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Chapter Text

Lance rubbed his temples and slacked back on his chair. A irritated groan left his lips," It's useless Hunk, I'm a lost case."

" Come on Lance," The Samoan boy paged the textbook in front of him," You've almost got it."

Lance let a stiff laugh, he loved how positive Hunk was and how he actually believed in Lance," Hunk, I appreciated you're efforts, but we've been here for like what, an hour, and I still don't understand shit."

" Just take a break Lance," Shay occupied the seat next to Hunk. She sipped on her ice tea before concluding," You've been studying a lot. You just need to rest a bit."

The textbook in front of Lance was slammed close by himself," Iverson is going to assassin me."

Shay gave Lance a really look, " Come on, he can't be that bad."

Lance looked at Shay dead in the eye and said," He's Satan's reincarnation Shay."

" Actually that spot is occupied by me," A new voice joined them. Lance looked over and saw none other than Pidge Gunderson standing in front of them.

They dumped their laptop on the table and practically fell into the seat," At least you don't have Sendak as your teacher. Now that guy is hell's creation."

Hunk snorted at Pidge's comment, he looked around the cafe before asking," Have any of you seen Shiro?"

They exchanged looks that indicated they were as clueless as Hunk.

Shay scrunched her nose and said," I think he said something about going to the airport? I'm not really sure."

" Why would Shiro go to the airport?" Lance raised an eyebrow questionably.

Shay shrugged," Like I said, I don't know."

" Maybe he's picking up a relative?" Pidge adjusted their glasses before opening the laptop's lid.

Lance was too mentally drained to give it much thought. He was more worried about failing Iverson's class. He needed to pass that class if he wanted to pursue his dream of working at NASA. Unlike many people, Lance's dream of being an astronaut didn't fade over time. In fact, his passion for space only got stronger as he grew up. Space was so hypnotizing, it was so vast yet so full. He would spend hours just reading about it, he would memorize the name of as many constellations as he could. Just a glance at his room back home would give away his obsession with space. Posters of planets plastered his walls, glow in the dark stars formed Lance's favourite constellations. He remembered as if it was yesterday, the hours he spent making the constellations as precise as he could.

Lance shook his thoughts away and looked back up at his friends," So when's hockey season starting?"

" I think it's next month," Hunk said uncertainly.

Pidge perked up at the mention of hockey and said," Have you guys heard the rumor about the new player?"

Lance exchanged a look of curiosity with Hunk and Shay, they turned to Pidge giving them their full attention.

" Apparently he's coming from Korea," Pidge's fingers zoomed on the keyboard, multitasking was easy for Pidge. Talking and typing was like a second nature for them," He got a scholarship specifically for hockey, he must be really good."

Korean huh, Lance thought. There weren't that many Asians playing sports on a scholarship at the Garrison.

" No shit," Shay sipped on her refreshment," You got any more info on the new guy?"

" Do you think that I've searching him up?" Pidge stopped typing and put a hand up to their chest," I'm offended you think so lowly of me."

They stared down Pidge in sync.

They sighed and gave in, typing a few codes before Pidge spoke," Keith Kogane, he's the star hockey player of his college. His record isn't the cleanest, it's mostly 'discipline issues' and that shit. His grades are pretty damn good tho. He was born in Texas but moved to South Korea in the second grade." Pidge turned their laptop towards their friends.

On the screen was shown an image of a boy, he seemed Lance's age. His facial features were sharp, his skin was no where as tan as Lance's, it was more pale. Probably because of his Korean heritage, his mind chimed in. The Korean boy's face was framed by jet black hair that was styled in a motherfucking mullet. Who even had mullets anymore!? They died in the eighty's. His purple eyes captured Lance's attention, he couldn't help but mutter a low damn.

Shay smirked in Lance's direction as she noticed him practically drooling over the new guy and said," Looks like Lance has the hots for Korean boy over here."

Lance quickly diverted his eyes from the screen and stuttered," What? N-no! What are you- just no!"

His comrades all exchanged a look and chuckled at Lance's outburst.

Lance felt a heat travel to his cheeks but ignored it. " I do not like this Kogane guy! He has a fucking mullet! What is he, emo?! I would never associate myself with someone with a mullet!"

