Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Keith was running late on his way to the local café where all of his friends would be waiting for him. He was always eager to hang out with them, even if it's just for an hour every morning. To him, they were an escape from reality, not that his reality was bad but it did get annoying from time to time.

Buzz

His phone vibrated with a message from their group chat. Keith looked down at the small device in his hand.

Allura- I can't make it today. I have to go to work early. Sorry guys!

Shiro- It's fine, I can't go either. Doctor's appointment.

Allura- Are you sick? What happened? Are you dying???

Keith rolled his eyes. Allura is protective, but when is comes to Shiro she seems to get... nervous? Paranoid? Who knows. 

Shiro- Haha, no I'm fine. Just a routine check-up.

Hunk- well that's a relief! but I won't be going too lol. babysitting for a friend

Allura- Be careful Shiro, and you too, Hunk! Children are scary little things, always running around with grabby little hands. Adorable but deadly.

Pidge- I feel ya. Well have fun on your own, I've got early classes again.

Keith- Ok, but who is going?? I won't go if I'm there alone lol

Lance- Then I guess I'll see you there lmao

Keith- Never mind, I won't be going anyways

Lance- awwwwwwwwwww come on Keeeeeiiiiiiiittttthhhhhhhhhh

Keith- no

Lance- yes

Keith- no

Lance- I'll buy

Keith- deal.

He quickly slipped his phone into his pocket and left his apartment, locking the door behind him. It was a 15-minute walk to the Café from his building and Keith planned on taking his sweet time. Dealing with Lance is not something he enjoyed, but since he was paying, Keith made an exception. Thankfully, it was fairly early so not as many people roamed the street as he strolled down the sidewalk. As he closed in on the familiar shop, he watched Lance hold the door open for a couple of girls. They giggled as he probably said some stupid pick up line. 

Keith smirked when they walked away in his direction. Lance huffed a sigh and waved to Keith. Keith waved back and quickened his pace to meet his lanky friend at the door. Keith stuck his thumb in the direction of the girls.

"Strike out?" he asked with a chuckle. Lance sighed and rolled his eyes, also chuckling. 

"Heh, yeah. But hey, it's not like I used my best pick up line on them anyways. Just something I pulled last minute, ya know?" He said with a smirk, his head held high. Keith gave Lance an exasperated look before turning towards the open door.

They walk in quietly and take a seat near the back. It seemed so much bigger without the rest of the group here. Keith sat in his usual seat, the right side of a loveseat. Lance sat down on the opposite side, slouching over his phone. Keith watched as Lance focused on something important on his phone. Suddenly, Lance looked up at Keith, their eyes meeting for a long second before Lance looked away, stiffening. 

"I-I'm gonna go get our drinks. The usual?" he stuttered, tripping over his words. Keith nodded but gave Lance a strange look. Lance shrugged and walked off, leaving Keith confused.

"Okay?" he huffed under his breath. A moment later, Lance strolled up with two coffees in hand. He handed one to Keith, their fingers grazing each other. The tan boy's face went a shade darker and he seemed to hold his breath for some reason. Keith was confused and asked if Lance was alright. He simply nodded and sat down again. 

"So, how's work?" Keith attempted. Starting conversations have never been his strong suit, but he made an effort to hopefully calm Lance. 

"Oh! Yeah! T-the um, shelter. It's great! We got a few kittens that are so cute, Keith you gotta see them! They have the tiniest claws but they hurt like hell," Lance rambled. Keith gave a small smile of approval and listened to whatever Lance was talking about. The way he used his hands to talk made him seem like a child, but to Keith, it was kind of cute... WHAT?

Lance? Cute? Nope. Not a thing, Keith thought, shaking his head. Keith didn't hate Lance, but he did get on Keith's nerves a lot. But then again, most people did. But I never thought... well kind of? Nope! Ignore it! Delete! Lance McClain is an annoying child with no responsibility and has no real charms... besides those eyes... 

"Dammit..." Keith accidentally said aloud. Lance stopped talking and gave him a weird look.

"Hey buddy, you ok?" he asked, putting a hand on Keith's shoulder. The genuine concern in his voice made Keith's heart skip a beat and his cheeks heat up and turn pink.

"O-oh yeah just got lost in thought I guess..." Keith said honestly.

Lance takes his hand back and chuckles, "you seem to do that often dude. Are you sure you're ok?"

Keith nods and takes a sip of his coffee, eyes going wide and a scowl forming on his face. "Lance. I am pretty sure my regular isn't a hot chocolate."

Lance looked down at his own coffee, took a sip, and started coughing. "Ugh, dude this is so gross! How do you drink this stuff? Also, that's not a hot chocolate, it's a mocha latté."

"Does it look like I care?" Keith asked deadpanned. 

"Yes, yes it does," Lance replied sarcastically. 

"Whatever just give me my coffee," Keith reached out for his drink but Lance quickly pulled it away from the pale boy, earning a scowl. "Dude, just give me my drink."

Lance laughed and shook his head, causing Keith's anger to boil. "Come get it, Mullet-head."

Keith reached over Lance, closing the distance between him and the cup. Lance just kept holding it away, barely out of arms reach. They struggled, not noticing the few stares they were getting. The red-clad teen was now leaning on Lance, desperately trying to get his coffee from the giggling Cuban below him. "Lance, give me my drink you dick!"

Lance mumbled something, suddenly blushing and looking away from Keith. It distracted Keith for a short moment before going back to the task at hand. He'd ask him about it later. His fingers finally wrapped around the plain cup, but Lance wouldn't let go. Keith looked down, glaring at the teen barely inches away from his own face. He felt himself blush, realising the position they were in, but refused to let Lance bother him like this.

Were his eyes always that blue? Keith thought. And is he blushing?! 

Chapter Text

As Lance gazed up into Keith's rage filled eyes, he noticed how purple his eyes were. He became so lost in thought that he when Keith started speaking, he had to ask him to repeat it. 

"I said, let go of my drink!" Keith exclaimed, gripping the cup tighter. 

Lance let go, not really paying attention to what was going on until after Keith had settled back down on the other side of the couch. He was still staring at Keith as his mind began to wander back to their position. Lance had stretched out along the couch while Keith crawled over him, there bodies flush against each other. It was certainly... distracting, to say the least. Not to mention what had said before Keith had grabbed the cup...

If only... 

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Keith muttered when he noticed Lance staring. Those words somehow managed to snap him out of his trance as he quickly took a picture of a very surprised Keith. "I didn't mean it literally, idiot!"

"That's the point," Lance chuckled. The red clad teen rolled his eyes and took a long drink of his coffee while Lance sneakily took three more pictures. 

Keith'll never know of these, Lance swore in his head. Looking down at his phone again, he uploaded the first one to a few of his social medias, making sure to tag Keith in every one of them. 

Pidge- How's the date going guys?

Hunk- Lol they're probably at Keith's house making out

Pidge- Yeah probably. 

Lance looked up at Keith, who was also staring at his phone in confusion. He glanced up at Lance who shrugged with a smirk. He watched Keith type something into the group chat before sighing and leaning back into the cushions. 

Keith- It's not a date. 

Lance- Awww but babe we haven't been out in ages! 

Keith- Lance, stop this. I don't like you smiling at your phone like it. It scares me. 

Lance- oh Keith, you like my smile! I should smile at you more often!

He smiled at Keith, who chuckled but proceeded to roll his eyes. 

Keith- Stop staring dipshit. It's weird. 

Lance- I'm not staring if anything you're staring. 

Lance- and blushing! I see it! You can't hide from me babe, so just admit your undying love for me and we can live happily ever after!

Keith chuckled and took a moment to look at Lance's shit eating grin. Lance watched as Keith shook his head. His eyes had a mischievous sparkle to them as he leaned in close to Lance. 

"So I'm the one who's blushing?" Keith questioned, his face only inches away from the others. 

Lance felt his face heat up instantly. Damn, this boy looks really good up close, Lance stated in his head. He silently scolded himself for the thought but decided to give Keith a taste of his own medicine. 

Lance put a hand on Keith's waist and leaned in closer, their lips almost brushing. Keith's face went as red as his jacket but refused to move. The kid was stubborn when it came to proving a point to Lance. 

Lance glanced down at Keith's lips, his eyes partially closed. He was enjoying Keith's reaction and decided to push it even further by licking his lips before whispering. "Yes."

Chapter Text

"Yes."

Keith wanted to scream. Everything in him wanted all of this to stop... right?

This isn't happening? Why can't I move? Dammit... those eyes... no! But... 

"Oh boy..." Keith whispered, once again thinking out loud. Lance didn't seem to notice, still sitting there with a hand on Keith's hip. He didn't seem to be letting him loose any time soon. 

Just play along. He has to be uncomfortable already. Push him over the edge at any cost!

Keith's hand reached up and rested on Lance's cheek. The position they were in put Keith's thoughts in different places but he pushed those to the back of his mind. 

He was sure that Lance would break any minute now, but the kid was resilient. They both wouldn't budge unless it was to make the other uncomfortable, and they were uncomfortable. Neither showed it, but on the inside their skin was crawling... but only for a moment. 

Soon they got more comfortable with each other like this. In each other's arms, Lance had even leaned into Keith's hand, hoping for more. 

You could pinpoint the exact moment that the boys realized what was happening. They both jumped back to their respected seats, not daring to look at each other. Lance spoke first. 

"S-sorry... I didn't mean any of that, but you started it so I just-- I mean I--"

"Shut up, Lance," Keith interrupted. "Jesus do you have no boundaries?"

"Nope. I'm as cool as ice in those situations," Lance stated with a smirk. 

I noticed...

"Whatever. Thanks for the coffee," Keith said as he got up to leave a bewildered Lance. 

"Wait!" He said, grabbing Keith's wrist to stop him. Blush creeped up face but that didn't stop him. "So, um, I have a confession to make..."

Keith turned to him with a puzzled expression. 

"Know what, never mind. I-I'll tell you later. Or not. Ok well I'll see you around Keith!" Lance stuttered out. It was Keith's turn to be confused as he watched the tall boy trip his way out of the shop and out of sight. 

What the hell? Now I'm curious... Keith thought, pulling his phone out to text Hunk. He hoped that Lance's best friend would know what was going on with him. 

Keith- Hey Hunk, do you know what's going with Lance? 

Keith- He freaked out on me and ran off. 

Keith- Is he ok?? 

Hunk- lmao calm down. Lance is fine

Keith- Then what's going on with him? 

Keith- Hunk, he stuttered. 

Hunk- Oh that boy has it bad lol

Keith- What?

Hunk- lol nothing. You should go talk to him if you're worried

Kieth- I guess. See ya Hunk. 

Hunk- lol bye Keith

With that, he slipped his phone into his pocket and walked out the door hoping Lance hadn't gone too far. 

Chapter Text

Lance turned the corner, praying that Keith wouldn't follow him. His feet carried him through the clumps of people walking with him. They all seemed to have a destination, unlike Lance. 

He never knew what he wanted to do when he grew up. Sure he had his family filling him with inspiration to do everything, but that was it. He wanted to do everything. Plenty of people told him that it was impossible and silly. Even now his friends think it's immature and a waste of time, but what's the fun in that? 

To Lance, life was full of possibilities. He knew that settling down or falling in love would result in lost opportunities, which is why he had such a hatred for Keith in the beginning. It would have been all his fault for Lance's lost opportunities and simple life with one track memories and boring love stories. But after a while, they started to blur. The boys and girls he'd have one-night-stands with. The dates and the clubs and all of the dancing with strangers were starting to feel boring and routine. Sure, new faces and new names, but they were all the same. 

That's when he turned to Pidge. 

He had messaged last week at 4 in the morning knowing she'd be awake. He stayed up all night thinking about Keith, finally deciding to at least tell somebody. Pidge had told him that it was "cute and obvious" but of course Keith, being the idiot he was, would never notice anything subtle. Pidge had also said that he needed to tell him. When that came up in their chat, Lance had started hyperventilating and required help from his younger brother's inhaler. Thankfully his mother had them each keep one in their rooms for the young McClain. 

"Pidge," he whispered after dialling her phone number. "I'm scared."

