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Lance always heard rumors about this savant pilot that graduated shortly after joining the program at Garrison. At first, it seemed too good to be true. He apparently entered the program when he was fifteen or sixteen then graduated two years later. It was at least a four-year course but he graduated from the advanced course. What kind of genius just stuffs close to six years of flying lessons in just two years? Well, his question may never be answered since he graduated just before he was enrolled. He would be about eighteen by now, probably working at some other airlines as some intern or deadheading a few flights. Odds are Lance would never get to meet the legend himself… odds were.
Lance was a few months into the program and things were getting incredibly serious. He kept up the best he could but he felt himself failing at everything (he was delusional but whatever). They were having a lunch break but Lance spent his quietly screaming to himself. He didn’t want to have his scholarship revoked and he knew for sure that his family would suffer if they had to pay his whole tuition. He needed to get a grip.
Lance was walking down a staircase to get to the courtyard for a breath of fresh air when he got too lost in thought. He had just passed someone when he overstepped and tripped on his own feet.
Then he really needed to grip something.
His life flashed before his eyes as his screams of terror echoed through the stairwell. He felt a slight suffocation but he was no longer moving. Suddenly, he was pulled back by an unknown source and landed butt-first onto the steps. He groaned at the pain but looked up when the unknown force said “be careful. You could have gotten hurt.”
“Uh – thanks.” His eyes were so dark that he felt himself get sucked into them like they were blackholes. His pale skin was slightly illuminated by the overhead lights, almost reflecting off of the smooth surface. His hair was dark as ravens and - wait, is that a mullet?
“I don’t believe we’ve met. The name’s Lance,” he said with an outstretched arm.
“Keith Kogane.” He took his hand for a quick handshake and helped him off his butt. Lance dusted himself off before something clicked in his head.
“Wait a minute. You’re the Keith Kogane? The best pilot of his generation?” Keith’s eyes went wide for a second before turning into what looked slightly like a smirk.
“I guess my reputation hasn’t died out yet.” If his hair wasn’t so hideous, Lance would think this boy was incredibly cute.
“It’s kinda hard to make a legend like that die.” He tried to be cool but Lance’s mind was exploding. Here he was, the great Keith Kogane, in the flesh and right in front of him.
“Um – Thank you, Lance.” Keith would be lying if he said his cheeks weren’t getting a little warmer and gaining a bit of color. It was clear on his translucent skin but still went over Lance’s head.
“So, what brings you back to Garrison?”
“Oh, I’m actually – “ The bell rang through the halls indicating the end of their lunch break. Lance could not get another tardy for the third time that week.
“Aw, jeez. I gotta go. See ya around, Keith.” With a wave, Lance bolted away before her could hear the rest of that sentence.
“Hopefully, sooner than you think.”
Lance made it to the classroom just in time and with that came a sigh of relief. His best friend, Hunk, along with their little gremlin, Pidge, usually sat within close proximity of one another during lectures. The two would be more attentive during classes, taking note of certain things and understanding bad science jokes while Lance would either be asleep or making attempts to distract or annoy his friends.
That was "usually". Today was not "usually".
Professor Montgomery didn’t start the lecture as she usually did. Instead, she made a short announcement. Apparently, a couple of well-known alumni were coming to visit and give a short introduction of themselves and their work. It was basically a show-and-tell but for pilots. Lance considered not listening to it but then, he caught a familiar hairstyle.
“Everyone, please help me in welcoming our guests, Takashi Shirogane and Keith Kogane.” A roaring applause spread through the hall. It all seemed like white noise to Keith.
Suddenly, Keith’s gaze caught Lance’s and his mouth went dry. Oh jeez, he’s right there. Things were only made more uncomfortable for Lance when he gave a small smile before turning his attention back to Shiro. Oh no, he’s adorable. Shiro was going on about how the program was bitter work but paid off in the long run when Lance's brain fried just a bit. Then, it was Keith's turn to speak. It was rather different than what he had heard from Shiro and what Lance heard from five minutes ago. He was surprisingly blunt and straight to the point, not using more syllables than necessary. He may have catered a few questions about the rumors about him, but he kept answers short. What freaked Keith out the most was that Lance maintained eye contact with him. Why are you looking at me?
It would be another two classes before Lance could get any free time to talk to him. There was just something about Keith that he couldn't wrap his brain around and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. Although, he figured he would have left Garrison grounds by then, though he really hoped otherwise. Lance was walking down the path to his dorm when he called out to someone sitting in the shade of a nearby tree. He was strangely lucky today apparently.
“Was it just me or were you blushing when I was looking at you?” His words crawled up Lance's spine, making him fight the blood rushing to his face.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lance didn’t need to but he let out the hint of a gasp escape his lips.
“Judging by the color on your cheeks, I’d say you do know.” Lance moved his face closer to see Keith’s, now mere inches away from him and ignoring whatever he was saying. That smirk on his face better be illegal for being so cute and annoying all at once. Keith tried to walk off but Lance caught up easily.
“Slow down, man. Got anywhere you need to be?” Keith replied with a blatant no before Lance swung his arm around him. “Good. I’m going to take you out tonight.”
“Why?”
“Just going to help you let loose. You seemed a bit stiff a few hours ago and trust me, you need a drink.” Keith knew he was not getting out of this but he didn’t really seem to want to.
“Alright. Let’s see what you have in store for me.” The smirk that manifested itself on Keith’s face felt a tad foreign. How did this boy get him like this?
“Just tell me when you can’t handle it. Wouldn’t want the legend himself dying on my watch.”
“I think you should be worried about handling me.”
Not much could be said about the night they had. They couldn’t tell anyone what happened even if they tried. Although, the morning after was a different story.
Keith didn’t know why he was in a dorm room, but he didn’t need to think too much about it when he saw the shirtless Lance sleeping next to him.