Chapter Text
Keith’s three and he’s in love with the world.
It wasn’t hard to believe; everything was big, everything was colorful and new and interesting . Keith wanted to see it all. He wanted to explore every corner of his backyard and every inch of his house.
His dada wouldn’t be far behind, always near him, always looking out for him. Keith made a game out of it, trying to find the best hiding spot somewhere in their backyard but somehow, his dada always managed to find him.
“No!” Keith shouts, happy and between giggles while his dada would nuzzle his spiky beard against his round cheeks. “Dada, no!”
It was their thing; to explore and learn about everything their backyard offered. More often than not, it would end with a dirty smiling Keith and an even dirtier sheepish dada whenever his momma will come back from work.
‘The treasure was underground,’ his dada would say, ‘it was a hidden treasure.’
And it had been! Keith found a lot of stuff that day; coins his dada wouldn't let him eat, some rocks he also couldn't lick, and some cool worms his dada had quickly shoved out of his tiny hand with a shout.
“Nope, nope,” his dada had shouted, panicked, making Keith giggle despite the loss of his new friends. “Those are dirty and ugly , son, just - just put them back, yeah?”
And the words echoed inside his head, connecting the dots between words and actions before he beams with understanding.
After that, he would shout out ‘ugly’ to everything he found enchanting and colorful. Every single thing. Nothing was safe.
His momma’s funny marks on her cheeks, his dada’s spiky beard, his big brother’s nose. Everything was awesome, interesting, and ugly .
Because that what his dad had called everything that Keith liked, after all. Like Mr. froggy, who would visit them every few nights, was called ‘ugly’ by his dada after Keith had gasped in awe at his high jump.
“Ugly!” Keith would shout gleefully whenever the small frog would jump from side to side. “Dada, ugly!”
And his dad would chuckle, low and warm as he held him close to his chest. “Yeah, buddy, ugly.”
So, it left him confused and oddly sad when the pretty baby with the big bright eyes, with a color that reminded him to his favorite juice after naptime, started crying and shoving him hard to get away from him.
The baby’s mama is nice to him, though, quickly making him feel less sad by rubbing his back the same way his own momma does whenever he’s upset.
When his dada comes, Keith feels safer but still sad. Because the baby boy with the juice eyes is looking at him the same way Shiro does whenever Keith grabs his black lion plushie.
Keith pouts, upset that he didn’t even get to hug the baby and even more so that said baby just keeps sticking his tongue out at him.
The toddler sticks his out back at him before he turns to hug his dada’s leg, feeling calmer when the adult picks him up and close him close.
Keith finds out later, thanks to his momma, that the correct word to express what he wanted to say was ‘pretty’. It’s an odd word.
Keith’s six and he watches in confusion as Lance runs away from him, his new crown almost falling from his head before he reaches his mom and hug her legs.
Keith can’t see his eyes from where he stands, no matter how much he tries. It’s sad, because Lance’s eyes are always pretty to look at.
“Kiddo, you okay?” he hears his dad ask behind him. Keith purses his lips, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he sinks into his dad’s arms.
“I told him he looked pretty,” Keith mumbles quietly, fingers still playing with each other nervously before lifting his right hand and pointing at where Lance currently hides, “but, um, he didn’t like that?”
He turns to look at his dad and his dad looks as confused as he feels.
His dad follows his pointing, catching the way Lance ducks again behind his mom’s legs before he smiles softly.
“Ah, I see,” his dad mumbles, now patting Keith in the back instead of doing circles. “That was nice of you, son.”
“But he didn’t like it,” Keith repeats with a small frown. “Maybe he doesn’t like me.”
“Oh, Keith,” his dad whispers quietly before hugging him, stroking the back of his head soothingly. “Nah, buddy, trust me on this; he likes you.”
Keith pouts but he still accepts the answer, because his dad never lies to him.
Keith’s not even ten before he loses his dad.
It’s a hard blow. Mom explains it to him early in the morning, eyes red and tired but her stare is strong and warm as she talks and holds both of his and Shiro’s hands.
“He loved you,” she had whispers, voice shaking dangerously as she rubs her thumbs on top of their hands tenderly. “He loved you both so, so much.”
Keith hadn't noticed when he started crying before Shiro was hugging him and his mom wrapped them both in her arms.