"Pfft! Of what?" she asked sarcastically. "Getting rejected? It's Keith. Have you really not noticed the way he looks at you all the time?"

"Wait, he wasn't glaring at me?" Lance exclaimed in a hushed voice. Waking anyone up at this hour was a suicide mission. 

There was giggling on the other line before her voice came back. "Lance. My good friend. Please, please, please just take a moment to look back in that memory bank of yours. Do you really think that's Keith's glare?"

"Um... no?" Lance shifted uncomfortably. Remembering to the times where Keith actually had been glaring at other people, it was much scarier than whatever looks he had been getting. Speaking of which, Lance had also noticed that Keith generally only gave mean looks towards people who upset Lance, and the rest of the group in general. 

"Good. Now go get your man!" Pidge called from the safety of her own home, where she could be as loud as she pleased. 

Lance hung up and started to write out a plan of attack. The sun was about to rise when he had finally passed out, pen in hand and ink smudged on his cheek. Of course, his sister took pictures and posted them everywhere. Most of the time he'd protest and ask her to take them down, but he saw a comment Keith had left that made his heart flutter. 

"He needs his beauty sleep... or does he lol"

It could have easily implied a compliment or an insult, but Lance preferred to think of it as a compliment. 

Lance chuckled nervously, remembering how shocked he had been at the simple comment. It wasn't anything special, but to Lance it was proof. Proof for what exactly, he didn't quite know, but proof none the less. 

His thoughts kept him distracted until a hand gripped his arm and pulled a very surprised Lance out of the way of a car. Lance turned to see Shiro with a wide smile plastered on his face. He started laughing heavily and nearly doubled over. 

"D-dude! You need to be careful but geez your face was priceless!" He said through gasps of air. 

"Heh, yeah. Just distracted..."

"You know he's looking for you, right?" Shiro stated, looking down at his phone. Lance guessed it was a message from the boy he was running away from. 

Lance hung his head in defeat mumbling, "Yeah I know. That's the worst part."

"I can't believe you of all people are giving up. I guess I owe Pidge $40."

Lance looked up, a shocked expression printed on his face. "You guys bet on me?" He exclaimed, earning a few strange looks. He ignored them and continued to stare and the man before him. Shiro began to shuffle and refused to look Lance in the eyes as he answered. 

Lance rolled his eyes but looked back to the corner he'd turned only minutes ago. Keith came to that corner and stopped, looking down each side of the street. Both boys locked eyes. 

"Shiro, you won the bet."

Lance walked towards Keith with purpose, leaving Shiro perplexed and curious. He watched Lance stalk to Keith with purpose in each stride. Keith seemed to stop a few paces in front of Lance, unaware of Shiro just down the way. 

Lance, not giving himself any time to be nervous or to even think of what he was about to do, let Keith stop in front of him. He didn't miss a beat as Lance stood toe to toe with Keith. He seemed puzzled and was blushing furiously, but they both were. Lance didn't even give that position a thought, as it was only held for barely a second before he placed a hand gently on Keith's cheek and pressed his lips against the others. 

~It was over too soon for Keith's liking. His face was burning the moment he saw Lance. It didn't help that the boy had just kissed him and left, leaving Keith stuck in place. He didn't want to move, but he needed to chase after Lance. His cool hand against his own burning cheek, lips that tasted like his damn coffee, and eyes that reflected an ocean of passion and curiosity. Keith craved it, but his body betrayed him. A force stronger than gravity keeping him still. Fear.~

Lance didn't dare look back. He refused to answer his phone, knowing it was Shiro. He had such a wide grin on his face that it almost hurt; it was worse when the thoughts of Keith's warm lips meeting his, hit him like a truck. It hemembered how warm Keith had been, not like a fever, but more of a natural heat. It was enticing, and that's one of the many things Lance adored about him. The way his eyes sparkled when laughing at Lance's jokes, and the way his beautiful smile lit up whatever room he was in, or his infectious giggle that turned Lance to putty. He could never understand how years had gone by with so many people, and Keith was the one who had to come and ruin his life with that stupid mullet that looked perfect on him.

He snapped back into reality and realised he was staring at the fountain where he had first met Keith. It was a rainy day and both boys needed to go home, but of course fate had pulled them there. Keith had been wandering alone in a new city and no way of knowing where he was. Lance was able to show him the way, later being introduced properly by Keith's older brother and a friend of his, Shiro and Hunk. Later, Pidge had transferred into their high school as a senior, despite being much younger. They've been great friends ever since. 

Friends.

Lance started thinking about what would happen now that he'd basically confessed everything to Keith. Did Keith actually feel the same about him? He remembered Keith kissing back, but that could have just been a natural response. 

Lance started to hyperventilate again, panic rising in his throat. Forcing himself not to think about the bad possibilities, he held his breath for a moment, then slowly released it. Lance wasn't the type to show his panic or pain, people had better things to worry about than him. 

His phone started ringing again, and this time he decided to answer it. Shiro was laughing on the other end, probably at Lance for whatever reason.

"Lance! I think you broke Keith," he said between giggles. It wasn't like Shiro to be laughing so hard, so he guessed he had broken Keith... In a good way? 

"Wait, is that Lance?" 

Keith's voice was faintly in the background, but Lance knew it was him. He could always identify Keith, from his stupid mullet to his beautiful voice. Shiro handed the phone to Keith, still chuckling about the recent events.

"Lance, where are you?" Keith asked, concern in his voice. It quickly turned to frustration when Lance didn't answer, "Lance! Where. Are. You."

"The fountain."

He quickly hung up the phone, and for the third time, left Keith confused and frustrated. Lance paced back and forth, thinking about what would happen if Keith decided to come find him. He thought of the worst possible scenarios but he never expected what happened next.

Chapter Text

Shiro still hadn't stopped laughing at the way Keith had just been standing in the middle fo the sidewalk, awestruck. It was quite a sight to see and it only stopped when Shiro quickly snapped a picture of Keith to send to Pidge. She appreciated the blackmail. He couldn't stop even as he watched Keith go sprinting towards the centre of town, where he knew Keith would find Lance.

Lance simply seemed attracted to that place. Whenever he wanted to be alone and think, he'd go for a walk and end up there, pacing and thinking. You could almost call it routine. 

Keith stopped when he saw Lance, flailing wildly in the fountain. What was so surprising wasn't Lance being an idiot and making a fool of himself, but the fact that Pidge was filming it. Well, that wasn't too surprising. In fact, it made more sense for her to have had a part in Lance's misfortune. Lance stopped splashing around when he made eye contact with Keith, his blue eyes seemed even brighter than they had only moments ago.

"Keith?" Lance stuttered out, making Pidge turn the camera towards him. He flipped her off and jogged to the edge of the fountain to help Lance out. As he reached out to grab Lance's hand, he felt a small foot kick his ass.

Keith fell forward, landing on Lance and straddling him. Both were red and soaking, but neither of them wanted to move. With their faces so close, Keith could feel Lance's breath on his lips. 

He was still conscious of Pidge's camera but he didn't care. Keith leaned onto Lance, pressing his body against him harder. This took both their thoughts to different places before their mouths collided in a sloppy kiss.

It was passionate and would have easily turned into something that wasn't very appropriate for the public if Pidge hadn't kicked Keith in the side, throwing him off of Lance. That girl could kick for sure.

"That was not the content I wanted to film so stop it and be awkwardly cute again!" she exclaimed, shaking her head and motioning towards her phone. Keith would have forced her to delete the footage instantly if he wasn't too busy staring at Lance. 

He was giggling with the biggest, and cutest, smile he'd ever seen on him. It didn't help that Keith had been doing the same. 

Both boys finally stood up out of the water and took off their shoes, socks, and shirts to hopefully keep from catching a cold. Neither of them had said anything except for the occasional chuckle. Pidge had run off with the footage, swearing to show it off at their wedding, and left the boys alone. They refused to make eye contact in fear of what the other would say or do.

Then Keith couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Lance's hand and laced their fingers, watching Lance's eyes go wide with surprise but quickly recovering and look up to Keith.

"I've wanted to do that so many times," Lance stated, blushing and look down at his bare feet. Keith chuckled and lifted Lance's chin to look him in the eyes. They shared a sweet and short kiss before Keith started pulling Lance toward his own apartment. 

Both of them still soaking by the time they reached Keith's door. He unlocked it and they stumbled in, both distracted by what the other had to say. They were simply talking about nothing in particular, as they usually did.

Lance shut the door behind himself before pulling Keith into a warm, and wet, hug. They stayed like that, together for a while. Keith pulled away, stating that they both needed to take showers.

"Heh, you're right. Mind if I join?" Lance asked with a smirk. Keith felt his face heat up instantly but sighed and shook his head.

"Lance, we need to take separate showers," he huffed out. Lance looked disappointed but agreed.

"Ugh, alright. I'll wait in your room then."

Lance disappeared into Keith's room, grabbing a towel from the bathroom before hand. Keith stayed in the bathroom, locking the door for safe measure, and proceeded to take a cold shower. 

Cold. Like Lance... Keith thought, enjoying the cool water that flowed down his back. He turned off the water and stepped out, swiping the towel off its rack. He quickly dried off and changed into some sweat pants and a t-shirt then headed into his room. Lance was sitting on his bed, staring at Keith's walls.

They were covered with his own paintings and a few random posters of artists or bands that he liked. Lance had a sparkle in his eye as he stared at the one Keith had forgotten to take down before letting Lance into his room.

Chapter Text

Lance stared at the painting of both him and Keith, lounging on the couch and seemed to be playing a video game together. He remembered that day. Pidge had taken the picture as a testimony that the two of them could get along. The picture was pinned to the bottom corner of the canvas, hanging by a dark red pin. Lance looked over at Keith, who seemed mortified and was apologising as he stalked over to the painting and proceeded to take it down.

"Wait, no, Keith! Leave it up, it's beautiful!"

Like you.

"W-what do you mean it's beautiful?" Keith asked, genuinely curious. 

Lance blushed deeply, looking down at his feet, and then back up to Keith. "Well, I mean you made it so of course it's perfect, but I mean look at it! I don't know a thing about art but damn, it's so real looking!" He paused before asking, "Why, though?"

Just when Lance didn't think Keith could get any redder, he blushed even deeper and gave a brief explanation. "I was taking an art class a-and the teacher had assigned us to do a project about... the things we love. And picked you." Keith had been looking down at his feet while stuttering out his excuse, but he quickly looked up at Lance. "W-well I mean, my explanation for it wasn't just specifically y-you but, um, it was more like 'I love hanging out with you' and this is my favourite picture of us s-so I used this as a reference photo I guess, and this is just how it turned out. I got a perfect score on it, but it was way too embarrassing to show you guys s-so I just hung it up in here without thinking a-and I always took it down before anyone came over but I forgot about it because, well, I had a distraction-"

"Keith!" Lance said, not noticing that he had stood up and had started to walk towards the rambling teen. "So, you love me?"

Lance stopped walking when he was right in front of Keith, staring deeply into Keith's indigo eyes. He noticed how Keith had stopped fidgeting when Lance had gotten closer, and took his hand.

"Yes. I do..."

Lance raised his free hand to rest it on Keith's cheek, tugging him closer, their faces barely inches apart. Lance's eyes were lidded and seductive, enticingly waiting for Keith to close the gap. "Good," he whispered, his breath tingling Keith's lips.

Keith did as Lance expected, closing the distance between the two. The kiss started out soft but quickly turned passionate once more. Lance leaned over Keith, furthering the kiss. He didn't want to pull away but did for the sake of them both. Keith whined at the loss of contact, causing Lance to chuckle. It was certainly something he could get used to being able to do. 

They both stood there in each other's arms, smiling like total idiots. Neither of them wanted to move. It was quiet and content. 

And then Hunk knocked on the door. 

"Dammit..." Lance whispered, closing his eyes and furrowing his brows in annoyance. "Do we have to answer it?"

Keith chuckled and unlatched himself from Lance. "Yes, Lance, we do." 

Keith left the room to Lance's dismay. His eyes quickly drifted back to the painting. It really was beautifully done, but what really caught Lance's eye was the picture. The only difference between the two were their expressions. In the painting, you couldn't quite place trace the eyes, but what happened that night was adorable and hilarious to most, but thoroughly embarrassing to Lance. 

