Chapter Text
Lance McClain had made a mistake. That wasn't anything new or interesting, he made a large amount of mistakes. Most of those mistakes sucked and he always ended up getting fucked over in the end, but they never had very large consequences. But this mistake was bigger than most. This mistake would leave him more fucked over than he'd ever been. Sure, that was an exaggerated example of what was going to happen. But he didn't want the consequences of this mistake. He wanted anything but. Except this time, he had no way of getting out of it. Any other time he could find a way to avoid it, to leave the situation. But this time, well, he didn't think it was possible.
The mistake he made this time was none other than him bragging to his family and friends about how he was officially in a relationship. This wasn't his own decision though, it was brought on by his mother. He'd been on skype with her and a couple of his siblings talking about how he was going home over the summer to visit. He'd be there for two months and head back a week before his classes started again. He was excited. And then his mother mentioned something that threw him off of the plans. She mentioned that she had met a nice girl at work and that she planned in setting her up with Lance during his trip. And, well, Lance didn't want that. So he panicked.
He made a claim that would have consequences. He claimed that that wouldn't be necessary, that he had met someone in class and was now happily in a relationship with them. His mother was amazed and wanted to know everything about them, but lance didn't budge. Instead he said that she'd have to wait until the summer and that he'd bring them down with him to meet her. She was over the moon with excitement and agreed to wait, going on and on about how excited she was that her boy was finally settling down and how proud he was and how excited she was to see him and meet this new person. Lance didn't have the heart to ever tell her that it was an honest mistake.
For the next two months Lance kept insisting that yes, they were still dating and yes, they were still coming. He couldn't bring himself to tell his mother about the mistake. Especially considering she'd gone and told the rest of his family. And his friends. And now he was receiving texts from Hunk asking who this person was and why he hadn't met them. Lance didn't say anything besides what he'd said to his mother. He'd meet them over the summer. And now he had four days until he was flying out of the city and it was starting to dawn on him that he didn't have anybody to pass off as someone he was in a relationship with. He'd run out of options. He tried asking a couple of friends but they all had plans for the summer or were going to visit their own families. He was out of options. Or, he thought he was.
He was scrolling through his contacts list, trying to find anyone who would help him. He had nobody left to ask. Until he came across one contact in his phone. It was a contact he called and texted often and he mentally slapped himself for being so stupid. He checked the time to see how early it was before clicking on the contact, shooting a series of texts to his old pal Keith from art class.
Lance: hey buddy
Lance: pal
Lance: my old friend from art class
Keith: the fuck do you want lance
Lance: I need a favour
Lance: when's your last class today?
Lance: we need to talk
Keith: my last class is at three
Lance: meet me in the library at four?
Keith: fine
Lance: bless your sweet soul Keith Kogane
Keith: this better be important McClain
Keith: like matter of life or death important
Lance: it is I promise
Lance: thank you Keith
Keith: I'll see you then
Keith: now shut it i'm in class
Lance smiled to himself, slipping his phone into his pocket. He had a shot. Keith could be his shot. He couldn't lie, the thought of having Keith as his fake boyfriend for two months made his stomach turn. Sure, they were close friends, but this wasn't what he was expecting. He wasn't expecting that this could happen. That he'd ever need to ask Keith this question. But he was desperate and Keith was quite literally his only hope. So, Lance waited patiently as the day rolled along.
Lance practically bolted out of his last class at four, making it to the library across the school in five minutes. He walked through the front doors, immediately heading to the back corner. People hardly ever went to the back rows of shelves as they held all the outdated books. Because of that very fact it had become the place Lance and Keith met up when they needed to talk to each other or to do simple things like homework. They worked on art projects a lot, although Lance mostly watched as Keith drew things. He often became the model for the older boys drawings. The fact made him smile.
He reached the back corner by four fifteen, immediately spotting Keith sitting on the windowsill reading. He had his hair pulled back and was wearing his glasses, a combination that didn't usually see the light of day. He must have been tired. Lance noticed the Starbucks cup Keith was holding and his eyes rested on the other cup sitting next to his leg on the windowsill. Lance smiled. He got him a drink.
Keith looked up as he heard Lance approach, smiling ever so slightly and closing his book. He slipped off his glasses and watched Lance as he sat down on the other side of the window, eyes lingering on the Starbucks cup next to his leg.
“I got your regular, don't worry. I'm not trying to poison you,” Keith smirked as Lance flushed and picked up the drink, instantly burning his tongue with the first sip.
“So, what'd you need from me?”
“Getting right to it, are we? No hello, no small talk?” Lance questioned, his mouth curling into a smile.
“Look, Lance, I'm really tired so can we just get to it so I can sleep please?” Keith sighed, leaning his head against the wall and looking at Lance with half closed eyes.
Lance swallowed the lump in his throat and sighed, setting down his cup. “Okay, I'll just say it flat out. I need you to be my boyfriend.”
“That's a pretty odd way to ask someone out, Lance,” Keith raised an eyebrow at him and took another sip of his drink, looking at lance over the rim of the cup. “What, may I ask, brought on these sudden affections?”
