Chapter Text
Keith’s eyes flutter open and he hums wrapping his arms around Lance tighter. The sun is slanting through their window and tingling against his skin pleasantly. Mornings like this are his favourite. Prior to dating Lance, he hated sleeping in, but now it’s one of his favourite things. Lance feels so good pressed against him and he feels so safe under the covers with him. He kisses the back of Lance’s neck, kissing each knob of his spine that he has access to. Lance hums and shifts in his arms. Keith smiles against his skin as Lance wakes up. “Morning,” Keith mumbles.
“Morning, love,” Lance says softly. Keith splays his hand over Lance’s stomach and Lance’s hand comes down on top of it.
“Happy anniversary,” Keith says. Lance turns in his arms to face him and there’s a beautiful little smile on his face.
“Is that today?” Lance says playfully, brushing hair out of Keith’s eyes. Keith hums, leaning into the touch.
“You know, after three years you’d think you’d remember,” Keith says. Lance smiles and tucks his head into Keith’s chest.
“I do have a surprise for you,” Lance says, “but it involves getting out of bed and I don’t wanna do that yet.” Keith hums his agreement and threads his fingers into Lance’s hair.
“I have a surprise for you too,” Keith says. He’s learned over the years that Lance isn’t really a huge gift person, so he’s had to get creative. He’s enjoyed the challenge so far and it’s helped him learn a lot about Lance. They stay in bed for another twenty minutes before Lance reluctantly gets up to take a piss. Keith takes his time getting out of bed and eventually finds Lance in the kitchen. He comes up behind Lance and wraps his arms around him. “What are you making?” Keith asks.
“Pancakes,” Lance says, “and yes, I’ll make banana pancakes for you.” Keith stays wrapped around Lance until he shoos him away to finish up with breakfast. Keith sits patiently at the table, watching Lance flit around the kitchen. Watching Lance move through life is one of his favourite things to do. He moves in such a fluid way and watching more and more confidence seep into it over time has been beautiful.
After they eat, Lance pushes Keith into the living room and tells him to close his eyes. Keith plays along, keeping his eyes closed as he hears Lance shuffle around the apartment. He’s never been huge on surprises, mostly because when he’s been surprised in the past, the surprises have sucked. But Lance knows him well, so surprises from him are actually exciting. Lance knows what he likes and he’s really damn good with surprises.
Lance eventually stops moving and sits next to Keith. “You can open your eyes,” Lance says. Keith opens his eyes and looks at Lance first to see his proud smile, then at the pile of stuff on the table. Keith actually gasps when he sees everything. He looks back at Lance and melts. “Lance… this is amazing,” Keith says. Spread on the table in front of him is all the stuff he’s mentioned wanting for his classroom. Most of it has been off handed or in casual conversations. He can’t believe Lance remembered all of this.
“I figured your first ever classroom had to be awesome,” Lance says, “there’s still some stuff coming in the mail, but this is most of it.” Keith grabs Lance’s hand and squeezes it. “The students are going to love you.” Keith’s heart feels so unbelievably full. He was never much into gifts, but Lance has shown him how meaningful they can be. Gifts from Lance always remind Keith just how much Lance listens and pays attention.
Keith has been a temporary and substitute teacher since he graduated, but this September he's starting his first full time teaching position. He’s nervous as hell, but he’s excited to have his own room. “You’ll help me set everything up, yeah?” Keith asks. Lance grins and throws himself over Keith to straddle his legs.
“Obviously,” Lance says, “you have good taste, but knowing where to put everything is my specialty.” His arms are wrapped around Keith’s neck and one of his hands starts snaking its way into Keith’s hair.
“It’s all that Tetris you play,” Keith says. Lance hums and kisses Keith’s forehead. Keith’s heart floods with affection and pulls Lance into a tight hug. “Thank you, space ranger, this is really thoughtful.” Lance pulls back and pinches Keith’s cheek.
“I told you to stop calling me space ranger,” Lance says, doing a very poor job of hiding a smile “I just like space themed games.”