Keith was bright red, and happened to be glancing at Lance, who was equally blushing, but instead was staring at the screen in front of them. Oblivious. 

It was something he often referred to Keith as, but it seemed they were only oblivious to themselves. Ironic, right?

Chapter Text

Keith pulled open the door to his apartment and moved aside to let Hunk and Pidge inside. Pidge leaped onto the couch and immediately switched on the tv, playing some movie she had left in for the next time she came over. Hunk rummaged through the pantry for popcorn, satisfied when he found a microwavable packet. He scolded Keith for not getting the regular kernels, but only for a quick moment.

He understood that Keith didn't have a lot of space in his kitchen for it, nor did he have the effort to wash a microwavable popcorn bowl everytime he wanted to watch a movie at home. 

"Why yes, you can come into my home and mess with my shit," Keith stated sarcastically.

"Thanks," muttered Pidge, engrossed in the loud movie. Hunk quietly sat down next to her, keeping the bowl to himself. Keith shook his head and handed Hunk the butter and popcorn salt he had stashed in the back of the cupboard. The salt, not the butter. That would be gross.

"Oh! Thanks, Keith!" Hunk exclaimed, surprised that he had forgotten the ingredients. 

Keith sighed and turned on his heel back to his room where Lance was waiting. He smiled as Lance pulled Keith through the doorway and into his warm embrace. Kicking the door shut, Keith tipped his head up and meshed his mouth with Lance's. He moaned into the kiss and pulled Keith closer, flush against him now. At the action, Keith smiled through the kiss but refused to break it. 

Lance pulled back nervously, "Aren't Hunk and Pidge here?"

"Yeah but they're watching a movie. We're good," Keith told him with a mischievous grin. Pulling Lance back to him, they continued their make out session, trying to be as quiet as possible so Hunk and Pidge wouldn't hear them. 

Lance began to push Keith against his bed, successfully pinning him to the mattress. Things were getting heated and passionate quickly as Lance straddled Keith and began to grind, earning a moan from the teen beneath him. Neither resisted as Keith's cool hands made their way up to Lance's shirt. He pulled the signature blue shirt up a small bit as if asking for permission. Lance understood as he did the same with Keith's shirt, tossing it to the side and letting his hands roam Keith's pale chest.

Lance let the kiss break, practically begging for air. He looked down at Keith's blushing features and smiled. 

"You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do this," he stated before kissing Keith's neck gently. 

The lower he got the more aggressive his kisses seemed to be getting, Keith noticed. He definitely didn't object. His hands found Lance's hips and began to at his jeans. His fingers laced into belt loops on either side, pulling Lance down onto himself with a firm tug. His mind told him that it was a bad idea, but everything else screamed at him to do what he wanted. And what he wanted was Lance.

Things were getting louder, breaths laboured and kisses sloppy but sexy. 

Of course neither of them had heard it initially, too distracted by each other. But the second time, it was certainly louder... and much more annoyed.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!" Pidge screamed, her voice shrill and clear.

Lance being a smart ass, replied, "Keith, duh. What does it look like I'm doing?"

Beneath him, Keith blushed and looked away. He hid the small smile forming on his face, not letting Lance know how much his smart-alec comments would sometimes get to him.

Keith lightly pushed Lance off of him, refusing to make eye contact with anyone, especially Pidge. She was livid with the boys and wasn't going to let this go. She never did with the two of them.

"Ha. Ha. Very fucking funny Lance. Now, would either of you care to explain why you two thought it was ok to get all hot and heavy while your friends are trying to watch a movie?!"

Keith looked at Lance, who was clearly trying not to burst out laughing. Of course he would find this situation hilarious. He got up and retrieved his black shirt from the floor before turning back to Pidge. He shrugged and pulled the shirt over his head. 

"Dunno. Felt like it?" he said simply. 

Pidge sighed exasperatedly and stomped off. "Keep the door open!"

It was an order that wasn't going to be betrayed without consequences. Lance stood up silently and wrapped his arms around Keith's waist from behind, gingerly kissing his neck. It was a sweet gesture that Keith had instantly fallen in love with.

"But really, I've been wanting to ask you out, to kiss you, for a while," Lance said quietly, just above a whisper. He had originally meant it to be casual, but the atmosphere in the room certainly wasn't casual.

Keith laid his head back on Lance's shoulder, looking him in the eyes. "Would you believe me if I told you I wanted to do the same thing?"

Lance chuckled, "I'm calling bullshit on that."

Keith, being the defensive type with anger issues, wrestled out of Lance's grip and faced him. "Says the guy who avoided eye contact with me for two weeks because I told you that you looked like shit in those stupid sandals you kept trying to pull off."

Lance raised his hands in defence, signalling defeat. He reached forwards and grabbed Keith's hand, simply holding it there and rubbing the back of his hand with his thumb.

Another gesture Keith had instantly fallen in love with.

Chapter Text

Keith and Lance still stood in Keith's room, holding hands until Hunk walked to the open doorway and started crying. It was a common sight for both of the boys.

"Hunk, buddy, what's wrong?" Lance asked cautiously. Lance glanced between Hunk and Keith, hoping he would calm down on his own. "Hunk wha--"

"YOU GUYS ARE SO CUTE AND- AND LANCE HAS BEEN PINING FOR SO LONG AND- AND IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!" Hunk sobbed, pulling them both into a group hug™, effectively stopping their breathing for a moment.

"Oh, thanks, pal," Lance grunted out, still unable to breathe. 

Poor Keith just looked ready to leave. He wasn't a big fan of hugs or touching of any sort, well that's been proven wrong here but you get it. Hunk let go, both of them gasping for air. He left the room, still sobbing, and let himself out. They guessed Pidge had left too because she always left before Hunk. 

They were alone.

Lance thought of a million things they could have done. Most of them included the bed again. The rest were various degrees of cuddling and just holding onto the boy who he had fallen for a long time ago. Generally, whenever Lance remembered that day, he was filled with grief and sorrow until the part with Keith came running through his thoughts. Then his sorrow turned into a heat rising in his chest to the beat of his heart.

"So..." Keith wondered, standing beside his bed probably wondering what was happening next. "How long were you pining for me?"

Lance looked down at his feet, blush creeping up his cheeks. Keith knew what he was doing, and there was no way he'd let this go. 

"Um, well, ya see..." Lance stuttered out, "a while?"

"A while?" Keith teased. "And how long is a while?"

Lance look Keith in the eyes, blush still vivid and ever brightening, and said, "You remember when we had that big sleepover at Hunk's place?"

"Yeah," Keith replied, remembering it with a scowl.

"And you know when Pidge dared us to do Seven Minutes in Heaven, but we just kinda stood in the closet making weird sounds until Shiro couldn't take it anymore and forced us out?"

Keith certainly remembered that, but this time he smiled. It so funny to see Shiro freaking out over obvious fake sex sounds.

"But before we started doing the noises, I was actually trying to kiss you. Pidge set us up, and she knew she was doing it too, but yeah. Pretty much since then."

Keith stood there, still, waiting for Lance to say he was wrong and that he hadn't had a crush on Keith for the past two years.

"Lance, that was two years ago," he said, echoing his own thoughts.

Looking down at his feet again, the tall boy chuckled slightly and shrugged. When he looked back up at Keith he said, "Your point?"

Now Keith's smile was wide enough to hurt.

Two. 

Years.

Lance has liked me for two years.

"You fucking dork!" Keith exclaimed happily as he kissed Lance. It was a chaste kiss, nothing like their previous few.

Lance smiled, thinking of the day they met once more.

A grey day for sure. Pouring rain and a family of bad reactions to Lance's coming out. It wasn't like a whole family meeting where they were all sat around and listened to him explain himself. Rather, it was just Lance joking around with his family, most of them at the breakfast table conversating. His younger sister had said something about a boyfriend and showed Lance a picture of an attractive boy. Lance, of course, had no filter and had said, "Damn he's fine! Nice catch, Maria!" Silence. The entire kitchen was quiet except for the younger children running around int he next room. It wasn't a big deal to him, and he didn't think it was a bad thing to say until his father spoke up. "That was a... an unnecessary comment, Lance. I'd prefer you don't say that again." 

Lance knew his father wasn't big on the whole "gay" thing going on in the world, but he didn't suspect he'd say anything about it. It was when Lance didn't argue, that confirmed his father's suspicions about where the comment had come from. "Lance. Get out of my house." his father said, not looking up from the newspaper he held in his hands. Lance just sat there, in a silent shock that rang throughout the room. His mother cooking at the stove nearby didn't say anything. His siblings didn't understand, or if they did, also stayed quiet. 

So Lance left, broken and hurt. He had only been visiting because he moved out earlier that year and missed his family. But he drove off in the rain. Sheets of grey swept the road until he neared the park. He didn't want to go home yet. Going home meant he actually had to leave his family. So he stopped the car, the sheets had stopped rolling down, but it still a heavy drizzle. Lance didn't care though. He opened the door and let the rain soak his shoulders and hair. He started to walk, the numb feeling inside of him growing until it wasn't numb, but cold and painful. It could have been the rain but it seemed more like a broken heart. He wouldn't cry though. Not over this. At least he didn't think he cried. The rain washed down his face and soaked his shoes as he walked toward the fountain. He didn't mean to go to the fountain, but it was there and so was he.

And then there was Keith. Lost in the rain with no idea where he was going. A new resident to the apartments nearby so he had an excuse on why he was lost. Lance hadn't seen him coming, but he heard someone call for him. He turned there he was. A bit smaller than him, and clad in a red shirt and dark jeans, also soaked to the bone. "Hi, um, I'm new here and I have no idea where I am," Keith had said. Lance was startled for a moment that this person was real, mostly because he was standing in the rain with a gorgeous boy. So naturally, he took a moment to answer the boy. "Oh um yeah. Sure! Where do you live?" "It's nearby. The Altean Apartments? I think that's what it's called." Lance knew where that was. It was really close and he told him how to get there. Keith nodded like he understood, but he obviously got lost the moment he told him to take a right. 

Instead of repeating himself, Lance offered to drive him. And Keith agreed to it. 

And that was how Lance met Keith.

Chapter Text

Lance didn't spend the night, Pidge wouldn't let them. She claimed that they had already destroyed her innocence and she didn't deserve to let her mind wander to that, which it most likely would. So Lance left Keith at his door, kissing him once more. It was sweet and promising. He promised to text Keith when he got home. Keith held him to it. 

Watching from his window, Keith looked out at Lance starting his car and driving away in silence. It would take Lance about 20 minutes to get to his house and about 23 to text Keith. The calculations left him time to paint something new. Another picture Pidge had taken from this morning. 

It was Lance and Keith holding hands, barefoot and shirtless, walking down the sidewalk soaking wet from moments before when they had kissed in the fountain. The picture was taken from behind so the blush on the both of them wasn't visible, but they all would know. 

So Keith started to map out the picture onto a canvas and began to paint. He let the tall, brick buildings be in focus compared to the picture as he painted the background before the subject. This would take him a week to finish, but it was worth the effort.

Lance rode up to the small, stucco house he called home and parked. The blue monstrosity he called a JEEP looked strange outside of a cozy home like his, but he loved what he had and would never even think about giving it up. After all, his brother gave it to him the day before his 16th birthday, swearing up and down that he didn't forget that it was the next day. Lance forgave his oldest brother easily back then, but now... would he even ask for forgiveness? 

Lance shook his head, clearing it of thoughts of his family. He didn't want that to mess up his memory of today. The day he finally kissed Keith, and Keith kissed him back. Sure they kissed a lot... surprisingly a lot more than Lance thought he'd ever get out of Keith because, well, it's Keith! The boy was stubborn, ruthless, stuck-up, adorable, mean, sexy, and just plain rude sometimes. Generally, this was all directed towards Lance, but whatever. 

As he ducked inside, Lance took out his phone and texted Keith.

Lance: hey

Keith: Hi.

Lance: whatcha up to?

Keith: Painting.

Lance: whatcha painting?

Keith: It's a surprise.

Lance: what kind of surprise?

Keith: The painted kind.

