Chapter Text
“I’m home,” Keith calls out lazily, shutting the door behind him and tossing his keys into the bowl because Shiro always insists he does so.
There is no response, but he wasn’t expecting one. Shiro is definitely asleep by now.
Now that he’s in his own home, he allows himself to relax, and he realizes just how exhausted and achey he is. He’s surprised Lance hadn’t made any comments about the dark circles under his eyes today. Maybe he’s just accepted that they’ll always be there, that Keith is always tired.
He groans out loud as he shuffles toward the kitchen, hoping Shiro has brought home what he was supposed to from work today. Because nobody is around to tell him not to, he groans all the way until he swing the door of the fridge open and sees what he’s looking for.
He grabs one of the four dark pouches and starts rummaging around in the drawers for a pair of scissors. When he finds one, he snips a corner off of the pouch and makes quick work of drinking it without thinking about it. When it’s empty, his head has stopped pounding, but there’s the same uncomfortable feeling he always gets afterwards. He lets his eyes scan the label.
B Rh negative.
He should definitely be used to it, but he still can’t shake how wrong it feels.
Setting the bag on the counter, telling himself he’ll throw it away in a minute, he pulls his phone out of his pocket to text Lance and let him know he got home safe. Because Lance worries.
Keith smiles at the 12 heart emojis Lance sends in reply. He’s about to put his phone away again when it buzzes a second, and then a third, time.
2017 Sexiest Man Alive: ok so i know we just saw each other but would it be cool if i came over tonight?
2017 Sexiest Man Alive: :)???
Keith chews his lip, thinking. Shiro is going out with his coworkers after his shift tonight, so the house would be empty.
Yeah, sure. 7:00 okay?
2017 Sexiest Man Alive: yeah!! can we watch the force awakens
Keith rolls his eyes (affectionately).
Lance arrives promptly at 7:00, and dramatically presents Keith with a blu-ray copy of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He makes himself at home, popping the disc into the DVD player and flopping onto Keith’s couch. Keith smiles, shaking his head, and maneuvers his boyfriend around until he’s sitting on one end of the couch with Lance’s head in his lap.
Approximately ten minutes into the movie, Lance complains of hunger and states that he’s going to the kitchen to make popcorn. He refuses when Keith offers to do it, telling him to instead keep watching the movie, because Keith hasn’t seen it since it came out and Lance has already watched it twice in the last month. Lance ambles into the kitchen, and soon enough Keith starts to hear the soft pop pop pop from the microwave.
He also hears the sound of the fridge being opened, and he tries to think of whether or not they have anything good to drink in there. He and Shiro really need to go grocery shopping…
“Hey, Keith?” Lance calls from the kitchen suddenly. Keith pauses the movie.
“Yeah?”
“I have a question.”
Keith sighs, getting up from the couch and plodding into the kitchen. “Yes?”
“Why do you have this?” Keith first takes in Lance’s raised eyebrow, then looks at what he’s holding, which is most certainly a pint of blood.
Keith’s mind goes blank and he cannot think of a single rational excuse. What he says is: “Uh…”
“Oh wow, dude,” Lance starts, both eyebrows shooting up now, “I was kinda just messing with you. I thought maybe Shiro had it for some reason? But now you’re making me extremely suspicious.” He seems to realize he’s still holding a bag of human blood, and he sets it back on the shelf it came from. “What gives?”
Keith blinks, still unable to think of any reasonable English words to fill this silence with. He wishes Shiro was here.
“Keith. If you’re a serial killer, you have to tell me, or else it’s entrapment.”
Now Keith has a response. “That’s not what entrapment is,” he says, rolling his eyes. “And if I was a serial killer, why would I have blood in a medical bag? Why wouldn’t it be in like mason jars or something equally sketchy?”
“Okay, so why do you have a bag of blood in your kitchen fridge?”
“I don’t know!” Awesome. Very convincing.
“Why are you being so weird?” Lance asks, furrowing his brow, as he closes the door of the refrigerator.
“I’m not! You’re being weird!” Not suspicious. Very eloquent.