Lance was lying.

Hunk smirked and Lance did not like the way he was looking at him," Whatever you say Lance."

" My bet is that they'll be swallowing each other by the end of the month," Pidge interjected.

Lance glared at Pidge only to have Shay join in, " My bet's two months, Lance is stubborn when it comes to admitting feelings," Shay reflected," Plus you never know how stubborn this Keith guy is. So it might take time form them to come to a conclusion that they've fallen off the Grand Canyon for each other."

Hunk stroked his chin as if he had a beard and said," I have more faith in Lance, I give it three months tops."

Lance let out a playful ground, the conversation about Keith died down (Lance was thankful for that) so his friends chuckled and went back to chatting about teachers from hell. Lance wouldn't admit it, but the image of Keith was still stuck in his mind. Who even had purple eyes? Well apparently Keith, his mind answered him. He didn't mind his friends making bets on his love life, they all knew it was just a joke, but it was so damn unfair that Keith was good looking.

Yep, no. Not going there, Lance told himself. Not again.

" We're only a week in and Mrs Jones is already being a pain in the ass," Pidge rolled their eyes," Honestly where does this school find their teachers?"

" Satan's market?" Lance offered helpfully. At the corner of his eye, Lance could see Hunk crack a smile and Shay choke on her ice tea holding back laughs whilst coughing.

Pidge shrugged," You never know."

" I'm pretty sure Mr Andrews has tea with Satan on Tuesdays," Shay admitted," Because honestly he's a pain in the ass."

They continued chatting, under the parasol outside the cafe like normal college students. But the image of the hockey player still etched into Lance's mind.

L A T E R T H A T D A Y

The door was pushed open by a lanky Cuban. He closed the door, locking it before setting the keys on top of the commode next to the door. He seemed tired, it was clear in his eyes. Lance dragged himself to his room, he ran his hands through his hair as he let out a tired sigh. He came to stand in front of his bedroom door, he pushed it open to reveal the messy image of his habitat. Articles of clothing littered his floor and disheveled bed that was pushed against the right wall.

Damn he needed to do his laundry.

On the walls hung posters of anime's but they were already old from when Lance had put them up during freshman year. The desk on the left wall a covered in textbooks, notebooks and loose sheets of paper with notes scribbled on them. The room had a few other personal touches.

Polaroid pictures were taped on the wall above his desk. The pictures mostly feature Lance with Hunk, Pidge and Shay. They were practically Lance's aesthetic since he had also taken a few pictures of the ocean and surfboards. The only picture that didn't feature Lance and his friends was a picture that was taped lower that the others. Lance had his arm slung around a girl's shoulder. She looked a lot like Lance. They both had the light brown hair, tan skin and oceanic blue eyes. Except the girl looked older and more mature than Lance.

 The only thing occupying the nightstand was a picture was framed, a group of people were huddled together, all of the had Hispanic features. The majority of them had brown hair, and if they didn't it was black. Their highs were varied from tall and lean to short. They all smiled, worry was nowhere seen in the picture. They seemed to genuinely happy, like the picture perfect family. A thud interrupted the silence as Lance dropped his backpack near the door. The Cuban then proceeded to kick off his shoes and literally throw himself on his bed. The room was dead silent, but it was interrupted by the familiar ding coming from Lance's back pocket. Shuffling was heard as he turned on his back and took out his phone. He squinted due to the brightness of the phone screen in the dark. Lance smiled when he noticed it was from his friends.

Group Chat: Pidgeon has changed the chat name to: shiroGONE

Space Dad: Why?

