, come sit! it’s nearly ready.”

keith and lance are ushered into the living room and placed by the shoulder on the deep orange sofa. it’s soft and smooth, and well loved.

”can i get you a drink?” she asks.

”uh,” keith tries to smile. “no, thanks. that’s okay.”

“i know you’re being polite, so i’ll pour you a glass of water.” 

“me too?” lance smiles expectantly. 

“sure, mijo.”

lance and keith are left in the living room, sat close together on the sofa. in one of the opposite armchairs, veronica sits with her legs crossed, grinning like the cheshire cat. she doesn’t say anything, only waves. keith waves back and lance scoffs, rolling his eyes.

theres a pause.

“what does— mijo mean?” keith asks the silence. the term is strange on his tounge and it makes lance laugh.

”like, my son? darling? i don’t know. it’s just something cute your mom calls you.”

”like mi cielio. a cute one for each other, maybe?” veronica winks. lance groans and leans back in the sofa.

”shut up, veronica.” he mumbles through his hands.

veronica stands swiftly and practically skips over to their side of the room. the sofa is large and can seat about 5 people, but veronica places herself right inbetween the very small gap the boys had between eachother.

”i’m veronica.” she puts a hand out to shake, and keith links their hands for a quick embrace.

”wow,” lance mumbles from beside her. “this is the tamest i’ve ever seen you. i’m veronica? really?” 

veronica huffs and lets go of keith’s hand. she makes an effort to twist her body, shutting out lance completely.

”so, keith, where are you from?”

”uh, texas. i guess.”

”texas, cool. so, you like, lived in the desert?” she asks simply. keith knits his brow.

”it wasn’t quite… desert, but it was pretty sandy. and quite far out.”

veronica widens her eyes. “sandy? so, you like the beach?”

keith shakes his head.

“you don’t?” she gapes. lance springs up from where he was sat and yelps.

”keith! what? you don’t like the beach?” lance asks exasperatedly.

keith still awkwardly where he sits. “uh, no. not really. i mean, i like swimming. i just don’t like all the… sand.”

veronica huffs. “the texan doesn’t like the sand.”

at this point, luis walks in, taking a seat on the armchair veronica was previously sitting on and sighing deeply, like cutting bread was laborious work. “what’s this about sand?”

“keith doesn’t like sand.” veronica fills him in. it makes keith sink back into the sofa nervously, wondering if he said something wrong. 

luis laughs, but not mockingly. “fuck d’ya want outta lance, then? that boy had sand in his bone marrow.” 

“yeah!” lance adds, crossing his arms. “i don’t know if this is going to work if you hate sand.”

keith makes a confused noise and sits up again, so that he can see lance through the veronica-shaped barrier. “i like sand, you’re so dramatic. i just don’t like getting it all over me.”

“you said you don’t like the beach.” lance frowns. “sand is what makes up the beach.”

”i don’t give a—“ keith gulps, trying to calm himself to look civil around lances family. “look, sand’s great. beaches are.. great. i like them.”

lance grins, satisfied. “that’s what i like to hear.” he puts to hands behind his head victoriously and leans back, suddenly aware of the silence in the room.

veronica turns to him with a large grin and pink cheeks. “so cute” she mouths, and lance doesn’t hide his disgust.

“come, everyone! dinners ready!” they hear from the kitchen, and veronica is the first to jolt up.

”come on, keith, you can sit next to me.” she beams, and keith uneasily stands with her, sparing a glance back at lance. he shrugs and stands too, the corners of his mouth twitching.

”don’t steal him, V.” he grins on his way out, waving behind his back.

dinner is great. and though keith isn’t a sworn social butterfly, or even acceptable converser, he enjoys himself. lances family are pretty easy going. they talk enough to fill his gaps and he’s okay with just letting go.

the soup is also delicious. keith finds himself eating a lot faster than he usually would, and is grateful when lance brings him a second bowl without even asking if he’d want one. they sit opposite each other, and keith looks to him everytime he’s asked a question.

lance will either shrug or smile or raise an eyebrow. it all depends on the severity of the question.

sometimes, lance’s mother will ask, “so, keith, how are you liking the garrison?”

and that will earn a shrug.

and luis will ask, “keith, do you like motorbikes? i saw the harley davidson coat you hung up at the door.”

and lance will smile.

and then veronica will ask, “keith, do you think you’re going to marry lance?”

and lance will raise his eyebrows and tell veronica not to ask weird questions.

but regardless of his simple interrogation, he had fun. as far as fake-boyfriend family’s go, the mcclain’s are alright. keith is shocked there’s more of them.

as they stack the bowls that little the table and swipe the breadcrumbs into piles, a pair of little children linger at the end of the stairs. lance’s mother perks up at the sight of them.

”oh! what’s the matter?” she asks them softly.

”me and nadia can’t sleep. where is papa?” the boy says. keith thinks, idly, that they’re very sweet.

the girl wrings her hands awkwardly next to the boy. they can’t be older than six. 

“hey, munchkins!” lance says cheerily when he sees them. he drops his plates onto the table and walks over to them, crouching low to be level with them. “what’s going on?”

”we can’t sleep, uncle lance.” the boy says.

“both of you? that’s awful.” he says softly. his voice is low and sweet, and keith finds himself paying acute attention to him. “what’d you think did it? is it too cold up there?”

they both shrug. 

“okay, tell you what.” lance stands, and he puts a finger to his chin theatrically. “i’ll read you two to sleep. what story should we do? the dragon one?”

when the children jump with excitement, keith can’t help his smile.

”no! the one with the princess!” the girl says in a small voice, clutching onto lances pants. her small fingers barely scrunch the dark fabric.

they giggle as they decide on a story. keith puts a hand over his mouth when lance grumbles at the idea of the troll story, whatever that might be. he feels a warm hand on his shoulder, pressing from behind.

”he’s sweet, isn’t he?” lance’s mother’s voice is low and soft. proud. “he loves those children so much.”

keith lets out an understanding breath as he turns to her. “yeah, it’s— nice.” he tries.

she watches lance for a moment longer, before turning to him. “he’s got so much love to give, it’s almost irresponsible.” she says suddenly, and keith stills at the words. “he’s always getting himself into trouble with the amount of devotion he puts into people. but, i wouldn’t want my son to be any other way.”

keith finds these words oddly soothing. something about the adoration of a mother to her son is warming.

”that’s why i’m glad he likes you.” she says. “you seem kind, keith. don’t break my sons heart.”

it’s said nicely, but it’s a warning nonetheless. keith feels a sharp pang of guilt, knowing eventually, once lance gets his riches, he’s going to have to break up with him. and disappointing lance’s mother feels weirdly painful.

”i won’t. don’t worry.” he tries to smile, but he looks a little scared. she doesn’t mind though, maybe scared is good.

”hey, ma!” lance calls. “keith really wants to look at all the adorable photos of me as a kid while i read these two to sleep. think you can satisfy his needs?” he says with a grin.

keith cracks a smile. 

and lance winks.

Chapter Text

pidge adjusted her glasses sceptically as she swiped through a collection of lances photos. most were pictures of large planes or rockets. spacesuits and quite a lot of himself.

but some were of keith.

in one, lance had a wooden spoon sticking out of his mouth, holding a small pot of strawberry yoghurt. he grinned and his eyes were wide. beside him was keith. a signature scowl and messy mop of black hair. he was a little blurred, as if he moved the moment lance whipped his phone out.

another was of them, their reflections in the glass of a large plane. the window was so shiny that they could see themselves on it. lance waved to the camera, detectable by his raised hand, despite it being a still photo. he had a wide smile. keith stood next to him, hands in his pockets and staring quizzically at whatever lance was doing.

then there were more. ones of keith with his brow furrowed, looking an an artefact. ones of him from behind walking. ones of him laughing.

lance took quite a few pictures of their “date.”

”so, you guys had fun?” pidge asked him. lance shrugged.

”yeah. it was pretty sweet. until the car broke.” idly, lance thought he had more fun inside of the car than out. but that was a secret.

”so, you’re actually dating?” she asked, and her voice raised slightly with an inkling of fear.

”well, it’s not official, but. i think he likes me. don’t you?”

pidge, for a very long time, stared at lance with something stern. it was hard to make out, but she didn’t look happy. “and you’re okay with just… messing with him?”

”what?”

“i mean, you’re getting paid for this. don’t you wanna just quit now and save his feelings? don’t you think he’ll be heartbroken when he learns this is all fake?”

if lance was serious about keith, he’d probably feel bad. but keith could care any less than him. this whole ordeal was more business than feelings. lance just wanted some cash.

”no. keith’s got a heart of stone.” lance decides, despite his unconvincing shrug and nervous look in his eye. what he’s doing is pretty shitty, if it were real.

”but.. he likes you?”

lance chuckles slightly. awkwardly. “yeah, and i like him too. i’m okay with dating him, i get money too. y’know?”

”so, you’re going to go out with him, get paid for it, and never tell him?”

too late, lance thinks. “i guess so. i mean he’s nice and stuff, i’d date him. he can have some money if he finds out and’s upset about it.”

pidge sports a look of complete and utter confusion. but not surprise. lance does have a tendency for heartbreaking. it’s in his nature. “would you date him if you weren’t getting paid?” pidge asks.

”yeah,” lance says, thinking that’s probably the right thing to say. and then he thinks again. “well, no, actually. i don’t know. it’s kinda hard to think about. i think, maybe. or maybe not. i don’t— know.”

”right.” she deadpans, and then shrugs. “but, i’ll pay you. sure. but he has to be your real life boyfriend before then.”

lance grins. “trust me, pidge. i’ve got him wrapped around my finger!”

”whatever, man.”

would you date him

if you weren’t

getting paid?

“she totally bought it, dude.” lance says as he walks. he holds two large texts books and behaves like they’re lighter than they really are. rather, like he’s stronger than he really is. the halls are quiet at this time. there’s a few students standing around the hall, chatting and waiting. 

“y’think?” keith asks him. they’re talking about their magical date. they were supposed to look like they were in love, but keith finds that almost impossible.

”yeah.” he shrugs, but it’s a strange action, as his arms are so weighed down by the books. “i don’t think pidge gets romance like most do. i don’t think she knows what a real date looks like.”

keith nods along slowly. “and don’t her and hunk think you’re like… a total asshole?”

lance laughs loudly at this, raising the heads of a few students. “they do, actually. but i guess they’re used to it.”

keith scoffs. “oh, lance the heartbreaker?”

he grins, “you could say that.” they arrive at the library where lance is intending to return his books to, and they open the door quietly. “that’s why i struggle with love.” lance whispers. “the girls don’t take me serious.”

”i though the guys didn’t take you serious?”

”they both don’t.” lance laughs slightly. “no one does.”

keith only rolls his eyes and stands patiently beside lance while he checks in his books. he’s not entirely sure what he’s doing with him, but lance said they had to hang out more if it were to look like he liked lance. and they spent most of their time discussing how they were meant to make this legit. or, lance would rant about a crazy story he hadn’t had the pleasure of telling in years. most of his stories were over-told to hunk and pidge, but keith was fresh and new and knew nothing about him.

he told him about ex-girlfriends and nights out. he told him gossip about people that was years old, but keith was too socially inept to understand. he told him about childhood stories and his favourite holidays.

he talked to keith a lot, actually. and slowly it dawned on lance that he really liked it, too.

when the librarian stamped the books and finished scanning his ID, the two slid back out the door. lance laughed, “they must have been months overdue,” he confessed. “i’m glad she didn’t bring it up.”

despite everything, lance thinks they might be becoming friends. keith keeps saying yes when he asks to meet him, and he’s content with seeing him. that must mean they’re friends. keith doesn’t talk to anyone. he also, conveniently, doesn’t have any friends.

there’s the maths.

”so, what’s your heartbreaking legacy?” keith asks him, now that they’re free to speak at their own desired volumes.

”huh,” lance puts a finger to his chin innocently, “where to begin.”

“are you actually an asshole?” keith says with minor disbelief. “and here i was feeling bad no one liked you.”

lance shrugged, but his face had strangely dropped. like he wasn’t happy anymore. he knit his brow and chewed on his bottom lip, thinking deeply about something. he almost forgot keith was speaking to him.

”well?” keith asked. “what’d you do?”

”nothing.” lance replied a little too quickly. it was short and light and breathless, the kind of words you’d expect to be said after someone woke up from a dazzling dream. “i don’t want to talk about this anymore.” he said simply, and keith struck by the honesty of it. 

lance has a past, he wonders. there’s more too him than what’s on the outside.

the idea lights a candle of curiosity in keith, but he doesn’t press further.

”fine. where are we going?” he asks to change the subject. lance perks up. 

“i don’t know. outside? we need to plan a third date.”

keith groans. “three? can’t we just go out already?” 

there’s a perplexed look on the faces of two girls leaning on the hallway lockers. lance gives them an awkward smile, wondering how strange their conversations sound to outside listeners.

”you want me that bad?” lance asks when they’re out of range from curious ears. he winks and bares a smug grin.

”no, i just hate hanging out with you.” keith says sarcastically.

”no you don’t,” lance huffs. “you’re here right now out of your free will, you can’t hate it that much.” 

“well, this is different.”

”no its not!” he complains, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “i don’t actually have any reason to see you today, and you know that, and you said yes.” lance says. “that is called enjoying my company.”

”ew,” keith mumbles. “that’s so not true.”

”whatever, sweetiepie.” he grins. “i know in your heart you love me, you don’t have to tell me.”

and keith doesn’t say anything to that.

they are friends, lance thinks, and the thought brings him intense comfort. he’s so excited to be keith’s first friend.

when they finally sit outside, lance puts his hands, clasped, out on the bench in front of them. he sighs.

”are you serious about not wanting another date?” he asks keith.

keith looks, momentarily, stunned. “i hope you know this is fake..”

”no! no not like that, i mean, do you wanna just go for it?” lance asks again, slightly more perked up.

keith thinks about it for a while. “i guess so. i mean, what - we just say we’re together, get the money, and break up?”

lance shakes his head pointedly. “no, we have to date properly, we can’t be together for a day. pidge’ll know it’s a scam.”

”so how long do i have to date you for?” 

lance thinks. “let’s say, three months?”

keith jolts. “three? months? are you crazy?”

lance laughs. “ever heard of the three month rule? it’s totally plausible.” he says as he crosses his arms.

”no, weirdly enough, i haven’t.”

”it’s widely believed that most relationships fail after three months if they’re not good. if a guy starts to loose interest after three months, it probably won’t work out. i say we go with that.” lance pauses. “what were you thinking?”

”like, i don’t know, a week?”

lance waits a while, then laughs. very loudly. very obnoxiously. “we cant date for a week! that’s like— so scammy.”