Lance chuckled, grateful for the immediate replies. Keith tended to take his time when deciding to text someone back. Especially when he was painting or drawing. 

Lance: so when's our first date?

The reply wasn't as fast as he'd expected, or hoped. In fact, it concerned Lance just how long it was taking Keith to reply. 

Keith: That depends.

Lance: on?

Keith: What time you wake up tomorrow lol

Lance: ummmm that depends on what time you're picking me up

Keith: Preferably before 8.

Lance: soooooo is 7 ok?

Keith: Yeah but is that when you'll be ready? Or when you'll wake up?

Lance: wake up? why?

Keith: Oh no reason.

Lance: oooooookkkkkkk

Keith: Hey hey hey, facetime?

Lance: of course one sec

Lance brought out his computer from its spot on the bench he pushed up to his bay window. It was covered in pillows and a giant comforter. Whenever it was raining he'd run upstairs and lay there watching it rain. Sometimes he'd grab a tea or something to eat, other times he'd stick his hand out to catch a raindrop. To him it was peaceful and spacious, leaving him room to think of good things. Things like the beach and how much he missed the sand between his toes. He would remember the sound of the waves crashing gently against the beach, and how his younger sister would hold hands with his mamá and papá while she crashed just as gently. It was a beautiful and heartwarming sight and the only memory that Lance refused to let stupid moments ruin forever. 

He was thrown from his thoughts as his computer started ringing. He clicked "answer" and Keith's adorable face popped up on the screen with a smudge of red paint gracing his cheek. Lance thought about telling him but thought it would be funnier if he found out himself.

"Hey," Keith stuttered out. 

"Hi."

Keith looked down, trying to hide his blush. It didn't work.

"So, uh, what's going on?" he asked, looking up at the screen again. 

Lance shrugged, "talking to the hottest boy on the planet. You?"

"Oh! Uh, um, same here!" Keith stuttered again. Lance chuckled, enjoying how much Keith was dying. He was certainly more confident in person. "But I wanted to talk to you while I paint so lemme just-" Keith adjusted his camera so he could work and talk to Lance. 

"So whatcha working on?" Lance asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. When Keith didn't answer, Lance continued, "Keith? Keith buddy! Come on! I'm curious! Please!"

"Lance!" Keith burst, a sarcastic grin on his face. "It's called a surprise for a reason. I'd love to show you, but that would ruin it."

"Oh yeah."

"Mhmm," Keith hummed, turning back to the canvas, conveniently just out of view. He quickly concentrated on his work, switching between large strokes and small, detailed glances of paint.

Lance simply watched. He calculated each move Keith made with absolute adoration. Occasionally Lance's eyes would meet Keith's glance and he would watch as Keith tried to cover up his smile. They were in silence until Lance got bored and started asking more questions.

"So, about this date?"

"What about it?"

"Why did you need to know what time I wake up?" Lance asked, stretching out along the bench. He knew Keith would just tell him it was a surprise but he gave it a shot.

"It's a surprise."

"I know."

"Then why'd you ask?"

"Becuase I did."

"Fair enough."

"Mhmm."

Silence.

Comfortable but silent. Keith's favorite.

Chapter Text

That night, Lance fell asleep on his bench, his face leaning against the window. Keith watched from the other side of the screen, letting a layer of paint dry before continuing. He was thankful for the microphone picking up on Lance's soft snore. It was one of the things Keith found especially cute about Lance. Sure it would occasionally keep him awake during their sleepovers with Hunk, but in the end, it was worth the sleep deprivation. 

"Goodnight Lance," he whispered before hanging up. He decided if he wanted to pick Lance up at 7 AM, he would want to get some extra sleep instead of working on the painting.

He cleaned off his brushes and let himself drift into a peaceful slumber, quickly remembering to set an alarm for 6: 30 AM.

Keith didn't dream, but he woke up with a soft smile.

"Lance..." 

"Hmm..." Lance hummed, "Mamá, is that you?"

"Uh, no? Come on Lance, we gotta go."

"But, Mamá, I wanna sleep a little bit more..." Lance slurred, irritable and sleepy. 

"Lance, wake up, it's Keith."

Lance was awake now.

"Oh! What? What's going on? Keith? Where's Mamá? Oh, wait..." Lance rushed out, letting the morning sink in.

The date!

"Lance?" Keith called softly.

"Oh yeah! I'm up-" he yawned before continuing, "I'm up now... Dios I need caffeine..."

Keith chuckled, "Then come on, coffee is in the kitchen. We have to hurry though so don't worry about hygiene."

"Wait, wait..."

"Yes, Lance?" Keith deadpanned. 

"So, I can't do my routine?"

"No, Lance."

"Fuck."

Keith sighed, "Do you want coffee or not because I'll drink the whole pot if you don't."

Lance scrambled up and sprinted past Keith, tumbling down the stairs in the process, but leaping into the kitchen unscathed.

"What the..." Keith whispered, dazed from the sight of Lance going from Sleeping Beauty to Sonic the Hedgehog. "Ok then..."

He followed Lance to the kitchen, remaining on his feet the whole time, and stood there as he watched Lance grab the coffee pot and violently pour himself an oversized mug-full, then fill the rest of it with a vanilla creamer. 

"I swear to god if you spill that in my car-" Keith started.

"Pfft! I'm not going to spill it," he said as he reached into a cabinet to pull out the lid to his cup, which was not an oversized mug as Keith had thought. 

"Of course you have a sippy-cup."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you're an adult?" Keith argued.

Lance looked offended as he gasped and threw himself at Keith. Of course, Keith was tempted to let him fall to the ground, but morning Keith's reflexes wouldn't let him, so he caught the taller boy in his arms, dipping him low enough so that he could quickly kiss Lance on the lips before popping him back up and onto his feet.

Lance's face reddened. Keith chuckled as he attempted to hide it with his cup of coffee. He reached past Lance, who snaked an arm around his waist, and grabbed for the pot. Lance pulled him closer as Keith poured himself a mug full of caffeinated goodness. 

"Alright, let's go while we can. It'll suck if we don't get there in time," Keith stated, heading towards the door and pulling Lance with him. 

They make it to Keith's red Sedan, but as Keith fumbles for his keys, Lance asks if they could drive his JEEP.

"It's really nice out right now," he argued. Keith agreed, so they left in Lance's car with Keith driving him to this mystery location.

The silence was calming with the wind in their hair, whipping it here and there. Lanced hummed some part of a song stuck in his head while Keith tapped an unknown beat on the steering wheel. As Kieth pulled onto a dirt road, Lance gripped his hand with a squeeze. He still didn't recognise the area, but as Keith drove up the hill with a grin plastered on gracefully, Lance stopped caring. He didn't care about the destination as long as he could keep staring at this Keith. The one who loved the colour red, and who drove a fast and sensible car, and who thought waking Lance up was a smart idea. The Keith who didn't care about anybody else but himself and the person he was with.

"Heh, we're here."

Keith's voice threw Lance from his thoughts as he unglued his eyes from the boy's violet eyes and onto the dark city below them. The drive wasn't long so this secluded spot had to be close by, unknown to the general public. 

"Oh! Look! It's starting!" Keith exclaimed, pointing out at the horizon.

The sunrise. That's why he needed Lance to wake up early. He wanted to watch the sunrise with him. So they watched. At some point, Lance dragged Keith over the centre console and onto his lap, fingers interlaced as they watched the city shift from one shadow to thousands. Lance noticed how Keith seemingly studied each ray of light on each house down each street. Lance, on the other hand, was studying Keith. 

Each ray of light on each long eyelash and the shadows they created on each nearly invisible freckle. It was a morning he didn't want to forget.

~*The sun had risen just over the horizon when Keith finally turned to Lance and cupped his cheek with a warm hand. He leaned down, meeting Lance's chill lips softly at first, then quickly melding into a passionate and heated make-out session. Lance twisted Keith so that he straddled him, not breaking their kiss. Keith reached down past Lance, feeling for the lever that adjusted the seat. He found it, pulled it, and forced the seat as far back as it would go. Lance gave a surprised moan as Keith added pressure onto him, grinding against him. Tounges slipped into mouths, the taste of coffee gracing each other with a welcome surprise. Keith moaned as Lance's hands slipped from their spot on Keith's hips down to the back pockets of his jeans and quickly squeezing. Lance smirked against his lips, taking his hands out of the pockets and rubbed Keith thighs, up and down in a soothing and sexy motion, making Keith even harder than he was already. Lance was in the same boat the moment Keith let his hands roam under Lance's thin shirt. Both boys stayed that way for a short while, friction building and bodies heating. Lance reached for Keith's belt, quickly unbuckling it and going for the button of his jeans. Keith moaned the moment Lance was able to unbutton his pants. Now it was Keith's turn to go for Lance's jeans, letting his fingers barely slip inside the top of his boxers. The contact forced a deep moan from Lance, pulling Keith away momentarily for a breath of air. They were both grateful for the sudden break but quickly went back at it. Keith popped the button from Lance's jeans and moaned when the friction became more powerful. Lance pulled Keith up and down on his lap, barely breaking for air again. Keith stopped grinding and began palming Lance. He was about to go further when a loud ring came from one of the phones that were lazily tossed in the back of the JEEP. Keith groaned but pulled himself off of Lance, knowing it was a text from Shiro. He forgot to turn it on silent that morning. Lance was certainly disappointed, as was Keith. Both knew that they could have continued with their morning... session... but they knew it was for the best to stop before either they were discovered or they got int trouble for not responding.*~

The ring came once more, forcing Keith to reach into the back and blindly search for his phone. When he reads the messages, he sighs and tosses his phone right back where he found it; lost on the floor somewhere.

"Shiro needs my help with something. We better get going."

Lance huffed a reply of, "Ok," but smiles at Keith. This time he let Lance drive them both back to his place. They talk about nothing and everything, a gesture grown common between the two over the years.

Chapter Text

Lance drove into the driveway, letting Keith out so he could get into his car. Lance took the passenger seat and they drove; Keith, explaining Shiro's message. It wasn't an emergency, and they both knew it because the text had said:

Shiro- KEITH GET LANCE IT'S AN EMERGENCY!!! MEET US AT HUNKS!!!

"Shiro would never use multiple exclamation marks, nor type in all caps. At least not in a real emergency," Keith said, dissecting the message. Lance nodded in agreement.

"So..." Lance interjected, "what do you think is going on?"

Keith shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road, "Beats me. It really could be anything. Well, anything that isn't 'an emergency'."

They both chuckled, curious about why they were taking the drive to their friends' house. Even when they pulled up Lance had noticed Pidge starring out the window on the second floor. He managed to flip her off before she disappeared behind a curtain. As they sauntered up to the door, they heard people talking on the other side. Keith gave Lance a puzzled expression and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" called Allura, her thick accent giving her away. 

They did as told and walked in, Keith in front of Lance. Their hands itched to hold each other's but neither did, both too nervous to do so in front of their friends. It didn't help that Pidge would definitely video everything happening. It was completely dark with the curtains drawn and lights off.

"SURPRISE!" they all yell in unison. 

Keith shrieked and Lance giggled as all of their friends crowded around them. Neither still understood what the quiznack was going on but went along with it. Lance nodding and enjoying the attention while Keith stood still, trying to ignore those around him. Someone flicked on the lights, lighting up the large banner with 'KLANCE' written in large, purple lettering. 

"What the--" Keith started, but was interrupted by Lance kissing his cheek, which quickly reddened.

"Come on, Keith! They're celebrating us."

Keith nodded, gripping Lance's hand slowly. He looked up at the taller boy and gave him a lopsided grin that made Lance melt to the core. Lance adored Keith's smile the way Keith adored Lance's small gestures. He easily fell in love with his laugh while Keith fell in love with the way Lance's hand gripped his hip softly but with such confidence. Neither realised just how much they cared about each other but it was certainly there. Pidge realised it first and videotaped the entire thing.

She zoomed in on Keith's face whenever he smiled at Lance, and she pointed out the blush rising on Lance's cheeks. She managed to focus directly on Keith's hips and the way they fit perfectly with Lance's. The whole thing was beautiful and wonderful unless you heard it with sound.