Pidgeon: Lmao he even asks why

Shaydy: Shiro you've been gone for like,,, 2 hours man

Space Dad: Sorry, I had some buisness to take care of

Lancey Lance: Buisness as in buying-some-expensive-ass-gift-to-try-woo-allura or actually busy

Lancey Lance: Because fyi: Allura hates to be gifted expensive things

The Hunk: Yeah man, Allura prefers sentimental gifts over expensive ones

Space Dad: I was actually busy guys

Space Dad: and btw I'll be bit late for game night, I gotta do some stuff

Pidgeon: BUT IT'S GAME NIGHT

Pidgeon: YOU CANNOT SIMPLY BE LATE ON GAME NIGHT TAKASHI YOU DISGRACE

Shaydy: Pidge's right Shiro

Lancey Lance: What's taking up all of your time, sheesh

The Hunk: If you don't arrive in 8 minutes tops, we're eating the pizza without you

Space Dad: Ouch

Shady: That's what you get for coming late to game night

Space Dad: I can try make it on time but I'll need to bring someone with me

Lancey Lance: Depends, what's their level of expertise on Mario Cart?

Space Dad: I dunno

Pidgeon: Hum, if you bring him we'll finally be able to have even teams

The Hunk: Bring him along

Space Dad: Alright, see you guys Shady: I'm bringing the drinks, see ya

The Hunk: I gotta finish up my essay, bye

Pidgeon: YOU BETTER NOT MISS IT TAKASHI

Pidgeon: Also Lance can you get the cookies for me

Lancey Lance: Pidge I'm literally on the other side of the dorms

Pidgeon: THEY'RE ON THE TOP SHELF

Lancey Lance: Oh, can little Pidgey not reach the top shelf :)

Pidgeon: I will have your head McClain

Lancey Lance: Let me just come back from the dead and I'll be right with you

Lance tossed his phone on his bed and stayed laying on his bed for a while. He stared at the blank white ceiling. It was plain. It had been years since Lance had last seen the stars. He should be over it now, it's just stupid cheap glow in the dark stars. He shouldn't care about them that much. He shouldn't feel an ache in his chest whenever he woke up in the middle of the night and looked hopefully at the ceiling, hoping with all his heart that they would be there, that he would be looking at Leo above him, only to notice that they weren't there.

But they meant so much more.

Chapter Text

Game night was a sacred night.

It was the one night each month were they got together and battled to the death... with Mario Cart. Come to think of it when you play with Pidge it's more like The Hunger Games than game night.

It's been a tradition ever since the first month of Freshman year when they all were bored and tada, game night was born. The squad has no chill whatsoever whist playing the game, but at least it wasn't any worse than monopoly.
Lance still had nightmares.

But that was also the good part. During midterms and finals, it was a pleasant distraction from the constant stress and anxiety coming at them like a high speed train. It was so lively and loud, and Lance wouldn't want it any other way. Hunk usually partnered up with Lance who would be beaten flat by a very hyper Pidge who has no mercy on the track. Shiro would usually somehow manage to crash into everything in sight (and he still asks why we call him the dad friend) and Shay was just as bad as Pidge. Unluckily for Lance and Hunk, the two often partnered up and completely obliterated them.

But it felt like home.

Lance was spread out on the couch in Pidge's living room, he was fidling with his phone playing an addictive game that made him want to throw his phone into fucking hell. That's how you can tell if it's a good game. Pidge was plugging the game into the TV, they were surrounded by a chaos of wires and cords. They knew exactly what they were doing and didn't need a manual. Hunk was in the kitchen with Shay, they were both making popcorn 'a la Hunk' as Lance called it. Hunk's popcorn was somehow so much better than any other popcorn Lance had ever eaten.

Game night was traditionaly in Pidge's apartment that she shared with Matt because A, Pidge didn't have a roommate and Matt was rarely there so they didn't have to worry about keeping their yelling down (although they had gotten a lot of complains from Pidge's neighbors, they somehow ended up with a goat in Pidge's room once, but that's a tale for another time) and B, Pidge had the big TV they all bought specifically for this sacred night.

Lance tossed his phone aside and stretched out his long limbs as he turned so he was laying down on his side. He watched Pidge mess with the cords before both of their attentions were diverted to the sound of a knock on the door. They looked at each other and had a mental battle on who was going to have to get up and answer the door.

" Lance could you get the door?" Pidge asked looking into Lance's very soul with those little gremlin eyes.

" It's your house," Lance said," So you should be the one to answer the door."

Pidge gave Lance a death glare," I would but I'm setting up the game."

Lance before he said," It wouldn't kill you to just get up for a second would it?"