“the whole thing is scammy.”

”well, we have to keep that a secret. three months, keith. you can bare it.” lance opens his mouth again, and then shuts it. there’s something on the tip of his tongue he can’t quite let out. he gulps. “because we’re friends? right?”

”what?”

lance grows uneasy in his seat, fidgeting with his hands under the table. “well i thought we’re were kinda, y’know, friends at this point. i sort of thought you’d want to stay friends after the fact. don’t you?”

keith thinks about this for a while. really thinks. “we can be friends.” he says, loudly ignoring the hidden i didn’t know we were friends. 

“really?” lance smiles. “even after we, like, break up, i guess. you’ll still want to be friends?”

”if you want.”

lance beams and claps his hands. “i guess we’ll have to have a clean breakup.”

keith nods. “probably.”

there’s a silence. and for the first time in a while, an awkward silence.

it’s now that lance starts to wonder if any of this is worth it. he thinks about why he’s doing this. to keep his pride, to make some money, to feel better about himself. they’re all pretty scummy reasons and they don’t equate to the con’s of the situation. isn’t it worse to steal money from your friend and look like an asshole?

”so,” keith says, breaking the silence. “we’re like, actually together then? i have to pretend?”

and the cautious knit of his brow and light dusting of pink on his pale cheeks makes lance feel better.

”you bet,” he says with a grin. “maybe we should kiss.”

keith ruins the concerned look on his face with a horrified scowl. “absolutely not.”

and lance laughs.

when lance gets home, he realises his other half of the family had arrived at some point in the day too. they were out somewhere upstate and now they’re back, and the house is full. “so,” rachel says from behind lance, hands on his thick shoulders. “what’s this i hear about keith? ‘round here for dinner?”

lance ducks out of her grip and smiles. “yeah, he came last night.”

”oh! that’s adorable!” she grins, hands pressed to her chest. “is he your boyfriend? for reals?”

lance rocks on his heel. “yeah - actually. i asked him today.”

after this, there’s a scream in the living room, and the culprit runs through to the entry way of the house. “lance, you idiot, you didn’t tell me?” veronica huffs.

”why don’t you give me a minute to walk into the house, and i will.”

”no text? call? excited voicemail?”

lance only scoffs. “i thought in-person conversation was more genuine.”

also, it just wasn’t that important to him.

”whatever. tell me everything! come on!” she grabs lances hands and drags him into the living room. she sits on her legs on the sofa, pulling lance down with her. rachel sits in the armchair. “so? what happened?”

lance knits his brow. should this be romantic? “well, it was uh— this morning.” he said, thinking of a story.

”this morning? you totally could have told me.” veronica complains.

”okay! noted.” lance laughs. “anyway, i saw him this morning and he had bought me— breakfast. yeah, it was a sandwich.”

”a sandwich for breakfast?”

”he’s crafty.” lance shrugs. “and then i just asked him. i thought it was sweet, his breakfast making. i thought, i could totally marry this guy. and so i just asked him.”

veronica runs her hands through her hair. “well? what did you say? i’m here for details, lance.”

lance gulps, his mouth a little dry. “i don’t really remember well. i said i thought he was kind and sweet, and i was totally in love with him.”

”you are?”

”i.. think.” lance bites his lip. should he be? 

but veronica only claps her heart dramatically. “my little brother is growing up.” she says as she pinches his cheek. “this is so cute. can he come over again?”

lance sighs. “i guess. i’m a bit nervous with all of our family, but i guess he has to get used to it.”

veronica nods. they talk a little while longer about anything and everything. veronica loves details. it takes lance a very long time to actually think of reasonable responses. 

when he’s fully out of ideas, he tells veronica, quite pointedly, that he needs to have a shower. that gets her to stop. she sighs, sadly, and lets him go. it’s impossible how fast he bolts up the stairs.

sitting in his room, he pulls out his phone.

you:

are you good at makin sandwiches?

keith:

not particularly

why?

you:

it’s the reason i fell in love with you

to this, lance snorts and slips his phone back into his pocket. he lies down and sighs with more pity than he deems normal. something about him feels wrong. something is missing.

this is supposed to make him feel good. he’s supposed to be excited. he’s about to make $300.

are you really an asshole?

here i was feeling bad no one liked you.

lance gulped. it wasn’t supposed to be mean, keith meant well. he actually did it to himself, if anything, making himself look like some kind of dickhead. 

lance felt a little sick, and ran a hand through his short brown hair. it was soft, and it reminded him of the care he put into himself. it wasn't enough, though, to be well liked.

lance was liked, but not well liked. he was funny, but not memorable. he was cute, but not dateable.

a few years ago, after a while of heartless rejections and pitiful denials, lance was at his wits ends. no one actually liked him. he felt like some useless doll that was collecting dust on a second-hand store shelf. he knew, back then, that he needed to change. otherwise people would forever view him as some desperate loser.

he began to break hearts, as some might say. it was some twisted attempt at looking less useless. like girls actually wanted him. like people meant less to him than they did before.

like he looked less lonely.

he’d ask out girls and not show up to the date. he’d give girls wrong numbers. he’d make out with girls in relationships, ruin them, and pretend like nothing happened.

lance was, if nothing else, an asshole.

but when one of the girls he met, nyma, left him locked inside of his own car and partied without him, he realised he needed to change.

this wasn’t normal. this wasn’t nice. he wasn’t happy being an asshole if it made him look less lonely.

and so he gave up.

and now his sad attempts at trying to get girls is all he prides himself on. even if his reputation is completely ruined.

maybe a boyfriend would through a spanner in the mix. maybe people would take him seriously again.

Chapter Text

word spread pretty fast.

hunk was wonderful. his eyes lit up as he smiled and he clasped hands around his shirt where his heart is. “lance!” he said, all the warmth and kindness in the world pouring out of his mouth. “that is amazing! you two can come to mine and i’ll cook you dinner!”

his mother was equally astonished, only here eyes glassed over with a maternal pride. “my lance,” she said as she cupped a warm hand around lances cheek. “i’m so happy for you.”

when lance told allura in passing, she beamed with a wonderful-mischievous kind of smile. “that’s so great, lance.” she said as she put a hand on his shoulder. “can i tell romelle?” 

that was to be expected.

but the person lance itched to tell the most in the world was his dear friend pidge.

she was in the library, etching away at some kind of machine. it was small and square, and made a tinkering noise each time pidge knocked it with her tool. lance pulled out a chair and sat, his smile too large for the space on his face.

”yes, lance?” pidge asked him, only looking up for a moment through her rounded glasses.

”i’ll take cash, if you can.” lance said smugly.

”what?” pidge questioned, not taking the time of day to look at him.

”cash. i mean card’s okay, but i’d like to put the cash into saving’s or something, y’know?”

pidge dropped her tool. “what are you talking about?” she asked him, taking off her gloves and decidedly giving lance attention.

”you know, for our bet.”

pidge knit her brow and winced, “i pay you when you’re dating.”

”yuh-huh.” lance nodded sharply, his smile still burning a hole in the back of pidge’s mind.

”so,” she said, sighing deeply and leaning back in the cheap, plastic chair. “you’re telling me you got that social reject to actually be your boyfriend, in like, 2 months?”

”love at first sight.”

”no, no,” pidge sat up, swiping her hands in the air. “keith, keith the guy i’ve seen speak to top’s 4 people. keith the guy who sits in a teachers office at lunch. keith the guy that doesn’t know what his form’s name is — is actually you’re boyfriend?”

lance grinned. “and we’re so in love.”

“bullshit!” pidge whined. “that could never be true. you’ve been talking to him for like — a month and a half? and he’s in love with you?”

lance leant back and rested his hands on the back of his head. “maybe he’s just a little shy. he’s totally great, all he needed was a guy to talk to him first.” he suggested.

”i think you’re full of shit. where’s the proof? who’s to say you didn’t just ask him to lie? i know what you’d do for $300.”

lance tried not to look terribly guilty. he scoffed. “are you cupid’s evil twin? i’ll ask him what he’s doing tonight, and we can all hang out. how’s that sound?”

pidge folded her arms and shot lance a skeptical look. “sure. i’ll be the judge of your true love.”

”deal.”

keith needed more than convincing to actually agree to join lance. he huffed on a park bench, rolling his eyes. his hair covered the space of his forehead and drifted down over his eyes like ivy. his cheeks pinked in the wind and his lips grew a deeper red.

”i won’t do it. it’s ridiculous.”

”you know,” lance said slowly, managing his volume. “when you said - hey, lance, i’ll be your fake-boyfriend - that was you agreeing to do just this!” however, by the end his words adopted a raised tempter.

”i’m happy to tell them we’re together but i’m not sitting at dinner pretending. what, do i have to hold your hand? kiss you? talk about our love?” keith groaned.

lance smiled, resting his warm, soft hand over keith’s. it was cold and thin in comparison. “only if you want to.” lance winked, and keith snatched his hand away.

”absolutely not.”

lance laughed. “look, man, it’s just hanging out. except, we supposedly have a bounty of young love. you don’t have to kiss me, that’d be awkward anyway.”

keith sighed and stared at the ground. it was wet and dewy from the passing rain. nebraska had taken a turn in the winter months and it sent a chilly cold throughout the state. it was october now, soon to be halloween. keith hated the cold.

”fine. what are we doing?”

lance cheered to himself and cleared his throat, devoid of any previous irritation. “hunk’s making us dinner - and trust me, that guy’s food is to die for.”

“we’ll see.”

keith twitched nervously as he waited outside hunk’s house. he rolled on his heel, wringing his hands and trying not to look nervous. lance rung the doorbell and turned back to keith, a warm hand finding itself on keith’s shoulder.

”don’t worry about it, man. just think of all that cash.” he laughed.

keith looked again to the floor, before the door burst open.

”hey guys!” hunk smiled, and lance conveniently waited a few seconds before removing his hand off keith’s shoulder and greeting him. 

so much for just “hangin’ out.”

keith simply waved a hand, “hello,” he mustered up, and lance had to cover his mouth to save from giggling.

hunk’s house was nice. it was open plan and beautifully decorated. there was lots of bookshelf’s covered in trinkets, and pretty paintings of scenic landscapes. it was warm and homey, but not the overdecorated cacophony of colour that lance’s house was.

the smell of food hit keith and he felt his eyebrows raise in shock. it smelt really good, and he noticed the slight ache of his empty stomach.

”so, keith, want me to take you coat?” hunk asked, slightly un-casually. keith shrugged of his red coat and handed it to hunk with a thank you. he was well and truly out of his element. 

he thought of shiro and calling him to save him. then he thought that was rude.

as they found themselves making their way into the living room, keith felt a head close to his own. “loosen up, man. you look like you hate me.” lance whispered.

”when you say things like that, i think i do.” keith returned, a little louder than a whisper. enough to turn hunk’s head. lance looked to him and grinned. they could be talking about anything.

“so, guys,” hunk began once they entered the dimly lit room. “i’ve made something special for tonight. sit, sit! i just need to finish something up.”

pidge sat on the floor, hunched over the coffee table. she etched some writing onto sheets and sheets of paper, surrounded by books and pens and notes. she was studying. she looked up a moment, squinting at lance. “hello.” pidge said, laced with skepticism. 

“hey my super epic mega friend.” lance said teasingly, “whatcha doing?” he flopped down onto the sofa closest to pidge, pulling keith by the arm with him. 

“i’m working.” she mumbled.

”that’s really lame.” lance scoffed. “do you hate fun?”

”i hate you and you’re pretty fun.” pidge groaned.

lance clutched his heart. “that’s so kind.”

”no—“ pidge squinted. “well, no. whatever.”

lance smiled.

”anyway, hello, keith,” pidge began, sitting up a little straighter and discarding her pen. “i don’t think we’ve met.” she held out her hand and keith took it, gently shaking it. unused to the action.

”hello,” he said. “we haven’t.”

”well, it’s good that we do. you know, ‘cause your like, dating my friend, and all.” every last word was said with intense suspicion. they were heavy and drawn out. 

pidge wasn’t buying it.

“yeah, totally.” keith let out.

lance grinned between them, resting his whole body on the arm of the sofa, shifting to face keith fully. he gave keith a supportive smile. quick and simple. pidge didn’t notice.

hunk walked back into the room sporting checkered mittens and a wooden spoon. he gleamed in the doorway. “it’s ready, guys, come on in!”

pidge sat up and dusted off her shorts. she folded her books closed and neatened up the table. she regarded the two briefly before walking away.

”just coming!” lance told them from the other room, and turned to look at keith. “spill, man, you’re pale. like, sick pale.”

”i’m always pale.” keith said, shifting to move a little further away from lance. “what are you trying to say?”

lance leaned forward, discarding keith’s effort of distance. “i mean you’re unreasonably nervous. what gives?”

“not everyone in the world likes talking as much as you do.” keith said. “regardless, how am i ever going to be causal in a situation like this?”

lance giggles lightly, careful not to be too loud and draw one of the others into the room. “okay, sorry, man. i forget sometimes people are actually, like, happy on their own.” he laughs dryly. “but hunk and pidge are great, you can loosen up.”

keith let’s out a long breath and stands. “whatever.”

hunk and pidge are in the dining room when they arrive. pidge is gleaming and filling her plate with all kinds of things. there’s a pasta salad that looks incredible, a meat dish that smells otherworldly, a freshly baked loaf of bread and all kinds of sauces. keith raised an astonished brow, he’d never seen so much nice food in one sitting.

”help yourself,” hunk says to keith, who looks misplaced in the room. lance is already filling his plate. “i hope you’re not like, vegan or something.”

”oh,” keith laughs awkwardly. “no, i’m not.” 

“great! we’ll get along well.” hunk bashes a gentle fist onto his shoulder kindly, and turns around and back into the kitchen. keith feels, welcomed?

”come on, keith. anyone’d think you’d turned into the mona lisa.” lance complained, a few feet away, “want me to dish you up?” he said mockingly.

”no,” keith grumbled and took his own plate. “what is that?” he asked, pointing his head to the meat.

”by the looks of it,” lance assessed. “and by hunk’s pallet, i’d think it was lamb.” 

“lamb,” keith repeated, and took a slice onto his plate. “my dad liked lamb.” he said. there was a moment of uneasy silence.

my dad liked lamb.

”yeah?” lance said, shaking off the quiet and smiling. “i like lamb. hunk makes it the best though. better than luis, and he loves to cook.”

pidge spoke between mouthfuls of bread. “luis rocks at making chicken, though. some kind of special spice i only find at your place.”

this makes lance laugh, and there’s a smile on his face keith notices he only wears when talking about his family.

he thinks about lance and the princess stories and the childhood photos.

he thinks about his mother, her gentle words.

he thinks he’s smiling and shakes his head back to the present.