"Wait, wait, what?" Pidge questioned, putting the camera down at an angle that got everyone sitting down in the living room. "I heard something about a date and condoms I fucking swear Lance if I need to provide with condoms again I'm going to throw a shoe at you."

Lance cowered at the thought of Pidge throwing her shoes at him for the third time that month. She's got great aim and her sneakers must have a magnet for balls. Keith giggled though, pulling Lance closer and kissing his cheek, stubble gracing his lips.

"I'd rather you not do that, Pidge. Besides, you don't need to worry about providing them," Keith stated. Pidge looked over at him sceptically but left them to their own conversation.

"Wait a second, we weren't even talking about condoms! What the hell Pidge?" Shiro exclaimed. 

She laughed maniacally and walked towards the kitchen with Hunk. Everyone had guessed that it was for a damn video. Content?

Lance shrugged, "doesn't matter. It would have been a topic of interest later anyways. Right, Keith?"

Lance wiggled his eyebrows and looked down next to him where Keith was laying his head, comfortably on Lance's shoulder. He watched as Keith hummed a quick, "yeah," but then became flustered as he realised that there were other people in the room.

They all laughed at Keith's obvious discomfort and directed the conversations back towards other topics including food, school, more food, mostly food, and finally, Hunk brought up family.

"Oh um, what about my family?" Lance asked, masking his heart breaking again.

Hunk shrugged, "What's going on with them? You used to talk about them all the time before we met Keith."

"Really?" Keith questioned, not knowing if it was because of him that Lance didn't talk about his family. 

"Oh um, yeah... well... about that. My dad kind of-- well he doesn't really like-- um, he's homophobic and kicked me out."

The room went silent.

"It was the day I met Keith."

Silence.

"And I haven't been back since--" Lance's voice finally broke.

Lance felt hot tears roll down his cheeks as he tried to stand. Keith held him firm, though, not letting him go. Everyone was still in shock but had gotten up and moved over to the couch that the boys were seated on. Hunk brought over cookies and Pidge stopped the recording, making a silent promise to edit that last part out. Allura reassured him with Coran nodding along to her words. Keith cradled him gently as Lance silently let the tears roll off his chin and onto Keith's shirt. Shiro had a hand on Lance's shoulder in a reassuring fashion.

"Thanks, but I'm ok. I promise," Lance panned out. He felt empty and unable to mask anything. The numbness spread from his chest to his toes and back up to his nose.

Keith kissed Lance's cheek gently, staying like that for a brief moment before snuggling into Lance's arms. Lance's mouth quirked into a smile and he wrapped his arms around Keith's smaller frame. 

Suddenly Keith sneezed.

Lance was thrown into a giggle fit over the adorable, kitten-like, sneeze. Keith frowned and crossed his arms as the rest of the room followed Lance's giggles until everyone, including Keith, was laughing their asses off.

"Geez. Of course, you of all people would make me feel better. Oh my fuck that sneeze," Lance managed to get out after calming down. He looked Keith in the eyes, his grin distracting Lance from everyone else in the room as he leant forward and locked lips with Kieth. It was one kiss but they stayed like that for a few seconds. 

Pidge thankfully turned the camera back on just in time to get their kiss on video.

Chapter Text

Later into the party, Hunk suggests everyone just stay the night since they'd already been there all morning and none of them had any other plans. Nobody disagreed with the idea so they made themselves comfy, volunteering Shiro to go to everyone's house and grab their pajamas. 

"It's your turn," Pidge added when he rolled his eyes. "Besides, you've got everyone's house keys and have that whole 'eco-friendly' electric car so don't start bitching about gas."

"Geez, alright! I'm leaving!" Shiro chuckled as he sat up from his spot on the couch. Everyone waved him off as he was leaving. 

~later that night~

Everyone huddled on the floor, watching as Pidge fiddled with some gadget she made for her college entrance exam. She was still a sophomore in Lion High, but she's an utter genius. Every teacher she's ever had had recommended her take college courses early in life but she refused until her brother Matt made it into Galra Univeristy and basically never talking to their family again. She's trying to get a scholarship there so she can finally see her brother again. 

"Woah! That's so cool!" Hunk said, praising the kid on her invention. "What are you going to name it?"

She fiddled again with the metal pyramid and finally drilled in the last miniature screw, letting it flicker to life. Her entire face lit up with pure joy as it floated just above her head. 

Everyone was silent until Pidge spoke up. "In regards to your question, Hunk, it's name is Rover. It isn't very original, but I think it's-"

"ITS WONDERFUL!" Hunk shouted, picking her up in a hug. 

The next hour was filled with praise and snacks as Pidge went over how she used parts of an old computer to program Rover into doing whatever she needed. When Hunk asked how she made it float, she rolled up her sleeves. Her arms were covered in math problems, partially smudged and entirely unreadable to anybody else but her. So while she and Hunk gushed over electromagnetic fields and science stuff, Allura, Shiro, Keith, and Lance collectively decided to play truth or dare. 

"I'll start," Shiro stated. "Lance, truth or dare?"

"Always dare," Lance said, smirking. 

"Um, I dare you to... do a handstand."

Lance went up to the wall and did as he was dared. He tumbled back to his feet and sat down next to Keith. 

"Allura, truth or dare?" Lance asked with a mischevious look in his eyes. 

Allura thought about it for a moment before answering, "Dare," with a smirk of her own. 

Keith noticed the spark of a conspiracy between the two, making him both confused and terrified. 

"I dare you to kiss Shiro."

Shiro's face turned bright red as he turned to face her. Allura wasn't much better. They were both smiling nervously, waiting for the other to make a move. Allura shifted closer, putting a hand on Shiro's cheek and pulling him in for a chaste kiss. When they pulled away, there was definitely tension. Keith guessed it was the good kind since they both started giggling and turned back to the boys. 

"Alright, Keith. Truth or dare?" Allura asked. She still had a mischevious look in her eyes that made him squeak out a small truth. "Oh come on, that's not fun! You almost always pick truth."

"I'll pick dare when Hunk brings out the alcohol," Keith mumbled, looking away. Next thing he knew there was a glass of some pink drink in front of him. Hunk walked away, laughing while Pidge just watched with her camera at the ready. "Fuck it."

Keith chugged it down and waited a silent moment for it to kick in. Lance starred at him in shock, only speechless when it comes to Keith. Allura seemed concerned while Shiro was... still starring at Allura.

"Keith? Are you ok?" Lance asked, still surprised. It's not that Keith hadn't had Hunk's mystery drinks before, but he'd never had so much at once. Finally Keith looked over to Lance and smiled widely, surprising everyone, and answered. 

"I'm great!" he slurred. "Never better, babe! Oh yeah, Allura, I pick dare."

"Um, ok... I dare you to do Seven Minutes In Heaven with Lance."

Keith started chuckling as he attempted to stand up on his own.  When he stumbled back onto the floor, Lance took him around the waist and led him down the hall to Hunk's coat closet. Keith closed the door behind them and immediately started kissing Lance passionately. 

~*Lance kissed back, sliding his tongue into Keith's mouth. He tasted the alcohol and began to slid a hand up Keith's shirt. Keith moaned at the contact, pulling at Lance's belt loops to bring him even closer. Keith grabbed Lance's ass while Lance thread his fingers in Keith's hair. He pulled his hair slightly, earning a desperate moan from the smaller boy. Lance pushed Keith up against the wall, pinning him against himself. Keith pulled Lance's shirt up and over his head, and let Lance pull his own shirt off. The boys pulled back from each other for a moment to breathe and check each other out. The lust Keith saw in Lance's eyes was enough to make him harder than he already was. Lance took a deep breath and kissed Keith slowly as he unbuttoned Keith's jeans. Keith watched as Lance slowly got down on his knees. He nervous, but neither were going to stop anytime soon so Keith let Lance go down on him with an enthusiastic moan. Keith knotted his hands in Lance's hair, suppressing another sound. Lance brought a hand up to rub circles into Keith's thigh and occasionally grab his ass. He squeezed his eyes shut, nearing his climax and giving a small tug on Lance's hair to warn him. Keith called out Lance's name in a strained whisper. Lance stood back up on shaky legs, kissing Keith again. Keith could taste the bitterness of himself on Lance's tongue. They both knew they'd been in there for over seven minutes but that didn't stop Keith from grabbing at Lance's belt loops again. Keith quickly pulled Lance closer and unzipped his jeans. Lance moan into Keith's mouth as he wrapped a hand around Lance's dick and giving him a firm handjob. It was over quickly. They stared into each other's tired eyes as they breathed heavily. Lance glanced down at Keith's chest, studying the mess they made. Lance chuckled before kissing Keith once more and licking him clean. Keith watched in utter amazement of how Lance could make him feel so good compared to anyone else he'd over been with. It could have been the dopamine talking but in that moment, Keith loved Lance. And Lance loved him back.*~

They stepped out of the closet fully dressed, hand-in-hand. Walking down the short hallway they drag themselves into the living room and collapse on the couch, Lance draping an arm over Keith. 

"Hey lovebirds," Pidge said. "That was more than seven minutes, you know? It's not called 15 Minutes In Heaven While Your Friends Are Hoping You Guys Aren't Choking On Each Other for a reason."

Lance only hummed in response, yawning a moment later. Keith chuckled and kissed Lance on the cheek while Pidge retched mockingly. Hunk grabbed a blanket, quietly draping it over the two boys. Shiro and Allura were still sitting on the floor having a quiet conversation. Keith looked up at Lance as he looked over at Allura. Keith saw her turn towards them and wink at Lance. Lance winked back. 

Those fuckers, Keith thought, figuring out that they had set that up the whole time. 

"So was it Allura's idea, or yours?" Keith whispered in Lance's ear, trying to sound serious but failing miserably.

Lance's face reddened and whispered back, "it was... a group effort."

Keith looked around, smiling at all of the people that he loved and cared about. They really are good friends. Somewhat strange but totally out of this world. He laid his head on Lance's shoulder and quietly fell asleep. 

Chapter Text

The next morning, Lance woke up to find Keith drooling on his shoulder, their backs against the couch as sunlight peered in through windows. He smiled contently and glanced around the room. Pidge was curled up in the middle of the room with an arm wrapped around Rover and a blanket wrapped around her. Hunk was nearby, snoring into a pillow. Lance took a quick peek behind him and found Shiro and Allura lying in each other's arms. They all seemed so peaceful and happy and it made Lance's heart swell. 

He was happy with the small family they all became for each other. They accepted each other for everything they've ever done and it never failed to put a smile on his face. Hunk's magical cooking, Pidge's amazing intellect, Shiro's ability to pull everyone together, Allura has such a calming touch, and Keith's everything. 

So as Lance laid his head back and stared up at the slow turning fan, he smiled and let himself forget his family. He has this one and that's all he needed. Nobody could take them away and tear them apart; not if he had any say in the matter. He closed his eyes for a short moment before feeling Keith stir. 

"Hm... good morning, Lance," he said, voice thick with sleep. Keith looked up and Lance, trying to blink the sleep away. 

"Good morning, Keith," Lance said back, his own voice slipping from him. He placed a small kiss on Keith's forehead earning a blush from the smaller boy. "How did you sleep?"

Keith hummed a, "pretty good," and closed his eyes. "No hangover."

Lance chuckled, bringing his hand up to stroke Keith's hair. He watched Keith smile slightly, igniting Lance's heart. He finally had the guy of his dreams, another thing he vowed never to give up. Pidge yawned awake, drawing both of their attention. 

"Hey sleepyhead," Lance called out quietly, trying not to disturb the others. 

Pidge rolled her eyes with a smile and immediately started fiddling with Rover, making sure it hadn't sustained any damage in the night. It was in her arms the whole time but it was understandable seeing as this is her ticket into GU and to her brother. 

Moments later Shiro and Allura woke up. They took one look at each other and proceeded to panic mildly. Allura, who had been sleeping on top, scrambled off of his chest and (not so) gracefully slipped off the couch and onto Lance and Keith, effectively waking Hunk in the process. 

Shiro stood up off the couch and helped Allura to her feet, letting both boys scramble out from under her. Getting a second look at them, they were both flustered and trying to hide it. Pidge was laughing and Hunk was making sure nobody was hurt. 