" Just get the door!" Pidge yelled throwing a cushion that was beside them. Lance barely dodged it before muttering a 'sheesh' under his breath.

He rolled off the couch and lazily walked towards the door. He turned the knob and was greeted by the one and only Takashi Shirogane. Shiro was studying law at his final year at the Garrison. Overall he was a very tall man who was desendents of the Japanese, his hair had a white tuff in the front, (which Lance in his friends joked cae from stress which Shiro had responded by looking at them dead in the eye an saying: you're absolutely right). Shiro wasn't really all that intimidating but his prosthetic arm says otherwise. He looked like he could beat to a pulp but overall he was a pretty awesome guy.

Lance smiled before saying," Well, well. Look who decided to show up."

" Oh come on Lance," Shiro rolled his eyes," I'm not late, am I?"

Lance shrugged and said," Guess not, come in."

Lance stepped aside to let Shiro walk in, but that was when Lance noticed he wasn't alone. A figure followed him in, but it wasn't just anyone. Lance didn't get too see his face since he had walked past him too fast, but he'd recognize that mullet anywhere.

It was Keith Kogane.

Lance froze up. Holey shit, was the thought going through his head at the exact moment. The gears in his mind were turning.

Shiro said he was picking up a relative at the airport, but the airport wasn't even that far away. Shiro might've taken longer because he was showing his relative around the town and campus. Maybe he was also showing his relative the location of the buildings and showing them the ice rink. Maybe he was also helping his relative get his schedule- WHAT IF KEITH WAS THE RELATIVE SHIRO WAS PICKING UP? WHAT IF KEITH WAS SHIRO'S BROTHER.

" Holy shit," Lance didn't notice the words escaping his lips, not until he was brought back to reality to see everyone staring at Lance questionably.

The room was silent. Lance glanced to see that Shiro had sat down on the couch talking to Pidge who held the Wii controller in their hands with the game's menu open on the screen of the TV. Hunk raised an eyebrow at Lance from the kitchen frame, Shay was sitting in an armchair, a bowl of popcorn in her hands and she had also diverted her attention to Lance.

And Keith. He was leaning against the wall opposite of Lance. He wore a black shirt that matched his black skinny jeans and a red cropped coat that had white lining and a single yellow stripe that went across the middle of it. Keith was easily a head shorter than Lance (which Lance was weirdly grateful for). His arms were crossed in front of his chest and his posture was slacked, his back was hunched, probably from playing hockey so much, Lance thought. All he could say was that the pictures didn't lie.

Damn Keith wa-

NOPE, NOT TODAY SATAN, Lance told himself

" Are you okay Lance?" Shay's voice interrupted his train of thought and brought him back to reality," You sort of spaced out there."

Lance shook his head and closed the door he was still holding open," I'm fine."

His friends looked at each other, they seemed to have collectively agreed to drop the topic when their conversation continued. Lance didn't know why he was weirded out by Keith's arrival. Maybe it was the fact that Lance only knew the people in this room and no one else, or maybe it's the fact that Shiro had never told him that

" So who'd you bring with you Shiro?" Hunk asked the question they all wanted to know the answer to.

Shiro looked at Keith and then said," That's Keith, he's my brother from Korea."

So he is Shiro's brother.

" Keith as in Keith Kogane, the new exchange student from Korea that got a hockey scholarship?" Pidge recited his basic information from when they had looked him up.

" How do you know my last name?" Lance turned his head to see that Keith had finally spoken. He wore a puzzled look on his face, probably weirded out by Pidge knowing all.

Pidge plugged in a wire and adjusted their glasses," I did a little research. It's rare for people to get into the Garrison with a hockey scholarship, so I was curious."

" Well if I ever need a person to help me get some dirt to blackmail someone, I'll come to you," Keith said.

" I'm your guy," Pidge said smiling, they looked to Shiro and said," I like this one. By the way, I'm Pidge."

Hunk filled with his hands before speaking in a quiet nervous tone," Well, if we're doing introductions, I'm Hunk."

Shay swallowed the popcorn she was eating and said," Shay."