Keith runs a hand over his face and goes to take a glass out of one of the cabinets. He fills it with water from the sink and takes a drink, avoiding looking at Lance’s face. Lance sighs and moves beside Keith, pulling himself up to sit on the counter.
“Dude, it was a simple question which should probably have a definite answer, is all I’m saying. I mean, what kind of—wait, what’s this?”
Keith follows Lance’s line of vision and feels his heart rate pick up, and then stop as Lance reaches over and to pick up what he’s looking at. If he couldn’t explain an intact bag of blood, how the hell is supposed to explain an empty one?
God, he’s so stupid. Why did he leave that there? He knew Lance was coming over. He knew Shiro would have yelled at him to clean up his mess. Why is he so bad at completing basic tasks?
Lance turns to face Keith, some unknown emotion in his eyes. “Is this real?” he asks.
Instead of saying “No, it’s totally fake, ha-ha! It was a prank all along,” what Keith says is:
“Why would it be fake?”
Jesus Christ. This is going so badly.
“Did you…” Lance starts, slowly. “Did you drink this?” Keith feels like he’s about to pass out. The worst part is that he can’t tell whether Lance expects him to say yes or no.
Evidently Lance takes Keith’s hesitance as a firm yes. “Oh my god? Keith, what the hell?”
Keith frantically searches his brain for an answer. For a plausible denial. For anything.
He says, “I’m a vampire.”
Holy shit. What the fuck. That is not what he meant to say.
There is a long, painful silence that follows. Lance’s eyes seem to glaze over, which Keith knows means he’s thinking very hard. Keith gnaws on his lip, and realizes that in his extreme stress, his fangs have come out. Perfect.
Lance blinks, finally, and inhales, as if to say something, but pauses when he notices Keith’s teeth.
“Ha, holy crow, you’re really serious, aren’t you?” Keith stays silent, just staring at Lance with wide, horrified eyes. “Okay, I believe you,” Lance says, nodding.
Keith stays quiet, so Lance continues. “I mean, I guess it makes sense. Pale, emo, allergic to garlic. Can’t cross moving water, right? That’s why you never come with us when I invite you onto Hunk’s parents’ boat. Dang, do you sleep during the day? Am I like, always keeping you up?” He frowns. “You could’ve told me sooner.”
“What!” Keith exclaims, finally breaking out of his silent panic. “How was I supposed to do that! ‘Hey Lance, my boyfriend whom I love and don’t want to lose, I’m actually a bloodthirsty monster?’”
Lance just grins. “Okay, fair point. But you must have forgotten the fact that I also love you, and I would never doubt you, honeybunch. You say crazy stuff all the time, like when you told me The Phantom Menace is the best Star Wars movie.” Keith groans, holding his face in his hands.
“Why aren’t you mad?” he says, slightly muffled. “I’ve been lying you to, and I could hurt you, and it’s gross and weird and creepy.
“Hey,” Lance says softly. He reaches over and tugs at Keith’s arms so he can look at his face. Keith lowers his hands reluctantly, looking up at Lance. “I know I don’t totally get what’s going on right now, but you’re still you, right? And, not to be gay, but I’m super in love with you. So this doesn’t change anything.” His eyes and his smile are so loving and kind that Keith feels tears well up in his eyes.
“Aww, babe!” Lance coos, and he places his hands on either side of Keith’s head so he can lean down and kiss him.
Keith reaches up to scrub at his eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he says. “It’s just not something we really do, you know? Um. It’s not because I don’t trust you, or anything like that. Because I do. I love you.”
Lance grins wide. “I know. I love you too. Now, what is this we business?” He gasps. “Is Shiro a vampire too? I swear, I’m dreaming right now. 13-year-old me would be flipping out right now if he knew this was going to be his life.” He gasps again. “Is the reason you never take selfies with me because you won’t show up in pictures?”
Keith makes a face. “Don’t be stereotypical. Of course I show up in pictures. You have pictures of me. They’re just… a little out of focus.”
“Jeepers, my boyfriend is so mysterious and cool. How did I get so lucky?”
Keith laughs softly, leaning forward to rest his head on Lance’s chest.
Okay. Things might turn out to be fine after all.