“I know you like it, you can pretend all you want,” Keith says.
“Whatever, mullet,” Lance mumbles, “we should get ready for our hike so we can avoid the worst of the sun.” Keith nods and kisses Lance one last time before letting him go. He looks back at the table of supplies and smiles. He used to hate the idea of people knowing him, it felt invasive, but it’s so nice to know Lance knows exactly how to treat him. It’s as refreshing as always.
–
“Holy shit, this is beautiful,” Lance says. Keith is looking at the waterfall, but he can’t help the way his eyes drift over to Lance. He’s seen a lot of beautiful things in his life, but Lance takes the cake. That’s the cheesiest thing he’s probably ever thought, but cheesy doesn’t feel like a thing when he’s around Lance. “I’m really glad we picked this trail.”
“Me too,” Keith says distractedly. Lance sighs and turns to look at Keith.
“You’re not even looking at the waterfall,” Lance says. Keith smiles and squeezes Lance’s hand.
“I was,” Keith says, “but you’re distracting.” Lance rolls his eyes, but there’s a telltale blush dusting his cheeks. Keith still isn’t used to the fact that he’s responsible for that. Lance likes him. He’s basically always giddy thinking about it.
“You’re extra cheesy today,” Lance says. Keith shrugs and looks back out at the waterfall.
“It’s been three years since you chose me,” Keith says softly. That day is really important to him. Lance reaches out and gently turns Keith’s head to look at him by his chin. “I’m really glad you wanted this to work,” Keith whispers. Lance leans forward and presses their lips together gently. Keith leans toward him as he pulls away.
“You always seem surprised that I like you,” Lance says. Keith flushes and shakes his head, looking down at his feet.
“And you’re always surprised when I tell you why,” Keith says. Lance smiles and wraps an arm around Keith’s shoulders. Keith leans into him and looks back out at the waterfall.
“We’re both very deserving of each other,” Lance says, “let's leave it at that.” Keith huffs, but he’s not going to bother arguing.
–
Keith has been a little nervous about this all day if he’s being honest. He’s done a lot of surprises for Lance over the years, but this one feels scarier than normal for some reason. He doesn’t want Lance to know what’s going on, but he feels like Lance is onto him the entire day. By the time Lance starts complaining about being hungry for dinner, Keith feels like he’s going to explode. “I think it’s time for my surprise now,” Keith says when they finish an episode of Spongebob per Lance’s request.
“Should I close my eyes?” Lance asks. Keith kisses his nose and stands up, sticking out a hand to help him up.
“You should follow me and put on the clothes I pick out,” Keith says, “can you do that?” Lance grins and follows Keith to their room. Keith can feel Lance’s eyes on him the entire time he grabs all of the clothes and he likes the feeling. He likes when Lance watches him and it makes him feel less creepy for staring at Lance all the time. He sits back on the bed and watches as Lance changes. Lance used to get nervous changing around Keith, which is crazy considering how easily he got naked when they had sex, but now he puts on a show for Keith every time. Keith quite likes this development.
“Earth to Keith?” Lance says playfully, walking over to bend down over him.
“You’re not that mesmerizing,” Keith says sarcastically.
“Right, that’s why you looked at me instead of the waterfall,” Lance says, “ready for… well whatever we’re getting ready for?” Keith nods and stands up, brushing any wrinkles out of his shirt.
“You look nice in blue,” Keith says.
“I know,” Lance replies, letting himself get dragged out of the room. Keith keeps dragging him until they get to the parking lot and to his car. The car that he got instead of a motorcycle since Lance was terrified of him getting into an accident. Apparently breaking his ribs once was enough for Lance to never trust a motorcycle. “Can I get a hint?” Lance asks when they settle in the car.
“Of course not,” Keith says, “it’s only a surprise if you don’t know what it is.” Lance huffs, but there’s a soft smile on his face. He loves surprises no matter how much he pretends he doesn’t. He doesn’t question Keith the entire drive there, instead, he hums along to the music and plays with the ends of Keith’s hair. When they get to the restaurant, Lance gives Keith a suspicious look.
