Work Text:
Keith was startled awake by the soft “thunk” of something hitting his window. He groaned and sat up from where he had fallen asleep over his history homework. His back gave a few satisfying cracks as he stretched his arms above his head.
Another, louder “thunk” echoed around his room, resulting in him nearly falling out of his seat and hitting himself in the face. Scowling in annoyance, he shoved open the window. A rather large rock flew into his room with the cool autumn air.
“What the fuck?” he said. He looked down to see Lance McClain standing on the sidewalk in front of his house, an arsenal of rocks tucked into the crook of his elbow. “Dude, are you crazy?!”
“Depends on who you ask,” Lance said with a shrug. A few rocks fell from his arms.
“You realize my dad is the sheriff, right?” There was obvious disbelief in Keith’s tone. “It’s one in the damn morning. We’ll be arrested for breaking curfew.”
“That’s if we get caught”.”
Lance made it seem so simple. He flashed Keith a mischievous grin, causing the latter’s heart to skip a beat.
Keith cursed under his breath, then proceeded to climb out of his window, shut it behind him, and use the gutter to descend to his front lawn. He jogged over to Lance, who dropped the rest of the rocks on the sidewalk so he could grab Keith’s hand. That teasing smirk never left Lance’s lips as he began to tug a bewildered Keith down the street.
“Where the hell are you even taking me?” Keith asked, using his harsh words to hide his nervousness.
“Look up,” was Lance’s vague response.
Through the power lines above them, Keith could make out the dim glow of stars against the night sky.
“What am I supposed to be looking at?”
“The only thing that’s up there, silly.” Lance’s expression turned serious. “I know a great place where we can really see the stars.”
Keith glanced at the Cuban boy sharply. He didn’t take Lance to be one for astronomy. Then again, Lance often surprised him. He smiled softly, a stark contrast to his usual grumpy expression. “Sounds good to me.”
Lance barely stopped himself from sucking in a sharp breath. He had small crushes on guys in the past, but never as strong as what he felt for Keith. Whenever the Korean smiled, Lance felt as if his entire world got a little brighter. Keith was imperfect, and to Lance that made him perfect in every sense of the word.
Lance was startled from his thoughts when he realized that they were getting farther away from the town. The closest street light was a few blocks away, and made no impact where they were standing. He pulled a small but powerful flashlight from his pocket. His brisk pace slowed to a walk.
“We’re almost here,” he said with what he hoped was an endearing smile.
“Here”, as Keith found out a few minutes later, turned out to be an abandoned scrapyard that had a coppery, metallic smell to it that reminded Keith of blood. Large piles of car parts and old appliances spilled onto each other. Broken glass gleamed in the moonlight. Keith could barely make out a path between sharp pieces of metal. Lance began to tug him towards a particular pile of scrap.
“Dude are you crazy?” Keith hissed once again. He dug his heels into the ground. “You’re going to get a cut and get blood poisoning!”
Lance shook his head and began to ascend the heap of junk. “Nah. I’ve spent hours climbing these piles. I know exactly what’s safe and what isn’t.”
Strangely, Keith found himself trusting Lance. It went against every fiber of his being, yet he began to climb the pile behind the brunette. He took care to place his hands and feet in the exact spots that the taller boy had. It took a bit of skill, since Lance was the one with the flashlight, leaving Keith with only the faint glow in front of him to lead his way.
Before long though, the two had reached the top. Lance stretched out on the roof of a car, and Keith reluctantly laid down next to him. The cool metal raised goosebumps on Keith’s skin, and he shuddered against the cold. Sensing this, Lance shifted closer, his body heat radiating onto Keith. The latter could feel the brunette’s muscles rippling as he pointed to the sky.
Keith gasped as he looked up at the vast expanse. He had never seen so many stars before. The light pollution even from the small town prevented more than a handful of stars to show up at night. But so far away from the city, the entire sky was filled with twinkling lights.
“See that over there?” Lance said, startling Keith. “That’s Andromeda.” Keith followed the line of Lance’s arm and found the constellation. Then, Lance pointed to another set of stars. “And over there is Draco.”
Not knowing what else to say, Keith said, “I didn’t know that you liked astronomy.”
“I want to be an astronaut,” Lance admitted. He turned so that dark blue eyes met amethyst. “I figured it would be good to know about the what I’d be flying into.” Despite himself, Keith smiled at Lance’s comment. Lance matched Keith’s expression. “We can go up there together someday, with our little group of friends.” Keith opened his mouth, trying to correct Lance that they were the brunette’s friends, not Keith’s. The Korean boy was silenced with a look. “Don’t try to argue; they’re your friends too. Anyways, our first mission can be ‘pilots Lance and Keith, with engineers Hunk and Coran, comms officer Pidge, and commanders Shiro and Allura’.”