“No, no that's not it. It's not like that,” Lance assured, frantically moving his hands and he spoke. “It's something else.”
Keith took another sip of his drink, swallowing with a slight sigh before he spoke. “Enlighten me.”
“Look, I screwed up. My mom was trying to set me up with someone, and as you can probably assume, I didn't want it.”
“Naturally.”
“Anyway, so I told my mom I was in a relationship and that I'd be bringing them home with me over summer,” Keith cut him off.
“And let me guess, everyone else was busy and now I'm your last resort?”
“Keith please,” Lance begged.
“What does being your fake boyfriend entail?” Keith asked, surprisingly calm after the question he was just asked.
“You'd have to come spend the summer with me and my family,” Lance began.
“Doable. I don't have any plans.”
“You'd have to spend a lot of time with me.”
Keith laughed lightly. “I do that anyway.”
“You'd have to meet my family,” Lance seemed pretty unsure about Keith meeting his family.
Keith shrugged. “They seem nice enough. Plus you've got a lot of siblings, it's not like the focus will be on us all the time.”
Lance breathed a sigh of relief. “That's pretty much all you'd have to do. Maybe put up with prolonged physical contact, hold my hand, put up with constant pet names. Just normal couple stuff.”
Keith nodded and took another sip of his drink. “Where are we gonna be spending the summer?”
Lance smiled. “California.”
Keith raised an eyebrow. “I thought your family lived in Cuba?”
“We're spending the summer with my aunt and uncle, they've got a house in California.”
Keith made a sound of understanding and took another sip of his drink. “That seems doable, although I should warn you that I hate planes.”
Lance smiled at him. “It's okay, so do I.”
“Alright Lance, I'll be your fake boyfriend,” Keith concluded, taking a sip of his drink. “On one condition though.”
“Anything, name it and I'll do it,” Lance seemed afraid of his own words and Keith laughed lightly.
“It's nothing bad, don't worry. I was just gonna say that we'll have to leave for a little bit in august. My brother is getting married.”
“We?” Lance questioned. “Why don't you just go on your own?”
“Lance, as your fake boyfriend it seems only appropriate that you should accompany me to my brothers wedding, does it not? Or do you not want to fully sell this relationship to your mom?” Keith teased, taking another sip of his drink when he finished.
Lance sighed, running his hand over his face. “It makes sense, yeah. Could you at least tell me your brothers name? Or the name of whoever he's getting married to?”
“Shiro,” Keith answered. “His fiancé’s name is Allura.”
“Thank you for that valuable information. Where's the wedding?”
“New York city.”
Lance nearly choked on his drink. “Wait, actually? New York?”
Keith raised an eyebrow. “Is that going to be a problem?”
“No, no, it's just, I've never been to New York.”
“Oh, Lance my man, you're in for a treat,” Keith grinned, tapping on his cup.
Lance smirked. “Am I now?”
Keith finished off his drink and threw the cup towards a garbage can across the room. It made it in without fail. Lance whistled and clapped while Keith bowed slightly. “Now, back to our fake relationship.”
“What else do you need to know?” Lance asked, finally returning to his own drink.
“When do we leave, what do I need to pack, stuff like that,” Keith shrugged, leaning back on the wall.
“Just pack what you'd take on vacation. Bring like, shorts and shirts as it's probably gonna be hot out, some jeans and a couple sweaters would also be a good idea, also some nice clothes as my family will probably wanna take you out for dinner on many occasions. Bring your phone and your wallet as well as your sketchbook and other art stuff. Headphones, books, all that jazz,” Lance was rambling and he knew it but he couldn't bring himself to stop.
“That's quite a detailed list. But you didn't tell me when we're leaving,” Keith pointed out.
“Three days,” Lance blushed slightly, ducking his head and playing with the lid of his cup.
“Okay.”
Lance looked up with wide eyes. He expected Keith to be annoyed, to snap at him for the short notice. But he wasn't, he didn't. He was surprisingly calm about the whole situation actually. It was out of character for him, he wasn't usually one for calm thinking. He was known for his rash decisions and poor impulse control, not the ability to ask questions and think about things calmly. He must have been really tired.
“Thank you, Keith, it really means alot to me.”
Keith smiled. “It's no big deal Lance, I'm happy to help you out.”
Lance leaned forward and pulled Keith into a hug. It was uncomfortable and awkward but Keith hugged back none the less, resting his head against Lance’s shoulder. Lance sighed into his neck causing Keith to shiver. Both laughed a little bit and then pulled back, smiling at each other.
“Well I'm absolutely exhausted so I think I'm gonna head back to my room. I'll text you tomorrow,” Keith sighed, slipping his book and glasses into his bag as he spoke and pulled on his jacket. “Night babe,” he winked and walked around the shelves and away from the blushing mess that was Lance.
He heard him walk to the front of the library and wish the librarian a good night, he heard the door open and watched the top of it as it closed. He sat there leaning against the wall, a half empty Starbucks cup in his hand and a stupid tired smile on his face. Lance was already so far gone that he couldn't find himself.