”so, keith.” pidge asks again as the two sit down. “what’s your deal?”

hunk comes back and begins to dish himself up, glancing back and fourth at the others, trying to gage their reaction to the food. by the uncomfortable, exaggerated noises lance is making and the smile that creeps onto keith’s face, he deems he’s doing well.

”my deal?” keith asks, and swallows a bite of lamb. it’s really delicious.

”yeah,” she shrugs. “where’re you from? what’d you do?”

”im from texas,” keith says. “and i work in a bar.”

pidge laughs. then lance does too. there’s an air of joy that passes over the table and keith feels confused. did he make a joke?

”what?” he asks, eyebrows knit in skepticism.

”nothing,” pidge says, waving her hands and dimming her giggles. “it’s just— that was very literal. the question was more open-answer, but thanks.”

lance smiles brightly beside him. “you work in a bar?” he asks, then realises this is totally something he would know as keith’s boyfriend and stutters a response. “te-tell them about it, it’s a real nice place!” he decides. “i mean, it’s dark, and… bar-ry. but, cool, very cool.”

keith almost laughs himself, but lets out a breath instead. “yeah. the bar on north street. i work night shifts for extra money.”

lance struggles to hide his curiosity. he knows these things. you know everything about keith.

”really? do you like, make drinks?” hunk asks him.

”yeah. i guess i have to.” keith shrugs.

”wow!” hunk smiles and washes his food down with a swig of water. “are you any good? that seems really cool.”

keith shifts awkwardly in his chair. “i’m not sure.”

”oh, he’s humble.” lance lies. “he’s real good. i’d ask him to make some, but pidge is so young and impressionable.” lance feels this is something keith’s boyfriend, who knows everything about him, would say. “last time i let pidge drink in my company, her mom told me off. it was very scary.” lance told keith.

”right,” he nodded slowly.

pidge groaned. “that wasn’t even serious. i drank one beer. no one was even drunk!”

“but you’re so small, and young, and sweet.” lance mocked.

”…how old are you?” keith asked her, eyebrows knit. “i thought you were eighteen?”

pidge scoffed. “no, i’m 16, actually.”

keith let out a small escape of air. “oh, huh.” he said. “yeah, you probably shouldn’t drink.”

pidge rolled her eyes.

”do you like the food?” hunk asked everyone. there was a chorus of compliments. lance and pidge drowned hunk in praises of his wonderful cooking, and recited long lists of unimaginable exaggerations.

lance wants to elope with the meat.

pidge would like to share her first kiss with the pasta salad.

lance already asked out the focaccia.

keith thought, idly, that this was all very weird. “i think it’s quite good.” he told hunk, which was much more normal, to him.

”thanks, keith!” hunk smiled. “i was worried you wouldn’t like it. i mean, these two eat anything, but this is a first impression and all.” he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. keith felt the urge to be extra nice.

”no, it’s like, really good. i don’t eat meals like this often.” he said. “i’m impressed.”

”i’m so glad!” hunk cheered. “come over whenever, i love to cook.”

lance scoffed. “hunk means it, too. sometimes, when my mama isn’t cooking dinner early enough, i sneak out to hunks and make him cook me a starter.” to this, lance laughs. “i’m always too full for my real dinner by the time i’m back, though. i always ask for more.” he smiles guiltily.

the rest of the evening is spent enjoying good food and chat. keith learns a little to be more friendly, under lances subtle guidance. he finds that lance answers a few questions for him, starts him off or adds to his stories. without lance, he’s probably be an awkward mess. he’s greatful, for that.

lance sighs in his chair and slumps. “man, i’m so full.” he groans. “thanks, hunk.” 

“anytime.”

pidge is cleaning plates in the kitchen, the occasional clank and splash heard from the room. lance leans in close to the other two, sporting a sneaky grin.

“hunk, your parents are gone, right?”

”lance, what is it.” hunk huffs.

”what? i’m just saying, mr. mixology could fix us up something real nice.” lance points a finger to keith beside him, who jumps and knits his brow.

”you want me to make you a drink?”

lance shrugs. “well, you are really good.” he says with slight sarcasm. the kind of sarcasm only noticeable when it’s used with context, and the context here is that lance has no clue how well keith can make drinks. and keith knows that. and hunk doesn’t.

“honestly, i don’t mind. i usually have to suffer whatever lance gives me. and it’s never good.” hunk says, smiling in his chair.

”well,” keith fidgets. “if you’ve got the stuff, i mean, i can.”

”great!” lance cheers. “can i help? i’ll pour pidge her apple juice.”

keith is handed a selection of spirits and a cocktail shaker. he sizes up the mix-match of drinks. he could make a… nuclear bomb, perhaps.

”well, what gives?” lance asked, impatient. he leaned over the kitchen island dramatically and waited for keith to do something. the others were watching a movie in the living room. “i thought you were a bartender?”

”well, you can just mix spirits randomly.” keith mumbled. “i can make… a manhattan?”

”is that the one with gin?” lance asked, spinning a red bottle around. 

“yeah.”

“coolio, one manhattan, bartender!”

keith rolled his eyes. he began to grab the drinks necessary and whisk them up in the shaker. it was fun to watch, lance though. he didn’t really think more than the fake-dating, and he was coming to realise keith was actually quite interesting.

”so, don’t i get some cool bartender chat while i wait for the drink?” lance asked him.

”what?” keith shot up an eyebrow and continued to whisk the drinks.

”i mean, aren’t bartenders all cool and sexy, and they give out like, life advice?”

”what advice do you need?” keith mumbled, playing along with lances stupid rambles.

”um,” lance thought, he watched keith look for ice in hunk’s freezer. “say i’m lying to my friends, and forcing some guy to date me. does that make me a bad person?”

the bare nature of the question shocked keith for a moment. he thought, deeply, for a little while. “guess it depends why you’re doing it.”

”hm,” lance hummed, slumping down and resting his head on the cool marble of the table. “what i’m being selfish about it?”

”are you?”

”i don’t know.” lance’s words were muffled through his arms.

i just don’t want to look like an idiot anymore.

keith thought a while on lance’s stroke of honesty. he ruminated on the day lance begged him to say yes to all of this. he thought of the look in his eye.

”who are you doing this for?” keith asks, low and quiet, only to lance. the sound of ice and alcohol splashing around a metal shaker makes a lot of noise, though.

”what do you mean?” lance sits up.

”i mean, is it just for yourself? or do you care about others.”

”i care about what others think, sure.” lance says, his voice is lower than usual. meeker than usual. 

keith pours a deep orange-brown liquid into three glasses. lance watches it fill the room in the cups. “so what, you wanna look cooler?”

lance pinks a little in the cheeks. “no, man! i just—“ he hums, slumping back down again. “i think a lot of people see me a certain way. i just wanna change that, is all.”

keith doesn’t falter to that. he pours the last glass and sticks olives onto tooth pics. “how’d they see you?”

for some reason, lance didn’t mind telling keith all this. maybe it was his stoic expression, not letting him look concerned or disgusted. or his simple, calm manner that, in some light’s, could be comforting. or maybe it’s the fact they’re not that close. lance finds comfort in the idea that keith isn’t as close and hunk or pidge, and he doesn’t have to face him everyday, knowing he knows things about him that people don’t.

maybe that’s it.

”everyone just thinks i’m an idiot, really. or an asshole.” lance mumbles.

”an asshole?” keith asks, slicing the skin off of an orange. “you?”

”i was kinda an asshole.”

”you were, what’s with that? usually people are or they aren’t.”

lance huffs, a small and pitiful sound. “maybe i just am, then.”

keith doesn’t say anything as he sets up the cocktails. he balances the olived toothpicks over the rim of the glass and places a curled orange skin around the edge. they look good, something the likes of which he’d serve. he thinks hunk would be proud.

”want a drink?” keith asks, changing the mood. lance sits up and perks up when he sees them. 

“aw, man! they look good!” he says, with a slightly dimmer enthusiasm than he normally bares. he pulls a glass over to himself and takes a small sip, holding the olives and oranges still. keith watches the liquid bob lance’s throat. he puts the glass down with a gentle clink.

”wow, i wasn’t lying, you are really good.” lance smiles, then laughs a little at himself. “well, i guess i was lying. maybe it’s just my intuition.” lance says, looking up to keith.

keith takes his own sip and shrugs. “maybe.”

”wanna bring this to hunk?” lance asks, fingers gently touching the base of the third glass.

keith hesitates. “are you sure you’re… like, fine, though?” keith asks him. it sounds so strange and unfamiliar.

lance can’t help but smile. “yeah, keith. i’m okay.” he says, “thanks.”

keith shrugs.

they bring the glass to hunk, who is wildly impressed with keith’s skill. pidge, expectantly, is irritated she doesn’t share the right to her own drink. even if there’s no one here to tell her off. she’s granted a sip of lance’s, who loves stirring trouble, and is equally impressed by the skill of the drink.

”we’d make a good restaurant, don’t you think, keith?” hunk asks him.

keith smiles small, “i guess so.” he finds himself on the sofa, beside lance.

pidge sits on the floor, back rested on the coffee table. there’s a large armchair near her that hunk takes up. the room feels full despite its large area.

keith thinks, perhaps because of the alcohol or his gradual adjustment, that he’s having fun. he quite likes lance and his cooky friends. he’s enjoying himself.

the night is filled with laughter and cry. lance practically begged, hands and knees, for keith to make him another cocktail. even pidge was allowed one, considering the fact that the other’s budged under the influence of alcohol.

”don’t you think you’ll drink too much?” keith asks him, hesitating on lance’s request to add just a little more, come on keith, it’s not a real bar, more! just a tiny bit.

“absolutely not. i can handle my alcohol.” lance says, but his cheeks are pink and he’s smiling way too much.

”that’s a lie.” pidge says, all glassy eyes and wobbly. did she have one or two? keith wonders where hunk’s own drink miraculously landed up. “lance can’t drink for shit.”

”don’t lie to him, pidge!” lance huffs. “you’ll make me look bad.”

”you’re going to make yourself look bad if you have another drink.” she says.

”no. i wont. becuase i can handle my alcohol.” lance said. and when he slurred and giggled and flopped his head on the counter, keith knew he was lying. 

“okay, hunk, where’d these go?” he asked hunk, who was the other other person in the room somewhat near sober.

”ah, there’s a cabinet, pidge and i will take them.” hunk said, grabbing a few bottle’s by the neck. “thanks, keith.”

”no problem.” 

keith stole a glance to lance, who was smiling and watching them, head resting on his own shoulder.

”take him to the living room,” hunk said, whispering near to keith. “he always drinks too much.”

keith chuckled dryly, “okay.” he walked to lance and wrapped lance’s arm around his shoulders. “come on,” he mumbled, walking lance to the sofa. they flopped down onto the grey fabric and sunk into the plush.

”woah, keith, you’re strong.” lance mumbled, words stringing together.

”i didn’t even carry you.” 

“i can feel it, though,” lance said, drawing nearer. “you’re sturdy.”

keith laughed a little. maybe due to awkwardness, maybe becuase it was funny. “i’m sturdy?”

”yeah.” lance said, and he turned his body to look at keith. his eyes were a little heavy, and his lips sported a smirk. he lifted one hand and placed it on keith’s furthest shoulder, running his hand down keith’s arm. “yup, sturdy.”

keith shivered and put lance’s hand back on his own body. “thanks, lance. i believed you.”

lance giggled. he lay back down on the back of the sofa, close enough to keith that they shared warmth. “do you think i’m an asshole, keith?”

keith raised his brow. “an asshole? no, lance.”

lance sighed. “but i’m totally horrible.” he sunk lower in the sofa, shirt lifting slightly with the friction of both fabrics. “i mean, this whole thing is horrible. i’m taking money from my friends.”

”you don’t have to go through with it. you can just, stop.”

lance huffed. “but then i’d still look like a loser.” he waited a moment in sullen silence. “what do i care more for, myself or my friends?”

keith sat in wonder, piecing together the little bits of information about lance’s brain.

lance fell on the sofa, head colliding softly with keith’s shoulder. he rested into the contact, and keith stilled.

”or you?” lance asked the air.

Chapter Text

keith woke to a bright light obscuring his vision. for a moment, he thought it was heaven, but when he rubbed his eyes and yawned, he realised it wasn’t. it was hunk’s living room.

he was sleeping strangely on the sofa, a thin blanket pilled at his waist. he felt uncomfortable, and the strain of his muscles gave him a headache. he wasn’t fond of sleeping this way.

but when the last ounce of sleep left his body, he noticed the warm, heavy feeling on his lower abdomen. long, tanned arms wrapped their way around keith’s waist, and a head of brown soft hair rested on his chest. there’s was a faint breathing, and keith could feel lance’s lungs move.

immediately, he stiffened, arms awkwardly raising themselves to save from touching him. he bit his cheeks, outrageously nervous. what time was it?

he felt his phone in his pocket and slowly pulled it out, clicking the screen on. 10:03. wow, he slept in.

there were messages from various people, something he wasn’t used to.

mom:

keith where are you?

did you spent the night?

that’s okay. but call me.

shiro:

hey buddy, call your mom back, okay?

he must have fully abandoned his phone once he started making their drinks. he sent a quick message to his mother, and sunk back down into the sofa.

lance was warm, really warm. the kind of warm you’d think comes from sickness, but then again, keith is always cold. small slights of air escaped his mouth occasionally, filling the room with the soft, sweet noise of sleep. his hair was messy, but messy in a cute, endearing way.

keith shook his head when he realised he was thinking about it too much, and jolted when another walked into the room.

hunk waved quietly at him, sporting an apron that’s covered in flour. he walked over to keith and sat on the sofa beside him. “i made breakfast. you hungry?” hunk asked him, shockingly calm. keith didn’t feel calm. he felt alert and scared and nervous.

”what— what did you make?” he asked.

”pancakes! there’s all kinds of things to add, what’d you like?”

keith shrugged, horribly aware of the feel of lance’s body on his own. the sound of his breathing. the warmth of his skin. did hunk not care at all? “um, cinnamon?” he said.

hunk smiled. “great. pidge went home last night, but wake lance up in a minute and you can come and eat.” hunk stood and brushed off a little flour from his cheek. “that guy will sleep for hours unless you intervene. but you probably know that, don’t you?”

keith stilled and tried for an awkward smile. “yeah, i guess.” he laughed dryly.

hunk walked back to the kitchen and keith suddenly felt the quiet swarm the room again. wake lance up. he can do that.

he placed a cold, nervous hand onto lances shoulder and slowly shook him, watching his squirm and shuffle in his place. lance slowly pulled his arms back to his own body, and rested back onto the sofa. he rubbed his eyes and shook his hair.