The day of the funeral is bright and hot. Keith sweats through his suit and wonders, for a brief moment, if his papa had felt as hot when he had run back to the house on fire.
He hopes not.
Keith stays close to Shiro, not locking eyes with none of the guests that crowds his living room. He doesn't want to talk, he doesn’t want to do anything .
He misses the last few weeks of school and the start of summer. Keith doesn’t mind, finding comfort in his mom’s arms and his brother’s games aiming to distract him.
But Cosmo had changed that from the moment Keith heard him cry on the alley near his karate class. Keith found him alone, dirty and with a few fleas.
But Keith hadn't cared.
And Cosmo gets to stay. But he doesn't stay still .
Even less so when Keith joins Lance on a trip to his grandparents’ farm and they have to chase down him all over the field as the puppy chased the hens behind the house.
They ended up muddy, full of feathers, and Keith couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed so hard since his dad died.
At thirteen, he didn’t have a lot of experience in the baby field.
But somehow, his baby cousin managed to stay alive so far while Keith was watching him.
‘Watching him’ is what Keith calls letting Kuro run around while he painted on his cousin’s assigned canvas. It was fine, as long as he could still hear Kuro’s cooing and squeals near him.
But then Lance and two more toddlers joined the party. Which was fine, totally fine, Lance has a tendency to annoy him but somehow still making him smile and laugh.
Which, again, is kind of annoying how easily Lance can do things to him but Keith doesn’t really fight it. He thrives on their stupid competitions.
And this one took a turn, because this time, it wasn’t neither of them who started the war.
Keith saw it a mile away and he still wasn’t able to stop it.
He had seen the way Kuro grabbed the brushed dripping heavily with pink paint at some point, holding it tight with his entire hand before he raised his tiny hand and Keith knew.
He tired to stop it, to take the brush from the toddler and avoid any embarrassing scenes but the toddler fought bravely and Keith had actually struggled to take the brush from him.
But once he did, he didn’t notice until it was to late that the move had been too harsh, too abrupt, making it rain with pink paint for a brief second and then, suddenly, he had an angry Lance glaring at him.
Keith ends up with his face full of green dots.
Kuro walks away clean.
He’s still thirteen when they move.
“It’s for the best,” his mom had said, talking about how good the new job was and how it was closer to Shiro’s college and it was a good opportunity for them to stay together and for her not to have as many business trips.
It’s okay. Keith liked it. He got to see his family more.
But he was still sad. Because he was leaving --
He was just sad.
The McClains did a surprise farewell party for his mom and him. Their backyard had been full of food despite the small gathering of people.
‘Just close friends,’ Lance’s mama had reassuranced at the door as she welcomed them both. ‘Keith, sweetheart, Lance even has a surprise for you.’
It’s a surprise Lance doesn’t lets him see, not until he has beaten him in whatever silly competition the brunet kept coming up with.
Who could jump the highest. Who could climb on the tree first. Who could climb on Hunk first. Who could outrun Pidge and her warth from making her partner in lab a mountain against his will.
Keith and then Lance. Lance and then Keith. Neck to neck. First place and then second place. Neither could hold either title for long before they would be dethroned.
Keith’s having fun ; he’s smiling, laughing, joking.
But it ends too soon and Keith has to go through the worst part.
Saying goodbye is something he’s not used to. He didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to his dad so the fact that this time Keith is aware that his friends are staying behind and there’s nothing he can do about it makes him wanna cry.
But he doesn’t. Hunk does and so does Pidge.
Even Lance does as he holds out a small envelope and hugs him tight.
Keith doesn’t cry; at least not until he’s inside his mom’s truck and he doesn’t let her drive until she wraps around his wrist the bracelet made of threads that falls from Lance’s envelope.
“Keith Kogane, huh?”
He’s signing the left corner at the end of the application form before the words are spoken behind him. It makes him confused, since classes are yet to start and he even skipped Orientation last week.
No one should know him and yet the person behind him does.
Keith barely notices when the guy behind the table looks between him and the person behind him before shrugging and helping someone else on the other side of the tent.
Instead, Keith’s eyes settle on the guy in front of him; tall with a green jacket that hugs his shoulders while his hands are shoved deep into its pockets.