"I'm gonna go make breakfast!" Allura announced, hastily heading towards the kitchen with Hunk hot on her tail. 

The rest of them turned to Shiro. He smiled nervously and let out a sigh. Sitting down on the couch he put his chin in his hand, absent mindedly watching Allura from the kitchen. 

"Well that happened," Keith stated. Everyone started chuckling and even Shiro was laughing. 

"Yeah... that did happen. Was that supposed to happen?" Shiro mumbled, not expecting an answer. 

Too bad, though, because Lance answered. "Of course it was supposed to happen! You and Allura obviously like each other and no one here understands why you two haven't gotten together yet! It's a miracle I haven't stepped in-"

"You did step in," Keith interrupted. 

"Ok but that was only once and only last night. Plus it was Allura's idea so not my fault. Anyways, you need to man up and let her know how you feel because it's annoying watching you stare at her while she cooks of all things!"

"He has a valid point there, Shiro," Pidge pointed out. 

Shiro smiled and shrugged, looking somewhat dejected about the subject. "It's just... I don't know how to ask her..."

And that was where Lance's flirting expertise came in. 

"I have a plan."

~*A few minutes of hushed whispering and Shiro complaining and Keith blushing and Pidge pointing out that that for once Lance has a proper plan later*~

"You got this, Shiro!" Lance said enthusiastically. "Alright, Pidge. You're up."

"Hey, Hunk! Can you come in here? I wanna make an adjustment to Rover and I need your help!" 

A moment later, Hunk walked in and they filled him in on the plan. Shiro took a deep breath and made his way into the kitchen. 

~"Hey, Allura, about last night-"

"Oh! That! Yeah sorry about that, Lance brought up the idea so I went along with it and I shouldn't have forced anything upon you-" she rambled. 

Shiro chuckled and Allura went quiet. He took a step towards her and continued. "I was going to say thank you." 

She smiled and looked away, trying to hide her blush. When she looked back at him, Shiro was closer. She could see the red creeping up his cheeks as well, making the situation more comfortable by the second. 

"Actually, I was wondering if we could do it again."

Both of their hearts hammered quickly as Allura nodded with a sweet smile glued to her lips. She took a step closer, closing most of the distance between them. Shiro leaned down to meet Allura's lips.~

"I wonder what's taking them so long?" Hunk asked aloud. 

Lance chuckled, "Hunk my pal, I'm sure they're doing just fine."

He shrugged and went back to chattering with Pidge about electromagnets and gravity. Lance  and Keith, now cuddling on the couch, kept themselves busy with Lance playing with Keith's hair. 

"A miracle happened today," Lance murmured when Allura's giggles made it to the living room.  Keith chuckled and kissed Lance on the cheek. 

"All thanks to you, Lance."

Chapter Text

Lance and Keith were happily cuddled together on Lance's couch. They had just left Hunk's house and made it back in time for Hot Cocoa Time- it's tea time but with cocoa instead- when Lance's phone began to ring. It wasn't the normal ringtone, Kieth noticed. Lance seemed to have noticed it too because he picked up the phone, and without looking at it he tossed it into the nearby trashcan. Symbolic as it might have been, it only made the upbeat instrumental ringing louder.

"Lance, who's calling?" Keith asked, curious. Lance shrugged his shoulders with a frown, staring down at the trashcan. The ringing continued for another few seconds before cutting off abruptly. "Lance... who called you?"

Lance stood up to get his phone, answering, "Nobody important."

"I- Okay. Are you okay?" he said instead of starting anything. The last thing he wanted was to start an argument or say something that would hurt Lance. 

Another shrug.

"It's fine if you don't want to talk about it," Kieth stated, hoping Lance knew it was genuine. "I just don't want you to know you can talk about it."

A nod.

Lance still hadn't looked back at him, still stuck staring at the screen of his phone. He was gripping it so tight that Kieth expected it to shatter any second. he finally raised his head, and taking a deep breath, Lance turned back to Kieth with a slight smile on his lips and a soft puff to his eyes. Kieth refused to show a pitiful face in fear of accusing Lance of being a wimp of sorts but instead smiled widely with the intention of making Lance smile back wider.

"Kieth..." Lance started with a grin, "It was my parents."

Oh.

~Lance watched as Keith's expression went from joyful to furious so quickly he was afraid he'd get face cramps. It wasn't that big of a deal though, right? His parents called around his birthday last year as well as whenever it was another one his siblings' birthdays. He answered one of them on accident the first time his younger brother called on someone else's phone. He heard his father in the background and immediately hung up. His heart beat so fast for the rest of that day and learned how to avoid calling them all. He was so afraid of the rejection again that the only thing keeping him sane was Kieth. Every year around this time, the whole gang would go camping up in the woods for a weekend so they could get away together. Nobody knew that his family ever tried contacting him again... until Kieth. 

"Oh. And what are they calling for?" Kieth asked suspiciously. Of course, he had no ill will towards Lance or his family but you'd never be able to tell with his expression.

Lance shrugged again, "I have no idea. This isn't the first time they've called."

"Have you ever picked it up?"

"I haven't found the need to."

Kieth sighed, letting go of most of his anger in an attempt to act cautiously. "Do you want to call them back?"

"Never."

"Okay."

"Maybe a little..."

"Alright."

"Maybe a lot..."

"Lance."

"Ok so maybe I've wanted to call them for a long time but I haven;t had the guts to. I get it, I'm weak and afraid of stupid rejection. Obviously, it isn't the first time I've gotten rejected but this is the one that counts. This is-"

Lance's voice cracked and he gave into the tears as they flowed hot and constant down his cheeks and off his chin. Immediatley Kieth got up and rushed to his side, wrapping his arms around him and holding him there as he sobbed, still gripping his phone like a lifeline. His knees buckled and brought them both to the floor as Lance let out the harsh sobs he'd been keeping in for so long. It sounded like terror and anger and misery.

The horror of having to harbor these feelings and still be energectic and responsible was reeling to Keith. He'd only recently found out that Lance's family deserted him, but to top it off they had been trying to contact him as well? It was heartbreaking to think about, let alone live it.

Lance took a shaky breath and tried to even his breathing. "I'm ok, Keith. I promise I'm fine," he croaked. 

"It's ok, you don't have to be brave in front of me. You know that right?" Kieth said, worry dripping from his words. He didn't know how to comfort Lance any other way than the truth. 

"I know."

"Just breath..."

"I know!"

Lance shoved Keith off of him and stood abruptly. Keith, shocked, stayed on the floor with Lance's back turned toward him. He watched Lance's shoulder's shake once, twice, before turning around and getting back down on the floor next to Kieth.

"I'm so sorry," Lance whispered, not daring to look into Keith's eyes. He was ashamed for letting his anger get the best of him.

Keith didn't know how to respond, so he started humming. It was a simple tune to a lost lullaby that seemed to have surprised Lance. Neither knew what else to do so they sat there, Lance listening to Kieth humming. When the song was over, Lance kissed Keith on the cheek and looked back down at his phone.

"I'm going to call them."

Keith looked up in shock, "Are you sure?"

Lance nodded, already dialing. "Hold my hand?"

Keith obligded, giving it a small squeeze for support. 

"Don't pick up, don't pick up, don't pick up..." Lance repeated softly, his eyes shut tight. 

"Hello?"

Chapter Text

"Hello?"

"Mom?"

Lance looks over at Kieth with a look of surprise. Eyes wide and mouth agape, waiting for another sound. 

"Lance? Is that you?" She says, sounding casual like this wasn't the first time she'd heard her son's voice in years. 

"Yeah mamá, it's Lance." 

Silence. A killer. A destroyer of comfort and confidence. Lance needed noise. The biz of a sound or a song. Anything. 

"Why did you call?" There was an edge to his voice now, like he hated her calling him for sake of using up his time and battery. 

There was shuffling from the other side before finally, she spoke again, "Your siblings miss you."

Something about that startled him. It made him miss them even more as tears formed in his eyes. "And who's fault is that?"

It was direct and came from a place of pain. Kieth knew well enough from experience that this was no longer about wanting to talk to his family and more about needing them to realize what kind of pain he's going through because of them. 

"It was nobody's fault, Lance-"

"Yes, it was. It was everybody's fault." Silence. "You weren't there for me when Dad forced me out of the house. It's not like I wanted to leave, and for something so stupid as my sexuality? What kind of parents do that to their kid? I grew up in a house full of people I love and trust, and then I lost them in an instant. I drove in the middle of a storm, don't you know how dangerous that is?! You were always the one telling me to stay safe while driving because you didn't want to lose your son, but then you shut him out and he lost you! His mother. You don't even know how I've been to what I've been doing. You don't know who my friends are, or what job I have. You don't know me anymore."

She was crying now. But Lance wasn't going to again. Not this time. He fought back and he wasn't going to break this time and give her the satisfaction. Lance was angry- no, furious- at her, his dad, his siblings whom never bothered to stop him from going. Who never really tried to talk to him besides calling. They could have come to his house, he didn't move. If they looked online they'd have seen where he works and hangs out and with whom. There was no reason for this solitude. He didn't deserve this and they needed to know that. 

"Lance they just want you to come home for a day. Your father is on a business trip and I... will be out." 

 Lance stood trembling with both rage and terror. Was he really going to finally see his family? But his own mother refused to see him. He loved his siblings so much that there was no way he couldn't go and see them, but he was certainly conflicted. This wasn't as simple as he had hoped. He shouldn't have picked up the phone. Every doubt filled his head as he contemplated the reaction of his siblings when they heard the news that he didn't want to see them. He knew they'd be upset about it, maybe they'd cry. Maybe they really did need their brother back home for a little. But what if they didn't? What if-

"Lance..." Kieth whispered, slipping his hand into Lance's and giving it a small squeeze to show his support. "It's ok."

Lance pulled his phone from his ear and took a deep breath. He kissed Keith's cheek lightly and turned back to the silent phone. "Is this just for tomorrow?"

"If you want to, yes."

"Ok. I'll come over. What time?" he breathed out, absolutely shocked at his own words.

"Is 10 am ok?" she asked, also sounding a bit taken aback.

"It's perfect. Thank you. Have a good day."

And without another word, she hung up. Lance turned back to Keith with a smile on his face and wrapped his arms around him. They stood like that for a moment, neither wanting to let go of each other in fear of losing them in the mess of emotions that they were. Suddenly Lance pulled back, leaving Keith shOOK as Lance hooked his arms under Keith's knees and back to lift him up and spin him twice with a loud laugh. He kissed Keith and set him down on the couch, just to climb on top of him and kiss him even more.

"I'm so proud of you," Keith said once he had a chance. 

Lance chuckled and pecked Keith's cheeks, then left kissed on his nose, forehead, eyelids, and everywhere else on his face that he could manage. Keith's heart was racing as he felt a rush of emotions fall on him. He absolutely adored Lance and knew he loved him at that moment, and he was content with where they were, so when Lance attempted to get off of him Keith pulled him back and couldn't let him go. It earned another laugh from Lance as they just lied there on the couch.

The was silence filled with soft breaths and happiness only broken when Lanced asked Keith to go with him tomorrow. There was no hesitation when Keith told him yes. They stayed silent with Lance's head resting on Keith's chest. Soon enough they both drifted peacefully to sleep. 

~

The next morning they woke up still in each other's arms. Light streamed through the blinds and landed softly on their faces. It was a beautiful moment that would be stored in their memories for a long time.

"Are you ready for this?" Keith asked after they made coffee. 

Lance scowled at his mug but nodded his head. There was no way he'd miss another day of seeing his family. "Yeah."

Keith nodded and took Lance's hand. 

After they got ready for the day, Lance sent a quick text to the group chat saying that he and Keith would be spending the day with his siblings, and then turned his phone off. He wasn't going to deal with anybody else today, it seemed, and Kieth was ok with that as he turned his own phone on silent. He would get the notifications but only if he bothered to check his phone.

"Ok let's go."