”i smell pancakes.” he mumbled, his voice dry and small from sleep.

”hunk made them.” keith said, his sound of awake-ness strange in the room.

”sweet,” lance smiled, and sunk all the way down onto the sofa until his legs were on the floor and his back was on the seat. “ugh, i hate waking up.” he sat on the floor, long legs pulled to his chest. “what time is it?” lance looked back up to keith, who sported a strange, dusty blush.

”10,” keith said. “10 in the morning.”

”ugh,” lance groaned. “i want to wake up at 2.”

”that seems - unhealthy.” 

lance laughed, then coughed, not fully awake. “all this,” he said, pointing to his face. “is possible with the right amount of sleep.” then he winced. “my head hurts. y’think hunk has paracetamol?”

as lance stood, so did keith, awkward in his stance. “maybe.” he shrugged, and followed lance to the kitchen.

it smelled incredible. there was a pile of thick, american style pancakes, and bowls of fruits and snacks. lance made a strange noise and sat down in the dining room chairs.

”hunk, my glorious king, i love you.” lance said, stacking pancakes onto his plate. “wow — chocolate sauce? you’ve out done yourself.”

keith sat awkwardly in the chair opposite lance, hyper aware of the face lance didn’t care about waking up, arms clutching his body.

”want any, keith?” hunk asked him, pulling him from the thought.

”oh, yeah, please.” keith said, and put a pancake onto his plate. “it looks real good, but i don’t get very hungry after i wake up.” he explained, sifting on a small amount of cinnamon-sugar.

”couldn’t be me,” lance said, words obscured with a mouthful of pancake and strawberry’s. “im starving, all the time.”

hunk laughed. “good thing you have me.”

”exactly!”

keith cut a small piece of pancake with the edge of his fork and stabbed it, the airy treat bouncing back. he put it to his mouth and chewed and swallowed, suddenly forgetting his usual distaste for food in the morning.

”this is really great.” keith said, eyebrows raised. “i haven’t had pancakes like it.”

hunk smiled kindly at the compliment, and whipped a cloth over his shoulder. “that’s no problem, keith.”

they ate in silence, mostly. half due to the fact the food was so good, and half due to the air of sleep still floating around the room.

mostly, hunk talked about his recipe and lance complained of his hangover. all of the begging for aspirin and hatred for his headache brought to keith confused memories.

do you think i’m an asshole,

keith?

what do i care more for, myself or my friends? 

or you?

keith swallowed a large bite of pancake and washed it down with water. he felt his cheeks pink. why did his cheeks pink? why did lance say that? 

“hey, keith, you want some?” lance asked him, and keith shook his head to bring himself back to the moment. he looked at lance, who cocked his head and pushed forward his plate. there was a pancake on it, dressed in syrup and strawberry’s.

”what?”

”we can share. i’ll be full in a minute, and you only had one.” lance comprised.

keith looked to hunk and then to lance, and then clocked what lance was doing. boyfriends would share, all sweet and cute like lady and the tramp. he caved.

”sure, i like strawberry’s.” he said, and cut a piece and ate it.

keith didn’t even notice he was staring at the floor until shiro’s hand cut through his vision. he blinked up at him, dazed.

”yeah?” keith asked.

shiro laughed. “what’s got you all concentrated? something on the floor?”

keith winced. “yeah, my shoes are dirty.” he said, but it sounded all wrong and guilty and shiro knew better.

”what is it, keith?”

it was monday and lunchtime and keith was with shiro again. lance had asked him if he’d sit with him and hunk, but something in him made him uncomfortable. something felt cold at the thought of lance. something felt anxious.

”what do you mean?” he asked shiro.

”come on, i’m not stupid. you’re never so… focused. in this way. what is it? what’s bothering you?”

keith shrugged, subdued. “nothing, i guess.”

”you guess, well that’s great. can you not guess and just tell me?” shiro frowned.

keith rolled his eyes and sat up. fine, he thought, he probably needed to. “if someone told you care about you, do you think that’s weird?”

”keith’s making friends, i see.” shiro smiled.

”don’t be dumb,” keith spat. “i’m serious.”

”no, keith. not at all. that’s not weird.”

”yeah, but i don’t even know him and he thinks i’m a reason to keep— well. i don’t know.” keith said, flushing awkwardly in the act of saying too much. he slumps.

“a reason to what?”

”nothing. forget i even decided to speak to you.” keith zipped up his coat. if had a high neck that covered his mouth if it was zipped closed, and he angled his head down. it was a physical act of no longer talking.

“keith, come on. i’m not going to tell anyone. just talk to me.”

”i don’t care about you telling anyone.” keith said, muffled through the cover of the coat.

”then what’s the issue?”

”it’s just—“ he sighed, lifting his head up. “i don’t understand it. anything. i don’t want to talk about things i don’t understand.”

”you’ll never understand if you don’t speak.”

keith looked away, convicted. “maybe some things aren’t meant to be understood. maybe i should just drop the whole thing and forget about it.”

shiro frowned, more serious than before. “you can’t run away from everything, keith. you’ll never learn and you’ll never grow. you need to face things.”

keith crossed his arms. it helped him feel a little better. not completely vulnerable. he bit his lip in thought. “you’re not going to make fun of me?”

”never,” shiro said, relaxing as he broke through to keith. “what is it?”

keith waited a while, and shiro didn’t mind the silence of expectation. “lance said something to me. i don’t know what he meant and it’s killing me.”

“why don’t you ask him?”

“i can’t ask him!” keith said, conflicted. “he was drunk.”

”okay, well - what did he say?”

keith paused again, stringing together lance’s words. “he said he thinks he’s an asshole, because of this whole fraud-thing.” keith waited for a response from shiro, but he only sat, patient. “he wondered what he cares about most in the situation. how he looked to others or taking money from his friends. if he cared more about himself or others.” keith gulped. “or me.”

”or you?”

”that’s what he said.” keith shivered. “i mean, what’s that even mean? or me? why’d he care about me?”

shiro looked to the ceiling of his office in thought. “so lance thinks he’s an ass because he’s stealing money from his friends?” keith nodded. “and he’s doing all this to look better?”

”yeah. something about his family and general public opinion. people think he’s an idiot, he says.”

shiro shrugs. “and you,” he repeats thoughtfully. “lance thinks he’s doing this for you?”

”what do you mean?”

”well, him, his friends or you? what he cares about most in the situation? what he’s doing it for? y’think he’s doing it for you?” shiro asks a string of questions and keith feels more puzzled than before.

”i don’t know. i don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

shiro smiles. “maybe lance likes you more than he thought he would.”

”shut up,” keith pinks, warmth seeping into his cheeks. “what are you even saying.”

”i’m saying, lance could stop but he doesn’t. maybe he doesn’t want you to stop being friends? maybe he likes being your boyfriend.”

keith winces. “don’t even be ridiculous. i’m asking for good, well-backed advice. not rubbish.”

shiro begins to laugh. “don’t be so defensive. i’m not saying he’s in love with you. but would you still be friends with him if he stopped all this? maybe he’d just miss you, is all.”

i sort of thought

you’d want to stay friends after the fact.

don’t you?

keith ruminated on the idea for a bit. lance was keeping this up to stay friends. maybe.

”do you think so?”

shiro relaxed into the back of his chair. “i don’t know lance, but i know you. and you’re a great guy, keith. lance would be lucky to keep you around. maybe let him know you’d like to be friends and he’ll calm down a little.”

keith shrugged. “i can do that.”

with around 20 minutes left of lunch, keith set out to talk to lance. he thought of places he might be and decided he was probably in the courtyard. he noticed him and hunk liked to sit there sometimes.

when he arrived at the opening in the school building, he noticed the two chatting on a bench. lance laughed loudly at something, slamming his hands on the table and giggling. he must be telling a story.

hunk followed along but only mumbled words of encouragement. everything was much more hilarious to lance.

he calmed his laughter, though, when he saw keith approaching them. lance waved largely and tapped the seat beside him, calling keith over. keith didn’t sit.

”hey, whatcha doing?” lance asked him, smile never fading.

”uh,” keith cleared his throat, looking to hunk. “are you busy?” 

hunk smiled a little, waving his hands. “hey, i was about to join pidge in the science bloc anyway, lance was only telling me a story.” hunk said, standing and taking his coat. “by all means.”

lance grinned and hunk as he walked off, and turned to face keith who was placing himself opposite him.

”what gives?” lance asked.

keith gulped and opened his mouth. closed it. then spoke. “are you worried i don’t want to be friends with you?” keith asked him bluntly.

”huh?” lance jumped back.

”i mean, do you think if you have all this up, i’d never speak to you again?”

lance slowly relaxed in his seat and thought about what keith was saying to him. “i mean, i did. but, you said you wouldn’t so i stopped thinking about it. i don’t really mind, either. i just like having you as a friend.” lance said, smiling a little while after speaking when he noticed keith’s strange expression.

”so, you’re not keeping this up so we can be friends?”

lance paused, then laughed. “no, keith. i have faith you’ll be my friend either way.”

”well,” keith gulped. “then why are you doing this?”

lance sighed, long and quarrelled. he rested his head on his palm. “you wanna know?” lance asked him, and keith nodded.

”i used to—“ lance stopped. “i used to be kinda a douche, y’know? i mean, i was so fed up with people just taking me for granted that i really just turned. i mean, i was so horrible to people. i’d lie to girls and everything. i just kinda thought that if people saw me as some desperate loser, i’d act like i didn’t care, and then they’d take me seriously.”

keith stirred with the truth of it all. the cold air turning colder with realisation.

”and then i realised it was all wrong and stupid, and i stopped. but people don’t really like me anymore, as you’d guess.” lance laughed dryly. self-deprecatingly. “so, i just thought, if i settled down with something “serious” people’d think i was dateable.”

keith stared at lance with a flat face. lance grew a little uneasy at this and felt the need to explain himself further.

”i mean, it’s dumb, but it sounded clever in the moment. i don’t think anyone’s actually going to care, but i’d hope they would.”

”is that it?” keith said, “you wanna look dateable?”

lance laughed at the reality of it being said out loud. “i guess, man, yeah.” he relaxed.

”that’s,” keith thought. “an interesting answer.” 

“and money, of course. i wouldn’t have done it without the money, seems a bit ridiculous.” lance laughed. “speaking off, pidge totally doesn’t believe me one bit. what do boyfriends even do? i’ve never dated someone seriously.”

”she doesn’t?” keith said. “that’s probably down to me.”

lance smiled. “maybe. i think we’ve got to step-up our game. if i ask them all to hang out, y’think you can be extra nice to me?”

”i don’t like the way you word that.”

”come on,” lance grinned. “just… look like you like me when you speak.”

”i do.”

”and, i don’t know,” lance put his hands up like he’d been caught red-handed. “call me crazy - but maybe you’d give me a hug?”

keith frowned. “what do you even mean?”

”y’know like boyfriends.” lance said. “pidge won’t buy the fact i’d date a guy who didn’t wanna touch me.”

”all this for $150.” keith groaned.

”you act like it’s killing you. that’s a lot of money! you can buy, like, 7 new ID’s with that.”

keith rolled his eyes. “whatever.”

lance ended up inviting keith and the others to a restaurant. it served asian food, and lance really liked the dumplings there. it was more for him than anyone else, but his insides lit up when keith seemed enthusiastic.

”have they got japanese food?” he asked, interest as high as it could get. which wasn’t really detectable, but lance knew better.

”yeah, i think so. they’ve got everything.”

keith actually formed a smile. a big one, at that. “cool, that sounds cool.”

”you like japanese food?”

keith frowned and looked at lance, flashing a hand infront of his face. “where’d you think i get this skin from? my mom’s japanese.”

”oh, you’re right!” lance smiled. “krolia, man it’s been a while.”

”you speak like you know her.” keith mumbled.

”hey, i don’t actually. when do i get to come over?” 

keith rolled his eyes. “you don’t have to try and convince my mother we’re together, too. you don’t need to meet her.”

”i still ‘wanna.” lance frowned.

”maybe.”

they were waiting at the station for hunk and pidge. they were late, but it wasn’t a bother. the trains ran every few minutes.

lance, suddenly and shockingly, held out a hand in front of keith. they were standing, backs against the brick of the platform, and waiting. keith stilled.

”what do you want?”

”your hand.” lance said coolly, but his face was lit with a smile. “come on, they’ll be here soon. and i’m cold.”

”i’m not pretending for no reason.” keith said, eyes darting away.

”they’ll be here any second! just do it, no one’s going to believe us if we suddenly latch hands when the guests arrive.”

keith frowned and sighed, “ridiculous.” he mumbled, and grabbed lances hand with his own. lance made an excited sort-of sound and swung their hands about.

lance wasn’t much at all bothered by this like keith was. lance was used to physical touch. lance liked it. he held all of his friends hands, hugged them all when he saw them, slept on all their shoulders. he was so used to it, and keith was so scared of it. he shivered despite the warmth.

lances hand was warm. it seeped through keith’s cold arm. if lance noticed the drastic disparity in temperature between them, he didn’t show it. he stood, humming, smiling.

keith wanted to drown in the bricks behind him.

suddenly, the voices of hunk and pidge were heard with excited hello’s. keith saw them walking over. he felt obscenely aware of the feel of lances hand. soft. smooth. thin. warm.

”hey guys!” lance said as they stopped before them. “there’s a train in 2 minutes, so you’re lucky.” 

lance waited a few moments before unlatching keith’s hand. they didn’t need to hold hands, they needed it to seem like they liked eachother when others weren’t around.

pidge noticed. she knit her brow at the action.

”so, are you hungry?” lance asked.

”starving, man. this place better be good.” hunk clutched his stomach.

lance nodded. “oh, trust me, it is.”

the four of them were sat in a little booth. it was warm and quiet and comfortable. lance scanned the menu like a robot, whereas keith knew already what he’d like.

a young girl popped up at the side of the booth and she held a little paper. “can i get you any drinks?” she asked with a smile.

“i’ll have a coke,” pidge said.

”me too!” lance smiled.

hunk thought for a moment. “i’ll take a root beer.”

the girl turned to keith. “uh, water?” he said, and she turned on her heel with a smile.

“so,” pidge said once the girl had gone and the space fell silent. “how’s it going?” she asked both lance and keith.

”how’s what going?” lance questioned.

”your beautiful, young, true love.” with this, she stared into lance’s soul.

but he smiled and sat back, comically wrapping his hands around keith’s arm. for a moment, lance froze, adjusting to the idea that keith was seriously toned and— never mind.