‘Familiar ’ is one of the ways Keith would describe him with those blue eyes and brown skin. ‘Gorgeous’ is another way to describe those lips and freckles.
“Who’s asking?” he asks carefully, arching an eyebrow at the familiar stranger. The question seems to dim the light in those blue eyes and Keith almost feels guilty if it wasn’t for the fact that the brunet bounces back quickly.
“Man, five years is all it took for you to forget me?” He clicks his tongue, shaking his head for dramatics before he flashes him a smile. “Lance McClain from Ocean’s Street?”
Ah, Lance McClain. Lance ‘Pink Freckles’ McClain.
His rival and, most importantly, best friend from childhood. No, Keith hasn’t forgotten him in the slightest, if the bracelet wrapped around his wrist is anything to go by, but ‘recognizing’ is an entire different concept.
Because the Lance he remembers is lanky and thin, with big round eyes that had the sky reflected on them on a clear day and a nose that was small with round cheeks on the side. Because Lance was shorter than him by two inches and hair was a dark brown.
But the Lance he remembers also went through puberty, probably, after he left. Lance, much like Keith, changed through the years and it’s hard to believe the boy he crushed on before he even knew its meaning is now standing before him once again.
Keith still just hums back at him, scratching the edge of his jaw as he looks Lance from head to toe. His lips twitch playfully at the way Lance shifts under his gaze.
He has forgotten how fun it was to mess with him.
“ ‘Hmm’ is all I get?” Lance scoffs, pout still the same as before and the sight of it makes Keith’s insides to melt with nostalgia.
Keith blinks innocently back at him.
“You’re messing with me,” Lance starts, narrowing his eyes in suspicion and Keith fights his own smile when he sees Lance’s lips twitching upward, “so, how much of an idiot would I look like if I hug you right now because you look and have the same name as a friend of mine from my childhood?”
“Depends on whenever I’m really your friend or just a stranger look alike,” Keith replies slowly, cocking his head to the side, heart drumming inside him as he plays oblivious. “Am I?”
“Are you?” Lance throws back.
Keith’s no longer able to fight against himself and his grin seems to be answer enough before Lance’s laughing and throwing his arms around him.
“I knew it had to be you!” Lance shouts once he pulls away, face now close enough for Keith to see the old and new freckles on his face. He wonders how many of there are under the sun during summer. “I would recognize that mullet anywhere .”
Keith scoffs at the jab but it’s physically impossible to hold back his smile. “And the fact that you read my name over my shoulder means nothing.”
Lance’s grin turns cheeky. ”Duh, of course not,” he says smugly, adding a wink at the end of his words that only makes Keith to roll his eyes.
But it’s fond. It’s so fond because this is still the Lance he remembers and Keith feels like thirteen all over again.
Keith laughs. “Good to see you man.”
“‘It’s good to see you’ he says after pretending to forget me,” Lance snorts but his smile is happy and his shoulders are loose. Same old Lance. “You’re lucky I missed you.”
Calm down, heart. “I’m not the only lucky one here,” he says softly, fingers running through his hair and he hopes Lance doesn’t recognize the action as his old nervous tic.
He doesn’t, but only because something else catches his eyes.
“Hah, hey,” Lance breathes out, smile turning soft at the sight of the bracelet around Keith’s wrist. “Nice bracelet; those knots? Top notch. ”
Keith blinks, eyes falling on the bracelet itself before he grins. “Oh, this old thing? Yeah, there was this kid back in my childhood neighbourhood who made it for me.”
Lance whistles, hands shoved into his jeans pockets. “You must have meant a lot to that kid, huh? Not everyone gets one of those.”
Keith snorts, nodding as he agrees wordlessly. “I think so, yeah; he was loud and really wouldn't shut up but he was kind of fun.”
“Sounds like a cool kid,” Lance hums, wiggling his eyebrows playfully back at him and Keith laughs good-heartedly.
“Yeah,” Keith says quietly, hand rubbing the back of his neck as he holds Lance’s gaze. “Yeah, he was my best friend.”
If possible, Lance’s gaze softens and Keith hopes he won’t have to let go of this boy all over again.
“Hey, so, uh, you are signing up for the contest?” Lance says then, finger pointing at the tent behind him.