They got into Lance's car and drove the long and suspenseful drive to Lance's childhood home. Keith had never seen it but it seemed so Lance. The sky blue paint was chipped and peeling in some places and there were toys scattered in the front yard, but it wasn't quite messy. It was cozy. And Lance missed it. Lance parked in front by the curb instead of the empty driveway. He squeezed Keith's hand but didn't lace his fingers with the other boy's, obviously afraid to show his affection. They got out of the car and walked up to the door. Lance hesitated before knocking.

They heard muffled shrieking coming from the other side of the door a moment before a young girl about 14 or so opened the door with a huge, Lance-like smile on her face. She squealed and nearly tackled Lance in a hug as four other kids of various ages followed her out and on him. They completely ignored Keith but only for a moment as one of them let go of Lance and attacked Keith with affection too. Lance was laughing and crying as he peeled himself away from them. 

"It's so good to see you!" he cried out as he pulled them all, including Keith, into another embrace worthy of Hunk. "Oh! Guys this is Keith! He's my b-... friend. He's my friend."

Nobody questioned it as they said hi but quickly went back to Lance and pulled him inside. Keith followed with a smile plastered on his face. They were all so alike that it was amazing. He could see Lance's qualities in all of them. 

Hours later, Lance was still ecstatic to be back home. That much was so obvious that when Keith noticed the way he looked terrified for a moment nearly slipped past him. But it was there and it was worrying. Lance was talking and hugging everyone that he hadn't seen in so long, but he looked at Keith with a face of agony. 

"Keith," he whispered when he could, "I don't know if I could ever leave them again..."

For a moment Keith was confused as to why that was such a problem. Then it hit him.

Lance doesn't want to leave. He won't come home to the gang.

"Wait a minute," Keith argued, "What do you mean you're not leaving?"

"I mean I'll lie to my parents and come home..."

Keith heard the heartache in his voice when he said, "But this isn't home."

"What?"

"Lance... this isn't your home... right?"

"What? Keith, yeah this is my home what the fuck are-"

And that's when Lance's parents came home early.

"Mom!" Lance screamed with tears in his eyes. He ran into her open arms and sobbed onto her shoulders. She simply patted her sons back and said she was happy to see him. His dad barely glanced at Keith but put a hand on Lance's shoulder. 

"Lance. It's good to see you, son. I'm glad you've come to terms with you being normal."

Normal. So somebody hadn't told his dad that Lance was really bi. A problem? Yeah, probably.

"Yeah... normal. Oh! This is Keith!" he said, trying to distract his parents and rapidly wiping the tears from his cheeks.

"Hi?" Keith said in greeting.

"Hello, Keith," Lance's father replied. His mother gave a short nod in his direction but hadn't stopped staring at Lance.

Dinner rolled around and they all sat together. Lance talked to his siblings while Keith mostly stayed quiet, judging the situation with Lance's parents and how they've been acting. So far so good, but Keith still hadn't forgotten how much Lance wanted to stay. And speaking of the devil...

"Mom, Dad? So, I was thinking... could I come back home? At least for a little while?" Lance said, eyes glued to the table, not daring to look either of them in the eyes. Keith included.

The whole table went silent as his father spoke quietly as if in shame, "Are you sure?"

Lance stood abruptly, knocking his chair back and spooking Keith. "Realy?" It was barely a whisper but the terror seeped through anyway. "Its been years and you still think I'm straight, let alone that I actually wanted to come home? Really?!"

"Lance," his mother spoke up.

"I don't care. Keith was right. This isn't my home. Not anymore." Keith starred at Lance as he went off on his parents harshly. His mother was crying but his father just grimaced. At some point, Keith took Lance's hand try and calm him down but it only seemed to fuel him as he ripped into his father. The children were silent and curious and sad. What they were witnessing was something they wouldn't forget. "I understand you don't like that part of me, but you aren't even willing to look past it to try and love me? How fucked up is that! All I wanted was to see my family again and that's what I got so, if you'll excuse me and my boyfriend, we will be heading home. Goodbye and have a nice life."

Lance grabbed Kieth's hand and stormed out and all but ran to the car. He ripped the driver's side door open and sat down not-so-patiently waiting for Kieth.'

"Are you sure you want to drive?" Kieth asked, concerned. 

Lance nodded with a forced control that only fueled Kieth's worry. He surrendered with a sigh and sat down, buckling before Lance could tear out of the neighborhood almost 20 miles over the speed limit. They made it to the freeway in silence but rush hour traffic had them at a standstill. Lance whacked the steering-wheel once before turning off the car and getting out. 

"L-Lance?" Kieth exclaimed, also getting out of the car to follow him only to realize Lance was walking over to his side with tears streaming down his cheeks. "Lance what are-"

He grabbed his cheeks and gave him a quick peck on the lips before handing the keys back to Kieth, silently trusting him to get them home.

"I love you."

Kieth's heart melted as tears pricked at his own eyes. "I love you too, Lance."

Lance smiled thinly, "Let's go home."

And they did.

Chapter Text

"Good morning..." Lance yawned, rolling over on Keith and sliding an arm around his torso. Keith hummed in response but made no move to get up from Lance's bed. "What do you want for breakfast? I'll make you anything, my Valentine."

"Valentine?" Keith questioned, still half asleep.

"Keith, it's Valentine's Day."

"Fuck."

Keith sat up abruptly, grabbing his sweats off the floor and threw them on to run to the kitchen. "I'm making breakfast!" he called to Lance.

"I thought I was!" Lance exclaimed, dumbfounded. 

Keith chuckled and continued cracking eggs. Lance padded downstairs with a scowl that quickly melted into a soft smile. "That was before I knew it was Valentine's Day," Keith stated. He looked back at Lance with a grin, "You always do cute shit for me, now it's my turn."

Those words had Lance running into Keith's arms. They shared a small but passionate kiss before Keith ushered Lance away so he could finish their breakfast. When he finished he sat down next to Lance on the couch and they cuddled while they watched the Power Rangers movie. It was a perfect morning with a perfect couple and perfect silence... until Lance's phone went off.

"Who's calling?" Keith asked. 

Lance picked up his phone and answered the phone, "Hey Pidge, what's up-- are you crying? Pidge!"

"What's wrong with Pidge?"

"I don't know, she just hung up after saying something like 'Rover and come over'."

"Did she finish Rover?" Lance shrugged but grabbed his car keys. "Babe, where are your pants?"

"That's a good question."

 ~

After finding Lance's pants, they drove over to Shiro's house, hoping that she'd be there. When they got to the door Keith lifted a hand to knock but Pidge opened the door before he could. 

"Pidge!" Lance exclaimed, lifting her up and twirling her around like a child before she kicked him in the stomach.

"Hey, Keith."

"'Sup, Pidge."

He helped Lance get up and followed Pidge to the kitchen where a plethora of cookies and cupcakes were sitting on the counter. Hunk and Shay were dancing by the oven to soft music playing from the radio. 

"Wow," Lance whispered, looking up at the red heart-shaped streamers across the ceiling and then to the various Valentine's day decorations.

Keith squeezed Lance's hand saying, "Y'all went all out, huh?"

"Y'all?" Pidge pointed out, making Keith's face turn as red as the streamers. "Oh right... you're from Texas."

"Wait wait wait wait wait! Keith's from Texas?" Lance shouted.

"Uh, yeah?" Keith answered, suddenly becoming very shy.

Lance let go of Keith and turned to Pidge, shaking her shoulder's violently, "You knew about this and didn't tell me?"

Pidge growled and punched at Lance, missing the first time but kicked his shin hard enough for him to stop. "Of course I knew! I know everything."

"Well that was ominous, but whatever. What counts is that I have a hot cowboy for a boyfriend!" Lance said, turning back to Keith and wrapping his arms around him before slowly kissing him.

"Ew."

"Aw."

"There's the difference between Hunk and Pidge," Shay commented.

"Where's Shiro and Allura?" Keith asked, looking around.

Pidge shrugged while Hunk giggled. 

"They're upstairs," Shay answered with a big smile. "I wouldn't um, interrupt them if I were you."

Keith grimaced while Lance started laughing and let out a big shout. "Finally! Oh man, that took so long!"

Pidge grabbed a cookie and chucked it at Lance, "Why are you so mean to me?”

”It’s your favorite holiday, duh.”

”W-what does that have anything to do with anything?” He stuttered out. 

Pidge shrugged and answered, “It’s my least favorite holiday so obviously we’re rivals now. So I can be mean without consequences or morals.”

”Fair point.” 

She smiled and grabbed another cookie before Lance could grab at her. 

"Gremlin..." Keith muttered, hoping she wouldn't hear but of course he's only lucky enough for her to flip him off. Pidge calls a warning to Hunk just as she leaps onto his back, startling him momentarily until he regained his balance and started dancing with Shay again. "Fucking gremlin."

Lance nods beside him, grabbing a cookie and heading for the living room pulling Keith's hand to lead him to the couch. Keith leans his head on Lance's shoulder and wraps his arms around his small frame. "Happy Valentine's Day, Lance. I love you."

Lance's heart stops for a minute before he can properly respond, "I love you too, Keith."

Lance feels Keith's heart stutter from where his hand was lying across his shoulders and over his heart. This was the best Valentine's Day ever.

"Why is this Pidge's least favorite holiday?" Keith asked after a moment of silence. 

Lance thought about it for a moment, trying to formulate the right words. "She likes technology more than people because she knows how they work and it's harder for a machine to go against certain regulations and rules than a human. She can trust a machine easier than other people, but because of that she's become super smart and she has the ability to pick up on our habits and whatnot."

"She's got some walls up, huh? Same."

Lance squeezed Keith's shoulders with a sad smile, "Same."

"Really?" Keith asked curiously.

Lance scratched the back of his head, not really expecting this kind of conversation. "Last Valentine's Day, do you remember that one girl I went out with and then refused to talk about?" Lance waited for Keith to nod before continuing. "What happened was that she cheated on me with this other guy and then kinda asked for a threesome. It was gross and uncomfy and just so weird. It didn't help that I had really liked that girl for a while too and I knew she had a thing for her friend but I had no clue they were official or anything. Long story short I'm banned from O'Charley's."

Keith couldn't help but laugh at the last part, which Lance was secretly grateful for. He didn't want any sympathy for something he was so oblivious about. 

"So- so you somehow got cheated on, asked to be part of a threesome and refused, and then got banned from O'Charley's for who knows what. How fucking interesting! You wanna know what I did last year? I ate an entire gallon of Rocky Road ice cream while Shiro blasted Teenager In Love by Neon Trees because I accidentally outed myself as gay."

"What?"

"Yeah. We were sulking about how lonely we were and I was listening to music and I was like, 'this song is so fucking gay and like, god fucking same!' and I threw my spoon across the room, fell off the couch, and screamed fuck. Shiro kinda just sat there and asked what song I was listening with this face that just screamed 'what the fuck'. And that's how he found out I was gay. And then he told Matt, who told Pidge, who told the whole group."

"Oh! I remember that! She hacked your account and changed your name to Keith KoGAYne. At that point, it just kinda fueled my crush on you."

"R-really?" Keith stuttered.

Lance chuckled, kissing Keith's forehead, "Yeah, but she doesn't have to know that."

"Know what?" Shiro asked, out of breath and face flushed.

Lance choked.

"Uh, you two have fun?" Keith asked, trying to conceal his laughter.

Shiro gave him a puzzled look and unconsciously wrapped an arm around Allura's waist as she met him on the stairs, equally sweaty and ruffled.

"I mean if you call intense burpees and making Shiro do the splits fun, then yeah," Allura answered.

Lance looked at Keith with utter confusion. "So wait, you guys weren't... uh, so did they lie or did they think... whoops?"

Keith shrugged and snuggled closer to Lance, pulling a blanket onto them both. Lance gave in and rested his head on top of Keith's, sighing in happiness and closing his eyes. He was certainly happy. Elated. Blissful. On cloud nine. He had no idea how one person could do this to his heart, he'd never know, nor would he want to know. He loved how much of a mystery Keith was to him because there's so much of him that Lance gets to find out. His boyfriend is from Texas of all places! He learned that today along with his coming out to Shiro story! Those are big things! 

"Lance?" Keith asked, yawning. When Lance hummed in response he continued, "I love your face."

"Huh?"

"Like, your eyes and your nose and like, your smile. I like your lips too. I like them a lot," he yawned out again.