”it’s brilliant!” he said, with a disney-like, fairytale tone. “i’ve never been happier.”

keith squinted his eyes. “right.” he said, and lance slowly bore his hands away from keith.

lance tried not to think about the feel of keith’s skin. tried not to miss it.

”i’m being serious.” pidge says.

”you’d call a jester serious.” lance groans. “how’s it going?” he repeats.

”yeah, like — are you going to get married or what?”

to this, keith begins to laugh. lance realises, suddenly, that he’s never heard keith laugh. it’s a nice sound. a warming sound. the kind of sound that makes his cheeks burn a little. 

what?

no - that’s not right.

”what’s so funny?” pidge asks.

”it’s just—“ keith sighs to stop his giggling. “that was blunt.”

“i’m for real, are you guys totally in love?”

lance rests his head on keith’s shoulder. he’s aware of the comfort of it, how nicely he fits on his shoulder. “totally and utterly—“ he sits up, “—and i planned the wedding before we met!”

keith winces. “what?”

”it’s going to be the best event you’ll ever attend,” lance begins. “there’ll be disco lights and rave music and silly string.”

”…silly sting?” 

“and confetti! constantly!”

keith's face curls up. “that sounds horrifying.”

”too bad.”

lance eats a final dumpling and slumps onto the table. “man, i’m so full.” he mumbles. he’s facing keith, and sees him watching him.

”me too!” hunk continues, “i’m gonna sleep so well tonight.”

“what do i owe?” lance mumbles.

”$28.54.” pidge says flatly.

”for real?” lance jumps back up in his seat. “i’m so glad you’re not making me do the maths.”

pidge smiles and the young girl comes back with the bill. it takes a minute for everyone to pay for their things, but after pidge and hunk have swiped their cards, the girl turns to keith.

”how much should i charge on this card?” the girl asks, holding a machine.

keith hands her the card in between two fingers. “you can just pay the rest, i don’t mind.”

lance widens his eyes and cocks his head with a slowly blooming smile. “really?”

keith smirks. “yeah.” he shrugs, and pockets his card when the girl hands it back. she thanks them and wanders off, the others free to leave.

lance stands with a creeping blush and thankful smile.

why does this feel so nice?

why am i so happy?

he walks with the others out of the restaurant, watching as hunk and pidge walk in step with each-other. he puts a hand out infront of keith, urging him to stop. after a moment, they walk, safely away from the others.

”that was a good one,” lance said as they began to fall in even step. “i’ll pay you back, but that’s totally something a boyfriend would do.”

keith, surprisingly, looks confused. “oh, me paying? i mean, that was just me being nice but - i guess it does look good.”

lance jumps. “you mean you just did that? not to like, look all kind and loving?”

”no,” keith shrugs. “i just felt like paying. it wasn’t that much.”

lance feels a blush creeping to his cheeks again. he bites his cheek to save himself from saying something strange. in silence, they walk, and lance begins to fidget with his fingers. he thinks - how nice it would be to hold keith’s hand again. how great it would feel to wrap his hands around his arm.

”keith?” lance says, breaking the uneasy quiet.

”yes, lance?”

”i think pidge was real scared when i got so close to you,” he starts. “think we should try and end the night with her terrified?”

keith lets out an amused breath, grinning. “sure, sounds good.” he says, and holds out an arm. lance wraps his arms around keith’s and leans into him. no one’s even looking at him. he doesn’t need to do this.

but keith is so toned and built. his skin is so smooth and pale and human. lance feels comfort in the way his cheek feels against keith’s shoulder. he feels a warmth inside him when he smells the scent of his body.

lance lets the blush consume him. lets his thoughts overwhelm him.

he likes his own feelings around keith.

he likes keith?

Chapter Text

lance paced his room. back and fourth and back and—

his phone buzzed. lance pulled his hair and checked his phone, the light brightening the room. hunk is at the door.

lance runs down the stairs, skipping every second step, and opens the door with outlandish pace.

”woah, man, you okay?” hunk says at the door, holding a bag from the gas station.

”hunk!” lance says, exasperated. “i’m having a crisis!”

hunk smiles, letting himself in. “good thing i brought snacks” he says, placing the bag on the living room table. “i thought your message sounded a little scared.”

lance leans on the table and runs his hands through his hair with a long, breathy sigh. “what did you get?”

”pepsi and some doritos.” hunk says, clicking open a can. lance does the same and guzzles around three mouthfuls in one, the spicy sensation of the fizz burning his throat.

”so, what’s up, lance? what’s all this stress?”

lance pulls out a chair from the table and sits with a sullen, defeated manner. he sinks his head into his palm. “i’ve made a mistake.”

hunk sits a little better than lance, and cocks his head. “a mistake?”

”like, a huge one.” lance gulps. “i’ve lied and i’ve deceived and i’ve made a mess! all me!”

hunk, noticing lance’s widened eyes and nervous wringing of his hands, places a supportive hand on lance’s shoulder. “come on, lance. what did you do?”

”i’m in love with keith.” he blurts, shocked at himself for out-rightly saying it.

“you—“ hunk says, then stops. “i knew that. you’re like, dating right? i mean, i know it was some stupid bet but i thought you probably liked him a little—“

”no, hunk!” lance sighs. “no, that was all fake. i got keith to pretend with me. i’m lying. i’ve lied.” each emphasis is heavier. lance groans and buries his face in his hands.

hunk takes a moment to register it all. “so, keith doesn’t like you?”

”no, man,” lance mumbles, sound muffed through his arms. “and i really, really like him.”

hunk finds himself smiling, despite the anxious mood. “that’s okay, man! it’s not like you have no chances. he already agreed to everything, so he has to like you at least a little bit.”

”that’s the problem, hunk. he already agreed to all this. i’ve made such a mess and im making it worse. i mean i lied to you and pidge, he’ll— i'm about to take money from her? i lied to my mom, and my sister, and everyone! this is such a horrible mess.”

hunk watches lance pull his own hair and roll his eyes, all with a smile. “lance, it’s okay.” he says warmly, “it’s not a mess. you just need to come clean.”

”there’s no way i can do that. do you know what people would think about me?” lance practically screeches.

”people will understand.”

”oh, sure,” lance groans. “they’d still think i was a loser, though.”

with no reason against it, hunk sighs. “i guess you’ll just have to make your lie true, then.”

”what?”

”get keith to actually go out with you. if you’re not prepared to come clean, you’re just going to have to remove your lie in secret.”

lance scoffs, horrified. “i can’t just get keith to date me. he does not like me.”

”you’ve know him for like, 2 months. you haven’t even tried yet.” hunk says encouragingly. “give it a shot!”

lance falls into his own hands, fists cupping his face. “but no one wants to go out with me. i mean, it was even a struggle to get keith to pretend to go out with me, and i had to offer him $150!”

hunk sports a pitiful stare. “lance, you know that’s not true. you’re incredible. keith’s got nothing not to like.”

lance rolls his eyes. “that be real sweet if it was true.”

”it is, lance.” hunk says, surprisingly serious. “i think keith can fall for you if you give it a shot.” 

lance doesn’t say anything, he stares at the fizzing can of pepsi on the table.

”if it fails, we’ll come up with a new plan. but for now, i think plan A is a winner!”

lance begins to laugh. “yeah? we’ll see.”

lance was going to need a miracle if he was going to get keith to actually like him. 

they sat on a bench in the middle of nowhere. it was a park a few minutes away from the school. sometimes, at lunch, him and keith would walk there. it was more fun than the cafeteria. 

lance was aware of the way keith sat beside him, playing a stupid game on his phone. he watched the concentration in his brow. the small tapping of the screen.

lance cleared his throat. “there’s a halloween party at the end of the week,” he said. “wanna go with me?”

keith let out a slight laugh. “me? a halloween party? oh yeah, that sounds brilliant.”

lance sat up, trying to reason. “please? it will be fun! we can dress up and drink.”

”dress up and drink? wow, lance, you know me well.”

”i’m serious,” lance groaned. “hunk doesn’t wanna go and pidge is busy. last time i went to a party, i had to go with allura, and she’s too crazy even for me.”

keith looked to lance, shutting down his phone. “i think i’d rather eat coal.”

”please! it will be so fun, and we can leave whenever you want.”

”drunk teenagers throwing up and bashing into me all night? i’m so excited.”

lance rolled his eyes. “the more you drink the less that bothers you.”

“never, lance. never.”

lance sat back in the bench, sighing. “you’re no fun.” he mumbled, and leant his body onto keith’s. his head fell sullenly onto his shoulder. lance would be lying if he denied his true intentions with this.

keith didn’t mind so much lance’s extra-ordinary want for physical touch. he was so close to everyone he knew. you kind-of had to be okay with it if you wanted to be lance’s friend.

and lance was so warm. his heat melted through keith’s clothes. it felt so great.

keith tried not to think about that.

”when is it, anyway?”

lance tried not to get excited. “next friday. the 30th.”

keith hummed. “i see.”

”are you busy then?”

keith shrugged, bringing lances head up with him. “i don’t think so. but that doesn’t mean i want plans.”

”i know,” lance grins. “but you’re thinking about it.”

”i’m not.”

”yeah, okay.”

”i’m not!” keith says, shaking lance off his shoulder.

lance is smiling. “what would you dress up as?”

”i wouldn’t.” keith rolls his eyes.

”really? i think you would make a great blade character.”

”what? blade of mamora? that game?” keith questions. 

“yeah!” lance smiles. “you’ve got that edgy, grizzled look. you’d make a good one.”

keith squints and try’s to think about him wearing another other than a plain shirt and jeans “yeah. maybe.” he says to keep lance quiet.

”i’d wanna be star lord.”

keith snorts. “guardians of the galaxy? really?”

”yeah! chris pratt is incredible.”

keith hums. “i’d like to go just to see what you come up with.”

”i have his coat!”

”oh, even better.” keith grins. “aren’t halloween parties just excuse’s to dress up sexy?”

”anything i put on,” lance smirks. “looks sexy. even a plastic bag. trust, i’ve tried it.”

keith winces. “right.”

”i’ll find you a cool blade outfit and we can go! pretty please!”

keith shrugs. “i’ll see nearer the time.”

”wicked!”

keith nearly throws up when he sees the creation lance has put together for his alleged appearance at the party.

”are you fucking kidding me?” keith spits. “not for all the money in the world.”

it’s friday the 30th and lance really, really, wants keith to come to the party with him. lance groans and falls onto keith’s bed. he’s never been to keith’s house before. he’s more than excited. “i thought you’d say that. i brought you a more casual outfit.” lance nods over to a plastic bag.

keith unties it and pulls out a shirt. even by the feel of it, smooth and elastic, keith can tell it’s definitely not something he’d wear.

”just how big is this shirt?” he says, spinning it around.

”small enough to show off your sexy abs.” as much as lance would like to not feel so flustered about that, his heart still sings at the thought of it. this outfit idea wasn’t intentional. never.

keith grimaces. “i can’t wear this. it looks like a gym shirt.”

”if your worried about informal wear, girls wear skirts and bra’s. i think your gym clothes are acceptable.” lance shrugs, as if that’s what keith meant at all.

keith discards the shirt and picks up the next garment, a pair of baggy jeans - probably lance’s.

”more casual, see? they’re not even tight like the blade outfits.”

keith shrugs. that one is okay.

next is a black hood that it attached at the sides with a thin black string. “this?”

”they have hoods?”

keith groans. at the bottom on the bag is two glitter gel pens, one purple, one white. “what the hell?” keith says, grabbing them.

”for the cool little circles on their clothes.”

”gel pens?”

”nadia didn’t have much else to work with.” lance shrugged.

”you can never make me put this on. i’ll look stupid.”

”no one’s going to care when they see the size of your arms peeking through the shirt.” lance winks, and what keith doesn’t know, is that he means it wholeheartedly.

”i don’t even want that.”

lance shrugs. “can you go then just for me?” he says, lying down.

keith squints. “are these your jeans?” he asks.

”yeah.”

keith hesitates. “i have a darker pair. wait here.” keith snatches the too-tight shirt and, watching the back of keith’s head as he walks out of the room, lance smiles like a kid on christmas.

lance waits, staring at the ceiling of keith’s room. there’s not many things inside, but the few things matter. his sheets are grey and the walls are white. his curtains are closed. he has one window and one door. there’s a desk with a laptop and a box of pens.

lance sits up and scans the room curiously. on his bedside table is a packet of liquorice and a copy of white nights. he sits up and walks to keith’s desk. it’s plain save for the laptop and pens, but sitting idly in the corner is a silver rimmed frame.

its not large, and inside is an old photo. its orange and brown and dusty. lance picks it up, careful not to break it.

it’s an image of a young woman holding a small baby. the woman he recognises to he keith’s mother, krolia. she doesn’t look much older nowadays. the baby has locks of black hair, and though he’s small and hard to see, lance knows it’s keith. beside her is a man who’s tall and strong. he’s got black hair like keith’s and a scar across his eyebrow, and he wears a belt with many additions.

keith’s dad, lance thinks. he places the frame down with haste when keith walks back into the room.

lance gulps.

keith wears the new jeans that are dark enough to look like plain pants. he put on a belt with a silver buckle. but his shirt hugs his frame as warm as a steamed bath.

he looks incredible.

his arms, pale and contrasting the black, are toned and strong. his waist is thinner than lance would have thought. but you can make out the definition if you look close enough.

when keith folds his arms with a frown, lance realises he was staring.

“keith, dude! you look totally sick!”

keith looks away. “it’s just black clothes. i look dumb, is what.”

”no way! you look like you were poured into that shirt.” lance walks over, weirdly excited. “just some purple drawings and your totally mamora ready!”

keith scoffs. “do i actually not look stupid?” he asks lance, who’s fishing in the plastic bag for his sparkly purple pen. 

“not at all, dude. you look hot.” lance drags keith over to his own bed and clicks open the pen, putting the lid in between his teeth. “hold still.” lance says.

he puts a stray hand on the edge of keith’s face, fingers framing his strong jaw. keith flinches when lance puts the pen up to his cheek, but sighs and accepts his fate. lance draws two thick lines on keith’s face, like the lights on a mamora mask. it’s probably not a great idea to draw straight onto a persons skin with sparkly gel pen, but neither of them mind.

“what are you doing?” keith mumbles after a while, horribly aware of how close lance was, how his warm hand held his face.

”lines,” lance says, muffled through the pen lid in his mouth.

keith gulps. lance looks so good when he’s focused. and he smells good too.

like vanilla and cinnamon and honey.

keith shivers.

and lance knows what he’s doing.

after keith’s left side of his face, lance moves to his right. 

lance pulls back and examines his work. “wow, like a real blade member.”

keith scoffs and tries to shrug off the warmth in his cheeks. “isn’t this going to rub off?”