Keith follows his pointing, catching once again the several posters that had caught his eye half an hour ago. He sees more people walking closer to the tent, talking among themselves as they sign in application forms and some others talk with the volunteers about the chosen charity.
“Ah, yeah, I am,” Keith says, happy to notice that there’s more activity than when he had arrived.
The contest is a basic talent show of the sorts, offering the students to do what they know and love in a way to help raise money and donating it to one of the many animal shelters near downtown.
He hadn't really meant to apply but something had draw him in. Maybe it was because it was charity focused and animals were involved. Maybe it was because of nostalgia, the several contests back from his childhood making him feel warm and happy.
It’s both surprising and pleasant to find out he wasn’t the only one.
“Are you?” Keith asks, eyes falling back on Lance and hums when the brunet nods, excited.
“I never really outgrew these kind of contests,” Lance says nonchalantly but his voice is kind and gentle, filled with memories from the past. “After you moved away I only did one more contest before I declared I was ‘too big’ to be a contestant.”
“Did you turn into a full-time babysitter?” Keith teases, nuding the brunet on the ribs.
Lance laugh, dryly as he shoves Keith by the shoulder. “Yes and no, mullet; I decided to volunteer! Allura was the one who told me to and since I was head over heels for her back then, I said yes and ended up liking it.”
“You had a crush on Allura?” Keith splutters, blinking stunned. He’s unable to hold the grin from his face when Lance blushes hard.
“Hey, I was fourteen and she was pretty,” Lance mumbles. “I had a crush on Shiro too if it makes you feel better.”
‘Yes and no,’ Keith thinks before he shakes his head with a laugh. “It doesn’t! Oh my god!”
“I was a poor bi boy in a big world fill with gorgeous people, sue me!” Lance shouts, arms thrown in the air and face just turning more red. It only makes Lance’s brown skin to look darker.
It’s a lovely sight.
“Oh, yeah, laugh it up, Kogane!” Lance scoffs, glaring at Keith as he continues to shake with quiet snickers but his blue eyes are playful and joyful. That’s all Keith needs to see to know he’s not messing it up. “I mean, it’s not like you didn’t have a crush on someone in the neighbourhood.”
“I did,” Keith agrees, snickers finally allowing him to speak. He shakes his head as soon as Lance opens his mouth. “Not telling.”
“Man, you’re no fun!” Lance whines and it only makes Keith smile wider.
And it’s weird, how it’s been five years since they saw each other and yet it feels like they’ve never been apart. College now seems a lot less scary with Lance by his side; the future looks less scary, less intimidating.
Because Lance makes it look like a game, every day being a new adventure.
Keith can’t let him go again.
“Do you know what you’re gonna do for the contest?” Keith asks, tilting his head to the side. Lance hums as he shakes his head.
“Not yet,” he says out loud, hand on his hip as he arches an eyebrow at Keith. “Please don’t tell me you’re planning to do your knife trick.”
Keith shrugs. “Okay, I won’t tell you.”
“Oh my god, Keith.”
“No, I’m kidding,” Keith chuckles, waving his hand at Lance’s expression. “I already asked; no sharp objects allowed.”
“You’re unbelievable,” Lance snorts, rolling his eyes but nods gratefully when Keith passes him a blank application form.
They stand side by side and Keith’s a breath away from adding the final touches to his own application before he notices that Lance’s form is still blank and the brunet doesn’t seem to be making any attempt to fill it.
Keith frowns with curiosity at that until Lance puts the pen down and meets his eyes.
“You know, the contest can be done in pairs,” Lance starts quietly, bumping his hip against Keith and earning a small snicker as prize. “What do you say, Mullet? Up for a challenge?”
Choosing is not even a contest when Lance is involved.
“With you as my partner?” Keith asks while holding up his own pen to Lance and flashing him a confident grin. “They don’t stand a chance.”
Keith makes it his own goal to win, because if they do, he will ask Lance out. No excuses, no delays. He will ask him out on the spot, with sweat running down their face and breathing between their laughter, Keith will ask him out.
And later - much, much later - when their first kiss is shared and quiet confessions are mouthed against each other’s lips, Lance’s confession will go beyond what Keith expects and he will find out that the goal he had set himself to that very same day was the same one Lance set for himself.
And for once, Lance was okay to be beat to it by Keith.