Both boys started to giggle. Keith couldn’t help but think that he could die right then, as long as the last thing he heard was Lance’s chuckles. Similarly, Lance found himself lost in the rare laughter coming from the Korean.
Slowly, their laughter faded into silence. Keith founded himself unable to stop staring into Lance’s eyes, even as the brunette turned on his side and leaned closer, movement that usually would have distracted him. Keith’s breath caught in his throat at the sudden intimacy of the situation. It was no secret that Keith was gay, but he never fathomed that the extroverted son of a pastor was even slightly interested in guys, let alone him.
Lance found himself unable to stand the tension any longer. He leaned forward and captured Keith’s lips in his own. The raven-haired boy froze at first, but quickly relaxed into the soft kiss. His hands rested against Lance’s chest, while delicate, tan hands rested against his hips. He slowly moved his lips against Lance’s, and found that after the typical awkwardness, they fit nicely together.
It was a few minutes before Keith pulled away. He rested his forehead against Lance’s and said, “We should probably be getting back.”
“Yeah,” Lance breathed.
Lance sat up and helped pull Keith to an upright position. They carefully picked their way down the scrap heap, then set off on the road back to Keith’s house, their hands intertwined between them. It was silent save for the quiet humming of the night, but surprisingly comfortable. Eventually they came to a stop on the sidewalk. An awkward moment passed before Keith whispered “good-bye”. Lance watched as Keith clambered up the wall, pushed open his window, and slipped into his bedroom. Then, he closed his window and shut the blinds. It was a few more seconds before Lance realized that he hadn’t responded to Keith.
“See ya, mullet,” he belatedly whispered. Lance sighed, stuffing his hands into his pocket as he made his way back to his own house.
———
Keith leaned against the concrete wall of Shiro’s garage, his arms crossed protectively over his chest as he gnawed on his lip. Shiro glanced up at the Korean from where he was fixing his motorcycle and sighed. He had known Keith since he was a toddler. The two had grown up taking martial arts classes together, and Shiro considered the boy as his little brother. He knew every little detail about Keith, to the point where he could tell what the younger was thinking with just a glance. However, today Keith was completely unreadable, worrying Shiro.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked.
Keith blinked at him. “Huh?”
“You haven’t said a word since you got here,” Shiro said. He dusted his hands off and stood so he was facing Keith. “Usually you’re asking me about some thing or another. So, what’s on your mind?”
“It’s nothing,” Keith said hurriedly. At Shiro’s raised eyebrow, Keith said, “Fine! It’s not nothing.”
Shiro placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
Keith met Shiro’s dark eyes. “Yeah. Of course.” Shiro searched his friend’s violet orbs, searching for any sign of what was troubling him. Finding nothing, Shiro simply sighed and pulled Keith into a hug.
Moments later they were back in their previous positions, with Keith leaning against the wall, and Shiro laying beside. It was quiet with the exception of Shiro’s occasional requests for various tools.
It was a few minutes before Keith let out a frustrated huff and said, “It’s Lance.”
“Lance McClain?” Shiro said with a raised eyebrow.
“Is there another Lance in our little group that I don’t know about?” Keith retorted. Shiro didn’t respond.
It fell silent again.
“What about him?” Shiro whispered. At Keith’s confused expression, he added, “Lance, I mean.”
Keith chewed on his lip, contemplating his answer, before saying, “The other night, he took me out to the edges of town to watch the stars. And… and we kissed, and it was really nice, and now…” He frustratedly raked a hand through his mullet. His voice, which had risen to an almost-shout, lowered to a whisper. “And now he acts as if nothing happened.”
Shiro frowned slightly as he studied the other teen. Shiro sighed and stared at the wrench in his lap.
“The best advice I have for you is to talk to him about it,” Shiro said. He smiled wryly. “But knowing you, that’ll never happen. So, all you can do is see how this plays out.”
“Yeah.” Despite his best efforts, Keith still didn’t sound convinced.
———
Lance was definitely not paying attention. He was staring blankly at his friends arguing in front of him, thinking of Keith. Over the past month, Lance had come to Keith’s house at ungodly hours at least six more times. The brunette would entice the Korean out of his bedroom so they could roam the town together. They talked about everything they could think of, from family to college to outer space. There was also a lot of kissing involved. Yet, when the sun rose they would go back to being “just friends” until the next time Lance showed up at his window.
“…Lance?” said a voice, startling the Cuban from his thoughts. “Lance!”
He sat up quickly, focusing on the person to his right. “Sorry, Pidge. What were you talking about?”
They glared at him, suspicion and annoyance clear in their hazel eyes. “Hunk and I were just debating whether the Scarlet Witch would be able to calm the Hulk. I think she would, considering that Wanda has beat frickin’ Vision in the past!”
“Yes, yes, you’ve said that already,” Hunk said with an air of distaste. “But what I’m trying to say is that she would have to tame both Banner and the Other Guy! Banner is pretty easy, but Hulk is a wild card. He barely has more than animalistic instincts. His mind will be disorganized and chaotic, and therefore harder to control.”