”maybe,” lance says. “but by then everyone will be too drunk to notice.”

lance lets his eyes fall to keith’s chest, and not just becuase he looks undeniably sexy.

”want me to draw the rest of the lines?” lance smirks, half joking.

”what? no!” keith snatches the pen. “gosh, i’ll do that myself.”

lance laughs. “let me know if you need help!” he teases, and keith wanders off to his bathroom.

while keith is gone, lance changes. he slips on his maroon jeans, grey shirt and red leather jacket. it’s simple and not really star lord, but close enough if he told you.

when keith returns, he’s embellished with four bend lines on his chest, just like the mamora ones. he looks pretty cool, lance thinks, and he joins lance on his bed.

“so, i guess i’m going, then?”

”yes!” lance smiled. “and i must tell you, i lied. pidge can come. i just wanted you to feel bad for me, and come too!”

keith sighs, but he’s not angry. “great.” he says. “isn’t pidge too young for parties?”

lance shrugs. “matt’s gonna be there, so her dad doesn’t mind.”

lance finds his eyes wandering to the pattern keith drew on his shirt. it was good, and lance wanted to congratulate him, but he noticed a smudge above the top left line.

”oh, keith,” lance says, licking the tip of his thumb. he puts his hand to keith’s chest and wipes the stray markings.

keith flares up immediately, jumping back. “lance!” he says.

”oh,” lance laughs. “sorry, man. it smudged.”

keith rolled his eyes and stood. “well, it’s 9pm. we should go.”

”yes!” lance smiled, and jumped off the bed. 

keith ignored the heat in his cheeks. the tingle in his stomach. why would lance touch him like that?

Chapter Text

before keith even walked through the door (the door that was open and revealing the blasted music and sparking lights) he knew he was going to hate this. 

there was people outside the house, laying in the wet grass. he shivered at the thought of being them. so drunk they don’t know they’re soaking their own clothes.

”come on!” lance said, grabbing keith’s hand and pulling him inside.

the house was packed. horribly oversubscribed for a house party. there was people everywhere, dressed in all kinds of costumes.

keith had too look away from certain girls, fearing the fact he was insulting them. party’s really were an excuse to dress like slut’s.

lance caught sight of a familiar face at the kitchen table and dragged keith along with him. allura and romelle leaned on the counter of the kitchen, sipping at red, plastic cups.

”hey, allura!” lance said, and sighed into the quiet of the room. it wasn’t quiet, at all, but quieter than the living room.

allura and romelle were dressed like altean’s, characters from the new movie voltron. keith thinks, idly, that allura is supposed to be a princess.

”oh, hey, guys!” allura smiled, and romelle waved to them, too. “want a drink?”

”please,” lance said, as allura poured a strange combination of drinks into a cup. keith almost short-circuited, and put his arm out before she could mix two random spirits.

”no way, you can’t do that! you’d wake up dead.” he said with increasing concern. 

lance laughed. “i forgot you were a bartender.”

keith pulled the drinks to himself and flushed out the mess of alcohol allura had created. he poured coke and vodka into the cups. two drinks compatible and liable.

”thanks, man.” lance said around the rim of his red cup.

keith drank his own drink, surprised by the cold of the coke and warm of the vodka, burning its way down his throat.

”so, wanna get wasted and have a blast?” lance said, grinning as he swigged the last of his drink. the drink he drank way to quickly.

”i think those things are hard to envision together but, if you will.”

lance poured himself another drink, ignoring the way keith tensed at the mess he was making off it. lance swung and arm through keith’s, dragging him to the living room, waving goodbye to the altean’s.

it was loud in the living room, and people jumped and danced in the centre of it all. around the outskirts of the room, people sat and chatted, and made out.

keith caught eyes with a girl dressed like a cat. she winked at him and he felt immediately uncomfortable. girls giving him attention always made him freak.

”so, keith, wanna dance or wanna make out?” lance said teasingly.

keith scoffed and rolled his eyes tiredly, not even beginning to answer the question. he was aware lance still held his hand. he was shocked how little it bothered him.

”i’d like to go outside.”

”outside is cool, pidge is probably outside.” lance smiled, “with matt, i’d assume.”

”who’s matt again? i know a matt.” keith questioned.

”matt is pidge’s brother. he’s like, an adult, but he’s pretty chill.” lance shrugged, and they wandered their way outside, bashing into people as they squeezed through the crowd.

through a crowded dining room and a glass sliding door, they found themselves outside. it was cold, but comfortable against their now-warm skin. keith felt like he could breathe again.

”look for pidge,” lance mumbled under his breath, and he stopped when he saw her. “there!”

sitting on wall of the back porch was pidge, a guy who looked like her, and a man disgustingly familiar. keith felt his stomach drop. he was certain that if he looked to his shoes, he’d see it there, pulsing and pumping and shaking with fear.

“uh, lance—“ he let out, before he was yanked to the end of the porch.

”hey, guys!” lance said with a smile, and then he jumped at the sight of shiro.

shiro. the teacher, responsible adult and all-known shiro.

“woah, man,” lance said. “when’d you get cool?” he smiled with far too much casualty for someone talking to their school teacher at a house party.

shiro laughed, but didn’t look away from keith. “matt asked me to come. and most house parties need supervision if they’re hosted by members of private schools.” shiro shrugged. “i’m just checking the garrison is acting accordingly.”

he wasn’t dressed up, save for a plastic spider clipped to his black and white hair. probably matt’s doing.

keith wanted to die. he stared at shiro, who stared back, mouthing a what are you doing here? as if it weren’t applicable to both of them.

”long time no see, lance!” matt said, and he gave lance a quick fist bump. “whatcha up to these days? is my sister all right?”

lance groaned. “she’s the worst! i want you to sell her.”

if pidge wasn’t in-front of matt and shiro, she’d probably shove lance and tell him to fuck off. she’d probably be drunk, too. she’s probably be holding a cup of something.

but she rolled her eyes and mumbled, “whatever.”

“what are you meant to be?” lance asked matt, who suddenly looked very confused.

”anakin skywalker, duh?” he grabbed a lock of his hair. “don’t you see it?” he said, hands shaking up and down, showing his outfit.

”oh,” lance nodded. “makes sense. kinda.” he turned to pidge. “what are you? jabba the hutt?” he laughed.

”fu—“ pidge gulped. “i’m an ewok.”

“becuase your small?”

”shut up.”

matt suddenly jolted and pushed lance aside a little. “keith? hey man! what are you doing?”

lance shot up quizzical brow’s, much like pidge. 

“nothing.” keith shrugged, not really answering the very vague question.

”not nothing. why are you here? you hate parties.” matt said. 

lance and pidge shot eachother a look. they know eachother? their questioning faces said.

”uh, lance wanted me to come. i guess.” keith muttered, feeling very nervous with shiro watching him. then he became even more aware of the warm hand wrapped around his wrist. lances hand.

matt looked to keith, to the display of affection, then back to keith. “i see,” he said, and keith hoped he didn’t understand what he was actually supposed to understand. “well, cool!”

keith gulped.

”why do you know my brother?” pidge asked keith lightly.

keith shrugged. “he knows shiro, i guess.”

”and keith is friends with all of my friends.” shiro added teasingly.

“that is so great,” lance said cheerily. “everyone knows everyone!” 

“leave it to lance to be weirdly optimistic.” pidge squinted.

”leave it to pidge to dress like a furbee from a nerd show!”

“you are star lord, are you kidding me?” pidge said, pointing out the glaring irony.

”guardians of the galaxy is a mainstream, cool, movie series. star wars is lame and nerdy.” lance said matter-a-factly.

”you love star wars, what are you talking about?” pidge groaned.

lance laughed. “i do, actually. can we watch it again for halloween night?”

pidge rolled her eyes, but there was no way she’d deny that opportunity.

the night carried on into the morning, and keith was very aware of how drunk lance and pidge were compared to him. he didn’t want to be drunk, he didn’t want to indulge in this.

”no, because you, pidge, said i was cute in, like, 6th grade.”

”i didn’t know you in 6th grade.” pidge scoffed. “i was 10 when you were in 6th grade.”

”maybe it was 8th then. or 10th?” lance said, his words stringing together. “or maybe you didn’t say that.”

”i don’t think i ever said that.” pidge mumbled.

lance laughed, a little too loud for the situation. “someone probably did! i am undeniably cute.”

they sat on a table in a back room of the house. there was a few people in the room, but it was starkly quieter than the centre of the house. keith sat on a chair rather close to lance, while pidge said opposite them. matt and shiro had left some time ago, but shiro told keith to message him when he wanted to go home, and he would come and pick him and the others up.

”does keith think you’re cute?” pidge teased.

lance grinned, turning to his fake-lover. “do you?” he asked quietly, his voice low and drunken.

keith thought of what was appropriate to say. he did think lance was cute. and his boyfriend probably would, too. “of course.” he mumbled, and lance lit up with the words.

lance wrapped two arms around keith’s shoulders, sinking into his body. “that’s so great!” he mumbled, and keith could sleep the vodka on him.

”that’s gross.” pidge frowned. “it’s more gross thinking you’re just faking it.” she said coolly.

keith stilled but lance, drunk and unbothered, didn’t move at all. “bullshit, pidge. don’t be such a downer.”

“i’m not a downer, i’m realistic.” she mused. “come on, what have you done to make me believe you. you held hands? you hold hunk’s hand, lance.”

lance giggled. “i guess so,” he smiled. he turned his head to keith, now very close in this positioned. “i wouldn’t kiss hunk, though.” lance smirked.

you wouldn’t kiss me either, i’d hope. keith thought to himself, blush staining his face.

lance pulled closer, arms wrapping their way around keith’s shoulder like a serpent.

”are you serious?” keith whispered, only loud enough for lance to hear. his heartbeat thumping in his eyes made him loose consciousness of pidge, a metre away from them.

”only if you want.” lance whispered through a grin.

i do.

i want.

i want this.

keith gulped. that isn’t true. he pushed an inch away from lance.

his hair fell softly over his forehead, grazing his temples like ribbon on a present. his skin was a warm brown, and so close, keith could see freckles on his cheeks. his eyes were deep blue. the kind of blue you could get lost in. or drown in. keith wasn’t sure what he was feeling.

”gross! can you two cut it out!” pidge wailed, and keith jolted as lance slowly pulled his arms away.

”believe me now?” lance teased. keith could feel his heart bashing about his ribcage.

”whatever, losers.”

is that normal? 

to feel so flustered?

to feel so nervous?

is the yearning,

the aching,

the desire,

normal?

keith swallowed thickly, like he was swallowing a hard pill. he was swallowing a hard pill.

”don’t you think we should go home?” keith offered, voice noticeably more stable than the others.

they hummed and slowly nodded. “probably.” pidge mumbled. she watched keith take out his phone and message shiro. “don’t worry about me, matt’s at a diner a few blocks away. i’ll call him to get me.” she said, and keith shrugged.

”okay. lance, will you come with me?” keith turned to him, and saw lance staring. blindly, obviously, staring. his smile was wide and his cheeks were pink. “lance?”

”yeah, i will.” lance slurred.

”good,” keith gulped. “great.”

pidge ended up getting collected a lot earlier than the other two, and left lance and keith alone, sitting on the wall that lined the front of the house. they waited, in the cold, for shiro.

lance hummed a tune keith didn’t recognise, and keith found himself weirdly dazzled by it. the low sound of lances voice. the heat coming off his skin.

”lance?” keith said, breaking lances song. lance hummed.

”yea?”

”why did you do that?” keith asked, face burning. “back there, with the almost kiss. i mean, why did you do that?”

lance only giggled to himself drunkenly. “that? that was me messing about. pidge’ll never forget it. trust me.”

”but—“ keith gulped, careful not to let his emotions slip. “that was a little close, no? were you actually going to kiss me?”

”like i said,” lance mumbled. “only if you want it.”

”really?”

lance hummed.

there was a long silence. a long, confused, dazed and anxious silence. an air of desire, wonder and fear swirling around them like a spell.

”sometimes,” lance began. “sometimes i drink to much and i get a little touchy.” he grinned. “so, sorry about that.”

”it’s okay,” keith said faintly. “i wasn’t bothered.” even though he was

”sometimes i get ahead of myself, you know?” lance said, staring to make less sense to keith. on top of the fact his words mashed together with an invisible thread.

”sometimes i act a little rashly. a little too fast. like— like i know what i'm doing. like people know what i'm doing. you know?”

“no.” keith said, but lance ignored it.

”sometimes i believe things that aren’t true.”

”like what?”

”like this, like you.” lance looked to keith with dazed, starry eyes. he tried for a smile but it came out all wrong. all crooked. keith felt a familiar heartbeat in his ears. a blush on his cheeks.

”like me?”

”sometimes, i think i could love you.” lance let out as easily as a yawn. as smooth as a smile.

”what?” keith stilled.

and lance only giggled.

Chapter Text

shiro slowed into the curb outside keith's house, hand firm on the wheel. the car stopped, but the low hum of the engine sounded the silence. keith undid his seatbelt. "thanks, man." he mumbled, voice low and almost undetectable. he reached for the handle.

shiro locked the door with a click, and keith froze up. "what the hell, why'd you lock it?" he groaned.

"talk to me, keith." shiro said, relaxing in his chair. hands off the wheel. "what's up with you? and lance?"

keith gulped. "nothings up." he said, hand on the doorhandle. ready to run. "can you unlock the door?"

shiro didnt answer that. "i know something's up, you didn't say anything the whole ride home. and your face is all screwed up - like a lemon."

"gee," keith rolled his eyes sarcastically. "thanks." 

shiro laughed. "i'm serious! i know you, keith. and the keith i know doesn't go to parties and get in the car like something's up. what is it? what happened?"

keith stilled. he wasn't inclined to tell shiro anything. but despite what he'd like to admit, this whole thing was stirring his brain. and shiro's smart - he's dated guys, probably. he could help keith. he'd probably love to, too.

"come on," shiro said. "spill. you're making that face where you're almost ready to speak, so just speak."

"lance," keith started, but he gulped at the sound of his own voice. "lance says he think's he could love me."

shiro took a long moment to consider. "like, in that fake-sort of way? or for real?"

keith shrugged. "he said it when we were alone, so, i don't know if he was pretending."

shiro slowly nodded. and then, he began to smile. "thats great, keith!" he said, and ignored the way keith's face twisted.

”great? what the hell am i supposed to do?” keith groaned.

”tell him how you feel!” shiro smiled encouragingly.

”tell him— i don’t like him, shiro.” keith said, and watched shiro’s face fall.