" Nice to meet you," Keith mumbled. After a moment of silence he turned to Lance, he stared into his soul with them damned violet eyes. When he spoke his words were laced with humour and sarcasm," Are you going to say your name or should I just call you guy-who-likes-to-space-out?"

Lance crossed his arms and said," The name's Lance."

Keith stared at Lance a bit longer, as if he couldn't decide what to make of him, before diverting his attention back to the TV. Lance couldn't help but stare at his mullet. Why did he even have one of those? Did he live in the jungle or some shit because everyone knows those are way out of style. On anyone, the mullet would've looked ridiculous. But on Keith, it didn't look half as bad, and that wasn't fair.

" Aha!" Pidge interrupted them with their yell of triumph ," I got the game set up! Can't wait to beat your asses yet again!"

Lance scoffed, he made his way to the couch and said," You wish Gunderson."

Pidge smirked and said," Oh it's on. McClain."

" Alright, Teams are me and Pidge, Hunk and Shiro and Keith and Lance," Shay announced picking up a controller. Lance could swear he saw her wink at him.

Lance raised an eyebrow and looked at Keith," Are you any good at Mario Cart?"

" Probably better than you," Keith said, he finally uncrossed his arms and made his way over to the coffee table and picked up the red Wii controller.

" Hey!" Lance said in annoyance, he picked up a blue Wii controller ad said," I'll have you know that I beat Pidge once! And Pidge is Pidge!"

" Oh shut up McClain! You only beat me because you managed to put me in a head lock!"

Keith looked questionably between Lance and Pidge, well to be fair he had the complete right to since the sentence had no logical context to explain the situation.

" They play Mario Cart and wrestle," Shiro said sighing," They once broke the coffee table."

" Well, at least I'm not on the same team as Shiro," Keith said, a light chuckle emitted from his lips," He sucks ass at Mario Cart."

Pidge smirked at the new information and said," And he asks us why we call him Space Dad."

Shay interrupted them, a devilish gleam in her eyes," Well, let's get started so you can all have your asses handed to you by Pidge and I."

Keith snorted, a devilish smile etched its way onto his face," Oh it's on."

" DON'T TURN LEFT YOU IDIOT!" Keith yelled frustratingly at Lance.

" WOULD YOU STOP YELLING AT ME MULLET," Lance yelled back," It's not like you're much better than me!"

Shay and Pidge had completely wrecked the other teams the last 4 founds of Mario Cart. Shiro, as Lance had discovered, sucked ass at Mario Cart, yet he still got second place along with Hunk. Last place was occupied by Lance and Keith, the two were too busy yelling at each other during the rounds to actually work together as a team. Neither of them would admit it but they were actually having fun when they weren't yelling and trying to murder each other.

" AHA!" Pidge slammed their controlled on the floor. They got up and jumped on the couch on top of Hunk and Shiro, yelling about their victory.

Shay slammed her controlled on the floor and started yelling along with Pidge. Protests of annoyance came from Lance and Keith, Hunk and Shiro looked in amusement at the scene, not knowing what to make of the college students. Lance angrily tossed his controller on the coffee table and slouched against the couch.

Keith groaned at Pidge's yelling, he set his controller on the coffee table and said," This is all your fault."

" How is this my fault?!" Lance shot at Keith, he scolded at him. Why was Keith blaimg him for loosing? If anything it was his fault that they lost!

" If you had taken the shortcut I told you to take we would've won!" Keith retorted, he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Lance rolled his eyes and said," Well next time I'll just drive off a cliff with you then!"

Keith groaned in pure irritation at the Cuban that sat in front of him. Lance simply ignored his look and avoided his gaze. Keith was just so, ugh. He just acted on pure impulsion, that alone had cost them the first round. Second, he didn't wait for Lance. So it was no use if Keith made it across the finish line first if Lance came behind Shay and Pidge. He would always speed ahead and forget that he had another person on his team. Lance couldn't help but wonder if he was like that all the time. How did that effect his hockey games?

Don't bother with him, his mind chimmed in.

