Chapter Text
This was one of the most embarrassing moments of Lance’s life. Having to walk through town back to his house, still drenched in coffee. He speed-walked back to his place and quickly took a shower to get the rest of the coffee off of him. Maybe he shouldn’t have gotten a large today- but whatever, it’s not even his fault! Damn that guy with the mullet! It’s all his fault!
He went back to the Lion’s Den after he fully cleaned himself up and started his shift. Allura luckily didn’t mind his lateness this time, already knowing what had happened.
His afternoon at work was uneventful. But still angry about the whole situation with ‘mullet’ as Lance is now calling him, he really needed to clear his head. After getting back home, he quickly grabbed his swimming trunks, rash guard, and surfboard, and headed down to the beach. He welcomed the feeling of cool sand on his feet, and the scent of the salty air. The waves weren’t that large tonight, and Lance just sighs. He really wanted to have his negative energy released by surfing some gnarly waves, but this will have to do.
He surfs almost until midnight before he’s completely exhausted.
The next morning he wakes up as early as a farmer, as he pulls himself out of bed. He gets ready slowly- he’s got to do his morning skincare routine after all!
He isn’t the first person to walk into work, Allura is there already preparing for the day. Soon, Hunk and Pidge walk into the store. Hunk, as cheerful as ever, brought the sunshine into the store that was just peaking over the horizon of the ocean. And Pidge? Well, they just groaned and mumbled until the first coffee of the day went to them.
They open the store soon after, and as customers started to file through, Lance couldn’t help but let his best friends know the drama of what happened yesterday.
“What a dick!” Pidge says as they throw down their towel to wipe off the counter. “How much of an idiot do you have to be to set your skateboard on the open floor like that?” They rub a stain aggressively. Apparently their coffee hasn’t kicked in yet.
“Yeah that’s pretty bad…” Hunk starts. “But I also see where the other guy is coming from too.”
Lance makes a face of total and utter shock.
“Listen! I see your point and I agree with you that he made a mistake, but also you called him out for being completely selfish? I don’t know, I feel like that might have been a step over the line.”
Lance purses his lips. “I don’t know man, I was just in the heat of the moment.” He rubs the back of his head. “And I do think he was selfish for how he talked to me and for blaming me when he had his fucking skateboard in the middle of the floor.” He turns back to a customer that had just walked up. “Hi, what can I get you?”
As the person told Lance their order, Hunk continued, “But it wasn’t in the middle of the floor, like you said it was next to the booth.”
Lance eyes him.
“But I’m still not saying you are in the wrong here! He really should’ve put the board under the table or something.” He mumbles the last bit.
Just as Lance sighed to admit, “yeah you are right-“, more customers walk into the store. As Lance is about to greet them. He stills.
Mullet.
He walks into the store with a smile on his face, not paying attention to Lance, but talking to an extremely hot man that Lance hasn’t seen before. But that wasn’t his focus right now. Why is Mullet back here?
“You okay Lance?” Hunk asks him.
Mullet, finally turns towards them now, making eye contact with Lance.
“It’s him.” They both happen to say at the same time to their companions.
As Mullet walks up to the register, Lance speaks up. “Why are you here?”
“Should you really be talking to your customers like that?” He retorts.
Lance remains silent.
“We wanted some breakfast. Is that such a crime?”
He just sighs.
“What can I get you?”
The taller man with white hair steps up to order first. “May I have a banana muffin and a medium iced latte please?”
“Of course!” He replies in his normal customer service voice. He had no reason to be angry at this guy after all.
The other one steps up next. “Can I have a chocolate muffin and a large iced black tea?”
“This is a coffee shop and you drink tea?” He scoffs. “Whatever, that’ll be $10.50”
Keith pulls out his money and hands it over, Lance takes it silently, and returns the change.
“You can sit down and someone will bring out your stuff.”
Mullet walks away without another word.
Lance wanted to keep talking to his friends, but the late morning rush has really hit them now, so he just continues to work.
…
Lance gets off his shift early in the afternoon, and gets back up to his house, hopefully planning on surfing again today, but his mom stops him when he gets into the house.
“Lance!”
“Yes?”
She walks out of the kitchen holding a glass dish.
“You know about the new neighbors that just moved in across the street?”
“Yeah, you mentioned it.”
“Well, I made them some ropa vieja, and I would like you to give it to them!”
“Mama-“ he starts to protest.
“I saw them yesterday you know, and there are three very attractive men that moved in. I thought you could introduce yourself-“
He grabs the dish suddenly, “I’ll do it.” He says seriously.
He takes a look in the mirror to fix his hair quickly, then walks out the door and across the street to the new house.
He fixes his hair one more time, and leans against the wall in the doorway. And he rings the bell.
As the door starts to turn, Lance clears his throat, “Hello gorgeous- oh what the fuck.”
The door opened fully to reveal none other than mullet himself.
“Are you kidding me? Why are you here?” He says.
Lance puts a hand on the back of his head and turns away from the man, suddenly embarrassed. “My mom told me to introduce myself to the new neighbors and drop off this food...”
His eyes go wide. “Wait are we neighbors now? Fuck! Just- just take this.”
He shoves the food in the man’s direction so he could take it, then Lance starts to walk away angrily with his hands in his pockets.
“Wait.” Mullet yells.
Lance pauses as the other runs out to met him.
“Thank you.” He says.
“What?”
“I’m saying thank you, idiot, for the food.”
“Tch, okay yeah you’re welcome.” Silence hangs in between them, as birds chirp loudly in the trees. “Sooo what’s your name?”
“Keith.”
“I’m Lance.”
“Okay.”
Again silence. How fucking awkward is this dude?
“I’m going to go now.” Lance rushes out. “Bye.”
And he sped walked back to his house across the street.
What’s with that guy?