"I think you need a nap..."

"Pft! Yeah."

Lance chuckled and quietly asked Shiro if they could borrow his room for an hour. When he saw how sleepy Keith was he agreed, "So long as there's no funny business."

"I promise we won't fuck in your bed, Shiro."

He shook his head and kept on to the kitchen, leaving the boys to do what they please. Hand-in-hand they made it up the stairs and into Shiro's room where they collapsed on the bed. Lance pulled Keith up to him, spooning his smaller frame and pressing him close, planting a soft kiss on his neck. 

"Sleep well, babe."

"You too, Lance."

And with that they drifted to sleep.

Chapter Text

They woke up to Hunk gently knocking on the door. Lance groaned and told him to go away, whining and throwing an arm around Keith when he got up to leave. They giggled and wrestled in the sheets while Hunk stood in the doorway with a giant grin on his face.

"Awe! You guys are so cute!" he squealed when Lance kissed Keith's nose after pinning him. "And just to let you know it's time for lunch."

He left without another word leaving the two on the bed. Lance noticed how they were positioned and then remembered his promise to Shiro that seemed harder to keep than he thought...

"Hey Lance, how mad would Shiro be if we broke that promise?" Keith asked, reading Lance's mind with a smirk that put butterflies in his stomach.

Lance leaned down and kissed Keith gently, pulling back only to say, "Dunno. You wanna find out?" 

Keith didn't bother responding but roughly kissed Lance, pulling him down and flipping him over so that Lance wasn't on top anymore. He let his hands roam over Lance's shirt without letting the kiss break, their mouths melding together hungrily. Lance moaned quietly when Keith finally slipped a hand under his shirt, the other pinning Lance's arms above his head. Keith was reaching for Lance's belt when they heard this ungodly screeching.

"What the fuck Pidge! Do you ever not cockblock?" Lance shouted when she stopped screaming.

With a turn on her heel, she answered, "Nope," and walked back downstairs.

"Fucking gremlin," Keith said loud enough for her to hear. "Guess this'll have to wait," he said with a wink that had Lance melting.

They kissed one more time before getting off Shiro's bed and heading downstairs hand in hand. It seemed that Pidge kept their incident a secret, which was a relief. He was kidding when he said he wanted to find out how mad Shiro would be if he found out. They piled food on their plates and filed into the living room to watch The Little Prince since it was the first time Shay was able to stay long enough to watch a movie with the group. She works as a geologist way out of town and she's almost always super busy because of it.

They munched on popcorn and chips, enthralled by the movie. So much so that everyone jumped when Pidge's phone went off. 

"It's Matt!" she exclaimed, stepping on Lance's leg when she hopped down from her perch on the arm on the couch. "Pause the movie! I'll be right back!"

Lance pouted from his spot on the floor refusing to continue any talk about his "rival".

"Oh how the tables have turned," Keith said, chuckling as he slid an arm over Lance's shoulders and pulled him closer. Lance once again melted into his touch, sighing as he rested his head on Keith's shoulder and rubbed circles with his thumb on the back of his hand. Keith hummed happily, revelling in how frustrated Lance is about the whole Valentine's Day rivalry.

Pidge returned and without a word, unpausing the movie and letting the day wind down with shitty rom-coms and sneaky kisses.

Chapter Text

"I'm booored..." Lance drawled out, hanging off the side of the couch to reach for his lemonade. "Let's go out and do something this weekend!"

Keith huffed a sigh as he turned the page in his book. Unable to concentrate with Lance whining, he shut the book and sighed in defeat.

"Like what?" 

"I dunno."

"You're insufferable."

"That's the best part about me and you know it."

Keith laughed and shook his head, "No the best part about you is when we kiss..." Lance melted in his eyes before he continued with: "Becuase that's the only time you shut the fuck up." Keith went back to his book leaving Lance to feign heartbreak and crocodile tears. It wasn't long before Lance was distracted by something on his phone that finally gave Keith some peace and quiet. Suddenly, Lance let out a loud gasp as he jumped off the couch not-so-gracefully and pulled Keith's book away.

Keith was about to question it but Lance spoke first, "Let's take a road trip!" Keith couldn't seem to sputter out a reply so Lance elaborated. "I've always wanted to go see the Grand Canyon and it's only like, six hours away!"

Keith was barely able to comprehend what Lance was suggesting but the adorable wonder in Lance's eyes was enough for Keith to give into whatever Lance said. So Keith said ok. Seconds later Keith was in Lance's arms with their mouths meshed together happily. When they broke away, Lance fist-pumped the air and ran upstairs to pack, leaving Keith to pack food in the cooler Lance kept in the back of his coat closet. He filled it with a loaf of bread, peanut butter, strawberry and blueberry jams, lunch meat, and a whole box of Capri Suns. Lance fumbled down the steps with a full duffel bag of clothes and various skin care products and with a big grin plastered on his face, they set off to Keith's apartment. 

Unlike Lance, it only took Keith a few minutes to pack for a camping trip. When Lance questioned how empty Keith's bag looked, he just looked Lance in the eyes and recited everything he had in it.

"Two shirts, a pair of shorts, pyjama pants, socks, underwear, four knives, a line of paracord, lighter fluid, and matches. Oh! And my paint set. There's no way I'm going all the way to the Grand Canyon without painting something."

Lance rolled his eyes and replied, "Of course you packed the essentials... but where's the tent?"

"Under my bed. It's right next to the stack of canvas' if you want to go grab that for me. I think I know where the sleeping bags are..." he trailed off, dropping his bag and wandering into the living room. 

Lance sighed but complied, making his way into Keith's room. Inside he still found the countless paintings hung up around the room and even some resting on the floor along the walls where there was space. Lance took a moment to survey each and every one of them, his heart swelling with affection for the beautiful artist he's so in love with.

And then he spotted it. It was still a work in progress but Lance could clearly make out what it was: the photo that Pidge had taken of them the day he asked Keith out. There they were, soaking wet, hand in hand, and walking back to Keith's place to dry off. Lance felt a tear fall down his cheek, in pain from how big he was smiling. He silently promised not to ask Keith about it, knowing it would probably upset him if it was supposed to be a surprise. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he laid down on his stomach and searched for the tent. He pulled it out and dusted it off before meeting Keith in the living room.

Keith had both rolls of sleeping bags under his arms and his duffel bag in one of them, forcing him to lean over to one side. Lance laughed and reached for Keith's bag, laughing even more when the stubborn boy turned away and started walking out the open door. 

Stuffing everything into the back of Lance's Jeep, they sped off in the direction of the Grand Canyon. With the windows down, music blasting, and Lance's hand on Keith's thigh, Keith was really starting to enjoy their trip. He quickly sent a couple texts to the group chat at a stop sign to let everyone know where they were going and that they wouldn't have service when a sudden flurry of texts came through.

Hunk- I know lance can be annoying but dont push him in the canyon!!!

Pidge- Did you bring condoms?

Shiro- KATIE!

ALLURA- PIDGE!

Pidge- Mother, Father... it was j o k e.

Hunk- dont worry tho, lance keeps a condom in his wallet lol

Keith- y a l l. 

Pidge- "y a l l"? 

Hunk- keith's from texas, remember?

Pidge- Yes. I just think it's funny because the only other people who say y'all are the gays™.

Keith- Ok but I'm gay AND Texan, what does that mean?

Pidge- Gay^2.

Keith- ?

Hunk- gay squared, ya dingus.

Shiro- Well try not to have too much fun, and yeah don't push Lance into the canyon, but I hope y a l l have fun!

And before Keith could die of any more embarrassment, he shut off his notifications and focused on Lance, whose smile still hadn't faded. His heart soared with happiness as Lance squeezed Keith's leg a little before turning the music down so they could have an actual conversation without shouting.

"What did the group say?" Lance asked, glancing over at Keith's burning face.

"Uh, well Pidge asked if we brought condoms-"

"Check! Got one in my wallet."

Keith snickered, reminded that Hunk knows him so well. "And Hunk said not to push you into the canyon."

Lance rolled his eyes quickly with a chuckle, "Of course he'd be so concerned about that."

"Of course," Keith repeated, staring at Lance. The "Have I ever told you how happy you make me?"

"Uh- I-I, maybe?" Lance stuttered, caught off guard.

Keith let out a laugh, "Well you make me a very, very happy man. This has truly been the best few months of my life."

“Wow... for once in my life I’m speechless. Only you could do that to me,” Lance chuckled, his face bright red. He squeezed Keith’s thigh again and kept his eyes on the road. 

Keith’s smile was as bright as the afternoon sun as he watched Lance drive them both away from their lives and towards their own adventure. There were very few words that could describe the look on Lance’s face as they neared their destination. A couple that seemed appropriate was along the lines of amused, ecstatic, and content. He was purely happy to be going out with his boyfriend while even more excited to be out and alone with his boyfriend. Regardless of what Lance had in mind, and Keith could take a guess, he looked peaceful and that’s all that Keith could have ever hoped for when it came to agreeing to this adventure. 

“Hey babe, where’s the closest gas station?” Lance asked, his face falling to a more worried expression. 

Keith fumbled with an answering, seeing as they were out in the middle of nowhere with very little service. “Uh, I don’t think it’s that far away... in fact look! There’s an exit up ahead!”

Lance squinted his eyes and grinned. There was a gas station at the next exit that looked promising. 

“Crisis averted,” Lance stated as they pulled into the gas station. Lance told Keith to snag a couple snacks from the station while he was filling up the Jeep. 

Keith stepped inside the AC and pursued the isles, hoping to find something Lance would like. He spotted the Twizzlers and grabbed three pouches before popping into the line and paying for them. He came back to the car as Lance finished up his payment. 

“What did you- TWIZZLERS BABE YOU KNOW ME SO WELL!”

He proceeded to grab the candy from Keith and hop into the Jeep, opening a pack with his teeth and taking a big bite out of every piece. Keith stood there, unsure as to how to comprehend all of what happened. Rather than dwelling on his lost candy, he sighed and got in. 

Keith yawned as Lance took another bite of his candy before smirking at Keith’s tiring frame leaning against the window. He always loved car rides with his dad before he passed away so many years ago. They always seemed to lull him to sleep with the nicest dreams to follow him into the waking world. 

“Hey, Lance...” Keith yawned, “can you wake me up in an hour?” 

“Of course babe.”

”Thanks, babe...”

The dream that was supposed to follow him didn’t, but he didn’t mind. He was already living a dream come true with Lance and there were no dreams or fantasies that ever could top that. 

Keith felt a light nudge at his shoulder and became keenly aware of the drool on his cheek. He cringed as he swiped at his face and rolled his sore shoulders. His blurry vision adjusted to the dimming sunlight as Lance pulled into a gas station.

"Hey there Sleeping Beauty," Lance joked, his voice deep and raspy from lack of use for the past...

"You let me sleep for four hours!"

Lance's raspy chuckle definitely woke Keith up. They both got out of the car to stretch their legs and fill up the gas tank. Keith looked over at the love of his life and sighed. He could tell that Lance was tired but had let him nap the day away, and no matter how wrecked he looked, he found Lance so incredibly attractive. That was his attractive dork. His Twizzler loving, over-optimistic, and long-legged boyfriend. It wasn't often that Keith felt his chest swell with any emotion other than his short temper, but it was Lance's patience that eased loved into every part of him. 

Keith walked over to Lance's side of the Jeep where he was holding the pump. He slipped an arm around his waist and pulled Lance closer to him, fitting nicely into his side and lying his mop of black hair on his shoulder. Lance sighed happily and let his own arm rest on Keith's hip. They looked into each other's eyes and it felt like their beginning again. Like they were back in the coffee shop, alone on the couch and closer than they ever thought they'd get to be with each other. Lance smiled softly and closed his eyes, casually leaning into Keith's lips. Slow and relaxed but with the same kind of passion that they had since the beginning. An unspoken fire that fueled them both, ever constant and unrelenting, it was beautiful and respected by both boys. 

With the click of the gas pump, they broke their kiss. Matching rosy cheeks followed them into the car as their grins refused to falter. Lance checked the map and his grin widened.

"Guess what, Mullet? We're almost there."