Lance glanced over to the side to see Keith scrolling through his phone. The irritated look on his face was gone, he looked much more peaceful and less murderous. His bangs almost covered his eyes but were somehow strategically placed so they didn't get in his eyes. The Korean's purple eyes, as Lance noticed had slight hints of grey in them, it was so subtle that it was almost not noticeable, Lance also swore that he caught a few glimpses of dark blue in them. Right now, they seemed more violet than purple.

Lance was caught by surprise when Keith's lips twitched upwards for a small second. His face seemed to light up as a light chuckle left his lips. When Lance looked at Keith's phone he noticed he had black leather fingerless gloves on. Emo much?

When Lance looked up he caught Hunk smirking at him. Lance felt embarrassment rush by him and he quickly became oddly interested in the coffee table. Thank god that it was Hunk that caught him and not Keith, Lance thought in slight relive.

" Well this was fun," Shiro said in a tired tone," But I gotta go. I also gotta show Keith his dorm."

Pidge rolled off the couch onto the floor. A crunching sound was heard, the group looked into Pidge's direction in concern and curiousity Pidge rolled away in confusion to reveal they had fallen and crushed a can of the devil's creation, Red Bull. Pidge kicked the can away and said," Ugh, I'm gonna have to clean this place up."

" Sucks to be you," Lance shrugged. He got up from the couch an stretched his long arms," Well, it was a pleasure gaming with you but I gotta g-"

" Oh hell no," Pidge got up quickly and stumbled over their feet before making it to stand in front of Lance (who was towering over the seventeen year old)," You're gonna help me clean this shit up."

Lance let out a sour laugh before shooting back," And why would I do that?"

" If remember correctly you lost," Pidge stated, then jabbed a finger at Lance's chest," Looser helps clean up McClain."

You've gotta be kidding me, Lance thought mentally. It was eleven and Lance needed to get back to his dorm to watch his daily episode of Avatar The Last Airbender. " Well, Keith also lost! Doesn't that mean that he also needs to help clean up?"

Pidge waved a hand in a careless manner at Keith direction," He's a newbie. Now come on amigo, you got some cans to pick up and throw away."

Lance glared to Keith who just rolled his eyes. This was injustice! Keith lost with Lance, why was Lance the only one to have to clean up. It didn't matter if Keith was the new guy, if Lance went down, Keith went down with him.

" Anyways, what dorm is Keith staying in?" Hunk collected the bowls of Popcorn and stacked them on top of each other.

Shiro got up from the couch, he towered everyone in the room, but it wasn't a surprise since he was a senior and they were all just Sophtmores.

" I believe it's in building C," Shiro said.

Pidge snickered and Hunk looked at Keith with a sorry expression, as if his fate had been sealed and it didn't look anywhere near good.

Keith raised an eyebrow in confusion and asked," What's bad about building C?"

Lance laughed indignently," What's so bad about building C? Everything is bad about building C!"

Keith waited for a clarification, but once he noticed Lance wasn't going to give him one he said," COuld you be more specific."

" Well for starters it's the building with all of the hockey players, probably because it's the closest to the ice skating rink," Pidge sat up," It's also full of football players from our team-"

" How many sports teams does this place even have?" Keith asked.

Shay chuckled at his remark and said," Only hockey and football."

" Anyways," Pidge adjusted their glasses," When a place is crawling with jocks it means parties every single fucking night. Good luck with that buddy. And on top of that it's the dorm te furthest away from, well, everything."

Keith groaned causing the group to laugh at his misery.

" Just peachy."

Shiro laughed at his younger brother and said," Like I said, we better get going if we want to make it back to the dorm and not get mugged."

Keith dragged himself off the couch to stand next to Shiro. The height difference between the two was pretty big. They exchanged goodbyes and the door was heard closing, Keith and Shiro had left.

Lance turned back to his friends, to find the trio simultaneously smirking at Lance, who was wanting to melt into the ground.

Take me now Satan.

" Sooo," Pidge dragged the o. They got up and sat on the armchair," Lancey Lance has a big fat crush on emo boy."

Lance scoffed and said," Pidge I sai it once, and 'm going to say it again: I don't associate myself with mullets."

" Umhum," Pidge's smirk grew even wider.

Lance groaned in frunstration and started picking up the Red Bull cans and throwing them in the trash.