”you don’t? i really thought you did.” shiro said, eyes darting to the window in thought.

”no. no, i don’t.” keith said, but he felt a little guilty. the kind of guilt one feels when they begin a lie—

no.

not that.

”seriously?” shiro said, and when lance didn’t reply, he sighed. “you’d still probably have to talk to him. it’s not good to let things like that simmer.”

”like what?”

”like feelings. you can’t really go on being friends if you know he likes you, you need to talk about that.” shiro smiled tightly. “let me know if you need anymore help.” shiro said while unlocking the car. “and get some sleep!”

keith laughed a little. “okay,” he said, opening the car door and letting the cold air in. “thanks, shiro.” he smiled. and shiro smiled back.

it was quiet outside once the door bashed shut, and keith could hear every stone under his shoe being mashed into the sidewalk. he walked up the small passage to his door, and took the keys out from his pocket.

keith shut the door with speed and slipped upstairs. it had to be around 2am. his mother was probably sleeping soundly.

when he got to his room, he flicked on the light. it dazzled the room and made visible his scarce belongings.

out of the greyscale shone a colour keith wasn’t used to, a bright blue embellishing his bed. upon further examination, keith recognised the item to be lance’s discarded shirt. the one he wore before changing to his cheap halloween costume.

keith picked it up with hesitance. the fabric was soft and worn.

vanilla and honey and cinnamon.

keith didn’t want to think about the way lance smelt. the way he felt. the heat of his body.

vanilla

and honey

and cinnamon.

but the shirt filled the air with lance’s scent. a fragrance keith didn’t know, but it smelt so sweet. he smiled, and put a hand to his mouth to stop smiling. he threw the shirt on his desk chair. 

keith fell onto his bed with a sullen disposition. he felt his face burning, his heart beating. why would lance say that?

did he really like him, or was he just drunk?

does keith like him?

is that possible?

is all of this mixed emotion and uncertain feeling actually attraction?

keith wondered and wondered while his eyes drifted shut. the sweet song of sleep taking over him. soon, his heart slowed and his cheeks paled. back to normal.

outside of shiro’s office, the hallway was empty, save for keith and his hand, darting toward the handle.

”keith!” he heard from behind him, far and breathy. but close and intimate. both at once. who was calling him?

a tanned, tall and slim boy jumped before him, blocking his hand from opening the door. “hi, keith. i have a proposal.”

”who— who are you?” keith asked him, dazed and lost and concerned.

then boy smiled. “it’s me, silly. it’s—“

”who?” keith said when the boy didn’t continue.

”me!” he smiled. his smile was warm and friendly. keith felt a certain pull to it. “don’t you know me?”

keith shook his head, eyes darting around the hall. it was dark now. there wasn’t any lockers.

”i just need to go into that room, to see shiro.” but when keith looked behind the boy, shiro’s name wasn’t on the wall. it wasn’t his office. where was he?

”in there?” the boy asked. “really?”

”wh-why? what’s wrong with that?”

”in there,” the boy said. “everything changes. everything’s real. do you want it to be real?”

”is this not real?”

”no, silly!” the boy laughed. “this is all in your head, of course. but in there—“ the boy pulled a concerned face. “—in there it’s all real.”

”what do you mean? what’s real?”

”this. me. us.”

keith stilled. ”us? do i know you?”

the boy smiled. “in there you do. in there it’s all real.”

”what— what are you talking about.”

”we’re real, keith. you and me.” the boy cupped his hands around keith’s. his hands were cold. “you and me. in there, i love you.”

keith gulped, alarmed at the sudden intimacy. “you.. you love me?”

”and you love me.” the boy smiled wider. “just walk through that door, and we can be together. for real. it doesn’t have to be fake.”

”f- fake? what’s fake?”

”everything. it’s all fake.” the boy shrugged. “open the door. find out. you can be with me.”

”but—“

”don’t you want to be with me? for real? i’ll hold you like i mean it, i’ll touch you like i mean it, i’ll kiss you like i mean it.”

keith gulped. the door handle shone. he felt his hand creeping up and latching around it.

”in there, i love you. in there, everything’s real.”

and keith opened the door.

keith woke with unnatural desperation. he sat up and heaved heavy breaths, clutching his shirt, tangled in his sheets.

he waited until his heart slowed before thinking. his body was filled with a yearning. a wanting. a grieving. 

in there, everything’s real.

something about the hall, and the words, and lance made his body shiver. he opened the door. keith opened the door.

it wasn’t real, obviously. it was all a dream. keith knew that better than anyone.

but he opened the door. the door that promised genuine love. why did he open the door?

it is some subconscious wanting?

a subliminal yearning?

does keith… want lance?

keith thought about what to do. it had to be around 11am now, and he felt so unsatisfied. he thought about what shiro told him, to talk it out. maybe that wasn’t a bad idea. maybe he’d feel better.

keith picked up his phone in a spontaneous emotion. he called lance.

he had to wait a while, but lance picked up before the line died. he groaned, “hey keith.” he mumbled, voice thick with sleep. “what’s up?”

”did i wake you?” keith asked delicately, and lance began to laugh a little.

”no— well, yeah. but, it’s fine.” he said. keith chewed his bottom lip.

there was a long silence, static from the phone clouding keith’s thoughts. “do you remember what you told me last night?”

”oh, no,” lance groaned. “what have i said? was it embarrassing?”

“m— maybe. i don’t know.. how you feel about it.” keith said, voice only a few octaves above what’s normal.

”keith!” lance yelled, fear tainting his tone. “what did i say! i’m so scared!”

”you,” keith began, but he thought very long about what to say next. “when we were waiting for shiro, you told me you sometimes… you think… you could love me?”

there was a long string of static. keith could hear only that and his heart, thumping in his chest. “oh, yeah?” lance said, voice breaking. “that’s, like, so funny. i always get so sappy when i’m drunk!”

”so..” keith said, hesitant.

”oh, don’t worry about that, keith. i do, well, love you, but in the way i love everyone! you don’t have to get all scared that i’m like, in love with you. that’d be— weird and very crazy.”

keith, for some reason, felt his heart plummet. he forced himself to laugh. to pretend at relief. “oh, okay. i was kinda worried,” he said, voice tainted with false gladness. “i thought you’d gone crazy.”

”not me!” lance mused. “nope, that was… just me— drunk.”

”okay.” keith said.

”cool.” lance finished.

lance threw his phone off the side of his bed. it crashed with a clatter and he sunk into his sheets, pillow pulled over his face.

what was he thinking?!

was he insane!

he felt his cheeks pink and wondered if it were staining his white pillows. he groaned into the feathers and pushed it back.

”i'm so stupid,” he mumbled, alongside a sting of much similar, self-inflicted insults.

he had to tell hunk.

with caution and much regret, he reached onto the floor and grabbed his discarded phone. the dials rung out in his room. each one weighting heavier.

”lance?” the other end of the line sung. it was hunk.

”hunk, i’m an idiot.” lance groaned.

”really, dude? what happened?”

lance made a self-piteous noise and sighed, “last night, in a drunken, stupid, heinous emotion i told keith i loved him. love, hunk. love. and when he asked me about it this morning, i denied it! i said i do that to everyone! i don’t do that to anyone!”

but in contrast to lance’s misery, he heard laughing on the other end of the line. really, hunk?

”what’s funny, the end of my life?” lance groaned. “it’s not okay, hunk. these could be my last words.”

“i’m sorry— i’m—“ hunk giggled. “why did you do that?”

”do what!”

”deny it? i mean, that’s like so stupid.”

lance yelped. “are you serious? what was i meant to say!”

”you’re meant to say, ‘yes keith, it’s true, i love you.’”

“and then keith is meant to say, ‘that’s freaky and weird, lance, leave me alone.’”

hunk laughed. “he wouldn’t.”

”he would.”

”he wouldn’t. lance, do you even know keith? i mean that guy doesn’t talk to anyone. he doesn’t even talk to allura, who loves talking. and yet he spontaneously decided to up and change his character for some random he doesn’t even know. who is you, lance. you’re the random.”

”so?”

“so that’s incredible. that’s, like, miracle stuff. keith has got to like you. just tell him.”

lance huffed and sunk in his sheets. the receiving end was probably a muffled mixture of sullen sulking. “if he doesn’t like me back, he’ll be freaked and never talk to me again.”

”and if he does like you, you can be real boyfriends!” hunk encouraged cheerily.

”i don’t think that’s worth the risk.”

hunk groaned. “lance, don’t be ridiculous. i wouldn’t make you do something that would ruin your life, ask him out, he likes you.”

there was a long silence, static ringing in lances ear. “we’ll see.” he said, and bid goodbye to hunk.

the silence was louder when he hung up the phone.

never.

in a million years.

would lance ever do that.

pidge picked at the edges of a daisy, complaining about a headache and sulking in her chair. she was in the garden, basking in the sun, accompanied by her nearest and dearest.

lance, matt, and shiro.

the holt’s were hosting a lunch and each child was told to bring a friend. with the way lance was groaning, she wondered why she even bothered.

”what’s the matter with you?” pidge asked lance after his fourteenth gaze into the bushes.

”huh?” he snapped up, raising his brows.

”what’s the matter? you look miserable.”

”i’m… hungover?” lance tried, and judging by the blank faces of his counterparts, it didn’t go down well. “okay, i’m just a bit tired. strung out. all is well.”

”right. yeah. and this is nothing to do with your miserable plea to hunk this morning?”

immediately, lance tensed up. “he— he told you about that? what do you mean? what did he say?” his paranoia caught shiro’s attention.

”i don’t know, just some wonderful stuff about some crisis mistake you made, and how horribly you’re dealing with it. he didn’t tell me what happened though. wanna share with the class?” 

lance exchanged glances with the other two participants. matt played some intense game on a switch that needed his shoulders and arms to move with every flick of his finger, and occasional grunts and huffs. but shiro cocked his head curiously.

”want any help, lance?” he asked. he was matt’s choice of company. despite the fact matt found interest in other activities.

”no!” lance gulped. “i mean, no, not really. everything fine, actually. someone needs to stop being nosy.” lance gave pidge a pointed glare.

”come on, i want to help.” she said teasingly. “what happened? is it keith? it probably is. he’s like, the only other person you saw last night.”

lance paled a little and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. he tensed at a simple “oh.” from shiro’s direction.

”oh?” lance asked him, nervously. “‘oh’ like you know something?”

shiro laughed awkwardly. “‘oh’ like i know nothing.”

lance frowned. “no, that was an ‘oh’ of relief. like you don’t have to be curious anymore, because you know exactly what i’m talking about. look! even your shoulders are relaxed.”

shiro continued to laugh. “lance, don’t worry, i have no idea what you told keith.”

lance jumped. “see! you do know, because i never mentioned telling him something.”

shiro paused and looked up in slight thought. “oh yeah,” he mumbled. “that’s right.”

lance groaned and sunk in his chair. “gosh, that’s so embarrassing. what did keith say? does he hate me?”

shiro laughed dryly. “not hate, no.”

”so he just really dislikes me?”

entirely un-curious, pidge moves around to watch matt play his game. she adds to his rampant noise of cheer and frustration, tuning out the conversation.

”no, lance. i wouldn’t worry, but you’ve gotta talk to him yourself.” shiro smiles tightly, and shrugs. as if this is all just really simple.

it is, really. to shiro.

”fine.” lance mumbles. but he doesn’t mean it.

Chapter Text

it was nothing short of awkward between the two when they belatedly ran into each-other.

if keith thought it was weird, he didn’t mention it, but lance hadn’t spoken to him in three days. usually, he’d have an influx of useless messages. seven phone calls to rant about upcoming situations. they’d have met up countless times.

only with space did keith realise how often he saw lance. and how much he missed it.

lance, on the contrary, was a mess. he thought about what to say to keith when he spoke to him next. and he planned so often he forgot to initiate. lance knew he’d been blowing keith off, he just didn’t know it was such a problem.

until he saw keith. alone, outside the garrison gates and waiting. lance had to say hello. he had to. keith would know for sure something was up if he didn’t.

one food in front of the other. he cleared his throat.

”hi, keith! fancy seeing you here.” lance began, gracious of his years of practice in confidence uplifting him.

keith looked startled to be spoken too, but relaxed at the sight of lance. “hi, lance.” he said.

lance rolled on his heels. “so,” he said, clicking his tongue. “whatcha doing here?”

”my mom said she would collect me, so i’m just waiting for her.” keith shrugged. he looked to the floor a lot. did he always look at the floor, or was lance only now noticing it in his heightened sense of anxiety? and he didn’t say much. though, keith never says much. but is he not saying much because it’s keith or because he hates lance now?

lance tried not to let his worries show.

”that’s cool. want me to wait with you?” he asked him, and leant onto the wall beside him.

”sure. she won’t be long.” keith said.

there was a silence. lance was adamant to break it, there couldn’t be any sense of unease between them, but he couldn’t figure what to say. surprisingly, keith spoke.

”so, nothing new?” he asked.

”what— what do you mean?”

”i mean, is there nothing going on? i haven’t heard much from you. aren’t you busy?” keith said it coolly, and his voice stayed a wonderfully steady pitch. but there was curiosity in him. it showed through the pointed look in his eyes.

lance laughed dryly. “no, i guess not. no drama. you’d probably have to ask allura.”

”oh, i don’t want to listen to drama.” keith shrugged. there was much left unsaid.

”oh!” lance jolted when he noticed a dark car and a familiar face. “is that your mom?”

keith looked over. “yeah. yeah, it is. i’ll see you, lance?” keith said, pushing himself off the wall. before lance could reply, krolia rolled down her window.

“lance, is it?” she asked smoothly. lance tensed up a little. what did keith tell her?

”yeah,” he chuckled awkwardly. “i’m lance.”

”oh, sweet!” she smiled. “want to come for dinner? i don’t think we have properly met.” 

lance bit his bottom lip. he’d say no, due to nerves and tension, but keith looked over his shoulder with something of intrigue. keith raised his brow.

”uh, if… if you’d like. i can do that.” he said instead, and keith smiled. he smiled. did he always seem happy like that? keith told lance he’d not want him to meet his mother. why is he smiling?

”great, hop in.”

keith’s house was as lance remembered it, only lighter, because it was day time. the rooms were light and airy, and they were littered with open windows. lance found it cold, but the cold gave him something to focus on. 

“anything in particular you like?” krolia asked lance, and he jolted at the sudden sound in the quiet house.

”for dinner? i’m not fussy.” lance smiled. “anything you want.”

krolia sighed. “that makes deciding very difficult. and keith here is so simple.”

”simple?” keith reiterates quietly.