“May I remind you that Wanda controls chaos!”
The two bickered for a few minutes more before Lance had to rip them apart.
“Guys, chill!” he said. He glared at them both as he settled back into his chair, his arms crossed. “Pidge is right; Wanda would win.”
Hunk and Pidge started to yell at Lance, their voices overlapping, before they lost interest and started arguing with each other again. Exasperated, Lance tuned them out and stared at the ceiling, falling back into his thoughts. Noticing this, Pidge fell quiet, Hunk doing the same moments later.
“Hey, Lance,” Pidge said. “You alright?”
Lance blinked at them. “Huh, oh yeah. I’m fine.”
“You sure, buddy?” Hunk said, worry clear in his tone. “You’ve been really...melancholic and space-y lately.” His eyes suddenly widened as realization dawned on him. “This is about Keith isn’t it?”
Lance nearly fell out of his chair at that, sputtering out, “W-what makes you think that?”
Hunk shrugged. “Keith has been out of it lately, too. When Pidge ‘n I asked him about it, he denied that anything was wrong, but you two have been acting kind of oddly towards each other for the past month. Well, odder than usual.”
“Yeah,” said Pidge. They moved so they were standing next to Hunk, rested an elbow on the taller teen’s shoulder. “If I had to guess, it’s because something ‘more than friends’ happened between you two and you don’t want anyone to find out. If Pastor McClain found out that his good little boy was bi, all hell would break loose.”
Lance groaned and dropped his head into his hands, realizing that they were right. “What am I going to do?”
“I dunno, buddy,” said Hunk as he rubbed Lance’s back soothingly. “But the winter formal is coming up soon. Maybe you can confront him there?”
“Yeah,” said Lance distantly. His voice was slightly muffled by his hands. “Sure.”
———
The Winter Ball was the biggest event all year, second only to prom. Everyone would walk through the cool Arizona air to the town hall. There, food was offered, music was played, sometimes even by a live band, and everyone danced. Once you hit high school, if you weren’t asked to dance, or if you didn’t ask anyone else to dance, you’d be labeled as an outcast.
For the rest of Keith’s friends, it was easy. Coran was the DJ, so he got out of dancing. Shiro had been dating Allura since they entered middle school, and it was expected that the two would be partners. Hunk had Shay, and even Pidge had started dating a girl. And Lance… Lance could choose from any girl in the town.
Due to the lack of men openly interested in other men in the town, Keith would have been labeled an outcast at the previous year’s Winter Ball, if not for the fact that he’s the sheriff’s son.
So, when the slow melody of “White Christmas” started, Keith shuffled into a corner, extremely uncomfortable in his burgundy dress shirt and black slacks. Despite all of Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro’s nagging, he had decided against asking Lance to dance. To do so would against everything that people knew about him. He was not one to go against what others thought.
However, Lance didn’t seem to share the same sentiment. Instead of going over to the usual group of girls, he waltzed over to Keith’s corner. The Cuban teen was stunning, dressed in a white button-up shirt, ice blue blazer, and beige slacks. It made his tan skin look even darker and brought out the sapphire blue of his eyes. His long, delicate fingers extended towards a breathless Keith.
“Dance with me?” Lance asked.
Keith could hardly breathe, let alone speak. Eventually, he managed to gasp out a “yes” and gently took Lance’s hands. Somehow, Lance was able to coax him out onto the dance floor. His hands were on Lance’s slim shoulders, while Lance’s delicate fingers rested on his waist. They didn’t move much, just swayed back and forth in time to the song. As Keith got more comfortable, Lance leaned forward and rested his forehead against the other’s. It was incredibly intimate, and Keith loved every second of it.
The moment came and went in a blink of the eye, accompanied by the shattering of glass on concrete. Startled, Coran accidentally hit the microphone on his DJ booth, causing a loud ringing. He scrambled to make it stop, and only partially succeeded by cutting all sound.
This fiasco went mostly unknown, as all eyes snapped to Pastor McClain, who had accidently knocked over the bowl of fruit punch. It stained the floor a deep red, the same color as blood. Everyone watched as he made his way towards Keith and Lance in the middle of the dance floor. Lance pushed Keith behind him, gaining a protective stance, but kept his hand clasped firmly with Keith’s. Out of the corner of his eye, Keith could see his father step out his corner, where he made sure nothing illegal was going on, his hand lingering on his gun holster. A tense silence fell over the town hall’s ballroom as everyone waited for Pastor McClain’s next move.
Finally, Lance’s father moved. A few gasps could be heard as people averted their eyes, assuming the older Cuban was going to hit his son.
What happened next surprised every single soul in that room.
Pastor McClain wrapped both Lance and Keith in a tight hug, pressing his cheek into his son’s hair.
“About damn time,” he whispered.