" I saw the way you looked at him Lance," Shay said," And I'm pretty sure you don't look at strangers like that."

Damn right I don't, Lance tought. But did he look at Keith in a weird way? He hadn't even noticed, but he sure hoped that Keith didn't notice.

" Plus, you two fight like a old married couple," Hunk cooed.

Lance laughed lightly and said," I don't think that old married couples fight over Mario Cart, Hunk. And I don't even know if the guy's single, or even into guys."

That was true, Keith might have a lover back in Korea that's waiting for him to come back, and Lance was pretty sure they wouldn't enjoy Lance flirting with him. And even if he asked Keith, he might come off too strong, and then if Keith wasn't into guys that might make their relationship even more awkward than if Keith confirmed he had a lover. But there was this small part of Lance that hoped Keith was single.

Pidge collected the Wii controllers and dumped them into the basket that was also filled wit x-Box and PS4 controllers," I dunno man, he looks pretty gay to me."

" But even if I was into him, which I am not," He added the last part cautiously," How would I even ask him if he's into dick. I can't just go: So Keith, do ya like chicks or dicks or both?"

They collectively laughed and Shay said," Well I mean, you could say that. Or you could ask Shiro, but then that would just be awkward."

" Damn straight," Lance said," And to add to that he might have someone in Korea waiting fro him to come back."

Hunk shrugged," Well if you want to know you gotta take the shot and hope he doesn't beat you to a plup."

" Oh please Hunk, he's like, a head shorter than me."

" What's your point," Pidge asked.

" But I think he has a lover," Lance admitted," He was texting someone and smiling."

Shay rolled her eyes and said," It could've been just a friend."

" Or a meme," Pidge said," Because ya know, memes are better than friends!"

Hunk put a hand up to his heart," Ouch. No more cookies for you then."

Pidge's eyes winded and they swiftly jumped on Hunk's back," I'M SORRY HUNK DON'T DEPRIVE ME OF YOUR COOKIES, YOU'RE FRIENDSHIP IS WORTH MORE THAN GOLD!"

Lance sighed before going back to the main topic," Point is, I don't like Keith. And even if I did, I'm not ready to go out with someone again."

Silence took over the room, it was so earie yet so heavy. They others knew what had happened and they weren't going to forget anytime soon. Lance had buried that under fake smiles and jokes, saying he was okay not waning to bother his friends with his problems. He just put on this mask and became this persona that was cocky and flirtatious (not that he wasn't already). But in reality, he just used the humour as a way to hide the pain.

It's like they say, fake it till you make it.

They cleaned up all of the trash that littered the floor (which consisted mostly of Red Bull cans and pieces of popcorn that had been aimed at other people), by the time they finished Lance felt his back ache and he just wanted to lay down in bed and regret life choices. Pidge turned off the TV and muttered something about organizing the wires tomorrow.

Shay said a quick goodbye and left to go to her suit which was on a diffrent block. Hunk wished her safe trip back, earning a smirk form Lance (who then received a halfhearted punch on the shoulder from a flustered Hunk). Once thing that Lance knew was that Hunk was crushing on Shay. It was like a cute crush and Lance was sure that Shay liked him back.

Hunk and Lance then said a quick goodbye to Pidge and left the suit room and made their way towards their living quarters. It was rare for Hunk to sleep there because he always stayed with Shay doing homework until late since they majored in the same thing and he stayed in his apartment that him and his cousin Sienna had bought. The only reason why Hunk even signed up for the dorm system is because he felt bad for leaving Lance alone.

The sound of keys echoed in the empty hallway as Hunk inserted them in the keyhole and opened the door. Lance didn't spare a second glance at the mess that was the small living room, he muttered a quick goodnight to Hunk. His feet walked him to his room on his own accord, he didn't even care to put on pajamas, he just stripped to his boxers and jumped onto the cheap bed.

For a long time Lance shifted under the duvet, he didn't lay still for a second. Lance groaned in frustration when he layed center and looked up to the plain ceiling. But this time he wasn't thinking about the stars, it was something else that was stuck in his mind.

It was those damned violet eyes.