“Sushi?” Lance asks. Keith shrugs and gets out of the car, walking to open the door for Lance who’s waiting patiently for him. “Chivalry isn’t dead,” Lance says dreamily, lacing their fingers together. Keith rolls his eyes, but it makes his heart swell. Lance looks really pleased already and they haven’t even gotten to the surprise. Lance is too caught up looking at the restaurant to notice the familiar cars in the parking lot and Keith is grateful for that.
When they get inside, Keith spots their table and beyond relieved everyone is here on time. Lance is pleasantly surprised that Keith made a reservation and when he finally sees their table, he stops in his tracks. Keith’s heart races as he waits for a reaction. “Oh my god,” Lance says. He squeezes Keith’s hand then pulls him to the table. “My people!” Lance says, rushing over to the table. Keith smiles as he watches Lance individually hug every person.
Keith slides into his seat next to Pidge and lets out a long breath. “This was a good idea,” Pidge says, “must have been hard to get everyone together.” Keith slumps into his seat as everyone settles down.
“You have no idea,” Keith says. Lance finally comes and sits next to him and gives him a loud kiss on the cheek.
“I love you,” Lance says, “this is like the perfect surprise.” Keith rests a hand on his thigh and finally fully relaxes. It’s sort of magical seeing everyone in one place. It’s also really cool seeing everyone so happy. Shay and Hunk both are both showing off their engagement rings, and Keith is really excited for that wedding. Ryan is still with Axel and he looks the happiest he ever has.
“Do you know how hard it was to get your sister here?” Keith asks. Lance chuckles and looks across at Liv and Veronica who are tasting each other’s drinks. Veronica is basically always travelling, so Keith had to beg her to be in town for their anniversary.
“I’m more surprised you got Romelle and her boyfriend here,” Lance says, “they live far as hell.” He has Pidge to thank for that. He has no idea how she managed it, but he knows better than to question her.
“So Matt is paying for my food cause I’m the best little sister ever,” Pidge says, “pick some appetizers on his dime.” Lance doesn’t hesitate to reach over Keith and point to multiple things on the menu.
–
“I am stuffed,” Lance says, patting his stomach.
“I told you not to order so much,” Keith says. Lance waves him off and leans back to stretch.
“I had to try everything,” Lance says, “all the names on the menu were so cool.” Keith smiles at him softly and brushes a thumb over his cheek.
“Having a fun night?” Keith asks, quiet enough only they can hear.
“Yes,” Lance says, “it- well it feels really nice that you know me so well.” Keith melts and kisses the tip of Lance’s nose.
“You’re my favourite thing to learn more about,” Keith says. Lance flushes and shakes his head. “Was that too cheesy?”
“Never,” Lance says. Keith can see so much love in his eyes and it’s almost enough to make his heart stop.
“Oi, you two freaks want desert?” Veronica asks. Lance sighs and drops his head to Keith’s shoulder.
“We were having a moment,” Lance mumbles.
“We’ll have some of that charcoal ice cream,” Keith says, squeezing Lance’s hand between them. Veronica nods and leaves them to go back into their little bubble.
“You love me, huh?” Lance says, lifting his head to look at Keith.
“What gives you that impression?” Keith says fondly.
“Oh I don’t know, all the surprises you’ve done for me over the years,” Lance says, “that dodgeball thing you arranged is still one of my favourite days ever.” Keith chuckles as he remembers everything he felt that day. He was so unbelievably sure that he was in love with Lance, and he had never been that sure about something before.
“That day really solidified my love for you,” Keith says, “I was trying so hard to suppress those feelings but it’s hard to do that when I see you smile.”
“You sap,” Lance says. Keith just shrugs and leans back in his chair. He looks out at the people surrounding them at this table and smiles. He’s grown a lot since high school. He’s not sure what he did to deserve this life, but he’s forever grateful for it.