”you like simple food. pasta, pizza, nonsense.”

lance giggled a little.

”i like lots of things. i just eat what tastes the best. why would i make myself eat things that i didn’t like the most?” keith shrugs, slightly defensive. 

“becuase it’s healthy.” krolia says.

”i’m not putting on any weight.” keith leans against the kitchen wall. lance decides, instead of awkwardly standing in the kitchen, he’d join him.

krolia sighs, resigned, and turns back to lance. “what’s your favourite?” she asks.

”uhh,” lance thinks a while. he can’t say what he really likes, because he likes cuban food, and he doesn’t intend to put krolia under that much pressure. “i like carbonara.” 

“carbonara?” krolia thinks. “hey — good idea.” she smiles, and lance feels relived.

when lance turns to keith he’s got a knit brow. “carbonara?” he says, low enough that only lance can hear him.

”i do like it.” lance shrugs. “at least top 10.”

keith laughs.

they leave and lance asks keith if he has any video games. keith, cheeks flushing and eyes darting, says, “no.”

”no? you’re totally lying. come on what’ve you got?”

keith laughs nervously. almost like the sound is pulled out of him in an attempt to cover up his worries. “i don’t! i don’t play.”

”you don’t play video games? why are you so embarrassed, then?”

krolia pops her head over the kitchen wall, peering into the living room. “keith’s console is in his room.” she tells them, blissfully ignorant to keith’s reaction.

lance smirks. “thanks!”

lance, followed by a ridiculed keith, darts up to keith’s room, vaguely remembering the way. his room is dark when he walks in, and he flicks on the light, revealing the same place, only with a ruffled bed and messy desk.

”where art thou,” lance mumbles to himself, and grins at the black box before a large monitor. “let’s play!” he says to keith.

keith groans. “i don’t… know about that.” he says, slowly picking up a controller and once-ing it over.

”please! i love all games, even if you play hello kitty island adventure.” lance teases, and keith rolls his eyes.

”i don’t, thanks.”

“what is it, then? doki doki literature club?”

”shut— no.” keith finds himself laughing a little. he straightens out his face to seem serious again.

lance leans down and clicks the console on. it beams to life with a muffled sound and keith’s homepage slowly clicks on. “really?” lance says, unamused.

”what?”

lance slowly looks over. “your flushed over pokémon?” keith looks away and back and away. lance sighs, disappointed. “i thought you were hiding some wonderful secret, like you play roleplay anime games. pokémon? everyone loves pokémon.”

keith chuckles awkwardly. “right.”

”let’s play! well, i’ve never played. but you can teach me.”

keith sits on the floor, back leant up against the end of his bed. lance soon joins him, and rests his long legs before him. “what do you do?”

”collect pokémon.”

lance smiles. “what ones do you have. like scary, violent, fire-breathing ones?”

keith finds his face warming at the simplicity of lance. nothing scares him, or surprises him, or disgusts him. he doesn’t have a negative reaction to anything. keith feels as though he could tell lance anything, and he’d find a way to make it positive.

my dad liked lamb.

lamb? lamb’s good.

keith remembers the heightened surge of anxiety that coursed though his body when he implied his father had died. it wasn’t something he liked to tell people. they usually pulled some ugly face of despair and unearthed their condolences to keith. it made him angry, and annoyed, and really awkward. 

but lance didn’t pick up on it. if he noticed, which he probably did, he didn’t single it out. keith felt relived.

and lance doesn’t care that keith enjoys collecting pokémon and playing stupid games. he’s happy to get down with anything.

not a hint of judgement.

”yes, actually.” keith answered.

lance giggled. “totally guessed it. i only know pikachu. oh! and charmander.”

keith snorted. “great. that’s good.”

”and squirtle. i like him the most.” lance shrugged.

keith hummed.

slowly the light faded from the room, and the stars began to shine outside. the screen still lit up the room, but keith had grown to, instead of playing, listen to lance tell a story.

he wondered why he was scared to see lance again.

”—and she basically jumped, like, so far. it was hilarious. in heels, too? i mean, how can you do that? ‘cause she fell, after, and i was just—“ lance stopped, abruptly, and looked at keith. “what?”

keith jolted a little. “what?”

”i don’t know. is something wrong? you’re looking at me funny.” lance squinted and keith began to gulp.

”i’m not,” he said, low and defensive.

”yes you are.” lance reinforced, but his voice adopted a quiet, soft tone. the room fell silent, the only noise the small sound of the game still singing.

keith rolled his eyes. “maybe i hate your story.”

lance hummed. “it is pretty dumb.” when he looked at keith, keith looked to the floor. the hard wood and small cracks of the panels.

”keith?”

keith looked up. dark eyes and light skin. soft hair and pink lips. lance regretted every moment he didn’t just tell him everything and kiss him until he fell asleep.

”yeah?”

lance smiled. “nevermind.”

Chapter Text

“cash or card?” pidge says begrudgingly, moping onto the cafeteria table.

”for.. what?” lance says, gulping a large swig of apple juice.

”your money? your bet? you won, didn’t you?”

lance physically jolts at the casualty of the conversation. the idea that pidge would actually give him money never really felt real. but here she was, head resting in her balled fists, chatter carrying across the room, and offering lance money.

”oh,” he says, “you really ‘wanna?” 

pidge grins. “well, i was skeptical, but i believe you now. my memory is spotty but i saw you two at the party. plus, it’s obvious you do like each other.” 

lance, horribly aware of the truth and curious as a cat, cocks his head. “what… what do you mean?”

”i mean,” pidge began, hoisting herself up. “you were all over him. every other second i’d see you leaning on his arm, holding his hand — hell, you tried to kiss him!”

lance laughed dryly, picking at the plastic wrapping on his apple juice bottle. his cheeks tinged with pink. “yeah.”

”so, what’ll it be? cash or bank transfer.”

lance looked at his fingers, tanned and thin, and thought about everything. about how stupid it is to agree to a bet like that. how dumb it is to fake it. how idiotic it is to actually fall for the guy. lance sighed and wondered it pidge thought it was strange. he bit his bottom lip.

”don’t,” he said, then gulped and thought again. “don’t worry about it. the money, i mean.”

pidge recoiled. “really?”

”i don’t know,” lance said nervously. “it’s a lot of money, and i don’t actually really want it.”

”why not,” pidge said, low and skeptical.

lance shrugged. “just keep it, pidge, it’s fine.”

there was a long, strenuous silence. pidge squinted and stared at lance for a long time, wondering about his motives.

”you like him, don’t you?”

the idle chatter of students slowly started to die with lances rising anxiety. he paused, chewing his lip nervously. “what do—“ he began, then realised he’d asked that too many times already. “what?”

”i’m saying, do you like him? have you actually fallen for him while pretending?”

lance took one look at pidge and folded, sighing deeply and sinking in his chair. he ran hands through his hair. “yes, pidge. exactly.”

pidge began to laugh. “that’s hilarious. why are you upset? isn’t he like.. your boyfriend?”

lance looked at her though his nervous hands. “huh?” he said, then jumped with the realisation of his lie. “oh! yeah, no, yeah. so, everything fine?”

pidge squinted for a very long time, face curled in deep thought. her stare made lance squirm in his seat.

”oh, i see,” pidge said slowly. after a while. she began to laugh, “that’s awful, lance. you lied?” she asked, with more pride than hurt.

”yes,” he said squeamishly. he almost squeaked.

pidge continued to laugh, clutching her stomach and fixing her glasses. “that’s so funny. wait— you just asked him to pretend?”

”yeah,”

”to get my money?” 

lance winced. “yeah?”

”wow,” pidge nodded. “that’s smart.” 

lance began to relax, seeing as she wasn’t mad or upset. “so, you think that’s… funny?”

pidge snorted, “yeah. wow — you’re in the shit. you like him?”

“yes!” lance groaned. “and he doesn’t actually like me.”

“well,” pidge thought. “you sure?”

”what do you mean? yes, i’m sure.” lance winced. but pidge cocked her head.

”i mean, he’s kinda nice to you. he’s not really… nice to anyone else. i thought he was smitten.”

“well, i was lying to you.” lance rolled his eyes.

”no, i mean i just thought that. i wouldn’t rule out the idea that he likes you.”

”you think?” lance asked, taking a last swig of his apple juice.

”with my limited knowledge of love, yes. i think so.” 

lance hummed. “we’ll see.”

lance sat outside his house, back resting on the wall. it was cold and dark and he was shivering. he was waiting for keith.

in a spontaneous desire to see keith, lance asked him to hang out. it was off the cuff and out of the blue, but keith was nothing short of unbothered.

”sure,” he said, idle in his room. “i’ll pick you up.”

and so lance waited. it wasn’t until he heard the low rumble of an engine that he jumped off the wall and walked to the end of his drive.

he froze, staring at the sight before him. keith, ripping off his helmet, on a motorbike.

”a— bike?” lance sputtered.

keith sat with his legs over each side of the bike. his tight shirt and leather gloves made lance a little lightheaded. keith held his helmet to his stomach and waved at lance, like this was all okay for lance.

”come on,” keith called to him. lance gulped. he slowly stepped over to keith, trying to ignore how good his arms looked.

”you’re taking me — on this?!”

keith giggled. “yeah? i don’t have a car - where are we going, by the way?”

lance ran a hand through his hair. “i’m going to fall off and die.”

keith snorted. “stop it, there’s a helmet behind me.” 

indeed, strapped to the back of the bike was a helmet. lance grabbed it with nervous fingers. “are you actually scared?” keith asked him.

lance gripped the helmet defensively. “i’m not scared. i’m so happy. and joyful. i’m just — cautious.”

”yeah,” keith muttered. “okay.”

”where do i sit?”

meith looked over his shoulder and shuffled in his seat. “behind me, i guess.”

”and you want me to, what, just latch onto you like a damsel in distress?” lance tried for frustration, but deeply he felt rather happy.

”i guess. you’re my boyfriend, aren’t you?”

how lance wanted that to be true.

”whatever, lets go, okay?” lance said, shuffling the helmet in his hands.

“okay.” keith repeated. “where are we going?” he asked, again.

lance shrugged. “i don’t mind. let’s go wherever.”

keith cocked his head. “no plan, then? you just wanted to see me?”

lance rolled on his heel. “um, that’s— yeah, i guess.”

keith smiled. “cool. i’ll take you someplace cool.”

lance tried to be okay about this.

he lifted himself up onto the back of keith’s bike and felt himself close to keith. it was overwhelming, if nothing else, to take in the scent of keith’s cologne. to feel the warmth of his back and the feel of his clothes.

lance took a deep breath. “so, what do i do?” he asked, legs wrapped over each side of the bike.

”hold on.” keith mumbled, fixing a scratch on his helmet.

”okay.” lance breathed and put his own helmet over his head, following keith. he let his arms find their way around keith’s waist with trepidation.

he felt a cold hand on his wrist. keith’s. and keith took lances arm and pulled it tighter around his own waist. a simple and innocent act. one of safety and reassurance.

lance hoped keith couldn’t feel the way his heart began to beat.

the bike died out with a sad noise and the park became empty. it was empty before, but now it was silent. and cold. and lance began to groan. “what are we doing here?”

”i want to show you something.” keith simply said, locking his bike and starting down the path. lance rolled his eyes and followed him.

the gravel crunched below their shoes and lance marvelled at keith’s outfit. “aren’t you cold in half-a-jacket?” lance asked.

”half-a—?”

”jacket.” lance mockingly grabbed the end of keith’s cropped jacket.

”oh,” keith snorted. “no.” he pulled his arms toward his chest nonetheless.

”what’s this that you want to show me, anyway?” lance questioned to pass the time. keith didn’t answer, only sporting a smug grin.

”i don’t want to be kidnapped and killed. i don’t think anyone took good enough pictures of me recently, and i would look so terrible on the advert’s.”

keith rolled his eyes. “i’m not going to kill you.”

”well, it’s dark. and we’re alone. and you’re scary.”

”get ahold of yourself,” keith mumbled. “we’re here.”

lance stopped with sudden curiosity, and perked up when he saw the main event. it was a beautifully tree-lined lake that shimmered the reflection of the moon.

it looked somewhat magical. the trees draped over the lake like fantastical curtains and surrounded the body of water in alluring patterns. the water glowed with something magnificent.

lance smiled. “wow, it’s so pretty!” he commented, running up to the edge of the water.

”i know.” keith said, taking a seat by the lakeside and pulling his knees up to his chest. lance quickly followed him, and the two fell into simple silence. 

lance could hear the way keith breathed. his long and deep breaths. he reached a finger out into the water and felt the way it danced around it like velvet. keith felt like that, sometimes. like velvet. smooth and divine and comforting.

”whatcha thinking about?” keith asked him softly, breathing the quiet.

“huh?” lance looked back.

”something on your mind? you look like you’re thinking about a lot.”

lance smiled thinly but it looked more sad than reassuring. “no, not really.”

keith hummed for the sake of no-argument. “i see.” he said, unconvinced.

lance sat back, closer to keith. his body naturally craved the warmth. he could smell the scent keith gave himself. he wondered if he was only aware of it now, within his newfound love, and keith had always worn it, or if keith put it on for tonight.

whatever it was, keith smelt good.

”i like it,” lance said idly. “here. it’s quiet.”

”you like the quiet?”

”sometimes.” lance said simply. keith felt himself reminded of the night lance spoke to him, soft and sound, sometimes i think i could love you. sometimes, keith thought. sometimes.

”don’t you like it in your nice loud family?” keith teased.

lance let out a breath of air. “yeah, overall. but i like to get away. i can’t be social forever.”

keith hummed. “i like the quiet always.”

lance laughed a little. “i know that. what’s it like — all quiet and boring?”

”it’s not boring,” keith defends. “just simple. i don’t like over-excursion.”

lance begins to pick at the grass, absentmindedly. “yeah, i get it.” 

the sullen sound of lances voice and the lost look in his eye urge keith to ask again — “are you sure you’re alright?”

lance looks up, toward keith, and smiles. “you’re nice, keith.” he says plainly.

”i’m nice?”

”you care, that’s nice.”

keith shrugs. “thanks.” he waits a moment. “you’re nice too.”

lance laughs. “why?”

”i don’t know. you’re nice to people— nicer than i am.”

”really? i think you’re great, keith.” lance says, picking at the grass and throwing small stones at the water.

”now i’m great, huh?”

”you were always great, i’m just saying it now.” lance hums, looking out toward the water. aware of the way keith’s looking at him and how he smells incredible.

”why do you feel like being so — complimentary.”

lance laughs a little, “maybe i’ve suddenly fallen in love with you?”

keith hesitates. “oh yeah?”

”you never know.”